Why are women entrepreneurs still missing out?

We’re celebrating Women’s History Month with a new video interview series! Entrepreneurs Cherrie Legend, Keanna O’Quinn and Amanda Wilson, who are being mentored by Visa employees through our most recent US-based program, join us to share their entrepreneurship journey and discuss why female entrepreneurs are still missing out.

March 5, 2021

Bridge for Billions

Why are Women entrepreneurs still missing out?

Women entrepreneurs are still missing out. According to Visa’s second annual State of Female Entrepreneurship report, growth in funding for women entrepreneurs has not kept pace with the growth of other types of support looking to increase access to the entrepreneurship ecosystem for women.

In the US for example, although 79% of women entrepreneurs say they feel more empowered now than they did 5 years ago, 66% of the women asked said they had difficulty accessing the right financial support for their venture.

It’s clear that although access to entrepreneurship support is improving for women, there is still work to be done. We sat down with entrepreneurs Cherrie Legend, Keanna OQuinn and Amanda Wilson who recently joined the Bridge community from our program with Visa to hear their stories and ask: Why are women entrepreneurs still missing out?

About Cherrie

Cherrie Legend is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and social media expert. Her passion for authentic social media storytelling inspired her to launch June&Teenth consulting, optimizing brands’ social media presence through strategic consulting and training expertise. Originally from Texas, Cherrie attended Stanford University where she graduated with dual bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sociology. After graduating, she worked for nearly a decade at Apple across the marketing team.

Aside from her occasional stint as a hand model for the products, her day job evolved from Business Affairs to Digital Asset Management, culminating with the Social Media team. There, she managed Apple’s global social media presence on YouTube, growing the channel from 1 million to 10 million subscribers in less than 3 years.

In 2019, she embraced the entrepreneurial spirit and launched June&Teenth – backed with the lessons learned from managing and growing over 20+ channels worldwide.

About Keanna

After years working at a luxury entertainment design company in NYC, Keanna O’Quinn noticed a void in the live music community, one where planners saw music as the background to the main event rather than something that can guide and elevate it. “The bands weren’t listening to the room,” she says. “We should make deliberate music choices based on the people in it, reacting to them. Not the other way around.” Her desire to create this harmony sparked the founding of Honey+Vinyl in 2013.

Throughout her 10 years in the industry, she saw mismatched music and event concepts and began to dive deeper into how sound influences sight, taste and smell. Understanding the science behind how lighting, décor, food and timing interact with music drove the Chicago native to establish Sonic Sommelier®, an experiential music and sonic branding company.

About Amanda

Amanda is a humanitarian, self-proclaimed anthropologist, and mediocre ukulele player. When not adventuring outdoors with her daughters, her passion is in eradicating the gender gap from a systemic and research-based approach. She believes in the power of diversity and bringing people and resources together to create a more powerful and effective impact.

Amanda is the founder of VOXAPOD®, a period care brand fighting for gender equity, reducing waste, and building stronger communities, and the board chair of XXcelerate, helping Oregon women entrepreneurs grow their businesses, connect with resources and peer support, and scale profitably.

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If you didn’t know, we’re on a mission to democratize access to entrepreneurship education. We support early-stage entrepreneurs in developing the businesses our society needs through innovation and entrepreneurship programs running across over 70 countries.

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