For the new-girl network, building that infrastructure may be the ultimate goal. "There's this feeling that all of us are working for a greater good for all the rest of us," says Preston. "And maybe subconsciously we all work harder because we perceive that a failure by one suggests a failure for all."
D.M. Osborne is a senior writer at Inc.
A Fair Shot
The calendars of Web CEOs bristle with Xs designating industry conferences -- Industry Outlook, Demo, NDA, and the like -- where the company leaders can strut their stuff before throngs of well-heeled investors. Now female CEOs have their own dates to reserve: a series of venture fairs collectively called Springboard 2000 that spotlight nascent women-run companies in the life-sciences and technology sectors.
Since the first Springboard 2000 event, in January, investors have pumped $175 million into 20 of 26 presenting companies. At the forum, founders pitched to an audience of angels and venture capitalists packed into Oracle's gleaming conference center in Redwood City, Calif. "Bringing 400 people into the room built this kind of frenzy," says Krishna Subramanian, CEO of Kovair Inc., a maker of business-to-business strategic-relationship-management software and the day's first presenter. "It cracked us into the network. Within two weeks we had multiple investment offers from multiple VCs."
"It's a rare event where you can get in front of that kind of audience and have them actually hear you," agrees Lisa Henderson, CEO of LevelEdge.com, an online matchmaker for student athletes and college athletics recruiters. "It really kick-started the company."
The Springboard 2000 fairs grew out of conversations that took place last year among Catherine Muther, founder of the Women's Technology Cluster; incubator guru Jim Robbins; and Kay Koplovitz, founder of cable's USA Networks and the newly anointed chair of the National Women's Business Council. Koplovitz wanted to sponsor a big, attention-getting conference for female entrepreneurs, but Robbins suggested something more results-oriented: a vehicle for channeling money to the most promising women-led businesses. Working with Forum for Women Entrepreneurs' Denise Brosseau, the threesome signed up such sponsors as Oracle and spread the word to everyone on their contact lists. Ads placed in business publications and on the Web drummed up additional interest.
A pool of 350 women-led businesses applied for the chance to make their pitch, and a screening committee of 35 equity investors winnowed the list to 26. "We were looking at the same exact criteria that an angel or a VC would look at," says Brosseau. But selection was just the beginning. Pitch coaches groomed and grilled the entrepreneurs for their 10 to 17 minutes in the spotlight. Brosseau, Robbins, and other veterans also spent long hours preparing the presenters. In all, 150 professionals pitched in to help entrepreneurs and event organizers alike. And "nobody got paid," says Brosseau.
Those efforts showed, according to attendees impressed by the caliber of the pitches. "In some ways, it seems a little forced. These people don't need a crutch," says Stuart Davidson, a managing director at Labrador Ventures, which ended up investing in LevelEdge.com. "But far and away the majority of the companies that we see are men's. So there is a place for a forum for companies run by women."
Springboard 2000 staged its second venture fair in Dulles, Va., in July, and there are plans for a Boston edition in November and a New York one in March 2001. But the organizers hope the demand will soon evaporate. "We're trying to put ourselves out of business in a few years," says Brosseau. "This is an awakening process, to help women get into all the other conferences. We have no desire to institutionalize it."
For Women Mostly
Venture funds
Axxon Capital
617-722-0980
www.axxoncapital.com
Fund Isabella
513-721-7110
www.fundisabella.com
Inroads Capital Partners
847-864-2000
www.inroadscapital.com
Women's Growth Capital Fund
202-342-1431
www.wgcf.com
Viridian Capital
415-391-8950
www.viridiancapital.com
Angel groups
Renaissance Ventures
617-536-0700
www.cweboston.org
Seraph Capital Forum
annak@woodscreek.com
www.seraphcapital.com
WomenAngels.net
202-342-1627
www.womenangels.net
Networking and support organizations
Center for Women and Enterprise
617-536-0700
www.cweboston.org
Forum for Women Entrepreneurs
650-357-0444
www.fwe.org
Financial Women's Association
of New York
212-533-2141
www.fwa.org
U.S. Small Business Administration
Office of Women's Business Ownership
202-205-6673
www.sba.gov/womeninbusiness
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