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The face of European tech startups is . . . MALE
4Sep2007 Filed under: Startups, Web 2.0 Author: Esme VosIt’s 2007 and by now, things should have changed, especially in this part of the world - “progressive” Europe that likes to look down on those backward Americans and unwashed Third Worlders with weird ideologies. But check out this video and the Financial Times stories about Seedcamp. Who do you see? Men, men and more men.
Where are the women? Sitting at home knitting cute little sweaters, baking cakes, filing their nails?
This is a serious question because according to the Chamber of Commerce here in Amsterdam women have been starting a large number of new enterprises, including in technology. Indeed, across the European Union, women have started a lot of new businesses but you wouldn’t find them in the super-macho world of VC backed technology companies.
I dumped on Seedcamp a few days ago as being a total joke and watching that room full of male geeks only reinforces my argument.
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9 Responses to “The face of European tech startups is . . . MALE”
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This is the personal blog of Esme Vos, founder of Muniwireless.com and Mapplr. It's about technology, travel, style, fashion, sports, current events and design.
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dragos
September 4th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Yeah, they might be knitting or just complaining on blogs that arguably one of the most important initiative for creating a good entrepreneurial context in Europe is just a joke.
If that…
Reshma
September 5th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Hey, as many associated with Seedcamp will tell you, I (being a woman) complain non-stop about the dearth of women entrepreneurs, women in engineering, women in VC, and women in Banking. But if you count Seedcamp itself as a start-up (which it is)… well, here I am heading it up. So, maybe you can give your fellow woman a break :-).
Esme Vos
September 5th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Hey Dragos, if Seedcamp is the most important inititative for creating a good entrepreneurial environment in Europe, we’ re really screwed. Really. I’m taking up knitting. Seedcamp, I repeat, is a media stunt.
By the way, entrepreneurs DO blog, they just don’t attend Seedcamp. Check out Marc Andreessen’s blog at: blog.pmarca.com.
Esme Vos
September 5th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Reshma,
Can you answer one question for me? Why is it that NONE of the startups that Seedcamp chose is headed by a woman? I guess, more important, is how did Seedcamp go about reaching out to startups? Via the same old boys network again? I think you need to talk to Mary Hodder, founder of Dabble, about how to reach out to women entrepreneurs.
dragos
September 5th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Esme - you got it wrong on many aspects.
It gotta start somewhere - seedcamp is not perfect, I admit it, but Saul, Reshma and the rest are fully committed to correct errors on the fly. What is most important though, those guys made things happen - the positive spirit and the right context are there and those are the most important things for an entrepreneur in a like-minded community, as you might know.
And yes, entrepreneurs do blog, I have been blogging since February 2004, does that make me a better dude than Marc who picked up blogging a few months ago? Don’t think so.
Finally, at Seedcamp there ARE projects led or having women involved. It might be that there is a big disconnect between the info shown on the blogs or media and what’s going on but the media relations is something that will probably be improved considerably in time, me thinks.
Reshma
September 5th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Indeed. There are 4 teams at Seedcamp that have women either as CEO or part of the senior team that has been here at SC the whole week. Let’s let that issue rest for now. Esme - I surely will contact Mary Hodder. Can you make an introduction for me? This is definitely an important issue for me to improve next year!
Mary Harrington
September 6th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Hi, I’m one of the Seedcamp finalists, a co-founder on The School of Everything, and I’m NOT male! Though you’re right that women in the tech industry are a minority, I was actually surprised by how many of the finalists and mentors are female - and from my perspective it’s been really inspiring to meet other women entrepreneurs among the finalists, alongside female MDs, lawyers, VCs, senior strategists and CEOs.
If anything puts women off this industry it’s the relentlessness with which we’re told that it’s so male. Wouldn’t you be serving the cause of equal opportunities in the field a bit better if you took the time to find and profile a few female entrepreneurs, rather than overlooking us in the rush to snipe at a percieved sexism?
Esme Vos
September 6th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Mary,
Actually, were it not for my sniping, the organizers of Seedcamp would not have noticed that there was a problem with the gender imbalance. Nor would they have been compelled to do something about it. Based on the comments to this article and the emails sent to me, they say they will try harder next time, which is great. By the way, my best friend, also named Mary (Hodder), is the founder of http://www.dabble.com, a video search engine. You should definitely contact her too.
Mary Harrington
September 6th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I’m not sure the ‘problem’ is with Seedcamp as such so much as with the culture as a whole. But in addressing that we’ve got to start somewhere - so off the back of this week I hope to use the Seedcamp network to start connecting female entrepreneurs with a view to changing this culture. I’d be grateful for any support and contacts you can add to this - and hope you will join us !