What does it mean to be a women in tech? Some might say “a female presence in a male dominated space”. That’s true. But, in reality it’s so much more. Being a women in tech is recognizing equality. It’s proving that no matter where you came from, or what gender, everyone is equally able to make a name for themselves. A women in tech leads as an example to other women, changing the narrative. They tell other women that they too can take on and lead the way in tech. For International Women’s month we had the honor of featuring interviews with some of VentureOut’s notable alumni.
Soumountha Keophilavong: Another Garde
Soumountha Keophilavong’s story is one that should be heard directly from her. Her background as a refuge, academic, and an economic immigrant, led her to fashion. Yes, fashion. Because Soumountha realized that “size 4,5,6” means nothing. No one is a perfect size 6. In reality, we’re all different sizes and we deserve clothes that are tailored to accentuate our beauty. But she didn’t stop there. The fashion industry produces a lot of waste. Fast fashion has led to faster pollution. Soumountha said “no more!”. With her upcycling initiative, Soumountha is reinventing a retired closet into a fashionable wardrobe without waste. And, there’s so much more.
Did you miss out on Soumountha’s story? Watch it here!
Check out Another Garde here: https://anothergarde.com/
Eva Sadej: Floss Bar
Eva Sadej said she knew she wanted to innovate in the healthtech space but, little did she know how much impact she’d have. A Forbes under 30 under 30 star, Eva rightfully leads as a woman in tech. It’s not easy being a founder, especially when you don’t come from a family of entrepreneurs. Through strategic thinking, Eva found a way to use borrowed credibility to revolutionize dentistry. Floss Bar makes dentistry available to those that just can’t find the time to book a dentist appointment off sight. By watching a fellow friend build out a business she realized that even though while working a demanding job and starting a business is hard, it wasn’t impossible. And, alas, she got straight to work on what we know today as Floss Bar. Truly inspiring.
Listen to what Eva had to say about founding Floss Bar here!
Check out Floss Bar: https://www.flossbar.com/
Natalie Kathleen: Jibs
Jibs is a sneaker shoe produced in Brazil but has an international impact. Founder Natalie Kathleen truly understands how to have an influence. Her secret power? The power of hello has led her to growing a huge network. Her philosophy of commonalities and spreading positivity has lead her to team up with brilliant minds to grow her business. But, positivity and brilliance isn’t everything, Natalie embraces harmony over balance. As a startup founder, she’s had to learn a million lessons, but the most important was embracing the concept of “a new day”. Everyday is a new challenge, you’ll make mistakes that may get you down. However, as it’s inevitable, the power of starting fresh allows for growth and sanity.
Hear more about Natalie and Jibs here!
Check out Jibs: https://jibslife.com/
Nicole Werhausen: Konato & Werhausen AG
Growing up in a small town, you may feel like your options are limited. Nicole realized that her family’s dreams of taking over the flower shop would not be sufficient for her goals, she did not want to get stuck in the small town. So, she set out. She went to college with no direction as she was interested in various subjects. Now, Nicole is CEO of 2 companies, Werhausen Ag & Konato. With coaching and intuition, Nicole realized the value of leading as a woman. She honed in on her desire to be more, pushing every day to prove herself for others. Upon an accidental connection, she met her now colleagues, further proving the power of accidents.
Watch Nicole’s full interview here!
Check out Konato: https://www.konato.be/
Camilla Olson: Savitude
What does it mean to be an inventor? Camilla Olson found that out at a very young age. She found herself constantly innovating. Normal was never good enough, there was always inefficiencies that needed improvement. This naturally led Camilla to be an entrepreneur. Camilla is now founder of Savitude. Savidtude is AI hyper-personalization to get real about the 100’s of different body shapes. Recognizing the hour-glass shape is not a one size fits all, Camilla focused her inventor mindset to launch Savitude. It’s hard being a startup founder. There’s no manual curated especially for you. Camilla faces this difficulty with persistence. Because, if you don’t persist, you cease to exist and therefore faultier to achieving success. But that’s not all, need something to watch? I recommend Camilla’s interview to get the full scoop.
Click here!
Check out Savitude here: https://www.savitude.com/
Estella Benz: Skin Match
From Switzerland, Estella found herself in banking but, banking wasn’t where Estella belongs. She decided her dreams demanded to be followed and left Switzerland to go to FIT in New York. Estella quickly realized that with the beauty industry rapidly growing online there’s still a lack of personal consultations. So, Estella took it upon herself to create software that would not only provide consultations but also fill the gap in transparency for makeup users willing to know what’s in their products. After 2 years, Estella finally had a database large enough to provide some relief to people’s sensitive skin. Estella is glad that she trusted her gut to leave banking and bank on herself as an entrepreneur.
Check the episode out here!
Check out Skin Match: https://skin-match.com/
Ivana Hronova: Travel A La Carte
A natural problem solver, Ivana set out to provide ease to those that spend a lot of time traveling. By connecting fintech and travel tech, she set out to create a wallet that would work anywhere in the world. Her experience with China and interest in digital payments catalyzed her creation of Travel A La Carte with her sister as her co-founder. In her interview, she urges people to be patient with the process (and family). Success doesn’t happen overnight. Patience will allow you to make it to the finish line. She also highlights the importance of not separating women and men in tech. As we fight for equality it only seems right to fight for first among both genders.
Curious about Travel A La Carte? Watch her interview here!
Check out Travel A La Carte here: https://www.travel-tacpay.com/
Victoria Duben: Viewst
In 2017, Victoria Duben, a lover of physics, decided to found a company that focuses on building professionally designed ads for people who aren’t proficient in the marketing industry. Need a bit of inspiration? She combined her love of science and Richard Branson’s theory of “checking the hypothesis” to build her business to now $1,000,000 in funding. But this funding did not come without challenges. There were moments where she felt there was no choice but to give up. Ultimately her passion for her project and her amazing team kept her trucking along. As a good team is as integral as a good leader, Victoria used their shared dreams to push forward and build her company to where it is now.
Watch her interview here!
Check out Viewest here: https://www.viewst.com/
Shubhangini Prakash: Feather & Bone
Feather & Bone is born from a bad reaction to a store-bought face wash. This traumatic experience led Shubhangini to become infatuated with what it means to have a skincare routine. But not a store-bought chemically-filled skincare routine. Feather & Bone is focused on providing natural products that don’t harm sensitive skin. Shubhangini realized that the voices of women were getting lost in the beauty industry. Although women are the target market, men were making the decisions. Feather & Bone reclaimed and amplified the voices of women. Her bold and brave mindset continues to propel her forward in a competitive industry.
It’s not too late to watch it, click here!
Check out Feather & Bone here: https://www.featherandboneco.com/
Jane Smordonikova: Welltory
Jane isn’t your typical startup founder. She came from Founders Institute in Saint Petersburg Russia. Therefore, Jane had exposure to startups from all different walks of life. But, Jane realized that the common reason for failure in these companies was burnout. Founders were unable to balance their stress. So, Jane decided to launch her own startup all in the name of health. But as we know in the startup community, launching and growing a startup is not a walk in the park. In fact, in efforts to combat burnout for other startups, Jane found herself facing that same issue, resulting in having to take many months off to recharge.
But, her story doesn’t end there, listen to the rest of her journey here!
Check out Welltory here: https://welltory.com/
We are so proud and thankful to have such honorable Women as part of our community. Stay tuned for further interviews showcasing our awesome alumni.
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