Before starting my own company, I worked as a Managing Director with an early-stage venture capital firm in New York. I had no previous venture experience when I joined them and the first thing I did was look for a professional network to join. I needed to make business contacts, to meet people in the industry, to get my name out there.
I went to a few events sponsored by groups like the Young Venture Capital Society, Funding Post, and the National Venture Capital Association. There were very few women venture capitalists at these events (which, of course, makes sense because of the dismal number of women in venture capital as an industry.) I looked for a professional network just for women VCs and didn't find one. (WAVE came along later).
Would being a member of a professional network just for women have benefited me in my venture capital career? I believe so. As human beings, we're more comfortable networking with people similar to us; it would have been helpful to hear how other women have built their careers, how they dealt with the challenges of juggling work and family, what issues they encountered in the workplace and how they solved them. I think its naïve to presume that men and women have no differences when it comes to their approach to their jobs and careers. Being able to talk about issues I am facing with people similar to me and facing similar issues is helpful, encouraging, and helps me succeed in my career.
But not everyone agrees with me. Earlier this year, Lucy Kellaway at the Financial Times wrote an article criticizing business networks that are exclusive to women. Subscription is required to read her column, but her basic point was around the uselessness of such networks. In her personal experience, events organized by these groups were dull, boring, and did not lead to new job opportunities or offer inspiring stories of role models.
I have certainly been to a few women-only networking events that were useless and boring. I've also been to many events that were open to both men and women and were useless and boring, and some that were dominated by men and were useless and boring. A lot depends on the particular group of people present, the agenda, the forum, and the speakers and presenters who ignite the conversation.
I've never gotten a job from meeting someone at a networking event. But I've made great contacts -- and even a very close friend -- who have offered great career advice, introductions to other people when I needed it, and who have shared with me their personal experiences and struggles. This last part has been invaluable. And now that I am a first-time entrepreneur, hearing how others have grown their businesses and dealt with personal and financial challenges along the way is an integral part of what makes it possible for me to overcome my own challenges. I learn from both men and women entrepreneurs, but when I talk to another entrepreneur who is a woman, a mom, and a breadwinner for her family, we connect on a personal, as well as professional level.
And that is why I say that professional networks for women -- or IT geeks, or entrepreneurs -- are useful and not worthless. They give us the ability to connect with similar people fighting similar battles. This is powerful and helpful.
But I also believe that as a business professional, you should consider joining several organizations that fit the different dimensions of you. I am not just a woman, just an entrepreneur, or just a digital media professional; I am all of those and I don't expect any one network to fit all my needs.