SeedBlink Blog

Women have made incredible strides in business and entrepreneurship in recent years, breaking barriers and shattering stereotypes. From tech startups to fashion empires, female leaders have repeatedly proven that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Today, we’ll look at the power of women in tech, highlighted through the perspectives shared by women entrepreneurs and investors from our community, and discuss ways to support and encourage more women to join the field.

Join us as we celebrate all the amazing women and their accomplishments!

Key takeaways

• Women bring unique strengths and qualities to the startup world, including risk aversion, prioritization of social impact, and different leadership styles such as collaboration and empathy.
• These strengths can lead to rational decision-making, a focus on long-term goals, a diverse workforce, and a stronger commitment to social responsibility.
• Leveraging women's unique strengths can help foster a strong company culture, leading to innovation, growth, and more diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies.

Women bring unique strengths and qualities as founders and startup investors. Studies have shown that women tend to be more risk-averse, which can result in more measured decision-making and a focus on long-term goals.

Women are also more likely to prioritize social impact, diversity, and inclusion, building companies with a more diverse workforce and a stronger commitment to social responsibility. Additionally, women often bring different leadership styles, such as collaboration, empathy, and effective communication, which can create a positive work environment and boost team morale.

These particularities can create a strong company culture essential for attracting and retaining top talent. Recognizing and leveraging women's skills in the startup world can drive innovation and growth while building more diverse, equitable, and inclusive companies.

How can we inspire more women to become startup founders?

Despite progress, women still face significant barriers and challenges in the startup world, such as:

• Gender bias
• Lack of access to funding and resources
• Limited representation in leadership positions

Additionally, women are often expected to balance their entrepreneurial dreams with family responsibilities, making it difficult to pursue their goals. Addressing these challenges will require a multifaceted approach, including changes in societal attitudes, government policies, and corporate practices.

Carmen Sebe, CEO of SeedBlink, thinks that:

"It is well-known that women, on average, are less vocal in business. Although we all compete in the same condition, based on value, we should consider financing in excess for women founders, encouraging more women to take risks and follow their dreams.”

Next, let’s see what the ladies from our community think about the topic!

“The great thing is that the startup ecosystem is filled with open-minded individuals who recognize the benefits of diversity and actively support it. As a result, I am confident that we will continue to see more and more women joining the startup ecosystem soon, driving sustainable and robust growth for the industry as a whole.”

Says Adina Murariu, Chief of Operations at easySales

“We must show success stories of other women succeeding in the startup ecosystem. This can help inspire and guide women on their path to entrepreneurship. Mentorship and active support are key ingredients for inspiring women founders. Initiatives like Bravva Angels, founded by Ilinca Paun, are the right example of supporting women founders or investors.

We have been part of the ecosystem for more than four years now and see more and more women entrepreneurs. This shows that we are going on the right path.”

Says Sonia-Denisa Fedorovici, Head of Legal & GP at ROCA X

“One of the most important things that can be done is to create an environment that supports and encourages women to pursue their entrepreneurial desire and empower more women to become successful startup founders or investors.

Providing access to experienced mentors and networking opportunities can also help women entrepreneurs build the skills and confidence they need to succeed and further encourage other women to pursue business ventures. Another thing would be more training and education because many women may lack the skills or knowledge to start or invest in a startup.”

Says Roxana Margan, Co-Founder & CEO at Oncochain

How can we inspire more women to become startup investors?

Inspiring more women to become startup investors is essential to creating a diverse and inclusive investment ecosystem. Here is what our investors think we can do to encourage and inspire women to invest in startups.

“There is not enough information on the topic of early-stage investment. I discovered it only recently. I believe that one of the ways to inspire women investors is through raising awareness around the startup ecosystem and angel investing."

Says Mila Petrova, Angel Investor/ Mentor/ ACC Coach

“To empower women in the entrepreneurial world, it is crucial to provide them with networking opportunities and to connect with other female entrepreneurs and investors.

A supportive community where women can share their experiences, learn from each other, and build valuable relationships can be highly beneficial.“

Says Viktoria Karoleva, angel investor and founder of FAME

“I believe diversity is the keyword when we speak about highly effective teams – in a startup, as a fund manager, or as an angel investor.

Women tend to be more empathetic and “lead with kindness,” which is always necessary when you work with people. And when it comes to fundraising, women are more likely to invest in women-led startups – if, for example, you develop a product/service targeting women, it’s much more likely for a woman to understand your concept and ambition.”

Says Elena Nikolova, Community Manager at CEO Angels Club

“In 2022, women received 1% of all VC funding in Europe, according to Atomico’s State of European Tech, so the startup ecosystem has a long way to go in promoting equality and inclusion.

To increase gender diversity in entrepreneurship, I believe a collective effort is required from all stakeholders: entrepreneurs and business leaders, investors, NGOs, government, and media.“

Says Raluca Jianu, Co-Founder at Epicvisits.com

What specific attributes do women bring as startup founders and investors?

Women bring unique skills and attribute to the startup world as founders or investors, making their contributions critical to the industry's success.

We can build a more diverse, innovative, and inclusive startup ecosystem by embracing and supporting female entrepreneurs.

“​​Women are intrinsically caring individuals, which translates into the woman founder being more customer-centric or emphatic. A woman founder refrains from starting building according to her "fantastic, unique" idea but rather takes more time to talk to the customer and find out how she could build a product to meet the customer's needs.

The same attribute lies with a woman investor, I would say. A woman investor gets deeper into understanding the startup's needs than the 5 min pitch. Before deciding to invest, a women investor is happy to offer support as connections or advice for improving the product strategy.”

Says Cristina Țoncu, co-founder & CEO of Techcelerator

“Women have diverse skills, experiences, and perspectives that are valuable when building a business. Their empathy and emotional intelligence are strong attributes when building strong teams and understanding customer needs. However, it`s important to have mixed teams.

In this way, you truly get diverse skills that are valuable in building and growing a successful startup.”

Says Sonia-Denisa Fedorovici, Head of Legal & GP at ROCA X

Because of their empathy, women can put themselves in other people's shoes and understand the needs of their customers, employees, etc.

Attention to detail refers to the fact that we are sometimes good at noticing small but important things that other people might not notice. And this translates into a high level of quality for products/services.

Last but not least, resilience is a key attribute that women founders bring to the startup ecosystem. The explanation might be that we are aware sometimes we need to fight harder for a place at the table, and we continue to persevere.”

Says Raluca Jianu, Co-Founder at Epicvisits.com

Here is a summary of the most common qualities highlighted above by our community of ladies founders and investors community:

• Empathy — Women often have a strong sense of empathy, which can help them understand the needs and desires of their customers. This can be particularly helpful when developing products or services that meet the needs of a diverse range of customers.
• Diversity — A critical element to the success of any industry, women bring a unique set of qualities that can help promote diversity in the workplace.
• Collaboration — They are often skilled collaborators, able to build strong teams and foster a sense of community among team members. This can be particularly important in the startup world, where success often hinges on the ability to work effectively with others.
• Resilience — Ladies can often weather setbacks and challenges with grace and determination. This can be particularly important in the high-pressure environment of startups, where setbacks are common.
• Multitasking — Women are often skilled at juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities at once, a skill that can be particularly valuable in the fast-paced and ever-changing world of startups.
• Attention to detail — They often have strong attention to detail, which can be particularly important in industries such as tech, where small details can make a big difference in product performance and user experience.

Other Inspirational Women

While most of our guests mentioned they are surrounded by multiple female inspirations, they dropped a few names.

Melinda Gates — Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Founder of Pivotal Ventures

Lubomila Jordanova — Founder & CEO of Plan A

Pavlina Yanakieva — CEO & Executive Director at Bulgaria Innovation Hub

Ilinca Paun — founder of Bravva Angels

Oana Craioveanu — co-founder of Impact Hub's co-founder

Evelina Necula — the founder of Kinderpedia

Maria Tanjala — co-founder of FilmChain

Irina Albita — co-founder & co-CEO of FilmChain

Maria Constantinescu — co-founder of SuperOkay

If you enjoyed our collection of insights and perspectives from our regional startup ecosystem, follow SeedBlink on social media. We have more founders and investors from the CEE ecosystem sharing inspiring stories.

If you want to recommend more wonderful ladies doing wonders for the ecosystem, let us know in the comment section.