Ep. 49 It’s Time: Women in Private Equity (51 Labs Webinar)
Key Takeaways
Podcast & video below
Ask the trailblazing women in PE about gender equality their industry, and they’ll say two things:
We’ve come an incredibly long way
There’s still so far to go
51 Labs assembled a panel of incredible women in the M&A industry to share their experiences, reflect on the state of the industry, and offer advice to women at any stage in their private equity career.
First, the numbers.
Of the 152 attendees on this webinar,
54% have less than 5 women at their firm
This number indicates a major cultural problem in the private equity industry. This could be why we see entrepreneurship as such a popular path for women in PE--it’s an opportunity to create your company culture and values from scratch.
Michelle Noon, Founder and Managing Partner of Clearhaven Partners, says, “it can be much easier to start with a blank sheet of paper than to retrofit values and culture.”
Melanie Brensinger, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Anagenesis Capital Partners, agrees that it’s often best to start from scratch. She knew she had the right time, right place, and right idea to start her own firm, but she got stuck on the last part:
Am I the right person?
As the PE industry fights back against generations of inequality, women still feel the remnants of toxic culture in workplaces. Of the attendees that joined us,
83% say that they’ve been discouraged from speaking up at their firm due to a lack of confidence.
It is no surprise, then, that women get stuck on the last part--the part that requires that extra bout of confidence.
Caroline Young, Director of ESG and (more recently) Founder & CEO or Craftsbury Consulting, has made a career out of coaching early- and mid-career women in this industry. Her best advice:
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
There will be times when you may be the only woman in the room, times when you feel like you’re working way outside your comfort zone… times when comfortability flies out the window. But if you can get familiar with that feeling of uncertainty and embrace it, you’ll find the wherewithal to relax a bit.
Be yourself--unapologetically.
This uncomfortability may often fall across gender lines, but it can also fall across cultural lines. Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon, Managing Partner of Avante Capital Partners, remembers a lunch early in her career where she went out to sushi with her colleagues--way outside of her comfort zone being from Puerto Rico and growing up on the south side of Chicago. She went for a large scoop of wasabi, feeling certain it was guacamole, and spent the rest of lunch recovering.
What could have been a source of embarrassment for Ivelisse became a source of pride instead--in one minor gaffe at lunch, she was able to break down barriers, express a bit about her background and heritage, and make a good memory with colleagues. No humiliation, only gratitude.
Build your network relentlessly.
Amy Weisman, Managing Director of Sterling Investment Partners, remembers how she built such a relationship with Gretcher Perkins, Partner at Avance Investment Management. If Amy had a meeting over dinner, she would often call Gretchen to accompany her, just to diffuse any tension and ensure comfortability.
Gretchen agrees that, while it’s always been important to keep a robust and lively network, it’s more vital (and possible) now than ever. After years of going to conferences and immediately searching for the “pod” of women in the room, she encourages women to use their resources to work harder and network relentlessly. LinkedIn, direct email reach-outs, anything--this industry is filled with women who want to help and pass on their knowledge and experiences.
Lastly, Alex Lebenthal, Senior Advisor at Houlihan Lokey wants to remind women to choose their role models wisely: don’t just take inspiration from those women who you deem “successful”--dive a little deeper and find the women who have stood for something, tried and failed, and maybe didn’t reach the success tier quite as quickly as others.
In order to break through in this business, you’ll likely experience all of those things, so find the women around you who know what it’s like--they’ll show you the path forward.
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LINKS
iTunes - http://apple.co/2NalRXV
Spotify - http://spoti.fi/3qmbuON
Google - http://bit.ly/2LTLH1s
Stitcher - http://bit.ly/35Jdh8M
HOSTS
Jordan Selleck | CEO & Co-Founder, 51 Labs
Jing Li-Selleck | Co-Founder, Head of Creative, 51 Labs
Caroline Young | Director of ESG, HKW
PANELISTS
Melanie Brensinger | Managing Partner, Anagenesis Capital Partners
Alexandra Lebenthal | Senior Advisor, Houlihan Lokey
Michelle Noon | Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Clearhaven Partners
Gretchen Perkins | Partners, Avance Investment Management
Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon | Managing Partner, Avante Capital Partners
Amy Weisman | Managing Director, Sterling Investment Partners
