‘Female solopreneurs should never give up…’: Ashneer Grover on problems faced by women while raising money

Ashneer Grover, the founder of BharatPe has spoken on the challenges female solopreneurs face while raising funds from investors for their startups at the E-Summit 2023 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He was invited as a speaker at the event.

Grover said that this is an alarming issue that female solopreneurs face today while raising funds for their startups. The situation can invert if she is with her husband or a male partner.

“Nobody talks about it, but this is an unsaid practice being followed, and I am open to talking about this. We need to fight against it,” he added.

“There’s a term called MCP - Male Chauvinist Pigs - for whom raising capital for their startups is easy, as investors peg their interests on the fact that the guy has already left his job and is focusing on his venture, going all in, and thus holds power to succeed.”

On being asked about the possible solution for the problem, he responded by saying that such female solopreneurs should never give up and look for alternate avenues, going bootstrap or whatever path possible that leads to success: by hook or crook.

“Kudos to all these female solopreneurs,” he commented.

“Because the investors think women will eventually turn to their families and will not sustain their focus on the startups they founded,” he added.

On teambuilding, he said that it is a very crucial aspect of any organisation. “As a founder, it is very simple to say that team building plays a pivotal role in bringing out the product in the market. It is very critical to build a good team,” he added.

He also spoke at length about the key parameters for investing in a startup. Ashneer said that return on investment is very important for an investor. “If you are investing, then you should always see if it is good enough to give you better returns or not. That makes you a good investor.”

On being asked what it takes to build a startup, Ashneer said, “What we see from the outside is just glamour and shine, but that is not the reality. It takes a lot to crack JEE and get into IIT. But it takes even more hard work to start a company and make it a successful one.”

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