I would agree that the major challenge for tech entrepreneurs is access to capital. In a sense, it should be. Venture capital is competitive, and you should be able to demonstrate that there is going to be a significant return rate on that investment to the venture capitalists you're asking for funding from.
I'm the chief operating officer of my company. I'm not the founder, but I've been there for seven years, which is the majority of the growth of the company, so I'm squarely a member of the leadership team. When we have raised venture capital, I've been at every meeting and in every conversation with my CEO, who is a male. It has been interesting to observe the dynamic and how he's treated sometimes versus how I'm treated in some of those conversations.
I can only really speak from my experience and reading between the lines a bit here. We've been very fortunate to have the chance to work with some venture capitalists who have been incredible. Actually, in our series A round of funding, which is a major milestone for a technology company, we raised series A in 2021 from McRock Capital, which is based in Toronto, and the partner we worked with there is a woman. It was a great experience for me to be able to work with her. Two of the partners there are female.
However, I would counter that with other experiences we've had with other institutions and venture capitalists—again, this is just my perspective—who have questioned my right to be in those conversations and in that room, as I wasn't the founder, even though based on my CEO's experience, I should be and need to be in those conversations in that room. I have definitely had to justify my participation in those discussions in the past.