By Nora Toufaili
How women can start funding and rising in their startups!
Yep, you heard that right!
It’s Nora here, your bestie and ultimate guide to start investing into yourself for your own start-up.
I only had 42 cents in my bank account, and I was able to make it into a whopping $170 in one month. Did I mention I was only a student at university? Girl. I am telling you, it’s so much easier than you think.
First of all, what is a start-up?
A start-up is a growing business still in its beginning stages that is funded from multiple sources and comes from a place of filling in the gaps you feel is necessary to touch on. For example:
- Recycling or Upcycling materials
- Plus size fashion
- Broad spectrum of shades in cosmetics
Not only as females, but as humans, we all are different in every way possible. Therefore, we all have our own personal needs and expectations in so many fields that needs to be addressed.
A start-up is meant to ADD something to the already existing market, and as a start-up you need to disrupt the market! There is a slight difference between a start-up and a small business. A small business involves continuous business back and forth and no goal of large scale growth. Start-ups on the other hand, the AIM of it all is LARGE scale growth!
To create your own start-up, it can be self-funded, help from friends and family or you can be crowd funded as well! You could also have other partners join you in creating something that might BLOW PEOPLES MINDS!! Gather your best friends, sisters and aunties and give us what you have!
We BOSS BABES have the most passion and ambition when it comes to things we believe in and things we LOVE! This is what pushes us in creating and giving. Why not use that on a bigger spectrum? Why not help MORE woman own the startup game? And thrive in it aswell?
Now more than ever, woman in the founding of companies and start-ups has grown drastically especially in the last decade, but with that being said, only 1 of 6 investments are given to a woman-founded company in comparison to the rest given to men-founded companies. Although it is considered unequal, from 1995 to 2014, there has been an increase of over 70% of woman founding start-ups and companies in the U.S alone. This is DOUBLE the rate of growth of businesses founded by men!
And to top that off, there has been a 216% increase of companies and firms owned by WOMEN OF COLOUR. Can you imagine how much that number has increased from 2014 to 2022? We women are smashing the game!
Especially after the Pandemic, a whole new perspective of business, companies, product development, sustainability, environmental factor consideration; all these characters have been considered much more deeply and seriously in companies – since woman have become more involved in the field.
The best known example of companies founded by women are:
- Sheila Lirio Marcelo founding care.com
- Xochi Birch founding Bebo
- Victoria Ransom founding Wildfire Interactive
These are only the smallest examples!
In a survey asking over 350 startups, it was concluded that woman-led startups have a much higher rate in revenue, sometimes even making more than three times the invested money. They also are observed to have much higher performance and growth as well.
Why has it become easier for woman to start startups?
Nowadays. Thanks to the greatest gift of life (the world wide web) boss babes have been able to grow and evolve in all fields of life, finding equality in every aspect whether that be business ventures, building empires or even creating start-ups.
So lets’ begin with my story,
At 19 I moved countries to begin a new life and started studying to become an English teacher, however while studying, I really wanted to work and gain experience in business; so I was able to obtain the knowledge and resources and transfer that to create my own start-up.
With that 42 cents I had in my account, I had an idea that popped into my head. If I made another 42 cents, multiple times, can that lead to something? Little did I know it could.
I created an account with Ebay, and started my own drop shipping business. Essentially making 42 cents multiple times a day. That then became day after day, week after week, month after month and that 42 cents became $$$ and that’s when the game changed.
Now you might be thinking,
‘What does drop shipping have anything to do with Start-ups?’
Well with my drop shipping small business, I was able to FUND my own start-up. I even pitched in my ideas to some family and friends and some of them were so generous enough to fund even the smallest amount which was exactly the support I NEEDED to give my start-up that PUSH.
How to start?
To create your own start-up you don’t need thousands or even hundreds of dollars. All you need is focus, love, appetite for growth, a drive for challenges, and of course; the ultimate purpose that pushes you towards that ONE goal.
Where to look?
If you are looking into investing time and money into a start-up for funding and support, you don’t need to go to far!!
See what you have already, the woman around you can stand with you and give you that push you need.
Stuck with funding? It may be right in front of yours eyes. Remember, small earnings will lead to bigger things later! Invest in yourself 1% every day, and you will be 365% greater this day next year!
