4 ms·

Where are all the Women?

11 points by venturefizz 16y ago

CodeMage 16y ago
I'm far from being an expert on statistics (and related stuff), but I'm still a bit leery of the "Women Build Great Companies" section. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they don't or that I'm against having more women start companies or anything of the kind. It's just this: all of the author's claims in that section are backed by statistics. That makes me wonder, if there are "so few women entrepreneurs starting high potential, high growth companies", doesn't that make it likely that there's some statistical bias in favor of those companies? My reasoning is like this: if you can get into the XYZ college either by being rich or exceptionally smart, wouldn't a statistical analysis tend to "show" that poor people are exceptionally smart?
- jff 16y ago
  It's like you're psychic or something, posting exactly what I was thinking while I was still composing my response :)
jff 16y ago
Ok, so we see that only 9% of women who apply for VC get it. Then we hear about how startups run by women do so much better than those run by men. Now, suppose the reason so few women get VC is because the male VCs are less disposed to give women money--and those who do get money are those who provided such a fantastic plan that it was a clear winner. Since this essentially makes the entrance criteria harder, you'd expect that those few enterprises which make it through are going to do extremely well... something along the lines of all those uber-startups run by women. I'm not saying women can't make good companies, I'm just saying that the implied bias on the part of male VCs would tend to select only the very best woman-founded startups. Level the playing field, and you'll probably get the same performance as men.
- mstevens 16y ago
  Important related question I don't see in the article: what percentage of men who apply for VC get it?
itisfritz 16y ago
They have kids. White male is king of the jungle, get over it.
- jff 16y ago
  I can't deny that, enlightened modern man though I supposedly am, I would be a bit leery when considering funding a startup if the founder could at any time call me up and say "whoops I'm having a baby, things are going to have to go on the back burner for up to a year". I do hope that any serious businesswoman would not do something like that, it would be extremely unprofessional and a good way to drive your company out of business. Luckily I don't have any money to fund startups, anyway, so it's not something I have to worry about.
- muhfuhkuh 16y ago
  White male? Last I checked, Yellow made more money on average than all the other colors in the crayon box, kiddo. Check your facts for stale stats.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- jacquesm 16y ago
  I would figure that any woman that is applying for funding knows which side her bread is buttered on. And there is nothing wrong with a stay-at-home-dad while mom brings home the bacon.
  - itisfritz 16y ago
    logistically that works out, its just not actually a good idea
neutronicus 16y ago
3. "They are more likely to reproduce and therefore more risk-averse." Not a mention of this seems a little disingenuous.
arihelgason 16y ago
"women-owned businesses accounted for 21 percent of the entrepreneurs that sought angel-investment capital in 2009, but only 9.4 percent of those females were successful in their quest" But what percentage of men who seek VC get funded?
- chc 16y ago
  This really ruins that entire statistic. It's comparing two completely unlike things. The first number is women vs. men, but the second number is not.
btilly 16y ago
Some portion of this is culture, but some portion is definitely biology as well. Men, across different cultures, are consistently more prone to risk taking, and show higher variance in ability. (Interestingly women have higher average IQs than men in our culture, but men have higher variance and are a majority of people with very high IQs.) There is an evolutionary rationale for this, but what is important is that this has been observed. Therefore when you look at a high-risk activity that is very ability driven, such as startups, there is no surprise that men are over-represented. This is probably not all of it. But even in a perfect world, there would be a clear bias. That said, there are many areas where women have a natural advantage over men. Many markets exist where the majority of likely consumers are women. (For random examples women are more likely to do shopping, organize weddings, and sustain stronger social networks.) Any startup that wishes to succeed in such an area would be well-advised to have a lot of female input. And a female co-founder could be a significant asset in such a situation.
MoreMoschops 16y ago
They're in my basement...

11 points by venturefizz 16y ago

I'm far from being an expert on statistics (and related stuff), but I'm still a bit leery of the "Women Build Great Companies" section. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they don't or that I'm against having more women start companies or anything of the kind. It's just this: all of the author's claims in that section are backed by statistics. That makes me wonder, if there are "so few women entrepreneurs starting high potential, high growth companies", doesn't that make it likely that there's some statistical bias in favor of those companies? My reasoning is like this: if you can get into the XYZ college either by being rich or exceptionally smart, wouldn't a statistical analysis tend to "show" that poor people are exceptionally smart?

jff 16y ago
It's like you're psychic or something, posting exactly what I was thinking while I was still composing my response :)

jff 16y ago

Ok, so we see that only 9% of women who apply for VC get it. Then we hear about how startups run by women do so much better than those run by men. Now, suppose the reason so few women get VC is because the male VCs are less disposed to give women money--and those who do get money are those who provided such a fantastic plan that it was a clear winner. Since this essentially makes the entrance criteria harder, you'd expect that those few enterprises which make it through are going to do extremely well... something along the lines of all those uber-startups run by women. I'm not saying women can't make good companies, I'm just saying that the implied bias on the part of male VCs would tend to select only the very best woman-founded startups. Level the playing field, and you'll probably get the same performance as men.

mstevens 16y ago
Important related question I don't see in the article: what percentage of men who apply for VC get it?

itisfritz 16y ago

They have kids. White male is king of the jungle, get over it.

jff 16y ago
I can't deny that, enlightened modern man though I supposedly am, I would be a bit leery when considering funding a startup if the founder could at any time call me up and say "whoops I'm having a baby, things are going to have to go on the back burner for up to a year". I do hope that any serious businesswoman would not do something like that, it would be extremely unprofessional and a good way to drive your company out of business. Luckily I don't have any money to fund startups, anyway, so it's not something I have to worry about.
muhfuhkuh 16y ago
White male? Last I checked, Yellow made more money on average than all the other colors in the crayon box, kiddo. Check your facts for stale stats.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
jacquesm 16y ago
I would figure that any woman that is applying for funding knows which side her bread is buttered on. And there is nothing wrong with a stay-at-home-dad while mom brings home the bacon.
- itisfritz 16y ago
  logistically that works out, its just not actually a good idea

neutronicus 16y ago

3. "They are more likely to reproduce and therefore more risk-averse." Not a mention of this seems a little disingenuous.

arihelgason 16y ago

"women-owned businesses accounted for 21 percent of the entrepreneurs that sought angel-investment capital in 2009, but only 9.4 percent of those females were successful in their quest" But what percentage of men who seek VC get funded?

chc 16y ago
This really ruins that entire statistic. It's comparing two completely unlike things. The first number is women vs. men, but the second number is not.

btilly 16y ago

Some portion of this is culture, but some portion is definitely biology as well. Men, across different cultures, are consistently more prone to risk taking, and show higher variance in ability. (Interestingly women have higher average IQs than men in our culture, but men have higher variance and are a majority of people with very high IQs.) There is an evolutionary rationale for this, but what is important is that this has been observed. Therefore when you look at a high-risk activity that is very ability driven, such as startups, there is no surprise that men are over-represented. This is probably not all of it. But even in a perfect world, there would be a clear bias. That said, there are many areas where women have a natural advantage over men. Many markets exist where the majority of likely consumers are women. (For random examples women are more likely to do shopping, organize weddings, and sustain stronger social networks.) Any startup that wishes to succeed in such an area would be well-advised to have a lot of female input. And a female co-founder could be a significant asset in such a situation.

MoreMoschops 16y ago

They're in my basement...