Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses

212 CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES

tions to women entrepreneurs. Or they might see the deals, but under-

estimate their value because they have so little experience evaluating

women entrepreneurs.

In this chapter, we address the hurdles women entrepreneurs with

high-growth ventures must overcome to raise venture capital. We focus

on the challenges of making the initial connections (network gaps) and

of clinching a deal (overcoming male models of success). However,

before we get into the details of those network disconnects and the

model misfits, we offer some basic background information on the

venture capital industry itself.

A Brief History of Venture Capital

in the United States

Tracing the Roots of the Industry

American ...