Fighting for Funding as a Female Entrepreneur
Sunday, March 10 | 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon ABC, 500 E 4th St
A long history of glass ceilings exists for women in entrepreneurship and business, but today, women have more opportunity than ever before to work toward executive leadership positions and to be successful as entrepreneurs.
South by Southwest Interactive is a great place for business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from and be inspired by hundreds of successful panelists. And panelist Ingrid Vanderveldt’s session provides a great resource for entrepreneurs who also happen to be women.
Vanderveldt has a successful history in entrepreneurship, having started and sold several companies. As the entrepreneur in residence at Dell, she serves as a voice for entrepreneurs and business owners who are striving to build the next great company. She also oversees the Dell innovators credit fund, a $100 million fund set up to finance initiatives like the Founder’s Club and Dell Center for Entrepreneurs, and to provide debt capital to enable entrepreneurs to get access to the technology that they need to be successful.
As one of the ten members of the UN Foundation Global Entrepreneurship Council, Vanderveldt’s focus is on supporting women and girls in entrepreneurship around the world.
“Dell fundamentally believes that if we’re going to get our global economy turned back around, it’s going to be the entrepreneurs and small business owners who do it,” said Vanderveldt.
Fighting for Funding as a Female Entrepreneur will also feature co-panelist Kay Koplovitz, who serves as chairman and CEO of Koplovitz and Co and founded USA Networks. The two women will address issues that often hinder women from receiving outside funding as well as actionable advice on seeking equity and raising capital.
While barriers do exist, Vanderveldt believes that women have the opportunity to show up in business.
“Instead of women talking about, well ‘I’m just not getting money because I’m a woman,’ I think instead there is a real opportunity for women to talk about the fact that there aren’t that many women getting funding today, but part of that is there aren’t that many women out there [in entrepreneurship],” said Vanderveldt.
The panel is targeted toward women, but male entrepreneurs can discover creative ideas on getting funding as well. The session will also be helpful for angel investors and venture capitalists to come and learn firsthand the types of investors women are looking for and would like to work with.
“That might help them gain access to a new pool of entrepreneurs, i.e. women, who are building some extraordinary companies,” said Vanderveldt.
Want to learn more about Ingrid’s role as the EIR at Dell? Check out the video below. If female readers are looking to learn more about entrepreneurship and find a supportive community, Ingrid recommends checking out DWEN (Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network) and the LinkedIn group “Women Powering Business.”
Watch Kay Koplovitz’s 2011 TED talk, Now,Women Have the Power to Change the Economy.