4 ms·

You raise a very good point, and it does sometimes feel like sheep being invited to a wolf party. ;) However, I think it prepares us well for the realities of s

You raise a very good point, and it does sometimes feel like sheep being invited to a wolf party. ;) However, I think it prepares us well for the realities of startup life. Sure we have that male-dominated thing to get over, but if we're prepared to do it, we stand out even more than any male will. Don't you think? But then I guess some women will say you need to do that much better a job as a woman to get the same recognition as a man - but I don't know if that's actually true in startups simply because there are so few women willing to fully commit and go the distance.

limedaring 16y ago
Good points as well. :) Myself, I used to be painfully shy. I was meeting someone for the first time the other day and they said that they take me to be super outgoing and confident, but this was a transformation over about 4 years — 2 years of avoiding "scary" situations, then realizing the problem and then two years of actively trying to change my demeanor. I'd like to say that those programs would have sped up this process of feeling confident and comfortable — just because someone is shy right now, doesn't mean they can't cut it as a startup founder, just means they might need help to get to that point. Those that get over that hump of being awkward and feeling like sheep in a wolf party phase definitely will stand out more to men, and I think in a good way — more recognition from blogs and the such (since they love profiling someone who's "different"), and people might be more interested in meeting with a woman founder than a man (again, the "different" thing leading to curiosity). I think guys notice this and get rather annoyed too, since it looks like preferencial treatment, but for those women who are intimidated by the male startup culture, those people are great role models.
- mediamum 16y ago
  And that's really interesting - do you think you need to be 'outgoing' or at least appear that way, to be a good startup founder? Every single person I know, including my PhD advisor and my startup co-founders, thinks I'm extremely outgoing. But I hate cocktail parties and so on. I force myself to go and connect with people. I'm far more comfortable behind a screen unless I know people already. :)

limedaring 16y ago

Good points as well. :) Myself, I used to be painfully shy. I was meeting someone for the first time the other day and they said that they take me to be super outgoing and confident, but this was a transformation over about 4 years — 2 years of avoiding "scary" situations, then realizing the problem and then two years of actively trying to change my demeanor. I'd like to say that those programs would have sped up this process of feeling confident and comfortable — just because someone is shy right now, doesn't mean they can't cut it as a startup founder, just means they might need help to get to that point. Those that get over that hump of being awkward and feeling like sheep in a wolf party phase definitely will stand out more to men, and I think in a good way — more recognition from blogs and the such (since they love profiling someone who's "different"), and people might be more interested in meeting with a woman founder than a man (again, the "different" thing leading to curiosity). I think guys notice this and get rather annoyed too, since it looks like preferencial treatment, but for those women who are intimidated by the male startup culture, those people are great role models.

mediamum 16y ago
And that's really interesting - do you think you need to be 'outgoing' or at least appear that way, to be a good startup founder? Every single person I know, including my PhD advisor and my startup co-founders, thinks I'm extremely outgoing. But I hate cocktail parties and so on. I force myself to go and connect with people. I'm far more comfortable behind a screen unless I know people already. :)