ADVICE FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS LOOKING TO RAISE CAPITAL

1. The most important thing you can do is to learn to tell a story. That means you have to communicate. You have to be able to be effective. It is important that you get real, unadulterated feedback about whether you’re good at it or not. If you realize you might not be very good at it, get someone to come with you who is better than you. If you can’t tell a story effectively enough and you’re not getting the resonance, don’t be afraid to say this is not one of my strong points. Get somebody else who believes in your story, your journey and who can put it across.

2. Absolutely lean into your network and make the ask. One of the things a lot of women are not very good at, and I find this especially with South Asian women, is that we get shy when it comes to making the ask. How can I ask for this money? How can I ask him? It’s usually a him. I get a lot of this from the South Asian female community. Well, ladies, if you don’t ask, you’re still at the same spot. Some folks who are very reticent to do it, I advise them to practice saying it in the shower, practicing it in the mirror. If it’s on Zoom, to minimize the video and then just make the ask. Say the words out loud. Just practice. Find three places where you’ve been hesitant, and go make the ask in small settings.