Report Reveals 0% of Women-Led Startups Get Funding

WAIT FOR IT ... April Fools DAY! - It's really a whopping 7%; Women Who Tech Invites Tech Entrepreneurs to Join First-Ever Women Startup Challenge to Raise Capital, Compete for Cash and Prizes

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Women Who Tech

Apr 01, 2015, 08:55 ET

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Even on April Fools Day, it's no laughing matter how few women can attract funding for their tech startups.

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Women-led tech startups attract only 7 percent of investor financing. That's not just an outrage, it's also self-defeating for investors. The rise of women-led ventures have been shown to deliver a 35 percent higher return and 12 percent higher revenue than male-run startups, according to a new infographic that highlights the latest data about women in startups at http://www.womenwhotech.com/startupinfographic.

Women Who Tech, an advocacy organization that works to address the gaping gender inequality in the tech industry, is sponsoring the first-ever Women Startup Challenge. The Challenge, mounted in partnership with Craig Newmark of craigslist and craigconnects, will give women entrepreneurs an opportunity to raise money for their startups via a crowdfunding competition and compete for cash prizes to be awarded by a panel of judges comprised of investors and tech experts.

"Unlike a traditional startup pitch competition, where the best startup wins the entire pot of money, our goal is to have every participating women-led startup walk away with money for their venture," said Allyson Kapin, Women Who Tech's Founder and Chief Executive.

Registration (http://www.womenwhotech.com/challenge) begins this week and the month-long challenge will kick off on April 29, the day Women Who Tech holds its annual TeleSummit with two dozen of the biggest movers and shakers from the tech and startup world leading online panels ranging from funding startups to pitfalls to avoid. (http://womenwhotech.com/registration)

Every Challenge participant will use the crowdfunding platform CrowdRise from April 29 to May 29. The judges will then invite the ten most promising ventures to deliver a live pitch directly to investors in Washington, DC at General Assembly in late June. Prizes will include up to $50,000 in cash, no strings attached, as well as startup services and consultations with 500 Startups, among other investors.

"Helping people build businesses should be about investing in women the same as men. That's only fair," said Craig Newmark, who sits on Women Who Tech's Advisory Board.

Lisa Stone, cofounder of BlogHer, acquired by SheKnows Media, and a judge in the competition and Advisory Board member, said, "Given that gender bias actually reduces competition for investments that are likely to perform better, investing in women entrepreneurs is a no-brainer if the idea is right. Your wins will have higher valuations, the data show, yet you'll have less competition."

For more information on entering the Challenge, including an online application form, visit http://www.womenwhotech.com/challenge. Registration for the Women Who Tech TeleSummit is available http://womenwhotech.com/registration.

Media Contact:
Naomi Seligman
310-617-4577
Email

SOURCE Women Who Tech