"When it comes to attracting equity investment, [ventures with at least one woman] lag behind ventures with all-male founding teams." - Entrepreneurship Database Research Study
Financing is an important component of any entrepreneurial venture, yet women-led ventures lag behind men in attracting this funding. We have brought together a panel of female investors to both share what they look for in their investments, as well as their own career paths towards becoming investors. Our panelists include:
Jan Garfinkle, Founder and Managing Director of Arboretum Ventures: Jan targets promising medical device and diagnostic technologies that enable meaningful healthcare system savings. Her expertise in medical technology stems from leadership roles she held at two important cardiovascular start-ups that spurred the market for catheter-based interventions. While at Arboretum, Jan has led investments and held board seats in more than a dozen portfolio companies. In addition to several other exits, Jan led Arboretum’s investment in HandyLab and served on the Board of Directors for five years until the company was acquired by BD in 2009 for $275 million. She also led the Series A investment into Esperion Therapeutics which subsequently went public and has a market cap over $2 billion on the NASDAQ.
Lee Gorman, Angel Investor: After 25 years in the automotive industry, Lee founded Barton Consulting Services, LLC, where she works primarily with not-for-profit organizations and start-ups. She advised the CEO and acted as interim Director of the Automotive Business for Coherix, Inc., then served as Chief Operating Officer for WriteSteps. Work with Entrepreneur Support Organizations has included coaching for start-ups through Ann Arbor SPARK, New Enterprise Forum (NEF), Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest (GLEQ), and Techtown; and mentoring students through the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Erb Institute at the University of Michigan. She has also served as a judge for Business Plan Competitions with TIE and the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition (AMIC). She was honored with the GLEQ 2011 Coach of the Year Award.
Angela Barbash, Founder of ReConsider: Angela studied Cultural Anthropology and History at Eastern Michigan University, developing an appreciation for entrepreneurship while working at the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center before entering the financial services industry. Angela went on to become a licensed Financial Advisor in 2004, serving in the field as a branch manager and in the home office of a large firm before settling at a local independent firm in Metro Detroit.
Following the 2008 market correction she began to notice client and market trends that were pointing to a significant shift in the industry toward local investing, social entrepreneurship, and putting meaning back into money making. With this she saw a market opportunity and need to develop the Michigan ecosystem, launching Reconsider in April 2012 to do just that. Angela now primarily serves as a Principal and Investment Advisor at Reconsider’s sister company Revalue, a registered investment advisory firm.