Episode 3: Bet On Women-Founded Startups & How Venture Capital Is Exclusive, High Stakes Gambling

What’s up, Lionesses? We’re back with another episode of, “On Behalf of All Women.” Dawn and Natasha want the world to know that women-founded startups are real, our businesses are making money and we need you to help us turn our zebra companies into unicorns. In this episode, our co-founders don’t hold back when it comes to talking venture capital. Natasha says startup investment is high-stakes gambling and VC’s are picking who gets to play. “Women are feeling this and people of color are feeling this,” Dawn says. “There’s this big game going on and you’re just being told, ‘Hey, you can’t play.’ You’re not even being picked last for the dodgeball game. You’re just not being picked.” Their unfiltered conversation delves into training your brain for wealth, VC firms needing to diversify deal flow and the incredible rise and fall of unicorn Theranos. Plus, can startups get too big? Why super companies that keep acquiring startups may not be the best thing for the innovation sector. Want to hear our thoughts on a particular topic? Send an e-mail with your topics to info@thelionessgroup.com with the subject line, “On Behalf of All Women.” Here are some notable highlights: (10:20) Venture capital is high stakes gambling and VCs are picking and choosing who gets to play. (16:20) Real zebra companies generating revenue versus unicorn startups who have generated zero dollars. (20:53) Women rock it better than men when our startups are venture-backed. (27:18) A wealth mindset starts at home. What unsaid things did you learn from your parents about money? (46:00) Understanding that your product/service is NOT for everyone. Embrace demographics. (50:14) Can companies get too big? What happens when companies like Facebook and Amazon become super companies? (56:00) Can leading your startup for many years cause it to sink? Dawn and Natasha look at an interesting argument. — “Episode 3” from On Behalf of All Women by Lioness Magazine. Released: 2018. including music from the New Music Mantra (Snowflake’s revox) by Snowflake (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.