Is It Easier in Boston? Female Tech Entrepreneurs Talk About Making It Big

August 17, 2010

Jules Pieri with the New York Times cover story on her company. (Jules Pieri/dailygrommet.com)

When most people think of the entrepreneurial tech scene in Boston, they probably don’t immediately flash to images of high heels and power suits. Women are still a definite minority.

But a recent article in Xconomy claims that Boston may actually be the place to be a female tech entrepreneur. According to a study conducted by CB Insights, a private company that tracks financing and investments in start-up companies around the country, 27 percent of tech entrepreneurs in Boston are female, compared to a mere 6 percent in California and only 7 percent in New York.

Jules Pieri, the founder and CEO of the Lexington-based Daily Grommet, an online marketplace for consumer products, is slightly baffled by these numbers. These days, after a profile in the New York Times and a successful round of Series A funding — $3.4 million — Daily Grommet is soaring, but it hasn’t always been this way. Today we talk about “She-E-Os” and whether Boston is as supportive as it seems.

Guests:

Laura Fitton, founder and CEO, oneforty and co-author of Twitter For Dummies
Greg Huang, editor of Xconomy Boston; national IT editor for Xconomy
Jules Pieri, founder and CEO, Daily Grommet

http://ipocandy.com Kris Tuttle

Good program. I agree that the child aspects should be shared and that’s how we do it (mostly.) In Boston I believe it is easier to manage suburban life/school/kids with a professional office job. In the NYC area it’s basically impossible. That may help at least a little bit.
Sean Becker

It’s hard to compare with other areas not having experienced them, but after almost a year as a startup founder it seems that the community in Boston is making strides in creating opportunities for all entrepreneurs, male and female.
The show mentioned the C3 co-working space in the Cambridge Innovation Center. There alone are at least 3 impressive female entrepreneurs, Nina Dudnik of Seeding Labs; Ilene Mason of Rethinking Power Management and Carrie Stalder who created the Venture Cafe (www.venturecafe.net). Their names aren’t on their cubes because they’re far enough down the line that the companies names are what resonate.
The Venture Cafe is an example of the improvements in the startup scene here in Boston. Based on Thursdays out of the 11th floor in CIC it brings together a diverse group of entrepreneurs. Other initiatives like MassChallenge (also started in CIC) and MIT Enterprise Forum and TiECON are key to building the entrepreneurial community. There are many more that are popping up every month.
Tim Rowe and the folks at CIC haven’t yet provided daycare but they do a great job of promoting the startups in their space and they even have a dedicated nursing room for new mothers. As the father of a 1 month old I know the importance of that. It’s also nice that CIC is on the Red Line as is my 2 year old’s daycare, and yes, I pick him up (almost) every day.
http://www.incion.com/ web design orange ca

I am really enjoying the vintage photographs, thanks

Hosts Meghna Chakrabarti and Anthony Brooks introduce us to newsmakers, big thinkers and artists and bring us stories of relevance to Bostonians here and around the region. Live every weekday at 3.

Listen: Weekdays, 3 p.m. on 90.9 FM
Live Call-In: (800) 423-TALK
Listener Voicemail: (617) 358-0607

Think Money Can't Buy Happiness?

Is It Easier in Boston? Female Tech Entrepreneurs Talk About Making It Big