Women Entrepreneur – How it works !

Devenir Entrepreneure, Is female entrepreneurship at a standstill?

According to a study by Infogreffe relayed by les Echos, the number of businesses created by women has stagnated for several years..

However, initiatives have multiplied to help women become entrepreneurs

One in three entrepreneurs is a woman

In 2021, 32.5% of French businesses were founded by women. The percentage of women founders, measured from registrations in the Trade and Companies Register (artisans are not taken into account) is almost constant.

The sectors of activity preferred by women entrepreneurs are the clothing industry and textile manufacturing: more than three quarters of the creations by the female public. Beauty and interpersonal services follow behind.

Of course, these sectors are innovating and we sometimes find software and technology, but projects in the industrial sectors, robotics or computer professions are still very “male”.

With our events, we see about the same ratio: up to 25% of the people who participate in Startup Golf Challenge are women. They come to play on the green to pitch with less pressure on their shoulders, or simply attend the lunch meetings with private investors, funds, groups of entrepreneurs-investors, but also other female entrepreneurs

This status quo can be surprising when initiatives have multiplied with :

• Incentives, loans and grants for business creation,
• The rise in power of clubs and associations of mutual aid reserved for women (ex: Femmes Des Territoires, etc.)
• The multiplication on the market of private coaching / mentoring offers dedicated to women entrepreneurship.

Remarkable initiatives for women’s investment

So how do we make things happen? First, by sharing information. It doesn’t always circulate enough. However, for several years, partners have been doing a great job of evangelizing and sharing information to start or accelerate a startup led by a woman.

Let’s start by mentioning Femme Business Angels, the only female network of Business Angels in France and the first female network in Europe. 

Femme Business Angels, a key wetwork

The organization brings together more than 150 female private equity investors and has supported nearly 200 start-ups for a total amount raised of 12 million euros.

Members of the association are members of the MY PITCH IS GOOD Jury.

Florence Richardson (Présidente de Femmes Business Angels) ,  Ghislaine Torres, representing FBA in PACA,  and Dominique Mucchielli for Marseille, all three attending the START-UP GOLF CHALLENGE editions in Paris, Grenoble and Marseille.

Femmes Business Angels – Partenaire du START-UP GOLF CHALLENGE et de MY PITCH IS GOOD

GOWeeZ

The GOWEEZ agency, help entrepreneurs in their project.

GOWEEZ has launched MY PITCH IS GOOD to help you connect with its contacts and network of investors. GOWEEZ brings you advice in innovation management, Go-to-market strategy.

The development of applications, POC and MVP, until the realization of your documents within the framework of your fundraising are part of its actions. Without forgetting the possibility of participating in the editions of the START-UP GOLF CHALLENGE to accelerate opportunities by networking in an unusual and favourable environment, the golf 😉

WinEquity, an investment fund that thinks about women entrepreneurs

Investors side, what’s up ?

Would the presence of a woman on the Executive Committee or among the founders be a guarantee of success?

We think so!

Having accompanied and observed many structures, I am myself convinced of the positive contribution of women at the head of companies. It is always difficult to generalize, but I think that women have a different relationship to risk. Their vision of things and events can complement or balance that of men.

For example, women detect different signals and they can propose other conclusions when intuition plays an important role.

Their way of presenting things will be different and in case of a crisis, I notice that they do better, for reasons that are not always easy to identify or explain. In short, the presence of a woman at the head of a company is an opportunity.

Cécile Bassot, is the co-founder of the investment fund WinEquity. She is a member of Femmes Business Angels.

Indeed, to interest this fund and obtain an investment, the company’s board must include at least one woman. If she is the head of the project, it’s even better! WinEquity has placed the presence of women at the top of its investment thesis.

Fonds d’investissements WinEquity co-fondé par Cécile Bassot, membre du Jury MY PICTH IS GOOD

Cécile Bassot,

co-founder of the investor fund WinEquity, is also a member of the My pitch is good jury.

She is also a golf player, so she has a place in the Startup Golf Challenge 😉

Remember that it is not necessary to practice to participate.

Beginners are welcome to participate in each edition, Initiation or Competition.

Female entrepreneurship : is the startup environment more difficult for women?  ? 

Would the world of startups be more difficult for girls? To make an opinion, I would like to share the testimony of Candice François, co-founder of Igonogo.

This startup is launching a platform in the fall of 2022 that “dusts off market research” by allowing brands to directly interview potential customers to go beyond the appearances of a survey.

Igonogo’s idea is to facilitate the design of products or marketing campaigns by better taking into account the perception of buyers. Thanks to a platform and a mobile application available to its customers.

IGONOGO, start-up incubée au Village by CA, Une sélection MY PITCH IS GOOD – Grenoble

So, Candice has an academic background in psychology and cognitive science. She’s navigated the male-dominated tech and data scientist sector without much difficulty.

“Our team is quite male. It is difficult to reach the level of parity we would like… When we call for applications for internships or work-study positions, we receive 2 women’s CVs for every 10 men’s.”

According to Candice, the fact that she has always been around a lot of male friends since her school days has probably helped her to assert herself, which is not always easy for a woman in a male environment.

Is there a risk of some kind of “discrimination” because she is a woman? No.

“We are hosted in an incubator in Grenoble, Le Village by CA. It’s rather masculine. But there or elsewhere, being a woman has never posed a problem for me. In fact, at the moment, it’s the opposite. Because at the moment, there are many schemes that give a boost to women in particular, with more advantageous loans or guarantees.

“I would rather say that to be an entrepreneur, you need above all a lot of self-confidence. And there, whether you are a man or a woman, what counts is your temperament. Even if women are still not very present, I think that things are changing. Let’s talk about it again in ten years”.

How to unlock the power of entrepreneurship for women? 

Our partner WILLA also plays its role in the community. Indeed, since 2005, their mission is to democratize entrepreneurship for women by pushing their inclusion in the Tech sectors.

Willa has become a reference in female entrepreneurship.

Partenaire du START-UP GOLF CHALLENGE. Entrepreneuriat au féminin