Julie Wainwright Quotes

One of the blessings I've had, really, for my entire career, is working with founders of companies, whether it was Bill Ziff at Ziff Davis or with Jerry Yang and David Filo at Yahoo.

The stereotypes really play into what kinds of companies women can get funded for.

Good companies are always fundraising. Whether you're meeting people or considering firms, you're always fundraising.

Something like a quarter of the founders that have gone through Excelerate and Techstars are women. I'm incredibly proud of that.

One of the great things about Silicon Valley is, irrespective of how competitive you might be with another company or how closely you might be working with that company, there's a great sort of give and take, and camaraderie from - between - some of the executives in the valley and some of the other investors in the valley.

We got to know a lot of investors and know what they like and don't like. Through many co-investments opportunities, we have built trust among these investors. So when it came to investing in Xiaomi, things were a lot easier.

In the space of three weeks, I met a fair bunch of the guys who were just starting those little programmers' co-ops, and everybody was talking about starting businesses.

Often, entrepreneurs don't build a board until they are forced to by their VCs when they raise their first financing round. This is dumb, as you are missing the opportunity to add at least one person to the team who - as a board member - can help you navigate the early process of building your company and raising that first round.

While I'm a venture capitalist who invests in early-stage tech companies, I often feel like a professional emailer and conference call maker.

Clearly, there is a gender imbalance when it comes to venture capital and entrepreneurship.

There's only two things that I really care about - apart from family - one is business and the other is women in business.

VC has always been this high-touch, in-your-face-type business.

You need to begin to network with angels and VCs while you are still ideating. It is easier to ask someone you know for funding than a stranger. Build your financial network by attending as many industry functions and reaching out for advice from experts online.

Being women behind a massively growing business is not an easy task, and the journey to find the right investors and to secure true partners has proven that.

I am a big advocate of female entrepreneurs. I do what I can to advise and help them along in their careers.

If you're not funding female-founded firms, you're leaving behind half your talent.

There is a directory where you can explore every single person who has gone through YC and a private forum that only founders can participate in.

I joined a very male-dominated profession back in 1986. I wanted to work with big multinational Fortune 500 companies, but you don't come into the firm and automatically get those. So, quite frankly, a key to my success was that I found male mentors and male sponsors. I think some women are afraid to say that.

After graduating in International Relations in 2011, I turned down safe, corporate job offers and instead accepted a position at an 'incubator' in L.A. - a tech word for a team of people who are funded by investors to create apps. I knew the future was digital and that I had to take a risk.

I have been able to enjoy the strides that others have made before me. I don't want to scoff at the idea that there was sexism, but I don't wake up in the morning and think, 'I am a woman in tech.' I just go to work, and my work is in technology.

Through crowdfunding anyone can find companies and products.Forming a partnership with innovative British businesses was appealing and the opportunity to go on a journey with these companies as they grow, and hopefully share in their future success, is exciting.

My father and I talked every day. He coached me on how to cold-call companies I wanted in our portfolio, how to network at public events, to cultivate senior journalists at important outlets, and how to run a profitable P&L. But, more or less, he allowed me to make my own mistakes.

In tech entrepreneurship, even a lot of hack events tend to be overly commercial in that they're designed to produce companies.

Years ago, Barry Diller asked me to be a judge on a pilot for an inventor show on USA, and when it was over, the producer, Ken Mok, took me out to dinner and really got me talking. It was a long dinner. Afterward, he said, 'One day, I'm going to write your movie'.

There are not enough female VCs in an industry so traditionally dominated by males. There are not enough female mentors who are actively engaged with female founders. We need women VCs and entrepreneurs to stand up, get loud, and help guide their peers.