IIT AGNE in partnership with TiE-Boston and MIT EECS department organized a forum focused on women entrepreneurs. Panelists Desh Deshpande, Deb Kemper, Aceil Halaby, Rupal Patel and moderator Gitanjali Swamy presented valuable advice for women entrepreneurs.
The discussion highlighted the unique strengths of and challenges for female innovators, and the ecosystem that supports them. The event opened with a welcome by Laura Teicher, executive director of TiE-Boston who spoke about the event being a “labor of love†amongst the team members who in addition to her included Ranjani Saigal and Mandy Pant from IIT AGNE and Anu Chitrapu from TiE-Boston.
Following a brief introduction by Ranjani Saigal to IIT AGNE, Prof. Anantha Chandrakasan, Chair of the EECS department at MIT who described “The Engine†a brand new initiative at MIT that offers comprehensive support for entrepreneurs. In addition to traditional offerings like funding and mentorship, this initiative also has an ‘Engine Room’ to facilitate building prototypes using the latest tools and technologies.
Mandy Pant introduced the next section of the event. In an attempt to create a real live experience for female entrepreneurs, prior to the start of the panel discussion, two IIT AGNE members, Savita Sridharan and Jeyanthi Narasimhan pitched their start-ups Orora Global and Watch Rx.
Following the pitches, panelists Desh Deshpande, Deb Kemper, Aceil Halaby, Rupal Patel and moderator Gitanjali Swamy engaged in a lively discussion on the opportunities, issues and challenges facing women entrepreneurs.
Swamy opened with presenting the following facts on women entrepreneurs
• Women form more than 50% of US businesses.
• Women are majority owners in 36% of all US businesses.
• 58% businesses started by women are high growth (> 30% growth) vs. to 52% men started.
• On average women are more efficient and use 50% less capital to start businesses.
• Today in Boston, 18,709 woman-owned businesses employ 26,209 people. These businesses contribute almost $7.6 billion to the Gross City Product.
Deb Kemper, founder of Golden Seeds - a company that focuses on investing in women entrepreneurs, said that women are not very bold when it comes to asking for investment or outlining impact. Often not asking for the right amount of money leads to failure.
There was much discussion on unconscious bias. Desh Deshpande the only male member on the panel said that it is important for people building eco-systems like “The Engine†to ensure that they tackle unconscious bias. However he emphasized that entrepreneurs should not worry about bias. “The world is unfair. When I started my company being Indian and not white was an issue. Today that has changed dramatically. However entrepreneurs must fight under all odds. I really recommend all of you to see Hidden Figures. "Those women were amazing role models who did not let any thing stop them," said Desh.
Aceil Halaby, the founder of Bloomer, a company that produces a bra to collect data so that women with heart condition can be correctly monitored, talked about the importance of looking at women’s needs particularly in health care and building products for that. She said she valued her engineering education that allowed her clearly outline a problem and think strategically for solutions.
Rupal Patel, Founder and CEO of Vocal ID, said she founded the project out of her research efforts. She agreed with many of the comments about unconscious bias. “When a women entrepreneur fails, she really has a hard time to start another venture as opposed to a man for whom a failed startup is seen as an experience,†said Patel.
The event ended with panelists outlining resources for entrepreneurs and urging female entrepreneurs to network and seek out answers not just from female mentors but from male mentors as well.
The event ended with a vote of thanks by Anu Chitrapu.
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