Katherine Olives
If Not You, Then Who? Its a question that invokes the entrepreneurial spirit–the idea of taking it upon yourself to solve a problem that hasnt been solved yet. That initiative and drive is something shared amongst all of the inspiring women who spoke at our panel of #FemaleFounders. We got to hear firsthand each speakers individual approach to success.
Our panelists included Kelechi Anyadiegwu, founder of Zuvaa, Noa Gafni, founder of Impact Squared, Aileen Gemma Smith, founder of Vizalytics Technology, and Angela Jackson, founder of the Global Language Project. The panel was moderated by Kim Wales, founder of Wales Capital and CrowdBureau. The questions revolved around the obstacles one might face when starting a business. As each woman gave her individual account of hurdles and setbacks, it became clear that there were many different ways to tackle the world through entrepreneurship.
Kelechi Anyadiegwu started her business because she couldnt see herself working in a corporate environment. So, she created Zuvaa, an e-commerce marketplace for African inspired fashion and design. Kelechi believes that its important to have a unique vision if youre going to pursue entrepreneurship, and you have to take the time to understand your market. Focus on forming your community, figure out what your competitors lack, and build your brand around that. And when youre getting funding, look for someone who has more than money to offer, but dont be afraid to scale and grow.
Noa Gafni did not initially intend on starting Impact Squared; she got there through a series of ventures that didnt work out, but led to her success. She believes that its important to know where youre going when you set out to do something, and not to lose sight of your goals. You have to keep a timeline in mind, and dont be shy about pivoting your business model when you realize something isnt working. Noa also noted that having meaningful mentor relationships can be crucial to your progress. And when it comes to branding yourself, remember that even if someone else has had your idea, theyre not you. Your perspective brings something unique to it.
Angela Jackson got her start working in a corporate setting, which gave her the tools and structure she needed to be able to start her own company. And when she got to the point where she no longer cared about the work she was doing, she knew it was time to move on to starting the Global Language Project. For Angela, passion is key to any successful path. But because there are so many possible outcomes to any venture, you have to define success for yourself before moving forward. She works around the motto of failure is an option, because every failure is a potential stepping stone to success. In that spirit, finding investors can be like kissing frogs; there will be a lot of nos, but you will find your match. Its important to lay out your business plan when youre forming an idea, and make sure you have a solid marketing and budget plan moving forward.
Aileen Gemma Smith built her career path around always doing the thing she cared about most, which guided her through many different industries before she founded Vizalytics Technology. She stressed how important maintaining professional and personal relationships is to success. If you have strong professional relationships, its that much easier to keep your business going and to gain funding. Be present in everything you do, which means also being able to step back from the business and take care of yourself. You have to have thick skin; dont let setbacks deter you. Aileen encourages beginner-entrepreneurs to take advantage of small business services such as SBDCs (Small Business Development Centers) when trying to figure out how to turn an idea into a venture. And finally, there will come a point when you must commit to your business full-time if your idea of success is a sustainable, long-term organization. If you have one foot in another career path the entire time, youll be limiting your entrepreneurial growth.
If you missed the event, you can catch the full panel here.