Women investors create intentional connections with female founders
December 5, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Female entrepreneurs receive only about 2 percent of all venture capital but own 38 percent of businesses in the United States, the Harvard Business Review reports.
That’s in part why a group of women investors in Kansas City is planning to meet with women entrepreneurs to foster better relationships.
Investors from the KCRise Fund, Royal Street Ventures, TIFEC, UMB and Techstars Kansas City plan to hold open office hours for female founders Friday, Dec. 8, at WeWork Corrigan Station.
The meeting, which might turn into a series depending on the demand, aims to cultivate stronger relationships with investors and entrepreneurs, Techstars KC program manager Alex Krause said.
“Lots of research supports that women have a more challenging time finding mentors, a network and access to capital than their male counterparts,” said Krause. “By gaining access to other women investors — building their network and connections to women in this space at our office hours on Friday, we hope to narrow those gaps.”
Darcy Howe, managing director of the KC Rise Fund, said that the idea came about from a challenge from Sarah Shipley, chairwoman of the Kansas City Startup Foundation.
“She saw a TechCrunch article about women venture capitalists in California who did this, so she sent a public tweet,” Howe said. “I saw it on November 14 and by the end of the day we had eight women venture capitalists lined up, a blast email to women founders and 10 signed up for the December 8 event. 20 Founders are currently signed up to participate.”
Howe encouraged women to come prepared with questions and use the event as a learning opportunity. It is also a valuable opportunity for investors, she added.
“The objective is to be a welcoming face of capital to women founders, provide an opportunity to speed pitch to and get feedback from several venture capitalists in a short period, and generally begin to support one another,” Howe said. “It will be a good way for venture capitalists to continue to build relationships with founders in which they may invest.”
Some of the investors attending are:
- Darcy Howe, KCRise Fund
- Laura Brady, Royal Street Ventures
- Shari Coulter Ford, TIFEC
- Jacquie Ward, UMB
- Lesa Mitchell and Alex Krause, Techstars KC
For those interested in participating in the event, RSVP here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fund me, KC: Garden Thorn wants to turn your thumb green
Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like The Handy Camel CEO Tom Gray — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. If you or your startup is running a crowdfunding campaign, let us know…
Entrepreneurial foundation names local ‘startup champion’ as director
The Kansas City Startup Foundation’s year-long search for a new executive director ended right where it began. The foundation — whose mission is to unify Kansas City’s startup and entrepreneur community — recently hired Matthew Marcus as its executive director. Marcus, who most recently served as the foundation’s chairman, will begin his tenure in May. “It’s…
How wearables could change America’s pastime and Amazon’s big oops
In this week’s roundup of watercooler talk from the region’s startup hubs, we have the dish on Major League Baseball wearables, Amazon’s flub with expanding the digital divide and Chicago’s STEM workforce issues. Check out more in this series here. Mobile Commerce Press: Major League Baseball gives the nod to wearable technology No, this doesn’t…
The red carpet, garageband and laboratory of funding models
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. “Funding! Funding! Funding!” It’s the warrior’s cry of the startup community. In the world of entrepreneurship, there’s an incredible amount of pressure to run a startup that can be described as “disruptive,” “innovative” and “scalable.” Those descriptions come with a hefty price tag,…