Empowering women with confidence, skills, and pitching to investors
Personal barriers
The issue
Our research highlighted the confidence gap and a perceived lack of skills and resilience as significant barriers for female entrepreneurs, with 22% of respondents citing this as a challenge.
What our panel said
Pitching to investors requires good presentation skills and confidence, and our leadership panel acknowledged that women may face additional obstacles in this area.
"One key observation from watching men fundraise in the male-dominated VC world is that they often project a bullish confidence, while women tend to present with more balance. Unfortunately, in this environment, that balanced approach can be misinterpreted as doubt, leading investors to perceive a lack of belief in the product. The result? They hesitate to back you."
– Rebecca Rosmini
“Women can have a tendency to approach a pitch with an attitude of ‘like me, love my product’. In reality neither of those matter: you just need to demonstrate growth potential."
– Jenni Emery
“Training programmes to help women pitch for finance, early education in schools, colleges and universities to empower women, etc - I think that it needs to start from the school level and it needs to be in our culture and in the ways that we are raising our children."
– Kim Simmonds
“More training for women in entrepreneurship is important, and it’s important to identify that as a route going forward because more young people are wanting to be their own bosses."
– Tamara Gillan
Action needed
To tackle this issue, we can encourage one-to-one support, mentorship programmes and networking events that help female entrepreneurs build their confidence and improve their pitching skills. 21% of our survey respondents recognised the importance of training programmes to help women effectively pitch for finance.
Such programmes can cover areas such as effective pitching techniques, understanding the fundraising process, and enhancing negotiation skills. By equipping female founders with the necessary tools and expertise, we can empower them to successfully secure investment for their ventures. Other initiatives such as public speaking workshops and investor readiness programmes can also play a crucial role in encouraging women to overcome self-doubt and present their business ideas confidently.
19% of survey respondents identified early education in schools, colleges and universities as an initiative that could help empower women. There appears to be a genuine need for this, with 33% less females taking business studies at A level, and 77% less females taking economics14. By starting at the school level, we can instil a sense of confidence and provide young women with the necessary skills to pursue ambitions. By providing early exposure to entrepreneurship and business concepts, we can foster a new generation of female founders who are equipped with the necessary tools to succeed.
Additionally, businesses can also empower women by appointing them as business unit leaders, giving them responsibility for their own profit and loss.
Universities have the unique opportunity to nurture and support female entrepreneurs through dedicated accelerators and spin-outs. These programmes provide a more intensive and hands-on approach to entrepreneurship education, offering practical experience and resources to turn innovative ideas into viable businesses.
14 GCE A Level & GCE AS Level Results Summer 2021, Joint Council for Qualifications, p.2