Why women make stronger (and better) entrepreneurs than men

There are some very key reasons why women make better entrepreneurs than men. Here's my take on 10 of them.

I've also got breaking good news about the emerging leading role that women are now playing in Australian business.

And two criticisms on what other are telling us about the gender debate in startups, and why those people are wrong.

Now if I follow my own advice below, let me self-pose the question "what makes you the authority on women in business"? 

Not much really, other than that I've worked with some of the best female minds in the disruptive innovation space (though not enough of them). 

I've also had a long career in innovation and social ventures (15) and have learned some things about men & women, both in their personal & private lives, and as entrepreneurs. And I've had 2 wives & have 3 daughters and an older sister, so have had a long & significant influence from the 'female brain'.

(I do however, lament the fact that we only have 1 female member on our management advisory board so far, and that our group of mentors for our startup accelerator, is horribly under-represented by women.)

From a male perspective, there are some things that women do, that men can't possibly understand (as a species) which make women better entrepreneurs. So what follows is a long list of generalities - for which I am likely to upset some people. (But I shan't let that stop me)

Women (generally-speaking): -

• listen more, and pay attention to the details of a conversation.
• can be less judgmental (most of the time), and have a willingness to listen to alternative viewpoints.
• are more consultative, & seek consensus of views
• are better at engaging team members in developing and defining culture of an organisation.
• are more sensitive to other people's needs, whether that be peers, colleagues, suppliers or customers.
• are less bombastic, and demonstrate less 'gung-ho' and bravado.
• are supportive & encouraging towards people who are making an effort

are more accepting of failure, and the concept of feedback in the learning cycle.

• have a greater sense of the long view.
• And are better at enduring pain than most men (millions of parents know what I'm talking about).

(image courtesy of Gracie - 5 months)

 Where they often struggle however, (as I've often heard it said by many other women), is that they frequently fail to:- 

• put their best foot forward
• imagine themselves succeeding
• take the 'bull by the horns'
• mentally present themselves as the most worthy candidate 
• stretch and strive to their very best potential. 
• go that 'extra mile' in the creation, strategy or ideation stages.
• And are not very good at asking for help.

Which is why we see a plethora of 'cupcake' and 'mumpreneur' businesses being created by women, rather than scalable, disruptive 'industry killers'.

But there is good news.

Women in Australian have now taken the lead in venture creation.

I had a conversation recently with the Australian Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson. He was speaking last week at a panel conversation on startups (and, surprisingly, he gets the distinction between small businesses & high-growth startups). Bruce (or 'Bill' as I affectionately called him) shared the fact that last year, Australian women started more than 51% of all small businesses. And yes, there is also a difference between an entrepreneur and a small business person.

Now that might at first sound not significant, but in fact it is. Firstly, I believe that this is the first time in recorded data that this has happened in Australia. Secondly, (please steel yourself for the "boring statistics" part) the population split of Australia for the General Adult Population in the 18-64 age range (as at 2014) was 5,968m women and 6.005m men,  and 11.973m in total.

So women make up less than 50% of the GAP (49.84%), but more than 51% of new business registrations. That's telling in a number of ways; firstly, it shows that women are finally demonstrating their capacity to "have a crack". And secondly, that terrible phrase "If you want to run with the dogs..." no longer applies.

So if women make better entrepreneurs, and they are now starting to exceed men in starting ventures, what is holding them back in the innovation space?

That is where the soft-hearted approach ends

Let's get to the facts

I'm going to give you my perspective about where gender is irrelevant in the venture creation space.

I've become sickened by the influx of ideology - coming through the media - from people who've never built a venture themselves, but are themselves happy to tell us (as people who have) what we should do and think. So I'm going to be controversial here and tell you what I think isn't relevant.

There are 2 debates happening concurrently in Australia (and probably around the world) and they are 'furphies' (a polite Australian term for 'bogus') - the issues of "Gender Equality" and "STEM". These are 'barrows' being pushed by people (often the same groups) with agendas of the political , or 'vested interest' kind, and neither carries much weight, in my opinion.

Let's dissect them one at a time and then get to real heart of the problem.

The Gender Equality debate

It might be a good idea in wading in to this debate, to table what I believe. As a founder,investor, mentor, & advisor  I believe in 'gender equal', but I abhor the phrase 'gender equality'. The discussion about quotas have credence at a senior management or board level in big corporations, or in politics;  it has no parlance in our world. 

Because in 'StartupLand', gender is irrelevant to founder success.  My view is simple here- I invest in people, through every part of the startup value chain, and if you haven't got what it takes... well, "this is not UNICEF".

I invest my money in the best founders, irrespective of gender. If I think a founder (or founder group) has the goods, I don't care whether they are male, female, LGBTI, or Martian - I'm in.  And I support founders based on their individual needs, not on their gender.

That said, if I'm talking to a founder, and they aren't both congruent with, and passionate about the problem, then that's a big red flag for me, right there.

For instance, if you've got a subscription business model (I'm using this as an example) that sells say, female sanitary products, and you aren't a women, or nappies, and you aren't a primary carer parent, them, as the sharks say in 'Shark Tank', "for that reason alone, I'm out".

As any other good investor will tell you, we look for "passion, purpose and personal experience", rather than opportunism.

Whilst I'm on the soap-box, lets also have a look at another 'debate' that also brings into play the question of gender in startups.

The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Debate.

The premise being pushed here is that we are "missing out" as a nation because we aren't teaching the STEM subjects to everyone in university (or high school), and we now have a lack of technical capacity to create entrepreneurial projects as a result. Wrong.

(And how often is the phrase "teaching girls to code" the news headline?)

 Why? Because this is the same excuses used by people with "their snout in the trough" used to influence government policy on every other labour debate we've had in the country over the last 50 years. From tradespeople (think TAFE), apprentices, doctors & nurses, teachers, police, and hell, even construction workers.

This is as stupid as the debate that went on 40+ years ago about why women were better suited to roles such as secretaries and nurses (once the purvey of men-only) and why they should stay home and have babies.

Teaching STEM to people who are creative with their hands (i.e. trades services people) would be as about effective as putting a saddle on a shetland pony and entering it in the Melbourne Cup. Sure, it would be in the race, but we can all guess the outcome of that dog-and-pony-show.

This debate has been predicated on the basis that our next generation needs to learn how to 'do' something, such as coding, in order to be successful entrepreneurs. And we do do, but it's not the thing that those pushing the debate think. 

Entrepreneurs 'do' risk. We take risks, we struggle, strive and stretch to test our offering on the whetstone of the marketplace, to create real value, to reach our audiences, and to design products that are valued. And we usually hire people to help us with that.

Entrepreneurs, (both men & women) are pretty good at solving problems - it's often why we become entrepreneurs in the first place. You learn to be a successful entrepreneur, by being an entrepreneur who is trying to succeed.

Which has nothing to do with out ability to code, whether learned at school or university. And the largest single category of successful billionaires (entrepreneurs?) don't actually have degrees at all.

Let's look at it practically; if you are attracted to the profession of medicine, that's what you are going to study - and no short term cash (or otherwise) incentive is going to switch you over to studying accounting (or some other discipline which doesn't interest you). And the same is true of entrepreneurs, both men & women.

What we really should be talking about is the need to have is an education system that encourages people to understand all sides of the equation of their careers, not just someones short term view.

Far better that also we come up with a plan to retain and engage those overseas students whom we spend so much money attracting, and so much time training. Instead, we happily wave them goodbye as they return home with their new found skills? Who thought up that stupid idea?

Or perhaps we could institute a real-world national training program predicated against inclination, interest and desire? By all means, upskill & train our kids (I've got 4 of my own), but for Heaven's sake, can we stop pushing barrows, and get on with solving the real problem?

Simply put, these are not factors that holds back women (or men) from becoming successful entrepreneurs. (Ok, enough of the soap-box).

So if not these, what are the real challenges?

I'm still working on what it is, but its in fact the same problem that stops men from equally succeeding, but for completely different reasons. I'm coming to the conclusion that it's around inspiration and mentorship (which are both forms of 'guidance').

It's not that women don't succeed as entrepreneurs, it's that not enough start in the high growth sectors from which you can get the big successes. Which means we have less female role-models, mentors and investors willing to re-invest their time, expertise and capital to support the following crop (of men & women).

So the challenge is in encouraging women to try as hard (whether by male or female role-models) and think as big as the men who are succeeding in the innovation sectors.

Men on the other hand, naturally seek out those role models and sources of guidance; it's a trait that has often been ingrained into them from when they were boys. Their challenge is in paying attention to what a mentor tells them about the path ahead, and heeding the signposts.

So in the end, for both sexes, success still all comes down to guidance in the end.

And if you know an aspiring female entrepreneur who needs a (gentle) shove in the right direction, arrange a cup of coffee, and ask her about her "big bold vision"; she might just surprise you.

Over to you. What do you think?

If you like this article about "Why women make stronger (and better) entrepreneurs than men", and you got value (or a chuckle) from it,  please 1/ share it, 2/ follow-me for more insight, and 3/ you can check out some of other my other posts. If you've got a burning question, arrange a conversation with me, ideally over coffee.

• Coffee is Currency - how to be careful and not get burned
• Isn't it your time to shine, right now?
• Where is the right place to raise money for my startup?
• HELP! Someone just stole my startup idea
• How to raise $5million for your startup (and why you shouldn't)
• How To Go Viral on Linked In, without being an 'INfluencer'

To your success, Daniel.

About Daniel

Also traveling under the alias of 'That Startup Guy' , I am a co-founder of StartUp Foundation (The Startup Accelerator for Experienced Professionals). My goal is to help you through the steps, and past the challenges and pitfalls, to turn that 'Great Idea' into a successful venture.

At the same time, I'll share with you my own journey, from which you might just draw valuable lessons of your own. I spent 20 years in corporate life before catching the startup bug. (My first venture as an 'intrapreneur' still generates over $10 million in per year). I've since designed, built & launched 14 startups across e-commerce, technology, hospitality, social networking, logistics, financial services and the not-for-profit sectors.

If you've got an experience about startup success (or failure), why not share it?  My other posts can be found here on LinkedIn.