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Put Me On Your Board

And stop feigning paucity

Dear Entrepreneurial Spirits, CEOs, Budding Co-Founders and Geeks of the World:

Put me on your board.

I am entrepreneurial, proven and not risk-averse.

I thrive on the thrill of exponential momentum and stop at nothing to get the job done.

I am thirsty, yet experienced enough to take a step back and advise.

I am a liaison between generations; between the scruffy startup-teens and the gray hairs of innovations past.

I speak “engineer” and “developer” fluently.

I have raised millions of dollars through crowdfunding campaigns I have managed and those I have advised.

I believe, above all, in solving needs; in great product; in moving fast and breaking things.

I believe that the future is a better serving, more balanced, people powered place.

I am rational, yet listen to my gut.

I believe in passion; in fire.

I know no boundary when it comes to me and my brand; I eat, sleep, and breathe the companies and products I touch and I would have it no other way.

And I am a woman.

I write this to warn you; in hopes you’ll stop making the same mistakes and learn from the data you seem to be ignoring. I’m saying this so you have the best opportunity for success. I say this because I am in the business of empowering the future of business and you are too.

Fact: Companies with women on their board outperform companies with boards that are comprised entirely of men. According to Catalyst, “Companies with sustained high representation of WBD (Women Board Directors), defined as those with three or more WBD in at least four of five years, significantly outperformed those with sustained low representation by 84 percent on Return on Sales, by 60 percent on Return on Investment Capital, and by 46 percent on Return on Equity.” If those KPIs aren’t worth taking into consideration, I don’t know what is.

Fact: Fab.com, Foursquare, Airbnb, and Twitter all have zero female board members.

Others also have shockingly very few, as Valleywag reported Tuesday.

It is a poor business decision not to seek out talented women. It is ignorant to neglect factoring this insight in to the core structure of your company’s DNA.You can change this. Today.

Because… there are many more out there like “me.”

Open your eyes and minds. Expand your networks.

Find us.