Businettes is an incubator specifically for female founders in a male-dominated business world – does that make sense? How this hub encourages women to start businesses.
Victoria Arnhold and Claire Siegert founded a startup incubator specifically for women, Businettes
It’s 2015. Victoria Arnhold and her friends are driving across England. When a breakdown brings them to a halt and the women have to wait hours for help, they have time to talk about anything that comes to mind. Victoria Arnhold learns that each of her friends seems to have a good business idea – but none of them want to implement it.
It’s a man’s world
This is the official founding story of Businettes – a startup incubator aimed specifically at women. The start-up scene is narrated by Claire Siegert, Victoria Arnhold’s co-founder. The business partners were still just friends at the time – and they were shocked by the fact that none of Arnhold’s traveling companions seemed to have the confidence to start a business. “We both studied in Berlin and were used to many students setting up businesses straight after their studies,” says Siegert. “Then we realized: It was just the boys.”
In fact, there are still significantly fewer female than male founders in Germany: According to Female Founders Monitor, the proportion of female founders in German startups was around 20 percent in 2022 – and recently grew by around four percentage points.
When Siegert and Arnhold founded Businettes in 2019, it was clear to them that their hub should be aimed directly at women. “We never questioned it,” says Siegert.
Why do you need an incubator specifically for women?
For Siegert it is clear: the conditions that women need to build a company are generally different from the conditions that men need – and often also find. Many women find it difficult to gain a foothold, especially at the beginning of a business. “Unfortunately, women often have less confidence in themselves,” says Siegert. This means that female founders often hold back in a room full of men. But this is particularly fatal in the startup scene. “Women need to be in an empowering environment, especially at the beginning,” says Siegert. “Otherwise they’ll just leave it.”
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Businettes therefore creates a kind of safe space for women. The incubator’s offerings have gradually expanded. “At the very beginning we started with a kind of pitch training, but then realized that building a pitch deck is a challenge in itself and requires support,” says Siegert. So the Businettes program now starts much earlier – for everyone who needs it.
Support instead of discourage
Businettes attaches great importance to remaining constructive and concentrating on solutions. Siegert says she is aware of the disadvantages faced by women in the startup scene – for example, that on average women receive less money in financing and are asked more often by investors about the risk, while men are more concerned about growth potential. Nevertheless, this is not part of the Businettes program. “It’s more about general empowerment,” says Siegert. “We don’t discuss structural problems – it just doesn’t help. We can’t change anything about the system per se, so we start where we can really make a difference.”
Instead, there is a “hands-on mentality” at the incubator. “We are the absolute cheerleaders,” says Siegert. One of her most important tips for founders is: “Talk to other founders!” If you don’t ask, you won’t get an answer. She also had to learn that there was nothing to lose. Instead, she now knows that other people generally want to help. She says: “Worst case scenario, get a no, there’s nothing to lose.”
What particularly drives women
In order to motivate women to stay on track, the two founders brought an experienced psychologist on board, among other things. “We wanted to find out what drives women,” says Siegert. To do this, the team also looked at studies and statistics. The result: On average, men and women are motivated by different things. “Men always want to be first, many are driven by competition and struggle,” says Siegert. But this is completely atypical for women – or even counterproductive. “Women often value a community with whom they can exchange ideas,” says Siegert. The principle also applies: “You can’t be, what you can’t see.” – Women need role models who encourage them: I can do that too!
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You can also encourage women by constantly showing them their progress. Businettes has therefore integrated, among other things, a dashboard into its online program that praises the founders after each chapter they have completed. “It’s a bit like school with the hard work stickers,” says Siegert. “But it works.”
“In a room full of women, completely different questions are asked”
In addition to a step-by-step guide to starting a business and a community of more than 800 women, the Female Founder Hub’s offerings now also include an academy that addresses questions about entrepreneurship – including administrative topics, personal branding and financing. Siegert says that of course these workshops can also be offered to men. “It’s not thematically different.” But she knows from experience that the female-only concept is important, especially at the beginning, in order to specifically support female founders. “In a room full of women, people dare to ask questions and completely different questions are also asked,” says Siegert. The founders should also learn that their contributions are justified. “It’s simply about women being able to practice being the center of attention with us.” – Until they internalize it at some point.
Just like Victoria Arnhold’s friends. In fact, at least one of them actually made their business idea a reality. The Lithuanian has founded a platform in her homeland where people can find gift ideas and buy them directly. So at least this story has a happy ending.
This article first appeared in August 2023.
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