The tech sector is still predominantly male, but the industry is becoming more accommodating to female tech entrepreneurs. It is evident from events like Women 2.0 Founder Friday, which aims to facilitate networking and mentorship among female entrepreneurs.
The monthly event takes place every Friday, and this time, GrowLab joined them on January 11th, at Mozilla to hear Angel Pui, Founder and CEO of Weddingful, and Maria Pacella, VP Investments at Beedie Capital.
The event started off with a networking session. The room was buzzing as the attendees were mingling and getting to know each other — possibly finding a business partner. However, they all quiet down as Angel Pui shared her experience in starting and running a startup. Here are some key take aways from Pui:
- Contractors are temporary solutions. They don’t care about your business as much as you do, or as a co-founder would.
- On the networking game: You don’t have to collect 100 business cards – invest time with the relationships that feel authentic.
- When pitching, remember these three words: “tell a story.” Stories are more memorable; always include a narrative to your pitch instead of stating product features.
- If you have too much difficulties in communicating with your team members, they might not be the right people for your venture.
- Scale as early as possible; sooner is better than later. Be prepared to change your business model as you scale.
Shortly after a short Q&A session, Maria Pacella took the stage to begin the second session of the night. Here are some highlights from Pacella’s segment:
- Do due diligence on your targeted investors and VCs before approaching or meeting them.
- When you’re pitching to an investor, admit that you have competitions. It will highlight the fact that there is a market for your product.
- What not to do when pitching to investors: presenting unfocused roadmap and budget allocations.
Looking to attend Women 2.o Founder Friday? Register for their next event on February 15th.
