New Australian online network, CloudPeeps, is there to connect female investors and entrepreneurs. CloudPeeps was born thanks to the partnership with Scale Investors and its aim is to support gender equality as well as the Australian economy.
There are stereotypes about women entrepreneurs that need to be broken: women work less and earn less than male entrepreneurs, are inferior networkers to men, not relying on a broad network of contacts but on friends and family instead.
Try to picture a female entrepreneur and you might imagine her in a female-focused industry (cosmetics or childcare). The reality is that along with the strong desire to see their own ideas and visions carried out, women have a great ability to multi-task and are not fearful of the risks involved in being self-employed.
Scale Investors are a female-focused network with a goal to connect women entrepreneurs and women investors, boost investments in women’s business and improve female participation in the country’s industry (which is still male-dominated).
CloudPeeps is Scale Investors latest investment. It is a community where business world, freelance community and social media experts are connected, creating a reliable and professional environment. Here entrepreneurs can easily find trustworthy and flexible employees to help them in the fulfillment of their business plans. It is a way for women to move into a digitalized work environment.
Renata Cooper, one of Scale’s Lead Angels, said:
By 2020, there will be over 5 billion internet users living a connected life deeply embedded into our daily activities. CloudPeeps is riding this transformative wave by helping brands of all sizes build conversations and create meaningful connections in the community.
Since 1999, women entrepreneurs have made considerable progress in obtaining venture capital, however, a wide gender gap persists. Scale CEO Laura McKenzie says:
“Ten years ago, only 4% of businesses receiving venture funding were founded by women. Today, that number is 15-16%. The number of women investors has increased from 8% to 20% in that time, and we believe there is a strong correlation between the two.”
Women are in a strong position to lead, change and shape Australia’s economic landscape.
Candida Brush, professor in Entrepreneurship in Babson College says:
There is an enormous untapped investment opportunity for venture capitalists smart enough to look at the number and fund women entrepreneurs. Only a small portion of early-stage investment is going to women entrepreneurs, yet our data suggests that venture capital-funded businesses with women on the executive team perform better on multiple dimensions.
The venture capital community, therefore, may be missing good investment opportunities by not investing in women entrepreneurs,” thus highlighting the significance of investing in women entrepreneurs. “We know that it makes good economic sense to invest in diverse teams.
There is so much data out there that shows us that businesses with women on their executive teams perform better in so many different dimensions of business,” says McKenzie.
