Credibility Can Be Learned
by Connie Glaser
Best-selling author and keynote speaker Connie
Glaser is one of the country's leading experts on gender communication and women
in leadership . Exploring communication differences
between men and women, Connie offers corporate seminars on effective communications
and overcoming barriers to leadership.
If you're one of the millions of viewers who watched The Apprentice, then
you know how powerful the womens team was and how deftly they defeated the
men time after time.
This is just one example of a phenomenon highlighted by recent research
that found women executives trounce male executives in almost every aspect
of performance. Unfortunately, the only area in which gender remains a crucial
area of difference is confidence.
The good news is that confidence is definitely coachable, especially at
places like Springboard Enterprises (www.springboardenterprises.org). This
national nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping women get their fair
share of equity capital for startup ventures. Several times a year, Springboard
recruits the best and brightest female entrepreneurs who are seeking venture
capital and sends them to eight-week "boot comps." There, they
are paired with coaches, investors, strategists, lawyers and financial consultants
devoted to helping them strengthen their presentations to venture capitalists
-- primarily men.
The women chosen ultimately present their startup companies at a forum packed
with scores of potential investors who have the power to give them the funding
they need. Thus, five weeks of boot camp are spent rehearsing their pitch
and polishing their image so they'll come across as credible.
Results? The Springboard Project has been an enormous success. To date,
nearly 40 percent of Springboard's graduates have raised in excess of $700
million from VCs and angels.
Annette Gilchrist, Ph. D., is one Springboard success story. Formerly a
professor of molecular pharmacology and biological chemistry at Northwestern
University, Gilchrist -- along with fellow scientist Heidi Hamm, Ph.D. --
founded Cue BIOtech in June 2000. The company came about after this pair
of professors developed a process to identify small molecules that work inside
cells to block diseases.
"These molecules can be developed into drugs to treat patients with
heart disease, cancer, AIDS and other illnesses," says Gilchrist.
Cue BIOtech applied for patents, leased office and laboratory space on Northwestern's
medical school campus, and began searching for money to get the business
running. With a sluggish economy permeating the venture capital market, however,
Gilchrist knew that coming across as credible was critical for attracting
investors.
"That's where Springboard helped," she says. "I'm happy and
most comfortable doing science. The business side is where I'm nervous."
Cue BIOtech was among 230 applicants submitting business plans to Springboard
-- and one of 26 chosen to make a 10-minute presentation to VCs. When it
was show time, Gilchrist didn't disappoint. To hide her nervousness, she
opened with a joke: "You've all heard that the trick for a speaker is
to imagine that her audience is naked. Well, I'm imagining that you're all
wearing lab coats."
The VCs loved the joke, allowing Gilchrist to relax and get on with her
presentation summarizing her company's goals and five-year financial forecast.
"The Springboard experience generated incredible publicity," she
reports. "A week later, I was invited to Kalamazoo, Mich., to give a
similar presentation to 100 Michigan venture capitalists. A few days after
that, I repeated it for a Chicago VC."
Cue BIOtech has since received a considerable investment and show of confidence
from the VC community. "Not a bad start," Gilchrist adds. And that
is just the beginning!
Reprinted from "What Queen Esther Knew: Business Strategies from a
Biblical Sage" by Connie Glaser and Barbara Smalley. Copyright 2003
by Connie Glaser. Permission granted by Rodale Inc., Emmaus, Pa., 18098.
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