Women Business Leaders in Biotech and Hi-Tech, and Related Industry Cluster Factors
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San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Summer 2016 Women Business Leaders in Biotech and Hi-Tech, and Related Industry Cluster Factors Jessica White San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation White, Jessica, "Women Business Leaders in Biotech and Hi-Tech, and Related Industry Cluster Factors" (2016). Master's Theses. 4744. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.r839-csfx https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4744 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS IN BIOTECH AND HI-TECH, AND RELATED INDUSTRY CLUSTER FACTORS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Geography San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Jessica White August 2016 © 2016 Jessica White ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS IN BIOTECH AND HI-TECH, AND RELATED INDUSTRY CLUSTER FACTORS by Jessica White APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY August 2016 Department of Geography and Global Dr. Kathrine Richardson Studies, San Jose State University Department of Statistics and Applied Probability, University of California Santa Dr. Wendy Meiring Barbara Department of Economics, San Jose State Dr. Mike Pogodzinski University ABSTRACT WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS IN BIOTECH AND HI-TECH, AND INDUSTRY CLUSTER FACTORS by Jessica White Women entrepreneurs are on the rise and their numbers have grown at one and a half times the rate of small enterprises generally over the last 15 years. In spite of this, women are underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Women face additional barriers when forging careers within these fields and obtaining startup capital. This study examines female business ownership within the fields of hi-tech and biotech, and the factors that support startups by women throughout the state of California. As both of these industry sectors are known to cluster geographically around sources of venture capital, university research and development (R&D) investment, and skilled labor, the study explored how these factors influence women entrepreneurs through two methods of analysis, specifically, a quantitative GIS analysis using exploratory geo-statistical tools, and a qualitative analysis using semi- structured interviews of twenty women business leaders. Results from the study demonstrated that factors that encourage hub formation are prone to cluster geographically, that women receive less venture capital than their male counterparts, biotech as a sector is more open than hi-tech to women’s participation, high numbers of women starting businesses alongside their alma mater, and a high participation of women in business accelerators and incubators. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support of many people other than myself. Would like to first thank my thesis committee, Dr. Mike Pogodzinski, Dr. Wendy Meiring, and most of all Dr. Kathrine Richardson, whose guidance, encouragement, and wonderful presence made this study an even more rewarding and enjoyable experience. A most sincere thank you to the women business leaders who participated in being interviewed for this study, for providing their perspectives and for their belief in the project. Would also like to thank these women entrepreneurs and business leaders for pursuing their ambitions, encouraging others to do so, and paving the way for other women to pursue their professional dreams. Thank you to my family and friends, without whose support, belief, and encouragement I might have given into the voices of self-doubt before completing this project. You all mean the world to me and I am so lucky to have such a wonderful support team! Finally, thank you to those individuals that saw talent in myself even before I did, and encouraged me to be true to myself and pursue my dreams. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Women Business Owners ....................................................................................... 1 Underrepresented in STEM .................................................................................... 2 Women: An Untapped Talent Source ..................................................................... 5 Gender Disparity in Entrepreneurial Pursuits ......................................................... 5 Business Industry Clusters and Contributing Factors ........................................... 11 Venture Capital ..................................................................................................... 13 Women business owners and venture capital. .......................................... 16 Funding gap: supply side. ......................................................................... 17 Funding gap: entrepreneur side. ................................................................ 17 University Presence .............................................................................................. 18 Geography of knowledge spillovers. ........................................................ 19 Talent and Women Business Owners ................................................................... 20 Section Summary and Goals, Scope, and Anticipated Outcomes of Research Study ..................................................................................................................... 20 Methods............................................................................................................................. 22 Qualitative Methods: Semi-structured Interviews ................................................ 22 Quantitative Methods: Data Components ............................................................. 26 Hi-tech and biotech business data. ............................................................ 27 University R&D expenditure data. ........................................................... 28 Venture capital expenditure data. ............................................................. 29 Quantitative Methods: Data Analysis ................................................................... 30 Results ............................................................................................................................... 35 Qualitative Portion: Semi-structured Interviews .................................................. 35 Leadership history and aspirations to leadership. ..................................... 36 Factors that encouraged career ambitions and success in business ventures. ................................................................................................................... 43 Influence of university and education on career. ...................................... 51 Venture capital funding experience. ......................................................... 59 Potential setbacks and perseverance. ........................................................ 73 Benefits and refocusing the conversation. ................................................ 80 Possible causes of low women representation and possible solutions. ..... 85 The importance of a company’s geographic location. .............................. 92 Quantitative Portion: Data Analysis ..................................................................... 97 Hi-Tech and Biotech Data. ....................................................................... 99 University data. ....................................................................................... 112 vi Venture capital data. ............................................................................... 120 Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 137 Business Participation in an Accelerator or Incubator ........................................ 137 Reasons for Low Percentages of Women Business Leaders in Hi-Tech and Biotech ................................................................................................................ 140 Businesses Spun Out of University..................................................................... 142 Biotech Sector More Open to Women than Hi-Tech .......................................... 144 Low Percentages of Women Receiving Venture Capital ................................... 146 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 148 Chapter Introduction ........................................................................................... 148 Summary of Findings .......................................................................................... 149 Quantitative Study Components ........................................................................