"Starting, funding, and growing a new venture are significant challenges for every entrepreneur. For women, the hurdles are even higher, due to widely held perceptions about them, their capabilities, and their businesses. Now, five leading experts on women entrepreneurs offer systematic solutions to the challenges, offering timely advice to women dedicated to achieving success and claiming the rewards." "Clearing the Hurdles draws on five years of original research, performed as part of the Diana Project - a major initiative that explores ways women grow business." -- From the book jacket.

Chapter 1Women Becoming Entrepreneurs 1 -- No Glass Ceilings Here 1 -- An Entrepreneurial Venture Begins 3 -- Venture Growth Is a Choice 5 -- Women-Led Ventures 7 -- Slow to Grow 8 -- Are There Changes in the Offing? 9 -- Private Equity--The Last Big Hurdle 10 -- Hurdle Analogy 12 -- Plan for This Book 13 -- Chapter 2 Women Entrepreneurs: Pathways and Challenges 17 -- Entrepreneur 18 -- Strategic Choices 20 -- Hurdles to Overcome 24 -- Higher Hurdles for Women 28 -- Why Are the Hurdles Higher? 31 -- Winning the Race for Success 37 -- Chapter 3 Funding Sources for Businesses on the "Grow" 41 -- Money and the Start-Up Process 44 -- Growth Capital versus Start-Up Funds 46 -- Bootstrap Financing 48 -- Sources of Equity Capital 53 -- Angel Investing 54 -- Government-Supported Investments 58 -- Venture Capital 59 -- Chapter 4 Motives, Aspirations, and Commitment 67 -- Entrepreneurial Choice 70 -- Motives for Entrepreneurship 72 -- Women's Aspirations Contrast with Entrepreneurial Reality 74 -- Family Role Expectations 76 -- Women's Self-Expression Leads to Perceptions 77 -- Truths and Realities 79 -- Moving Beyond the Expectations 82 -- Chapter 5 Women and Human Capital 89 -- What Do Resource Providers Look For? 90 -- Assumptions about Women Entrepreneurs 93 -- Sorting Fact from Fiction 95 -- Overcoming the Hurdle 102 -- Enhancing Your Human Capital 108 -- Chapter 6 Financial Knowledge and Business Savvy 113 -- Challenges Built into the System 114 -- Do Women Underinvest in Their Businesses? 115 -- Do Women Have the Requisite Financial Knowledge, Skills, and Experience? 120 -- Separating the High Potential, High Performers from the Rest 125 -- Springboard Survey: A Study of Women Entrepreneurs Leading High-Potential Enterprises 128 -- What Can Women Do to Clear the Financing Hurdles? 133 -- Chapter 7 Growth Orientation and Strategies 141 -- Are Women-Owned Firms Smaller? 144 -- Why Are Women-Owned Firms Smaller? 145 -- Why Are Women-Led Ventures Perceived Differently? 147 -- New Generation of Women Entrepreneurs 151 -- Strategies for Growth 154 -- Overcoming High Hurdles 162 -- Chapter 8 Building Useful Networks and Cashing in on Social Capital 167 -- Are Women Unplugged from the Right Networks? 170 -- Formal Networks 172 -- Informal Networks 173 -- Benefits of Networks 174 -- Network Boundaries and Barriers 175 -- Case for Homogeneous Networks 177 -- Case for Heterogeneity 178 -- Social Capital--The Currency of Network Exchange 179 -- Reputation and Trust 181 -- Spending Social Capital within a Network 182 -- Some Networks Are Like Foreign Countries 183 -- Women Have Diverse Networks 184 -- Women Benefit from Strategic Sponsors 185 -- Creating Effective Networks 187 -- Chapter 9 Women Building Management Teams 191 -- Perceptions about Women 195 -- Fact and Fiction about Women and Teams 198 -- Building a High-Potential Team 202 -- Challenges in Team Formation 205 -- Chapter 10 Networking for Venture Capital 211 -- A Brief History of Venture Capital in the United States 212 -- Venture Capital Community Today 219 -- Women in the Venture Capital Industry 220 -- Getting Access to Venture Capital Investors 224 -- A Connection or a Disconnect? 226 -- Missing Links between Women Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists 229 -- Getting Connected 230 -- Model Misfits 231 -- What Can You Do to Change Things? 242.