Diane Bowers is co-founder of consulting firm Paladin Global Partners, which works with
entrepreneurial companies with rapid growth, capital management, and various other financial services. She is also the vice president of the Gold Coast Venture Capital Association download naqoyqatsi life as war , a 24-year-old non-profit organization that provides monthly panels that educate both investors and entrepreneurs.As a member of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a bi-partisan lobbying group, she advocates women’s business issues, strictly focusing on national federal legislation and mentoring women business owners.Her latest endeavor has been co-founding the Florida Angel Network, an offshoot of Gold Coast, which focuses on finding and aligning investors and sponsoring a number of seminars for angel investors on best practices for investing. Ms. Bowers will be speaking on the Ethical Markets panel about how women can access capital at the upcoming Women’s Congress Jan. 23-25 in Miami Beach.
How many investments have you made?One was an alternate engine technology developed by an entrepreneur in Pennsylvania with a well-known engineer from Ford motor company. I invested at the stage when it was still pre-prototype, and also got involved with a syndicate in San Francisco. It was funded up to $5 million, but there were issues: one was political – not commercialized by major auto companies, which we hoped would be interested and the entrepreneur died prior to prototype. The second investment has been a solar power device, developed by an entrepreneur in Colorado.
Why are you participating in the Women’s Congress?
What they are doing and represent is en pointe to my passions – women entrepreneurs looking for funding, mentors and guidance to help them succeed. It’s all about equity capital – they’re doing fantastic work. It’s a phenomenal opportunity for women to showcase. I’m bringing a lot of investors, many who are men, for the venture fair. It will give me a platform. To me it’s a give-back opportunity and an exciting event.
What is it like to be a woman in the financial industry?
I’m very passionate about women and I want to be known as a catalyst and help them grow their businesses. Over my life, I’ve never looked at gender as an issue or as an obstacle or impediment to progress. I’ve been desensitized. I do find, however, among older people I’ve gotten to know, specifically in the investment banking world, that there is an old boy syndrome, but I don’t think that’s a gender bias – they’re more familiar with working with people they’ve always worked with. I don’t feel excluded. Many years ago, perhaps it was more difficult to break in, but in the last 10-15 years gender hasn’t really been an issue.
You first came to Florida, specifically Coconut Grove, for college, but then returned back home to Connecticut to find your true calling. Would you call yourself a “late bloomer?”
I grew up in a relatively sheltered environment, my parents were conservative, I went to private schools, which was a good education, but I hadn’t experienced the world of life. I knew scuba diving, sailing – I didn’t know much about business. So I thought romantically that I would be an oceanographer, and went to the University of Miami with a dream of being a Jacques Cousteau type.
My reality check was organic chemistry. I went cross-eyed; it was the most difficult thing I ever did. Then I tried psychology, my father’s field time, but after two years, I thought nothing is working. I decided I was wasting my time and my father’s money, so I went back home. My neighbor was chair of Mobil Oil. I asked him for work. After the interviews, I started working with Dallas Mobile Pipeline doing supervisory work and management right from the get-go. It was my first introduction to what business was all about. I told him I would make a two-year commitment and then would move on to something else. I realized business was fun and exciting. I saved up my money and went to NYU and studied quantitative analysis, and got an MBA in corporate finance.There were times that I made mistakes. But I was forgiven. I was typically hardest on myself.
Who are your inspirations?
Donald Trump – I had the opportunity to work directly with him. When that guy walks into a room, you feel an aura of power, commitment and focus. Hillary Clinton, George Patton – one of the things that is so cool about them is they always believe they could conquer the world. It’s a mindset. It’s a confidence. Those are the kinds of people that always inspire me.The moments I had doubt or fear, I thought, “Dammit, I can do this and I will do this.” I relied on myself, and built a team and trusted others. I may not know it all, but I have enough confidence in my ability and intelligence that everything I touch has the potential to be the greatest success.
Tell us about the deal you recently closed. What did you learn from it? What would you do differently?
There are greater lessons in deals that don’t close. One comes to mind specifically – it never closed and it may never close. When I look back on the reasons, there is one thing that always enters into the equation I find common in entrepreneurs that can’t find funding – and that trait is excessive ego or hubris. An individual who thinks they know everything, and isolate themselves from the environment they work in. They’re the ones looking to put a square peg in a round hole. So I get to know how flexible they are, and their mindset on listening to suggestions. If a new CEO has to come in and run the operation down the road, it won’t be met with, ‘No way, it’s not going to happen.’ If I ever find a brick wall, an entrepreneur so close-minded, I’ll thank them and walk away.
Do men and women think differently? How can they co-create more effectively for better business, a better economy and better world? (rather than falling into the “girls are better than boys!” trap)
I have an analytical mind. I know tons of women with analytical minds and use that approach to problem solving. I know a lot of men who aren’t. If that’s a classical Mars-Venus dichotomy, I’m not always sure that’s valid. The biggest difference is a matter of confidence and perspective. Men are often insensitive and straightforward in looking at financials and certain components of an investment. Women have a somewhat broader perspective, and are more sensitive to the intangible, mercurial issues that surround a business opportunity. Often times, men might miss opportunities that might be successful. I sometimes think women get involved in investments that they shouldn’t have because the intangibles became more important parameters than the financials.
As far as co-creating more effectively with men, what I find in my experience with Gold Coast and WIPP, we work with male-run coalition partners. There’s always a common ground, a level of communication based on mutual respect, and relationship building not possible 50 years ago, but is today. It’s a non-issue today, I believe.Women have to reach out and men have to reach out and work together. I don’t think it’s a war zone or a bridge that needs to exist anymore.
What message would you pass down to young women?
Learn all you can learn. Get to know the environment. Get to know the expectations of investors. Get to know the mundane points about term sheets and valuations. Get to know about funding and development.Don’t be afraid to experience new things, have confidence in your knowledge, don’t be afraid to fail, it won’t kill you – it will help you grow and build character. Have confidence and move forward. Don’t ever think gender is an issue. You are en equal in the business world.Kemila Velan, Director of Communications for Ethical Markets Media, conducted and edited this interview.