The 10 Spearheading Businesswomen Beyond Brilliance

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RED is the ďŹ rst venture capital ďŹ rm investing in high-growth technology companies founded or co-founded by female entrepreneurs across Europe and Israel with the objective of accelerating their growth in global markets.

RED’s unique combination of geographic presence and market expertise enables the exchange of technology, funding and business opportunities between Israeli and European companies, opening opportunities for Israeli companies to enter the European, U.S, and Latin American markets, while providing European and other foreign companies access to Israeli technology.

www.redcapital.partners

Kim Vogel President & Co-founder Base Venture

An Inspiring Embodiment of the American Dream

W

e live in a unique time with an unparalleled pace of change that affects every area of our lives.

The world of business has exploded with innovation that has helped usher in new industries and advances that couldn’t have been foreseen just a decade ago.

Technological advancements are at the root of virtually every commercial innovation, and some leaders have proven themselves exceptionally adept at harnessing innovation to succeed. One such person that has made her mark as a successful leader is Kim Vogel. Kim has brought her entrepreneurial mindset to her key leadership role as the President and Cofounder of Base Venture.

Kim’s journey to becoming an influential leader began early on with her work as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at KPMG, followed by earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and working as a vice president at Montgomery Securities. Kim forged her path toward entrepreneurship and innovation in the late 1990s as the CFO of Semaphore Partners, one of the first digital marketing agencies.

Kim was one of the original members of the executive team that grew the business to become a global powerhouse with clients like General Motors, Orbitz and more. Innovation was at the core of Semaphore Partners, and it designed many of the first websites and intranets for its clients. After Semaphore Partners was sold to a marketing conglomerate, Kim became a business and finance professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Kim rekindled her passion for innovation and entrepreneurship when she became one of the early executives at a pioneering mobile banking and payments technology company called mFoundry. This innovative company helped to redefine the way that people bank by introducing the then-crazy notion of banking on the phone. mFoundry was one of the first companies to introduce mobile banking to the world and one of the earliest to present the ability to deposit a check on a mobile device. Kim served as CFO of mFoundry for almost a decade, during which the company grew to become the largest provider in North America before it was sold to FIS (NYSE: FIS) in 2013.

Kim’s latest business is yet another example of leadership through innovation as President of Base Venture. Kim and her partner, John Pizzi, co-founded the technology company in 2015, which has already become an innovative force in the investment management industry. Base Venture develops innovative solutions in the areas of financial reporting, data visualization, and process management. The enterprise’s award-winning platform, “FundManager.io”, helps organizations simplify and automate how private funds are administered and managed. By providing users with data intelligence, “FundManager.io” radically simplifies the process of fund management and provides a platform that is intelligent, scalable, affordable and secure.

In an exclusive interview with Beyond Exclamation, Kim shares her inspiring journey from the beginning to become one of the most successful leaders in the finance industry.

What were your goals while growing up? Did you always know you wanted to be where you are right now?

I could have never fathomed in my wildest dreams that I would be where I am today. The world I live in today is night and day from what I was exposed to growing up. I am truly the embodiment of the American dream. Super hardworking parents that made a ton of sacrifices to ensure their children had a better life than theirs – that is how my parent’s lived and made choices when we grew up. I am the daughter of a hair stylist and a warehouse worker. I was the first in my family to go to college and at that point in time, I knew little to nothing about graduate school and certainly couldn’t conceive of going to Harvard. However, step by step when I would accomplish one thing, I would start looking, researching and working towards whatever I thought should come next.

There was a time in my life where I was actually reluctant to dream. I felt like my life was unfolding in bigger and better ways than I could even think to

dream of. I think I was just dreaming too small. Now it’s just the opposite. I realize the power of setting goals and dreams. Now I try to dream as big as I possibly can. I see how if I just put the thought in my head, no matter how much of a reach it might be, it is amazing how the powers that be just start aligning things and the path to get there unfolds.

What drove you to enter into this field? What was your life like before BaseVenture?

I believe so much of one’s story depends on when they enter the workforce. A lot has been written about the success of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and others based on how their age intersected where technology was at a pivotal point in time. They were in their early twenties when the mainframe, IBM and other foundational technologies and companies were ready for the next thing. For me, where I ended up was a lot about timing as well. My post MBA story began in investment banking as the .dot com bubble was beginning to inflate. I was an accounting and finance person working at an Investment Bank and all the hub bub was around technology. We were taking companies public left and right and there was a lot of activity going on. The energy around me was powerful and exhilarating. So, when I’d had enough of Investment Banking and wanted to work inside a company, and of course being in San Francisco at that time, technology was the logical place to go.

I certainly wasn’t an engineer and frankly did not stay up until the wee hours of the morning hacking, coding or tinkering in any way like many of my colleagues did; but I loved the energy around technology, the rapid growth, and the chance to build something from nothing. So, it was just the next logical step forward for me. I never recall consciously saying I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Being that technology wasn’t my background, I quickly found I was very comfortable building and being part of exceptional teams. I enjoyed building those teams and having solid partners to join forces with. I always feel like I am only as strong as those I am surrounded by. The story of Base Venture is similar in that after we built and sold mFoundry, the leading mobile banking and payments platform at the time, John and I were very much ready to start another company. We love

building technology, teams and of course companies.

That is how we got here.

What are your first thoughts when you hear words like leader and businesswoman? What prompted you to move beyond brilliance initially as a leader?

I truly enjoy building and leading teams. I think that is what drives me the most so hearing words like leader and businesswoman are a byproduct of doing what I like to do. I think a lot about how I have come to grips with enjoying challenges. Don’t get me wrong, some can be terribly daunting but challenges are merely problems to be solved. Being a leader is about building and perfecting your problem-solving skills.

So every new problem is an opportunity to perfect and build upon these skills. Life for me is always about the next challenge. My mom always jokes when I feel like I have accomplished something big or step over the finish line of something I have been working hard at, she says, “You won’t sit long, what’s your next project, I know you have one stewing” What have been the best and toughest parts of your journey? What has led you to stand where you are today?

Along with my stellar team, building the pioneering mobile banking and payments technology company called mFoundry has been one of the best parts of my journey. This innovative company helped to redefine the way that people bank by introducing the thencrazy notion of banking on the phone.

Have you achieved all that you had desired? Tell us about the moment when you realized that your hard work has finally paid-off. What keeps you driven and determined towards work?

“I truly believe we get out of life what we put into it, and we are all co-creators of our own respective destinies. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do. My life journey continues to be a work in progress, and I feel there is so much yet to see, experience and accomplish.” I think a key characteristic of successful people is the love of learning and never feeling they have achieved all they

have desired. There is so much to experience and do in this world.

There is an endless supply of next steps. I am really proud of what I have accomplished but I also hope that I never feel I have accomplished everything. I hope, just as I have always done, that after my next big accomplishment that I just start to explore the next challenge and set the next goal.

Now that I am older, I try to spend a lot of time acknowledging how my hard work has paid off. I think one of my biggest realizations is how the timing around the work we do ISN’T closely aligned with when the rewards and benefits are received. So much of the work has to be done early in life while the benefits and paybacks come down the road. I worry about the young adults in my family. I see how so much of their future depends on the decisions they are making in their late teens and early twenties. Those foundational years are pivotal and working hard early on sets the path for life. I still work hard, don’t get me wrong. Still too many hours; however, I also spend time looking around at what I have, the relationships that surround me and – most of all – the flexibility I have in my life. I constantly pat myself on the back knowing that this only exists because of all the hard work I put in decades ago and along the way.

What are some of the most important achievements, highlights, biggest challenges or roadblocks of your journey as cofounder/entrepreneur?

My biggest setback happened early on in my career and I am so thankful

for that. I was laid off at 23 years old from my very first professional position along with half of the office but I took it personally. I quickly landed another position with better pay and more time which gave me the opportunity to apply to Harvard Business School. I don’t think I would have applied otherwise given the grueling hours of public accounting. HBS completely transformed my career path, exposing me to things that I would have never thought possible. I learned setbacks are shortcuts to our ultimate goals, if we allow them to be.

What are the most important characteristics that make an individual a successful entrepreneur? How do you impart the same upon your colleagues, employees and children?

Having a partner that complements me with different skills makes me feel powerful. It allows me to be confident that I can bring valuable insights to the table while also knowing I do not have to be a master of all things. So now, as I look back over the three companies I have built, I realize a solid partner is what attracted me to join each company and made each company successful.

All three of these companies were technology companies, all with products based on engineering code.

And, for better or worse, I can’t read a single stitch of code. I am fascinated with the productivity, utility and efficiency that technology brings and add my part to the development process and help shape our products with a focus on these aspects.

What seeded the vision of BaseVenture? Brief us about the services that BaseVenture provides and tell us why customers choose you?

I co-founded the BaseVenture with John Pizzi in 2015 and am proud to say it has already become an innovative force in the investment management industry. Base Venture develops innovative solutions in the areas of financial reporting, data visualization, and process management. The enterprise’s awardwinning platform, “FundManager.io,” helps organizations simplify and automate how private funds are administered and managed. By providing users with data intelligence, “FundManager.io” radically simplifies the process of fund management and provides a platform that is intelligent, scalable, affordable and secure.

John and I founded the company after we built and sold mFoundry in 2013. We loved the industry, the players and the emerging world of FinTech. Building on our last successful exit is truly what seeded the idea of Base Venture. We looked at the systems and infrastructures that existed around wealth management and knew we could build something much better. So we just got to work.

Amidst all your responsibilities and roles at BaseVenture, how do you manage to balance between professional and personal life?

Work life balance is always a challenge and something I am constantly juggling with to try to

ensure I am not tipping the scale too far in any direction. With a sixteenyear-old daughter and a four year old son, there are a lot of demands that unfold daily. First and foremost, the biggest enjoyment I have in life is being a mother. I remind myself every day that I have worked so hard to ensure I have the flexibility in my schedule to be an active part of whatever my children are experiencing. I think balancing becomes much easier when your priorities are clear. My priorities couldn’t be clearer, my children come first.

My other secret weapon is my amazing mom. My mom really helps pick up the pieces if they start to fall.

She is always there and I have the peace of mind knowing that if I can’t be with my kids, she is there to direct them as I would if I were at home with them.

What are your individual plans going ahead? What does the future hold for Kim and BaseVenture?

I truly believe we get out of life what we put into it, and we are all cocreators of our own respective destinies. My life journey continues to be a work in progress, and I feel there is so much yet to see, experience, and accomplish. I want to continue to drive and grow BaseVenture forward and ensure it can be as successful as possible. In meantime I want to sew all the seeds for the “next big thing” that may be waiting for me on the horizon.

Summary Bio 1. Name: Kim Vogel 2. Title: President and Co-founder of Base Venture; Board of Trustee for Saint Mary’s College 3. Education: B.S., Accounting, Saint Mary’s College; M.B.A., Harvard University 4. Corporate boards: Base Venture, Orimar Inc. 5. Community involvement: Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees; also member of Finance and Investment Committees (2017present); Saint Mary’s School of Economics and Business Administration Advisory Board (2014-2017).

6. List honors, awards or recognitions. Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

Ÿ Ÿ

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The 30 Most Inspirational Business Leaders to Watch, 2018, Insights Success Successful Leaders in Tech 2018, CIO Outlook The 25 Leading Businesswomen Moving Beyond Excellence, Beyond Explanation Flying High Women Leaders 2018, Aspioneer Magazine Most Notable Alumni, St. Mary’s College https://www.stmarysca.edu/for-alumni/alumniassociation/notable-alumni Association of Governing Boards Women Corporate Directors Certified Public Accountant in State of California Inventor - Provisional Patent No: 15/206,152 UNIFIED ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT DATA ADMINISTRATION AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Here is an award submission a colleague did that may have some nuggets of information that may be helpful.

What makes this woman an outstanding leader We live in a unique time with an unparalleled pace of change that affects every area of our lives. The world of business has exploded with innovation that has helped usher in new industries and advances that couldn’t have been foreseen just a decade ago. Technological advancements are at the root of virtually every commercial innovation, and some leaders have proven themselves exceptionally adept at harnessing innovation to succeed. One such person that has made her mark as a successful leader is Kim Vogel. Kim has brought her entrepreneurial mindset to her key leadership role as a Board of Trustee for Saint Mary’s College as well as the President and Cofounder of Base Venture.

Kim Vogel is one of the Bay Area’s technology visionaries. She has a unique combination of corporate finance, technology development, executive leadership and academic teaching experience. Kim has been directly responsible for building some of the area’s most successful technology companies, while also helping to shape the next generation of leaders and building stronger communities as a professor, educator and university trustee.

Kim has focused her career on building innovative, high-growth businesses with transformational products. She is now leading Saint Mary’s College into rethinking their role around growth and

transformation. The landscape of higher education has changed dramatically in the last decade and the long term sustainability of many institutions is dependent upon their response to these changes and their ability to turn challenges into opportunities. Saint Mary’s College has made a significant impact in the Bay Area, educating thousands of first generation college students, transforming the lives of students and their families. Kim is in a key role at Saint Mary’s leading its initiative to ensure the University continues to be a driving force for many decades to come. Her work at the University is transformative and is having a huge impact. No wonder the University lists Kim as one of their most notable alumni (https://www.stmarysca.edu/for-alumni/alumniassociation/notable-alumni).

At Saint Mary’s and in the corporate world, Kim utilizes some key philosophies that contribute to her success. Kim is a mentor who leads by example. Kim’s management style is to foster a culture that allows for creative thinking and bold decision-making. As such, she empowers people to achieve excellence. She has a fundamental understanding that excellence is a byproduct of inspiration. Every conversation and interaction is an opportunity to lead and inspire As for some of her leadership ideologies, Kim loves being surrounded by really, really smart people. Being around high caliber performers forces her to make sure that she always brings her “A” game to the table as others spark new interests, introduce new ideas and new concepts. Building great organizations is a team sport and its starts with having the best people.

Kim always tries to create and be part of her own “dream” team. She says, “Think big. Look around, pay attention to opportunities, and keep your eye out for the best and brightest. The energy is real and when the dream team is in place, magical things happen.”

Kim believes that effective leaders must follow what Jeff Bezos eloquently coined as “High-Velocity Decision Making”. As Kim puts it, it is the art of producing the highest quality decisions with limited information and doing so as quickly as possible. Kim suggests this isn’t just a personal skill; it is an environment that leaders must cultivate. Most decisions should probably be made with 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for more, you are probably acting too slowly. “As a leader, I know that setbacks are shockwaves to improvement. My journey has taught me to look at “setbacks” differently and quickly turn them into what can sometimes be groundbreaking opportunities”.

Throughout her career, Kim has always stressed the importance of cultivating this positive team environment.

The incredible outcomes she created, notably during her time as CFO of mobile banking and payments leader mFoundry and currently at BaseVenture, are attributed to her team-first approach to leadership.

But she’s far from achieving all that she desires. She expresses, “I truly believe we get out of life what we put into it, and we are all co-creators of our own respective destinies. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do. My life journey continues to be a work in progress, and I feel there is so much yet to see, experience, and accomplish.”

Describe career success, leadership style & community involvement Kim’s journey to becoming an influential leader began early on with her work as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at KPMG, followed by earning her MBA from the Harvard Business School and working as a vice president at Montgomery Securities. Kim forged her path toward entrepreneurship and innovation in the late 1990s as the CFO of Semaphore Partners, one of the first digital marketing agencies. Kim was one of the original members of the executive team that grew the business to become a global powerhouse with clients like General Motors, Orbitz and more. Innovation was at the core of Semaphore Partners, and it designed many of the first websites and intranets for its clients. After Semaphore

Partners was sold to a marketing conglomerate, Kim became a business and finance professor at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Kim rekindled her passion for innovation and entrepreneurship when she became one of the early executives at a pioneering mobile banking and payments technology company called mFoundry. This innovative company helped to redefine the way that people bank by introducing the then-crazy notion of banking on the phone. mFoundry was one of the first companies to introduce mobile banking to the world and one of the earliest to present the ability to deposit a check on a mobile device. Kim served as CFO of mFoundry for almost a decade, during which the company grew to become the largest provider in North America before it was sold to FIS (NYSE: FIS) in 2013.

Kim’s latest business is yet another example of leadership through innovation as President of Base Venture. Kim and her partner, John Pizzi, co-founded the technology company in 2015, which has already become an innovative force in the investment management industry. Base Venture develops innovative solutions in the areas of financial reporting, data visualization, and process management. The enterprise’s award-winning platform, “FundManager.io”, helps organizations simplify and automate how private funds are administered and managed. By providing users with data intelligence, “FundManager.io” radically simplifies the process of fund management and provides a platform that is intelligent, scalable, affordable and secure.

Kim has consistently perfected her skills in her business endeavors while keeping active in her community.

Although Kim serves many organizations, her work at Saint Mary’s College is clearly the most notable. Kim was the first in her family to go to college, and after graduating from Saint Mary’s and Harvard Business School she felt a calling to give back. She worked as professor in the undergraduate and graduate programs and now spends her time in a leadership role as a Board Trustee. She works closely with the executive leadership team creating and implementing the strategy and mission of the University. Her work impacts current students but more importantly will ensure that the University is wellpositioned to continue to better serve the Bay Area for decades to come.

A Trailblazer in Sports & Tech

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shveen Anand is the founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship, an online platform solely focused on allowing brands to Search, Connect and Sponsor opportunities within professional sports.

OpenSponsorship allows brands to search, connect and sponsor opportunities in professional sports sponsorship. The platform’s vision is to make sports sponsorship easier for everyone. At OpenSponsorship, everyone knows that athletes, teams and events rely on sports sponsorship to keep the lights on and the wheels turning, so it’s so very imperative to have smarter and easier access to the brands that would make for great sponsorship partners. Led by Ishveen Anand, OpenSponsorship has achieved a premier name in the sports sponsorship landscape. This is her story!

The beginningz Born and brought up in Manchester, England, Ishveen completed her studies in Economics and Management from Oxford University, Keble

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College. After working for an ephemeral stint of about 2.5 years with London-based boutique retail management consultancy firm Javelin Group, Ishveen entered the sports world in India.

She moved to India to work for a Delhi-based sports agency Commune and spent about 3 years servicing Mumbai Indians, Hero MotoCorp, ICC, FIH, Pernod Ricard, Idea and many more companies. In 2011, Ishveen started Auxus to work in cross-border sponsorship, particularly between UK and India. But after getting married to a Fashion Designer, Kirat Anand of KAS New York, in 2012 and moving to New York, Ishveen was challenged with difficulties regarding continuing and managing Auxus’ business operations due to the geographical distance, different time zones and different sports.

In Ishveen’s life as a sports agent, she was in charge of brokering deals between athletes / teams / federations + brands. One of her trips involved her going to Colombia to speak to various soccer teams to inquire about their sponsorship opportunities available – she fed this Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

Ishveen Anand Founder & CEO OpenSponsorship

Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

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information back to the brand client, who said they would review in the next 1 month. “I knew the information would probably be different soon enough and so I’d have to do the whole trip again, this made me wonder why there wasn’t an Airbnb or Kayak for our industry and hence the idea was born,” she recalls. Finally, in March 2014, Ishveen came up with the idea of OpenSponsorship, which she launched officially in August 2014.

The struggle, rise and achievements Ishveen started OpenSponsorship because she saw a business need and understood that there was an opportunity to build an amazing technology solution to solve the inefficiencies within the $60B sponsorship industry. “I think it’s really important to start a company because you really believe in the mission, because at times being a CEO / entrepreneur can be really challenging and remembering why you are doing it, and believing in it, is really important. At first, when I started and had one technical partner, I was an entrepreneur, now that we are a team of 10, my role has definitely evolved to become a CEO. My responsibility is to recruit the

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best people and make sure they are properly equipped and inspired to complete our mission, as opposed to being the one that does the work,” Ishveen shares.

Ishveen has achieved many accolades in her career, which has always paved her way and made her realize that she is on a right path. To name a few in a long list of Ishveen’s achievements and highlights; she has been named on the Forbes 30U30 list for sports; she has done OpenSponsorship’s first six figure deal with a top NFL player and a brand who would never had otherwise invested in sports; she has signed her client, Anheuser Busch, arguably one of the most sophisticated sponsors of sport as it gives her technology a lot of validation; being named one of the most innovated AI partners by IBM and getting advertised by IBM Watson on their homepage; and she has also brought an NBA All-Star Baron Davis as an investor and in total raising $1.4M. OpenSponsorship offers a transparent look at the sponsorship opportunities available across athletes, teams and events, for brands to partner with. Currently, they are most focused on athletes for a number of reasons (a) the price point to partner with an athlete is a lot

more accessible than bigger teams and (b) the rise of influencer marketing has meant that we found an amazing untapped opportunity with giving brands access to athletes for mostly digital and social media benefits.

Making the most of life Growing up, Ishveen cared about making her parents proud and making the most of life. She was never tied to wanting to do x or y in life, it was very much about making every day count.

This attitude, according to her, is what has made her who she is and something she continues to count on. Ishveen also shares that a leader for her is someone that can empower a team to be unified on one mission. “I think of someone that leads by example, never thinks they are too good to do a task. I think of someone that is constantly learning and self-improving.

Being a leader isn’t about one moment, but it’s about keeping up as times and circumstances change. When I hear businesswoman, just by putting Woman into the word, I think of someone who understands that being a woman brings its own challenges and benefits. You have to learn how to deal with the challenges and you have to make good on the benefits. I think of someone strong, ambitions, passionate and successful,” Ishveen asserts.

Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

Continue to bring more people When asked whether she has achieved all that she desired, Ishveen answers, “Not at all, there is still such a long way to go. It’s definitely important to celebrate the wins and the journey, but we have big ambitions, personally and as a company, and so it’s about working hard to each milestone.

Right now for us its two fold; customer service constantly hit and surpass our client’s marketing and sales expectations and continuously build out our proprietary technology.” For Ishveen, it’s Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

important to continue to grow as a CEO for her team, and to be seen as a trailblazer within the sports + tech industry so as to inspire other females and minorities. As far as OpenSponsorship’s future outlook is concerned, her goal is to continue its amazing growth through bringing on more great people, focusing on customer success and keeping up the platform innovation.

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Stop telling women to fix sexist workplaces

I

am tired. I am tired of seeing articles titled “How women should negotiate better”, “Tactics for women to be heard,” or “Women, lean in”. I am tired of Chad, that late-twenties white dude in the office, telling women to just try harder. I am tired of women being told to fix sexism.

A note on diversity Before I begin, we need to recognize that women of color, women with disabilities, trans-women and

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Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

Kira Hodgson Senior Interactive Designer

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women from marginalized groups are disproportionately negatively affected in the workplace. In an effort to speak inclusively about women it is important to note that different women have vastly different experiences. I am speaking from a place of personal experience as a white woman working in creative tech and I am not a representative for every designer or woman.

women in the creative workplace are still struggling for equal pay and representation. Women in creative fields continue to earn only 68% of what male creatives make.

The majority of design students are women yet women make up only 29% of creative director positions.

70% of young female creatives are working in a 75% male dominated department.

But why is this happening?

Women are held to vastly different standards than men, and the issue often trickles down from the top.

Young male creatives remind men in leadership of themselves — whether consciously or unconsciously — and thus are trusted and promoted more often.

Women meanwhile must prove their abilities (via their work, rather than their social skills) to earn the positions that men are handed.

The reality Sit down with a group of women in the creative industry and you are bound to hear stories of sexism. Some recounts are clearly criminal, like sexual harassment or discrimination.

Some are more subtle, like being “accidentally” left off a meeting invitation where important decisions were made. There’s the familiar feeling of coming into work Monday morning to learn that Chad got assigned the portfolio-worthy project, while you’re stuck doing annotations, all because you “missed” the invitation for impromptu beers on Friday night. There’s the years of hard work, proving your worth, and leaning in, all while Chad says “I just kinda fell into becoming a creative director.” I can personally recall all of these instances and more in my 7 years experience as a designer.

Along with these painful acedotes, statistically speaking,

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A massive barrier for women is our rejected admittance into the coveted “boy’s club”.

For the past century, women have navigated an unfair professional social network led by men. Recall Erwin Griswold, dean of the Harvard Law School, asking the notorious RBG to justify taking a spot which could have gone to a man. Over 60 years later, this society of upper leadership positions are still primarily held by white men.

Of course, the tactics of Griswold are no longer acceptable so sexism has become much more insidious.

Male leaders are the gatekeepers to an informal network of mentorship, education, and knowledge — gatekeepers who are unwilling to allow the addition of people who don’t look or act like themselves. Women are missing out on relationships and resources crucial to obtaining and growing our careers.

From the beginning, resumes with female names have a significantly lower response rate than resumes with male names with the same experience and education. During mid-career promotions, women will use the same career advancement tactics as men, and yet their male counterparts will still advance quicker through the ranks. Even when women work on a team and achieve great results, far more credit is given to the male team members. According to sociologist, Elizabeth Gorman, “… When a man and a woman work together on a project, people assume the man contributed more than the woman did. Even when a woman’s work is indisputably excellent, people don’t believe she’s good — they think she got lucky. … it makes sense to conclude that women have to work harder to win their bosses’ approval.”

Women report that they feel their jobs require more effort than men Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

do, because it is harder for women.

Managers hold women to a higher standard of quality and give them less credit.

Women from junior positions to top level executives must prove their experience and value before they are trusted. Meanwhile, Chad just has to agree to beers.

And when discussing solutions, women bear the brunt of advice while facing a litany of Catch 22s.

We are told to speak up in meetings.

Yet women speak far less in meetings than our male counterparts and are still perceived to have spoken more. When we do actually talk we are viewed as less competent, less creative and more aggressive and pushy. According to Susan Flemming, a specialist in leadership, women are forced “to walk a tightrope between being assertive and smart in order to be seen as competent while simultaneously being nice and warm in order to meet stereotypes of communality. The people that don’t navigate that tight rope well will be either labeled as an incompetent or as a bitch.”

And when we finally speak up and we are immediately interrupted by Chad while he simultaneously takes our idea and receives the praise.

Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

We are told to negotiate higher salaries.

Yet people report that they would be less inclined to work with women as managers, subordinates, or coworkers when those women negotiated their salaries. Chad is confident, we are bitchy. And in the end, women who try to negotiate a higher salary are 3 times less likely to get a raise than their male counterparts.

We are told to be more confident and take risks.

Yet taking risks includes the possibility for failure, and “…because women operate under a higher-resolution microscope than their male counterparts do, their mistakes and failures are scrutinized more carefully and punished more severely”.

Teams will immediately dismiss a woman’s concept with a minor flaw, meanwhile Chad’s flawed comment is praised for the essential idea. This in turn leads to women’s anxiety to contribute. Even when women make confident choices, they are rarely rewarded. Studies show that “men are evaluated as more creative than women when making risky decisions, however, women who act in a similar way are not considered more deserving of reward … only men are considered more agentic and therefore more creative, and thus deserving of more rewards.”

We are told not to cry at work, use less vocal fry, stop ending our sentences with questions, stop apologizing, use a power stance, take up more space….

You get the idea. It’s time to stop telling women that they need to fix how they act to succeed in the workplace. Women are not paranoid or less talented. We make decisions to stay quiet, negotiate less, and make safer choices because we have learned that alternative actions will most likely result in more severe backlash.

It’s time we start actively changing the creative industry.

But how do we enact change?

1. Believe Women As designers, empathy is crucial to doing our jobs well, but we seem to have run out of that very same empathy for our own female team members. We need to start listening to women and trusting their perspectives.If a woman tells you that she is experiencing discrimination, listen to her. I had a female friend who felt uncomfortable being the only woman on a team. She wasn’t being taken seriously and was being treated differently than the other team members. This was a sentiment she heard echoed across the (few) other women in her agency. In a review with her male

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supervisor, she mentioned that she wanted to do something to support women and give female team members space to have a voice, as part of her personal career development. He responded, “we don’t have an issue with that” and ended the conversation. He invalidated her personal experiences and the shared experiences of the other women on her team, while also stunting her ability to move forward with her professional goals, and discouraging her from bringing up future issues.

You may not see it. You may even be a woman who hasn’t experienced sexism or implicit biases. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Your experiences may be different than your team member’s experiences.

As designers, empathy is crucial to doing our jobs well, but we seem to have run out of that very same empathy for our own female team members. We need to start listening to women and trusting their perspectives.

2. Question Your Criticism Women make excellent leaders in thecreative fields.

Often even better leaders than men. And yet along with the severe lack of women in leadership positions, women also have to contend with harsher criticism and higher standards. While men are viewed as decisive, confident, and competent, women are viewed as aggressive, bossy, and abrasive for the same behavior. Whether the new junior designer or the veteran creative director, women are criticized more severely while juggling a double edge sword of personality traits.

And here’s a real kicker, even women are more critical of female leaders and other women. For our entire careers, women often see only one woman or no women in leadership. When we see so little representation of female leadership, we internalize

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that there is only one spot at the decision-making table for women to occupy. We are not in competition with everyone, instead we are competing against the other few women in our field for that one leadership position available. Furthermore, we as a society have unconscious biases against women. And because this is a socially ingrained way to look at men and women, everyone seems to be included in the ways in which we treat women. Even an AI recruiting program developed by Amazon showed significant gender biases by consistently ranking men as the most hirable. Why? The system taught itself to value men’s resumes based on who was deemed successful within the company already — which was dominated by male engineers. It perceived the current state of gender inequality and perpetuated the same trends. It is time that we all recognize our own blind spots.

The next time that you negatively criticize one of the only women in your meeting or your female creative director, stop and ask yourself if you would react the same if she was Chad.

Start to be mindful about the ways in which we think about and act towards female leaders and the types of standards and expectations we have for women.

3. Manage middle management Executive level leaders may want to see more diversity and balance on their team. Equality and fairness might even be written into your agency’s manifesto, but until middle managers are trained and required to recognize unconscious bias and actively work to promote balance, your numbers of women leaders probably won’t change. This study found that “supervisors tend to over-inflate men’s creativity while dismissing the level of creativity displayed by women.”

Middle management is where the majority of promotions are initiated. If managers are relying on Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

unconscious biases to form their opinions and recommendations for who to promote, we will continue to see dismal numbers of female leadership.

outside the box. Everyone will benefit from the diversity of experiences and ideas on the team.

5. Support Women

Furthermore, mentorship is a crucial element to the growth of employees, as well as an important part of being a manager.

Managers, maybe you don’t have the same type of rapport with women as you do your male mentees, but it is your responsibility to provide the same mentorship opportunities to all employees.

Inviting women to the same formal and informal networks will only increase the amount of talented creatives of your team.

4. Look outside your social network It is not acceptable to state that “good female talent just doesn’t exist” or that “we will have to lower our standards” to find more women — both sentiments I have personally heard.

You may not currently have direct access to talented diverse employees because you are relying too heavily on your personal social network. Go out and actively seek diverse talent. And once you have a diverse team, equally support, promote, and encourage each team member. When an employee has a positive experience with your company, they will in turn recommend your company to their personal social network, knowing that their friends and folks from their professional network will be taken care of and respected there.

Intentionally fill your team with talented women from diverse backgrounds and this will create an environment in which more women will want to join.

Stop interrupting women in meetings. Spotlight women by giving her credit for her ideas and fighting for her right to speak up. Question your employees’ and coworkers’ comments when it seems like unconscious bias is at play. Provide parental leave and flexible working options for parents and caretakers.

Provide a safe space for women to share their experiences or concerns. Start including women in meetings, conversations, and decision making moments.

We all have a responsibility to support the women we work with everyday through better policies, safe spaces, and fair treatment.

It’s time to stop telling women how to act if they want to succeed. It’s time for men to recognize the privilege they have in the workplace, and become an active part of supporting women. It is time we all actually work towards building balanced and diverse teams.

And if you need a couple more ideas, here are literally 100 things we can do create a more equal work environment.

If you want innovative and diverse solutions for today’s creative problems, hire innovative and diverse employees.

Stop focusing on how you can train your employees to think outside the box and start hiring people FROM Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

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One Goal of a

Noble Soul

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Dr. Pamela Wiggins CEO & Owner Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC

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eing a leader is not just about having sovereign rule over someone; it is the respect you earn throughout your journey by touching lives and encouraging the heart. Everyone has a story to tell, however there are just a few amongst us who have a life story that teaches others the good lessons of life. Humbled by a serving heart yet driven by a leading attitude here’s an extravagant journey of an incredible woman who believed in her dreams and courageously sought to achieve them all. From the tender age of two, Dr. Pamela Wiggins, CEO of Wiggins Management & Consulting LLC, identified her purpose and grew up with the noble thought of helping people.

The Birth of a new Dream

As a little girl, Dr. Pamela Wiggins dreamt of being a doctor and owning her own a business. Her mother recollects a story of Dr. Pamela being defined as articulate by a teacher at the tender age of 18 months, a surprisingly commendable compliment to receive as a toddler. Dr. Wiggins bore a noble thought to serve and help people that led her to dream of being a doctor and a businesswoman. Her family ran a successful carpet and furniture cleaning business that inspired

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her to venture out on her journey to be an entrepreneur. As she diligently watched her parents work, she wisely learnt the trade gaining complete perspective of running a business. With the help of God and a determined spirit, Dr. Pamela chased her new born dream.

The Extraordinary Expedition Earning a Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University, Master of Arts in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix, and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Marymount University, Dr. Pamela Wiggins has been heading Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC as the CEO for over four years. Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC is a woman driven company that focuses on staff training, leadership & management coaching, family mediation and arbitration, and mentoring providing innumerable opportunities for higher education and shaping lives. Along with this she also possesses 12 years of experience in social service and family safety programs, and 16 years teaching experience in higher education having held the positions of Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Interim Dean of Academic Affairs, and currently, adjunct professor and

Faculty Team Lead, gracing her stupendous work with over 4 years of executive leadership experience.

Women empowerment As a strong influential woman, Dr. Pamela Wiggins believes that every woman has the potential to set an example as a remarkable businesswoman in any industry. “Women as leaders are enduring, persistent, loyal, strong, intelligent, fierce and beautiful”, says Dr. Wiggins.

She however is a one of a kind leader with a meek mind to Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

serve, promote, help, uplift and educate people that will enable them to achieve their dreams thereon. While trying to fulfil her purpose, her motive is to help people identify their purpose in life, after which they are equipped to help others thereby creating a ripple effect of true leadership.

Awe-inspiring Accolades Dr. Pamela Wiggins has been recognized and appreciated for fine works with various awards giving her the motivation to pursue her dreams relentlessly.

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To name a few of the accolades, she is an international published author of Top 10 Soft Skills You Need: In the Workplace and Beyond, and Getting to You: Increasing your Happiness, and a co-author of Women of Purpose chapter title, “Breaking Down Barriers.” She had an author feature in Today’s Purpose Woman Magazine, March 2019 issue. She is the recipient of CEO Today Magazine, “CEO Award USA (Florida)” for 2018, CEO Today Magazine, Management Consulting Award for 2018, and Women of the Year Award,

2018. The list certainly does not end there. Along with this she also is the recipient of Cox Media Group, “Business of the Week” for the week of January 29, 2018 and has been featured in “Women on the Move,” Jacksonville Business Journal, 2016 becoming the recipient of Honoured Business, Jacksonville’s Finest 2016 Business Profile Series. She was also nominated for the Prestigious Author Academy Award in Business for 2018. Dr. Pamela Wiggins also made her mark as an Examiner on the Florida Sterling Council Board in 2015.

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She is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator, and Certified Arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau. Yes, she is a woman of valour receiving truly deserved rewards for not only helping others, but for bearing a kind heart to do so.

Leaders Never Sleep After completing her doctoral degree, God worked wondrously in Dr. Pamela Wiggins’ life opening massive doors of opportunities for her. Gaining the doctoral title was truly an honour that Dr. Wiggins recalls as the moment when she felt that her hard work had been paid off.

Striving hard to achieve her goals she stayed put in her desire to help people with her very own servant leader mandate which continues to be her sole purpose even today.

Diversified Dimensions With a varied background of higher education, leadership, and social services, she is experienced in numerable fields.

Dr. Wiggins knew that she had the potential to nurture and shape others lives which seeded her entrepreneurial journey incorporating Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC. The company provides many services in terms of

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training and professional development programs namely: Workplace Essentials Training, Management & Leadership Training, Human Resources Training, Career Development Training, Sales & Marketing Training, Soft Skills Training, First Aid/CPR Training, Business Etiquette & Business Acumen Training, and many more courses. They provide over 200 training programs to meet the needs of their customers.

Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC also provides consulting services such as Management Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Higher Education Solutions, Family Mediation, and Arbitration.

The company possesses a team of highly educated professionals. Facilitators and consultants have the highest educational and certification credentials with extensive industry experience. Training curriculum, manuals, and resources provide clients with opportunities for practical application for optimal retention and implementation. In order to suit the convenience of the customers they, provide evening, weekend, and “Just in Time” training delivery. A few more highlights of their services are their clients include both public and not-for-profit sectors, eLearning courses that enables you to complete the course at

your pace and most importantly, Wiggins Management & Consulting, LLC is accredited by and is a member of the Better Business Bureau with an "A+" rating.

To serve as a leader Practice what you preach is easier said than done. When you are focused to utilize your potential to benefit others creating a ripple effect, you are automatically driven to be a role model for others. Dr. Pamela Wiggins instils the same values in her colleagues, and employees to be servant leaders.

To develop, motivate and widen people’s thoughts to a brighter future has been leading Dr. Wiggins and her team who walks with her in the same vision.

It is not easy for a leader to serve; in fact it might even contradict the very definition of a leader. However, this contradiction worked in the favour of Dr. Pamela Wiggins gathering not only rewards and recognitions, but securing a place in people’s hearts. She now wants to widespread the Wiggins wings to other countries with the same goal of helping people grow, making her a leader beyond description.

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Facilitator of Returns, Empowerment & Diversity he had no clue about what she wanted to do when she was a child. In her teenage years, she remember watching TV series about lawyers and feeling attracted by that profession because they all seem to be smart people working towards a better world. Later on, she wanted to be a pilot because she love travelling and discovering new places. What she always had very clear was that she wanted to work in a successful professional business firm that had a positive impact on society. She believes that’s one of the main reasons that eventually led her to create RED Capital Partners. She is Luz Ramírez Pascual and this is her story!

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capital firm that has launched RED Ventures Fund I, the largest VC fund investing in tech companies led or co-led by women in EMEA. Diverse teams of entrepreneurs, with men and women working together, prefer RED because diversity is part of its core values and the company has a different way of investing and bringing value to their startups. “We have a seasoned and successful diverse investment team led by women with a “company builder” and “hands-on” approach towards our portfolio companies. In two words, they choose us because we are different and bring value.

On the other hand, investors value our capacity to create outstanding returns by doing good and doing well,” shares Luz.

Creating outstanding returns by doing good and doing well

Analyzing opportunities from different angles and perspectives

Luz spotted opportunities during her experience in the venture capital scene and Red Capital Partners was the solution. She believes opportunities that are overlooked and where she has developed a unique selling proposition has given her a predominant position. RED Capital Partner is a unique venture

For Luz, managing your team is the most difficult thing to do in any company. Being able to empower each of the team members and help them discover and achieve their full potential is key. According to her, leaders need to take their egos and fears away and flourish a culture where everybody is included,

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Luz Ramírez Pascual Managing Partner RED CAPITAL PARTNERS

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respected and challenged independently of his or her position in the company. At RED Capital Partners, she has consciously built a diverse and complementary team so they will always analyze opportunities from different angles and perspectives allowing for creativity to bloom. Luz has tried to impart this respect for each team member and embrace everybody’s opinions and challenges setting an example. In this sense, the project is the most important thing and not the person who is leading it.

A pioneer in launching unique and distinctive projects When asked whether she has achieved all that she desired, Luz answers, “Not at all, I believe that I am at the beginning of the journey.

There are many other opportunities and challenges that rest ahead.

However, some of my hard work has begun to pay-off, especially when I consider what an incredible project and team I have been able to put together. Being surrounded by such an amazing group of people is one of the main motivations that keeps me driven towards work.” Additionally, she is committed to creating a paradigm shift in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Women-founded startups only obtain 11% of the total venture capital funding in Europe whilst generating returns 35% higher than those led exclusively by men. This means that there exists a gap in the market on which RED can capitalize, representing a tremendous

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motivation for Luz and the rest of her team. Another thing that keeps her motivated is being a pioneer in launching unique and distinctive projects, which is one of the core values of her firm.

Years of hard work, strong commitment and consistent performance coming to fruition According to Luz, “leader” and “businesswoman” are warm and powerful words to her heart that bring her images of unknown women that have made incredible achievements and have changed the world for the better. Luz’s drive in life has always been to go the extra mile, be fearless and do things nobody has done before. These drivers have certainly helped her emerge as a business leader.

Her journey as a Managing Partner has had its lights and shadows with inspiring moments and tough ones.

But basically there have been years of hard work, strong commitment and consistent performance. Her desire to continuously learn and have a global exposure has made her live in different parts of the world -Luxembourg, Israel, France, Spain and the US- and change career paths several times - from IT consultant to entrepreneur to VC investor. But most importantly, Luz has always believed in herself, left her “comfort zone” and made the most of the opportunities that came her way.

When asked to talk about her big achievement, Luz answers, “My

key achievement has been, undoubtedly, to be able to attract such a talented group of professional people to be part of the RED Capital Partners team. I feel honored to work with them and I am sure that we will make incredible things together.” Going further, Luz’s plan is to empower her team to excellence and become a “facilitator” for them in the dayto-day operations so she can have

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time to think about the “next steps” and launch new innovative projects with RED Capital Partners.

Meet the maestro Luz has 15 years of experience in the European and Israeli venture capital scene after being an entrepreneur, a VC Fund Manager, and a VC Fund-ofFunds Manager. Luz made investments totaling more than €400m of commitments and held more than 40 advisory seats. Luz worked for 6 years as a senior fund-of-funds manager at the European Investment

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Fund. Previously, she was fund manager at Corsabe, a €50m Spanish VC fund including companies such as lnfojobs Internacional, Eolia Renovables, Oryzon and Softonic in her portfolio. Luz has also founded 2 companies: MWL-RJL, a consulting company advising on the best investment opportunities in venture and growth capital globally and Arlas Invest, a clean tech company with a disruptive technology. Luz holds an MSc in Computer Engineering from CPS, a Master in “Haute Etudes Technologiques” from ENSEEIHT in Toulouse, and an MBA from IESE Business School.

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SHE Conference 2019

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had the opportunity to visit the fifth SHE conference in Oslo. As a front end developer I’m in a business that is male dominated so this was a great learning experience.

So why a SHE conference?

Because we are 50% of the population on earth but only 11% of the CEOs, 32% of the Top management and 32% of the boards of directions and in my company I had a quick look around to see that at least for us developers we are not 50%

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of the workforce. Weird right. Not only is a company that’s more equal (on not only gender but also on religion, origin and sexual orientation) more successful but also more productive and more likely to make better decisions. Also as a business we can’t go and miss out on those 50% of profit and opportunity. Since everything we do is mirrored by how we are we can’t have a bunch of guys doing things for women without their perspective. So to summarize diversity pays.

We need to be a more diverse company and Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

Aurelia Koinberg Visma Digital Commerce Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

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attract more female developers, but it’s hard. We aren’t that many out there but it’s okey then we just have to work harder on it. So here is a few tips from me to our recruiters: 1. Men tend to hire themselves, so one easy thing to do is to always represent both genders at interviews.

2. Pin point where the girls are in the industry and go after them, takes a bit more time but it’s worth it.

3. Prepare for the future, this company has been around for 10 years we will still be around in the future, invest in it by marketing us as a great equal workplace at universities and even schools, spread the image and inspire young girls to choose the tech industry.

To end this I would also like to emphasise that equality starts at home. If your aim to be a gender equal parent and inspire your kids to do whatever they want no matter if it’s a “girl’s job” or “only for strong men” then it won’t have to take 202 years until we are equal.

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“Doing what I do in the service of something larger than myself.”

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avigating any journey for her is best defined by the people that share the experience with her. As a leader, Lina Ramos constantly seeks to find ways to give voice and empowers those who work with her. She believes that the best success stories are not the ones built alone, but are rather those that are built on the collective contributions of an excellent team. The toughest parts of the journey for her are the hard - but necessary - decisions. She firmly believes that tough decisions must be made and she doesn’t regret them because a good business leader is committed to shifting from “opportunistic” to “scalability”. It’s only then that global impact can come into focus. Today, she is honored and privileged to be a part of the founding executive team at Source Intelligence and, working together with her day-today, she has what she calls “mini CEO’s” who diligently assess a situation and make business building decisions consistently.

Building, Mentoring, Living with Passion Lina brings more than 28 years of P&L responsibility at Fortune 500 companies and privately held ventures,

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both domestic and abroad. Expert at building technology-driven companies into profitable, highgrowth businesses that are positioned for market leadership, Lina directs all expansion, partnership, demand generation, and sales strategies at Source Intelligence. Prior to dedicating herself to venture backed companies, she worked at P&G (USA & Intl.), Booz Allen Sales Estimating System, and Monsanto, where she reported directly to the CEO. Lina earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and has served as a Mentor for the Toyota Women in Supply Chain Mentoring Program sponsored by the Toyota Foundation and The Peter F. Drucker Center for Supply Chain & Logistics. Besides enjoying the Southern California lifestyle with her husband and 3 children, Lina has and, for 5 consecutive years, earned the “Women’s Champion” title for Shadow Tour Century Ride (100 miles) where she holds the course record as well as competed in 26 Ironman events including 5 Championship venues.

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Lina Ramos Chief Business OďŹƒce Source Intelligence

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Life-long Passion for Environmental Sustainability Lina has also been involved with “green technology” since 1992, fueling a life-long passion for environmental sustainability.

Scientific evidence supports that a global commitment to sustainability is critical or we will continue to experience climate change and potentially catastrophic repercussions of that change. She believes the efforts to ensure environmental sustainability are not the responsibility of one organization, political party, or NGO group. Rather, it is the responsibility of every individual on the planet to contribute. As individuals, we roll into organizations and political parties and groups. However, ownership at the individual level, according to her, will lead to more commitment and impact at the macro level.

having the “Best Corporate Social Responsibility” program. It’s personal victory to read the report and know, Source Intelligence was entrusted to play a role in their success,” Lina mentioned to Beyond Exclamation.

Feeling a sense of Satisfaction as her Change comes into Reality Lina feels her life’s work will never be “done”, and hence she doesn’t believe to have achieved all that she has desired. “In fact, I recently went to a graduate school reunion and a consistent theme which I felt passionately about was on reinvention. What do we commit ourselves to for the next 10 years?

Having said that, I have felt a sense of satisfaction when the change I seek to make does come to reality.

An example of that is when some of our Fortune 500 clients top the list as “Most Sustainable” or

The company centralizes over 60 GRC programs onto a single platform that is fully reportable and auditable. Recognized for its supply chain data management, risk management and advanced analytics and visualization, Source Intelligence serves many of the Fortune 500 and Global 2000.

Founded in 2009 by career experts in environmental solutions and analytics, Source Intelligence is headquartered in Carlsbad, California and boasts global operations. SI has received multiple awards, including the “GRC Innovation Award”, “Product of the

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Delivering Advanced, Costeffective Technology Source Intelligence is a leading provider of regulatory compliance, environmental health & safety (EHS), sustainability and corporate responsibility data services and solutions. The company brings value to over 500,000 users of its platform by delivering an advanced, cost-effective technology. The company’s supply chain expertise and data services are designed to help companies comply with the law, minimize operational and brand risk, and improve efficiency.

Year” and most recently, “Best Performing Supply Chain Solution Provider, 2018” A Global Citizen at Work!

Lina believes that the one thing that has changed in her life is the magnitude of the impact she can make as an individual and as a leader. As a privately held company, there’s always more opportunity to develop than there are time or resources, thus she finds herself optimizing everything! Her work time, meeting times, and team resources are constantly being refined based on the learnings and new best practices.

Moreover, she has always considered herself as a global citizen; meaning, she does what she does in the service of something larger than herself. At Source Intelligence, their GRC programs help the world’s largest brands eradicate forced labor, prevent corruption, and comply with compliance programs like the California Proposition 65 “as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. Simplifying Data Management and Support Strategic Decisions As technology continues to disrupt, traditional legacy approaches to supply chain management and data collection, hundreds of millions of dollars are being poured into the industry. Source Intelligence was fortunate to be the first-to-market and best-in-class as a recognized leader in centralized supply chain Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

management solutions. “Our programs help companies cost-effectively ensure legal and ethical supply chains. The court of law has implemented regulations, but the court of public opinion has spoken with their dollar. The world’s largest brands no longer see supply chain management as a cost-center focused on risk mitigation, the most innovative companies see it as an investment in a competitive strategic advantage in brand confidence from investors, customers, consumers and employees. To costefficiently ensure responsible supply chains that thrive, technology is central to that success,” Lina added.

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These forces make it a thrilling time at Source Intelligence. “Because the platform is easily configurable we can create customizable solutions that simplify data management and support strategic decisions. On the horizon: artificial intelligence of particular interest is working to use known variables to conduct predictive analytics for supplier risk,” she concluded.

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Alina Siegfried Impact Storyteller & Narrative Strategist Edmund Hillary Fellowship

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Anna Guenther: Hosting the Crowdfunding Platform for

Women Entrepreneurs to Jump Off

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nna Guenther has arguably one of the best job titles in New Zealand.

The founder of Kiwi crowd-funding platform Pledge Me, Anna is known amongst the ranks as the Chief Bubble Blower.

And she certainly has blown a number of bubbles since Pledge Me’s launch in early 2012, both figuratively and literally. Over 1,400 projects to date have raised over NZ$35 million in equity and nonequity crowdfunding. The company has recently expanded it’s operations into Australia.

We interviewed Anna at the Enspiral co working space about confidence, crowdfunding, and women’s leadership styles.

How do you think New Zealand is faring on the global stage in terms of female representation in entrepreneurship?

Historically, New Zealand has been so forward-thinking in women’s

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rights, but I think today we aren’t doing as well as we could be. Some 64 percent of university graduates are women, but we earn on average 10 percent less than our male counterparts.

Of all of the NZX listed companies only 15 percent of their board members are women.

So we’re not making it up the company ladder, we’re not making it to governance positions. We are often leaving the workforce and then we come back, not able to go progress as fast as our male counterparts.

What are some of the challenges that you faced as a woman entrepreneur and how have you overcome those?

I think the biggest challenge that I faced is the gendering of skills. I have a very soft leadership style.

I like to build consensus, build relationships and build teams. I got told early on, that I didn’t really have the traditional sort of entrepreneur skill set — it wasn’t aggressive, it wasn’t risk-taking. It got told I was going about it all wrong.

But I found along the way, I made friends with a lot of female entrepreneurs who seemed to be ‘doing it

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wrong’ along with me, displaying similar entrepreneurial and leadership traits. So maybe we’re actually doing it right — just doing things in a different way.

Have you seen an equal ratio of both genders creating PledgeMe campaigns? How about other differences in the kind of campaigns that are led by women and by men?

The cool thing about crowdfunding is that anyone can do it, and we see all types of people coming through Pledge Me. But I think one exciting thing for us has been seeing more women coming through and achieving higher-thanaverage funding on their campaigns. All of our largest campaigns to date have been run by women.

There are some really interesting trends from overseas, especially around equity crowdfunding, in that it is allowing more female entrepreneurs to found companies.

What are some of the standout PledgeMe campaigns for you that have been led by women?

One of my favourite campaigns was the Superpower Baby Project, which was run by a women named Rachel Callander, a photographer down in Timaru. She wanted to raise money to go around the country taking pictures of kids with genetic conditions, and change the conversation and terminology from ‘disabilities’ into ‘different abilities’ or ‘superpowers’. She did such an amazing job. In 30 days, she raised over $80,000 and managed to travel right around the country taking pictures of these kids.

Our largest campaign was the ‘Back the Bull’ campaign, which was run by two women down in Christchurch, who were

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crowdfunding to buy “Chapman’s Homer” — a Michael Parekowhai sculpture of a bull atop a grand piano. They raised just under threequarters of a million dollars in total — $206,000 through Pledge Me, and the rest match funded by various corporate donors.

and support more women to go into entrepreneurship?

Do you think the introduction of equity crowdfunding in New Zealand will make any impact on the numbers of women getting involved in entrepreneurship?

I think that in order to do something, we often need to see it first and be able to imagine ourselves in that position.

I think that equity crowdfunding is totally going to change how female founders get funded. In the States, we know that around three percent of founders pitching to venture capitalists are women, whereas in equity crowdfunding, about 11 percent of the founders that are funded are female.

Personally, I had a really hard time going out and seeking investment the first time around. I found it quite confrontational, and I think that being able to use a platform to go out to my existing community for funding, would have been a really different experience.

Especially a platform that walks you through the process, so you don’t have to go and spend all your nights at home doing research, navigating your way through a mine field and trying not to look stupid. Being able to go through the whole process with a team that were willing to help would have been a lot better for me.

What’s the one thing New Zealand could do within the next few years that would encourage

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If New Zealand could do one thing to get more women into entrepreneurship, I think it would be finding ways to promote more women role models.

I really dislike the word “mentor” because I think it indicates that you only have something to give. I feel like there’s so much that you can learn from the people that you’re hanging out with, that it is a twoway process.

I do talk to a lot of different people at different stages of their careers, but I think they always have something to teach you as well.

To me, it’s more than just about support — sharing our stories and talking about where you’re at.

There is so much we can learn from each other.

There aren’t a lot of role models in the business space young women entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs can relate to. Often, the ones that are out there are women that are a lot older, or have a very different style from where we see ourselves going. If there were examples of women really rocking out in the space, that we can relate to, I think it would help a lot more women to take the leap.

Do you have any recommendations of great books you’ve read or video content, TED talks, to other sort of resources or people to follow who are leaders who provide useful advice for aspiring women?

Which Kiwi women entrepreneurs do you admire, and for what reasons?

There are two books that I’ve read this year that have really inspired me.

One of my favourite role models is Claudia Batten. She was the cofounder of Victors and Spoils, a crowdsourced media agency. She gave a talk when I first started out, and I watched her and watched how she acted. I saw the sorts of the skills that she brought to the table and it made me realize that actually, entrepreneurship was attainable.

Claudia inspired me to think differently about how I wanted to go about starting my company.

Do you mentor? How do you choose who to mentor? What are looking for in a mentee?

The first is The Confidence Code,

by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.

They wrote a book about what they perceived to be the biggest issue for women in business and leadership — a lack of confidence.

They explore everything from the scientific reasons that we lack confidence, through to the cultural reasons. The authors suggest, not only how women can be more confident, but how we can approach confidence in a different manner — a manner that is distinct from the aggressive style of

Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

confidence that is found in many male entrepreneurs.

The other book is Give and Take by Adam Grant. He’s a professor at University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, who writes about different styles of business, emphasising giving and matching. His idea is that people who give can be even more successful than people who take — which you would think wouldn’t be the case, but he backs it up with really good examples.

For me, one of the most stark findings that came out of this book was that these days in business, a variety of studies has shown that confidence trumps competence in the workforce. That’s pretty scary.

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Vietnam, Photo Courtesy of Juanita Arias

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Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

She changed Her Corporate Job for a Solo Bike Ride Around The World and has never been Happier

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icture this: you’re at your desk, at a job you’re not exactly crazy about, and dare to ask yourself, "what would I do if I weren’t afraid?" The answer that rushes to your mind is you’d get on a bike and travel the world by yourself. So you quit your job, take a one-way flight to the place you’ll begin your trip, and never look back.

In a few words, that’s the story of Juanita Arias, the 27-year-old Colombian who completed a one-year bike ride from Vietnam to Spain in 2018. If you’re anything like us you have a million questions about the why and how of this story, so read on for the details of her astonishing journey, that by the way, is just beginning.

In all honesty, there’s more to the way Juanita decided to get on that bike. It wasn’t exactly a decision she made in one day. Like most of us, she had many concerns about should’s and cannot’s. But around the time she was fidgeting with the idea, a childhood friend passed away, and “looking back, that was the trigger that started all this,” Juanita told Mindful Feminism. “I thought to myself, ‘what are we all doing?’, we can die right now, and here we are, doubting the possibility of making our dreams come true to carry out all the ‘obligations’ of our lives.”

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Greece, Photo Courtesy of Juanita Arias

As you can imagine, Juanita has always loved bikes. She rode to school and to work, but never really thought she’d be doing it across the world. Here’s her description of day 1: “the first day I was obviously full of fear and excitement I got on the bike, and I perfectly remember being amidst the crazy Vietnam traffic, feeling so vulnerable, basically learning to ride a bike again because of the amount of weight I carried. I just

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felt so small in this world, but at the end of the day, after 80km (50mi), I had never felt more powerful.”

“Rain or shine” took a very literal meaning in Juanita’s crossing.

“Some days, even weeks, were very overwhelming, especially when it wouldn’t stop raining and I had to be going up steep hills, but that’s also how I really learned to find motivation within. I

remembered the days at the office when I dreamed of being out there, seeing the world, and at the moment, when my legs where killing me, or the weather was crazy, I tried to tell myself ‘there’s no time for complaining, you’re doing it, you’re making your dreams come true!’”

The solitude of the trip has taught Juanita invaluable lessons about herself. “One of the things I’ve Spring 2019 | Beyond Exclamation

moment I reached the Tibetan Plateau. Getting there and seeing that immensity, I couldn’t avoid the joyful tears that ran down my face”. But if she had to choose one thing that has made it all worth it, it would be the people. “I’ve realized people are wonderful everywhere, places, cultures, all of that doesn’t matter, people are always willing to help, and for me, that has just been, wow. All the prejudice I had in my head completely vanished. Humans are very social and caring beings, no matter where you are.”

One day in Switzerland, after fifteen days without entering a home and biking at -2ºC (23ºF), a woman came up to her offering a place to stay and a warm meal including a toast to the success of her trip. Women, in fact, have been the ones to express the most amount of solidarity on this voyage.

loved the most about this trip is learning the power we have to motivate ourselves when we’re alone. In solitude, all of your feelings intensify: if you’re happy, your ecstatic, I had days when I would sing at the top of my lungs; and when I was sad or nostalgic, I would sob on the bike, unapologetically.”

“One of the most breathtaking memories until now has been the Beyond Exclamation | Spring 2019

Fascinating things happen when we let go of fear, Juanita is perfect proof, and she’s not done inspiring us. On February 8th, her latest adventure begins: biking from Patagonia to Alaska! Yes, you read that right. We wish her the best of luck and can’t wait to hear again from this fantastic woman.

TRIP STATS Distance Travelled: 17629 Km / 10954.153 Mi Average Daily Distance: 85Km (Longest is 150Km)/ 52.81 Mi (Longest is 93.20 Mi) Days Traveling: 345 Days of Camping: 156 Number of Flat Tires: More than 15, she’s lost count.

“This trip has allowed me to see female solidarity in a new way, everywhere I’ve been women who see me alone have offered all kinds of help.” This realization helped to demystify the “women are out to get each-other” ideas Juanita previously had. “I used to think, ‘women are so hard on each other,’ or ‘I prefer to have guy friends’ but my experience on this trip has completely changed that mindset.

Knowing that all around the world there are women who are going to be there for me gives me peace.

Literally, when I saw a woman during the trip, I’d breathe easy again.”

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