The dotcom crash hit many businesses hard, but have women
entrepreneurs suffered more than their male counterparts? Syl Tang
thinks so. "People who once believed in my company now suggest
I get a 'girlie job,' such as PR," says Tang, 28, CEO
of HipGuide,
a multimedia city guide in New York City.
"Women entrepreneurs, despite what financiers may say, are
still considered an investment risk," Tang contends. Because
of this unspoken sentiment, she believes, women-owned businesses
are among the first affected by an economic crunch and the last to
get the financing or lines of credit they need.
But not everyone thinks gender plays a part in the challenges
women-owned tech businesses have faced. Though several of the
entrepreneurs Elizabeth Carlassare interviewed for her book
Dotcom Divas: E-Business Insights From the
Visionary Women Founders of 20 Net Ventures(McGraw-Hill)
have shut down since the book came out last year, Carlassare views
their difficulties as gender-neutral. "Men and women alike are
struggling to keep their businesses afloat or are sitting on the
sidelines waiting for economic conditions to improve," she
says.
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"I don't think women have suffered any more than male
entrepreneurs. It was an equal-opportunity meltdown," says Kim
Polese, 39, chairman, chief strategy officer and co-founder of
Marimba Inc.,
an enterprise software company in Mountain View, California.
"Looking at the silver lining, as a result of the Internet
explosion, many women became first-time entrepreneurs."
Regardless of whether their businesses succeeded, Polese says, they
gained valuable experience that will serve them well should they
choose to start other businesses.
Where Do We Go From Here?
With the markets looking so grim, where will the next wave of
female tech and dotcom entrepreneurs come from? Polese believes
efforts must be made to get more girls to pursue science and math.
"Girls and women are missing out on a great career opportunity
[by avoiding these subjects]. As a society, we must change this
situation by getting girls to feel comfortable with science and
math at an early age."
Donna Sokolsky, 32, co-founder of Sparkpr, a public
relations agency focusing on emerging technologies and the venture
capital community, points to the increasing number of role models
out there. "During the dotcom boom, women became an invaluable
part of the technology work force and remain so today," says
the San Francisco entrepreneur.
Tang recently spoke to 200 high school girls in New York City.
"It was amazing to see how many of them are fascinated
by—and, more important, literate in—technology,"
she says. "The next generation of women tech leaders [is in]
our high schools today—especially the urban
schools."
The corporate world is also a possible source for future tech
leaders, believes Varsha Rao, co-founder of now-defunct online
beauty products store Eve.com. "We can develop more women tech
entrepreneurs by encouraging more women to join the 'large
training ground' companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and
Cisco," says the 31-year-old, adding that experience at these
companies can be leveraged when starting one's own
business.
Carlassare thinks the next generation of women tech
entrepreneurs will emerge from many places. "Some will be
serial entrepreneurs ready to start their next business. Others
will ditch corporate careers once they hit on a great idea and the
itch to start their own company becomes too strong. They'll all
benefit from the trails blazed by the women entrepreneurs who
started tech companies before them."
Aliza Pilar Sherman is an Internet pioneer, e-entrepreneur,
speaker and author of the book PowerTools for Women in
Business: 10 Ways to Succeed in Life and Work (Entrepreneur
Press).