April Digital Business Women eMagazine

ISSUE NO.07

Digital Business Women

BADA*SS BUSINESS WOMEN LEARN ABOUT THE CHALLENGES, THE UP AND DOWNS, THE ADVICES, THE WHY AND ALL GLORY OF BEINGÂ IN BUSINESS.

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WELCOME LADIES! by

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Costa

This edition is all about women who found their strength and want to share their journey and challenges. This is the kind of women we want to validate and celebrate.

You can only make a difference if you stand out and Be Bold for the Sake of the Next Generation who needs to find their voice and believe in themselves.

Thank you for accepting my invitation to speak out loud about experiences and all the challenges that you faced in life - THANK YOU! Our main goal is to support women with genuine advice and practical ideas and observation of facts or events that would impact our lives. If you are looking for support and collaboration, you have found your place here.

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Candyce Costa - Founder and CEO

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BE BOLD FOR THE SAKE OF THE NEXT GENERATION by

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Last year, our campaign Raise your Profile was a huge success with 750K engagements on LinkedIn only - between personal and guests posts. We reached and grow so for 2019, we want impact the new generation, not only to be BOLD but to find Role Models like you! Are you in?

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

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Oana Tache talking about The EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – 100% Digital Communication

Cassie Snelgar Georgina Lupu-Florian Hadeel Ayoub Heather Black Jill Zeret Jimenez Rodriguez Linda Liukas Snezana Zivcevska-Stalpers

Anna Stépanoff Agnieszka Kurzawa Evelina Lavrova Manuela Sedvartaite Michelle Chivunga Nsanzumuco Mihaela Draghici Mikaeri Ohana Estevam Candido

Hilarie Owen talking about her book "WE LEAD: How Women Become Leaders" . Page

RECOMMENDATIONS by

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Every edition we recommend gadgets and books, as well, places to eat, work and relax - not only in London. Also. conferences and business events that we believe you should join with us.

If you want to recommend to our community any services, places or gadgets and books, contact us emma@digitalbusinesswomen.com

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TECH ARTICLES

BUSINESS ARTICLES

BUSINESS COLUMNS

AR VR Uptrend as a new Marketing tool.

WINTRADE WEEK 2019 “The Importance Of Womenonics In The Digital Age Of Technology & Artificial Intelligence”

The Buzz - Oana Tache

12 Reasons Why Starting Your Own Startup is a Great Idea From Speech to Practice: Technology Made by Women to the World

Never underestimate the power of your content.

The Role Of Social Media In Personal Branding.

Women working in technology remain a modern-day minority, statistics find.

5 Social Media Marketing Strategies That Will Make Your Business More Successful.

Personal tale on Davos-Fourth Industrial Revolution #4IR /Blockchain

12 Reasons Why Starting Your Own Startup is a Great Idea.

Business Development means knowing your audience.

Self-care tips for entrepreneurs.

If you never try, you'll never know what you are capable of

Book Club Gadgets Recommendations Baroness K Brady and Lady Michelle Moneto headline WiB expo 2019 Women in Tech - Award ceremony paris - May 2019

BUSINESS EVENTS JUNE: WINTRADE WEEK 2019 “The Importance Of Womenonics In The Digital Age Of Technology & Artificial Intelligence” OCTOBER: Baroness Karren Brady and Lady Michelle Mone to headline women in Business EXPO 2019

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Agnieszka Kurzawa, Product Manager of SCRUM Educational Experience

AGNIESZKA KURZAWA

It's no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that?

How did you handle it?

I think we all experience discrimination, not only because of gender but also because of origin, skin colour, or our backgrounds.

My way of dealing with discrimination - don’t give up. If someone doesn’t want to listen to you find different people. If someone treats you wrong don’t let them. You can not enter into a path of wrong thinking and failing, because this just starts a vicious circle.

How did you decide to go into EdTech?

I never thought I would work in the tech industry. I have a degree in pedagogy and I have associated my future with work in this field. However, when I was offered the opportunity to join EdTech, I took a chance, I started to deepen the topic and I think it is a great patch with a huge potential. It was not easy. I had to learn a lot, and still have much to learn, but I think we should all evolve and progress, if we want to keep up with the changing world.

Tell us about you and your business.

I am the Product Manager and Co-founder of Scrum Educational Experience.

It is an EdTech startup based in London. Our hands-on one-day hacks aim to inspire students into careers in technology and entrepreneurship.

Currently, we are carrying out extensive research, working on our book and creating an educational platform for teachers. .

AGNIESZKA KURZAWA To what do you attribute your success?

My open mind and trust in my intuition. I think, also perseverance to pursue one's aim.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what do you wish you knew before started your career?

Change the way of thinking about it. Many people think of a career in technology as something totally new and believe it to be a start from scratch. However, instead of thinking about it in that way, we should focus on our strengths and achievements and think about what we are able to offer to the new employer.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

Children should be inspired, lead by example; they then learn best.

When I was at school, no one showed me that technology was an option or path. At the time, there was a division of children good at science and those good at humanities, sometimes there still is.

I believe that by showing girls that they can use their skills and work within different professions, we are opening their minds.

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

I think there are more and more initiatives that encourage women into technology and help them change their career paths.

However, what is important and was discussed at the last conference on diversity and inclusion in which I participated: women often block women. It is very sad because there is more than enough space for all of us.

I think we should promote inclusion and mutual support.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeeding in the workplace/business?

I think we often create these obstacles in our heads. I do not generalise or undermine other situations. Although, what I frequently come across, and what I have experienced myself are blocking thoughts and perfectionism. Perfectionism is great when you use it, but not when you let it take control because then you get stuck.

An agile mindset helps to change the approach.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

I am inspired by people with passion, I love to talk to them and see how they realise their dreams. It motivates me to act and implement my plans.

What's your favorite quote?

“Nothing happens without a reason”. I believe that we are constantly learning and developing, more or less consciously, through the things that are happening in our lives, the difficulties we have to overcome and people we meet. It is a beautiful sentence which says “some people come in your life as a blessing, some come as lessons” and I think it is really true.

Fun fact about you.

Even though I found my place in the technological world I still consider myself an educator with an artistic soul. In order to rest from my laptop, tech roadmaps and Trello boards I make jewellery in the evenings. You can find it here: https://www.etsy.com /uk/shop /TheLittleThingsByAga

SOME PEOPLE COME IN YOUR LIFE AS A BLESSING, SOME COME AS LESSONS. FAVOURITE QUOTE AGNIESZKA KURZAWA

Anna Stépanoff, CEO at Wild Code School.

ANNA

STÉPANOFF

It's no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that?

How did you handle it?

Of course it’s something different to be a woman in tech. On the positive side, everyone is talking about women in tech nowadays.

There is a lot of really helpful support. On the negative one, however, there are still people, investors and potential partners who have some subconscious gender bias, such as women are less ambitious or less strong with figures. It’s harder in these cases to convince.

How did you decide to go into Tech Education?

When I decided to create my school, I didn’t know in the beginning what I was going to teach. My initial project was to innovate in education, to imagine new ways of teaching.

Then I looked around and saw the tech field that was incredibly underserved by traditional educational institutions. There was a huge shortage of tech specialists and very few programs offered solid courses. It looked also like the best field in which to innovate in education, as innovation itself needs technology.

Tell us about you and your career.

Initially I thought I would have an academic career.

I started teaching at Sorbonne University in Paris. Soon I realized that I wanted to change too many things to be able to do it from inside. That’s how after a 2-year experience in consultancy at McKinsey that helped me to define my project, I created my own school, Wild Code School, in 2013.

ANNASTÉPANOFF What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what do you wish you knew before started your career?

There is just one thing to advice: go ahead, it can be fun, but you might need to withstand numerous difficulties. It's important in those cases to just keep going.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

To what do you attribute your success?

We should continue talking about women in tech, bring in men into these discussions and consciously produce role models. But in order to launch the virtuous circle, we should probably do a one very strong one-shot action : like create a pledge for tech companies to commit to hire and train twice more women than men in one year. Maybe 2020 can be the year of women in tech?

My success is still in progress :) But whatever I managed to realize for now is a result of teamwork. So this is never my personal success. Probably my greatest achievement is the team that I managed to inspire to join the project. The team is key in any even moderately ambitious endeavor.

Role models! It’s all in my opinion about role models. We need more women in tech to have more pictures and stories of women in tech, so that young and aspiring female professionals can identify themselves with these role models and more easily find their way into the job. It can be a virtuous circle, but it’s a vicious one today. As it is the opposite that happens in many places.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeeding in the workplace/business?

What's your favorite quote?

How do you find inspiration in your life?

My latest favorite quote is the one said by Jorgen Big Knudstorp, CEO of Lego Group: “Blame is not for failure, it is for failing to help or ask for help”.

The biggest obstacle is the absence of reference points for women, which goes back to the lack of role models. How to lead a team as a woman? How to code?

How to organize yourself with kids? How to present yourself as a female tech professional?

I read a lot and many of my ideas come from reading books. I prefer reading real hardcopy books, not online, as it helps me disconnect and think differently. I think when you work in tech, it’s important to preserve those moments of disconnection. My imagination needs room to wander and it happens also when I walk or travel.

All kind of movement and seeing new stuff is inspirational.

Fun fact about you.

I am totally dependent on GPS like Google Maps when travelling or driving a car, even for the routes that I have already taken many time.

BLAME IS NOT FOR FAILURE, IT IS FOR FAILING TO HELP OR ASK FOR HELP JORGEN BIG KNUDSTORP, CEO OF LEGO GROUP FAVOURITE QUOTE ANNA STÉPANOFF

Cassie Snelgar, Founder, The X Cartel

CASSIE Did you always know that Ecommerce was what you wanted to do?

Not at all! I studied Architecture and mastered in Fine Arts so I never considered working in tech or digital publishing. My main passion has always been for conceptual thinking and problem solving. With my ridiculous boredom threshold and constant desire to learn new things, I found building sites focused on creating an engaging, dynamic user experience to be hugely stimulating and rewarding.

To what do you attribute your success?

With The X Cartel it’s not just one thing, it’s a cocktail of an amazing team, a passion for what I am doing, a stupidly large amount of resilience, a clear and original concept and a lot of luck. I see myself as really fortunate to wake up every day and do what I love.

SNELGAR

How did you decide to go into Ecommerce?

I loved Instagram when it launched – I worked on a few accounts both personally and for my business which really took off. But a few years, and over half a million followers later, I became frustrated by the limitations of the experience I could create for my community on someone else’s platform.

I had an idea for a totally new online experience, which combined a visually appealing editorial platform with a more refined e-commerce system.

In 2018, I launched THE X CARTEL.

Tell us about you and your business.

I'm a South African living and working in London.

My background in Architecture and Fine Arts somehow culminated in the creation of an ethical resort wear brand which I started while living in Sydney in 2012.

That experience led me to create THE X CARTEL which is the digital lifestyle publication I am now running and editing.

CASSIE

SNELGAR

Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt discouraged to persue your dreams as a woman? How did you handle it?

As far back as Uni, I felt discouraged that I could potentially spend another 5 yrs getting a Masters in Architecture only to have a baby just when my career got creatively satisfying.

It drove me to construct my life so that I felt empowered to have both creative satisfaction and a family life. Now I see incredible women doing both every day but in 2010 that wasn’t something I saw a lot of.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in your industry or what you wish to know before started your career/business?

Whatever your industry, find what you are passionate about and get the hardest internship or degree in that area. If you aren’t passionate enough to work harder than everyone else keep searching until you find something that does give you that drive.

I am also happy I didn’t know it all before I started, as my biggest mistakes taught me my most valuable lessons. Don’t fear the failures.

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

There have been a lot, but something that has linked many of them was not trusting my gut.

It has been a recurring failure that has manifested in multiple scenarios. With experience, I have learnt to trust my intuition, but also to have the confidence to act on that and stand up for what I want. The X Cartel is a reflection of that.

In your opinion, how could the workplace/business environment do to be more inclusive for women?

We have come a long way, but there is so much that still needs to improve. Fundamentally I think it is about equal respect and kindness towards each other. In my experience to avoid negative work environments, we need to leave assumptions at the door, celebrate each others differences and nurture the genuine trust and support that allows people to shine.

What's your favorite quote?

Thanks to my dad I find my quote-quota completely taken up with Yogi Berra, who he loves.

So many strike the right note with their humour and aptness without sentimentality.

My favourite: “‘You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.”

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Work stress is inevitable, but I think women feel self-doubt more acutely.

I certainly do and so do many women I know. It’s easy to be self-critical and ignore evidence of our successes. Having a good group of friends who you can discuss these insecurities with is really great to get perspective.

Having a mentor who has experienced what you are dealing with is also really encouraging.

How do you find inspiration in your life I am my most inspired when I have my family and friends around me and my life is happy and balanced. I’ m the opposite of the stereotypical tortured creative! If the relationships in my life are positive, then the creativity just flows. Experiencing and interacting with people who are thriving at what they love, no matter what it is, is also a huge inspiration to me.

I AM ALSO HAPPY I DIDN’T KNOW IT ALL BEFORE I STARTED, AS MY BIGGEST MISTAKES TAUGHT ME MY MOST VALUABLE LESSONS: DON’T FEAR THE FAILURES. CASSIE SNELGAR

Evelina Lavrova, founder & CEO Decrypto PR, CMO Waves World, Expert CV Labs

EVELINA LAVROVA

To what do you attribute your success?

I'm only starting out. I attribute my achievements to only one thing my stubbornness. I had fewer opportunities than the people around me: my neighbors, classmates, friends, colleagues, even my cousins. They were always smarter, more talented, more beautiful and had higher household income. I had no one to rely on and had to do everything myself. Finally I achieved more than they did, because I had nothing to lose. I tried to make the most of every opportunity and I always have ambitious goals.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

I don't need much inspiration, my life is my motivation. I’m the main earner in my family, so my responsibilities motivate me. But stories of people with much harder life circumstances are very inspirational for me, for example, Nick Vujicic is one of them.

How did you decide to go into Tech Blockchain PR? In 2004 I was looking for a new job and joined an IT company, so I started my career as a Sales Manager. It was a franchise that sold Dr. Web, Symantec, Kaspersky and other software and hardware on the local market. At that time I realized how dynamic the IT industry was, and how it had huge potential for growth.

Fun fact about you?

Before I started my career in Marketing, I spent more than 10 years in ballet school, because I wanted to be a ballerina. Later I realized that I wasn’t talented enough and I moved into business. But all the skills I learned in my dance classes were useful to me in business.

Tell us about you and your business.

I'm CEO of DeCryptoPR agency, Marketing and PR Director at the USbased Waves World mining pool and crypto marketplace, and Expert at CV Labs a blockchain incubator in Zug, Switzerland.

I was named among the Top 10 Females in Crypto 2017 by Core Magazine.

Previously I was Global Marketing & PR for Waves Platform, and worked for Gett, Pay-Me and Yell.

It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

I haven't had any problems in joining tech companies, but I’v e had negative experiences working with male colleagues. Tech guys are the best colleagues, but not business people. Some of them tried to push out me from company, told my colleagues do not speak to me, discussed my dismissal behind my back, and one colleague who joined the company only 2 months earlier even asked me, ‘Why are you needed here?’ (He was a friend of the COO.) These people always showed me where they thought a woman’s place was. I didn't want to waste time on such corporate wars and decided to focus on my personal growth. This is one of the reasons why I left a wellknown company and joined a startup with only 2 co-founders. In general, though, think it's not about gender, but personality. Don't work with bad guys!

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Prejudice. Employers are looking for ideal employees - “rockstars”, who are rare and cost a lot. If they find them, they might still leave the company in a few months. My experience shows that it is better to grow employees inside a company; they then see potential in the company and this gives them greater motivation. Besides this, women are better at problemsolving and multi-tasking. The same problem exists in business with female founders – investors trust them less than male founders.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what you wish to know before started your career?

I wish I didn’t have a gap of about 5 years in my work experience when I worked in different industries. I highly recommend women look at blockchain, AI, VR & AV, IoT, robots and biotech companies for developing their career or starting a business. I am the only woman in our blockchain startup. It’s counterintuitive, but I see some advantages for women working in male-dominated companies: - More personal brand-building opportunities - Fewer competitors - Working with smart and techsavvy people and in fast-growing environment, you can learn quickly - Be involved in the next big thing and have the opportunity to change the world It will not be easy, but it's worth it!

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

Recently I gave an inspirational speech to the students blockchain community at Manchester University. I was surprised when PhD students asked me for advice on how to find a job. I tried to enroll at UK universities, but failed twice, so I started my practical education in the workplace instead. My conclusion is that work experience is more highly valued than education.

I also think that such impressive stories as that of Katie Bouman, who for 3 years worked on the creation of an algorithm for imaging a black hole, could help to attract more girls to tech.

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Two of my girlfriends who also have Marketing & PR backgrounds decided to start learning to code and went to coding school in Russia and the US. One of them runs her own tech startup, another works as an independent consultant. She recently explained her decision: “Developer is a high-demand and well-paid profession”. When we've hired developers in my previous job, we didn’t have a single female candidate.

I think it would be very interesting if applications and aptitude tests were blind – if companies didn’t know whether applicants were male or female, it might well expose some prejudice and actually improve the hiring process.

It’s largely about culture.

We’re seeing a change across society but this needs to come from the top as well as a grassroots movement. Employers need to realise that success is about people and relationships as much as tech. Unhappy employees leave jobs and that’s bad for productivity, employer branding, business culture and cohesion.

 I SEE THE GOAL, BUT NOT THE OBSTACLES. DON'T LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU WHO CRITICIZE YOU, FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. EVELINA LAVROVA

Georgina Lupu-Florian CEO and Founder of Wolfpack Digital

GEORGINA LUPU-FLORIAN It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

It happens that I enter certain new groups or events where there are few or no other women, and I feel that I need to prove myself more before my expertise is taken into consideration. Overall, I strive to look at things positively and enter a constructive mindset where this is in fact a growth opportunity: a higher standard means I get to become better at my job.

How did you decide to go into Engineering?

As a young kid, I always loved Mathematics and Physics, and I still always enjoy a good mental challenge. Given the great opportunities brought by the field of IT, it made sense to enrol into an engineering university program and pursue a career in this area.

Tell us about you and your business.

In 2015 I decided to start Wolfpack Digital to bring together my various interests and skills in Engineering, Psychology, Business Management and Public Relations. Wolfpack Digital is a full-service digital product agency based in Cluj, Romania.

We are a team of 45 people and have worked with more than 40 companies so far.

GEORGINA

LUPU-FLORIAN

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what you wish to know before started your career?

I would advise any woman looking to pursue a career in tech to be courageous and just do it. We must embrace that we can be part of meaningful change and innovation, and take on the challenge joyfully. These are, after all, the best times to be a woman in modern history. Also, it's important to always remain authentic in your professional life. In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Both moderate affirmative action, and simply seeing equal opportunities as a natural state of mind can be combined to offer a better climate for women in tech, along with education.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

The best place to start encouraging more girls to follow the technical path is education. We must empower young girls and teach them to believe in themselves from an early age. Awareness campaigns with respect to existing gender bias also help people change their mindset and be more supportive of young women - or, better say, to offer the same amount of support to women as they do to men.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Probably the biggest obstacle is the existing mental bias towards women which is, in the end, a logical consequence of our history.

Fortunately, this is changing for the best and many things are being done in this direction. I actually believe the next generation of women in tech will have to face much less bias than the current one.

Fun fact about you?

I named the company after my surname (which  means "Wolf").

People complement me on the company name and brand, yet for me it still feels weird.

What's your favorite quote?

"Who looks outside dreams.

Who looks inside awakes."

- Carl Jung How do you find inspiration in your life?

I always find inspiration by connecting with human experiences, either by talking to people, or by reading creative materials with a personal edge. I believe creativity is the greatest bottomless resource we have in nowadays society, as it allows us to solve almost any kind of problem and add value to our environment.

To what do you attribute your success?

It's difficult to define success and identify its sources. I would say I attribute my current position in life and career to staying true to my values, to not giving up, and to giving my best wherever I can.

WHO LOOKS OUTSIDE DREAMS. WHO LOOKS INSIDE AWAKES CARL JUNG

FAVOURITE QUOTE GEORGINA LUPU-FLORIAN

Hadeel Ayoub, BrightSign, Founder & CTO

HADEEL AYOUB

Did you always know that Tech was what you wanted to do?

How did you decide to go into Innovation and Entrepreneurship?

Not really. I come from an academic background. I was a lecturer teaching digital design for years before I decided to give my students a better experience by changing the way design softwares were written. That is when I decided to pursue a degree in programming and technology. I felt that it was about time for design softwares to be designed by designers not computer scientists.

My progression into innovation was very natural. I have always created my own version of things to suit my needs. I never accepted the default and constantly challenged pretty much everything.

To what do you attribute your success?

Dedication to my beliefs, commitment to make them happen and lots of hard work to prove that it is possible. I keep my eye on the ball, work towards achieving my goals and don't allow people to distract me from my core values. On low days, I try not to sulk, I pick myself up and keep going.

Sometimes with a heavy heart and even at a slower pace, but it's ok, as long as I'm moving forward.

Tell us about you and your business.

Designer, Programmer and Researcher in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) & Assistive Technology.

Founder of BrightSign, a wearable technology start-up developing enabling innovations dedicated to facilitating communication for individuals with non-verbal disabilities.

My slogan is ‘One day I hope to give a voice to those who can’t speak’.

HADEEL Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt discouraged to persue your dreams as a woman? How did you handle it?

In general, I am perceived as less credible, and therefore, always have to back my proposals with solid evidence. In innovation, this can be quite frustrating, especially in the early days. On the bright side, although it takes me longer to achieve my goal, when I do, its groundbreaking.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in ypour industry or what you wish to know before started your career/business?

You are most certainly going to be outnumbered and most of the time maybe the only woman in a line up. Stay confident. Your work will speak for itself. Don't let yourself be framed by current stereotypes. Keep going. To be honest, there is nothing I wish I knew before I started my career in innovation & entrepreneurship.

I never expected it to be easy, if I had, I wouldn't have pursued it :)

AYOUB

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

It hurts and can be disappointing, but it is an opportunity to learn and fight stronger. I remind myself why I do what I do, and how many lives I have touched with my work and how many more I can change. Sometimes it takes longer to recover but the next win always feels better.

In your opinion, how could the workplace/business environment do to be more inclusive for women?

Recruit & promote more women in senior managements positions, give them the opportunity to be decision makers on a higher level.

Recognise women's efforts in the tech scene like Booking.com TechPlaymaker Awards and AXA Women in Health Tech awards.

These awards, not only validated my work, but also sent a message that if a mother of four who learned coding at 30 can do it, any woman can.

What's your favorite quote?

"Success is a journey, not a destination" Arthur Ashe. I truly believe that there is no endpoint to what you can achieve and why should there be ??

Goals are dynamic and they keep changing. The climb should get higher and the learning curve with it.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

I would have to say, sometimes, it is themselves. Many women doubt their abilities which stops them for achieving more, or jumping in on opportunities. This eventually leads on missing out on promotions or even not asking for one even tough they are entitled to it and have fulfilled the requirement.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

I keep an open mind and try to listen more than I speak. With a mindset that nothing is impossible, every idea can be a new challenge and a new opportunity to create something great.

Most of my tech ideas come from the children I work with. Their imagination has no boundaries and as a programmer I fee l like a magician that found my muse.

GOALS ARE DYNAMIC AND THEY KEEP CHANGING. THE CLIMB SHOULD GET HIGHER AND THE LEARNING CURVE WITH IT. HADEEL AYOUB

Heather Black, Economic Change CIC, Managing Director &Salesforce Supermums CIC , CEO

HEATHER BLACK

Tell us about you and your business.

How did you decide to be a SalesForce Consultant?

I am a social entrepreneur with a passion for helping non-profits prove their impact and individuals to upskill and progress into work. I trained in Salesforce Admin skills in 2010 to implement a CRM for my own non-profit and this led me to set up a Salesforce Consultancy to support other non-profits.

We now also train up mums in Salesforce skills.

I decided to further my career in the Salesforce industry, as i enjoyed working with the platform, and it's ability to transform the process and data intelligence of non-profits.

There was a need and a demand amongst non-profits and i found i had the skills to help them implement the system. Working as a Salesforce consultant also gave me the ability to earn well whilst also working more remotely and flexibility. This was important as i was starting a family and moving out of the city to live by the coast.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

Did you always know that Tech was what you wanted to do?

I downloaded the 10 free licenses that Salesforce offered to non-profits in 2006 but didn't know what it could do or how to use it. I hadn't previously worked at a company that used a CRM so a career in tech wasn't something that was high on my radar.

When I need to learn how to customise the CRM for my work so i could report on the income and impact of my non-profit i realised how useful it was.

I enjoy learning whether it's technology or marketing. I learn best in a class-room environment rather than self-study. I invest in training and coaching and this gives me the inspiration and confidence to develop and try new ideas.

HEATHER In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt discouraged to persue your dreams as a woman? How did you handle it?

I believe companies that have a full-time office based culture 9-6 are not accommodating the needs of parents or those that need flexible working practices. They are limited their pool of talent to recruit from and the diversity of their team.

To what do you attribute your success?

I decided to start my own venture as my ideas weren't getting recognition in the workplace. They were listened to by my male managers, adopted and rolled out with no recognition or promotion back to me. I was lucky to come across career coaching at the age of 25 and this support helped me to realise i could achieve and do more if i went out on my own.

I invest time and money into my professional development. Since i went self employed in 2005, I have sold services and have being able to self-fund training in Business Coaching, NLP, Project Management, Business Analysis, Salesforce Certifications, Change Management, Marketing and Sales. I couldn't have been successful without this training and professional insight.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in ypour industry or what you wish to know before started your career/business?

The Salesforce eco-system is getting bigger and greater by the minute. Since I started in 2010 new products and new features are being added so there is a career opportunity for everyone. The best approach is to learn the basics of Salesforce Admin and then to focus on becoming a specialist in one of the products or industries to define yourself in the market.

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

Defining the culture of an organisation and hiring employees that align to the same values and culture is important. My aspiration was to create a remote flexible working environment for my consultancy and I accidently hired staff who wanted to work in a buzzy in-office team environment.

It cost me to rehire and build my dream team culture.

In your opinion, how could the workplace/business environment do to be more inclusive for women?

As a mum of two young children I am very aware of what the needs are for parents and the type of flexible culture that works. My team work internationally and remotely as well as having an office in Old Street. We use tech to create a working environment where video conferencing, remote team working communication tools, and project management tools keeps everyone working in the same direction.

What's your favorite quote?

I close my eyes and I can see A world that's waiting up for me that I call my own Through the dark, through the door Through where no one's been before But it feels like home They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy They can say, they can say I've lost my mind I don't care, I don't care, if they call me crazy We can live in a world that we design

I CLOSE MY EYES AND I CAN SEE A WORLD THAT'S WAITING UP FOR ME THAT I CALL MY OWN. HEATHER BLACK

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WONDER WOMEN EVENTS We love meeting our readers to get face-to-face with the wonderful women that we digitally engage every single day.

Digital Business Women host amazing events including masterclasses, talks, panels & debates and summits.

Most recently, we organized and support Women in Tech UK debates, Wild Code masterclass and debate, our own series of masterclasses and networking sessions.

Now, we have decided to share our expertise and network and support your brand developement creating a range of events for you.

We love bringing together like-minded people to discover what your brand is up to!

EVENT ORGANIZATION We love organising fun, lively and functional events. This is one very effective way to engage and build a strong relationship with your audience. We organize from masterclasses, networking to conferences.

Contact us emma@digitalbusinesswomen.com

ARTICLES

Save the date 24th - 28th June

WINTRADE WEEK 2019 “THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMENONICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE OF TECHNOLOGY & ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE” WINTRADE WEEK is the UK’s largest independent event focused on the state of enterprise and international trading and it is designed to help business executives cut through the red tape of trading nationally and internationally, and learn how to trade to build a competitive advantage, drive new business opportunities, reduce costs and accelerate innovation efforts.

WINTRADE WEEK 2019 theme is “The Importance Of Womenonics In The Digital Age Of Technology & Artificial Intelligence” and brings panel discussions, fireside chats and masterclasses with key challenges that Women in Technology in a globalized world confront every single day, as well high profile speakers and KeyNote sharing their successful stories and concerns that face Women Entrepreneurs in a globalized world.

The term ‘Womenomics’ has been introduced by Professor Vicky Pryce and our esteemed Advisory Board Members and designate that Womenomics is concerned with the education, creation, ingestion and the transference of wealth to women, for women and by women.

At the past conventions, the board members have been focused on: Trade Economics, encouraging women to increase their trading powers globally, Financial Economics encouraging women business leaders to be financially independent, Political Economics encouraging on how women may increase their political awareness to mobilise better trade and business opportunities, Social Economics, fuelling social change through women in business.

Save the date - 24th - 28th June During this week, industry thought leaders, entrepreneurs and high profile professionals are gathering to networking, meeting international partners, connecting with ambitious and globalized business and tech fellows and promoting business and business collaborations.

Who should attend?

You should attend if you are associated with the Technology Industry, Digital and Startups Sector, Innovative, Creative and Enterprising Businesses. Business Owners, High Profile Consultants and Specialists in the area, Corporates Directors and Manager, HR, Organizational and Business Developers as well, Investors and Incubators.

WINTRADE WEEK 2019 Convention, Gala Dinner and Awards Night to network with + 300 business leaders and professionals.

WINTRADE WEEK CONVENTION WINTRADE WEEK 2019 theme is “The Importance Of Womenonics In The Digital Age Of Technology & Artificial Intelligence” and with a wide range of expert speakers we will be looking at Technology – are we ready for it?

How does future technology affect what we do, how we do and who does it? Covering a wide range of industries from manufacturing to Law, Finance, Marketing, and Service Industries, we will be making a difference to how you work in the future.

The week starts at the House of Commons with our Host and Patron, Rt Hon Baroness Verma of Leicester, Chairman of European External Affairs Committee, moving to the House of Lords for our Networking Keynote and Director of YouGov Carole Stone CBE. followed by Rt Hon. Baroness Scotland Asthal, QC Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral and Her Highness Sayeeda Al Said Basma leading our first day.

During the week, the convention will take place in different venues focusing in Technology topics addressing

Diversity (Stronger Together: How Men Can Help Us Achieve Diversity in Tech), Social Media (Building Products at Scale at Facebook), Entrepreneurship (Importance of Technology in the Age of Female Entrepreneurs and So you Want to be your Own Boss), Innovation (Staying Ahead of the Competition with Innovations), Investment (Is your Business right for VC?), Startup (How to Launch a Start-Up in a Corporate Environment), Technology (GDPR and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Demystifying AI), Mindset (Emotional Intelligence: Does it Really Make a Difference? And Be Boldly You: Turbo Charge your Executive Presence), Leadership (How to use Personal Branding to Generate Business and Why You Should Pursue Public Speaking and How to Get There) and a DRAGONS DEN Pitching Session to finalize our convention week.

WinTRADE AWARDS GALA DINNER The WinTRADE AWARDS GALA DINNER closes the week celebrating women in business and technology.

WINAwards offers international recognition for their achievements and global business opportunities for the winners and finalists - it is the “must attend” event of the week where the organizers and judges unveil the winners. Taking place at the Park Plaza Hotel Westminster and hosted by our organizers Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE, Mrs Carmen Breeveld and Mrs Yulia Stark, welcoming our Keynote speakers, Nicola Mendelshon – CEO EMEA Facebook, Jamie Claire Flocherty – Obama Foundation and Her Highness Sayeeda Al Said Basma.

Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE Founder WinTrade Week

Carmen Breeveld

Yulia Stark

Baroness Scotland of Asthal PC QC

HH Al Siad Basma Of Oman

Baroness Verma Of Leicester

Award Categories and Nominations The WINAwards nominations and entering are both free, and we encourage 3rd party nomination and selfnomination. The benefits include a combination of an industry learning, global networking, business opportunities, WINTRADE membership, international speaking opportunities, media coverage will be included in the winners package and each finalist will receive a complimentary ticket to the awards dinner, with discounted tickets for your guests.

The WINAwards judging panel is made up of business experts, successful business owners, and representatives from our sponsors and the judges are looking for concise answers that are relevant, accurate and honest. They are wanting to get an understanding of the business principles, philosophies and practices. They also want a sense of how the business became successful, and your plans and vision for the future.

We will be marking on and looking to establish the nominates:

Industry excellence Leadership Change agent Business cultural change for the better.

Impact on stakeholders Inspiration, Aspiration Industry innovations, inventions, Continuous Learning How you serve the community over and above what you do in your place of work.

How you would pay this forward (pass on your success to others) Nominate your Tech Champions and let’s celebrate their success.

Save the date 24th - 28th June WINTRADE WEEK TICKETS

WINTRADE FINALISTS REVEAL

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF YOUR CONTENT You do don’t you? Care about your audience that is? You want what is best for them? You want to get to know them?

You want them to understand you? You want them to be loyal to you, your business and brand –– don’t you?

I mean without them – what are we? So how do you make it all about them in your copy and content I hear you ask?

Well, read on and see….

Firstly: Never underestimate the power of emotions We all want to be able to relate to one another. At this point in our online social boom, we have found more than ever that we want to connect with one another. We want to engage. We want to see ourselves in the content we see. We want to be able to visualise ourselves on the page.

We all want to feel understood and we want to be able to relate to one another. So, by getting to know your audience and by using language that speaks to your audience, you can really get to know them. You get to see what they see.

You get to solve their pain points. You get to move them from one emotion to another.

He also goes on to address the well-known book by Robert Cialdini called, ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’.

In which Cialdini talks of the 6 key principle human behaviours in varying situations; ‘Cialdini mentions the six keys of influence as follows: ⦁ Reciprocity ⦁ Scarcity ⦁ Authority ⦁ Liking ⦁ Consistency ⦁ Consensus

Not manipulation. That’s not what I mean. And that’s a very different thing. But by knowing what worries your customer, what troubles them and what bothers them; you can look to fix it for them. You can be their hero.

These six principles are the key to understanding human behaviour in a range of situations. You as a writer and marketer can use them effectively in your copy to reach your audience in a unique way.’

Neil Patel details the importance of emotions and psychology in an article he wrote and published called, ‘how to incorporate psychology and emotions into your copywriting’. In it he looks at and describes what we look for as buyers and what factors we may think of before we purchase.

So you see, emotions really do play a vital role in understanding your audience. By seeing your customer’s real-life situations and providing a valuable solution; you get to address your audience. You get to offer them insight, inspiration and to create a channel of communication.

Not only can you do this through your product or service, but in the copy and content that you produce too. By having your ear to the ground, you can offer very practical solutions to very real problems that your audience has.

How you make your customer feel, creates a customer experience like no other. Of course, don’t force emotion within your copy and content. Keep it natural and align it to your business and brand.

Secondly: Feedback is like an unpolished diamond Don’t throw it away. This is where the gold lies. It’s like an unpolished diamond. By listening to feedback and absorbing what is said, you have the opportunity to adjust and to make sure you are always adapting to the wants and needs of your audience.

Just as it is described in an article by Vision Critical; you can use feedback to build a better picture of who your audience actually is, ‘rather than make assumptions on your audience based on a loose idea of who your buyer personas are, what if you could ask them directly?

By gathering customer feedback over-time, it becomes easier to separate your readers from your non-readers, and find similarities and differences between the two. By asking them about their content preferences and habits, you can build more accurate audience personas and improve your content marketing efforts as a result.’

Feedback gives you clues about your customer and how you might then be able to relate to them. Feedback gives you insight and it allows you to measure satisfaction, plus it helps you to retain your audience and clients.

Feedback can be left in all manner of places. For instance, it could be within comments on your website, through testimonials, through phone calls, emails and through comments on your social media posts.

You have the sparkling crown jewels within your grasp. You have untapped value in feedback that you can use to speak back to your audience. But also, that speaks to your business too, as it says how aligned you are with being able to meet with your customer’s wants and needs.

Your audience feedback may give you ideas for posts, blogs and videos. Undoubtedly it will give you the language that your audience and clients use. This will give you the ability to truly communicate on a human level with your audience.

Thirdly: Empathy has unknown super-reach According to a Forbes article by Josh Ritchie, ‘Merriam-Webster describes empathy as the, ‘ability to understand and have empathy with others.’ Brené Brown describes it as, ‘feeling with people.’

So, what does that mean to you and why should you care about empathy and its unknown super-reach?

Well…to feel is to empathise. To create empathetic content for your audience, you need to showcase a degree of empathy towards them. You need to understand and share the highs and the lows with your audience. You can do this by putting their pain into words, and by then offering them your solution.

Offer them value, offer them an escape. This enables them to connect to you. They want to have a relationship with you, your business and your brand. the star of the show by offering your audience a pain that is less than what they are feeling. A remedy or a welcome distraction to their thoughts and pains. By empathising, it allows you to truly get underneath the surface and to know how your audience feels.

Naturally with empathetic content you increase your engagement levels with your audience. Which then in time may create customers from your audience. Whilst also widening the reach of your content to new members of your audience.

Think about how you will address your audience with empathy. How does that convert into your content?

Who are you talking to? Be specific. If you’re talking to everyone, then you’re talking to no-one.

Also, think about what your audience is interested in and where do they go? What can you then do with your content that will fit into those things.

Josh Ritchie, CEO/Co-Founder of Column five says, “Decrease the amount of selling in your content and increase the amount of time listening to and thinking about your customers.”

Lastly: Woo-them by telling them a story Did you know that 81.7 million people follow National Geographic on Instagram? They have the strong ability to stop the scroller in their tracks. Why? Not only do they use great and captivating images to stop their audience. But they also have the unique ability to tell a powerful story with the accompanying text.

Now it may not be a part of your strategy to add photos. Perhaps it’s video. Or perhaps you weave a tale with words. National Geographic uses value-based content with purpose. What you want to do is to tell a story to your audience.

Storytelling in business makes it compelling for people to engage with you. It forms trust, it builds rapport and it helps to create valuable relationships with your audience. But it must also contain a focus to retain the attention of the reader.

When storytelling with your copy and content you should be able to understand and identify the following; ⦁ To always know why you’re telling your story? ⦁ Who is telling your story? ⦁ Know why it should be important to your reader? ⦁ Know what challenge is being overcome? ⦁ What message is behind your story?

Storytelling takes your audience on a journey with you. It builds loyalty in following, and it gives an insight into your world and for you to get a glimpse into theirs.

You can make your audience a part of your story by helping them to see themselves on the page, or in your blogs, or on your website and in your videos.

Share your learning with your audience from things that you have achieved, the things that you’ve done and maybe events that you have been to. Use the day to day ordinary things to form a part of your story. Look to choose things that your audience will want to share with others, where they’ll want to comment and where they’re likely to get involved.

Keep the process of storytelling going and make it a part of your content strategy. To increase your chance of success always see it through the eyes of your audience.

Don’t make your copy and content hard to read. Make it an insightful read. Ensure it uses language that your intended audience can and will want to engage with. Make your content accessible for your audience. Make your audience feel like they matter to you.

Are you making it all about your audience? Do you think about your audience when you produce content for them?

Do you make them feel like they can relate to you, your business and your brand?

Let’s summarise; ⦁ Never underestimate the power of emotions when reaching out to your audience. ⦁ Treat feedback like a priceless jewel. ⦁ Know the value of natural empathy in your copy and content. ⦁ Understand the journey you take your audience on with storytelling in business.

Amber Smith If you're short on time why not liaise with and utilise a copywriter that can help your business market itself and progress forward?

You can email me on ambersmith@simplyamberlou.com or visit me on Twitter @simplyamberlou and contact me through LinkedIn @Amber LSmith.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN PERSONAL BRANDING When it comes to a company's personal branding strategy, there are a number of startling statistics. During Talaya Waller's recent TED talk at Penn State, she shared a certain statistic that should stop the average company dead in their tracks. Did you know that the average employee has ten times as many followers as their company on social media?

Businesses must take a closer look at the role that personal branding is going to play, from a social media standpoint.

In order to build individuals within an organisation as personal brands, with the use of social media, there are some guidelines that an individual must follow in order for it to be a win win for both the company and the individual. Here are 5 tips: 1. Knowing Your Own Goals What is the exact goal that you are looking to achieve? Is it to be the authority in your industry in one area of expertise? Stand out from the competition? Increase profits? The sooner you have set an actionable goal, the easier it becomes to shape your strategies accordingly. Choosing the right social media platform is also crucial. Those looking for wider levels of engagement will typically choose Twitter and/or Facebook. Companies that specialize in images gravitate to Instagram. Companies that solve complex problems will gravitate towards LinkedIn. I see so many brands and businesses try to create a social media profile on every single platform out there with the aim of reaching as many people as possible.

This will often lead to burnout and inefficiency as you will not reach your ideal target audience. For example, you won’t be on Pinterest to promote your corporate security services, and you won’t be on LinkedIn to attract diners to your restaurant.

2. Defining Your Special Traits In other words: what makes your company stand out from the crowd? What do you stand for and why do people need to recognise you? When you are creating social media profiles for yourself, you need to be sure to include all special skills and areas of interest. This allows you to appear in far more search results than they would have otherwise.

3. Use Multiple Channels There's nothing wrong with creating a certain sense of ubiquity. The best way to reach a target audience is by making sure that you are always in front of their faces. In addition to having accounts on all of the major social media hubs, a YouTube channel and a personal blog are great ways to maximise your personal branding.

4. Remain Consistent Personal branding is all about establishing a consistent voice. A business that is looking to get the most out of their social media presence from a personal branding standpoint will want to make sure that they remain consistent across all platforms. Even something as simple as your colour scheme should remain the same on each platform.

5. Share Quality Content At day's end, it will not matter if you have a snazzy social media presence. In order to stay relevant in the eyes of major search engines like Google, quality content needs to be shared on a regular basis. This will drive your business' engagement levels because readers are far more likely to share quality content with friends and loved ones who are also potentially interested in your goods and services. Sharing content from other reputable sources within your industry is also recommended. If you want to explore your Personal Brand further, please download my FREE workbook and receive the supporting training videos directly into your inbox everyday, for the next 7 days and let's do this together. Click the image below to get started.

Mary Henderson PERSONAL BRANDING Specialist I Help COACHES, CONSULTANTS & CORPORATE EXECUTIVES Define & Commercialise Their Personal Brand Into Profitable & Strategic Business Outcomes Using B2B Social Selling Instead Of Cold Calling

5 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES THAT WILL MAKE YOUR BUSINESS MORE SUCCESSFUL Social media is absolutely crucial to your business’s digital marketing strategy. However, many times I see brands and businesses not using this powerful tool to its maximum potential.

With the latest Global Digital Statshot from We Are Social and HootSuite revealing that the number of people who are using social media around the world just passed the 3 billion mark, the potential of tapping into this growing global audience for your business is increasingly important.

To help you out, I have put together my top 10 social media strategies that you need to implement this year, whether you are a solo entrepreneur or a well-established global brand.

1. Create an engaging and helpful content marketing strategy.

Youtility marketing expert Jay Baer famously once said, “Make your marketing so useful people would pay for it.”

And I also shared this concept in my recent talk at General Assembly.

Indeed, with the immense competition in the online space today, the quality and usefulness of your content are absolutely crucial to your social media strategy. High-quality content optimised for the search engine will help you to reach the right customer at the right time.

Regardless of your industry, a content strategy should deliver on the 3 E’s, Educate, Entertain, and Enlighten.

Once you have figured out the type of topics that resonate with your audience, scheduling a content calendar to ensure that you consistently create valuable content can help you to create efficiency and free yourself from scrambling the last minute.

Remember, a great content marketing strategy can be implemented for free, and paired with the right types of social media promotion using hashtags can help you reach even more people.

2. Use only social media channels that are relevant to your audience.

I see so many brands and businesses try to create a social media profile on every single platform out there with the aim of reaching as many people as possible.

This will often lead to burnout and inefficiency as you will not reach your ideal target audience. For example, you won’t be on Pinterest to promote your corporate security services, and you won’t be on LinkedIn to attract diners to your restaurant.

Try this instead, you can choose 2-3 social media platforms that are perfect for your audience, and maximize your effort by creating unique content for each channel. Once you grow your audience on these channels, you can always branch out to other ones at a later date.

3. Tell your story by going live.

There is nothing more exciting than seeing content that is being shared in real-time. Facebook and Instagram, amongst other platforms, such as YouTube Live and Twitter Live, have created a special feature that a lot of brands haven’t yet used actively to its full potential.

By engaging and inspiring your customers with entertaining live content of your business and memorable events, you can beat the diminishing organic reach of social media platforms and compete with other brands by being a step ahead in this “live” strategy.

4. Focus on community building with your audience.

As the famous marketer and author Seth Godin said in his book Tribe: “A crowd is a tribe without a leader. A crowd is a tribe without communication. Most organization spend their time marketing to the crowd. Smart organizations assemble the tribe.”

Despite the vanity metric of having a lot of followers on social media, the key metric that will create value and success for your business is community engagement.

To avoid sounding robotic, you need to show your audience your human side. Use humor and emotions when sharing content will help your audience see the real side of your brand.

Don’t forget to ask your audience for their opinions and feedbacks, create call-to-action in your posts such as likes and shares, and share their content when it’s relevant to your brand.

5. Use paid social media promotion to boost your organic content.

We are no longer in a world where social media organic reach can be enjoyed for free by all. Unfortunately and fortunately, paid marketing on social media is to stay, and if used correctly, can be a super cost effective way to market to your audience.

You can set aside a small marketing budget for social media, and test the waters by starting campaigns as little as £5-10 per day. By connecting with existing and new audiences through paid marketing, you’ll find that social media will become the place for you to create deeper connections with your prospective and current customers.

Laurie Wang Laurie is an award-winning digital marketer who gets businesses seen by audiences that are hungry for their products or services.

Her knowledge and understanding of the digital landscape have benefited an eclectic mix of clients from young start-ups to FTSE 100 giants, from Google to global advertising agency Ogilvy. In 2017, she was named by the British Interactive Media Association as a top Rising Star in the Digital industry.

AR VR UPTREND AS A NEW MARKETING TOOL

Virtual reality today is a potential value-adding area for every marketer to focus on.

We are at that point where hardware and software have caught up with each other. The latest generation of phones like Google Pixel 2, Samsung S8, iPhone X is able to create a more immersive marketing experience using AR and VR. Given the fact that we improve those traditional marketing experiences, this will ultimately be able to increase brand loyalty. You’re faced with a great opportunity. Landing this deal could mean a 150% increase in your company’s revenue. You’ve heard it’s down to you and two other firms and you’ve got just one more opportunity to make a winning push. You want this and you’re going to go to great lengths to make it happen.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the economic effect of virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) is projected to reach $ 29.5 billion by 2020.

At the end of 2017, the total amount of software and hardware for VR devices made by Sony, Oculus, HTC and other manufacturers reached 5.1 million units. That is 75% more than in 2016. So, there is a classic take-off trend.

Investors are looking to participate and contribute to the development of this technological innovation which is enthusiastically accepted by the market. However, Digi-Capital analysts noted a slowdown in start-ups investments associated with virtual reality. After the peak in the fourth quarter of 2017, there was a noticeable decline in interest in early 2018, then a slight upgrade again.

While in the past VR did not show quantifiable potential or results, it is now being adopted as a marketing tool that shows measurable results. Marketing is an area where the use of virtual and augmented reality technology is most vigorous. With the development of technology, reasonable and easy-to-use solutions that make VR-stories available for business have appeared. There is little surprise among consumers today by the test drive of new cars with the use of VR-glasses or tours of residential apartments, allowing to show the object "live" without even leaving the sales office or directly on the website. In addition, wearing a virtual reality helmet and being inside an apartment or room, gives you an opportunity to change furniture models, colour solutions, and finishing materials in real time.

And then get a quote with a list of goods used in the project. Virtual reality allows you to make it as realistic as possible and it creates the effect of presence. Emotions from “jumping” to another world through VR reduces the consumer’s purchase decision-making time and boosts the ability to handle objections more effectively than anything else.

Companies benefit from applications with AR and VR, allowing to obtain additional information about preferences in products and build the best shopping routes. One of the most successful examples of such promotion and sales is the IKEA application, which, with the help of AR, makes it possible to supplement a real apartment with new virtual goods.

Another example from retail is a VR application that allows to track the visitors’optical focus in a store and change the display of goods accordingly. The banking sector is also adopting the augmented reality. They create applications with AR, allowing the cardholders to accumulate information about promotions and discounts in stores, as well as a possible cashbacks. New technologies allow marketers to obtain analytics of transactional data of their customers to improve targeting accuracy during advertising campaigns. Personalized offers based on the location of the client to the stores and retargeting efforts among the various devices a consumer uses are relevant marketing tactics being adopted today.

An upward trend in the use of VR and AR technologies for marketing in the fashion industry cannot be ignored. First of all, this is due to the fact that more and more purchases are being made online and virtual reality is helping to replace sellers of offline stores. Also, the specifics of the fashion segment are that shopping in most cases goes on an emotional level. Therefore, it is important for an online store or a fashion aggregator to establish emotional contact with a customer. In 2017, Amazon acquired Body Labs, an artificial intelligence platform that uses computer vision to create three-dimensional human movements and shapes in gaming and commercial applications. GAP also invests in virtual reality with its DressingRoom application, which uses avatars to help people understand how they will look in selected items without going into the dressing room.

Why should brands be investing in AR/VR solutions?

AR is not a vision for the future. We have already started to see brands waking up to the enormous potential to revitalize a customer experience using Virtual Reality.

There are top 3 reasons why you should incorporate augmented reality into your sales and marketing strategies.

Increased Revenue: with AR your customers experience your products in a whole new way. These interactive 3D experiences increase customer engagement. Thus, you gain a competitive advantage and your revenue opportunity increases.

Shorten Sales Cycle: AR can help you shorten sales cycle in a big way. Product descriptions and images in a brochure cannot tell the full story. VR helps customers see and understand hidden features, workflows and processes. So, they can make purchasing decisions confidently and quickly.

Reduce Costs: Virtual product demonstrations can reduce the costs associated with developing sales support materials. They eliminate the need to create and update printed collateral and product prototypes after each release or enhancement.

Karina Korobova Karina Korobova is a tech-savvy student with a Master in Electronic Commerce and Bachelor Degree in Business Law. Experienced in business development and management; Passionate about cloud computing technologies, business drivers and emerging computing trends. Karina is currently focused on developing an online platform, dedicated to integration of VR in exposure therapy for educational and healthcare sectors as well as working with artificial intelligence for video surveillance.

12 REASONS WHY STARTING YOUR OWN STARTUP IS A GREAT IDEA As the Founder and CEO of Wolfpack Digital, I’ve had the opportunity to work with more than 40 international startups so far, with most of them coming from the tech world. We have advised them with their product strategy, built and helped them grow their award-winning web and mobile products.

As of last year, we started building our own digital products, and these products are turning into independent and profitable businesses. Therefore, it’s fair to say I am a huge fan of what one can learn from the experience of founding a company or a product, especially if done right. There is no singular right or wrong way to do it, though.

After working with many different kinds of start-ups and many founders, after a while it becomes quite easy to observe certain patterns. There are many articles and books out there explaining why one shouldn’t start their own business. Well, I say it’s time to look at all the pros instead, as long as you know what you’re getting into. All these pros are independent of whether the startup is successful or not.

Here is why you should start your own business or startup: 1. You learn to be more efficient: Starting your own business usually means there is only this much you can do with the given resources. By being in a startup or starting your own business, you learn to prioritize better, which is an excellent skill to have and use in your personal and professional life.

2. Your skills diversify: In the very beginning it is probably just you and perhaps the other 1-2 co-founders, having to do everything, from sales and production to team management and all the way to doing paperwork and to repairing the coffee machine. This is the perfect opportunity to find out what works best for you. You are going to be put into situations where you simply have to improve on a certain skill so as to make things work, which means you will have the chance to study and practice more. Trust that all this diverse knowledge will be very useful later, especially if integrated creatively.

3. You build and expand a powerful network: You get to meet many people as you are looking for investors, mentors, team members or co-founders. The power of one’s network is an essential asset in your personal and professional life, therefore even though it may not bring immediate results, it will pay off in the long-term. You will also be pushed towards improving your social and presentation skills, helping greatly in the area of selfconfidence.

4. You learn self-discipline: Although talent, knowledge and flair matter, nothing beats self-discipline when it comes down to getting the job done. Being in a startup helps you become more responsible by making you accountable for your own actions and promises, as you get to feel every single burn and achievement directly and vividly. And yes, this can be absolutely wonderful!

5. You open up to opportunity: This is a very good time to be a founder, as we live in a highly-connected and diverse world where innovation can still make a great impact. There are more and more funding and mentoring opportunities available. Although you may not end up where you imagined yourself at the beginning of your startup journey, be sure all the places you will be visiting are interesting, and the final one may be even better than expected.

6. You become more flexible: You will most likely have a few falls which will teach you in practice that being adaptable is not only a crucial survival skill but also can spice things up in your life and career by opening you to creativity and pivoting, which generally help with having a smoother ride. Being too rigid in a startup is not going to work, so if you are looking into ways of becoming more flexible, consider that a startup may help.

7. You speed up your evolution: Nothing beats a startup in terms of how fast you can learn new skills and accumulate valuable practical and theoretical knowledge.

Getting your hands dirty on so many different levels will help you on your shortcut to successful professional evolution and will help you later in your career, whether this is in your own company, another small company, or a huge corporation.

8. You open up to diversity: A startup opens you to many different opportunities, including diverse events, cultures, ideas, and people. It shows you the world in a different way and teaches you the importance of diversity, as we are all striving to obtain better solutions. These solutions often stem out of difficult, yet essential conversations between people with very different backgrounds and views.

Need help with building a mobile or web app?

Contact the Wolfpack Digital team

9. You learn the importance of balance: As the amount of work you can do is virtually endless (after all, there is no one there this time saying “this is enough”), after a certain amount of time you learn how to combine your activities in a sustainable way, so that both yourself and the business with all its sides can function.

10. You get better self-control: You get to experience a wide range of emotions, from fear to excitement, from confidence to deep disappointment. You learn (sometimes the hard way) to be less dependent on the approval of others and to master your emotions better so as to function and perform well.

11. You really get to know yourself better: Having your own business puts you constantly in new situations, sometimes way out of your comfort zone, and often testing your boundaries. Through this intense exploration, you find out a lot about who you are and what you are capable of, what you like and don’t like.

12. You build great memories: Even if everything crashes and burns after your attempt at starting your own business, you will always have some great memories to look back to and some engaging stories to tell, and for sure many laughs to remember from late nights where your only fuel working on your startup was pure excitement. One thing’s for sure: it’s not going to be boring!

This is it! Definitely go for your own startup and start with medium involvement, while keeping your feet downto-earth. Not to say there aren’t many challenges and potential sacrifices to consider. At the end of the day, you must look at things from all angles. Regardless of what happens, what matters is the way you choose to see it and what you make out of it. The worst that can happen given a constructive attitude is that you gain some experience and learn more about yourself!

Georgina Lupu-Florian (She-Wolf) Georgina Lupu-Florian (or, as friends call her, simply Gina) is the CEO and founder of Wolfpack Digital, a 4-year-old versatile digital agency from ClujNapoca, Transylvania, Romania, with a team of 45+ people. She is super passionate about digital products, as this is where she feels she can bring together her experience in technology, psychology and business management.

Her biggest interest is always finding what is Optimal. She is proud of being a “Jack-of-all-trades” and a master of cats.

BARONESS KARREN BRADY AND LADY MICHELLE MONE TO HEADLINE WOMEN IN BUSINESS EXPO 2019 Two of the UK’s most well regarded businesswomen, Baroness Karren Brady of Knightsbridge CBE and Lady Michelle Mone, Baroness of Mayfair OBE, will be bringing their business experience to the first annual Women in Business EXPO in 2019, a brand new conference and exhibition that delivers guidance, inspiration and business services to women at any stage of their career or business journey.

Baroness Karren Brady will kick off the event on day one with an empowering session on business and career development, drawing on her work as Vice Chairman of West Ham F.C, a Peer in the House of Lords and Small Business Ambassador for the Government. Star of The Apprentice, Karren is recognised as the first woman in football, having transformed Birmingham City Football Club, taking it from administration to the stock market during her time, the latter of which made her the youngest Managing Director of a PLC in the UK. Lady Michelle Mone is set to open day two of the conference with a fascinating and inspiring look at how she built her multi-million-pound lingerie business, Ultimo Brands International, from the ground up. As a peer in the House of Lords, OBE recipient and Start-Up Business Tsar for the Government, Michelle is one of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and is set to provide attendees with practical and honest business advice.

Michelle commented: “I’m delighted to be speaking at Women in Business EXPO. This event is so important to highlight and show how women of today can overcome the unique challenges faced in work and business, and provide the inspiration for a new beginning.”

This year’s event, sponsored by Vodafone, Avast, Pure Storage and RedHat, will include a focus on Women in Tech, Women in Franchise and Women in Finance.

For more information about Women in Business EXPO 2019, please visit www.wibexpo.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @wibexpouk

Women in Business EXPO is the UK’s first exhibition dedicated to supporting women in business. The two day event is free to attend and takes place at Farnborough International Conference and Exhibition Centre, Hampshire. Running from 16-17 October 2019, attendees will have access to a roster of top speakers and exhibitors from across the UK, who will share tips, knowledge and career opportunities.

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THE AI Facelift for games

NASA would like you to take a picture of a tree, please

Boom! AI industry takes it to a completely new level. Yeah… you might say that this is no news, that we already are shaping a new future based on how universities and tech giants repurpose research by using the artificial inteligence.

But, the truth is that one of the unexpected applications of AI has already changed the gaming industry by using the AI upscaling technique. Basically, you just have to feed an algorithm a low-resolution image, and, based on training data it’s seen, it spits out a version that looks the same but has more pixels in it. Upscaling it’s also a not so new technique but the use of AI has drastically improved the speed and quality of results. Curious how your old chilhood photo would look upscaled? ! So am i.

If the space agency’s ICESat-2 satellite estimates the height of trees from space, why not give a hand from the ground, in the name of science?! Say what?! Yap! NASA has created a new tool for citizen scientists that can help check those measurements.

You just have to use your smartphone, the app, an optional tape measure, and of course, a tree. Launched in 2018, ICESat-2 satellite has this instrument called ATLAS that shoots over 60.000 pulses of light at the Earth’s surface every second it orbits the planet. The LASER helps by measuring combined data from the elevation of sea ice, land ice, the ocean, inland water, and of course, trees to deliver to researchers the answer to the question: “How healthy are world’s forests and what’s the amount of carbon dioxide the forests can soak up?”. Simple, right?

AMAZON “SPECIAL DELIVERY” Prepare your best side and take that Amazon Selfie.

Of course, this is applicable only to the Amazon Delivery drivers in a bid to reduce fraud. This new thing, the facial recognision will be used to verify drivers identities, to make sure they are who they say they are and to make sure that more than one driver won’t use the same Amazon account. The new requirements appeared on the Amazon Flex app to drivers, notifying them that they needed to take a selfie before continuing work. Of course, Amazon warns drivers to “not take a selfie while driving.” Neither should you.

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Jill Zeret Jimenez Rodriguez Jill Zeret Zytreon Tecnologia Infinita Founder

JILL

ZERET Tell us about you and your business.

I was born in Mexico City where I learned to be independent at an early age and where I discovered my passion for technology.

Science and technology are a way of expressing myself and my willingness to help others. I think that technology's heart is as big as its developer. And that's what Zytreon Tecnologia Infinita is about.

How did you decide to go into Technology?

I've been always good at fixing problems and I noticed I had better results with smart tools that helped me to accelerate the processes. It all matched when I started working with technology.

However, experience taught me that current tech solutions were mostly for specific industrial processes and problems, not for the community. I like to think out of the box, so that's why I started Zytreon.

Did you always know that Cybernetics was what you wanted to do?

No. I thought I would become a Chemist, as my mother. I loved my experiences in the lab at school. Plus I had no computer at home till I was older and my knowledge in programming was minimal.

However my mother always raised me up to accept challenges. So taking the decision to study cybernetics engineering kept me excited, but quite terrified to be honest.

JILL ZERET Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt discouraged to pursue your dreams as a woman?

How did you handle it?

Performing a career that is considered mostly for men and living in a country where patriarchy rules, was and still is a challenge for me. As a woman, it was hard to be listened and my opinions were not taken into account. My mom (who also faces this) taught me how to act professionally and how to backup my work. I had to work twice as hard and I learned to speak up in an intelligent way.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in your industry or what you wish to know before started your career/business?

Always pursue your passion and learn how to use everything in your favor.

Even the worst experiences, that typically come from gender discrimination, can be good if those are capitalized. Create your own strategies, be fierce but keep a low profile. Fear and failure are your best allies forever, not your enemies, as they will teach you all you need to keep up the pace and stand out.

What's your favorite quote?

Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope. Margaret Tatcher

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

I used to help unconditionally and I'm used to forgiving and to be empathic. That's a bad combination when people take advantage of you. Helping others always come with a limit. Failures only strenghten us but keep in mind that, if you do not learn the lessons from that failure, your next chapter will be worse till you evolve your actions.

In your opinion, what could the workplace/business environment do to be more inclusive for women?

It all comes down to customs and habits. We need to educate a society where men can be sensitive and women can be brave. Society must understand that men and women are the best complement ever, we need to learn that the skills of each one complement other ones' weaknesses. We can't be perfect but we can be improvable and great things can be accomplished if we work together.

To what do you attribute your success?

First of all, to my mother. She's been always by my side watching every step of mine, helping me in a very unique way. My family's support has been key for my project of life. And I am so grateful for iniciatives that recognize, worldwide, womens' work. Such as Booking.com and the Techplaymaker awards that granted the title of Digital Leader to my project ENGEL, an earthquake survivor detector.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeeding in the workplace/business?

Fear. When I started my professional activities, I used to behave like men (when in Rome, do as the Romans). That helped me for a while as I observed how men humiliated women due to their sensitivity and other qualities. I was afraid to show my true self but, then I learned respect can be earned when my work and results speak for themselves.

Women just need to dare.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

Strong Men and Women inspire me. People that are making their best every day of their lives, making a difference in this world, always teaches me something new. Zytreon and my willingness to help others come from the desire of preseve the quality of life of those persons. It's all about giving back to the society.

In my case, with technology.

WHERE THERE IS DISCORD, MAY WE BRING HARMONY. WHERE THERE IS ERROR, MAY WE BRING TRUTH. WHERE THERE IS DOUBT, MAY WE BRING FAITH. AND WHERE THERE IS DESPAIR, MAY WE BRING HOPE. Margaret Tatcher Favourite Quote Jill Zeret

Linda Liukas, Author & illustrator, Hello Ruby

LINDA LIUKAS

Tell us about you and your business.

I am the author and illustrator of Hello Ruby, a children’s picture book about the whimsical world of computers translated to 26 languages, as well as the founder of Rails Girls, a global movement to teach young women programming in over 300 cities. She loves Muji, Zelda Fitzgerald, software and sparkly things.

Did you always know that being an author and an entrepreneur was what you wanted to do?

No. I think blending education, technology and creativity is something I figured out as I went along. The moment I decided to step into my own possibility and curiosity I started to build a career that looks like me.

How did you decide to go into Tech?

I wish a book like this existed when I was a little girl. I definitely wish to see programming become one tool in a big box of self expression - along with crayons and blocks of wood and prisms and pipettes.

This way we’ll have a more colorful, exciting computing culture.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeeding in the workplace/business?

LINDA LIUKAS Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt discouraged to persue your dreams as a woman?

How did you handle it?

Not really. I think computer science has given me a very pragmatic outlook on problem solving: all big problems are just small problems stuck together, and we can solve big problems with creativity, persistence and team work.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in ypour industry or what you wish to know before started your career/business?

I'm surrounded by amazing, ambitious women and most often I end up reminding these women to be more gentle with themselves. The grammar of growing up requires for some reason us to experience struggle and become hard. Being soft, gentle and loving towards yourself is what we often forget.

In your opinion, how could the workplace/business environment do to be more inclusive for women?

I think women have so much to offer to the tech world and our worst mistake is trying to fit in too much. The moment I decided to step into my own possibility and curiosity I started to build a career that looks like me.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

I think too often we think that learning programming means sitting in front of a computer or giving away play, outdoors, social experiences etc. Playing in the woods was a huge part of my own childhood and I wouldn’t take it away from future generations. This means the kids might play in the woods, but also wonder what would it mean if all trees had sensors in them?

To what do you attribute your success?

I'm fearless, optimistic, pragmatic and curious.

What's your favorite quote?

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. ― Roald Dahl What did you learn from your biggest failure?

I've failed many times: the Kickstarter campaign I did for the book was over a year late in delivery and I failed at running a product development team for a mobile app we were developing at Hello Ruby. I was not that concerned about the product failure, but accepting the fact that I failed with the team/people was the hard part.

AND ABOVE ALL, WATCH WITH GLITTERING EYES THE WHOLE WORLD AROUND YOU BECAUSE THE GREATEST SECRETS ARE ALWAYS HIDDEN IN THE MOST UNLIKELY PLACES. THOSE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN MAGIC WILL NEVER FIND IT. ROALD DAHL FAVOURITE QUOTE LINDA LIUKAS

Manuela Sedvartaite, SociumTrade CEO

MANUELA

SEDVARTAITE

How did you decide to go into Fintech?

Did you always know that entrepreneurship was what you wanted to do?

I had a terrible experience working in a very well established multinational company. The structure and processes were so backwards looking that it would drive me mad. I decided to quit and moved into the tech space. Ever since, I have been on a mission to help companies become more digital.

If you’d asked me at the start of my corporate career, I would honestly say, I couldn’t have even begun to imagine the coaching business and lifestyle I am blessed to have today.

To what do you attribute your success?

Positive thinking, confidence and network.

What did you learn from your biggest failure?

My failures have taught me that there is no such thing as failure, and that F.A.I.L stands for 'Free And Inspired Learning'.

Tell us about you and your business. .

I'm mostly focused on software development and consulting services about digital transformation. Also an activist for Women in Tech and a global public speaker sharing strategies and insights on emerging tech trends shaping global business across Fintech, AI, IoT, blockchain and robotic process automation.

MANUELA

SEDVARTAITE

It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

It happens all the time. The key is to turn that situation into a positive outcome for yourself. It doesn't matter how I'm being perceived in the beginning. After I speak, they must understand why they should come and talk to me.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what you wish to know before started your career?

Be confident. There is nothing more attractive. And don't forget to speak up. ( Remember the saying? If you don't ask, the answer will always be no. ) What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

Education and mentoring. We all need support while growing.

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

First step is interest. Show why the tech space is so fascinating. Second step is education. We need girls with good technical skills.

Third step, we need smart management. Men and women who understand why diversity matters.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

I believe that in most cases women are just not confident enough. I have seen so many intelligent ladies who do great work but always stay in the shadows. Also, the nature of women is more accommodating, while men love competition and power.

What's your favorite quote?

You will never regret things you have done as much as the ones you haven't.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

Speaking to people about ideas.

Fun fact about you?

I speak 4 languages fluently, but none of them perfectly. (It's ridiculous)

YOU WILL NEVER REGRET THINGS YOU HAVE DONE AS MUCH AS THE ONES YOU HAVEN'T. Favourite Quote Manuela Sedvartaite

Michelle Chivunga Nsanzumuco

MICHELLE CHIVUNGA

It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated.

Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

Yes many times i have felt this way , not just my gender but a woman of colour working in mainly white and male dominated areas had its challenges and many positives too.

One thing that i always relied on was my knowledge, upbringing and selfbelieve . This is important as it moulds you and provides you the confidence when things become challenging. No one can take away your education.

How did you decide to go into Fintech?

Following past work experience in financing and investments, I wanted to source new mechanisms of trust particularly in the financial services sector having previously worked for the British Bankers Association(now UK Finance). I then discovered Satoshi's bitcoin paper and did my own research and developed interest to understand what was behind bitcoin. This is when i realised the underlining technology 'blockchain' and DLT applications had massive potential in many areas.

Tell us about you and your business. .

Michelle is currently Chair of the International/Foreign Affairs committee and Senior Regional Advisor (Africa) at the British Blockchain Association (BBA) exploring emerging technologies such as Blockchain technology particularly in the context of sustainable development, trade, finance, enterprise.

A thought leader keen bring digital solutions.

MICHELLE What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what you wish to know before started your career?

I wish someone told me early on to not be afraid of my big dreams/ to chase my dreams. I have always aimed to be a leader and have had big big dreams but at times have doubted my potential. Only in later years did i realise i could actually achieve anything if i put in the hardwork, learn, believe in my dream, chase it and never give updreams come true! believe in you and others will too!

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

Making it a lot more accessible for those that do want to be in tech.

Showcasing role models, educating and raising awareness about the benefits. Offering choice for those that want to be in tech and no pressure on those that want other focus. It is key that we highlight the significance of their contribution if they enter tech, support them through the journey and offer mentoring.

To what do you attribute your success?

A combination of things; selfbelieve, perseverance, determination and hardwork. But also having the right education, role models and family members who have supported me especially in harder times. I have never given up, might change route but i don't believe in giving up. Also as much as it sounds a little ironic placing others over oneself has given me back so much . Being open to learning too

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

As answered before, it has to be inclusive for all not ignoring those from diverse communities that can add value and creativity.

Showcasing role models and offering choice. Highlighting the value derived from being in tech is key .

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Poor recognition of women's potential and value that they bring to the ecosystem. Not enoughsenior positions being given particularly at very high level to influence and shape strategic decisions. Need more women at the top of organisations and institutions and these women supporting other women to rise. Ensuring this happens depends on all to take action.Women also have to put themselves forward.

What's your favorite quote?

I have quiet a lot of favourites but the below 'if you're always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be' maya angelou and 'Darkness cannot drive out darkness;only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate;only love can do that.'

Martin Luther King, Jr

How do you find inspiration in your life?

I source my inspiration from so many role models in my life. When I say role models I think of people like my mother/grandmother/ my own family. My mum never gave up ,came from poverty to becoming an economist working for groups like the World Bank.

Also the many women in poorer societies hustling daily to provide for their communities. Also my peers inspire me but also my calling to help others.

Fun fact about you?

I love to dance and i cant live without music! I 'slay' and kill on the dance floor!

I also love to travel, cook and love being around people from all walks of life.

If you don't venture out to see the world or even your neighbour you will limit your knowledge and indeed will not have seen beauty.

IF YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO BE NORMAL YOU WILL NEVER KNOW HOW AMAZING YOU CAN BE! MAYA ANGELOU FAVOURITE QUOTE MICHELLE CHIVUNGA NSANZUMUCO

Mihaela Draghici, Senior Product Manager @ Awin, Marketing Director @ Girls in Tech London Â

MIHAELA DRAGHICI

How did you decide to go into Product Management?

I have studied foreign languages, then worked in events marketing and digital marketing for several years until I realized how much I value solving problems and building features that contribute to improving people's lives. This evolution has proved to be a great professional change for me. Being a Product Manager helps me develop my passion for product and strategy and translate my previous knowledge of digital advertising, business strategy, and skills in communications & negotiation.

It is no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated.

Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

I have had situations in meetings or conversations when someone had to repeat what I had just said to make sure the people attending understood. For me this is one of the frustrating aspects. I have had individual conversations with the person involved and things improved, but you shouldn't have to be put in such a situation in the first place.

Tell us about you and your career.

I have over 10 years' international experience in Product Management and Digital Marketing across affiliate marketing and education sectors, working on both B2B and B2C platforms. Â

DRAGHICI MIHAELA What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what do you wish you knew before you started your career business?

Find a mentor. Find someone who is happy to guide you and advise you and help you on your path. Because no matter how great you are at what you do, it's always important to have someone championing you. And when you've made it up there, become a mentor yourself. We need more women in this industry and one thing we can do is help each other.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

We need to focus on the younger generations and change the mindset in schools and educational institutions to help girls become more interested in tech fields instead of perpetuating the mindset that tech is for boys, through media and schools. The second, on an individual level, we need to become role models for young girls and help foster interests in math and sciences.

What's your favorite quote?

Maya Angelou said this: "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women."

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

How do you find inspiration in your life?

There are a few topics I strongly support and consider important: flexible work arrangments: to allow people deal with essential aspects in their personal life; and not only focused on women, but also men, so that both can share childcare duties, or other aspects of personal life.

The other one: reward on competences and merit.

There is still a lot to do to bridge the gender pay gap.

The people.

The people I work with, the people we build products for, the people I interact with in close friends circles or in communities such as Girls in Tech, where I am very active.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeeding in the workplace/business? Â Not being treated fairly and equally. I am lucky enough to have never had to experience any of that in my current company or previous ones.

However, I am familiar with situations when female peers were refused a promotion because not bringing enough proof of achievements, versus a male colleague showing 'great potential'.

To what do you attribute your success?

There is a number of factors that contributed to me being where I am at the moment. On one hand I have to acknowledge the help and support received from my family and mentors. Then, there is the fact that I have always been a curious person, keen on constantly learning new things, exploring and adapting which pushed me to grow personally and professionally.

EACH TIME A WOMAN STANDS UP FOR HERSELF, WITHOUT KNOWING IT POSSIBLY, WITHOUT CLAIMING IT, SHE STANDS UP FOR ALL WOMEN. Maya Angelou Favourite Quote Mihaela Draghici

Mikaeri Ohana Estevam Candido , IT Consultant at Viceri, Tech Evangelist at "WoMakersCode", Coordinator at "AI Brasil Girls" and "E AI, Girls" communities and Entrepreneur.

MIKAERI

OHANA ESTEVAM CANDIDO Tell us about you and your career.

Since I was a child, I have been motivated to create solutions that affect people's lives. I have continued with this goal in mind at every stage of my career lecturing, training, mentoring and developing solutions. I fall in love with problems and, through them, create innovative solutions for the world using the power of technology.

How did you decide to go into IT and Analytics?

In 2008, I got my first computer.

I was in second grade, and it helped me a lot with my studies. It sparked a great curiosity within me to understand how the "close", "minimize" and "maximize" buttons worked. I wanted to create programs with those buttons. So, I started to get involved with IT. I took a technical course in IT and a degree in Analysis and Systems Development at FATEC in Jundiaí. Nowadays, I'm in love with AI and the innovations and solutions that they can provide to our world.

It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

I was always one of the only women at IT events or classes.

I've heard several bad phrases, like “a woman's place is washing dishes”, or “you’re just another pretty face”. I’m grateful to have had parents who encouraged me to face challenges and not to be concerned about being in a minority. The greatest way to overcome this is by being a good example for others.

MIKAERIOHANA What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what do you wish you knew before you started your career business?

You will face several challenges on your road to success. You will need to prove your skills, and show why you came into the world with every breath you take. Remember that many other women have struggled before you to make the world in which you now live a better place. Put curiosity and passion into everything you do. Do it for them.

Do it for yourself.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

This encouragement should begin as a child. I believe that parents, encouraging their daughters to engage with all kinds of activities (not just with “dolls”, for example) can help to promote great women in technology. Leaders and HR professionals should be trained to promote equal and secure environments in their companies.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Confidence and opportunity.

How do you find inspiration in your life?

When I come home for dinner with my family we like to talk about the experiences we had that day. I see the smiles on their faces and this is what keeps me going. Also, the feedback and encouragement that I receive from my peers is like a fuel for me. It makes me want to continue doing what I am doing and impacting people's lives.

To what do you attribute your success?

I’m grateful for each kind of experience I have had in my life. Each of them taught me to face problems and helped form my character; this helps me not to fear new challenges.

My family is the foundation of my life, and to them I owe all the strength, courage and dedication I have today.

God gives us the opportunities, but it's up to us to grab them at the right time, and that's what they taught me.

Fun fact about you?

People think that my name, “Ohana”, is from the movie Lilo & Stitch’s , but is not. I was named after Claudia Ohana, a Brazilian actress. Also, I have Trypophobia, I don't like to see a lot of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

We need to encourage more women to take leadership positions within companies.

Encouraging qualified women to positions like this serves as an example to others and promotes a more egalitarian enterprise.

When promoting events, think about gender equality between speakers, rather than selecting most men. Ending gender disparity in the IT industry will not happen overnight, but we can start it today.

THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN FAVOURITE QUOTE MIKAERI OHANA CANDIDO

Snezana Zivcevska-Stalpers, Project Manager at IBM.

SNEZANA

ZIVCEVSKA-STALPERS Tell us about you and your career.

In 2000 I moved to The Netherlands where I started a job at an international telco as software engineer R&D. In 2002 moved to a local Dutch consultancy as consultant system integration & middleware. And in 2006 I joined the Big Blue as advisory IT specialist, growing further to business process management and since 2015 I am into project management

How did you decide to go into Tech?

My father was my role-model, he was a technician and he had solutions for all technical problems in the house. I was inspired by him. At school I was excellent in math and physics, so it was rather clear that I wanted to go for technical studies. I decided for Computer Science and Information Technology as it looked intelligent, sophisticated and more feminine. I was lucky enough to graduate in the time when the internet was booming in Europe. That's an opportunity for me that I didn’t miss.

It’s no secret that many women in tech have felt their gender affected the way that they are perceived/treated. Have you ever been in a situation like that? How did you handle it?

I experienced how difficult it was to be a working mother.

The first years of the motherhood are always exhausting. There were days when I literally didn’t have energy for anything but I still had to go to work and compete with my male colleagues who were putting all their energy into the work creating a competitive environment. So I didn’t have promotion nor salary increase for couple of years.

SNEZANA What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in tech or what do you wish you knew before you started your career business?

I wish I would know that the promotion and the salary increasement will not get the one who worked hardest, but the one who will ask for that.

Having strong technical knowledge and experience is not enough to be successful, but highly developed personal leadership skills are the ones that will open many doors for you. Networking matters, build valuable relationships and make use of them.

What do you think we should be doing more of to encourage more girls to consider a career in tech?

Although currently the women are minority in tech, by making them visible as role-models we can inspire many girls to join the tech. Mentoring is also a way to help young girls decide for tech: by sharing our knowledge and experiences, career lessons learned, how to overcome obstacles if any. And last but not least, by creating welcoming, collaborative and more human-centric environments

In your opinion, how could the tech industry be more inclusive for women?

Give women equal opportunities for career growth, offer career mentoring, offer them flexibility (flexible working hours, opportunity for work from home, opportunity for part-time job), encourage support and create solutions for their worklife balance, and pay them equally. Ones the women are happy with what they do they can be very loyal and they are ready to put extra effort in achieving more.

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle to women succeed in the workplace/business?

Rules for success which are written by men. Biased thinking that the women are less capable for leading positions. Lack of work-life integration and not having a supportive system around them. Not being brave enough to take risks.

Fun fact about you?

I have a twin sister, and people quite often mix us up. It’s so funny, when we meet and we tell each other about situations when meeting somebody who though she was me or me was she and starting a conversation later on to realise that it was not the right person.

How do you find inspiration in your life? .

Most of the times I find my inspiration within me. My higher purpose is becoming better me, today better than I was yesterday.

I believe that we the human beings have endless potential, the limitations are only in our heads. I am curious personality by nature and I love to explore and do things I have never tried before.

To what do you attribute your success?

I definitely attribute my success to my hard-working character, persistence, learning, and never giving up.

Failing, and I have failed a lot, but then rose up and tried again, and again. I strongly believe in the power of human interaction, and I use it a lot. I believe that no matter where the technology will take us to, we need to stay human, because that’s the power that only people have.Â

SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL. FAILURE IS NOT FATAL. IT IS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS. WINSTON CHURCHILL FAVOURITE QUOTE SNEZANA ZIVCEVSKA-STALPERS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ABOUT HER BOOK "WE LEAD: HOW WOMEN BECOME LEADERS"

HILARIEÂ OWEN Â CEO and Author

Tell us about "WE LEAD: How Women Become Leaders" WE LEAD: How Women Become Leaders shows how women today are reaching the top of their sector or organisation and includes interviews with 30 women who have achieved this. From the interviews patterns emerged that show a route map for others.

Tell us a little bit about your idea to create this book.

Buy Amazon Can you talk about the pattern that you have found writing this book?

Each women leader was consistently learning and growing here experience and expertise; they all seeked out role models and their influences included their parents. They built strategic networks and had remarkable credibility, energy and resilience. Each had different ways of doing these.

What makes this particular topic you are involved in so interesting?

The women were so interesting and their stories so real. I did not find one big ego but women who were authentic, real and courageous. Most were married with children and at some time had faced failure or a huge challenge but how they dealt with those is a lesson for all. They had different backgrounds but the same patterns kept emerging.

I organised a webinar for International Women's Day in 2018 with 3 great speakers from the UK and USA and found women were really keen to know more. I enjoy research and writing - this is my 9th book, so it was a progression from that.

We heard a lot about the challenges women have in different industries. Have you ever experienced negativity or bias? If yes, what would be your advice to deal with that?

Early on in my career I experience negativity from other women when I was promoted but dealt with it by talking to them. Bias - yes and being offered promotion but not with the same wage as the man who had that role before. However, this was a long time ago and I hope things are changing now. My advice is don't moan or stew over it but talk to the relevant people.

Leaders are born or made?

They are made but construct their own leadership over time.

ARTICLES

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MEANS KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE The important part of any business strategy is knowing who you sell to. For the last 4 years I have been actively involved in understanding the audiences we are planning to reach to and what it would mean to the decision-maker to have all the right pieces of information ready.

SaaS products are meant to help other businesses become more efficient. That’s clear to all of us. But reaching to decision-makers and convincing them that your SaaS is the best option for their business might not be as easy as it sounds.

At Queue-it, we help ensure that your online business is safe and your customers have access to the platform even during peak time. To be more precise, its online queue system redirects excess end-users to a virtual waiting room environment and passes the end-users back to the website or app in a first-come, first-served order. This way the end users will be satisfied and their shopping experience will be flawless.

To show the value of a SaaS for online businesses we had to go to the next level and use every learning opportunity to become better. One key challenge I have in mind is how to approach the right people who might be interested in learning more about what you sell.

1. Awareness is key.

By sharing your information to the right audience, you will create awareness about your product, but most importantly, the right type of information will help you get the message across the organization. Adjust your message to the type of audience you follow and use your common sense to understand what features will be most valuable to each prospect you engage with. For example, when discussing with the IT department focus on the current limitations of the existing service and explain how your solution can help mitigate that.

2. Persistence beats resistance.

Or to put in bluntly, sometimes people do not see the immediate need for what you sell and more information will be beneficial for both parties. In order to share information in a way that the reader will go through all the new content, try sending more than one follow-up message. This way you can share the value added by your solution, but you do not write it all in one email that I won’t even start reading because it’s too long.

Sharing information in sequences and with in-depth explanation for each of the key points you want to make will help outline how your solution can help the target audience and their business.

3. Referrals will get you far.

Knowing everything about your target audience is as important as understanding that the decision-maker can be hard to reach at times. This is why, sharing the information with the current team handling the same type of responsibilities might be your way in for a conversation. Use that knowledge to reach to immediate colleagues of the decision-maker and explain how knowing about your solution can help the business. What should happen in time is that you will start getting referrals to the decision-makers and in the end you will have more chances of engaging with the right person using that introduction.

4. Patience is a virtue.

And so, we also know that sometimes saying all the right things will not create an immediate interest, but rather a ‘good-to-know’ reaction. That’s fine, as long as you remember that what seems urgent for you, may not be urgent for somebody else. Keep in mind that we all have different priorities and sometimes it’s enough to be the right person at the right time. But in another context, waiting for confirmation it’s also ok. As long as you send all the information to the right person or team, waiting for another 3-6 months to reconnect should be in order.

All in all, reaching the right audience is a lengthy process but it’s the way to go in order to create the right process for your sales to grow. Be patient and remember that if you have a great solution that solves a real problem, people will want to know more about it.

Until next time, be brave & use all learnings, Alexandra Ciobotaru

Alexandra works in business development for a tech start-up in Copenhagen. She is actively involved in promoting Women in Tech and female leadership initiatives and she has been nominated for Business Leader of the Year Award in 2018. Through her professional experiences, she advocates for knowledge sharing and has started an outbound sharing circle for the tech scene in Copenhagen. A co-creator of Tech Festival in Copenhagen, she is now working on other initiatives meant to help the business community, including a panel discussion for Nerd Nights about FutureTech, Society & Liberty, and a workshop on how to build your brand with LinkedIn for WonderTech Summit Copenhagen.

ALEXANDRA CIOBOTARU

FROM SPEECH TO PRACTICE: TECHNOLOGY MADE BY WOMEN TO THE WORLD Hello, dear reader. In February edition I wanted to share with you an issue that has increasingly occupied my doctorate research; whether there is or will be specific literacy for women who work and research technology. I warned that I could go back to this topic, a debate under construction that I believe is of relevance to all of us as we draw a new moment for women in technology.

On March 30 this year, the New York Times published an article “What Happens When Women Stop Leading Like Men” 1, de Tina Brown (1). She is the founder of the Women in the World summit and the host of the podcast “TBD With Tina Brown”. According to Tina, “women have accumulated rich ways of knowing that until recently were dismissed in male circles of power. The alchemy of what has made women the way they are is mysterious: Is it a result of centuries spent trying to survive and prosper in societies where they’ve been viewed as lesser? Or, until recently, of always being appointed the family caregiver, bearing and raising children, tending to elderly parents and disabled siblings, so often left to shoulder the unpaid burdens of real life? Women have learned and taught lessons about how to cope with seeming impossibilities in ways that men traditionally — and to this day — have not. Coaching a slow learner on homework after a day of hassles at the office provides a deep experience of delayed gratification. A woman’s wisdom comes, in part, from the great juggle of her life”.

Like Tina Brown, I argue that the differences that mark women - biological, especially - represent attributes that differentiate them in relation to men in educational, professional, and artistic performances. Apart from different cognition and physical constitution, the challenges of women have always been immense, some of them mentioned in her article. What makes this moment a historical character is the unique, unrestricted and broad appropriation of technological devices, applications, digital platforms as tools of access and exchange of information, in addition to the interactions and social bonds that are formed. The female interaction with

technology is helping not only the daily overcoming of multiple obstacles (personal, professional, etc.) but also establishing a new world order to capture, understand and process reality.

This female articulation, especially digital, had a fundamental presupposition: digital inclusion. The meeting of "a set of skills acquired from basic computer learning, computer use and internet browsing" (2) (Silva, 2010) is present in the general knowledge and skills in ICT and in the use of hardware and software for women interested in joining or already inserted professionally in Technology. The leap we are going through, which I defend scientifically in my research, is the creation of a new female information literacy in IT. This is the meeting of "a set of acquired competences of basic computer learning, computer use and internet browsing"; (Silva, 2010), present in the general knowledge and skills in IT and in the use of hardware and software for work, communication and technological study by women.

In diverse proportions and ways, the publishers of this magazine, you and I, we are all together building a new Technology for Humanity.ty. We carry in this process our ancestors, our history, values, ideals, knowledge and, above all, an unprecedented look and perspective in the creation of processes, in the formation and dissemination of technological knowledge from a whole constructed by men.

As an inspiration, I recommend watching the movie Hidden Figures (3) . The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program. In addition to the extraordinary intellectual abilities with which they were born, the three scientists dared to develop their own methods of analysis and application of spatial mathematics, engineering and technology in a masculine professional environment marked by racial segregation. With resilience, tenacity and creativity, they overcame immense challenges and broke paradigms of programming because they boldly put into practice the literacy they developed from the acquired. An example of how women in technology, or in any area of knowledge, can contribute to innovative ways of seeing and relating to the world.

1 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/opinion/women-leadership-jacinda-ardern.html 2 Silva, A. (2010). Modelos e Modelizações em Ciência da Informação: O Modelo eLit.pt e a investigação em literacia informacional. PRISMA.COM, 13, pp. 01-56 3 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/

About me: I’m a PhD candidate in Doctoral Information and Communication in Digital Platforms Universidade de Aveiro and Universidade do Porto programme. I´m also a Portuguese and Brazilian entrepreneur who have been working, researching, developing and teaching Communication, Transmedia, Digital Marketing and Technology in the last 16 years in Brazil, USA and Europe. I've been working with NGO institutions as a volunteer and consultant since 2004, such as Girls in Tech.

My PhD thesis is a new, disruptive and unprecedented research: building a organizational, communicational and transmedia of empowering and entrepreneurism model to help women in tech become more representative with equal social and economic rights.

Contact me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renatafrade/ frade.renata@gmail.com @renatafrade

RENATA FRADE

WOMEN WORKING IN TECHNOLOGY REMAIN A MODERN-DAY MINORITY, STATISTICS FIND. WE DELVE INTO THE SECTOR TRENDS FOR FEMALE TECH EMPLOYEES. During the Second World War, hundreds of women were hired to solve calculations that helped the Allies win the war. Throughout the 1950s, computer software programming was seen as ‘women’s work’, the alternative to the male vocation of hardware development.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the number of US women pursuing degrees in computer science grew to 37% – nearly twice the number recorded in 2015. However, revolutionary software developments brought a gold rush to Silicon Valley and the focus for men shifted from hardware to software. The media also gave rise to the idea of the ‘male tech genius’ with its focus on Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and the number of women working in technology began to drop.

As of 2017, females hold just 24% of computer science jobs and occupy roughly 11% of executive positions in America’s tech hub Silicon Valley. The 2018 Women in Tech Index, which analyses 41 countries in the EU and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), highlights gender disparity found in the technology sector. Let’s take a look at the findings.

The Percentage of Women in Tech Jobs:

Below is a selection of countries featured in the research. Notably, Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Latvia, and Romania have a high percentage of women in STEM vocations. This trend stands out in comparison to Japan, a country globally renowned for its contribution to tech, where women who code make up just 13% of the workforce, less than half the number of Bulgaria’s female tech workers.

Eastern European Countries:

One explanation for the high proportion of Eastern European women in technology is the legacy that communism has left behind. Under state communism, it was compulsory for women to have a job in addition to caring for their children. Young women were more inclined to choose a role that guaranteed financial security for their families, investing their time in STEM areas rather than humanities. This tradition was also partly due to the fact that humanities, where freedom of expression could be displayed, were a risky choice under a communist regime; mathematics and science were much safer interests. Consequently, many women in post-socialist countries combined full-time STEM jobs with domestic tasks and their daughters are now following in their footsteps.

Today, the outlook is extremely positive. Bulgarian and Romanian developers make two or three times their country’s average income, working in outsourcing or R&D for Western European or US businesses. In Romania, this is due to the country’s low wages and cheap operating costs, which has encouraged international companies to open offices there. In all sectors, 26% of the highest positions in the country are occupied by women and for middle management roles, the figure is 28%. Romania is now the second-fastest growing economy in Europe.

Latvia is particularly interesting as there is a significant gender imbalance, according to a 2010 report from the BBC. Approximately 50% more women were enrolled at the University of Latvia than men that year, this was partially due to Latvia’s high early male mortality rate resulting in there being 8% more women than men in the country.

Further data from 2012 revealed that the capital of Latvia, Riga, had almost 127 women for every 100 men.

More recently, women in Latvia have been said to live 9.6 years longer on average than men. Comparatively, according to the same 2015 data, women in the United Kingdom live just 3.6 years longer than men.

There’s simply not as many men in Latvia and the percentage of women in tech reflects the country’s high percentage of women in the workforce which stands at 50.25%, beating the United Kingdom’s 46.69%.

Japan

This Asian tech empire has a notable lack of women in the sector. With a large pay gap of 31.96%, which you can compare below to countries in Europe, Japan has a history of leaving women behind.

Japan’s first female governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, has described the glass ceiling in the country as being more of a “steel ceiling”. For many married women in Japan, the goal is to earn less than 1.5 million (¥) a year.

Primary earners can claim a 380,000 (¥) tax deduction as a result – approximately equivalent to £2,566. The amount decreases in stages as the secondary earner’s income rises over the 1.5 million (¥) figure. The couple is no longer able to qualify when the lowest earner makes over 2.01 million (¥) – the equivalent to £13,574 per year.

It is the women who often earn the secondary income, preferring to work part-time and spend their money on supplies for their children. Work recruitment magazines often feature the phrase “Housewives are very welcome”. To add to this, about 70% of Japanese companies provide dependent allowances as financial incentives for wives to manage their households and not work. Japan’s work culture also puts an emphasis on long hours as a cost-saving tactic. Working overtime is an obligation, a custom that proves their physical and mental endurance to their employer. As a result, mothers with young children whose husbands work extremely long hours are often pressured into becoming the full-time caretaker. Women working in this environment are usually unable to have a family in addition to a full-time job, and others cite ‘mata hara’ – harassment for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave – as a reason for them quitting.

This explains why the statistics of women in STEM show a large pay gap for women in Japan. There are fewer female tech workers and, as a result, fewer chances for them to progress in their careers and achieve a higher salary. In all sectors, 43.34% of Japan’s workforce are female, falling below the 45.58% average for the countries surveyed by Honeypot.

Despite these findings, things are looking up for female workers in Japan. “Women are feeding an economic need because Japan is running out of bodies,” Kathy Matsui, chief Japan strategist for Goldman Sachs, told the Financial Times. Japan has the oldest population in the world, and its government is desperately seeking to increase the size of its labour force after having the second-weakest performance of all major economies last year.

Initiatives such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Womenomics" agenda, launched in 2013, increased the rate of pay for those on parental leave and expanded the capacity for day-care facilities. Additionally, companies with more than 300 employees are required to disclose gender diversity targets and action plans for achieving them. The percentage of Japanese women choosing to work rose from 65% in 2013 to 68.1% in 2016, partly as a result of this initiative, according to CNBC.

Looking at these statistics for women in STEM by country reveals that while in many nations equality is on the horizon, there are still lots of places that are a far cry from gender parity. Women in technology events are helping to improve this. Conferences such as Women of Silicon Roundabout feature motivational female speakers from the sector who inspire other women in tech to climb the ladder and smash the glass (or steel) ceiling.

BY GEORGINA VARLEY

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PERSONAL TALE ON DAVOSFOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION #4IR / BLOCKCHAIN Gripped with excitement and a mixture of curiosity and pure anticipation to arrive, I was delighted to accept my invitation to the world’s most prestigious annual event – Davos!

It was great to join so many experts! Soaking up the beauty of Davos as I took the train up the mountains was nothing short of magical; the snowy hills and clearly visible ski slopes were breathtakingly stunning. As I arrived to the media buzz, bustling roads full of people from so many walks of life, it was very easy to see that the nations of the world had come together. In the space of just an hour I met people from more than 15 countries - this was exactly the sort of mixture and cultural richness I enjoy and champion; diversity, equality, globalisation, inclusiveness, collaboration and togetherness- this should be the norm.

A great starting point to tackling the grave challenges we all face, but it can’t only be seen to be the world for the elite anymore. Everyone gathered in the gorgeous mountains came for a reason, and many more would have loved to be there but could not. I myself with my many hats was not short of meeting amazing people from the areas I have been engaged in; from colleagues in finance, Blockchain, fellow women business leader, serial entrepreneurs to young advocates, development professionals and high-level government officials. All these had something in common-keen to find solutions that make a real difference, difference in business, government but also around social impact and environmental sustainability.

It was refreshing to speak with so many of these colleagues and new friends from across the shores, digging deep into the many pressing issues and together exploring some of the solutions. Everyone knows by now that my passion is around the digital revolution and particularly the potential of #Blockchain, but this is not all. I am determined to find means of leveraging a wide range of digital tools, educating on these tools and using the tools to support women's economic empowerment; improve business models and support enterprise innovation; provide access to wider choice of financing instruments and greater social benefits for all segments of society. Blockchain being just one of these tools can support and impact everyone in society but

especially important for women, young people and vulnerable groups who are often left behind and marginalised. Investing in women for example not only results on high returns on investment but also helps fuel that multiplier effects of women's GDP contributions across global value chains and supports their ability to trickle wealth across their communities. Investing in women truly results in investing in nations, equipping women with the tools, promoting access to STEMA and tapping on enablers like Blockchain. We can transform nations and the world. Access to broadband internet alone can add $1 trillion to commonwealth countries.

Blockchain, if understood and approached properly can help supporting education, governments, businesses/ SMEs, and others to transform in many areas; trade, open up new markets, create profitable value chains, support tokenised projects; improve productivity and aid more transparent supply chains that are accessible not just to the few but the many. Not in one country but in all countries for a safe and sustainable world that I will proudly leave behind for the next generation. Blockchain has a major role to play. The World Economic Forum estimated that 45% of companies will adopt Blockchain. There are already significantly much more companies and governments that are already exploring Blockchain. The British Blockchain Association through global partnerships are at the forefront of supporting businesses and governments through this journey.

To be frank the issues were all well understood in Davos by most; global uncertainty, economic turmoil, tradewars, environmental threats, climate change, migration challenges, poverty, conflict, inequality, food security challenges, talent shortfalls, taxation to name a few. There are many others which are all significant and will impact us all! If there is one thing we know it’s that we must talk far less, as some of these issues have been subject for discussion for far too long and action is needed. Words, words, words alone will not feed the hungry children, will not medicate the ill, will not house or give dignity to refugees, will not stop global conflicts and will not bring about equality. We must develop future skills, create jobs, retain talent, open up accessibility to global value chains, increase investments in the right things, promote collaboration and support those innovative business models/solutions that will transform our world for the better. The world desperately needs to start to offer more certainty and choice - we all must act now!

But what exactly were the key takeaways? In the short time I spent in Davos, I noticed a clear sense of urgency and desire to source solutions around many of the areas. It will not come as a surprise to most, but the fourth industrial revolution (or #4IR as I like to shorten it) was by far one of the most discussed topics; AI, Blockchain, Automation, BigData- at centre stage and in almost every conversation. It was pleasant music to my ears to hear all this, at last, there was major global attention now being given to the potential of technologies such as AI, Blockchain/DLT and others as enablers to help tackle some of the challenges. Let’s not stop there though as technology also has its mishaps as we have seen with many problems including hacks, data misuse, airplane crushes and so many other issues. Technology is not a magic potion, just like other things we must handle with care, invest in research to source evidence and through education tackle the pure lack of understanding, build the knowledge on how to use the technologies. There is so much more we need to do around Education and I cannot emphasise this more! Machines in isolation is not the answer the human element and ethics could not be more important. The digital economy is a major phenomenal but it must be understood. After all it will in future be a key source for jobs and the digital economy is predicted to grow by 25% in less than a decade.

And yes my Blockchain community, did not fail to represent at Davos. I watched with so much pride as the streets and promenade filled with significant Blockchain side events run by major players often not at the forefront with the other more bigger well-known names; groups like CV Labs, Caspian, Decrypto and many others discussing Blockchain initiatives. The visibility and representation of many diverse players resulted in rich discussions from exploring impacts of regulation, tokenomics to examples of global use-cases and future opportunities presented by Blockchain fusion with other technologies such as AI, IoT, Big Data and Quantum Computing – this was indeed my world. There is significant progress and fantastic to see there is a realisation that some of these digital tools or enablers as I often refer to them - are starting to be globally recognised

for their potential to transform. It was great to see and actually really humbling to capture the phenomenal work going on from early stage start-ups to growing FinTech groups from across the world bringing to the table much needed solutions. I would have liked to see more of these groups presenting their ideas and pilots at the WEF main stage as some of these innovators have those answers we are seeking that can bring global use-cases at scale with potential to resolve so many of the challenges or indeed highlight where more work needs to be done to avoid misuse of technology!

Some of these groups are hidden away in often unexpected, under-valued and unrecognised parts of the world. This is where I get excited as I watch young talent and diverse teams engineer solutions for tomorrow like it was the easiest thing to concoct. Pushing it further debates about how we can now move on from the conversations to introducing scaling solutions, tapping on decentralised applications and inter-connected devices is truly exciting. At the same time empowering end users to transform how they engage and interact is even more exciting! Well I can tell you this is already happening in so many parts of the world. Many projects i see across Africa; Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, Nigeria to name a few plus in Asia; Singapore,China,Malaysia,Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and so many other places globally where these technologies are being utilised/piloted. Can they be agents of global sustainable change and development? I say yes but to different degrees in different markets. Certainly in those with vibrant youthful populations, untapped infrastructure, rich natural resources, booming e-commerce, significant trade opportunities, growing intra-regional trade engagements, strong entrepreneurship, expanding investment potential and growing nations. I predict the surge and successful deployment of some of these enablers will be in some of these markets. If there is one place engineering solutions and indeed adopting innovative technologies fast is in the dynamic continent of Africa! And yes Africa is not a country - there are many countries and these will vary in growth and other areas just like anywhere else in the world.The African continent is set to see its population rise to 2.2 billion by 2050 with about 1 billion of this making up young people. These are future customers requiring access to digital tools, education and trade opportunities. It will be key to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, implemented right it is set to boost intra-regional trade by up to 50% and open up new markets creating economic opportunities that foster sustainable development.

So I close with saying let’s all take action and talk less. Let’s even take Davos to Africa and join in watching the magic happen in the future as we deploy solutions set to not just transform and revolutionise so many sectors but actually make real difference to the lives of many women, children and men across the world. Am certain deep down we all want this.

More to follow on why focus on Africa and the revived scramble for Africa, driving forward women economic empowerment, the future of Blockchain, dynamics of Quantum and so many other topics, some of which were discussed at the first International Scientific Blockchain Conference held by the British Blockchain Association (BBA)- the first of its kind set to explore evidence based Blockchain opportunities for the development of all global communities.

Michelle Chivunga WBG/British Blockchain Association/ University of Oxford International Policy/Finance/Blockchain/Emerging Markets/Women Interview page:

MICHELLE CHIVUNGA

SELF-CARE TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS When I chat with other entrepreneurs, a challenge that often comes up is how to balance ‘self-care’ and feeding the endless demands that come with starting a new business.

The hard truth is that a business will do better if you pour every single ounce of energy, love and attention into it. If you’re self funded and your livelihood is dependant on your business, it is even easier to convince yourself that prioritising ‘self care’ is the kind of indulgent luxury reserved for barefoot hippies.

At least that is exactly how I used to feel. The all-nighters and feelings of inferiority that started during my architecture degree somehow became my default setting for every major project I would come to work on afterwards. I pretended that burnout was all part of what it took to be a success. And I admit that at times I even felt a masochistic pride in how hard I could push myself.

It wasn’t until the stress and self-neglect landed me with a chronic dose of thyroid problems and hair loss that I was forced to re-examine my die-hard approach to pushing myself in the name of productivity.

Nowadays, I have learnt to embrace my inner hippie. I have grown to accept one undeniable factoid - if I am not prioritising my health and refuelling my proverbial tank then there won’t be any energy there to feed my (very hungry) business.

So with that, here are some activities I’ve found genuinely helpful amidst the emotional and mental strains of entrepreneurship.

Meditate I have NEVER been able to get into meditation. But, I’m a fan of any activity that doesn’t require me to get out of bed. So when Yoga Nidra meditation was recommended to me and I learnt I could do it without getting up,

I thought why not give it a go. Now it is my secret weapon and favourite way to start the day. Every morning I press ‘play’ on this guided meditation instead of pressing ‘snooze’. It wakes me up really gently and not only that, this easy little life-hack is supposed to have the equivalent benefit of 3 hours of sleep for your body in just 20 minutes. It’s like a super-powered snooze button! Since starting this healthy habit I have noticed a big difference in my ability to handle stress throughout the day.

Exercise Another ‘hack’ for the resistant self-carer (like myself) is tricking yourself into doing things which are good for you by making them fun. Finding a form of exercise that you absolutely love is essential. For me, that is Thai kickboxing. I love whacking the hell out of a trainer for an hour 3-4 times a week. The stress relief is completely transformative. It also helps burn through the calories of my other coping mechanism, a good old bottle of vino with friends!

Talk to someone A friend, a fellow entrepreneur or a therapist. The isolation of running your own business can make your days seem really lonely, especially early on when it’s often just you and your computer against the world. When I started up my first business in Australia, I went days without even hearing my own voice. I was so lonely I started talking back at morning talk show hosts (yip, it got a little weird). So don’t be afraid to reach out and talk. I have found that any time I have ever voiced anything that made me feel vulnerable the response has almost always been, ‘Oh my gosh you feel like that too?!’

Gratitude Keep a diary and write down all the things you are grateful for. I got this tip from Dr Tara Swart’s book, The Source. It is a great way to calm your brain at the end of a day. And, by tuning in to the things you are grateful for it forces you to look at the things you have got right for a change!

Be your best friend I once heard Oprah say she would look in the mirror and say to herself, ‘hey there cutie!’. For some reason, I decided to give it a go (not in public), for a bit of fun, but then I realised how much of a positive impact it had on me. I, like so many other entrepreneurs suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’ or feelings of doubt and debilitating ‘catastrophizing’ which kicks in as soon as my head hits the pillow. So I try and balance these natural insecurities out wherever possible by being nice to myself. After all, none of us are perfect, we all just need to try and find a balance that works for us.

If all else fails, then there are always the more extreme options. My online magazine THE X CARTEL, was recently approached for a feature by a delightful nudist retreat, described as the perfect place to de-stress, strip off and unwind. Unfortunately, our PG rating prevented us from giving them the, uh, exposure they were looking for.

Cassie Snelgar is a designer, digital publisher and blogger from South Africa. The Founder of ethical fashion brand CASLAZUR and editor of online magazine THE X CARTEL.

CASSIE SNELGAR

IF YOU NEVER TRY, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF I have a degree in pedagogy and that is my biggest passion.

Family, relationships, and communication are my core.

A few years ago, I met Aga Gajownik at one of her workshops. We stayed in touch and one day she invited me to be a mentor at a hackathon for young people. At the time I didn’t even know what a hackathon was, but I used the opportunity to explore it.

I mentored during a part of the presentation and pitch and that was the first time I realised that mixed teams are far stronger than groups made up of people with exclusively technological backgrounds. Aga Gajownik was researching this particular topic and developing her unique hackathon structure; she invited me to cooperate.

Did I think I was ready? Definitely not. Did I try? Yes! Our team is a perfect example of a mix between my strong pedagogical background, Aga’s business strategy skills and tech support from various collaborators.

We were running a lot of hackathons together to check the model in practice. Currently, we are creating a platform for teachers to give them a working tool they can use to promote STEM subjects and to inspire students to explore and learn about technology and entrepreneurship. We are also working on a book on the methodology of our hackathon framework.

People usually notice someone's final results but fail to see how hard it was to reach them and how many challenges had to be overcome on the way. The truth is that my journey wasn’t easy. The tech world stressed me out a lot. Since the very beginning, I found that sometimes when I speak to people in the tech field, and

they notice that I am an educator they look at me strangely and ask what exactly I am doing in this industry until we discuss it in detail and they then understand the project and its meaning, possible impact and purpose. I have learned a lot, have gone to many networking events, conferences on diversity and inclusion.

We must all understand that we do not have to be experts in the field to start working in it. Find what you are good at and start from there. Apply for different positions, try your luck. Ask someone to be your mentor, go to networking events, speak with people and explore the opportunities around your idea. The most important aspect is to be open-minded, ready to learn and create opportunities. I believe that nothing happens without reason. People you met, challenging situations, a random poster you see. If you never try, you will never know what you are capable of.

Another aspect is that we usually think that “this is not the right moment for change”. There isn’t one. Our brains are excellent at creating excuses and will ‘protect’ us from leaving our comfort zones, inventing more pretexts. Our minds also create so called beautiful stories about how things can be when we change something in our lives. The more we think about it, the more it will stress us and the harder it will be for us to take that step. By putting things off and adding holiness to our idea, we make it increasingly difficult to start.

That's why the simplest way is to make the most of the moment at hand. Acting in small steps, but moving forward. Good luck!

Agnieszka Kurzawa, Product Manager of Scrum Educational Experience Agnieszka has always had a strong interest in helping people to better themselves. Currently, she is responsible for creating an educational platform for teachers and running SEE-hacks at an EdTech startup. With a strong background in Pedagogy and focus on career advice and vocational guidance, she launched her own business organising training events and worked with the Women’s Academy at The Polish Psychologists Association.

After work, she enjoys making handmade jewellery as a founder of The Little Things.

AGNIESZKA KURZAWA

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – 100% DIGITAL COMMUNICATION Oana Tache, our Digital Marketing Manager had the opportunity to visit the PE headquarters in Bruxelles and shares with us a glimpse of Europe’s most important international forum digital progresses.

I've decided to get involved. Under the tagline “Choose for yourself! Be implicated! VOTE!” and with the support of my colleagues from www.medialike.ro, I’ve created a series of vlogs that explain to young generation from my country, why it’s important, but also cool to go and VOTE.

Our digital project began when I’'ve became part of a group of 27 European representatives that have been invited to a series of seminars in the European Parliament in April. In the context of the future European elections between 23 rd 26 th of May 2019, I've spent a couple of days of sharing information and new media experiments. I was excited to discover on my own how the European Parliament works and learn about the most important decisions that affect the digital environment and about the NEW platforms that the European Parliament communicates ON. So, if you want to be informed here is it the complete list of NEW European Digital Platforms: www.what-Europe-does-for-me.eu or how the European Parliament's new website shows you exactly how you benefit from EU membership!

Have you ever wondered how exactly the European Union works for you? Now you can easily find out from an interactive website giving the best overview of how membership of the EU has helped you! With over 1400 notes on EU regions and cities, 400 on citizens and social groups and 24 papers on different EU policies, information on your life and your region is readily available and reliable! Go check it out! It’s really worth it! #thistimeimvoting

The platform thistimeimvoting.eu was launched by the European Parliament in 24 languages. It supports over one hundred and fifty thousand volunteers in all member states, who signed up and are committed to inform people about the benefits of the European elections on 2326 May 2019.

Through the social media channels and organizing events to promote the campaign for European democracy, the websites brings people together to discuss issues that matter to them and look to the future of Europe.

It’s the perfect tool for volunteers that want to get involved into a pan-European, grassroots campaign to get more people involved in the European elections and encourage as many as possible to vote. www.european-elections.eu Details on national voting rules, deadlines and other useful links to national government websites of each member state are available on the website. An online quiz to test and compare knowledge about the EU is available to the public and can be shared and easily embedded on third-party websites.

THE CITIZENS APP - Europe in the palm of your hand, wherever you are

By installing the Citizens' App, you’ll learn who does what in the EU, how all of this is relevant to your daily life and what challenges the EU faces, many of which will shape your future.

1. gives you information on topics and locations of interest to you and updates you on their progress; 2. is searchable, shareable, customized and rank able; 3. informs you about events taking place near you; adds your favorites to your personal calendar; 4. shows you the best route via your favorite maps application; 5. provides multimedia content such as videos, podcasts and slideshows; 6. lets you keep the same settings and bookmarks across all your devices.

The app is available in 24 languages: Apple Store – Google Play. Compatibility: Android and iOS. (Requires iOS 10.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.)

An since we’re here and we’re making this digital review of EP’s Digital Major Reforms, let’s remember also the MAIN European Digital Regulations Taken by EP in the 2014 – 2019 TERM

Copyright rules for the digital age

In March 2019, the European Parliament approved new copyright rules to empower creatives and news publishers to negotiate with internet giants, whilst also safeguarding the freedom of expression of ordinary internet users across the EU. The proposed Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market, seeks to ensure that creatives (for example musicians or actors), and news publishers and journalists benefit from the online world and the internet as they do from the offline world.

Consumer rights in the digital age

GEO-Blocking - Online shopping doesn’t stop at the border: in 2017 one third of online shoppers bought from a retailer in another EU country. However, shoppers came up against various barriers, so called “GEO-blocking”, that prevented them from getting what they want. As from December 2018, there is good news for online shoppers, as a new EU regulation entered into force that puts an end to GEO-blocking, breaking down borders for the millions of Europeans who shop online on a daily basis.

The new General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) give consumers and citizens more power over their digital presence, defending the right to obtain information about how their data is used and to delete content they no longer want visible online. The new rules apply to all companies operating in the EU, even if they are based outside the EU.

OANA TACHE

Women in Tech® Action Lab - March 2019 - London Women in Tech® in association with the Guardian gathered once again the London ecosystem to discuss the bridge the Gender Gap 2019. The objective is to collect the best ideas from the whole ecosystem so as to make up a course of actions with concrete solutions to be presented to the government later this year.

We had 8 big themes: Education (school) Higher education Entrepreneurship Finance / venture capitals – how to finance more women start-ups etc Science Research Social inclusion / minorities Careers / leadership Thank you again The Guardian and speakers and moderators: Dr Yvonne Thompson Stephen Frost Marie Clare Fenech Joana Baptista Heather Black Sukvinder Kathuri Roisin Mccarthy Nora Stolz Rosh Wijayarathna

AWARD CEREMONY - PARIS - MAY 2019 Women in Tech® Challenge – May 2019 Despite decades of progress towards workplace equality, women remain underrepresented in the technology workforce. The figures speak for themselves: according to Eurostat, just 17% of the people working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) roles across Europe are female – and only 5% of leadership positions in the technology industry are held by women.

Women in Tech® wants to put the spotlight on projects which contribute to bridging the gender gap and that help women and girls embrace Technology.

The Women in Tech® Challenge is a great opportunity for nominees to showcase their projects and the winners and 3 finalists from each category will be invited to present their project at the Vivatech conference in Paris. The Women in Tech® Challenge will recognize initiatives that have helped improve diversity and women empowerment in Technology at school, at work, and in society in general. We will be rewarding success stories that can be scaled-up and replicated in all parts of the world.

Diversity and inclusiveness are essential in every industry, and they are critical to tech.

Join us

AYUMI AOKI

COLABORATIONS we are looking to collaborate with all digital and tech organizations focused in women, diversity and equality.

BOOK CLUB

WE CAN DO ANYTHING: FROM SPORTS TO INNOVATION, ART TO POLITICS, MEET OVER 200 WOMEN WHO GOT THERE FIRST

by Caitlin Doyle

From sports to innovation, art to politics – meet the incredible women who got there first.

Ever heard the saying “It’s a man’s world”? Clearly, the speaker had never met Amelia Earhart or Harriet Tubman. Those feisty females, and many more, rivaled their male counterparts in everything from computer programming to civil rights, and from world speed records to the invention of the chocolate chip cookie!

With engaging and accessible text and delightful illustrations throughout, We Can Do Anything is sure to educate, entertain, and inspire!

FORGOTTEN WOMEN: THE LEADERS

by Zing Tsjeng

The women who shaped and were erased from our history.

The Forgotten Women series will uncover the lost histories of the influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and changed the course of our futures.

The Leaders weaves together 48* unforgettable portraits of the true pioneers and leaders who made huge yet unacknowledged contributions to history, including: Chapters including Rebels; Warriors; Rulers; Activists and Reformers shine a spotlight on the rebellious women who defied the odds, and the opposition, to change the world around them.

GADGETS ICEWATER 3-IN-1 SMART WATER BOTTLE (GLOWS TO REMIND YOU TO STAY HYDRATED)

MOOV NOW MULTI-SPORT FITNESS TRACKER & AUDIO COACH - WEARABLE FITNESS £59.99

THE OGARDEN SMART IS CAPABLE OF GROWING 90 FRUITS & VEGETABLES AT ONCE. KICKSTARTER PLEDGE CA$ 198 OR MORE

Always dress like you're going to see your worst enemy.

LOOMIA HEATED JACKET $550.00 AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER THROUGH THEIR SITE.

SPHERO BOLT APPENABLED ROBOT £149.99

EMAGAZINE A newsletter is a regularly distributed to our community and part of our project and the eMagazine next editons are April, June, August, October and December 2019.

Contact for further details and information. Â

PODCAST Our NEW Podcast starts in April and it is planned to happen every month as part of the project - we are looking for guests and sponsors to support and encourage our community of superpowerful females.

Contact for further details and information.

WEBINARS We are planning our first Webinar very soon.

We want to offer high quality business webinars to educate, train and support our community develop their own ideas and business.

Contact for further details and information.

ADVERTISING Adverting with us is a unique opportunity to reach a huge global audience in a creative and compelling way.

We present a bigger, bolder and more beautiful way than any other online platform. Do you agree?

So we have the traditional full page, quarter of page, including sponsored articles but we also offer the digital banners at the emagazine and website, podcast and events.

Contact for further details and information.

EVENTS We organize and collaborate with events not only in London, not only face to face. We are exploring online and European cities next.

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SPONSORSHIP if you want to discuss potential sponsorship not only for the eMagazine, Podcast and Blog, we would love to hear your ideas from you.

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See You Soon?

According to Wikipedia, magazines are publications, most of the times, periodical publications, that are printed or published electronically - the online magazines, usually published on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content depending on their focus.

Magazines are generally financed by a purchase price, prepaid subscription, advertising, or a combination of the three.

Online magazines are usually distributed via newsletter or stored on membership areas in websites - the data collected is the way online magazine not only understand their audience but also could generate money targeting companies interested in targeting the audience.

Until today, we make the magazine free for all who want to read - from next edition, we will starting sending the magazine just for our registered audience.

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We have been running succesful events for the past 2 years and if you are not in our mailing list in London, probably you are missing out.

You will meet other digital and tech female as well as gain access to workshops, think tank debates and networking - our panels and debates always give you the opportunity to ask your burning questions.

Our events bring women together to build and nurture business relationships, to be inspired by role models and their journeys, and most importantly create an envoiroment where everyone is equally empowered whatever their gender, age, race, or social background.

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