The story below is from our March/April 2021 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
A new study puts our state at number three in the country for women-owned businesses.
Virginia is number three in the country for women-led startups, according to a recent study by MerchantMaverick.com. On the heels of Colorado and Washington (number one and two, respectively), Virginia actually tops the rest of the country with a 90.5% startup early survival rate (six percentage points higher than second-place Massachusetts). Breaking it down into gender-specific metrics, 27% of businesses in Virginia are run by women (ranking them ninth nationally), while 20% of the state’s employees work for women-led firms (seventh nationally).
“We wanted to help bring awareness to women entrepreneurs and that they are an underserved community in the entrepreneurial space,” says Jared Beilby, special projects manager. “When you look at overall stats, no state has more than 30% of employer firms led by women. Women make up 50% of the total population, so clearly there is underrepresentation.”
In their inaugural “Best States for Women-Led Startups” report, MerchantMaverick.com used eight basic metrics including: percent of employer firms led by women; percent of employees at women-led firms; percent of women self-employed in their own business; average income of women self-employed in their own business; total venture capital invested into women-led startups; percent of startups still active after one year; state income tax rates; and unemployment rates.
Using those metrics on a national scale, Virginia was solid across the board; the state’s startup survival rate is over 90%, which is top in the country, with nine out of ten businesses surviving past the first year. The company also noted the Commonwealth’s admirable 5.3% unemployment rate, which trails only Montana’s 4.9% among the top 10 states.
For the full article on “The 10 Best States For Women-Led Startups In 2021,” including the Top 10 list, as well as the five states who ranked at the bottom, you can view the report in its entirety at merchantmaverick.com.
The story above is from our March/April 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!
