Campa's now the chief financial officer for another startup, Papilia, but this software company is biding its time before seeking venture-capital backing, in part because dollars are scarce.

"The bar right now is much higher," Campa said, particularly for early-stage companies like this one.

"We're not planning on talking to any venture capitalists at this point. We're raising our first round from individual investors, and we'll look at venture capitalists for the next round if that makes sense," she said.

Four years ago, this company would have already been financed by venture capitalists, Campa said, noting that Papilia is focused on the nonprofit sector, making venture capitalists more intent on seeing proof of its ability to build a client base before backing.

But that higher bar is not a reflection that women-led businesses are facing tougher times than men-led firms, said Campa and others at a recent conference connecting women entrepreneurs to investors.

Women-led businesses are keeping a firm hold on their percentage of total venture capital dollars, according to VentureOne Corp., a firm that tracks venture-capital backing.

"It's not that they're suffering at a higher rate than the overall, it's actually in proportion to the drop that we've seen," said Amity Wall, senior research associate with VentureOne.

To be sure, the percentage of money going to women-led businesses is still small: About 3.79 percent of all venture-capital dollars in 2002 went to companies with women chief executives, down from 3.8 percent in 2001, 4.09 percent in 2000, and 5.06 percent in 1999.

Companies with women in management positions secured 38.5 percent of venture-capital backing last year, down from 42.9 percent in 2001.

But women's increasing entrepreneurial experience and education levels mean women have at least not been hit harder than men in securing capital for their ventures, experts said.

Overall, venture-capital financing dropped 21 percent, to $3.4 billion in the first quarter of 2003 from $4.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to VentureOne. From 2001 to 2002, financing dropped 43 percent, to about $20 billion from $35 billion.

The dismal picture, however, doesn't change the fact that women are ready to spring when the outlook improves, some say, spurred on by increasing entrepreneurial experience, higher education levels and more women in venture-capital firms with which to connect.

While venture-capital financing is "rather flat now, it will pick up in the next year, and women are better prepared to compete in this environment," said Kay Koplovitz, chairwoman of Springboard Enterprises, which connects women entrepreneurs with investors at its venture forums and workshops.

Sixty-nine percent of Springboard's alumnae are "serial entrepreneurs," meaning they've started more than one company, according to a recent survey.

Higher education levels also mean women are ready to take advantage of emerging venture capital dollars. "Half the people in our medical schools and law schools are women," said Koplovitz, meaning "there are a lot of qualified women."

Among women-led firms, tech companies collect the most venture-capital financing, and biotechnology is second, Koplovitz said. Consumer product companies also win financing dollars, others said.

Along with more experience and education, women entrepreneurs are seeing more women at venture-capital firms, and some say those women are more likely to back women entrepreneurs.

"There are certainly more and more women decision-makers in venture capital firms, which is outstanding," said Carol Sands, managing member of The Angels' Forum, a group of professional investors.

"A majority of the time, investors are gender blind," Sands said, "but in moments of stress, many people choose to forget their ideals and invest in what their comfortable with, and since a majority of the investors are male, their natural comfort is investing in other males."

But that's not the only reason why women are worse off than men in getting funding dollars, she said. "The real reason why women lag behind men in attracting venture capital dollars is that fewer women actually ask," she said.