Julie Meyer, who was born in America, came to Europe in September 1988 and has been working since then with technology entrepreneurs.

In December 2000 she set up Ariadne Capital, in London, offering investment and advice to start-up entrepreneurs aiming to build market-leading companies in internet, media and software sectors. It is backed by 50 entrepreneurs, including the founders of Giga (now Intel), Hotmail, SportingBet and WorldPay.

Meyer was also a founder of First Tuesday, a London-based networking forum for venture capitalists and new-media entrepreneurs, which was sold in July 2000.

She is also known as one of the online business dragons offering investment on the BBC’s long-running programme Dragon’s Den.

Q: You have founded two successful enterprises but your current business also involves you in funding and advising entrepreneurs, such as the founders of internet telephony group Skype and Christina Domecq, founder of voice message business SpinVox. How difficult is it to be a woman in the venture capital industry and what insights does your position give you into the mindsets of female entrepreneurs? In particular, do you agree with studies that suggest female business people have a lower appetite for risk and leverage than men? What advice do you have for women entrepreneurs?

A: “There probably are more men than women in venture capital, but it is an industry with an extremely democratic and meritocratic culture. If you’re good at what you do, you’re in. It has absolutely nothing to do with gender. You cannot be pale, stale and male and thrive in this industry. If you are no good, you will get fired, whether you are a man or a woman. It’s very performance driven, very black and white.

“Also, from my personal experience, women are no less ambitious than men, which is what setting up your own business is ultimately about. It’s always about money. I haven’t found that the female entrepreneurs I’ve worked with have a lower appetite for risk than the men I have advised. The women-run companies I’ve advised have raised as much capital as those run by men, but requirements for capital do vary and they can change dramatically.

“My advice to women entrepreneurs is to work hard, be smart and find ways of adding value. If you can add value, get stuck in and make things happen, nothing will hold you back.”