Sophie Forest on making her mark in venture capital

Sophie Forest remembers a moment early in her working life when she was discouraged from having kids if she wanted to advance her career.

She was in her late 20s, working for a venture capital fund, when her boss offered her a promotion but then ended the conversation saying something along the lines of, “you better not become pregnant.”

Forest was upset by the comment, but before she could complain her boss apologized the next day. He then encouraged her to have a family – and take the promotion.

She went on to have three kids, while rising through the ranks at that same company. Forest credits her cooperative colleagues and clients for allowing her to bring newborns to meetings and juggle her family and work schedule.

Unfortunately, she is an exception in the highly-competitive, highly-masculine venture capitalist industry. It’s probably also why she’s one of the few women in the profession today.

Yahoo Canada Finance spoke to Forest, now managing partner of Montreal-based Brightspark Ventures, about her career and what advice she has for other women interested in the venture capital industry.

What inspired you to pursue a career in venture capitalism?

I met someone early in my career who wanted to start a venture capital fund. In the early 1990s, it was a new thing. I had no clue what venture capital was and I had a master’s in finance. I said ‘Why not?” I am a curious person so I just joined. We kind of invented what we did because nobody else was doing it. It was very exciting. It was a mix of luck meeting that person, interest in technology and most important, my entrepreneurial spirit.

Why do you think there so few women venture capitalists?

It’s a career that is very hard to get into and with some women - having kids and family - it’s hard to maintain that intensity. Once you’re in it’s fine, but to get there it’s hard. A lot of VCs tend to have a background in entrepreneurship … in banking M&A, and in tech companies, where there aren’t a lot of women to begin with. But, on the other side, a lot of the companies I have been involved in, and even with my partners, I find and they tell me some of the feminine touch is very much needed, and very much appreciated. Sometimes I tend to be the mother helping out the entrepreneurs in a different way. It’s needed. When you’re a CEO of a startup you’re alone at the top. You need someone to talk to … It’s a human transaction.

How do you juggle a family and a career in an industry that rarely sleeps?

You need to compromise. I’m always connected. I have my iPad, my laptop, my iPhone. My kids used to complain, but I used to tell them my compromise is that I'm always connected, but I can give you time. I don’t work 9 to 5. If my kids have something at school that I want to go to I can take off when I want … which is for me, super valuable. It’s a tradeoff. You also have to be willing to travel and not be there all the time for your family. It depends on what’s driving you. I tend to be a competitive person in general in my life. I want to succeed and I want to be happy in my professional life so I am willing to make some compromises in my life, and my family understands. If you have understanding business partners, as I do, it also makes a big difference. Are they like that in every partnership? I believe not. Some are very traditional and wouldn’t be willing to accept compromise to have women on their team. Or, maybe they don’t recognize the value they bring.

What advice do you have for other women in this field, or who want to get into venture capitalism?

You just need to go for it. Don’t be shy. Don’t think you’re not as good as someone else. There’s definitely a place for women in the VC world. I think some women just aren’t aggressive enough. You need to take your place. It’s an amazing place to be. It can be very lucrative and very stimulating. You need to be aggressive and not settle for second best.

Does gender come into play when you are debating whether to green light a project (ie. if a women is behind the pitch is it viewed differently and if so how and why?)

I never experienced or felt personally that I was considered differently when pitching a company to my colleagues (being the only woman). I think the main factor is self confidence and it is not gender specific. I am managing partner at my funds and at an equal position with my male partners. I would think that since most women in the VC world are typically not at that level than perhaps their influence would be different.

In a typical VC firm, if you are behind a deal and want buy-ins from your partners, the key factors are : how well you are prepared, how good is the deal (obviously) and how aggressively you defend it. This is not gender specific, maybe to the exception of the last element. It was never a factor in my case.

The only other situation I can think of where gender did play a role is in fundraising to some traditionally institutional LPs. We were raising money in France a few years ago, using an agent. Before we get to this meeting with a very large institutional investor, the agent says : make sure Mark does most of the talking. Sophie is young and a woman and you don't want them to think she is the boss!

*This interview has been edited and condensed