the ideal entrepreneur, especially since other studies have shown that the ideal entrepreneur usually has attributes generally associated to male entrepreneurs.[3]In an effort to emphasise their potential, women also tend to stress the involvement of men as board members and board chairs in their ventures. The authors have classified women entrepreneur's strategies that emphasise more "masculine" attributes of their venture, such as growth ambitions, as compensatory signalling strategies. Another aspect highlighted by this study is that industry experience in "feminine" industries, such as the spa and fitness industry, is seen as less valuable by investors than experience in industries generally associated to masculinity, such as the petrol industry. Venture capitalist's gendered view of entrepreneur's experience is only one of the examples of having women entrepreneurs held at different standards than their male counterparts. In a study focusing on the financing received by entrepreneurs from banks, it was found that male entrepreneurs received more funding than their female counterparts, despite having the same number of employees and past performance track record (two factors that show viability for a business). Thus, women's strong track records did not correlate as strongly with the funding received as for men, and so for the same business attributes their reward was lower. Obstacles specific to starting new firms The theory of "homophily," is a concept described by social scientists as the tendency for people to seek out or be attracted to those who are similar to themselves. This theory impacts the number of women who are able to start new firms because there are fewer women than men who own their own companies; women compose about half of the labour force but own only 36 per cent of US companies. This statistic shows how it is evident that the number of women in this field is disproportionate to the population. Recent data suggests that when female entrepreneurs start their businesses, they have significantly lower levels of capital than men. A disproportionate access to capital, compared to male entrepreneurs, also serves a systemic barrier to creating a new firm. Women who start their own firms have a higher likelihood of success if they have disposable financial or social capital. Without this opportunity, there are many more obstacles that place women at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts. Women entrepreneurs are starting with a disadvantage when starting their firms, making it more difficult to navigate the initial