Communications of the ACM
Why the Next Steve Jobs Will Be a Woman
Credit: Johanna Goodman / Inc.
More women than ever before are cracking the ranks of the United States' top entrepreneurs, and that could mean that the next iconic tech entrepreneur will be a woman. When it comes to fast-growth entrepreneurship, the U.S. has done a great job of unlocking only about half of its human capital. Women own about 36% of U.S. businesses; however, women lead just 10% of the nation's top 500 companies. We're going to see a rising tide of successful female entrepreneurs, thanks to their leadership ability, wide-ranging experience, education, raw talent, and tendency to deliver better returns. It also means that more individuals — both women and men — will be investing in and supporting female entrepreneurs. That means more job creation, more innovation, and more economic growth.
Perhaps the most direct evidence that female fast-growth entrepreneurs have been consistently underrated, and won't be much longer, comes from the experience of current company builders. A growing body of research indicates that women, when given a fair shot, are better at high-growth entrepreneurship than men. In July, First Round Capital released some startling numbers. The seed-stage firm examined 300 of its investments across almost 600 companies, revealing that those that included at least one woman founder performed 63% better, as measured by increases in valuation, than those founded by all-male teams. Similarly, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation showed that women-led private technology companies have a 35% higher return on investment than male-led ones. When they get venture money, these women-led companies generate revenues that are 12% higher than those of comparable male-run tech companies. And a study by Illuminate Ventures demonstrated that women use capital more efficiently than men.
From Inc.
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