Telefonica’s Wayra startup hub couldn’t have been a better choice for Women in Wireless London’s first panel discussion. Wayra was started in South America, and is so-called because the word means a change of breeze, or a change of direction. There has been a great deal of attention of late around the question of women in the boardroom. Promoted onto the agenda by the publishing of a government review, the Evening Standard and then the BBC have both taken a stab at answering one of modern life’s most pressing questions: ‘why aren’t there more women in top jobs?’
This panel went some way to offering an
alternative. Voted for by the audience at the Women in Wireless launch back in
April, it appears many women want to be their own boss. Chaired by Olivia
Solon, Associate Editor of Wired.co.uk and one of TechCrunch’s 100 Tech Women
in Europe, but with her magazine confined to the ‘men’s interest’ section of
WHSmith, she knows only too well what it’s like to be a woman in a bloke’s
world.
She was joined by:
Michelle Gallen – co-founder and CEO of Shhmooze - the people discovery app for
professionals- and TalkIrish.com an Irish language
learning platform
Michelle likes straight talking, dark
chocolate and Irish whiskey. She had delivered a project for the BBC ahead of
schedule and under budget, “it rocked”.
Would she get a bonus? No. “I hadn’t a thing to go to and I walked”.
Claudia Dreier-Poepperl – founder and CEO
Addafix – a caller ID service
Claudia wasn’t happy for a long time. The
startup she had been a member of since day five had been acquired and acquired
again. She was in the UK. Its HQ was in the US. “If I can put all that energy
in to make somebody else rich – I can try for myself”.
Muriel Devillers – LUMU Invest – a provider
of seed funding and mentoring
Muriel Devillers “married had children and
then had a divorce… I thought I had to do something”. She went on an adventure and started four
pirate radio stations. She is now a business angel, advising and supporting
startup projects.
Yael Rozencwajg – founder and CEO YOPPs
Digital Media
Yael had a ‘typical life’ and was well-known
among Paris nightclub scene. After two years, she decided to earn money from
it.
Sabrina McEwen – communications executive
for Hiyalife – a platform to co-create your life story using memories, a Wayra startup
Sabrina went from a corporate to… a funkier
business, but still corporate… and had a difficult boss. She wasn’t intending
to join a startup but hasn’t regretted it one bit. At Hiyalife, she is
surrounded by “passionate people who want to succeed… interesting and full of
ideas”.
Olivia:
So you’ve got your idea on the back of a napkin… what do you do next?
Muriel: It’s not an easy one – I was
travelling the world for over five years looking for the disruptive ideas. I
listen. When I say ‘wow’ I’ve fallen in love with the idea. I get into the team
to push, open my network, make you work.
Michelle: There was a gap in the market.
There were 59 million people with an Irish passport and I was leaning Irish
from 40 year-old books… Perhaps I wouldn’t sell my house… But today you can test
your assumption. If you’ve got 50 people signed up… go for it.
Claudia: I had to find techies, to test
whether the task was a yes, no, or a possibility. They have to be on the same
wavelength, can you trust them? Perhaps find them from a previous job. Can you
build something, a prototype without any funding? You don’t need a big amount
of funding to get you through that. The further you get, the more impressed any
business angel will be.
Olivia:
Once you had launched – what was the biggest misconception about having a
start-up?
Yael: Don’t be afraid of failing. Don’t
worry about the money. The idea, the project has to be the main thing at every
step. I strongly advise you to make mistakes – we learn after making mistake,
misunderstanding the marketplace and failing.
Claudia:
Everything takes about 10 times longer than you think – time, energy,
money, contingency is never enough. Over the years you become more relaxed
about that – four weeks waiting on a contract from a big corporate is like four
years for you.
Muriel: Invest your own money – this is
showing in your guts that you believe in it. Use crowd funding – especially
when you start. Friends and family support will show you are right and boost
you to go further.
Michelle: No one tells you about maternity
leave when you’re starting out on your own.
Sabrina: But there is actually lot of
support.
Olivia:
So what about the pitch process? What’s the worst pitch you’ve seen?
Muriel: 27 slides, loads of numbers. The
best way to pitch? Please show me your guts. I don’t care about slideshares. I
need to feel the love in three, four, five slides – don’t ever put your speech
on it.
Olivia:
How do you get a work/life balance?
Claudia: You don’t. You have to force
yourself to stop – travelling all the time is bad for your health.
Michelle: 9am-11pm and then drinks gives me
five hours in the week to see my baby. I want my friends to call me out on it.
Yael: You need time management – take
distance from your project and see your friends.
Olivia:
Studies show that men are better at multi-tasking. No?
Muriel: We are multitasking!! Pregnant,
working… To risk and invest, I think we do it better.
A lot of VCs are male but business angels
are mostly women. When you believe in it you go for it. We know how to push it
to minimise the risk.
Olivia: Woman in tech – more men than women
– advantages/disadvantages?
Yael: In tech, there is a big opportunity
for women to reach the men’s table. Keep in mind – women have the power to
connect and support each other. We trust in ourselves, focus and bring our
self-confidence.
Muriel: I am a woman in a man’s world. The
financial world. And I disrupt that. I shout. I put my fist on the table. What
I want to see is teams build projects together – men and women together – we
have qualities and men have qualities. We can approach it from 360 degrees.
Why do we get married and have children?
Because we are complimentary – in your children, you integrate your qualities
together.
Claudia: It depends on the situations. There
are always so many men at tech conferences. If you are trying to sell
something, I love it!
Muriel: There are now more than 60 per cent
women studying tech in universities.
Michelle: There are no queues for the
toilet when you’re a girl in tech! You can start doing the ‘I’m the only girl
in the village’ bit. Try not to analyse - just be. Support everyone and call
them out on things. When guys say ‘you have to have balls’, I say ‘talk to me about
guts and I’ll show you them’.
To the audience.
My start-up
isn’t working…
Michelle: I spent my 20s having really crap
relationships. I was late to the party when it came to settling down. Be slutty
as a startup – split up, lose it. You say it’s your baby, but it’s not. You wouldn’t
be so precious about it.
Muriel: Branding is 60 per cent of your
budget. There are co-working spaces all over the world – be together as much as
possible, all you need is a place with a table, wifi, people to talk with and
that’s all.
Do
women think big enough?
Michelle: If you’re going to put the hours
in, you have to care about it. If you’re ironing, you go for it, same if you
want to be the next Facebook.
Claudia: The business has to be scaleable.
Muriel: Dream global before dreaming local
and you will succeed. Make us believe in your dreams.
Yael: The world is not open to you; you
have to open the world.
Olivia:
One tip for the future?
Michelle: Always do your pelvic floor
exercises and never fake an orgasm
Claudia: If the others can do it you can do
it
Muriel: Believe in your dreams
Yael: Live them
Sabrina: Don’t bother convincing the
non-believers
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