So there’s no mistake, let me start by saying that I have NO idea how to balance the apparent gender divide in the Australian startup scene!
But, I think I can do something to help those that think they do …
My inspiration comes from Founders Fund:
In 2011, we introduced the Female Founder Fellowship program, which would allow females to apply to the Founder Institute for free ($50 value), and also provide a free Course Fees to our best female applicant in each city ($1,100 value).
IMHO, it’s a token gesture, made up of $50 discounts and a single $1.1k prize to one female led startup in Melbourne each intake; with his resources, and a little well-meaning prompting, I think Adeo Ressi could do something even more meaningful.
Still, it’s a good start and got me thinking: how could I do better? More importantly, how could we - Melbourne’s startup community - do better?
The real answer is: I have no idea … but, I’m betting that someone will know.
So, I discussed this with my wife (a pioneering female ‘techie’ in her own right) and we decided to:
A. Make one grant of $1,000 for the best female led startup that makes it into the AngelCube program in 2014. This is an unashamed knock-off of the Founders Institute offer.
BTW: this will be a personal donation, in addition to the $20k that AC already offers to all successful applicant teams.
B. Make a matching $10k grant where I think it will provide the most benefit to ALL the future female tech entrepreneurs in Melbourne i.e. to Startup Victoria.
Startup Vic will need to apply this grant, if somebody wins it on their behalf, to programs aimed specifically at supporting (or increasing the number of) female tech entrepreneurs in Victoria during 2014 and/or 2015.
And, I’m hoping that the person (or people) in Melbourne who do have some ideas on how rebalance the ecosystem here will put their hands up and help Startup Vic light the way on this issue.
I’m also hoping that by leading the way (supported by our cheque), Startup Vic will be able to find corporate and vested-interest sponsors to follow with their own financial and other assistance. It’s much easier to get money if you already have a little.
But, this 'grant’ has to be won!
I strongly believe that you can only help somebody - or a group of somebodies - who first help/s themselves …
By this, I mean that female led teams (at least, startup teams that include a female in a key founder role) need to show that they are indeed willing and able to help other female tech entrepreneurs succeed by applying to AngelCube, then succeeding in being selected into our 2014 program.
If just one such team succeeds (and wins the $1k 'grant’), my wife and I will step in to help more succeed (by donating $10k to Startup Vic). It’s as simple as that!
Note: this is not an official AngelCube program; as of this writing, I haven’t even discussed it with my cofounders, but I did break character to first discuss it with my wife. Needless to say, she broke character and agreed ;)