We\u2019ve all heard the horror stories from women leaders in tech \u2013 wear a wedding ring to investor meetings. Bring a male team member to make people (read: men) in the room more comfortable \u2013 but be ready for every question to go to him.<\/p>\n
Founders Network has 2x the women members of any other professional technology association, and we asked this group of successful female founders their one piece of advice for women learning to navigate the world of tech leadership. <\/span><\/p>\n Their answers turned out to apply to any man or woman working in high tech who wants to learn how to \u201cnot get into bed with assholes.\u201d Here\u2019s a top-10 list of do\u2019s and don\u2019ts from the women of Founders Network \u2013 actionable advice on how gender plays into team development, business building and fundraising.<\/span><\/p>\n 10) If you ask for advice, you get money; if you ask for money, you\u2019ll get advice <\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThe amount of time you\u2019ll spend on your deck, and the amount you\u2019ll change your deck, is mind-blowing,\u201d Meghan Conroy<\/a> (Sept. \u201812) says. \u201cAsking people to run through your deck with you and give you advice often leads to money \u2013 the people who want to fund you will tell you clearly that they want to be involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Conroy launched 14 products into the medical market before founding CaptureProof, a secure platform for patients to share photos and videos with their doctor. A TechStars alum who\u2019s raised $3M, she was one of three experienced (and funded) women entrepreneurs from the Founders Network who led a forum on \u201c<\/span>Raising Your Seed Round<\/span><\/a>\u201d in August.<\/span><\/p>\n Conroy says that women in particular struggle when it comes to asking for money. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like,\u2018Oh my God, will I ever pay that back?\u201d she says. \u201cThe guys see it like they\u2019re giving a lottery ticket to their friends \u2013 letting you in on this amazing opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFix your mindset: <\/span>you\u2019re not borrowing money to pay back, you\u2019re giving someone an opportunity to be part of something that is going to change the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n you\u2019re not borrowing money to pay back, you\u2019re giving someone an opportunity to be part of something that is going to change the world<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 9) Wear a ring. Bring a man. Do what it takes, but don\u2019t let that get you down. <\/b><\/p>\n Phoenix Gonzalez<\/span><\/a> (Jan. ’13) has raised almost a million dollars as cofounder of Dotstudioz INC \u2013 her startup provides management, monetization and tracking tools for content creators. She recalls a recent experience with ire: walking into one VC meeting to find that they patently expected to meet a male \u201cPhoenix Gonzalez.\u201d Not a woman. Not a black woman. When they asked where her CEO was, she knew the meeting was over. <\/span><\/p>\n Faced with an uneven playing field, women like Gonzalez have found ways to fight dirty. <\/span>Emily Best<\/span><\/a> (Nov. ’13) wears her grandmother\u2019s ring on her ring finger. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat hasn\u2019t stopped me from meeting with a shirtless VC, getting comments on my appearance, and getting sexual advances,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it does start the conversation with some things off the table because there are assumptions made.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Before raising $1.5 million as founder of Seed&Spark, Best was named a 2014 New York Woman of Influence, and produced her first feature film in 2011. Her startup offers an end-to-end solution for filmmakers and film lovers to fund, promote, and watch films in a virtual studio and cinema.<\/p>\n 8) Find the people who\u2019ll have tough conversations with you, about sensitive subjects.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cIf you know the big vision of your business, it\u2019s much harder for them to sway you,\u201d Best says. \u201cSurround yourself with people who will give you great, honest, ruthless advice and make good connections for you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n “You should have a mentor who you think is kind of an asshole and asks you questions that make you think, \u2018what a jerk,\u2019\u201d Conroy says. \u201cThey\u2019re setting you up for success because they\u2019re asking you the hard questions.\u201d<\/p>\n As CEO of Astia, <\/span>Sharon Vosmek<\/span><\/a> has grown an accelerator-like program that links women-led startup teams to advisors, resources and investors. And as a member of Astia Angels, she manages a portfolio of high-growth companies with one salient feature in common: one or more women leaders in the c-suite. Discussing unequal expectations in tech can be a taboo topic, but she wades in (that\u2019s her job).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI cannot tell you how many men and women in the valley think this is a non-issue – they believe it\u2019s a meritocracy, and to have this conversation – they’re going to shut down,\u201d she says. \u201cJust know the environment. Arm yourself with all kinds of great resources, like your network around you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe have Founders Network to share conversations that are not always easy or popular to have,\u201d <\/span>Maria Fernandez Guajardo<\/span><\/a> (Feb. ’15) says. <\/span><\/p>\n After cofounding MagneticWill, a social fitness platform, Fernandez recently started a new job as head of product for a foodtech in stealth mode (spoiler: they do DNA testing on food \u2013 the modern supply chain means that often people don\u2019t know what\u2019s in the food they eat). She helped organize the Female Founders group<\/a> as a place for salty conversations and even that theoretically un-female word, \u201cno.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 7) Say no. As often as you need to.<\/b><\/p>\n Meghan Conroy, CaptureProof\u2019s founder, saw the good and the bad in fundraising: an accelerator program\u2019s funding requirements lit a fire under her to raise $250k. Closing a million in convertible debt created a serious runway \u2013 but also accrued interest that was going to start to add up. She went to VCs early, when CaptureProof was more idea than reality, and says she\u2019d wait longer next time to show all her cards.<\/span><\/p>\n Going against advice and turning down a concrete offer from a VC firm last year taught her that \u201csome of the most critical things you will do for your company involve saying no at the right time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After three years of building off revenue and bootstrapping, Gonzalez decided it was time to raise an angel round and grow capacity. She considered an accelerator that charged $350,000 and 10 percent of the company \u2013 it wasn\u2019t going to work. But she walked out of that interview and into a client meeting where the client asked, \u201cAre you looking for an investor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLiterally another door had opened the next day,\u201d Gonzalez says. <\/span><\/p>\n Aggressively negotiating term sheets, deciding how far to compromise in an angel round, she relied on advice from a law firm with a good reputation \u2013 but in hindsight, she says, \u201cdon\u2019t believe anyone who tells you that \u2018we can clean it up when we get to Series A.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Once a signed agreement goes in someone\u2019s pocket, it\u2019s going to be hard to go back. Only agree to a deal you can love. Here\u2019s her cheatsheet of times to say no \u2013 and when to bring out the yes.<\/p>\n 6) Don\u2019t:<\/b><\/p>\n 5) Do:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cWe have a great dynamic \u2013 two female founders and a male founder,\u201d Gonzalez says. \u201cWe\u2019re fortunate because we have a man who is steadfast in what he believes in and two women who are business-minded but able to look at the other side of the table, and find a solution that is equitable for everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 4) PITCH TO STRANGERS<\/b><\/p>\n In September, <\/span>Lisa Lambert <\/span><\/a>(Intel Capital) and <\/span>Sharon Vosmek<\/span><\/a> (Astia) represented VC, Seed\/Accelerator and Angel investing experience at the panel discussion <\/span>\u201cFunding Women in SV and beyond.\u201d<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n They bring domain expertise as investors in consumer internet, life sciences, cleantech and e-commerce \u2013 but above all, in funding and supporting female entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and beyond. And they want women to start catching up when it comes to unabashed introductions. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe use of the term \u2018referral\u2019 in Silicon Valley generally is a way to keep out diverse groups. I don’t need a referral, but I need you to take the time to get to know me as an investor,\u201d Vosmek says.<\/span><\/p>\n The use of the term \u2018referral\u2019 in Silicon Valley generally is a way to keep out diverse groups.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Lambert echoed this \u201cdo your homework\u201d requirement. Come to a meeting not just knowing her firm, Intel Capital \u2013 but also know why your business <\/span>fits<\/span><\/i> Intel Capital. That\u2019s more important than the best warm intro.<\/span><\/p>\n Intimidated? Start small. Angel-stage investors often begin by pitching friends of friends.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the first two angels who weren\u2019t already known to me came in, it made me feel like I could do it,\u201d Best recalls. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to pitch angels you don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n 3) Raise more money than you think you need \u2013<\/b><\/p>\n Once those conversations start, don\u2019t shoot yourself in the foot. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was going into VCs saying I needed $300k and they were like, \u2018that\u2019s cute,\u2019\u201d Best says ruefully. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask for small money they think you have a small idea,\u201d Best says. \u201cThat\u2019s something men do really well. I\u2019m seeing $9 million seed investments pre-product in LA right now \u2013 guys are saying they need 2 million just to get this off the ground. And I had community, product, some of the most successful crowdfunding in the world, and I couldn\u2019t get a meeting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImagine the possibilities for your biz – the way it explodes if you have the money you need and the talent you need – that\u2019s the business you pitch,\u201d Best says. \u201cYou have to have the really big vision in your mind from as early as possible, and walk in and say, this is what we\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople say raise for revenue positivity \u2013 forget that, raise for growth,\u201d Best says. \u201cWomen are known for running small, nice businesses. Men raise for growth.\u201d<\/p>\n 2) \u2013 and only from people you love<\/b><\/p>\n Your investors are going to be your close business advisors. Only go into business with people you\u2019re going to be happy with.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re getting married for a long time,\u201d as Best puts it. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s a value shared from the other side, by investors like Angel Investor Sharon Vosmek.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI invest very passionately, I do deep diligence and learn before I invest, but I am a relationship person,” she says. \u201cMy favorite is when I can see how I’m going to be helpful to the individual and the business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 1) Forget the asshole factor. In the end you still need to be investor-friendly<\/b><\/p>\n Women leaders get a bad rap \u2013 too nice and they\u2019re passive, or candidates for dates, not funding. Too assertive, and they\u2019re bitches. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSomeone told me I’m pushy and I said, \u2018yeah, I’m a CEO – you want me that way,\u2019\u201d Vosmek says.<\/p>\n “Someone told me I’m pushy and I said, \u2018yeah, I’m a CEO – you want me that way”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean adopting an abrasive attitude is going to win the day, regardless of how it plays out in an episode of <\/span>Silicon Valley<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI’m never impressed by someone who comes at me in an offensive way,\u201d Lambert says. \u201cBe professional, be respectful. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI invest in people I like, so I’m really not a fan of arrogance,\u201d Vosmek says. <\/span><\/p>\n Even when faced with what feels like a rude interrogation, don\u2019t get ruffled \u2013 dig in. Harsh questions often deserve an answer. And, Vosmek says, that means someone engaging. That’s a win.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe worst is when they stare at you and don’t get it enough to ask a question,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n Ready to learn more? The women of Founders Network are gathering again at an <\/i><\/b>upcoming Female Founders get-together<\/i><\/b><\/a> in San Francisco Oct. 9. RSVP <\/i><\/b>here<\/i><\/b><\/a> for a night of wine and mediterranean meze hosted by <\/i><\/b>Neha Sampat<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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