[...]... is for women who choose another path entirely It is for and about women entrepreneurs women who desire to become their own 1 2 CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES bosses, gain personal control, grow their business, and create independent wealth Over the past 25 years, the ranks of women entrepreneurs grew rapidly The many new avenues that opened in the 1960s and 1970s—to education,... up with the idea was the easiest part for the women Then they took the next steps to make their dreams into realities Of course, not every new idea becomes a business, but many do Every year, more than 550,000 people launch new businesses in the 4 CLEARING THE HURDLES: WOMEN BUILDING HIGH-GROWTH BUSINESSES United States Some entrepreneurs identify growth as a strategic goal from the outset, but most... focused businesses – Women choose businesses in low-tech industries – Their business concepts are not scalable • It’s the networks (or rather the lack thereof) that women participate in – Women aren’t in the right business circles to gain access to critical management and financing resources – There are no women in key decision-making roles in the financing world • It’s the venture capital industry – The. .. to grow those businesses Most of these have to do with women s inability to raise sufficient capital.) The answers were all some variation on one of these themes: • It’s the women – They can’t, won’t, or don’t seek or win outside funding because they don’t aspire to high growth PREFACE xxiii – They’re not qualified or experienced – They’re not a good business risk • It’s the businesses – Women choose... similar—was the bar somehow set higher for women? Only then could we understand the causes and the possible remedies for women s apparent exclusion from the highest ranks of entrepreneurial success Our body of work is xxiv PREFACE referred to as the Diana Project (named after the Roman goddess of the hunt) because it focuses on women hunting for money The Research Methods Together, the members of the Diana... to credit—gave women the tools they needed to start new businesses and they have seized the opportunities with gusto By 2002, women were majority owners of 6.2 million businesses and held at least a 50% share in 10.1 million businesses, or 46% of all privately held firms in the United States.3 The Center for Women s Business Research reported that between 1997 and 2002, the number of women- owned firms... dominated – The network is closed and the decision-making models are biased against women These answers represent widely held beliefs about why women entrepreneurs seeking to grow their businesses find it so difficult to get the resources necessary to do so The answers are deeply rooted in personal theories of social capital, institutional behavior, and network theory We used these explanations (and the theories... to explore the pathways to growth of women- owned businesses We were particularly interested in the hurdles women encountered as they sought growth capital We investigated the variety of oft-cited logical explanations for why women are largely unsuccessful in their hunt for venture capital money The research includes a detailed review of 300 articles included in the academic literature on women entrepreneurs... times the national rate Even more striking, larger businesses led by women (100 or more employees) grew 18.3% Women launched new businesses in every industry, sector, and geographic region of the United States This tremendous surge of female entrepreneurship was not without its own challenges Of course, women have far more control of their own destinies in the businesses they create and develop But, they... xvii Women Have Diverse Networks Women Benefit from Strategic Sponsors Creating Effective Networks Notes Women Building Management Teams 191 Perceptions about Women chapter 9 184 195 195 196 196 Women Don’t Want to Share Ownership Women Don’t Recognize the Types of People Needed Women Are Outside the Networks Women Just Don’t Have What It Takes to Lead a Growth Venture Fact and Fiction about Women . h0" alt="" Clearing the Hurdles: Women Building High-Growth Businesses Candida G. Brush, et al. PEARSON EDUCATION, INC. Praise for Clearing the Hurdles “This. Network: Insider Advice for Women Building Businesses in a Man’s World Clearing the Hurdles debunks the myths and defines the barriers that entrepre- neurs