3 pieces of advice from 3 women in startup
The most memorable moments of our Firestarter Chats series will always be the advice our lovely guest speakers offer to us. Here are some of our favourites from our past three episodes.
1. Expand your skills outside of commerce
Lauren Conti, the Co-Founder of GoKindly, says that one of the biggest takeaway from her social enterprise journey is that it is important to expand your skills outside of what you know best. She suggests anyone’s who’s interested in startups to take on part-time jobs to expand their network and to learn from different people such as marketers, copywriters and product developers. Lauren also emphasised that the social enterprise community is very supportive of each other and are very embracing of anybody. “If you see a social enterprise you’d like to look at, don’t be afraid to reach out to them” she says.
2. Back yourself
Rosie Thomas is the Cofounder and CEO of PROJECTROCKIT, a youth-driven movement that tackles bullying, hate and prejudice through school workshops. Her biggest piece of advice for students who want to create change is not to compare themselves to others. “Try not compare yourself to all the other initiatives out there that you’re seeing on social media. The glossy, shiny, amazing images that make you question or doubt yourself” She says. She suggested that instead, we should try and lead the way and share what we learn with those around us. “Back yourself, and keep at it”.
3. Be a leader, not a ruler
Julie Mathers is the CEO and Founder of Flora & Fauna, one of the biggest platforms that sells vegan and eco-friendly products in Australia. During our interview, we asked what advice Julie would give to women who wanted build their own business. She shared that earlier in her career, another women advised her to “rule with an iron rod”. However, she believed that a good leader should lead, rather than rule. “You need to lead or inspire”, she said, “where I’ve seen people fall down over their careers is where they try to create a facade in the workplace”. She firmly believed that it is important for us to stay true to who we are and embrace those qualities that we have. “We shouldn’t try and dampen [our qualities] down to be more like men, which is what has been viewed as what we should be”. Julie puts her advice in a simple sentence — “Be unashamedly you”.