Los Angeles made an appearance on a new Inc. ranking of U.S. cities based on their number of women-led companies, beating out startup hubs such as San Francisco.
The list placed Los Angeles third among U.S. cities, right behind New York City.
Washington, D.C., came in first on the list, with 72 Inc. 5000 companies, compared to Los Angeles’s 36. Three Texas cities made the list, while startup hubs such as Boston, Seattle and Denver did not.
The ranking was based on the number of women-led companies in each city on the 2019 Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S.
The article referenced two particular Los Angeles startups: adtech agency NOM, whose revenue grew 11,996 percent between 2015 and 2018, and influencer marketing firm Be Social, whose revenue grew 644 percent during the same period.
A supportive ecosystem is beneficial for women CEOs, as gender bias continues to affect business outcomes. Research shows that women in professional settings must outperform male counterparts in order to receive equal treatment. A 2014 Harvard Business School study found that investors prefer entrepreneurial pitches made by men over those made by women, even when the contents are the same. As such, only 2.7 percent of venture capital currently goes to women founders.
Despite these challenges, women founders are working to build stronger industry networks and more equitable investment practices.
