Change-maker
Only 2%
There’s a wealth of female entrepreneurs out there working hard and waiting for their time to shine. But only 2% of all venture capital goes to female entrepreneurs.
With We Are Jane, we want to change that.
Women investing in women
Together with Eline Talboom and Muriel Uytterhaegen, I set up a 100% female investment fund. Thanks to a largely female community of investors, we raised €54 million ($65 million) to invest in female-founded scale-ups, all within five years. Our investees can rely on us for funding as well as expertise from all our Janes.
It’s also about guidance: when do you need to shift gear?
Together with my two Janes: Muriel Uytterhaegen on the left and Eline Talboom on the right.
Dragons’ Den
Female entrepreneurship is on the rise. I’m happy to see more women in my mentoring sessions or taking part in accelerator programmes. As a panel member in the Belgian version of Dragons’ Den, I was delighted to see how many female starters came to pitch their ideas.
All too often, female entrepreneurs get cold feet, preventing them from taking the next leap in their business. External factors play an important role in this, of course. Think of competing priorities, skills gaps or legal constraints. But based on my experience, I feel strongly that women should take their destiny into their own hands to make them feel more secure about where they’re heading professionally.
My two cents’ worth
Here’s my two cents’ worth of advice to all female entrepreneurs out there.
Enhance your financial literacy
passion and technical know-how are great, but not enough
Dream big
dare to take calculated risks from the very beginning
Have a sounding board
look for role models, connect with peers, invest in a good wing (wo)man
Stay focused
too many options wear you out, you should know when an opportunity comes along
“Say yes, and then think”
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We Are Jane acquired MediPartner
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