Remember those early tech trade shows?
Picture this: an endless sea of Star Wars hoodies and worn-out jeans stretching across the convention floor. You could practically smell the teen spirit and ambition. The “uniform” was clear – bonus points if your hoodie had a Star Wars reference AND a Unix joke that only twelve people on Earth would understand.
As one of the few women there, I didn’t exactly blend in with the “Han Shot First” crowd. We were so rare that we had an informal networking system that consisted entirely of meaningful eye contact across rooms. “Oh look, another woman! Quick, send the secret nod of solidarity before she disappears into the sea of backpacks.”
The funny thing about being one of the few women in tech back then? You never had to wait in line for the bathroom. Silver linings, right?
Though I would have gladly traded that perk for, oh, I don’t know… equal funding opportunities? Here’s a wild statistic: today, female founders still receive only about 2% of all venture capital funding. It turns out money people prefer to bet on the next guy in a hoodie, claiming he’s going to “disrupt” something.
Speaking of funding, here’s another fun fact:
Women-led companies generate 78 cents in revenue for every dollar of funding they receive, while male-founded companies generate 31 cents. That’s right – we’re making more with less. It’s like we’ve had years of practice doing that.
When frustrated with the ongoing disparities, I think about pioneers like Grace Hopper. Not only did she help develop the first commercial computer language processor, and had to do it while wearing an actual uniform (she was a Navy Rear Admiral). She probably never got to experience the comfort of debugging in a hoodie, yet she revolutionized how we think about programming.
These days, tech conferences have more women, which is fantastic. But we’re still navigating some unique challenges. Like how in VC pitches, women get asked about risk mitigation while men get asked about growth potential. It’s like being in a job interview where half the candidates get asked, “How will you survive a shipwreck?” while the others get asked, “How big is your yacht going to be?”
That’s precisely why I seek out women-led tech companies. Not just because the data shows they outperform (though they do – companies with female CEOs and CFOs consistently beat market averages), but because there’s something powerful about working with people who understand what it’s like to be the only hoodie-less person in a room full of “May the fork be with you” t-shirts.
We’ve come a long way from those early days. But we’re not done yet.
When I attend tech events, I see many more women in the crowd, on stage, and in leadership roles. For instance, our CEO, Heather Shoemaker, is speaking at South by Southwest on the Challenges Facing Women in AI and was featured in Fortune for her work on bias in AI.
I choose to work with women-led companies because I’m betting on a future where funding is equitable, where opportunities are based on merit rather than gender, and where the next generation of women in tech will never know what it’s like to be the only woman in the room.
The tech industry’s greatest strength has always been its potential for innovation. And true innovation requires diverse perspectives – even from people who might think Star Trek is better than Star Wars (gasp!). When I look at women-led tech companies today, I see that potential being realized. I see leaders who understand both the technical and human aspects of technology, who are building companies that are profitable and actively working to make the tech industry more inclusive.
Speaking of Star Wars, let’s remember that while everyone was obsessing over Luke and Han’s heroics, Princess Leia was the one running the actual Rebellion. She was a brilliant strategist and fearless leader who could rock those side buns while saving the galaxy.
It turns out she was showing us the future of tech: women leading from the front, building teams, ignoring the naysayers, and getting things done – even if some people can only focus on what we’re wearing. So here’s to the Leias of tech – leading companies, closing deals, and changing the industry, with or without a hoodie. The Force is strong with us, and we’re just getting started.
May the funding be with you. ????
