Crowdfunding For Women Entrepreneurs Can Help Overcome Obstacles

By Lelia Hall


As the investors put it, the numbers in the Wall Street Journal Report do not lie. The trend in this report has shown that women are able to outperform their male counterparts whenever running the crowdfunding campaigns in which the target is to raise capital meant for their ventures. Success in crowdfunding for women is more natural than many people may think. It comes from their natural traits such as being more communicative and expressive. This means that they are in a better position to tell their story in a way that is able to catch the emotional core of the backers and other contributors.

The Wall Street Journal statistics are clearly what any upcoming and prospective female entrepreneur will not want to look at. Only 17% the board seats belong to women in the Fortune 500 companies. Of all the venture-backed firms, only 8% of CEOs are females and 30% of companies are owned by women.

As a powerful source of seed capital and a good alternative for business startups, this method of funding enables the entrepreneur to tap into a large number of individuals of different backgrounds (crowd), each investing a small amount through a virtual network or a social network. Millions or businesses are funded each year and billions of funds are raised through this method.

Although the major sites for online crowdfunding such as RocketHub, Indiegogo, and Kickstarter are broad-based, there are a few ones that target women as the niches. A good example is the Plum Alley that specializes in rewarding the contributors with good or services currently or in the future. This site is made of a group of ladies who are supporting their fellow ladies to succeed.

There are two major alternatives in achieving this, a social network or a virtual network. Some sites have come up to dominate the virtual network area. These are the Indiegogo, Kickstarter, and the RocketHub. In these sites, all entrepreneurs are given equal opportunities regardless of gender. The good news for the ladies is that there are sites that target women as the niche. Plum Alley, for instance, is run by women for women.

This comes with many advantages. The ladies are in the position to share ideas and get mentored in addition to getting the much-needed capital for startups or business growth. They pay experts from across different industries to educate, motivate, and act as a role model for the upcoming female entrepreneurs.

On average, males are more likely to excel in business bitching than females. The females are more conservative and may not make ridiculous projections or exhibit bravado as their male colleagues, and thus needs an alternative playing field.

It is important that as a woman, you are quick to answer as opportunities knock. This is a funding method in which you can get the much-needed capital in the most transparent way. It also gives you the opportunity to use your family, friends, colleagues, and vendors as a sales force; the most powerful tool available today.




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