Female Entrepreneurship in Software Startups. Motivations, challenges, and opportunities

Abstract

The significantly low involvement of women in technology entrepreneurship, particularly in software startups, is widely recognized. Although research on female entrepreneurship has been ongoing, very little has focused on what motivates women to start new software ventures or the specific challenges they usually face. Through semi-structured interviews with female founders of software startups, female business mentors, and technology investors, several motivations for women's entrepreneurship in software were identified (e.g. desire for autonomy, opportunity to innovate), along with the main obstacles and challenges they encounter (absence of entrepreneurial partners, pitching in founding rounds, lack of direction, among others). Additionally, a series of actions is suggested for increasing women's participation in software startups (support for remote work, more access to mentoring in business and technology).