A while ago I read a promo for a webcast that read something along the lines of ‘Our industry experts will talk through best practice to enable successful bank startup partnerships.’ I read that line several times ‘best practice to enable successful … partnerships’ and I thought to myself… Liar liar, PANTS ON FIRE!!! Anyone who claims to know... Continue Reading →
The very first full blog on this site 'Disruption Sucks' just days after myself and my entire team, and many other people, were made redundant from their jobs, I wrote: "When you get to the end of any road – whether you ran there or had the stop sign shoved in front of you –... Continue Reading →
I did some media training with a group of startups from the Amsterdam branch of an accelerator last month. I did my talk, told my Finovate story (so many learnings!) and quoted George Orwell (as ya do). Then I sat down with the teams to do some one-on-ones. Inevitably, a phrase cropped up that I... Continue Reading →
The inaugural FinTech Abu Dhabi event was held on 22 and 23 October 2017. This strategic platform allowed financial institutions, FinTech start-ups and participants, investors, regulatory agencies and the business community to network, collaborate and exchange knowledge in FinTech developments in Abu Dhabi, the wider Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region and on... Continue Reading →
Last year in Oslo I met an awesome young female entrepreneur. She impressed me and we kept in contact with each other over social media. I had dinner with her last week in Copenhagen. She had just left the company she helped found (Investor issues - Stay tuned for a series I am writing with... Continue Reading →
I have a central philosophy of parenting. It is one which, when I realized it, nearly broke my heart. But it is true, nonetheless. As a mother, in order to do my job as a parent in the best way possible, I need to ensure that my position will become redundant. My main goal, as... Continue Reading →
I took some time off from writing the beginning of July. But that didn't mean I stopped thinking. I have quite a few blogs planned for the coming weeks. But one thing I have been thinking about is journalism. (Really, I have been thinking about journalism ever since I was named editor-in-chief of the Tanglewood... Continue Reading →
But then again, many of you will disagree with me. After all, there are many caveats and definitions and code words I learned too late that can be used to deny me the claim of ‘founder’. But they are all just another tick on the list of the many ways women are told ‘they don’t belong here’.
Eskimos have a hundred words for snow. Entrepreneurs have hundreds of ways to say 'you don't belong here'. By 'you' I mean women. And by 'here' I mean startup land. 'How can we attract more female founders!?' is the cry you can hear, if you listen very closely, within any number of tech accelerators, VC firms... Continue Reading →
That story stayed with me for some time. I often get described as 'brave' or confident or strong. My mother once commented that she never would have been brave enough to just up and move to New York, to become a journalist or to pack my 25 year old self on a Virgin Atlantic flight to London, with no idea if I would ever be coming back. 'Yes,' I would think to myself, 'but I never got on that elephant. I was too scared.'
Girl, Disrupted 