This weekend, the New York Times published: “Out of the Loop” a journalistic piece breaking down Silicon Valley and the high tech industry to reveal what makes it tick for women.  What makes it tick or not - might conjur up the thought of a biological clock and family goals, which is generally believed to contribute to the departure of women from the fast track.    However, the piece goes deeper, and discusses science education for girls and role models, and as Sapna Cheryan, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington who has researched why few women choose computer-science careers says about the computer engineering-type cast: “It makes it hard for people who don’t fit that image to think of it as an option for them.”  

Anita Campbell

The journalist who wrote the article, Claire Cain Miller, goes on to highlight the very core of what makes Silicon Valley work: the networks.  I was going to write the entrenched networks, because so many of them are – they are hard the break into and often have much to do with where you received your MBA or which VC wants to promote who within the scope of a business concept / idea.  According to the same Times article: ‘Research indicates that gender exerts a powerful influence on where the money goes in Silicon Valley’, and a Kauffman Foundation study entitled “Gatekeepers of Venture Growth: The Role and Participation of Women in the Venture Capital Industry” is quoted.

You’ll continue to find Women Business founders and leaders spotlighted in this blog going forward (on MyVenturepad) especially for the fast-growth companies or “Gazelles” – a term thought to be coined by either Fortune Small Business or Inc. magazine, and the name of a strategic Advisory founded by Verne Harnish (Gazelles, Inc.).

On that topic of growth businesses and business networks, please note that on April 20, 10am PT and 1pm ET MyVenturepad is hosting a “Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business” Webinar featuring Anita Campbell, Chuck Hester, and Steve King.  The panelists will be covering:

  •  How to establish and build your LinkedIn network
  •  How to build and use Company Pages to improve your business
  •  How to create, manage and promote a LinkedIn group
  •  How to utilize network updates, answers, and LinkedIn applications to build and improve your business

All of the accomplished speakers have deep expertise in advising growing businesses.  Anita Campbell is Founder and CEO of Small Business Trends, an online community touching over 300,000 small business owners each month. The site has been named to the Forbes Best of the Web in 2005 and 2008, and received recognition from the Wall Street Journal and MSNBC television, among others. Anita was voted “Most Influential Small Business Figure” by the Bizzie Awards.

Anita is joined by Chuck Hester and Steve King. Chuck is the author of  Linking In to Pay it Forward – Changing the Value Proposition in Social Media. Steve King of SmallBizlabs, researches the trends affecting growing businesses including the growing role of social media. All of the speakers will be reachable during the webinar with the online Q&A and the online discussion forums afterwards.   SAP, my employer, is sponsoring the webinar.