Top #FemaleFounders Share The Importance of Going Digital — A Twitter Chat
Youflix was back this past weekend, and it couldn’t have been more exciting. A bunch of talented, intelligent, inspiring women coming together to discuss just how important the role of digital marketing is for businesses run by #FemaleFounders.
You definitely had to be there! We were joined by Anuranjita Kumar, Chit Juan, Anuradha Goyal, Aida Axelsson-Bakri, Bevin Mahon, Shilpi Singh, Rashi Mittal Nair, Ruchi Angrish, and Pallavi Varma!
But, we’ve also got a recap right here!
Q1. What role has “Digital” played in current businesses run by Female Founders?
Anuranjita: Digital has played a huge role in devising products/ distribution for women who work from home, multiplied the reach/got them connected to corners of the world that were out of reach. Women can stand on digital platforms and tap opportunities. #Femalefounders
Aida: Digital plays a major role in the competitiveness of female-run businesses. But women are under-represented in the ICT sector! Gender stereotypes and lack of support for women in STEM. EU is encouraging: See 2019 Declaration. The #femalefounders who leverage the Internet for the greater good shall inspire others coming along on this path.
Give them the access to markets and resources without boundaries, sometimes from the comfort of their homes #femalefounders — Anuradha Goyal
Chit: These female founders broke the notion that digital is a mans World #femalefounders
Ruchi: Digital has levelled the playing field for everyone. Female founders have the perfect opportunity to build their current businesses using technology to their advantage -by updating their digital skills they can reach out to their customers & showcase their products #FemaleFounders
Bevin: #Digital gives us more freedom and makes the world seem smaller and more reachable #FemaleFounders #communication
Pallavi: Digital has also given community — more women who want to support women, mentors who know what the struggle is like, and a closer understanding of diverse stories. #womenleader #femalefounders
Anuradha: True, but the low entry barrier also comes with the challenges of tough competition, so you need to be unique or own a niche to stand out
Q2. What are the Essential Technical Skills needed to up your Digital Game?
Anuranjita: Before we begin building a list of key digital skills, take a look at what ‘digital’ means. It’s about technology, of course, but there’s another dimension that is the social, emotional and interpersonal effects of using technology alone and with other people. #Femalefounders
Rashi: LINKEDin — Underestimated Power: Over 87% of our Business at WOOP comes from Linkedin Marketing. Our premium Sales Navigator account is BY FAR the most ROI driving tool we use. #femalefounders
Rashi: Organic Content Marketing: This is more about CONTENT creation vs. TECHNICAL skills related. What you need here is just a basic understanding of how social media works. And what METRICS matter. Don’t get bogged down by LIKES, page follows… Look for more meaningful metrics
Chit: Read about SEO, watch TED talks, watch @BloombergTV David Rubenstein who is my fave! Learn new things! Applied Tech. #femalefounders
First of all, a ‘Yes We Can’ attitude. — Aida Axelsson-Bakri
Aida: First of all, a ‘Yes We Can’ attitude. Many have had to pivot businesses due to pandemic. Essential technical skills for me have been related to communications via digital means, conferencing systems, social media, & platforms to simplify timekeeping & CRM.
Anuranjita: Women are good at intuitive skills. Soft skills are very important when it comes to digital technologies. You cannot just focus on the technology — you have to see the full picture. #Femalefounders
Ruchi: Essential technical skills needed to up your Digital Game-Good communication, social media skills , creative thinking , analytical skills , storytelling ability , some design skills , and most important how much you listen
Rashi: Understand SEO. Also watch for your ONLINE reputation. Your google reviews, FB reviews. All these matter. Make sure you are addressing the consumers on these forums and thanking them for their review. Proactively ask people to leave you a review or recommendation too!
Rashi: Plug & Play where possible: There are always great tools available that make your life much simpler and easier. Eg. Glide app can convert ANY google sheet into an APP for example. So creating your own app is a matter of a few hours. There are more!
Q3. Pick a few “Women Founder Role Models” based on Digital Mindset. Why did you pick them?
Shilpi: Anuranjita — For creating a community to inspire and empower more women to advance in technology; Norah Casey — she inspired me to make time to harness power of Digital world. #femalefounders. Jacinda — For using effective communication via digital media #femalefounders @jacindaardern
Chit: @mylaV she founded a tech Company way back 2003 and the Founder of @angkas Angeline Tham# #femalefounders
Ruchi: Women Founder Role Models — @katiemehnert Founder CEO @PinkPetro @Experiencenergy ; @judaline6 Founder @ToolsNTiaras ; @SharmaShradha @YourStoryCo , @buzshilpi Co-Founder @unhotel @Studio4_Online @kiranshaw Founder @Bioconlimited #FemaleFounders
Anuradha: We have @SharmaShradha of @YourStoryCo , Anuradha Kedia of @thebetterindia, and marketers like @deepalinaair, and millions of small-time entrepreneurs who use their phones to do business.
Chit: @gina_romero of @connectedwomen #femalefounders
Pallavi: Shilpi Singh (my work-mom, co-founder at Unhotel and Studio4), Tanushree Das (a close friend and co-founder of BodyCafe), Joonie Tan (faculty at Lavonne Academy and owner of 180 Degrees Celsius)
Shilpi: #NorahCasey ( my mentor ) #JacindaArdern ( Though she is not a founder) #AnuranjitaKumar #FalguniNayar ( founder of @nyka.com ) #shinjinikumar @shinjini9 @norahcasey @jacindaardern @MyNykka @ #femalefounders @anuranjita
Anuranjita: For me- All you wonderful Digital role models here have:
1.Mindset of constructive disruption 2.Courage to tread the space 3.Conviction to keep at it 4.Hard choices they made 5.Collaborative attitude #Femalefounders
All the women on this tweet chat are my role models and @toryburch — one of my favourites #FemaleFounders — Anuranjita Kumar
Aida: @KruizGuate — a true leader in digital citizenship and a game changer for me and many. @NorahCasey my mentor @SaraMenker @SoSewit @Valrie_Grant @cloud2street for combining skills and ICT to provide climate and social intel. @WeEmpowerSDG #womenintech #FemaleFounders
Rashi: @naiyyasaggi @DhamijaTamanna @Sairee #FemaleFounders of competitive solutions to WOOP. And I admire each of them! It takes great vision, leadership & a lot of courage to do the awesome work they do! All of us are unique and yet tied together in our vision to empower women.
Q4. What are the Steps to Build Influence on Digital Platforms for your Business (Influence and Thought Leadership)?
Aida: Building influence for me requires building a coherent presence. Step 1: clean up, Step 2: streamline and focus messages, Step 3: choose channels for audience, Step 4: use my voice to empower others.
Anuranjita: A thought -Social media/video outlets like YouTube have enabled ’regular’ people to become incredibly influential. Companies no longer need to hire celebrities to endorse their products in order to get millions of people interested in their product or service.
Rashi: Once you have the basics in place, then the skills needed to UP your digital game become much easier! The Technical Skills for Digital are only ways to AMPLIFY strong fundamentals.
Chit: Build your personal brand and be consistent. Dont be everything to everybody. Walk the talk.
Ruchi: For building your influence on digital platforms for your business is find out where your audience /customer is -find out what problems they are facing n find solutions to their problems. Find one niche & master it . Engage/ have conversations with thought leaders
Rashi :
1.) Stay tuned to conversational trends
2.) Choose the right platforms
3.) Being respectful of other people by not spamming
4.) Looking for relevant conversations to become a part of
5.) Sharing consistently good value-adding content
Anuranjita: In today’s digital world, customers want to know about the companies they interact with and purchase from. In order to build loyalty brands need to be transparent and demonstrate their personality online and the company’s ethos.
Rashi: Get your non-digital fundamentals right FIRST.
1.) Have a product/service that solves a real problem and improves lives.
2.) Create communication for it which is Clear and concise
3.) Have a Pricing Strategy that’s market sensitive.
and so on…
Shilpi: Find a niche and master it. Be Vocal — Your voice tells people about you. Share other people’s stories. Use the platform as social space and just as media. Build a Tribe.
Pallavi: 1. Find your niche. 2. Fix an issue that your ideal client would have. 3. Engage with your followers! Engage! Engage! 4. Humanise your brand. 5. Share stories of others in the industry.
Fix an issue that your ideal client would have. — Pallavi Varma
Q5. How can women help each other to minimize tech skills/mindset gap?
Anuranjita: Continuous learning and mentoring from each other. I do reach out regularly to seasoned professional women when I need support.
Reach out to women in tech https://womenintechnology.in. There are catalogues of tech skills , functional skills and soft skills #Femalefounders @empowerwitin
Rashi: I personally find OUTLIERS inspirational — whether or not they are female. Founders that have the courage to go after what they want despite the limitations they have.
I’m not a big fan of thinking of Female Founders as a big thing. There is no difference between us and male founders. It’s like having a tag saying MALE CHEFS network. Sounds a bit unnecessary isn’t it?.
Anuradha: Build your networks pro-actively so that you know what is happening in each other’s worlds & learn from each other, tap into each other resources and skills.
Chit: Build your network — locally and globally.
Aida: By sharing knowledge and encouraging each other. For a long time I was afraid of speaking up into the “digital void”. The concept of responsible digital citizenship by @KruizGuate and being brave @NorahCasey means use ur voice as a force for good. #FemaleFounders @VitalVoices
Rashi: Of course WOMEN as a work-force needs to feel more secure and empowered to ALLOW them to reach their full potential. Seeing other female founders might inspire them to take that step. But seeing another male founder should inspire them equally.
Ruchi: Build platforms for Women where they can share their issues without any fear of judgements. Mentor, sponsor Women in STEM roles. Join networks like @LeanInOrg & connect with others, seek peer support ,build n cheer each other #WomenFounders
Ask questions and don’t be afraid to ask the “silly” questions as there are NO silly questions. — Bevin Mahon
Bevin: Ask questions and don’t be afraid to ask the “silly” questions as there are NO silly questions. Mentoring, Coaching, Advising each other and connecting to help support and eachother for growth #FemaleFounders @dentaltechgroup @Studio4_Online
Pallavi: Stop viewing each other as competition. Stop being intimidated by strong women. Men use that as an excuse to quash us. We can’t do that to ourselves. Have each other’s back.
Pallavi: Share the knowledge you have. Introduce the women around you to your page, your feed, and get them to join in. When they participate, actively share and encourage. Be each other’s support system.
Q6. Is there community support available to mentor Female Founders on Digital advancement?
Aida: This page offers some great tips for Europe-based opportunities incl mentoring https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commissioner-gabriel-launches-first-digital-opportunity-traineeships-and-hands-out-digital… and @WEgateEU is a gateway for women’s entrepreneurship. #FemaleFounders @DigitalSkillsEU
Rashi: I have a mentor @Mlathgupta. She’s awesome. She helps me with everything from my Business Strategy, Finances, operations to my personal health! And I know she’s open to mentoring more great founders of Start-ups so do reach out! #FemaleFounders So much to learn!
There is a tribe for every purpose #femalefounders — Chit Juan
Shilpi: All Raise founded by 34 senior female investors dedicated to diversity in funders & founders. @empowerwitin founded by @anuranjita #FemaleFounderscommunity #femalefounders @allraise @empowerwitin #femalefounders
Pallavi: There’re groups online — best way is to search. Many companies are running programs to train women, overseen by coaches. + Using assets of online edu (udemy, skillshare, etc.) is a great way to learn from others in your domain/support their business. #womenleader #femalefounders (Chit Reply: Best is referral from a local group in the country you’re targetting. Ex: india @FICCIFLO)
Rashi: When choosing a mentor, do choose one you are not afraid to be vulnerable in front of. :) @mlathgupta #FemaleFounders
Anuradha: All Ears for this one. If I can help anyone, I would be more than happy to help.
Chit: We have Global groups for very interest : @WomenCorpDirs Women corporate Directors, Women In coffee @IWCAGlobal Women entrepreneurs @ASEAN_women
Ruchi: The @CherieBlairFndn mentoring program is one such program. The women entrepreneurs work one-on-one with a dedicated business Mentor for one year, meeting online for two hours a month to work on personal and business goals. More details #WomenFounders
Anuranjita: Or just write to any of us here in the group for any support. Happy to be of any help #Femalefounders
I commend this very twitter chat to start with. Thank you @buzshilpi and @Studio4_Online — Rashi Mittal Nair
Anuranjita: Yes . On our plataform https://womenintechnology.in/enable/wit-select… there are plenty of mentors willing to support any women who need any support in their journey. #Femalefounders
