As a female entrepreneur, I’m always on the lookout for companies that are helping women break through the proverbial glass ceiling. And, there is no shortage of public announcements, blog posts and tweets by many players in the startup scene proclaiming their commitment to bringing more female founders into the ecosystem. It’s been proven time and again that it makes business sense to invest in companies with female founders and leadership. But, in Silicon Valley, startups with female CEOs still win only about 3% of investment dollars.
That’s why it’s refreshing when an investor spares us the public proclamations on how to engage more women and quietly makes their first investment one into a woman led company. I had a first row seat to this not long ago.
SAP, the largest enterprise software applications company in the world, recently launched the SAP.iO Fund to invest in early-stage software startups that can expand the SAP ecosystem. It’s a big deal when a major company supports early-stage startups and provides investment, mentorship, customer introductions and access to platform integrations. It’s an even bigger deal when its first investment is in a woman-led company and that gender is not mentioned.
The first investment from the SAP.iO Fund was in Parable Sciences (known as Paradata), a San Francisco-based Big Data analytics company that uses Machine Learning to bring greater transparency to supply chain and direct material procurement.
As I sat in the audience at the SAP.iO Fund Launch, CEO Debbra Rogers delivered an inspiring presentation to a packed room of people eager to network and learn from some of the top movers and shakers in the startup industry. Her gender was not mentioned once, and a woman CEO speaking at a major fund launch seemed like a non-issue. I loved it and was telling myself that this is how things should always be.
I had a chance to talk to Ram Jambunathan, Managing Director of the SAP.iO Fund at the event. He shared that the purpose of SAP.iO was to empower innovators and that the SAP.iO Fund will be investing in external startup entrepreneurs that are developing industry-changing software. He also talked about his excitement to continue investing in the best ideas and companies. As I spoke with him I felt a growing sense of excitement about how SAP.iO's example can positively impact the environment for all women entrepreneurs.
I hope to soon hear of more companies changing the game by creating a new normal – a norm that doesn’t look at gender but, rather, treats all good ideas and companies as equal opportunities for success. SAP launched SAP.iO with a complete lack of fanfare about their first investment going to a woman led company. Who is next?
