Jen Consalvo, Tech Cocktail COO, On The Importance Of Female Role Models

You can't be what you can't see -- which is why many successful women are intent on paving the way for others.

Jen Consalvo, the COO of Tech Cocktail, spoke to Forbes' Leslie Bradshaw about her experiences as a female COO.

Consalvo considered herself fortunate in that the companies she's worked for have been "great places for women in tech," but she also recognizes the importance of having female mentors:

When most grown women think back to their childhood, they can probably remember their male counterparts dreaming about being astronauts or baseball players. I know that I didn’t have those dreams because I didn’t think they applied to me. They weren’t within my realm of possibility -- I never thought being an astronaut was an option until I saw Sally Ride go to space. To significantly increase the percentage of women starting technology companies, they have to see it within their own realm of possibility. That’s our job -- to show them it’s an option.

Click over to Forbes to read the full interview.