"Women need to network more proactively"

Women are a rarity not only in the start-up world, but also among venture capitalists. In this interview, Carina Harding from Picus Capital explains how this could change.

Various studies show that there are hardly any female investors in Germany. What do you think are the reasons for this?

I think there are many hurdles along the way. The first step is to come up with the idea of being interested in venture capital and then applying for it. If you then look on Linkedin and in the media, the world is still pretty male-dominated on the outside. I told myself that I would go into VC anyway and then change the industry from the inside.

How could more women be inspired to become investors?

We need more strong women in venture capital who act as role models. We need to make the skills of female investors visible. In addition, job advertisements and information on websites should be as gender-neutral as possible. Then perhaps more young women would dare to enter the industry.

What was the biggest hurdle for you when entering the world of female investors?

Whether it was founding a company or entering the VC world, I didn't have the biggest network in these areas when I started my career. At the time, I had the feeling that men were doing better. In my opinion, female fellow students had to be much more proactive. And what can be off-putting in the application process is when you suddenly find yourself sitting opposite four male partners who are interviewing you.

Why is networking easier for men?

VC comes from the USA, which was 99 percent male. Then investment in start-ups spilled over to Germany 20 years ago. In the beginning, there were hardly any women here either - the VC market in Germany was generally much smaller than it is today. And then it was the male partners who were not yet aware of the problem of diversity and therefore initially hired similar people. I think this has simply grown historically and too few women were proactively approached. Only in recent years has there been a change in thinking: Because now many male investors are also saying that they want to be involved in equality.

How can women successfully enter the world of venture capitalists?

First of all, they should have done internships in a start-up, in VC or consulting. This is where you learn important skills to understand the job. Then it is important to build up a support network. This means proactively seeking contact with founders or people with a good network who can help you along the way. Everyone in the industry is actually totally open.

Why do women find it more difficult to move up in the industry?

There are studies that show that women generally sell themselves more realistically. And VC and start-ups are built on great visions.

So men overestimate themselves?

I myself am not a fan of stereotyping like "women are more shy" and "men are more self-confident". However, I do believe that it is a structural problem that founders and VC partners do not think often enough about the fact that they also have a responsibility to help drive this issue forward.

Would more female investors also produce more female founders?

At least I enjoy supporting a diverse team of founders more. Female investors are more aware of the issue of diversity than their male colleagues because it affects them.

Personal details: Carina Harding joined the Picus team as an investor in 2021. Before Picus, she worked as Head of Sales at Capmo, a VC-funded start-up in Munich. Prior to that, she gained experience at the management and strategy consultancy McKinsey and the research institute Fraunhofer.