Susanne Althoff

Susanne Althoff is an associate professor at Emerson College in Boston where she teaches publishing entrepreneurship and women's media. She joined Emerson in 2015 after a distinguished 22-year career as a magazine editor, including six years as editor in chief of the Boston Globe Magazine.

Her research focuses on systemic barriers faced by women and nonbinary entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem, particularly examining the gender gap in venture capital funding where women receive less than 3 percent of U.S. venture capital. Althoff investigates how the entrepreneurial system was engineered by and for white men, and documents challenges including biased investor perceptions, #MeToo's impact on mentorship, and the dismissal of women as "mompreneurs." Her work demonstrates how these inequities lead to weaker economic outcomes for society overall, including fewer jobs and less innovation.

Althoff's publication record centers on her critically acclaimed book which has been featured in major media outlets and praised by industry leaders as "required reading" for understanding women's entrepreneurial challenges.

• Gold medal winner of the 2021 Axiom Business Book Award for Women/Minorities in Business

As an advisor to women-led start-ups and MassChallenge Early Stage Accelerator judge, Althoff actively supports emerging entrepreneurs while bridging academic research with practical business applications. Her journalism background informs her approach to documenting real-world entrepreneurial challenges through over one hundred founder interviews across diverse industries.