International Women's Day 2021

Jennifer Byrne on the power of mentoring

Jennifer is Co-founder and President of Quesnay Inc. based in New York. She’s led innovation efforts and transformations in both top, global companies and startups, and is an entrepreneur, a speaker and author, and an advisor on several platforms, including Rise FinTech Fridays. 

Jenn’s challenges

• Advocate for a new mentoring mindset in the business world. It'll have tremendous effect on how we train the next generation of women
• Challenge the VC world to be more open to female investors and female founders. Will VCs start asking the same questions of female founders as they do of male ones?

Jackie Waring on getting the most out of mentoring

Jackie is Founder and CEO of Investing Women Angels, Scotland’s first women-only angel group, and AccelerateHer, which inspires and supports female founders’ journeys to grow and scale through a programme of events and trade missions. 

Jackie’s challenges

• Shout about the benefits of mentoring to your networks, colleagues and friends
• Experience mentoring for yourself, even if you’re not a founder
• Challenge and involve others in busting those myths about women in business

Yasmin Ibrahim on the difference mentoring can make

Yasmin’s career has combined strategic and operations leadership with entrepreneurship and mentoring. She has worked in financial services for many years and led a corporate strategy team at American Express before shifting her focus back to the startup world, helping to empower female founders and providing entrepreneurial advice and mentorship to women. 

Yasmin’s challenges

• Challenge the stereotypes of what makes a great male or female entrepreneur      
•  Rethink the traditional structures of the work day

Mini Gautam on mentoring in India

Mini is Founder and Managing Partner at Arthavat Law and was named one of India’s top 40 lawyers under 40 by Business World. She’s a self-confessed raging optimist especially about the power and future of the startup community. Mini has led mentoring sessions with Rise Mumbai. 

Mini’s challenges

• Hold companies to account. They need to give women better opportunities and equality in pay, promotion, exposure and respect
• Collaborate with male allies. Change will not happen without support from men who are sensitive to the issues

Naimeesha Murthy on skills-based mentoring

Naimeesha is the founder of Products by Women, a community platform for women in technology and an alumnus of the Female Founders First programme by Barclays and Techstars. Products by Women now has over 8,000 members in 70+ countries. 

Naimeesha’s challenges

• Challenge yourself. Whatever you do, make it count and make it personal
• Challenge companies to be more flexible with the mothers (and fathers) in their workforce
• Challenge the way that business has been driven to date: first you build a product, then you acquire customers for it. Try a different way: first you build a community, then you build the product it needs

Gauri Kuchhal on motivating female founders

Gauri is Principal at Artha Venture Fund, a micro-Venture Capital company investing in early-stage startups that solve the challenges of Indian consumers and businesses. Artha Venture Fund is also active with incubators and accelerators. 

Gauri’s challenges

• Bust the myth that women can't succees as founders
• Don't perpetuate the falsehood that, to be a leader, women have to be ball-breakers
• Think big, think Shakti, be Durga