Jason Ball: Over 50% of Qualcomm EU investments Cofounded or Chaired by Female Entrepreneurs


With all the discussion around the lack of women in entrepreneurship, it’s interesting to put into the discussion that nearly half of Qualcomm’s european investments are under female leadership in one form or another, points out Jason Ball, Director at Quallcomm Europe.

From the companies we cover in northern Europe, Grand Cru’s Celene Pasula and Tine Tyggsten from Everplaces are just a few of the many tech females who have founded, cofounded, or chair one of Qualcomm’s investments. And it’s not because of a decision to target female led companies, Ball says. It’s just a pattern that has emerged.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise; a recent MIT study has found that working teams containing at least one female outperform male only teams in collective intelligence tests. Seeing that start-ups are mostly based on team efforts, the connection between successful tech companies with female target demographics and successful tech companies led by females seems obvious.

A good example of a top female entrepreneur would be Sofia Fenichell, of whom Ball has this to say:  “…as a [female] tech entrepreneur, she’s already on the top 2%. You have to fight hard, and after you meet her, you realize she’s top 1%.”

A glimpse in the history shows a visible lack of females in the tech industry. However a wind of change has set its course towards a world where CEO’s will be referred to as “Ms.” more and more frequently.

You can read more at Ball’s personal blog.

Women in cafe image by shutterstock