Women are harnessing AI, ignoring Tech Bro-sculinity

0:00Mike Butcher:Hello and welcome to Path Founders, the new tech media brand for entrepreneurs, investors and operators. We like to call it Code, Capital and Consequences with me, Mike Butcher. Now, recently, the European tech world has been debating both the apparent and to some eyes rise of a more masculine culture in the industry in the shape of, to take one example, the male domination of tech hackathons. in contrast to the continued paucity, alas, of female participation in the industry across, frankly, all sectors. An article in Sifted by Freya Patti titled Europe's Tech Bro Renaissance is Upon Us, Sigh, with the subtitle The Boys Are Just Happy to Have Found The Boys, attracted wide commentary from online tech influencers such as Seb Johnson and Alan Carr, founder and CEO of Fuse, who branded the article anti-ambition, anti-excellence and anti-merit.

1:02Mike Butcher:The article itself argues that tech bro culture is essentially a closed culture comprised of hackathons, hackahounds, houses and a so-called grind set culture, which trends heavily male. The figures do tend to bear that out. Participation in hackathons, for instance, remains heavily male dominated at around 30 percent women globally, according to womenhack.com. The article also highlighted how a long hours 996 culture adopted from China is emerging or perhaps reemerging, which selects for a narrow founder archetype of the young, unencumbered and often male. Let's be honest. This excludes often women, parents and anyone with any other constraints or lives, perhaps.

1:51Mike Butcher:It's fair to say that tech news outlets do tend to overwhelmingly feature male founders. Should we blame the tech industry itself, Donald Trump or a decline in DEI pressure across the board? To discuss the issues, I'm very happy to be joined by Agata Nowica from Female Foundry, which recently released a report supported by over 50 private equity and VC organizations and startup organizations across 20 European countries. So if there's anyone capable of commenting on this subject, it's Agata. Agata, thank you so much for joining us on Path Founders. Thank you, thank you Mike for the invitation.

2:37Mike Butcher:So let's just start at the top. Give us some facts and figures especially from your report which I think has been ongoing for a few years now. So how are women faring in the tech industry at the moment? Yes, so I'm very happy to say that 2025 was an outstanding year when it comes to female innovation and funding. When you look at the data, female entrepreneurs raised 7.5 billion of funding, which is almost 20 % year on year increase. So things are going well. Then when you look deeper, it was also an outstanding year when it comes to the number of unicorns. And we have over 29 female founded unicorns and also M &A exits.

3:21So what is very exciting is that we are seeing this recycling of capital of successful founders coming back to the ecosystem. This is exactly what we need in Europe. Successful founders backing more successful founders to build that vicious circle. Now, on AI, because this is a center point, kind of the center, let's say, topic that is driving all of this forward, is quite, actually, we have also quite exciting data. So we've interviewed and also we've surveyed over 1 ,000 founders. And what we found is that 86 % of them currently are already using AI as part of their core, either business development or core product.

4:07Mike Butcher:And this was female founders, was it? Yes, female founders, 86%. And that's 9 % increase from last year. it's not maybe significant but i think that what we've seen is that definitely the the kind of criticality of the kind of the role ai plays in their businesses so they use it for business development that was the biggest one actually the the business development on the marketing and sales but even on top of that it's product development which is very interesting because then ai is part of the value creation which is very new from my own perspective i've definitely seen new wave of startups coming through the pipeline.

4:48This has been really, I would say, the first year when we've been seeing AI-first companies popping up. So the topic is very relevant and we can discuss it on different points, but the data definitely points to female entrepreneurs embracing AI like never before. By the way, 25 % of all funding rounds went to startups leveraging AI. So AI, we are seeing it through the pipeline and those founders who are ready to embrace it and have got ambition are able to fundraise. One of the last kind of data point that I would like to leave with at this point is that the fundraising success rates from Seed to Sears B remain the same.

5:34So once you get to Seed as a female founder, you have the same chances, or at least you will be most likely most the same have the same success when it comes to fundraising as your male only counterpart. So it's very encouraging, again, outstanding year. And and AI is definitely driving, driving those opportunities for female founders. I see.

5:56Mike Butcher:So perhaps I could get your opinion on whether or not you think there's a sort of a lag in the statistics as AI becomes really sort of a democratizing tool for anyone to leverage, male or female or any gender, that gradually that's going to start to feed into the industry. and perhaps there'll be more of a leveling of opportunity because AI tools are so powerful and allow more or less anybody to access the ability to do technology entrepreneurship. Absolutely, absolutely. And this was one of the overarching themes for our launch event joined by over 300 founders in one room just three weeks ago.

6:44It's never been a better time to be a founder. And the lack of representation of female entrepreneurs is the major issue in the ecosystem. So we are not talking about all the 2 % or 13 % that you hear. It's really the reflection of the top of the funnel that is very narrow for female entrepreneurs. So that we have two few female or women starting businesses. This is the core and fundamental issue. Now, when you look at AI, and by the way, I've been a founder myself. so i've been a vc and a founder and i can when i were now my founder had i remember when we had to basic for my second startup we had to raise 1 million just to build an mvp that's no longer there like literally that barrier of entry of even proving your your domain expertise is no longer uh there and that's what i mean by democratization if you're strong if you have vision if you're if you really know your space well, you can go to market without the need of raising any capital by literally playing with rapid or lovable.

7:50Obviously, the challenge is that, you know, enterprise sales don't rely necessarily on lovable. But for you to get started and test your idea and go to market to then raise much better terms, it's never been better for founders as it is now. So, So I hope, coming back to your question, not even hope, I'm actually certain we are going to see that change. There is a significant lag because we also have got this challenge about kind of mental challenge of female founders, how they perceive themselves, how the tools might be available, but they might not be necessarily encouraged to be using them.

8:28So I think the lag is not going to be one year, two years, maybe four or five years, But we are going to see that funnel on the top being much wider. And therefore, that will result in more funding and the ecosystem having more female entrepreneurs.

8:41Mike Butcher:Yeah. Yeah. And there's a phrase you use, whether or not they're being going to be encouraged to use the tools. And I think the sort of the background to this debate is whether or not women are being welcomed into the industry. perhaps they're being put off by so much male culture, perhaps at hackathons or other events. And it's true, we've all been in the industry for many years, haven't we? And there's always a majority of men in the industry. Is there something palpably different now in the last year or so, perhaps, about maybe tech bro culture, very male oriented culture? Or do you feel, let me put it bluntly, do you feel women are feeling excluded right now because of the rise of that kind of bro culture or 996, etc.?

9:38Yes. So first of all, I actually not necessarily agree with the article's framing, kind of framing this argument that almost over-indexing, overemphasizing hackathons as being crucial of company building. So I don't know whether the argument is about successful startups or entry to the entrepreneurship, because entry to entrepreneurship is very private very often. I like many founders just build privately, they don't need to be part of those tribes building kind of software during hackathons. So it's just one of the models of testing your product, testing your business. And therefore, or this idea that you kind of captured at the beginning of the session, such as that there could be some other ways.

10:23And also maybe you have an advantage because you don't waste your time on being part of the bro culture and being part of this tribal culture and focus on the niche you want to go to market with and the product that you've developed your own in your own bedroom. Maybe you might be actually much more efficient with your time. and time is again as much it's never been a better time to be a founder as much the time hasn't been more precious for founders as a consequence because of the time collapsing of time so so being efficient not being tribal is actually a positive thing yes i would agree that i've been by the way i went to i've gone to myself a couple of hackathons yes they are absolutely male dominated and that 30 is is actually a figure that i would expect and there's a lot of testosterone and sweat You don't necessarily want to be in that room for too long.

11:13That's overall the kind of the field just to project to everybody listening what it is like from a female perspective. But that's, again, this is representative of the current ecosystem. I don't think that we can do much about it. We can be taking steps to encourage female founders to be building with AI, but it doesn't necessarily need to take a form of a hackathon. I feel this article relies on hackathon because it's a model that we've known for some time, but maybe there should be some other models of bringing those founders, kind of playing with this technology, this amazing technology.

11:53Mike Butcher:Yeah, that's a really good point. I mean, certainly I would hope that hackathon organizers are doing all they can to equalize it and make it open to anyone frankly of any background um but um also but the the second sort of question i suppose that's been thrown up by this debate is uh whether is the portrayal in the media and there's you know there's talk about people are throwing around figures about how many women are on podcasts how many women are on uh appearing in news articles etc um do you think I think the media has to answer some questions about how it's portraying women in the technology industry.

12:36Yeah, I think that this is a very good point and I absolutely believe that it does. It still does. It's not only and especially reputable media outlets absolutely have got that role. and the role that we've just covered just now, which is actually encouraging, therefore, showing those role models of really imaginative, visionary founders at this stage, not kind of necessary unicorns at the scale-up stage, but actually the same founders that actually other female entrepreneurs can relate to. So I feel there's not enough of that. I mean, there's a huge concentration around success stories for founders that are already pretty much kind of, that other phase of company building as opposed to those, let's say, not necessarily the most known, I mean there's not enough effort when it comes to journalists looking for those stories that are generally interesting and that other founders could relate to.

13:37There's over concentration of the same stories and also I also see definitely representation around podcasts and and other opportunities is definitely male. But one thing that I want to also flag there though, it's not on my personal level, but I also don't believe that representation doesn't necessarily solve the issue. It's about quality as well. So it's not about, it's not necessarily about quotas and now we want to see 50 % female faces. We want to make sure that those people that represent the ecosystem and are supposed to drive, kind of being inspiration for others, should have merit to be there.

14:24So I don't think that it's a pipeline issue. I think that definitely there are founders that could play that role, but already are successful even at those early stages to be inspiring for other founders. but I think that there is not enough effort, as I said, from journalists to find those founders.

14:44Mike Butcher:Right. Yeah. I suppose there's a sort of two sides to the story. There's the issue that journalists and podcasters and influencers, whoever they are in tech, whoever has an audience, I guess, these days, is behoving upon them to do the work, to find those outlier stories, which are often female. But the other issue is there's less media. So there's there are less outlets, unfortunately, as well. But I mean, I think that's that's probably not kind of a weak excuse. um going forward um what would you kind of like to see happen um uh do you think we should um you know probably find a more of a balance in between uh this sort of rather extreme version of tech culture which is very very um you know uh extreme you know it's a 996 etc which some vcs are very happy with to be honest with you as well lots of vcs investors investors are quite happy for their entrepreneurs to burn the midnight oil over their companies, obviously, and an industry culture which also encourages the ability to have a life, to be able to have a family perhaps or whatever, or at least to be more open and inclusionary.

16:12Mike Butcher:I presume you think there must be a middle path? Yes, there is definitely a middle path. And one thing that I don't like about that big tagline 996 is that it's extremely simplifying. Actually, the realities of building a startup. Again, I've been on that side. So it's never it's I would say it's 247 856. if we were to put the number on this it's never that linear it's never that regular and every business is a different business there will be businesses that there will be founders who operate in high velocity high volume companies that are literally focusing on that market share and they need to do 5, sorry 996 and there will be those businesses in enterprises where the next phone call of the client happens in the next 3 weeks so they can have that balance and they will never like even with ai and they will never be able have to operate on that level of velocity so it's not there's no one template for for for founders and again those sort of statements are in my opinion are damaging to the topic that we've just discussed which is if as a founder or wanna be female founder i'm hearing something like this I'm like, oh, no, I'm already I've just had the baby.

17:36How am I going to how going to how I'm going to make that happen? And in reality, it's not that linear and it's not that extreme. It's it's it's it comes and goes. And it also depends on what what industry operating. Yeah.

17:52Mike Butcher:And I think most people would concur with you that there's there's definitely a balance to be had. And it's not one size fits all. and I think also there was quite an interesting point made at the article by an anonymous source that said that along the lines of that effectively that you know if there's a lot of you know mono culture going on might be tech bro culture that actually taste originality and emotional intelligence perhaps becomes probably something you can filter for now absolutely again with I will tell you what is also there's another disparity with ai there's a limit to how much you can build until you go to market and speak with your customers so your customers the pace of your customers as i said just just now really dictates the pace of your company because there's no point of building more if you if your feedback loop is so slow and therefore in those circumstances circumstances in those sort of uh kind of uh situations it's still and i think it's going to stay for some time for sure it's who you are as a person what sort of how do you communicate with others how do you build relationships that's what matters and those that's where a few entrepreneurs that are not necessarily only thinking that tech is going to save and and kind of be an underlying value for for their companies that's when they have an edge and and we are going to see more of that as technology becomes commoditized well those are very wise words and presumably you you're of the opinion that um uh ai is going to be a great level are you optimistic about uh its ability to just give access to anyone to to build new companies absolutely and one other thing though what it exposes that i definitely see i see two types of founders these days those that use ai on the kind of uh tactical level um and this is good enough but it's that's that's we are going to move that that face is going to be gone soon in the next one and a half years I would say I would presume and those that are really hungry they're very imaginary I would say they are visionary that use AI to solve the hardest problems they could think of and that I hope I hope that in that funnel we will have enough female founders that think this way that are that are actually courageous and imaginary to create to kind of to uncover those problems that were not able to be resolved before.

20:26Yes so on one hand democratizing on the other hand it's you need to be a different founder today you don't have any more that kind of buffer time between building and and business development it's all about basically imagining what what what comes next and being being very aggressive when it comes to your ambition and i hope that that we have enough as i said uh founders

20:54Mike Butcher:with that sort of level of ambition well i would love to actually have this conversation in a year's time and see what's happened since then i think it's i totally agree with you that there's probably going to be a different kind of founder and to be hoped uh certainly uh more leveling of and equal equalizing of the if the industry uh than it is already um for now let's leave it there but that was absolutely fantastic thank you so much for giving us some insight and especially from your report. Agata Noweka from Female Foundry. Thanks so much for joining Path Founders.