Female Founders Monitor 2020
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Female Founders Monitor 2020
Female
Publisher and
project management
German Startups Association
Founders
Authors
Dr. Alexander Hirschfeld
Jannis Gilde
Nina Wöss
Monitor
Support
Babette Müller
Technical implementation
Dr. Julian Bühler
Design
Dina Wagasowa
ISBN
978-3-948895-00-6
Partner and sponsor
Google for Startups
2020
More women,
more startups!
Germany needs startups - Germany needs a potential. For a long time now, just as many
lot of startups! Innovative startups are, after women as men have been studying econo-
all, a guarantee of economic strength in mics - a vitally important subject for the
times of digital transformation. With their startup sector - and even in STEM subjects
creative ideas, they solve social problems, the gap is gradually closing. As an economy
create jobs and generate growth - even in in the international marketplace, we simply
such uncertain and economically difficult cannot afford to let this talent lie idle.
times as we are experiencing today. Accor-
ding to a study by the Berlin Senate, the ca- This study highlights the special qualities
pital
‘s startups alone employ 78,000 people, that female founders are already contributing
making them one of the most important job to the startup ecosystem - for example in
engines in the city. B2C business, the health sector with its high
social relevance and last but not least in the
However, the startup scene still has some social sector. At the same time, the results
catching up to do. Above all, it needs one point to a number of hurdles that need to be
thing: far more women! According to the overcome as quickly as possible. In the early
latest figures from the Female Founders phases, for example, women do not have as
Monitor, their share still only stands at just much access to the relevant contacts that can
under 16 percent. This is only a tiny increase provide expertise and sometimes give them
compared with the previous year. Thus, the that final push needed to found a startup.
situation we see on the executive floors of our Furthermore, female founders are still at a
large corporations is being repeated in the clear disadvantage compared to male foun-
startup sector - women are drastically under- ders when it comes to funding.
represented and despite all our efforts, not-
hing really changes. Strong women, strong I would like to say a big thank you to the
economy: If we want our economy to remain German Startups Association and Google
strong, we have to promote and encourage for Startups for the annual Female Founders
female founders today in order to create the Monitor. This year’s report shows us where
basis for an open working world tomorrow. we stand in 2020. I am sure that the study will
once again spark social debate and inspire
Strengthen female founders: That means female founders. Let us utilize this momen-
giving women an equal stake in shaping the tum together - for more women and more
future. We must not leave topics such as startups!
artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles
and all the other key technological areas to Brigitte Zypries, Former Federal Minister for
men alone. Strengthening female founders Economic Affairs and Energy
also means making use of an economy‘s full
3
Contents
Foreword 3 4 Companies and Business Sectors
Contents 4
Results at a glance 6 4.1 Breakdown by Gender 32
Summary 7 4.2 Team Structure and Number of Employees 33
4.3 Industries and Customer Groups 35
1 Background
5 Funding and Corporate Strategy
1.1 Objectives of the Female Founders Monitor 8
1.2 Startup Characteristics 9 5.1 Sources of Funding and Raising Capital 40
1.3 Priorities and Concept 11 5.2 Preferred Sources of Funding 42
5.3 Strategic Orientation 43
2 Potential and Trends
6 Networks and Cooperation
2.1 Founding Activities based on Gender 12
2.2 Women in the World of Startups 13 6.1 Startup Ecosystem 48
2.3 Huge Potential 15 6.2 Access to Investors 49
6.3 Partner Relationships 50
3 A Typical Female Founder
7 Outlook 54
3.1 Age and Work-Life Balance 22
3.2 Expertise and Academic Background 23
3.3 Mindset and Objective 25 Bibliography 56
4 5
Results at a glance
The Female Founders Monitor Six key results Summary
(FFM) is...
• The proportion of female founders in This year’s Female Founders Monitor (FFM) to potential female and male co-foun-
the key study on the importance of female Germany has again barely increased shows that women are still hugely underre- ders, as well as the opportunity to net-
founders for the German startup ecosystem, and currently stands at only 15.7% presented in the startup world - the pro- work with established businesses and the
now in its third published edition. The FFM (2019: 15.1%). This imbalance leaves portion of female founders in Germany is investment sector. It is vital to provide
represents 4,670 founders, including 731 enormous potential untapped. currently only just under 16%. This is a neg- support precisely where clear ambitions
women (15.7%) and 3,939 men (84.3%). All ligible rise compared with last year, and the can be recognized. For example, 33.1% of
the founders represent a total of 1,926 start- • Female-founded teams can be found most longer-term trend also indicates a stagnation. the female-led companies say they prefer
ups: 209 of the founding teams surveyed are frequently in the health sector. In view So why are we not making decisive progress business angels as investors, but only
female, 1,318 male and 384 are mixed teams, of their high level of expertise in natural when it comes to female founders? Where do 7.7% have been able to obtain this source
with members from both genders. 1
sciences, female founders are key drivers the main difficulties lie? What potential could of funding so far - the situation is similar
of medical innovation in Germany. be exploited and developed more effectively? when it comes to venture capital. Closing
such gaps must be a central goal in the
Three goals • There is an overall“gender bias”in Three areas have been identified where there context of supporting female founders.
funding: When it comes to investments is both potential as well as challenges:
• The FFM aims to advance startup re- by business angels and venture capital • Apart from the challenges described,
search by focusing the attention on the funds, for example, there is an enor- • The German startup ecosystem is still the results of the Female Founders Mo-
position of female founders in this field. mous gap between aspiration and reality strongly male-dominated. A clear majori- nitor also point to specific potential that
among female-founded teams. ty of startups are founded by male teams, women contribute to the startup eco-
• This will shed some light on the speci- particularly in the tech sector; software system. Female founders are motivated
fic motives of female founders and the • Fast growth and raising high volumes of applications, for example, are hardly above all by social issues and establish
challenges they face within the startup capital are still the exception for female ever female-led companies. In addition, their innovative business models at the
ecosystem. founders: To date, only 5.2% of fema- male founded teams are more strongly intersection of business and society. In
le-led teams have received one million positioned for growth and scalability, light of the current Corona crisis, their
• A further key aspect is to provide new euros or more - compared to 27.8% of more focused on external investors, and strong presence in the health care space
momentum for empowering women male-founded teams. far more successful in obtaining high is particularly interesting - almost 17%
in the tech sector and in business as a funding volumes. For women, on the of female-led startups are active in this
whole. • Female-founded teams have less esta- other hand, the barriers to entry are sector, compared to only 6.5% of male-
blished networks in key business areas incredibly high - a challenge that can be led teams. Considering the high propor-
- especially in the investment sector and tackled by fortifying diverse teams. tion of female founders with a scientific
the traditional economy. background, medicine is an excellent
• The current discrepancy between wo- best-practice example for empowering
• Female founders are more strongly men and men in the startup ecosystem women in the STEM sector.
motivated by overriding goals than male reflects - above all - the unequal re-
founders and are therefore particularly sources available to each group, exem-
active in the green economy and in the plifying the specific challenges faced by
field of social entrepreneurship. female founders. They lack both contacts
1
In 15 cases the information on gender was incomplete, so that no statement could be made about the team
structure.
6 7
Background
1.1 Objectives of the Female Founders Monitor 1.2 Startup Characteristics
Startups are a central factor of economic of German listed companies is still only 9% The term startup is generally associated with red in the initial phase, which, if successful,
renewal in times of digitization: With their (AllBright 2019) - an imbalance that can be young companies, innovation, and digital pays off with a subsequent surge in growth.
innovative products, founders of both sexes seen throughout the entire private business business models. However, it is often unclear Companies founded in the startup sector are
change existing industries and create com- sector and which has changed very little over what the term specifically refers to. At the be- therefore often associated with high risk and
pletely new markets - the future viability the past 15 years (Kohaut & Möller 2019). And ginning of this study it is therefore extremely always require a lot of courage and persua-
of every country therefore depends largely it is not only when it comes to conquering important to define exactly what a startup is sive power on the part of their founders -
on the existence of an attractive ecosystem the executive floors that female founders play and to distinguish it from other terms. Not alongside a good business idea.
for young growth companies. In addition, a decisive role: As a study by the Kauffman every business that is founded can be called a
startups are catalysts for far-reaching social Foundation shows, gender-diverse founding startup and these differences are decisive for The FFM uses the concept outlined here and
change and are already having a significant teams ensure that far more women are hired the economic importance of the companies is based on the data of the German Startup
impact on the way we work, interact with in the tech sector (Kauffman Fellows 2019). and the specific challenges that women face Monitor (Deutscher Startup Monitor - DSM)
other people, and engage in politics. in this area. (Kollmann et al. 2019). The definition of the
The goal of the Female Founders Monitor term „startup“ follows the criteria defined
It is therefore worrying that the proportion of is to support female founders in Germany In the broadest sense, any type of self-emp- there: Startups are...
women among German founders is only 16%. and thus to promote openness, diversity and loyment is generally understood as founding
It is important for women today to take on competitiveness in the startup ecosystem. a business. If the concept of“founding”were • younger than 10 years old,
the management positions of tomorrow so as Based on facts and figures, the study aims to defined more narrowly, then one would focus • innovative in their technology and/or
not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Accor- raise awareness of the topic, to clearly iden- on young companies. Startups are a special their business model, and
ding to a recent study by the AllBright Foun- tify current challenges, and to consequently form of such young companies: They are cha- • show or are planning significant growth
dation, the percentage of women on boards contribute to the process of social change. racterized by a high degree of innovation and in employees and/or sales.
a scalable business model. Typical fields with
high scalability are platform companies, so- In order to be included in the study as a star-
cial networks, or software applications which tup, a company must meet the first criteria
can be expanded very quickly to ever larger as well as at least one of the subsequent two.
customer groups through the digital infras- This ensures that a distinction is made bet-
Figure 1: Definition of a startup
tructure. In order to develop the necessary ween the startups examined in the FFM and
technical infrastructure and make a brand other types of young companies that do not
known, high levels of investment are requi- meet these criteria.
Startups are younger than 10 planning or show significant and are innovative in their
years, growth in employees and/or sales technology and/or their business
model.
8 9
1.3 Priorities and Concept
For three successive years, the FFM has gender-specific differences. The study is ba-
been examining the entire German startup sed on the data collected for the DSM 2019.
landscape in terms of its gender-specific The DSM is the most comprehensive study
characteristics. Each study draws on the re- of the startup ecosystem in Germany and is
search design of the previous monitor, while conducted annually by the German Startups
at the same time constantly focusing on new Association with the support of PwC. The
topics: Last year, among other things, the DSM differs from other studies such as the
challenge of combining work and family for KfW Entrepreneurship Monitor (Metzger
female founders was highlighted (Hirsch- 2019a), and the Global Entrepreneurship
feld et al. 2019). This year’s study focuses on Monitor (Bosma et al. 2020) due to its speci-
the areas of funding and networking - topics fic focus on startups. Apart from providing a
that represent major obstacles for female snapshot of the German startup landscape,
founders. the annual format of the DSM survey also
allows readers to identify important trends
The data is analyzed on two levels: charac- and developments over time.
teristics of the individual and company-spe-
cific aspects. Chapters 2 and 3 look at the The high quality of the data is ensured by
life situations of female and male founders, the dissemination of the survey through
for example their educational background select multipliers in the startup ecosystem
and mindset. Chapters 4 to 6 focus on the and comprehensive data cleansing. Further
characteristics of their companies, such details on the data collection methodology
as the industries to which they belong and can be found in the DSM (Kollmann et al.
funding. The startups are grouped accor- 2019). Overall, the FFM 2020 contains infor-
ding to the composition of their founding mation from 200 C-level executives and 1,733
teams, and all-female and all-male teams founders about their 1,933 startups.2
are compared with each other to highlight
2
In seven cases, the founders did not state their gender so that the statements provided relate to 339
female founders and 1,373 male founders. In a further 15 cases, the details on the genders of the founding
team were incomplete, meaning that the gender composition of the founding teams could be determined
for 1,911 startups.
10 11
Potential and Figure 2: Rate of new companies founded in Germany
according to KfW in % (2000-2018)
Trends
All business founders
Part-time founders
Full-time founders
2.9
2.8 2.8
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.1
2.1 Founding Activities based on Gender
1.8 1.8 1.8
1.7 1.7 1.7
1.6 1.6
As illustrated, a distinction can be made esses is thus a clear warning in the context of 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
between the process of founding companies economic renewal and innovation.
1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3
1.2 1.2
in general and founding startups in parti- 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
1.0
cular. Although women are significantly Looking at the gender distribution of new
0.9 0.9 0.9
0.8 0.8
0.9 0.9
0.8
0.9
0.8
underrepresented in the startup sector, they businesses in general, we see that the propor-
0.7
0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
are strongly represented in entrepreneur- tion of women is at a relatively high level
0.5 0.5 0.5
ship in general, which also includes self-em- and has remained relatively stable for a long
ployment. Consequently, the explanation time. After some interim declines, the figure
frequently heard that women per se have less rose again from 37% to 40% in 2018 (Metzger
confidence in themselves when it comes to 2019a). Even though 40% does not constitu-
self-employment and entrepreneurship is not te parity, the figures show that women are 2000 2005 2010 2015
an accurate reflection of what the data tells very much involved in founding companies
us - and it is worth taking a closer look. in Germany. The dense, established funding
landscape certainly plays a central role in
The figures from the KfW Entrepreneurship this respect: For example, the“gründerin-
Monitor show that the percentage of self- nenagentur (bga)”– National Agency for
employment and new companies founded Women Startups Activities and Services -, 2.2 Women in the World of Startups
by people of working age has been falling an information and service centre, has been
continuously for almost 20 years now (Metz- supporting female founders throughout Ger- In general, there has been a strong down- While the number of new entrepreneurs
ger 2019a). Following a peak at the beginning many since 2004. Various regional initiatives ward trend in new business activity in Ger- in Germany has declined sharply in recent
of this century - in 2003 the figure was 2.9% and institutions are brought together under many for years. The main reasons for this in- years, the quality of the new businesses has
- there has been a steady decline and cur- this umbrella, such as WeiberWirtschaft in clude the general trends on the employment improved. This can be clearly seen if we
rently the rate stands at 1.1% (Figure 2). Even Berlin and the initiative Gründerinnen-Con- market and changing economic policies. For distinguish between companies formed out
though the quality of the entrepreneurial sult from hannoverimpuls. These players are example, the boom in new company forma- of necessity - due to the lack of any better al-
activities should clearly be taken into account important as they point to the possibility of tions at the beginning of the 2000s is closely ternatives to earn a living - and startups that
and a distinction should be made, for exam- entrepreneurship as a professional opportu- linked to the high unemployment rate at are based on a specific opportunity: While
ple, between entrepreneurship as a main or nity for potential female founders and sup- that time and new government measures to the share of“necessity entrepreneurs”has
subsidiary job, this figure is an important port them with the implementation of their subsidize self-employment. The subsequent fallen continuously since 2008, the share of
indicator of entrepreneurial activity in Ger- own business idea. decline correspondingly reflects the positi- “opportunity startups”has roughly doubled
many. The declining number of new busin- ve developments on the labor market. This in the same period (Metzger 2018). More and
means that when we look at trends in self- more people are thus realizing their innova-
employment and new companies, we must tive ideas by founding a company alongside
always take general economic trends into or instead of their existing profession. As a
account before coming to any conclusions closer look at KfW shows, this is particularly
about the status of entrepreneurial activities true of innovative growth companies - the
and innovative strength. number of startups in Germany is growing
12 13
steadily (Metzger 2020). The ever-increa- of startup founders, which is only a very Figure 4: Distribution of founders by gender
sing economic significance of startups can slight increase compared with the previous
be seen not least in the development of the year (Figure 4). The imbalance in the startup Women Men
funding sector. The volume of funding for sector is not a German problem, but an inter-
German startups has reached a record of well national one. Unfortunately, internationally 2015 87.0% / 13.0%
over EUR 6.2 billion this year and, with the comparable data is still rare (WEF 2020) - but 2016 86.1% / 13.9%
exception of a dip in 2016, has risen continu- according to the Global Startup Ecosystem 2017 85.4% / 14.6%
ously (EY 2020). The growth in the number Report there are first signs that some startup 2018 84.9% / 15.1%
of financing rounds over the same period ecosystems in the USA, for example in New
2019 84.3% / 15.7%
clearly shows that the capital is also reaching York and Chicago, stand out positively with
more and more companies within the startup a strikingly higher share of female founders.
scene (Figure 3). In contrast, the German and French hotspots
Berlin and Paris are at the bottom of the ros-
The startup sector is thus growing and ter when it comes to the number of women
becoming an increasingly important pillar founding startups (Startup Genome 2019). In
in economic development. But what role do an international comparison, the number 2.3 Huge Potential
women play in the world of startups? Unlike of female founders in Germany is equally
entrepreneurship in general, women are hea- negative as the proportion of women in top Another important difference between Since the 1990s, the gap between the num-
vily underrepresented in the German startup management (AllBright 2019). entrepreneurship in general and startups in ber of female and male students at German
sector, currently accounting for only 15.7% particular can be found in the educational universities has gradually diminished. In
background of the founders. In the startup fact, in recent years, the number of female
sector, four out of five people have a universi- students has overtaken men. The same trend
ty degree (Kollmann et al. 2019); by contrast, can be seen in economic sciences, an im-
among new entrepreneurs in general the portant subject for the startup sector: While
figure is only 29% (Metzger 2019b). The key the proportion of women at the end of the
role played by universities in the startup sec- 1990s still lagged behind that of men, women
Figure 3: Number of financing rounds and investment
tor demonstrates just how crucial the expe- now make up the majority of students in this
rience and expertise gained there are. subject. The situation is somewhat different
volume (2015-2019)
Source: EY Start-up Barometer 2020 in the field of computer science: Women are
Number Economic, technical and scientific know- still clearly in the minority here, representing
how are of particular importance in the only 21.8% of students - though the propor-
+13%
2015 419
2016 485 startup ecosystem. Four out of ten founders tion has risen steadily over the last two deca-
2017 507 studied economics or business administ- des. However, as the example of the natural
2018 621 ration - roughly the same proportion has a sciences shows, in some STEM subjects there
2019 704 background in a STEM subject, i.e. a degree has been a relatively balanced gender ratio
in science, technology, engineering, or mat- in place for some time. Overall, women in
hematics. In order to quantify the existing Germany offer great potential in terms of
potential of women for the startup sector, it is startup-relevant expertise. Thus, the fact that
worth taking a closer look at the gender dis- the number of female founders in Germany
Amount in EUR million
tribution of these degrees and their develop- is still very low cannot simply be dismissed
+36
2015 3.306
ment over time (Figure 5). by referring to other fields of interest and
%
2016 2.276
2017 4.276 academic backgrounds.
2018 4.592
2019 6.228
14 15
Figure 5: Share of women among first-year students
in selected subject groups
Informatics
Engineering 3
Economic sciences
Natural sciences
Source: Federal Statistical Office (2019)
WS 99/00 16.9% 21.7% 47.1% 49.2%
WS 01/02 16.8% 20.6% 48.0% 49.5%
WS 03/04 15.1% 19.9% 48.3% 49.4%
WS 05/06 16.4% 20.0% 49.2% 50.2%
WS 07/08 16.7% 21.5% 50.4% 51.8%
WS 09/10 18.3% 22.1% 49.0% 52.5%
WS 11/12 18.7% 20.5% 42.4% 49.7%
WS 13/14 20.7% 23.6% 45.5% 52.2%
WS 15/16 21.9% 25.0% 45.4% 51.8%
WS 17/18 21.7% 25.7% 48.0% 52.1%
3
Engineering sciences do not include computer science.
16 17Interview with
Veronika Riederle
Founder and CEO at Demodesk
FFM-Team: You worked in the consulting FFM-Team: You have recently raised capital: FFM-Team: You just mentioned Y Combina- more risk-averse than men. In some cases
sector for a long time, but also gained some How did you go about this and how do you tor. What did you get out of the program and they also communicate more cautiously. In
experience at Outfittery. What motivated you present your startup to potential investors? would you recommend other founders to addition, there are also fewer women with a
to start your own business and what do you apply? background in technology and STEM sub-
do at Demodesk? Veronika: That’s right, we successfully com- jects. Family is certainly also an important
pleted a financing round some time ago. We Veronika: I would recommend it 100 percent. aspect. A lot of people start their businesses
Veronika: Actually, even before I worked participated in the Y Combinator program in In my opinion, it
‘s the most helpful accele- in their late 20s and this often coincides with
in the consulting sector, I knew that what I Silicon Valley from early January to March rator in the world if you‘re ready for the US family planning. As a mother, I know that it
really wanted to do was help set up a software 2019 and did our seed round right afterwards. market. During your time there, you learn to can work, but it is also a challenge.
company - either as a founder or an early em- That was without doubt a very special oppor- focus and can build up a fantastic network of
ployee. I derive enormous amounts of energy tunity because at the Y Combinator Demo potential clients and investors. Y Combina- FFM-Team: What would you wish for in the
from creating things and for me software is Day you present your company to virtually all tor branding also helps with new customer German startup ecosystem?
the most exciting industry there is. I then met the key investors in the Valley. So the process acquisition and recruiting.
my co-founder who came up with the idea of is really focused and it is a fantastic oppor- Veronika: I would like to see more willing-
developing a new way of screen sharing. Our tunity. In your pitch you should focus on FFM-Team: Female founders like you are ness to take risks and for people in Germany
intelligent meeting tool for customer interac- the three most important messages. That
‘s still a rarity in Germany - they currently only to think big more often. While people in Ger-
tion helps companies to make their proces- all anyone can really take in - even in other account for 16% of startups. What do you see many are often very cautious, Americans are
ses more efficient. Our solution is entirely talks. In our case, we focused on our uni- as the biggest challenges for women in the mainly interested in the size of the potential
web-based and allows you to share specific que screen sharing technology, the market startup sector? market. Overall, however, we also need grea-
content with someone via a virtual display. potential, and our traction, i.e. the customers ter acceptance of failure - especially in the
already acquired. Veronika: I suspect that women tend to un- early stages. Better networks must be created
derestimate themselves more often and are and better access to capital.
18 19Interview with
Michelle Skodowski
Founder and COO at Botfriends
FFM-Team: How did you decide to found a working on the development of our product FFM-Team: At the moment there are relative- FFM-Team: As a founder in the field of artifi-
company? in the middle of 2019. Currently we are fo- ly few female founders like you in the startup cial intelligence you are still a rarity. How can
cusing on creating our own chatbot solution sector - the proportion of women is about we get more women interested in AI?
Michelle: I met my co-founders through ex- and transferring our existing customers to 16%. What could be the reason for this and
change programs at university. After we had our product. Over the next few months we how can it be changed? Michelle: I can only tell you about my time at
all done internships in large companies, we also want to increase our market share. This university: As a woman with relatively little
realized that we simply wanted more speed means raising capital and focusing even Michelle: In my experience, women are often previous knowledge of programming, I was
and more freedom. We then wrote a joint more strongly on the areas of development more anxious about starting a business – always in the minority. Women quickly start
project paper on bots and the underlying and sales. especially about financial losses – and are to feel uncomfortable in this environment
technology and used this as the basis for the not as relaxed as men when it comes to the and don’
t want to ask questions. You have to
foundation of our company Botfriends. FFM-Team: At the beginning, what were the general lack of security in this area. These develop a thick skin. Women should net-
biggest challenges? concerns grow when female founders have work much more closely in these fields and
FFM-Team: How did your startup develop to take on responsibility for their family exchange experiences more. I think tutoring
and what exactly do you do at Botfriends? Michelle: The biggest challenge was to find alongside their business. If the proportion programs where you can test your potential
the courage to do it. Our professor for entre- of female founders is to increase, this lack of are a very good approach here.
Michelle: We founded Botfriends in our last preneurship was an important factor here. security must be remedied; mothers should
year at university simply as a project-based He was not only our mentor, he even gave us get more support and balancing work and
company without our own product. This gave a private loan so that we could establish our family planning should be made easier. It is
us enough time to get to know the market, ac- limited liability company - a German GmbH. important to create a level playing field for
quire our first big customers such as Porsche That meant we didn’t have any financial wor- men and women so that family responsibili-
and to think about the design and appearan- ries which gave us the final impetus. ties are better distributed.
ce of our own chatbot solution. We started
20 21A Typical Figure 7: University degrees of founders by gender
Female Founder
Male founders Female founders
0.8%
Medicine
2.9%
2.1%
Law
1.1%
3.1 Age and Work-Life Balance Graphic design or 2.7%
another artistic field 4.0%
One impactful image of founders, both Since the typical age at which people found Another field 3.8%
female and male, is still that of very young companies coincides exactly with the time of study 9.1%
people who drop out of university and start they would typically start a family, some
5.0%
a business in their early twenties. The Mark very unique challenges arise when it comes
Cultural sciences, social
sciences or liberal arts 16.8%
Zuckerberg stories are the exception rather to balancing family and work. The FFM
than the rule. 2019 showed in detail that family tasks are Natural sciences
8.5%
distributed very unequally between women
13.5%
Irrespective of gender, the average age of and men - even in the startup area - and that Informatics, computer 17.9%
founders is around 35 years and the largest female founders face greater challenges in science or mathematics 3.6%
number of founders start their businesses this area (Hirschfeld et al. 2019). This dual 20.4%
between the ages of thirty and forty (45.9%). responsibility is a major hurdle for women
Engineering
10.2%
The proportion of those who found a startup when trying to found their own startup. The
Economics, business 38.8%
before the age of 25 is only 8.9%. female founders themselves also see this as administration etc. 38.7%
one of the most critical problem areas and
expect more political support (Figure 6).
Figure 6: Demand for more political support with 3.2 Expertise and Academic Background
combining family and work
Both women (81.1%) and men (81.8%) have humanities and social sciences and are also
Without children With children
usually completed a university degree before strongly represented in the natural scien-
founding their startup. This high rate ref- ces. The opposite picture can be seen in the
lects the economic, technological and digital fields of computer science, mathematics, and
expertise that innovative growth companies engineering. The number of male and female
need. In addition, it provides indications of founders who studied economics and busi-
25.2% 41.3% 8.9% 19.7% soft skills, a specific mindset, and networks ness, very important subjects in the startup
that are created in the university context. sector, is roughly equal.
Regardless of gender, therefore, a university
degree is the standard educational path in On the one hand, these figures reflect the
the startup environment, usually followed by different academic specializations among the
several years of work experience. Clear dif- general population - in computer science and
Female founders Male founders
ferences can be seen in the subjects studied engineering, in particular, women are still
(Figure 7): Female founders are significantly hugely underrepresented (see Chapter 2.3).
more likely to have completed a degree in the On the other hand, the situation in natural
22 23sciences shows that it is possible and import- These differences in the subjects studied Figure 8: Characteristic aspects of schooling
ant to mobilize and encourage women in spe- should not lead us to lose sight of the general by gender
cific subjects. In computer science in particu- imbalance between women and men in the
lar, there is a clear need to catch up, because startup sector. The share of female startups is
Male founders Female founders
even in terms of distribution among the only just under 16%, and this cannot simply
population, the proportion of female IT gra- be explained by any general reference to Strong academic 50.8%
duates in the startup sector is alarmingly low. fewer women studying STEM subjects. The performance 64.5%
It is precisely here that specific initiatives can blanket forecast that ratios will automatically
School or other extra- 51.0%
have a strong impact, such as Google’s“Made level off in the coming years is equally mis- curricular activities 56.3%
with Code”initiative which provides a low- leading. There are still a number of factors
threshold introduction to programming for that make it more difficult for women to Economic initiative 16.1%
7.0%
interested young women, or Girls Who Code, found their own startups - some important
as founder
a non-profit organization that has been wor- cultural aspects will be examined in more Flunked class once 13.5%
king for many years on closing the massive detail below. or several times 8.2%
gender gap in the tech sector. Class book entries 26.0%
or similar 5.9%
3.3 Mindset and Objective
Startups often venture into new fields – their their male peers which was reflected, for
business models are promising, but also example, in their strong academic perfor-
particularly risky. Consequently, founders, mance. Conversely, however, this could also
both female and male, need a high degree of indicate a lack of experience with failures
courage, passion and perseverance, qualities and setbacks. Only just under half of the
that relate less to specific expertise and more women surveyed say that they would want to
to a general mindset. In order to gain insight found a startup again if their current compa-
into this strongly biographically influenced ny fails, compared with 63.6% of men. These
dimension, founders of both genders were differences in mindset are certainly one
asked about characteristic aspects of their reason why the proportion of women in the
schooling (Figure 8). The result: Female startup sector is still so low. Stereotypical role
founders stand out above all for their per- models are deeply rooted in our culture and
formance and commitment - characteristics are also reflected in the startup ecosystem.
which relate in particular to passion and
perseverance. Conspicuous among male This makes it all the more important to be
founders, however, is their tendency to disre- aware of the obstacles faced by potential
gard the rules. In addition, the men surveyed female founders and to take targeted counter-
had more often concerned themselves with measures. Programs such as the Grace Acce-
the topic of founding a business while still at lerator are very helpful here as they can give
school. participants who have good business ideas
the boost they need to create a startup, for
The female founders interviewed were thus example by providing experienced mentors,
on average more focused on meeting the set the chance to network with like-minded peo-
requirements during their school time than ple or attend workshops on relevant startup
24 25topics such as funding and marketing. Tech dents (Figure 9). In general, it can be said that
companies such as Google, with its Immer- “purpose”– i.e. a higher goal – is extremely
sion: Female Founders Program, also provide important for women in the startup eco-
targeted support to female founders who are system. In contrast to male founders, the
already active in the market with promising motivation of women is more often linked to
startups, helping them thrive and grow their ecological sustainability. The picture is even
businesses. Another important aspect of this clearer in the area of social entrepreneurship,
program is to make successful female foun- where over half of the female founders attri-
ders more visible, giving them a platform bute themselves. These figures are confirmed
where they can inspire others and encourage by the Social Entrepreneurship Monitor,
a new generation of female founders. according to which the proportion of women
in this field is almost 47% (Scharpe & Wunsch
Alongside the challenges described, howe- 2019). The development of new and especially
ver, there are also some areas of the startup digital concepts within the social sector – one
ecosystem where women are already strongly of the important future topics in the startup
represented. This is clear from a closer look world, even before the Corona crisis – is thus
at the entrepreneurial targets of the respon- largely driven by female founders.
Figure 9: High priority entrepreneurial goals
Male founders Female founders
Green 35.8%
Economy 39.0%
Social 39.4%
Entrepreneurship 54.1%
Economic 82.0%
Objectives 68.6%
26 27FFM-Team: Female founders are still rare in Malin: Diversity at Target is very high and
Germany as well as elsewhere. What do you this is also true with respect to gender – we
think are the main obstacles for women in currently have the same amount of men and
the startup sector? women in our investment team. Drawing
from so many different perspectives really
Malin: First of all, there is a long-term cul- helps us to improve the quality of our work.
tural effect. We raise our kids following this
notion that boys should take risks, ask girls Yaron: One important aspect is that we don’t
out for dates and should learn to deal with do it by design. We focus solely on the quali-
failure. By contrast, girls are rewarded for ties and values to get the best people. It pays
behaving nicely and being good at school. off and leads to a strong, diverse, and gender-
Founding a startup is a very risky business balanced team. In the general population we
and that puts men at an advantage. Secondly, have 51% women and 49% men and that is
most people build up their company about the split that you should see in all companies.
the time they are having children and it’s
challenging to handle both. Since women are FFM Team: What are your wishes for the
more often the ones taking on family respon- startup ecosystem, especially concerning the
sibilities, their chances in the startup sector empowerment of female founders?
are limited.
Malin: There is a growing number of net-
Yaron: An equal split of family responsibili- works for female founders, which is very
ties is crucial – not only for founders. For my important. I hope that more and more firms
wife and I it was clear from the start that we will realize how helpful diversity is to their
both do our part. I left work at 3pm on two company. Also, I think that there will and
Interview with
days a week, she did the same, and one day should be more pressure from institutional
our family helped out. investors – like pension funds – to come up
with requirements concerning diversity and
FFM-Team: There is a huge gap between sustainability.
Malin Holmberg women and men concerning financing. Par-
ticularly VC money is hard to get for female
founders. What are your experiences?
Yaron: And on the entrepreneurial side we
need more female technology founders. In
and Yaron Valler
the academic world you already see more
Malin: Due to the small number of female and more women in engineering, hard
founders, we as investors only get to see a sciences and IT – I hope the business world
few companies led by women. But statistics will follow soon.
Partner at Target Global and Managing General Partner at Target Global also show that the amount of money women
ask for is usually lower and that they have a
harder time receiving the funding they need.
Thus, we need more progressive investment
firms, more diversity and more women in
FFM-Team: Let’s start with a brief introduc- AUM we invest across the digital landscape this field. At present, the VC-sector is quite
tion. What is Target Global? What is your with some focus areas like e-commerce, male dominated and people tend to invest in
main focus and what do you provide for your FinTech, industrial applications and SaaS. people that are similar to them.
portfolio companies? For us it’s key to work closely with our com-
panies particularly in the areas of business FFM-Team: As you mentioned, the VC-sec-
Yaron: Target is an international firm run- development, capital formation and HR. Two tor has few women. At Target Global this is
ning early stage as well as growth stage VC well-known examples from our portfolio are different. How come?
funds. With more than 800 million Euros wefox and Delivery Hero from Berlin.
28 29Interview with
Lisa Gradow
Founder and CMO at Usercentrics
FFM-Team: Can you describe briefly how FFM-Team: How has your company develo- is still only 16% and in SaaS even smaller. extremely important for long-term success.
you decided to found a company? ped and what exactly do you do at Usercen- Why do you think this is? This means, as a first step thinking very
trics? carefully about who you are hiring and then,
Lisa: I actually founded my first company at Lisa: One important point certainly is that making sure that everyone is 100% involved
the age of 17 – rather intuitively and without Lisa: Our idea was to help companies to women often simply lack the confidence in the daily work routine and that commu-
really knowing what I was doing. I had the make consent management on their web- to do it. What is needed here are more role nication is very clear. And as a founder you
idea of selling T-shirts with political state- sites practicable after the introduction of models and an environment that empowers should also be grateful that these people are
ments via an online shop during an election the new GDPR. The big advantage of our women. For many people founding a compa- going on this journey with you. We think it’s
campaign. After that, people came up to me software solution is that it is very flexible ny is fairly abstract at first and only becomes really important that everyone in the team
and told me I was a founder. And then, when and can look different on every website. The tangible through experience. And particu- is happy. That‘s why we installed a Chief
I was a student, I did it again and again, market for consent management platforms larly when it comes to SaaS, women may Happiness Officer from the outset who offers
always trying out different things. During is generally still very young and it is very ex- simply lack the points of contact: You don’t coaching and also organizes other things
this time I taught myself a lot and also took citing being a first mover here. Usercentrics even know that this world exists. After all, it like yoga or healthy cooking. It’s tremen-
computer science courses at university. This has been around for two years now and we is not taught at universities. We need more dously important to make sure employees
was very time-consuming alongside my law have grown a lot, especially in the last few education and awareness – and definitely stay with you on a long-term basis - not only
course, and very abstract for me at first. But months. Currently we have 45 employees more networking. for the atmosphere, but also for producti-
it was interesting to see how many lines of and two successful financing rounds behind vity. And ideally, you should structure the
code are behind a button or a whole appli- us - we are now preparing the third one. FFM-Team: And finally: What tips would you company so that the day-to-day business
cation. I never became a passionate coder, In addition, we are beginning our market give to other female entrepreneurs? works well even without you.
but my basic understanding of programm- launch in the USA, as new legislation came
ing helps me to pigeonhole our product, the into force there at the beginning of the year. Lisa: It’s very important for female founders
tech team and the added value, as well as to to know exactly where they want to go and
explain it to customers and investors, and to FFM-Team: If we take a step back, it is stri- to communicate this clearly to the outside
appreciate it. king that the proportion of female founders world. And of course, the employees are also
30 31Companies and A closer look at the mixed teams reveals that
women only make up 37.2% so that here,
too, they are underrepresented. Never-
for a good third of all startup companies in
Germany, 82.6% of the founders are all-
male, 14.2% mixed teams and only 3.2%
Business Sectors
theless, mixed teams are a central factor all-female. Promoting diversity in startup
empowering women in the startup sector, teams is thus one of the central tasks for the
because this is where they are most likely coming years. This is particularly important
to make the leap into tech. This is particu- because mixed teams achieve better results
larly evident within the largest sector in the and diversity also pays off in terms of finan-
ecosystem, information and communication cial success (Abouzahr et al. 2018).
technology. In this industry, which accounts
4.1 Breakdown by Gender
In light of these insights into the motives founding team (Figure 10). The extremely
and personal traits of female and male high proportion of all-male teams points
founders, we will now focus on the compa- to clear barriers to entry for women into
nies themselves. The analysis systematically the startup ecosystem and also generally Figure 11: Breakdown of founding teams in the ICT
compares startups of all-female and all-male prevents the tech scene from becoming sector
founding teams with the aim of highlighting more diverse. For, as studies show, the gen-
gender-specific differences. der structure in the founding team is also Mixed-Teams Female Teams
reflected in the employee structure: Statisti- 14.2% 3.2%
Purely male founding teams are still clearly cally, even if there is only one woman in the
in the majority; only one in ten startups in founding team of a startup, twice as many
Germany is founded by an all-female team women will be hired (Kauffman Fellows
and two out of ten startups have a mixed 2019).
Male Teams
82.6%
Figure 10: Breakdown of the founding teams
Mixed-Teams Female Teams
20.1% 10.9%
Male Teams 4.2 Team Structure and Number of Employees
69.0%
Another striking feature with regard to the startup exactly as you want it, whereas larger
team structure of startups is that there are teams presumably require more compromi-
far more solo female founders than solo male ses. Structurally, however, the very high pro-
founders. There are many reasons for this: As portion of solo startups among women could
far as the goals are concerned, founding alo- also indicate a lack of relevant networks in the
ne gives you more freedom to structure the ecosystem. Particularly in the early stages, ad-
32 33ditional people represent important resources their different objectives (Chapter 3). Social 4.3 Industries and Customer Groups
that create decisive momentum for growth. entrepreneurship, for example, is a field
The trends in the team structure are also strongly influenced by the activities of female As already indicated, one reason for both the (Figure 14): Only 8.8% of female teams clas-
repeated in the number of employees: Only founders, but so far has been less growth- low proportion of women and their discre- sify themselves in this sector, compared with
15.9% of the female-led teams employ more oriented. In addition, there is also a clear in- pancy in terms of company growth lies in 36.3% of male teams.
than five people, while this proportion is as equality between female and male founders the specific areas in which female founders
high as 37.4% among male-led teams. The with regard to access to financial resources are active. For example, women are poor- At the same time, if we look at the breakdown
fact that women lag behind men in terms of and networks. This will be examined in detail ly represented in the key startup sector of of sectors, we can see that women are already
company growth can be explained in part by in Chapters five and six. information and communication technology strongly represented in some growth markets.
Figure 12: Size of the founding team Figure 14: Startup sectors (selection)
Female Teams Male Teams Female Teams Male Teams
77.5% Information and com- 8.8%
1
23.4% munication technology 36.3%
16.7% Medicine and 16.7%
2
35.4% health care 6.5%
5.7% 12.3%
3 Consumer goods
41.1% 4.7%
10.8%
Textile
1.2%
Nutrition and 8.8%
food 3.6%
Figure 13: Number of employees 8.8%
Education
2.9%
Female Teams Male Teams
Human 6.4%
resources 3.9%
3.1%
More than 10
22.5%
12.8%
6-10
14.9%
46.4%
1-5
37.6% Overall, the focus of female-led startup teams typical educational backgrounds of women
37.8% is in the fields of lifestyle – especially consu- in the startup sector being in the fields of
mer goods and fashion – health, and educa- economics, natural sciences, humanities and
0
25.0%
tion. Particularly the latter two sectors are social sciences (Chapter 3.2).
strongly growing markets, which have beco-
me even more relevant in the context of the This breakdown of customer groups in terms
Corona crisis due to the increasing importan- of revenues generated confirms what the
ce of health-related data and digital solutions analysis of the sectors has already indicated:
in education. These sectors also reflect the Female-led teams generate more than half of
34 35their sales through B2C business, while the sector and are especially active in the fields Figure 15: Breakdown of customer groups by
B2B sector is clearly dominated by male-led of software as a service, technology develop- revenues
teams (Figure 15). The different customer ment and software engineering. By contrast
focus is also reflected in the business models: there is a strong concentration of female
Female Teams Male Teams
Male teams dominate the IT and deep tech teams (18.6%) in online sales (Figure 16).
41.5%
B2B
71.5%
52.4%
B2C
24.8%
6.0%
B2G
3.7%
Figure 16: Startup business models
Female Teams Male Teams
SaaS 5.0%
(applied IT) 26.7%
Software development 4.0%
(technical IT) 12.6%
Online 12.6%
platform 18.6%
Online 18.6%
sales 7.6%
Online 0.5%
network 1.3%
Technology development/ 10.1%
production (hardware) 17.5%
Stationary 11.1%
dealer/retailer 3.0%
Analogue 22,1%
service 5.8%
16.1%
Others
6.9%
36 37Interview with
Lina Behrens
Managing Director at Flying Health
FFM-Team: In all your previous activities, tion. We cooperate with different partners of financing. It is often still more difficult for ple in other countries are also more willing to
you have always been closely connected with in order to bring about change. More speci- female founders to obtain financing and all take risks. If we want to change this, we need
innovation in the healthcare sector. Could fically, I support startups with the develop- too often, you find yourself sitting in a room to change our attitudes from an early age and
you tell us a bit about where you have worked ment of their business models and get them of men only at the investment appointments. accept that it is okay to take a risk and that
so far? in touch with relevant contacts. In addition, But I have the impression that things are you can learn a lot if things don’t always run
we support companies in connection with getting better, at least slowly. There are now a smoothly.
Lina: After graduating in economics in issues surrounding market access. Scientific lot of studies that highlight the advantages of
Switzerland, I lived abroad for a long time. evidence is very important in the healthcare having diverse teams. Just recently we had a FFM-Team: You are a mentor for the Grace
First, I worked for a management consul- sector - this also raises questions concerning discussion about the FemTech sector, where Accelerator and as such you are committed to
tancy firm in England, where I was involved the design of clinical studies in the digital the proportion of female founders is signifi- encouraging and strengthening female foun-
in a lot of projects at the interface of health field, for example. cantly higher. But even here, men have so far ders. How does the program work in practice
and technology. After working for a social received more capital from investors. and how do you get involved as a mentor?
enterprise in London and a company builder FFM-Team: As someone who works a lot with
in Bogota, I returned to Germany in 2018. I startups, you must know that there are cur- FFM-Team: More and more women are stu- Lina: Last year I was asked if I would like to
wanted to work in the field of innovation and rently still very few female founders. Accor- dying science and medicine - in many fields be a mentor at the Grace Summer Camp and
health again, so I joined Flying Health and ding to our study the proportion is only 16%. they already outnumber men. How can we I was more than happy to do it. The camp
have been on the management board since Where do you see the biggest challenges for motivate more of them to found their own brings together women who want to start a
October 2019. women in the startup sector? company? business. As mentors, we stood by the teams
and talked about issues like business models
FFM-Team: What role do startups play in the Lina: I ask myself that quite often, too. There Lina: Basically, the career path, if your study or team dynamics. Basically I do a lot of men-
health sector and how exactly do you work are a lot of women in our company and I medicine, for example, seems relatively clear toring because I think it
‘s incredibly import-
with them at Flying Health? have often worked with inspiring women in and straightforward. Founding a company ant. Especially in the initial phase of foun-
management positions in my professional here would be a deviation from the traditio- ding a company, mentoring can help to get
Lina: The structure of the German health- life. That really helps because role models nal path. And this requires good and suppor- new impulses, but also to prioritize better.
care system is quite traditional. With Flying can show you what you can achieve yourself. tive conditions as well as role models. When I
Health we want to actively promote innova- But I think the biggest challenge is in the area came back to Germany, it struck me that peo-
38 39Funding and Figure 17: Sources of funding utilized
Female Teams Male Teams
Corporate Strategy Savings of founders
84.6%
81.1%
33.0%
Family and friends
28.5%
Government 27.5%
5.1 Sources of Funding and Raising Capital subsidies 41.5%
18.7%
Capital is the most important topic for even though the quality of their company
Bank loans
12.5%
startups and is closely linked to the compa- and funding needs were comparable: Men
Internal 12.1%
ny’s objectives and strategic direction. The are usually given the opportunity to talk financing/ 23.8%
various sources of funding used by founders about their visions for the future - women,
of both genders provide an initial overview on the other hand, are more often asked to Incubator
10.4%
14.1%
of this subject. Personal savings are by far provide information about their current cus-
the most common form of funding used for tomer base and to provide concrete financial 9.9%
Crowdfunding
startups in Germany, regardless of gender forecasts (Kanze et al. 2017). 2.9%
(Figure 17). Clear differences surface, howe- Business 7.7%
ver, when it comes to business angels and This is a first indication of how different angel 25.7%
venture capital. These instruments, which standards are applied to founders depending
are usually associated with larger volumes
1.6%
on their gender. A study on VC investments
Venture
17.6%
of capital, are much more frequently utili-
Capital
in Sweden confirms this: It shows that fe-
zed (and accessible) by male teams. Male-led male founders who, in typical startup man-
founder teams also apply for far more state ner, are a little pushier are much less likely
subsidies (41.5%) compared with only 27.5% to succeed than men using the same presen- Figure 18: Volume of capital raised to date
of female-led teams. tation style. Here, too, the reason lies in the
Female Teams Male Teams
different evaluation mechanisms: Where
The differences in the types of funding can men are usually perceived as courageous
be partly linked back to the different moti- and willing to take risks in such situations, EUR 1 million or more
5.2%
ves for founding a startup and the main spe- women are considered uninformed and nai- 27.8%
cializations (Chapters 3 and 4); furthermore, ve (Malmström et al. 2017). The consequen- EUR 250.000 to 19.0%
they also reflect the strategic orientation ces of this imbalance are also reflected in EUR 1 million 22.8%
of the company (Chapter 5.3). At the same our data: Overall, 42.3% of female-led teams
EUR 50.000 to 34.5%
time, women do face clear disadvantages in and 56.7% of male-led teams state that they EUR 250.000 30.7%
the area of funding as proven by a number have received external capital to date. While
of studies. At the pitching stage of the invest- the difference here is still quite moderate, EUR 50.000 41.4%
ment process, in particular, there is a strong the inequality really stands out if we look
or less 18.6%
gender bias which reduces women’s chan- at the amount of capital raised: Only 5.2%
ces of obtaining capital (Hassan et al. 2020). of the female startup teams have already
A recent study in the New York startup eco- received EUR 1 million or more - for male
system, for instance, shows that potential founder teams, on the other hand, the figure
investors asked female founders completely is 27.8% (Figure 18).
different questions than male founders,
40 41You can also read
