One element often separates those who struggle in the venture capital and startup space from the success stories—their network.
As the CEO of a program that mentors startup founders, I’ve found that first-time business founders are often under-networked, lacking quality connections and resources to guide and nurture their entrepreneurship path. Despite having an outstanding idea, under-networked founders may struggle to find success without the right connections. To be “under-networked” means that individuals are missing key ties to the venture capital and startup world, either from professional affiliations or from friends, trusted acquaintances with past startups or venture-capital experience. In my experience, under-networked founders are in the majority and are often women, non-white males and/or individuals with little or no college education.
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