Julie McClure is a visionary executive, entrepreneur, consultant, and mentor with deep passion and expertise in the consumer & retail sectors. Her career includes companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500. Having worked on Wall Street in mergers & acquisitions, in venture capital, as strategic consultant and being a two-time female founder, McClure uses her background to coach other female founders.
“I've always been almost the only woman in the room, pitching and raising capital. In terms of investors, I think we still have a very heavy male partner representation and so that makes it challenging for women because if you're pitching an idea or pitching a business that is solving a problem that truly is inherent for people who identify as women, it's difficult if everybody around the table has never had that personal experience,” explained McClure.
“My last business Hello.me was all about solving for hormonal balance at the root cause. Well, it's very difficult for a man who's never really had severe PMS or gone through menopause to truly relate to that pain point. And so I think oftentimes they perhaps missed the subtleties of how powerful this solution can be and the level of excitement can be dampened as well because it's not something that they're truly passionate about. So if you're at a table with all men and no one's really ever encountered that problem, then your chances of getting everybody in the room excited about putting capital into your business is lower and so you have to have an extra powerful pitch to deliver.”
McClure said that she loves coaching other female founders because she’s been through the journey several times and understands the need for a support system.
“I think more focus on female founders is needed so we can shift this ecosystem and we can help avoid some of the burnout that happens with women when we are living in this masculine world, which is more business and capital raising and helping provide a bit more balance and perspective and ensuring that you really can go through the full journey and have the support without getting burnt out and disheartened.”
