The country needs more female founders - everyone agrees on that. There are no exact figures, but it can be assumed that women are at least involved in the founding of only around 20% of startups in Germany. Another problem is that investments tend to go to startups with male founders. How can we change that? Heidrun Twesten and Marlis Jahnke asked themselves this question and packed their answers into a book under the title "Das Gründerinnen-Handbuch". It has been published by the specialist book publisher Springer and is commercially available.
5 tips for aspiring female founders
During their research, the authors spoke with many female founders and experts from the startup scene. They have summarized their best tips for us here:
Simply DO IT! The tip came from ALL interview partners - and exactly matches the assessment of investors that there are many good ideas, but the difference lies in "getting them off the ground".
Be cheeky, bold and fearless! Women often behave more reservedly than men and are therefore mistakenly understood by them as less risk-taking and daring.
Don't be afraid of technology! It's not rocket science - and if it is, access it yourself and get a rock star CTO on the team.
"If you want money, ask for advice!" - a mega tip from Bettine Schmitz, Co-Founder of Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund: the hurdle of having a short thematic technical talk with a VC is much lower than being invited to pitch!
“Have the guts, start impact startups, we need a lot more of them!” - Anne Lamp, Co-Founder of traceless materials, is totally right!
Heidrun Twesten has been active in the startup ecosystem since 1996 and has already accompanied numerous startups to the stock exchange during the first new economy wave. As an executive advisor, mentor and business angel, she accompanies numerous national and international startups as well as accelerators.
Marlis Jahnke has been an entrepreneur, founder and textbook author since 1999. Today, she shares the knowledge of having experienced the life cycle of her startup from conception to exit with startups and companies as a mentor and advisory board member.
Together they run the podcast EQUALIZER, which also focuses on the topic of female founders.
