Yes, I am a ‘female’ entrepreneur!

I frequently give lectures at universities. After one of the more recent ones the host Professor posted on LinkedIn to thank me for my contributions to the topics of ‘female entrepreneurship, data-driven decision making, and novel paradigms in marketing.’ 

A reader then reached out and asked why he had written ‘female’ in front of ‘entrepreneurship’. The Professor involved quickly contacted me asking if the post was ok, to assure himself that I was not offended, and to let me know he had already changed the post to just ‘entrepreneurship’ as a result of the comment. I unequivocally responded that I had absolutely no issue with the way it was written before: I am a woman in business, which makes me a female entrepreneur, however this instant got me thinking.

‘Entrepreneurship’ is a term that sufficiently describes what I do, but adding the ‘female’ in front does not diminish the value of what I do. I find it empowering. I always envision a woman planning to found her own business googling ‘entrepreneurship' and only finding a list of men, versus googling ‘female entrepreneurship’ and seeing other women who have successfully travelled the path she wants to take. Is one group more worthy or valid than the other? Absolutely not! But this is the reality of the current situation: there are significantly more male entrepreneurs than female. 

That ratio will only even out if women feel emboldened enough to decide to found their own business. If establishing a term like ‘female entrepreneurship’ will help them find people they identify with more easily, then I think there is only power and value in establishing this term — at least until we have reached a point where there are as many women as men entrepreneurs and the clarification becomes unnecessary.

Roughly 20% of businesses do not survive their first year, and about half do not make it past 5 years (source: Forbes). Pulse is now in its 7th year. This has been achieved by my (male) business partner and I taking some tough decisions, working long hours, sitting in difficult meetings, adapting at the 11th hour to an evolving situation and, above all, a determination to do the very best for our company and employees. The terms ‘male’ and ‘female’ before ‘entrepreneur’ do not alter the shared levels of energy, determination, and passion we give to our business.

I gave a guest lecture at a university a few weeks ago. And even though the post doesn’t say it any more, it was about female entrepreneurship, data-driven decision making, and novel paradigms in marketing.