Women'S Power In Venture Capital Market Should Not Be Ignored To Form A Unique Advantage Of "Overcoming Hardness With Softness"

"In the investment process, male investors often talk about" wolf ", which is offensive and oppressive. Female investors are softer and more empathic, showing their unique advantage of "overcoming hardness with softness" in fund-raising and terms negotiation Chen Qing, China's chief representative of SVB (Silicon Valley Bank), said in an interview with 21st century economic report at the women's leadership summit in venture state 2021.

Chen Qing worked in the private investment division (IFC) of the world bank, responsible for equity investment and bond investment in China and the Asia Pacific region, before joining Silicon Valley Bank in 2013. In this interview, Chen Qing talked about the unique advantages of women in venture capital and the current development of SVB capital in China.

Female investors and entrepreneurs have unique advantages

In the male dominated venture capital market, female investors and entrepreneurs are becoming more and more important forces. People often think that women are more emotional and men are more rational, but scientific research shows that there is no such difference between women and men. In this regard, Chen Qing believes that it may be that in the process of male and female training, people deliberately cultivate women in the direction of sensibility and men in the direction of rationality, which makes us form different advantages.

For example, women's softness and empathy enable female investors to form unique advantages in terms of negotiation. At the same time, in the process of entrepreneurship, women have a good perception and insight, so that they have greater entrepreneurial advantages in consumption, education, fashion, media, health management and other fields. In these areas, we also see an increasing number of female entrepreneurs.

"When it comes to the weakness compared with men, women may lack a kind of determination, whether they do business or invest. Because men find that they can make decisions quickly, women will think about it a lot. I think this has advantages and disadvantages. In the whole process of entrepreneurship or investment, men and women are complementary. " Chen Qing said.

On the same day of the forum, Pu Xiaoyan, partner of Sequoia Capital China fund, also said that in the traditional sense, female entrepreneurs are considered weaker than men in strategic thinking. Women tend to underestimate themselves and lack the courage to move forward, believing that they are worth and capable of playing the No.1 role. To break these stereotypes, women need to spend more time and energy to prove that they start a business with men They are equally excellent.

Xu Ying, executive partner of Xiangfeng investment, believes that women's thinking has certain advantages when it comes to boosting business growth in the short term, because she has her own advantages in terms of products and marketing. However, from the perspective of long-distance running, only when a founder develops comprehensive ability in organizational iteration can the company have considerable vitality. Therefore, from the perspective of human beings, it is necessary to maintain a balance and comprehensiveness to ensure real success.

Coordinated development of SVB capital master fund and direct investment business

During the interview, Chen Qing also talked about the development of SVB capital in China. It is understood that the Silicon Valley Bank was founded in the United States in 1983 and has become a diversified financial group - SVB financial group.

SVB capital is a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank financial group which focuses on investment business. It invests in early technology field through master fund and direct investment fund. According to Chen Qing, SVB capital currently focuses on the master fund business, and has invested in well-known funds in China, such as Qiming venture capital, Sequoia, IDG, Softbank China capital and Gaorong capital, as well as funds with a focus in the subdivided fields, such as venture capital. At the same time, SVB capital also has direct investment business. Chen Qing said that at present, it is more optimistic about the projects in the fields of health care and consumption in China.

Talking about the synergy between SVB capital master fund and direct investment fund, Chen Qing said that this is reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, after many master funds in the market invest in GP, they can understand the project trend through GP, get in touch with some high-quality projects, and even get direct investment shares.

On the other hand, the direct investment team can help the master fund to understand the market changes more timely and maintain its sensitivity. Moreover, the ability of direct investment can also help the master fund screen GP and judge whether GP's investment strategy is really effective in the market. In addition, the master fund can help Silicon Valley banks to establish strong ties with investors, which is also one of the important means for Silicon Valley banks to carry out risk control.

It is understood that in the traditional sense, the bank's creditor's rights are given to the enterprise when the enterprise's development is relatively stable, so as to ensure that the principal and interest can be recovered stably. Under the condition of strict risk control standards, Silicon Valley Bank provided risk debt for emerging technology innovation enterprises in the early stage of development. In the United States, it helped star enterprises such as Facebook and twitter. In 2011, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Silicon Valley Bank of the United States jointly established Pudong Development Silicon Valley Bank, which made the operation mode of Silicon Valley Bank enter into the vision of the Chinese public for the first time.

"Debt financing is a good supplement to equity financing. For entrepreneurs, debt financing does not need to dilute equity, and it will be relatively cheaper." Chen Qing said. But in China, the development of venture capital is still in its early stage. Especially in 2015 and 2016, due to the hot equity investment market, many start-up companies can get overvalued through equity financing, and they prefer equity financing. But in recent years, with the new regulations of asset management, it is difficult to raise funds in the whole industry, and the equity market financing is not so easy. At this time, it is also the time for entrepreneurs to realize the value of debt financing.

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