The Happiness Institute!

“Every person is defined by the communities she belongs to.”
- Orson Scott Card

While finishing her degree at Stanford University, Dr. Mary Murphy studied social identity threat, an interesting behavior that occurs when we sense we are in the minority – we act out our internal stereotypes. Our heart rate increases, we sweat more, the beginning of flight-or-fight kicks in. Research has shown this to be particularly relevant with women entrepreneurs.

This dynamic of self-fulfilling performance anxiety when we know we are the minority plays out in how women get funding for their company. Recent research by Cindy Padnos found that high-tech companies built and led by women are more capital efficient than their male counterparts – namely that they have 12% higher annual revenues than similar companies led by men.

This indicates a real arbitrage opportunity for investors. According to the Dow Jones VentureSource, only 11% of the investments made by VC’s go to women led companies. So why do women build stronger, more resilient businesses?

At The Happiness Institute!, we believe is it because of the strength of the social community women build around them – and we want to enable this type of powerful connection.

We think professional women want to feel connected to a community they can leverage for help and support in all aspects of their lives. Other women entrepreneurs may crave a chance to find key creative, innovative, technical talent and partnerships.

The Happiness Institute!’s mission is to explore the question, “What Makes You Come Alive?”  We think this community can help tech professionals and entrepreneurial women and men achieve their highest ambitions and achieve authentic balance.

Come join us at The Happiness Institute!.  For a list of our membership offerings click here.