According to new research from the Boston Consulting Group, closing the gender funding pay gap for entrepreneurs could pay off for the economy.
The study says startups founded or co-founded by women generated 10 percent higher cumulative revenue over a five-year period compared with startups founded by men. But in 2018, woman-founded companies averaged $935,000 in investment — less than half the average for male-led companies in 2018, $2.1 million invested.
If female entrepreneurs received the same funding and support as their male counterparts, the Boston Consulting Group report said, global GDP could rise by 3 percent to 6 percent — an addition of $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion to the global economy.
Kansas City's 41 Action News talked with Pure Pitch Rally alumna Lauren Lawrence of Stenovate to get her take on the state of investing in women-led companies.
"I think now is a really exciting time for women and they are stepping forward, and I think men are even starting to really recognize the value of what happens when you put both genders into a workspace, because it brings out different sides and makes for more cohesive work groups," Lawrence said.
Lawrence pitched the idea at the 2018 Pure Pitch Rally in Kansas City and landed her first investor, the Fenaroli Minera Investment Fund led by Karen Fenaroli, CEO of Fenaroli and Associates.
Read the full story by Emma James here