My participation as a mentor in the first master class in this reality show was very interesting because it is the first program of its kind. Being part of this great revolution in female entrepreneurship and being able to share my personal experiences with such talented women is priceless.
To all female entrepreneurs suffering from imposter syndrome, I want you to know that our path is a little more difficult, but not impossible. We must always think about how to reinvent the rules imposed by society, which are clearly not in our favor.
Empowering women requires a great deal of effort in many dimensions. Promoting this path and women’s entrepreneurship is one of my greatest goals.
But it is also important that we receive financial support, like when raising capital. Recent studies have shown that women entrepreneurs receive less financial support than men, highlighting gender inequality.
“True independence lies in economic independence”
The Covid Impulse
One of the positive aspects that COVID left us was allowing us to restructure our businesses to allow them to scale to much more exponential levels.
At this time businesses are much more agile, economical, productive and global. COVID was the perfect storm for the digital transformation and technological revolution we are experiencing today.
As an entrepreneur, I had teachers from whom I learned and came to the conclusion: SKIRT THE RULES.
SKIRT THE RULES
These are some key concepts that helped me in my professional development as an entrepreneur learning from other people and from my own experience.
This term means putting a skirt on the rules, doing things the way women know how to do them: with passion, sensitivity, and emotion. It also means bending the rules without breaking them because they were not created to favor female entrepreneurs.
Until recently, we did not exist in the labor market, so we need to rethink the rules.
Despite all the denials I received at the beginning of my career, and all the sacrifices that this path entailed, they made me understand that I had to change the rules. I had to redefine how I was going to do things and consider what the metrics of success would be.
As a technology entrepreneur, I always had in mind that I had to define my goals in order to succeed in a society designed by men and for men.
One of the ways I reinvented my own rules was to create a company that has never had offices. I gave the opportunity to talent around the world, concentrating on hiring women due to their high rate of job abandonment.
In many cases, women have to choose between their familial and professional life.
THINK BIG
It is important that we think big. We have to believe in what we do because if we do not believe in our projects, nobody else will. The fundamental thing is to have a clear vision. It is the vision that is going to lead us to achieve success.
Only large companies generate great impact so it is important that we visualize our companies as places that can transform the world, that can transform the country, and that can transform your city.
When we think big and present a vision, we offer people the possibility to be part of something that will change history. This triggers more interesting talent and is more attractive to investors.
One concept that we must take into account is how we build social capital. This will allow us to understand with whom we want to connect and with what kind of people we build relationships with.
Social Capital and Networking
“The most important asset that an entrepreneur has, be it a man or a woman, is the ability for others to believe in you.”
That is why it is important to think about how we build our network of contacts and how we build credibility. Business is a contact sport, and for me, this concept has been of vital importance because it has allowed me to build alliances, interests, and cooperations; and the company that I have today.
Understanding that we must know who our audience is in order to have the appropriate narrative and generate a clear and concise message, generating a good communication strategy.
Being able to be part of a television program that reveals all these challenges that women face in order to carry out our businesses is something exemplary. Society must be educated and women must be taken into account as equals.
These types of spaces are very important because we need to have more access to opportunities and more democratization of capital to invest in our projects. They generate a positive impact on society, especially for female entrepreneurs.
