Men have plenty of role models who can inspire them on their (professional) paths. Women still have some catching up to do in this regard – at least according to Lu Li. With the network portal “Blooming Founders” she wants to remedy the situation.
How does Blooming Founders support women in the startup scene?
First and foremost, we want to use our community to help women find their way into the startup scene. To this end, we host numerous events with female founder panels, where women can talk about their personal startup journeys and share their experiences. Our goal is to create role models, true to the motto: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” These role models are intended to encourage women to venture into self-employment.
It all started with the events. We now have Blooming Founders but beyond that, I've also built a community, a network. I've noticed that many female founders in London are solo founders. This means they implement their ideas independently and take the first steps alone. But that can be a disadvantage when starting a business, because there are so many issues that need to be addressed. That's why a competent network is very important. Blooming Founders is intended to serve as an online think tank for female founders: everyone here brings professional experience that others can benefit from. If someone needs help, they can communicate this in this open forum. For example, if it's about finding a suitable freelancer or getting initial feedback on a specific decision-making process.
What's very important to us: Blooming Founders is intended to serve as a strictly support forum and therefore may not be used for self-promotional purposes. That's why we always carefully review applicants before releasing them to the community.
Why do women even need a platform specifically tailored to them?
On average, women have smaller professional networks. And even when they are well connected, they engage their contacts less frequently than men. Many struggle with approaching others with their concerns and may waste valuable time in the process. This can, of course, have a negative impact on a startup.
At Blooming Founders, they gain a network of valuable contacts: women who are in similar situations and can help each other. Furthermore, many find a women-only forum an environment where they can move more freely and ask more open questions.
If a specific environment is needed to move freely, then perhaps women in general should learn to act more assertively in a male-dominated business world?
I wouldn't even say that. It all depends on personality. Some women work very well with "alpha men" and assert themselves, while others find it a bit more difficult. The most important thing is to always remain authentic. Starting a business can be a good fit for many women because, by becoming self-employed, they can finally pursue their own ideas and tap into their own strengths.
Speaking of strengths: The results of a study on "Gender and the Language of Crowdfunding" show that women are, on average, more successful in crowdfunding than men. So if venture capital or something similar doesn't work out, there are other options available...
Do you think that legal regulations are needed to better position women in the business world?
I'm not a fan of quotas. What could definitely be improved, however, is the framework for making it easier to coordinate work and family. Although I actually already believe that starting a business can be great for mothers, because as a founder, women can plan their daily (working) routine independently and no longer have to fit into an externally imposed framework like fixed office hours. Of course, that doesn't mean you have less work—probably the opposite. But there are advantages and disadvantages everywhere.
An active community can help with this as well. Here, you'll meet women who face similar challenges and are perhaps already a bit ahead of you. They've already taken the first steps and developed their first product. These are usually the best mentors you can find. It's always the people who are one or two steps ahead of you from whom you learn the most.
And what are the further plans for Blooming Founders?
Our community currently consists of around 1,100 female founders. The majority are based in London, but we have representation from over 25 different countries. We plan to expand the network portal even further in the future. I would like to have more members from Germany!
We plan to host a two-day conference in London at the end of 2017, and our ultimate goal is to open our own co-working space in London within the next 18 months. So, it remains exciting!
