Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses

220 CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES

Many of the principals in today’s venture capital firms earned their

stripes as successful entrepreneurs or senior managers with deep indus-

try experience before becoming venture capitalists. They built substan-

tial personal fortunes and established credible records as decision

makers before joining a venture partnership. Although some firms hire

young MBAs as associates and then train and promote them, the over-

whelming majority of venture capitalists are experienced business

leaders whose reputations and networks bring substantial benefits to

the partnership.

This traditional, experience-based career path has meant that the

venture capital ranks were largely closed to women during the ...