Rege says she has become so fed up with such comments she lets her male advisors screen potential investors. One VC told me he would never invest in a woman CEO who was of child-bearing years. It wasn't until 1975 that corporations started to hire women, and it was only in the 1980s that that translated to significant numbers,'' says Wyant. Only now are these seasoned businesswomen starting their own companies in great numbers. And many are still climbing the learning curve, as they figure out how to write business plans and present themselves to investors.
Women can hobble themselves a bit, too.
They aren't always comfortable ceding control to investors or taking other people's money, whether it be in the form of debt or equity. Women really need to understand leverage better,'' says Teresa Cavanagh, director of Women Entrepreneurs' Connection, an investment program targeting women that's run by FleetBoston Financial. But when it comes to venture funds, there are less subtle issues at play. That' s no fault of theirs. We men don't get it,'' he concedes.