My colleague, Denise Brosseau, tackles this question in a recent Inc. post. And she should know. Denise is a co-founder of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and co-founder of the Springboard Venture Forums that have helped women raise over $5 billion for their businesses.
Denise concludes that what keeps many women entrepreneurs from securing the capital they need to create big companies comes down to one thing: Vision. She offers great tips for how to crank up the vision so you can secure the investment capital and support you need. Denise’s advises that you ask yourself questions like:
• What if I had 10 times the amount of money I am asking for, what would I do with it?’
• If we could really dream big about changing this industry/niche, what would we do?
• What’s the “What If?” future we’d like to bring about?
Read more at http://www.inc.com/denise-brosseau/springboard-where-are-all-the-women-entrepreneurs.html
This squares with a recent article in Venture Beat by Mauria Finley, a successful entrepreneur and founder of Citrus Lane. She advises entrepreneurs to focus on nailing the VC Pitch. To do this, she recommends starting with a big vision, then giving details on the plan to make it happen. And she warns not to tell your story with metrics. VCs are focused on home runs. Lead with the big vision, and use metrics to support your story.
Mauria’s advice: “When women entrepreneurs ask me how to nail the VC pitching process, the most consistent advice I give is to “think big.” It might not come easily, and it might be outside of your comfort zone, but it’s the only way to get VCs to bet on your business.”
Kate Purmal 