The 10 most inspiring women in business 2019

Davies
Judy
Pushing Boundaries and Instilling Entrepreneurial Style
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019
Volume 09 | Issue 02 | 2019

It’s all about Leading
by Example!
ecent years have marked a tremendous paradigm shift in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The wind of change finally
Rseems to have arrived after women are been witnessed making a remarkable progress in heading companies.
Though, women are not new to the sphere of leadership, but were undercounted since past few decades. The essence of
entrepreneurship and drive to bring a change can be seen in the leading styles of some profound leaders such as Susan
Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, who has taken social media channel to the next level, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who
being a first female CEO of a major automobile manufacturer perfectly exemplifies grace under pressure, and the list is long.
Many such women with their exemplary leadership skills have broken all the myths about women’s inborn limitations and
serve as models for emerging women leaders.
I have never doubted the power of women to bring the change. From the experience I have gained on leadership, the leaders’
attribute of being creative has fascinated me the most and I have inculcated the same into my professional world too. I
believe that I have got this trait of creativity from my mother. By just her actions, she has taught me how to be simple yet
creative in doing things. This quality of women of inspiring others with just their actions has been the foremost reason for
milestones women-led businesses have achieved.
Be it business, technology, administration, education, healthcare or government, women have gradually made their mark in
almost every sector at regional, national, and global levels. By walking an extra mile, they have been at the helm of every
field.

With an intent to admire and acknowledge the contributions of women, who are shaping the future of unbiased
entrepreneurial ecosystem, Insights Success has curated a list of "The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019". These
women are not only bringing the reformative solutions to the business world, but are also setting an example for other
upcoming women entrepreneurs.
Inspiring business leaders stimulate the minds and hearts of co-workers, cultivate corporate intelligence and encourage
optimal performance while directing the overall growth of the business. Judy Davies is one such inspiring businesswoman
and thus, features on the cover of this edition. She is contributing through the role of Vice President of Global Marketing
Communications at Advantest.
During her more than 20 years in the semiconductor industry, Judy has been responsible for various aspects of marketing
communications, from PR, IR, M&A and customer and employee communications to product launches, brand management,
trade shows and digital marketing. Active with several non-proﬁt organizations, Judy serves on the Boards of Raphael House
of San Francisco as well as the San Francisco SPCA.
Delve in to more such inspiring stories and lessons from many such signiﬁcant entrepreneurs in this issue and reap the fruits
of motivation. Also, make sure to scroll through the articles written by our in-house editorial team and CXO standpoints of
some of the leading industry experts to have a brief taste of the sector.
Happy reading!
“ “
Hitesh Dhamani

JUDY DAVIES
Pushing Boundaries and Instilling
Entrepreneurial Style
ROSE BENTLEY
Combining Excellence
with Prociency to Achieve Success
Women Empower
Dynamics of Women
Participation in the
Ever-changing
Modern Workforce
Inspiring Women of The Year
08
20
Changing the
Status Quo
isruptive Technology
and Changing Trends
Inuencing Business
From Editor’s Desk
The Journey to
Self-Discovery
Articles
38
50
62

Assertive Leadership
Tipe for Millennial Women
in Business
Establishing Gender
Equilibrtum
Expert’s Outlook
Intergated Apporach
How to do best work
when you’re not Actually working!
Rethinking
the Products of Today
for Better Tomorrow
Tech-Know Insights
Stellar’s Vision
Balancing the Needs
of Business
Industry Intel
Unbaised Future
Maintaining a personal and
Professional life balance
66
54
36
24
30
44
60
CONTENTS
What a tech CEO
con teach your business
about digital
Successs in the
Venture World

42
48
28
32
58
Cindy Hollar
Committed to
Improving Student
Achievement
Kirsten Bay
A Trailblazer
in Cyber Security
Nicole Martin
Empowering
Businesses with
Astounding Human
Resource
Management
Trina Watt
Providing Technical
Marketing for
Technical
Companies
Victoria Lennox
A Management
Doyen with Exceptional
Entrepreneurship
Skills

sales@insightssuccess.com
July, 2019
Editor-in-Chief
Co-designerSenior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
Marketing Manager
Technical Head
Technical Specialist Digital Marketing Manager
Research Analyst
Database Management Technology Consultant
Pooja M. Bansal
Managing Editor
Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Hitesh Dhamani
Assistant Editors
Jenny Fernandes
Rohit Chaturvedi
Visualizer
David King
Art & Design Director
Amol Kamble
Associate Designer
Sanket Zirpe
Kshitij S Peter Collins
John Matthew
Sales Executives
David, Kevin, Mark, Sagar
Business Development Executives
Steve, Joe, Alan, SanketJacob Smile
Aditya Marry D'Souza
SME-SMO Executive
Prashant Chevale Frank Adams
Circulation Manager
Robert Brown Stella Andrew David Stokes
Mayur Koli
Co-designer
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Pushing Boundaries and Instilling
Entrepreneurial Style
Judy Davies
Photography: Achille Bigliardi www.achillephoto.com
Hair and Make-up: Patrick Evan Salon, San Francisco

Being an exemplary
entrepreneur is about going
beyond the normal thought
process and leading by example. To do
this, one has to tap all available
talents, skills, abili es and resources.
Inspiring business leaders s mulate
the minds and hearts of co-workers,
cul vate corporate intelligence and
encourage op mal performance while
direc ng the overall growth of the
business. Judy Davies is one such
inspiring business woman,
contribu ng through the role of Vice
President of Global Marke ng
Communica ons at Advantest. During
her more than 20 years in the
semiconductor industry, she has been
responsible for various aspects of
marke ng communica ons, from PR,
IR, M&A and customer and employee
communica ons to product launches,
brand management, trade shows and
digital marke ng. Ac ve with several
non-proﬁt organiza ons, Judy serves
on the Boards of Raphael House of San
Francisco as well as the San Francisco
SPCA.
Broad Scope of Responsibili es
Judy’s educa onal background is in
communica ons. Her early career
experience includes working in
adver sing on the agency side and
communica ons work within
technology companies. In 2006, she
joined semiconductor test equipment
Judy Davies
Vice President of Global
Marketing Communications
Advantest

supplier Verigy. Then in 2011, Verigy
was acquired by Advantest, the world’s
largest provider of IC test and
measurement systems. Over the past
eight years at Advantest, she has
striven to push boundaries by applying
what she has learned in other areas
while also ins lling an entrepreneurial
style in Advantest’s marke ng,
branding and communica ons
ac vi es. To get visibility for Advantest
in the technology-driven, rapidly
changing semiconductor industry,
Judy’s Communica ons Group has
leveraged marke ng communica ons
approaches that are well beyond the
scope of tradi onal corporate and
product marke ng. While her
responsibili es include a broad range
of both internal and external
communica ons, she also manages
impac ul programs ranging from the
recent refining of Advantest’s Core
Values to the company’s annual VOICE
Developer Conference, which is
a ended by more than 500 customers
and partners around the world.
Leveraging Skills and Experience
Advantest’s communica ons are
inherently diverse because its
audiences are so varied. They include
not only its semiconductor-
manufacturing customers around the
globe, but also outsourced assembly
and tes ng companies (OSATs),
technology partners, market
researchers, financial analysts,
shareholders and company employees
at its facili es throughout Asia, Europe
and the U.S. Advantest’s
communica ons are designed to meet
targeted marke ng objec ves, but also
must convey the company’s technical
acumen and project its integrity to
people across different cultures. To
accomplish this, Judy has implemented
an entrepreneurial structure in the
Communica ons Group that she leads.
This approach allows her to leverage
the skills and experience of both in-
house and independent marke ng
communica ons professionals, some
A good leader takes a
little more than their
share of the blame
and a little less than
their share of the credit.

Be the type of leader that
you’d want to follow.

of whom are based in other me
zones.
To be successful, an entrepreneur
needs to be resourceful and open to
new ideas, consider uncommon
op ons and bring a posi ve a tude to
work each day. Exploring the untried
and unknown is required. Judy firmly
believes that, no ma er how daun ng
the challenge, a solu on is out there
to be discovered. She believes that
nothing is impossible with resolute
efforts.
Naviga ng Tough Times
In work, Judy has dedicated herself to
staying focused on the objec ves at
hand and the possibili es that lay
ahead. She has learned how to
navigate turbulent mes – which are a
fact of life in the always-shi ing
semiconductor industry – by working
closely with brilliant and innova ve
business leaders. Judy has been given
opportuni es to succeed and grow
professionally, but she also knows how
to create her own possibili es and
realize what she envisions.
Delivering the Best Results
Advantest’s communica ons efforts
draw from and affect many different
groups within Advantest – from
product development to customer
service to strategic partnerships – with
the common goal of conveying the
company’s value to customers and its
overall market leadership. As head of
global marke ng communica ons,
Judy frequently coaxes content owners
in charge of Advantest’s products,
services and strategic vision to provide
details that otherwise might be
overlooked. In this way, everyone at
Advantest works together to tell the
most interes ng stories, showcase the
advantages that the company offers to
its various audiences and ul mately
deliver the best results.
In addi on, Judy’s Communica ons
Group is con nuously advising and
training company spokespersons on
topics such as talking with the media,
product posi oning and overarching
corporate messages.
Being Commi ed to Goals
Being a female in the male-dominated
semiconductor industry presents both
challenges and opportuni es. Judy
feels the lack of female role models
and the underrepresenta on of
women in execu ve leadership
posi ons speaks to the need for
inclusion and diversity.
Within her job, Judy remains focused
on her commitment to being true to
herself. She embraces the quali es of
op mism and confidence, tenacity and
grit, passion and purpose, and most
importantly authen city. The abili es
to be a good storyteller, be open to
change and – a characteris c that she
admi edly has struggled with – be
comfortable with ambiguity are
important as well. These quali es have
helped her maximize her capacity for
leadership and be more impac ul for
her company, community and family.
These traits also have helped her
navigate through the world each day –
direc ng how she approaches
challenges as well as opportuni es,
and reminding her to make conscious
efforts to shape not only what she
does, but who she is as a leader.
Judy observes that society – both
publicly and in the corporate world – is
growing more accep ng and
encouraging of women in leadership

Being a Role Model
As vice president of global marke ng
communica ons, Judy has the
opportunity to serve as a role model
and guide for the next genera on. She
strives to help others grow and move
up in their careers, especially women
who are just now entering
management roles. She tells them to
dedicate themselves to understanding
their companies and industries from
all angles, to develop their technical
and business acumen, to work hard to
exceed expecta ons, to welcome
feedback and do something with it,
and to volunteer for addi onal
responsibili es.
As for Judy’s personal goals, she wants
to remain ac ve on the Boards of
Raphael House – the largest privately-
funded homeless shelter for families in
Northern California – and the San
Francisco SPCA – a privately-funded
and na onally recognized leader in
animal welfare. Both of these
charitable causes are dear to her.
There are two quotes, both from
Audrey Hepburn, that best describe
Judy’s philosophy in life. The first is “As
you grow older, you will discover that
you have two hands: One for helping
yourself, the other for helping others.”
Charitable work keeps Judy grounded,
and she believes that there truly isn’t a
be er feeling than doing well while
you are doing good. The second quote
is “For beau ful eyes, look for the good
in others; for beau ful lips, speak only
words of kindness; and for poise, walk
with the knowledge that you are never
alone.” The nega vity that a person
projects will very likely come back to
them in an even bigger dose so it’s
important to see good and beauty in
everything.
Judy offers three precious ps to
aspiring entrepreneurs: “Never
complain. Never over-explain. Never
let them see you sweat.”
posi ons. She has faced hurdles in her
day-to-day work environment, but she
focuses on learning from those around
her and ac vely mentoring within
Advantest and beyond. She enjoys
working with like-minded people who
are commi ed to mutual goals and to
achieving posi ve results.
Throughout her working life, Judy has
learned much about the keys to
successful collabora on, and she
draws upon that knowledge and
experience in dedica ng herself to
mee ng whatever objec ve is at hand.
Ambi ous and Passionate
Judy has the same ambi on for
advancement and passion for her job
as when she first began working in the
global semiconductor industry. She
wants to con nue to help drive
Advantest forward and posi vely
impact the work of other groups
within the company as well as foster
growth in society overall.
Always do
the right thing.

The 10 Most Inspiring
Women in Business
2019

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September 201921insightssuccess.com

between. We call this pervasive data
intelligence. It's the answer to the
complexity, cost and inadequacy of
today’s analytics.
What was your life changing event/
incident that changed your life?
Moving to Silicon Valley put me on a
new and rewarding course. Not only
did I get to work with and meet the
man of my dreams, I suddenly found
myself in a place that took no
prisoners.
Growing up in Montana and through
school in Utah I was always seeking
the best and brightest minds to learn
from and when I landed in San
Francisco I realized I was a small fish
in a big pond – and it thrilled me!
Never did I think my childhood of
playing in creeks, floating rivers,
watching breakfast club over and over
on snow days and arguing with my
adoring brother regarding what
camping games we were going to play
over the Summer– would ever leave
me with the desire to live in a big city
and swing for the fences but it did and
I am a better person because of it.
How necessary is it to align business
with technology and what are its
outcomes?
Business and technology alignment are
vital for market impact and growth.
Aligning the two means as business
goals pivot, technology can more
readily respond with necessary
solutions to support and maintain
enterprise momentum. In turn,
technological advances and
improvements are hardwired into
existing and future strategies and
initiatives.
I will say though “Technology is
designed to accelerate a business
outcome. Don’t expect technology to fix
a business problem – expect
technology to help you drive the
process forward and enable best
practices you need within your
business to be successful.”
What strategies do you undertake to
make your employees resourceful?
They say everything you need to know
about life you learn by age 5 – well,
with a mother as bold and beautiful as
mine she instilled in me the curiosity, I
needed to always find a way forward,
she use to say “where there is a will
there is a way.”
When I recently ran into an issue of
how to help an employee become
resourceful I leaned on a few of the
truths I was taught – First, if you want
someone to believe they can do it you
have to give them the tools to be
successful, whether that is structure to
work within, a playbook, or even basic
training. From there you need to
empower the person to be resourceful.
Let them know it is ok to fail, and that
you expect it and can't wait to hear
about it!
And last you need to create the
environment for them to be resourceful
– guide them into the questions that
help them solve the problem without
you. When someone presents you with
a problem ask them “what have you
done so far to solve for this?” “Or
what would you recommend we do?”
Then give them the space to bounce
ideas o ffyou but help them realize they
are on the hook for finding a solution.
What are some of the vital
attributes, in your opinion, that
every leader should possess?
Everybody defines leadership
differently, but I really like the way
John C Maxwell defines leadership, “A
leader is one who knows the way, goes
the way, and shows the way.”
Regardless of how you define a leader,
he or she can prove to be a difference
maker between success and failure. A
good leader has a futuristic vision and
knows how to turn her ideas into real-
world success stories.
To become a good leader, you will
have to set a good example for others
to follow. That is where your
commitment to the business, passion
for learning, and empathy come into
play. I also believe good
communication skills and decision-
making capabilities play a vital role in
the success and failure of a leader. You
need to be able to communicate
effectively and call the jump balls. If
you don’t like carrying the weight of
the hard decisions it can be very hard
to lead. Every leader needs to feel
comfortable making decisions with
what data they have in front of them,
because you don’t always have the
complete picture.
Lastly, leaders need to be able to know
when to set aside time for innovation
and creative thinking, as well as the
futuristic vision – having a North Star
gives you the ability to set the right
roadmap for success and then support
your teams to get there.

Co-founder

Has my journey always been easy? Far from it. A lot is
expected from an expat like me. Or from any woman
in business, for that matter. If we want to get promoted
at work, we need to appear assertive, confident, and
even dominant. We become chameleons and adjust
our behaviour, according to what the situation
requires, as we navigate our way from the war room to
the board room.
How to Be an Assertive Leader
Below, I share some lessons I’ve learned along the
way, to help other young women navigate the different
challenges and demands that a leadership role
requires. To be more confident and decisive but also
constructive and empowering, incorporate these five
habits into your daily conversations and interactions,
and learn how to fine-tune your ability to adapt.
Listen for cues. To be a good leader, at times, you
will need to be a psychologist, a counsellor, an expert,
a sister, a mentor, a friend. At WeTeachMe, I have
worked in sales and in marketing. Both roles required
me to master the art of active listening and hone my
ability to quickly read the room. To be aware of what a
customer or stakeholder is thinking or feeling is
crucial to building trust and rapport, and helps foster
the creation of long-term business relationships.
Mind what you say, and also how you say it.
Assertiveness doesn’t mean being overbearing or
abrasive. Be direct and communicate respectfully so
that the other person can focus on what you’re saying,
instead of how you’re saying it. Getting the message
across is half the battle.
Women in business have come a long way since
Katharine Graham, the first female to lead a
Fortune 500 company, assumed the role of
Washington Post CEO back in 1972. Here in Australia,
women now comprise 42% of all employees and more than
30% of all business owner-managers. In the large Australian
corporations, the story is quite different; women hold the
reins at only 10% of today’s companies and 14 of our Top
200 firms.
The data suggest that it’s becoming more difficult for
women to make the jump from key executive to chief
executive. Macquarie Group founder Mark Johnson
believes it might take another 20 years for the scales to tip
again in our favour. It’s the story of many of today’s women
CEOs.
Being Chameleon-in-Chief
As a founder of the Australian company WeTeachMe, I
can’t say I agree with Mark. After all, today’s world and
business climate look nothing like they did 20 or 30 years
ago. I hope that my own story will inspire courage and pave
the way for others to create businesses that will create
value, especially for other women.
Before founding WeTeachMe, I had barely just arrived in
Australia from Greece, to complete my masters in global
media communications at The University of Melbourne. I
had no background in business, and some may say I had no
“business” entering into the arena of entrepreneurship. And
yet, through sheer grit and desire to pursue our passion for
education, my team and I grew WeTeachMe into the largest
school in Australia, with thousands of classes available and
even more learners enrolling every day.
Assertive Leadership

Express ideas from your own point of view.
Starting your sentences with “I” can spell a
world of difference. Instead of saying “you’re
not listening”, put it in your own words: “I
think what you’re saying is...” Rather than
instructing someone to “work this way” say
“I’d like your help with...” Convey your
feelings and let your empathy come through.
Learn how to say no. In the early years of
WeTeachMe, I wore multiple hats. Most
days, I took on more responsibility than was
physically possible. Because that’s what a
founder does; you go above and beyond the
call of duty. From cold calling one minute to
providing customer support the next, juggling
tasks requires flawless execution. As
WeTeachMe grew, I had to give up some of
my hats. This was not an easy lesson to learn!
Today, with a better understanding of the
value of focus, I pick three important things
to accomplish every day and then, delegate
the rest.
Maintain a professional demeanour. If
you’re entering into a negotiation, present
your case with confidence, without getting
argumentative or emotional. Create a win-
win situation for everyone, and they will see
you, not as an adversary, but as a partner.
Leadership That Inspires
Being in business is not always about cut-
throat competition, winning at everything,
and having it all; it’s also, if not more, about
creating personal connections and nurturing
the relationships that get us to where we are.
In and out of the workplace, we need to be
effective and diplomatic, not just goal-
oriented. Lead through trust and respect, not
through fear. Teach, don’t micromanage. And
never stop learning.
Leadership is about having the ability to
influence those around us, to rally everyone
around a shared vision, to inspire people, and
to get those who follow us excited to come to
work day after day.
Leadership means celebrating our victories.
But it’s also about forgiving ourselves for our
failures, because that is how we become
wiser and better. Failing is the best way to
learn, and a good leader never stops learning.
Photographer:NathalieSaruhashi

Cindy
Hollar
Committed to Improving
Student Achievement
Cindy Hollar, former CEO at TE21,
spends her days thinking about
children. Now a vice president
at Cer ca Solu ons—the company
that acquired TE21 in April—Cindy
became an educa on entrepreneur at
the age of 34, following a business
career at IBM. Having also been a
kindergarten teacher in her early
years, Cindy has always looked for
ways to posi vely impact the lives of
children.
With her business background, Cindy
knew she could have the greatest
impact by providing products and
services that would help teachers and
students. Her first educa on-sector
venture was a drop-in day care
business housed in a store front. Cindy
sold that business in 1995 and then
worked as a consultant, mee ng her
future business partners—most of
them corporate trainers. TE21 was
launched in 1999 as training company,
thus the name "TE21, Training and
st
Educa on in the 21 Century." Over
me, Cindy narrowed the company's
focus to K-12 educa on, offering
products from educa on publishers
(such as curricula and instruc onal
programs), as well as developing new
products for K-12.
As a one- me teacher, herself, Cindy
understood the needs of teachers and
students and wanted to develop
products that would help students
achieve their full poten al. Cindy
learned from her school and district
customers about the need for high-
quality assessments that would not
only guide the teaching process but
could ul mately change the lives of
students. Cindy and her team created
assessments that evaluated what
students were learning in the
classroom—and gave all students the
opportunity to improve throughout
the school year.
Acquisi on of TE21
TE21 grew to a mul -million-dollar
company with 58 employees and
school district customers spanning 6
states in the Southeast. The company
was known for its excep onal
assessment products and support
organiza on, but TE21 lacked the
technology and processes to scale its
assessment products to a na onal
level. As CEO, Cindy and her leadership
team felt it was me to either bring in
growth capital which would enable
them to take the company to the next
level or consider an acquisi on by a
complementary company which could
help them expand. Cindy and her team
engaged with Cer ca Solu ons, a
na onally recognized K-12 provider
with both educa onal content,
So ware-as-a-Service, and data and
analy cs offerings. The addi on of
TE21's assessments with Cer ca's
analy cs applica on deepened the
value of both company's products. The
combina on of high-quality student
assessments and rich data
visualiza ons have resulted in a
powerful classroom offering that
provides teachers with meaningful,
immediate, ac onable student data.
Further, although the acquiring
company, Cer ca, is based in the
Northeast, and TE21 is based in the
Southeast, the two companies share a
strong commitment to excellence in
educa on and a culture of outstanding
customer service. It was a good match.
Accountability is Key
Cindy observes that accountability is a
key theme in K-12 educa on today.
Teachers are searching for tools and
methods to improve student
performance in their classrooms. "Our
team at TE21, now Cer ca Solu ons, is
dedicated to developing high-quality
assessment solu ons to help teachers
verify that learning mastery is
occurring in the classroom," she adds.
TE21's benchmark assessments follow
each state's blueprint but are
customized to the instruc onal scope
and sequence of each school district
the company partners with—this
differen ates the TE21 benchmark
assessments from other assessments.
The TE21 team works to both prepare
students for the rigor and type of
assessment they will take at the end of
the year and gives data to teachers
with a rapid turnaround me, to guide
instruc on and interven ons.
Most state summa ve assessments
today are given to students at the end
of the school year and reveal that
students either learned what they
should have or that they did not. By
the me that data is available to
educators, it is too late for teachers to
make course correc ons and modify
instruc on to meet the needs of
students. With the company's
benchmark assessments, TE21—now
Cer ca Solu ons—tests what is being
taught in a school or district every nine
weeks and gives data back to teachers
within a 72-hour window once the
assessments are completed.
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019/ Cindy Hollar

Communica ng with Teams
Cindy consults and strategizes with her teams
daily in order to stay current. She is a believer in
being a player-coach, so she's on the road with
her sales team and customers con nuously,
listening and learning from them. She reads as
much as possible to keep her hand on the pulse
of educa on news and trends. All in all, she
believes that her outstanding products and
customer service have been the key to her
success.
Don't Underes mate Funds
Cindy asserts that one of the biggest challenges
at the me of business incep on is monetary
support. In her words, nobody wants to lend
small business and start-ups any money un l they
are making money. She went into the ini al
phases of the company's development
underes ma ng how much money would be
needed and learned along the way. She is
thankful for her "angel investor" who worked
with her to provide the necessary support in the
start-up years. In her words, "he has been a true
angel." To all those start up leaders who seek her
advice, she suggests doubling or tripling what
they think they will need financially.
Future Aspira ons
Cindy is excited to be back in the field as vice
president of Assessment Sales for Cer ca
Solu ons. She believes the strong opera onal
founda on and vision of Cer ca will help take
their business to new heights. Cer ca has
embraced all the TE21 staff and is commi ed to
con nuing—and expanding— TE21's important
work. Cindy's commitment to educa on is
evident in her aspira on to serve on boards of
small businesses and con nue to work with small
business owners and other entrepreneurs in
growing their companies and reaching their
goals.
As a leader, I must
listen, learn, loveand
what I do.
29
Cindy Hollar
CEO
“
“
insightssuccess.com September 2019

Rethinking
the Products of Today
for a Better Tomorrow
Celia Pool
Co-Founder
DAME

The world is finally waking up to
the single-use plastic crisis.
Over the last 10 years we have
created more plastic than the whole of
the last century combined. Half of the
plastic we create is used just once, and
then thrown away, taking 500 years to
decompose. By 2050, the oceans are
predicted to contain more plastic than
fish. The plastic crisis is now too big
for recycling alone to fix.
Global governments, businesses and
consumers need to collaborate quickly
to make impactful change before it’s
too late. However, change is difficult
when environmentally damaging habits
have become so entrenched and often
appear more financially appealing.
Technology is helping in this fight.
Reusable water bottles are now
widespread, and apps that help you
locate drinking water refill stations are
now emerging. At the same time,
reusable coffee cup technology is
addressing the half a trillion disposable
coffee cups discarded every year. Such
items are gaining increasing social
currency with consumers, who are
keen to display them as markers of
their environmental conscience. This
revolution is encouraging, but what
about the products that people aren’t so
willing to talk about?
100 billion menstrual products are
thrown away globally every year.
These are single-use, mostly made of
plastic and cannot be recycled. You can
choose not to have a coffee, you cannot
choose not to have a period. Reusable
options (e.g. menstrual cups, cloth
pads) have been on the market for
decades, yet the adoption rate has been
slow. The primary barrier to entry is
the fear of habit change.
So how do we bring about a
revolution? The answer is keep it
simple. And take time to consider
consumer psychology. As humans, we
abhor change. We are creatures drawn
towards the comfort of the known. By
keeping habit change to a minimum,
consumers are much more likely to
adopt a new idea.
This was our philosophy at DAME
when we created the world’s first
reusable tampon applicator. We
ensured the design was familiar and
intuitive, so women did not have to
compromise on their convenient,
established rituals. We knew that
hygiene could be a significant barrier
to entry, so we worked with leading
micro-biologists and medical engineers
and used the best medical grade, anti-
microbial materials on the market. As a
result, the consumer only must rinse
the applicator in cold water after use to
keep it clean. Simple steps, minimal
habit change.
However, it is challenging to tackle an
issue that has such little awareness.
Menstruation has historically been
shrouded in shame, fear and discretion.
It is not a topic openly talked about.
This is a problem with feminine care as
a whole: it is frequently dismissed and
the women trying to address it are
critically underfunded. In 2017 female
founders got 2% of the $85 billion VC
investment pot. About 8% of partners
at the top British VC firms are women.
According to Harvard Business
Review, stereotypes about female
entrepreneurs persist: women are
overly cautious, shy away from
growth, have insufficient resources and
consequently their ventures
underperform. Yet there is no
performance data to support these
stereotypes.
How are products used by women
supposed to change in line with human
and environmental needs, when they
aren’t given appropriate recognition or
have women involved in all stages of
the process? Women need to be given
more of a voice if we are to create
meaningful change. The world of AI is
already highlighting the need to
diverse away from male, white,
Western coders if we are to avoid
unconscious bias in the robots of
tomorrow. Amazon had to abandon an
AI recruitment tool that was
discriminating against women, instead
favoring prospects who mirrored
Amazon’s existing male engineer
workforce. At DAME women have
been involved in every stage of the
journey, not as a token gesture but as
an absolute necessity.
However, our overarching business
strategy goes beyond issues of
inclusivity to incorporate a wider
mission. DAME was founded on the
belief that business can be used as a
force for good. We use this core value
to guide every decision we make in the
business, bringing great clarity to our
route forward. By communicating our
genuine and authentic commitment to
this mission, we hope that our message
will quickly be picked up by those
eager to join a movement for change.
To date, we have seen this happen not
only with our consumers and the press,
but with employees. People are
increasingly drawn to companies doing
good. 75% of millennials would take a
pay cut to work at a socially
responsible company.
All this strengthens our resolve at
DAME to continue to tackle critical
problems that are not openly
acknowledged, that are significantly
underfunded, and that have historically
been controlled by giant monopolies.
Today we are focusing on menstrual
products, but our vision is to
revolutionize the entire bathroom.
These are big mountains, but having
strong guiding principles makes the
navigation much easier.”
-Words by Celia Pool
Co-Founder of DAME
For more information visit
wearedame.co
“
Industry Intel

Kirsten Bay
irsten Bay is the CEO and Co-founder at
KCysurance. She has created Cysurance
with the concept to change how small
businesses think about and mi gate against
cyber threats. She brings more than 25 years of
experience in risk intelligence, informa on, and
policy exper se across a variety of sectors.
Since its incep on, Kirsten and her team took
the Cysurance concept from deck to launch in 7
months and signed distribu on partners who
will begin co-marke ng to over 200k
customers.
In her career, Kirsten has been appointed to
congressional commi ees developing cyber
policies, ini a ves, and recommenda ons for
the intelligence community. She has developed
recommenda ons in partnership with the
Center for North American Studies (CNAS) and
Center for Strategic and Interna onal Studies
(CSIS) for the White House energy policy and
collaborated on informa on studies for MIT-
Harvard and several federal agencies. She has
gone before a parliamentary subcommi ee on
recrea ng trust in the global economy,
presented na onal security and cri cal
infrastructure concepts at conferences such as
Black Hat, Secured Americas, Enterprise
Architecture Ins tute, SC World Congress, and
the Eurim Informa on Management
Commi ee. She has also spoken on applied
economics and its rela onship to both cyber
and na onal security around the world.
Strategizing Challenges
Kirsten has worked in cybersecurity for over a
decade, and has held a variety of roles that
have allowed her to learn ﬁrst hand the pain
A Trailblazer in Cyber Security
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019/ Kirsten Bay
insightssuccess.com 32
Kirsten Bay
CEO & Co-founder
September 2019

points of the customers. Working for very large companies
for the first half of her career afforded her a level of
infrastructure to achieve milestones in an organized
environment with a lot of resources. According to her,
while the large corporate culture can be s fling to many,
there is a structure in place that allows one to know what
is next. She le that world to start her consul ng prac ce
while developing a new professional network where she
had to start from scratch in crea ng her opportuni es.
Some of the ini al roadblocks were being an unknown in
the industry while simultaneously crea ng her client
pipeline and exper se. Fortunately, she had a very
suppor ve group of colleagues who helped her through
that me such that she became an important voice in
cybersecurity. While she has a broad understanding of the
cyber market, she con nues to learn about innova ons as
well as staying in front of customers to understand how to
help support them in solving a problem that feels infinitely
complex.
Important Quali es an Entrepreneur Should Hold
Kirsten believes that pa ence and curiosity are the most
vital a ributes for an entrepreneur. Accordingly, curiosity is
the fuel of the entrepreneur, as it is the desire to
understand the complexi es of the world and how to make
them simpler. She has spent most of her life pushing
herself beyond the comfort zone to see what she could
achieve. Some mes that resulted in a broken bone, but
mostly it helped her accomplish most of her goals. This
helped early in her career when she had roles with
significant responsibility, and the desire to become an
expert at her profession drove her to push harder despite
some mes feeling daunted by the challenge. Kirsten
believes, "It is not the lack of fear that keeps me going, but
the ability to harness that nervousness into the energy and
vitality I need to keep pushing ahead."
Company's Contribu on to the Society
Cysurance's product was created to reduce the fric on and
complexity small and medium-size business experience
when trying to adopt a cyber insurance and risk program.
The company sought to create a single product that
addresses the key pain points in for an SMB – What
insurance do I need? What technology do I need? How do I
hire and pay for a team to help me in the moment of a
breach? The Cysurance program was designed to iden fy a
breach, provide breach remedia on, and supply a
comprehensive insurance policy that covers the events that
most impact SMBs. Cysurance was developed from the
idea that there are not enough complete risk solu ons that
help customers contextualize and manage their cyber risks
regardless of their size.
Determining Organiza on's Goals
Kirsten's mission is to get strong market penetra on with
SMBs to support them in being protected against the
growing risk of cyber-a acks. Parts of this mission means
helping to redefine how people think about and invest in
cyber risk management by adding to context to how
certain products can help them not only be secure but
support their financial recovery in the event of the a ack.
In the longer term, she aims to bring be er data to both
SMBs and their financial partners to understand how their
risk profiles differ from larger organiza ons so that the
company can be er support their needs and
vulnerabili es.
Shaping the Journey of Entrepreneurs
Kirsten's advice- First, be very clear on what it means to be
an entrepreneur. While it can be both personally and
financially rewarding, it requires an incredible amount of
sacrifice, hard work, resilience, and leadership in mes of
scarcity before prosperity becomes a reality. Being an
entrepreneur can be a lonely experience, find a networking
group that focuses on the needs and the challenges that
you will have as a leader of a fledgling company. The
friendships and opportuni es that you will acquire can
make the difference between success and failure.
Kirsten's View about Cyber Insurance
Kirsten asserts that Cyber Insurance alone is complex and
difficult for the average consumer to understand, as it is
o en unclear what is covered, how much coverage is
needed, and whether there is a true benefit in adop ng a
cyber insurance policy. Cysurance has developed a
comprehensive cyber insurance program in partnership
with Chubb to cover the cyber events that most impact
small and medium-sized businesses and their revenue.
Unlike other insurance partners, the company sets out to
ease complexity by elimina ng underwri ng and lengthy
applica on process.
The intuition of faith, in the ability
to rise through the difficulties of
the day, is what connects you to
be the best you can be.
“
insightssuccess.com 33 September 2019

At the top
“It’s all about finding someone’s strengths. Women don’t
outperform men and vice versa. But I won’t deny that it
takes a lot of discipline to stay at the top as a woman,”
Ineke expresses. Just like men, women have a lot of
qualities that match perfectly with a leadership role. It’s
important that leadership comes from the heart. And you
need to have the intention to help others grow and make
them better through your role. I call it Servant Leadership.
If you want to make your company a success, you need to
be of service to the company and its people. This has
nothing to do with gender or background.
That’s why a quota for women at the top is completely
nonsense, according to me. All women who really want to
reach the top, will find a way to break through that glass
ceiling. No bias in the world will stop a woman on a
mission to reach that top position. But it’s wrong to think
that anyone with the right capabilities – man or woman –
can work anywhere they want. There should be a match
between your personality, the company’s values and its
culture. And sometimes it’s just a case of pure luck. Being
at the right place at the right time. If this match doesn’t
come naturally, it’s just not meant to be.
But if there is a perfect match between you as a leader and a
company, it’s the first positive step, in my opinion. It’s still
a lot of work. Having all that responsibility takes a lot out
of you. You shouldn’t be afraid to make choices, and that
also means saying no to certain activities in your personal
life.
I am a mother of two and am not home every day. My
husband and I have been able to make it work. I notice that
a lot of women still find it difficult. But you can’t run a
company part time. You need to dare to go full in. Those
doubts often appear during the initial job interview. Women
say “I want to be a director, but I still have children that I
need to bring to school. Is that possible?” As if there are no
male CEOs that bring their kids to school. The big
difference is that men don’t ask these kinds of questions.
They just do it!
Balance
It’s all about balance. Recently, I attended a forum on
female leadership, where I talked about my role as a CEO.
In the audience, were female students who were just about
to graduate. When the moderator asked which of them
wanted the same job as me, only three of the four hundred
students raised their hands. The moderator was shocked,
and asked the audience what was going on. “She works too
much”, was the answer. “And we also want to be able to go
to parties, exercise and have a social life.” That shocked me
a little. It’s not that I don’t do anything else besides work.
My downtime, social life and work activities are just one
big mix. It’s true that I’m constantly thinking about work.
But I also allow myself to go for a run in the morning or see
my hairdresser during the week. To me, it’s just one full
week in which I can do a lot.
Did I have this go-getter mentality as a child, since I
already knew I wanted to one day reach the top? I think so.
But, at the same time, all the things I hoped for as a child
didn’t come true. What I got is a lot better. I definitely don’t
regret the choices that I’ve made. I started a family, got
married, and am the CEO of a young and ambitious
company. I should therefore be the last person to decide
whether or not one should have a leadership position based
on a ‘home situation’. How you combine the two is up to
you. And yes, that takes a lot of discipline. But if you have
natural leadership qualities, I believe everything is going to
be alright.
The key to achieving this? As a female – or male – leader,
you need to learn to let go and prioritise. Just do your best
and focus on making things better for other people.
Unbaised Future

Participation in the Ever-changing
Modern Workforce
Dynamics of

G
one are the days when women were stereotyped to
a certain set of skills and professions, restricting
them from exploring the world of endless
opportunities. Today, women have announced their arrival
in many fields of the business world. Therefore, it seems
more important than ever before to recognize female
contributions in every profession.
Fighting through biased work culture in favour of male
dominance, women have conquered the unconquered on the
account of their distinct calibre and predilections. In the
times when the world female participation rate is to the
dispiriting levels of around 67% and pay-off rate of about
63%, achievements by women go-getters are praiseworthy.
Listening capabilities is one of the
distinguishing aspects of feminine species as compared to
their male counterparts. Instilling and pursuing ones
thoughts is undoubtedly important for effective working.
But being a better listener is something that can make a
difference as studies show that the customer values and
trusts the firms if they perceive that they are being listened
to by the firms. With inherent caring and affectionate traits,
women outclass men when it comes to understanding
critical demands of the customers.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) - the ability to identify and
manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of
others - is an essential skill when it comes to dealing with a
diverse class of consumers. Women are naturally gifted
with higher EI making them better suited for pressure
situations and avoiding counter-productive decisions while
keeping emotions in check.
Emotional Intelligence encompasses two major dimensions
– awareness of one’s self and awareness of others. Both the
attributes are very much significant for the survival and
success of any organisation. Self-awareness involves being
familiar with trigger points and behavioural traits when put
to the test. This, in turn, helps to modulate impulses
avoiding conclusions which are harmful for the welfare of
business. In addition to self-awareness, an awareness of
others is equally critical in business. Analysing and
decoding non-verbal communication – that amounts to 93%
of the message – eventually benefits in convincing and
converting a lead into a client.
Collaboration, and not the cutthroat competition, is the
modern era’s principle virtue to achieve success. Many
endeavours which seem to be beyond the bounds of
possibility can be attained by combining efforts from
different resources, channels and departments. Further,
collaborating products with consumer experience are
enormously important. It leads to crafting the best solutions
for customer’s pain points and compelling value
propositions that reflect their overall business objectives.
Multiple studies have found that women prefer to work in
teams, while men prefer to work alone. An unfaltering
affinity towards collaboration primes women to garner
success in different fields of business which gives them an
edge over others.
Increased profitability can be a motivating factor for many
firms to hire more pool of female talents as many studies
support the fact. Statistical research shows that Fortune 500
companies with the highest representation of women on
boards financially outperform companies with the lowest
representation of women on boards. Moreover, gender-
diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to
male-dominated teams, and a recent Gallup study found
that gender-diverse business units have higher average
revenue than less diverse business units.
Trust over female leaders is an attribute which needs to be
reciprocated while making the choice. More American
workers perceive female executives as honest and ethical
than male executives. Pew’s “Women and Leadership”
surveyed Americans in 2015 and found that 34% say
women are better at this, while only 3% say men are better
at it (64% say there’s no difference).
While it’s unclear whether this means women are actually
more honest, it’s a subtle reminder of how tangled some
business decisions can be. Leaders are often tasked with
choosing between options that aren’t black and white,
ethically speaking, and the capacity to lead honestly is
important to the entire company’s success and job
satisfaction.
Not to mention, increased job satisfaction and
organizational dedication to cite positive and meaningful
business culture are the added advantages feminine
employees carry to the organisation.
However, the journey is not all merry go round every time.
Hindrances – seen, unseen – are there to check the
unrelenting zeal of women aspirants to thrive in the
industry. These obstructions need to be pointed out and
rectified to create an environment that fuels women
empowerment.
Women Empower

Lack of confidence, according to many experts, is one
prime reason women tend to question themselves and doubt
their worthiness. In order to advance, they must coach their
inner critics.
Out-speak and define what women want professionally if
they want to get succeeded. Too often they don’t know or
rely upon others to define it for them.
“Building relationships with those in positions of
leadership is critical,” Susan Brady, executive vice
president of Linkage Inc. says. “Put down the to-do list long
enough to connect with decision makers across the
organization, and help them understand who you are and
what you bring to the table.”
Women are generally uneasy about asking for what they
want. They must stop thinking about what they need as a
self-serving request. They must develop the courage and
fortitude to stand up and ask for what they want.
While proving value, women tend to overcompensate in
order to demonstrate that they are adding value. Instead
of doing it all alone, change the paradigm and track to
encourage others to take on more responsibility, thus
enabling them to scale and multiply their own impact.
Not to forget, biased work culture and regional
barriers are the crucial obstacles in the road of women
work participation. But, today women are breaking these
shackles and coming out boldly to be a part of economic
processes shouldering their male counterparts.
There has been obvious progress in achieving gender
equality around the world over the past two decades:
more girls are attending school, more women are
working and are being elected to public offices, more
women hold management positions, and the situation
involving women’s legal as well as social rights have
also improved.
However, a great deal still remains to be done to achieve
equal outcomes for women and men. Recognizing
women’s abilities, the values they bring to the
organisation, the transformation they achieve as far as
work environment is concerned, and considering
monetary benefits associated with the female work
participation, corporate sector need to welcome their
emergence with open arms. No future is far where male-
dominated workplaces will be a tale of extinct, we
believe.

Nicole
Martin
Empowering Businesses
with Astounding
Human Resource Management
n an interview with Insights
ISuccess, the CEO, of HRBoost, LLC.,
Nicole Mar n, sheds light on the
company's cu ng-edge solu ons
based on strategic HR leadership and
the latest thinking in the field of
human resource management. And
she also shares her insights about the
company's core competencies and its
future and broadly discussed about
her overall journey as a marke ng
aspirant. Considering these influen al
and inspira onal aspects, Insights
Success recognizes Nicole Mar n as
one of the most inspiring women in
business 2019.
Below are the highlights of the
interview between Nicole and Insights
Success:
Give a brief overview of your
background as an entrepreneur.
In 2010, I le my corporate career to
establish HRBoost, LLC. My ini al
vision was to find leaders who wanted
to be the next Best & Brightest®
employer, while providing support to
growing businesses facing a myriad of
workforce challenges. Within two
years, I realized I was growing at an
astounding rate and that I needed a
team. With 50% growth year over a
one-year period, it became clear HR
outsourcing was not HR as I knew it
and that with HRBoost, I had found a
niche.
and, in turn, created my perfect
intellectual playground full of
challenge. O en it is the leap of faith
grounded in belief that you are doing
something greater than you,
something for the greater good itself,
and then you turn around one day and
realize that you have people on your
team as passionate about it as you.
When that passion was transferred to
my team, only then did I truly feel
comfortable calling myself a Chief
Empowerment Officer.
What were the past experiences,
achievements or lessons that have
shaped your journey?
There are so many things throughout
my life that have helped shape me, my
choices, and my journey. For me it
starts with childhood and being raised
by a single mother. She taught me the
value of hard work, the importance of
tenacity and, she gave me
uncondi onal love and the confidence
to follow my dreams. Importantly, all
of them taught me that there is no
place for complacency, if you wish to
succeed. And, others have taken me
under their wing and shared their
experience as entrepreneurs and
thought leaders, giving me
encouragement and showing what it
means to be a mentor. This has
inspired me to con nue that, so that I
too can help shape the next
genera on of business leaders.
How do you diversify your
organiza on's offerings to appeal to
the target audience?
We have diversified our offerings by
allowing our clients to engage us on an
ala carte, project, or retainer basis.
This provides mul ple ways in which
my clients can choose to engage us.
Essen ally, it is our mission to meet
them wherever they are on their
journey to be a best place to work.
Whether they are a small, growing
business or a large, corporate
employer, we can address their
specific needs at a price point and
service level that is customized for
them to maximize their investment.
Describe some of the vital a ributes
that every entrepreneur should
possess.
The real a ributes of an individual at
the helm of their business is curiosity. I
never intended to build a business, I
sought work that fueled my passion
We strive to bring joy
and purpose to people
through their work.
“
“
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019/ Nicole Martin
September 2019

How do you strategize your game plans to tackle
compe on in the market?
I listen to my clients carefully as they are on the front lines
of their respec ve industries and, I stay abreast of what is
happening in my industry. Researching and reading market
trends, analyzing higher educa on focuses, and tapping
into the concerns of employees and job applicants, gives
me great insights into the future of human resources.
Because of this broad-based outlook, I have experienced
rapid growth, and for this reason I have enjoyed the pace
of word of mouth alone.
What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you
faced during the ini al phase of your career as an
entrepreneur?
I think the ini al challenges of being an entrepreneur are
many. One is needing human capital and the ﬁnancial
capital to source human capital. Some entrepreneurs do
not grow because they are not inves ng in talent or taking
the ﬁnancial risks that are necessary. I made a calculated
risk to invest in my talent and invest in my bench strength.
In the early years, I was reac ng to my business rather than
being proac ve.
Where do you see yourself in the near future and what
are your future goals?
For my business, I would like to expand our service op ons
and spotlight our Small Business Bundles for clients that
typically do not have access to strategic HR day one,
employee one. Helping small businesses to succeed is truly
rewarding. For our larger clients, I am excited to see them
grow and reach their Best & Brightest™ recogni on. For
myself, I am excited to be sharing my knowledge through
my books and speaking engagements. My next book, No
Fear Nego a on for Women, is being released in August
2019. I am excited to share some of my successful
nego a on methods to help other female entrepreneurs
as they build their businesses.
What is your advice for budding and emerging
entrepreneurs?
I feel it is impera ve to get hands on experience doing
what you seek to learn. Make sure it brings you joy before
inves ng me, energy, and dedica ng your life to it. Enjoy
the journey and be prepared to learn, unlearn and relearn.
Surround yourself with people who inspire and support
you, but also don't patronize you. Remember, even if it gets
harder, or takes longer, stay diligent. Anything you love will
be worth it.
Nicole Martin
CEO
HRBoost,LLC
September 2019

Pam Bateson
CEO & Co-founder
Thrive Partners

What a tech CEO can
teach your business
about digital
About the Author
Pam Bateson is an expert coach and
mentor in business, training others to
Masters level qualiﬁcations and
supervising coaches. She has worked
within the healthcare, retail, hotels,
construction, media, agencies, education
and public sector. She specialises in
Coaching, Mentoring, Employee
Engagement, Change Management,
Learning and Development and
Organisational Design. She has worked
with all levels in organisations from
g ra d u at e s to t h e C EO. S h e h a s
designed change programmes that
connect projects, outcomes, training and
coaching. The performance outcomes
have been outstanding. She is CEO
andCo-founderat ThrivePartners.
am Bateson set up ThrivePartners,
Pan on-demand coaching company,
three years ago. In this article, she
shares her point of view on how important
humans are in a more digital world, what
she’s learned as a tech CEO, and what this
means when you’re looking to use tech in a
way that’s both disruptive and works for
customers. In October 2015, I gave up a
successful career as a management
consultant and coach to set up Thrive
Partners. Lots of people thought I was
crazy. I was approaching 50, with two
children still at home. But for the decade
running up to that decision, I’d been
thinking about a better way to deliver
coaching – supported by digital, to share
more widely the coaching tools I’d used to
helpclientsformanyyears.
This was the business I set out to build
three years ago.Today, we’re working with
25 clients on ﬁve continents – delivering
ourown brandof
on-demand coaching, backed with insights
for the whole business. The learning curve
has been steep – particularly for someone
who, by their own confession, didn’t have
Tech-Know Insights

a lot of experience in learning technology. So here, I wanted to
share some of the things we’ve learned – and what it might
meanforyourbusiness.
Dreambig
I didn’t really set out to build a business that would be
considered disruptive, but my background as a lean engineer
and coach did mean that we ripped up the rulebook when it
came to the coaching industry. We scrapped the idea that you
needed to meet face to face, and that sessions had to last an
hour, or even two hours.And we made it a lot easier for people
to access a coach to answer the questions they had there and
then – increasing access so people could chat to an expert
withinanhour.
Working with my co-founder, we then rebuilt the industry by
asking the biggest questions we could imaging. What if we
could make coaching available to whole organisations? What
if we could get listening as valued as speaking? And what if
wecouldhelporganisationslearnasquicklyasindividuals?
Ifoundthesequestionsirresistible:
I wanted to do for coaching what Uber had done for getting a
taxi, Netflix had done for home entertainment, and Tinder had
done for dating. It’s these big dreams that have galvanised our
success in the last few years – and which has set us in the right
directionforthefuture.
Buildformodernusers
Despite big dreams, we’ve also made our fair share of
mistakes!Alot of them mistakes happened when we took our
attention away from our end customers. It sounds obvious to
see it there on the page. But it can be easy to lose sight of the
customers that matter most, especially when, as a tech CEO,
sometime we get preoccupied with a shiny piece of new
technology.
So, what to consider first when it comes to users? The main
thing to bear in mind is that they expect experiences that are
easy and fast to access – a shift brought about by what we call
the ‘Amazon Prime Mindset.’ In this era, clunky user
experiences reduce the chances of uptake of services. In short,
if your technology can’t match or exceed the quality of digital
experience people get in their everyday lives, then you’ll need
togobacktothedrawingboard.
Createwins forthemany
So, if users come first – who else can we harness the power of
technologyfor?
Our answer?Everyoneelseinthesystem.
Early on in the development of our MyThrive platform, we
realised that delivering digitally would enable us to do more
than just scale and facilitate coaching in global organisations;
it would also mean we could spot trends and patterns within
communities of users, in organisations or society at large. Just
as carefully listening has a powerful and transformative role
in one-to-one coaching conversations, carefully listening to
and analysing anonymised version of the conversations we
host has a powerful and transformative role within whole
organisations.
The whole-system insights we produced has helped to make
sales processes smoother, improved communications and
createdmoreopportunitiesforpeopletolearn.
Keepithuman
With suicide being the biggest killer of men under 45,
loneliness sweeping through developed economies in
epidemic proportions and a third of all young people suffering
fromanxiety,
I strongly believe that we have a duty to keep talking to each
otherasasociety.
We believe that keeping the art of conversation alive in this
digital age is essential; only humans can master creativity,
empathy, humour and imagination in a way that’s compelling.
Information is everywhere, so we’re using technology
differently – to offer real human experiences at scale, at any
time of the day, whenever our clients need a conversation, for
everythingyoucan’tGoogle.
And what of the future? Curiously, even the structures of
artificial intelligence and machine learning look set to mimic
human patterns. It’s still early days, but leaders in this space
talk of ‘deep learning’withAI – by layering up different tools
thatconnectinthesamewayasourbrain’s neuralnetworks.
And so, thenextthreeyears?
My recent experiences have led us to ask even bigger
questions than we did to begin with – which I suspect will lead
to our next irresistible set of adventures! What if we could
transform learning management systems into learning
ecosystems? What if any community of learners could
connect with any community of teachers?And what if a better
understanding of outcomes from learning could help both
individuals,organisationsandsocietytothrive?
Iforonebelievethereareexcitingtimesahead.

Trina WattProviding Technical Marketing
for Technical Companies
Businesses run by women
con nue to be the shining light in
the present market. The recent
Global Entrepreneurship Summits are
tes mony to the fact that more women
are playing an important role in business
and inspiring others. One such inspiring
businesswoman is Trina Wa , Founder
of Wa Knowledge, a technical
marke ng agency providing a range of
marke ng services that address the
specific needs of technology based
companies.
With a marke ng background in global
technology companies, Trina started
Wa Knowledge in 2015 so she could
use her wealth of marke ng experience
to help start-up and scale-up technology
companies in their early years.
Transla ng Technology
Having been in the technology industry
for over 25 years, Trina had seen a lot of
technologies fail – even with a really
good product – and companies failing to
understand why people weren’t ge ng
excited about their technology. This is
especially true as technology is ge ng
more complex with more innova ons at
risk of failure before they get started.
With her background in engineering and
marke ng, she knew it was o en due to
poor marke ng messaging, not the
technology itself. If the customer does
not understand what your product
brings to them or why it is be er than
the current products you will not be
successful.
company has also moved away from
focusing on all company sizes. Over the
last two years it has focused more on
the start-up/scale-up space where it can
bring the biggest return during these
cri cal years of a company.
Celebra ng Good Stuff
While explaining about the essen al
a ributes every entrepreneur should
possess, Trina highlights the importance
of pa ence, resilience, having fun, and
having fantas c group of people in the
team. To begin with Trina found
rejec ons hard to handle. She had
always been in large organiza ons
where losing business didn’t feel
personal, but with it being her own
company found it hard not to take
personally. It took her a few years to
work out that this can go both ways and
that she can also reject working with
companies that wouldn’t suit working
with Wa Knowledge. She strongly
believes that as a virtual marke ng
agency it’s important to work well with
your clients and for them to see you as
part of their team, even though you’re
not in the same office.
As an entrepreneur, you need to have
pa ence as things don’t happen
overnight, resilience as things don’t
always go in the direc on you had
planned, and you need to find ways to
get through the difficult mes. Trina
advises celebra ng the good stuff. She
says, “It can be easy to overlook this but
it is vital to celebrate – it helps to
reassure you of why you are being an
entrepreneur.”
Another lesson she learned on her
journey is that the people you work with
are what makes it possible. She
men ons that her team at Wa
Knowledge are all at the top of their
game and she trusts them explicitly. This
means it doesn’t all sit on her shoulders
as it did in the early days. She stresses
that you have to have fun and works
with “the most fantas c group of people
Trina has the rare ability to translate
technical concepts into easily digestable
marke ng and business messages that
are cri cal to the success of technology
dependent businesses. This enables
companies to maximise their visibility
thus gaining a compe ve edge and
maximising business impact.
Most marke ng/PR companies start at
the marke ng level, however Wa
Knowledge goes to a more technical
level star ng at the engineering level
and building the marke ng message
from there. By doing this it translates
the technology from the engineering
level avoiding key features being lost in
transla on.
While men oning about the challenges
on the journey, Trina men ons that one
of the challenges many technology
startups have is ge ng experienced
technical marke ng people who can
cover topics ranging from technical
discussions through to PR. Wa
Knowledge fills this gap in a flexible way
that enables companies to gain an
experience marke ng team at lower
cost or supplement their exis ng teams.
Focusing on Start-ups
Trina men ons that the UK is full of
innova ve startups and Cambridge in
par cular has both strong technology
and biotech sectors. Ini ally in just the
tech space, Wa Knowledge has
diversified to include biotech bringing
their wealth of marke ng knowledge
and exper se to this growing area. The
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019/ Trina Watt

both in my team and my clients. Keeping it
fun helps to get through the harder days”.
Clients are Best Advocates
When Trina started Wa Knowledge there
were no other companies like it in the
Cambridge area so many people were not
sure how it could ﬁt in with their current
teams. This was overcome by her ﬁrst
clients all being people she had worked
with before in previous companies. Since
then all of Wa Knowledge’s business has
come in through word of mouth. Trina
men ons, “Our clients are our best
advocates.”
Strengthening an Ecosystem of Startups
Wa Knowledge has a wide range and
variety of clients and partners it works
with on a daily basis. Many of them are
working on market areas or products that
are complementary. Trina’s near future
plan is to grow and strengthen an
ecosystem of startups and scale up who
can help each other to be successful.
Trina advises emerging entrepreneurs,
“Go for it! If you have spo ed a gap then
you know there is a market. Don’t be
frightened to pivot if your ini al idea isn’t
working – it is not a sign of failure but a
poten al route to success.”
Translating
Technology. Working
to maximize the
business impact of
innovation through
compelling
marketing.
“
Trina Watt
Founder

Let us see how trends in technology are changing
businesses.
IOT has begun to change the world around us. It allows the
businesses to access their information virtually, creating a
flexible and global way of accessing data, any place, and
any time. It reduces the cost by maintaining IT system,
rather than purchasing expensive systems and equipment. It
also allows employees to be more flexible in work
practices. Let us see some fields where IOT must be
adapted.
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are largely paper-
based industry. The pen and paper approach is still followed
largely around the world. Patient’s record sharing is still
done in the traditional way which is time-consuming.
Whereas, real-time monitoring via connected devices can
save lives in an event of a medical emergency. IOT devices
collect and transfer health data and are stores in the cloud.
These data can be shared with a physician or a health firm,
in order to allow them to look at it, regardless of their place,
time or device. Therefore, in an event of an emergency,
patients can contact a doctor who is many kilometers away
with a simple smartphone.
Fleet operators spend a large amount of time, money and
resource in maintaining the safety standards and resource in
maintaining the safety standards and operate at the desired
performance levels. Through various sensors, fleet
companies have access to a vast amount of data. This
information can help the company to make real-time quick
decisions for instant improvements. In fact, these insights
can help in effectively managing the overall supply chain.
Undoubtedly, IOT has set to become the backbone of the
fleet management industry.
Few decades ago, reaching the moon was beyond
imagination. But not today, because technology has
completely changed the world and made it possible.
th
Technological inventions were revolutionized in the 18 and
th
19 century with the steam engine, the telegraph, fiber
optics, typewriter, sewing machine, etc. Later, it changed
the way we communicate on a real-time basis with
telephone, radio, and internet.
Innovations in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and
information technology are already helping to solve
challenges that occur in these sectors. Through the
breakthrough innovations in health services, technology has
been able to improve the lives of poor people in developing
countries.
Manufacturing field is increasingly being automated and
technology driven. Advanced technology and systems such
as automation, nanotechnology, cloud computing, the
Internet of Things, and others are changing the face of
manufacturing to improve business technologies. So, the
adaption of technologies in work will revolutionize the way
it was in the past in the field of manufacturing as well.
Internet of Things
Healthcare
Fleet Management
Disruptive Technology
and Changing Trends
Influencing Business

In today’s major cities at rush hour, getting
to and from work is a nightmare. Imagine a
world where not only the cars are smart, but
also the street and traffic lights. Public
transportation systems like trains and buses
are connected to individual’s smartphones.
This will help to know the exact time to
leave the houses accordingly. In smart cities,
passengers are already enjoying Wi-Fi and
USB charging stations on public
transportation. Overall, IOT already started
affecting the aspects of our life.
Public Transport Management
Renewable Energy
Will you like earning money on reducing the
use of electricity? Thanks to IOT energy-
saving tools, you can significantly decrease
the numbers in your bills. IOT energy
solutions are sensor-based technology. It
analyses weather and environment
condition, helps automate the management
of wind farms, optimizes maintenance and
thus reduces the cost dramatically. People
(both households and companies) get a
better understanding of their usage habits
and adjusts them accordingly. These system
collects data on electricity consumption in
real-time and helps generate important
insights for environmentalists, researchers,
and conservation strategists. Thus, installing
IOT smart energy device can join the
environmental initiative, cut down on
energy consumption and lessen the
greenhouse effect.
Agriculture
The global population is set to touch 9.6
billion by 2050. So, to feed this much
population, the farming industry must
embrace IOT. Smart farming based on IOT
technology will reduce waste and enhance
productivity. Ranging from the quantity of
fertilizer utilized to the number of journeys
the farm vehicles have made. In IOT based
smart farming a system is built for
monitoring the crop field with the help of
sensors and automating the irrigation
systems. It is highly efficient when
compared with the conventional approach.
Thus, with the population growing rapidly,
the demand can be successfully met, if the
farmers implement agricultural IOT
solutions in a prosperous manner.
Blockchain technology is changing the way we do our day to day
businesses. Companies are starting to work with Blockchain technology
because it gives you privacy along with it is transparent. Let’s see how
blockchain can help to deal with business.
Blockchain Technology
Smart Contracts
Contract is where consent of the parties is involved to agree and interact
with each other. Blockchain technology helps to guarantee the validity of a
transaction through a secure validation mechanism. Industries and
institutions are heavily reliant on contracts, such as insurance, financial
institutions, real estate, construction, entertainment and, law. A smart
contract helps formalize the relationships between people, institutions and
the assets they own. They eliminate the need for trusted third parties and are
self-verifying, self-executing and Tamper resistant.
Blockchain will be an important part of our financial and technological
digital future. It is one of the incredibly creative inventions that technology
has ever seen. So how we use it is up to us, it could indeed transform the
global scenario.
Technology and changing trends in businesses is not something which is
going to happen in the future, it is happening right now. It has already
started affecting a lot of businesses. So businesses have tremendous
opportunity to benefit from such technological advancement. There is no
doubt that technological innovations are largely followed all over the world
and it will revolutionize the businesses.
Changing the Status Quo

Sofia Fenichell is the Founder and
CEO of Mrs Wordsmith. Mrs
Wordsmith is on a mission to illustrate
the English language with the award-
winning artists behind Madagascar
and Hotel Transylvania - so children
fall in love with learning words. We
are the first company to illustrate the
English language to re-imagine the
dictionary for digital natives and the
visual world we live in. Prior to Mrs
Wordsmith, Sofia was the CEO and
Founder of Rockpack, which created
two of the most downloaded video
curation apps, regularly featured by
Apple. She has an MBA from
Columbia Business School and a BA
in History from Northwestern
University. She is also an agented
writer on a novel in the works, called
Silicon Sally.
About the Author
Balancing the Needs
of Business
Balancing the Needs
of Business
Iam mumpreneur. I am very proud of this title. It
evokes an image of a frazzled yet sincere, middle-aged
woman effortlessly juggling the needs and
expectations of loved ones, with running a business.
In reality, it is very different, especially the ‘effortlessly’
part.
Over the past 4 years I have been in over 100 classrooms
teaching Mrs. Wordsmith or just observing how students
learn. I have had the pleasure of working with highly
regarded academics, fellow entrepreneurs, large companies
and informed investors in the edtech sector.
I have learned more than I have taught.
Here is what I have learned in and out of the home and the
classroom, and how it relates to being an entrepreneur.
Lesson #1
It’s important to stand for - or against - something
meaningful
People love to rally around an idea or a mission. At Mrs
Wordsmith, we stand for the fight against boredom, both in
classrooms and at home. If you can hold the attention of
children, you can educate them. Easier said than done. But
in our case, we think about this every minute of every day.
We vet our ideas and our products around this simple
concept - can it hold the attention of a child? If we fail to

Soﬁa Fenichell
Founder & CEO
Mrs Wordsmith
Expert’s Outlook

engage children, we have failed to deliver on the most
critical aspect of learning.
Lesson #2
Lean hard into change until it feels like you are about to
topple over
And don’t worry about falling over because you will.
Heavily discount market perceptions that people are not
looking for change. It’s not true. We are all looking for
change - parents, teachers and schools. It’s just that we may
not be able to articulate what we are looking for until you
the entrepreneur show us what good looks like. There is so
much we resist in life until someone shows us. When we
first started Mrs Wordsmith, everyone said to us, “you will
never be able to illustrate words that aren’t nouns” and sure
enough, it’s the hallmark of what we do. We know how to
illustrate words that are difficult to illustrate like ‘ambitious’
or ‘blaring’.
Lesson #3
Don’t make incremental changes - kicking the can up
the road is for hobos
You need to think big. Being an aggregator, making minor
improvements to products or services that exist today - this
isn’t innovation, it’s repackaging. There is a place for this.
But don’t expect customers to pay for it, or students to truly
benefit from it. The single biggest problem in the education
sector today is incrementalism. Instead of thinking about
how to repackage spelling exercises, think about whether
we need to teach spelling to primary kids at all? Should we
bin the lists and just give kids the space and time to read?
Instead of spending 80% of classroom time learning about
our history and who we were, how about learning about the
future and who we could become? Entrepreneurs shift the
80/20 rule in unexpected and meaningful ways.
Lesson #4
Hire well
You can’t do it alone. You can’t. Hire people you can learn
from. You should admire the people you work with. Hire
people who disagree with you, Hire a diversity of personas
and mindsets. Make sure you feel a connection to them.
You are going to debate a lot of issues together. And then
delegate. The more you delegate, the faster you will learn
how capable people are.
Lesson #5
Don’t take your culture for granted
Culture is something you build, not inherit. Culture can be a
powerful, single organising principle. It can also be a
disease. You want people to feel safe but slightly unhinged
so they can be creative. You want them to feel under
pressure from the customer, not management, so they
genuinely bring their A game to work. And lastly, take care
of your people. They will feel more inspired.
I have learned a lot from two - very different - books on
culture. One is called Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull the
founder of Pixar and the other is Powerful, Building a
Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, by Patty McCord of
Netflix.
Lesson #6
Execute, iterate, and execute
It’s been said so much. But that’s because it’s the hardest
thing on earth. Execution is highly nuanced too. You have to
read, think and listen a lot to execute well. You have to plan
and iterate.
Lesson #7
Saving the best for last. Family and exercise
The idea for Mrs Wordsmith came from my children,
because I was so connected to their needs at school. After a
lot of fruitless searching for a product, I decided to create
one. The entrepreneur’s story only has a happy ending if you
remember to put your family first, or at a minimum, on par
with your business.
Being an entrepreneur is hard work. There are times when
the boundaries between work and home, or work and health,
will be blurred. Only you can set these boundaries. It’s not
always easy. But if you truly believe in what you do, you
will play the long game. You will set the boundaries that
make you a better wife, mother, person, friend - whatever it
is that gives you perspective, anchors and rejuvenates you.

Vision, courage, perseverance, and resilience ARE
THE most essen al skills to determine the poten al
of a business leader. Being a business person means
that one has to be a visionary like an entrepreneur and
commi ed like a leader at the same me. An entrepreneur
and execu ve leader with a track record of designing,
building, and opera onalizing ecosystems, clusters,
networks, and organiza ons, Victoria Lennox, President
and Co-Founder of Startup Canada has propelled Canada
to the global stage as an ‘Innova on Na on.’ As one of
Canada’s leading proponents of entrepreneurship and
innova on with deep rela onships and es across
academia, industry, government and media reaching every
industry ver cal from AI and Machine Learning to Clean-
tech and Fin-tech across Canada and the World. Victoria is
a commensurate diplomat with the ability to lead,
communicate and forge consensus in any environment.
Passionate about educa on, entrepreneurship, innova on
and technology to foster peace, hope, equality, and
sustainability, Victoria possesses principal diplomacy and
poli cal acuity. She creates and communicates a
compelling vision, and inspires higher levels of
achievement and impact of individuals and organiza ons
alike. As a digital powerhouse, Victoria leverages
technology and digital media to unite, grow and reinforce
communi es, ecosystems and organiza ons, launching
robust digital programs and omni-channel campaigns.
Victoria founded the Na onal Associa on of College and
University Entrepreneurs, Startup Canada, and the Startup
Na ons, scaling organiza ons from zero to 35 employees.
She is working alongside 3,000 volunteers, raising more
than $50M from private and public sector partners, and
growing membership beyond 250,000 members.
Exempliﬁed Leadership
Ms. Lennox sets her organiza ons apart by focusing on
na onal and global challenges, empowering individuals to
become advocates, commi ng to collabora on by default,
and always focusing on the end result impact. This
approach aids her to mobilize people, resources,
informa on, and everything required to take an idea and
build it into a thriving organiza on. With this approach, Ms.
Lennox doesn’t need to appeal to a target audience, as the
target audience is engaged from the onset in building and
the products, services and programs that are created.
According to Ms. Lennox, “This approach to co-crea on
leads to greater speed, quality, and impact of the services
and programs for the targe ed audience — it removes the
guesswork and replaces it with teamwork”.
She is ﬁrst Canadian to receive the Queen’s Award for
Enterprise Promo on at Buckingham Palace on the
recommenda on of the Bri sh Prime Minister. She also has
represented Canada on Governor General State Visits to
Colombia, Chile, Jordan, Israel and the West Bank; APEC
Victoria Lennox
A Management Doyen with Exceptional Entrepreneurship Skills
The 10 Most Inspiring Women in Business 2019/ Victoria Lennox

I encourage anyone with
a burning desire to take
action on their idea to do
so with courage.
“
Summits in the Philippines and Vietnam, G8
Summits, UNDP Summits, and led dedicated
Innova on Tours across Mexico, India, Israel,
Estonia, Lithuania and Helsinki to promote and forge
es to Canada's innova on, startup, and scale-up
ecosystems.
Experience Leads to Proficiency
As with every entrepreneur, star ng up can be
challenging. Building an idea into a business requires
wearing every hat including fundraising, fulfilling,
driving impact, and scaling at the same me. Ms.
Lennox a ributes her success to her co-founders,
team, mentors and the advisors that have li ed her
and her organiza ons to great success.
Ms. Lennox’s past experiences at the intersec on of
business, academic, government and
entrepreneurship have shaped her journey and the
organiza ons she has built. From her early
undergraduate studies and posi ons in government,
University of Oxford focused on AI ethics, governance and
geopoli cs.
“I am driven to be of greater service of humanity through
developing ins tu ons, systems, policies and approaches that
lead to greater equality, sustainability, peace, and freedom for
all” Ms. Lennox asserts. Her short term vision is to complete by
her doctorate and contribute to the scholarship and field of
knowledge in her domain; be involved in cu ng-edge
innova ons, enterprises, and ins tu ons where she can make
an impact; and to con nue to speak and write.
Believe in Yourself
Ms. Lennox is a strong advocate of entrepreneurship as a vehicle
for individual empowerment, economic independence, and
social change. Further she states “Don’t wait. Reach out to
mentors. Connect with your start-up community. You owe it to
yourself and the world to give it all you’ve got.”
she learned the value of ‘service’; from her global
travels across more than 25 countries and her work
in China, Ghana and the UK. She learned the values
of ‘diplomacy, collabora on and global impact’,
and, from her work in entrepreneurship she
learned the values of ‘empowerment, economic
independence and social jus ce.’ The combined
values have propelled Victoria to put her skills,
experience and knowledge to use to tackle ever-
larger societal challenges, with what she calls a
‘systems lens’.
Inclining towards Equality, Sustainability, Peace,
and Freedom
A life-long learner, Ms. Lennox con nues to support
her Canadian-based non-profit organiza on,
Startup Canada as its President and advises
economic development, government and private
sector organiza ons on advancing innova on and
entrepreneurship. She is a keynote speaker on the
topic of innova on ecosystems, is wri ng her first
book, and is set to embark on a DPhil at the
“
Victoria Lennox
President and Co-founder
Startup Canada

As of 2017, 6% of the venture capitalists were
women and only 2.7% women owned businesses
received venture capital funding. Being a VC in
this startup economy, where 90% of startups fail, is a tough
job. However, it has noting to do with gender.
“Hi. I am Nin Desai. I head a crowdfunded technology
venture capital ﬁrm, NIN Ventures (or NIN.VC). We invest
in Series A & B rounds of disruptive technology
companies.”
While there are number of factors responsible for success in
the venture capital industry including timing and luck, top
of that list is a disruptive technology. A disruptive
technology is an innovation that changes the way an
existing industry functions and also helps create a new
market and value network, displacing an earlier technology
or a way of doing business.
E.g. 3D printing has been used for rapid prototyping and is
being applied in a number of industries today, including

manufacturing, automotive, consumer, aerospace, defense,
and especially healthcare. As the accuracy and materials
market have improved, the medical space shows great
potential for this technology. There are about 114,000
people currently on the organ recipient list in United States;
and only 34,770 transplants were performed in 2017. Every
10 minutes a new person is added to the waiting list and 20
people die every day because they cannot find a right organ.
What if 3D printing tissues can help save some of those
lives?
Every sector at some point is up for disruption. E.g. Ad
Tech. Over time as consumer behavior patterns changed,
Digital has now replaced Traditional Television. People are
now spending more time on their personal devices like
phone, tablets, & PCs. An average American spends about 3
hours everyday on their personal devices, and this is the
first time, the time spend on personal devices have
surpassed time spent watching Television, which is a big
change and opportunity for the Ad Tech Industry.
th
E.g. 4 Industrial Revolution. We stand on the brink of a
technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the
way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale,
scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike
anything humankind has experienced before. The First
Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to
mechanize production. The Second used electric power to
create mass production. The Third used electronics and
information technology to automate production. Now a
Fourth Industrial Revolution is building on the Third, the
digital revolution that has been occurring since the middle
of the last century. It is characterized by a fusion of
technologies that is blurring the lines between the 3D, 4D,
digital, other smart and biological spheres.
However, great ideas and technology needs to be backed by
a solid revenue model in order to attract customers as well
as attain profitability for the company to be an attractive
investment opportunity for a VC. E.g. our new initiative,
Total Capitalism. A startup needs an ecosystem to thrive
upon, thus it is very important for a company to understand
the market dynamics, its impact on their industry, product,
and also have a good understanding of the competitive
landscape in order to achieve long term success. A
disruptive technology needs to scale and a through analysis
helps gage those risk and rewards.
A CEO is the captain of the ship; and at NIN.VC we start
with an entrepreneur because entrepreneurs build
companies and not the other way around. Some of the
qualities VCs look for in an entrepreneur are ability to
dream big with ideas that scale, certain personality traits
and work ethics like being focused, disciplined, and hard
working. It’s important to have industry expertise and
knowledge or surround yourself with people that
compliment. However, flexibility and choices an
entrepreneur / the team makes determines the future of the
company. An amazing entrepreneur with a disruptive
technology, a solid revenue model, and good understanding
of the competitive landscape goes to vain, if the company
does not communicate effectively or has a good execution
strategy.
Venture Capitalists are known to invest in unicorns that
prove to be home run for their LPs and while there is no
secret recipe for success, hope this helps in understanding
the art and science behind each of that investment.
Stellar’s Vision

Entrepreneurs set up their new ventures with a new
and unique vision, goal, and its future. These
entrepreneurs face many challenges over the course
of their journey. However, financial challenge is the most
painful ones they have to face. Making a list of all the
financial challenges can aid a business and a new starting
player in attaining sustainability and economic stability.
The Small Business Association estimates that around
forty-four percent of startups and small business survive at
least for four years only. Others cite that poor capital
management, overspending, and the lack of reserve funds
are some of the common reasons behind a business closure.
All these three terms come under the finances of a company.
One way to address the financial problems is to use the 4R
formula i.e. Review, Revamp, Research, and Rewrite the
company’s business plans. By using this formula, they can
take action against the things that are not working out.
Working Capital Issue
Startups have to wait for their big clients to pay up so that
they can manage their expenses. Entrepreneurs must save at
least the expenses of six months as its working capital,
which can help them in engaging new customers and create
a productive business pipeline. Players can also avoid
inadequate working capital by cutting-costs up to twenty
percent and set the cut out as the working capital. For the
startups that are yet to make profits, should make sure that
they are adequately financed before taking any harsh
decision, which can affect their survival in the industry.
Non-consistent Cash Flow Issue
Most of the project-based business relies on their cash flow,
which further relies on the flow of the project and the
services rendered. It is therefore important for the company
to have a good business team ready to connect new and
reliable clients and projects. For the company that does not
rely on the cash flow, must construct a flow of consistent
cash flow at the proper time. If the client is unavailable to
pay on-time, the businesses should think newer methods of
client engagement. They should be patient and make
decisions that would help them while dealing with the
clients in the future.
Another way of improving the cash flow is to get a down
payment for the product and the services provided. This

From Editor’s Desk

down payment will aid the companies in covering the
expenses associated with the project sales and profit
margins. Firms can also set a day in the week to go through
the accounts, payables, and checks.
Bookkeeping Issue
Corporations can hire organized bookkeepers, which can
save a lot of time. If they cannot find one, they can give this
responsibility to one of its team member. The firm can
improve by distinguishing the discretion and non-discretion
spending. These include rent, office overhead, inventory
purchases, and wages. The companies can even save further
by polishing their overall marketing plans. Identifying and
creating a larger clientele that can develop marketing
strategies can help in promoting the service and products.
Firms must set goals and expectations for marketing
initiatives and develop the tools to improve the revenue
outcomes.
Wrong Predictions and Revenue Issue
Businesses on a day-to-day basis have to predict the
company’s revenues. This is even truer for the businesses
that are dynamic in nature. Most of the predictions can be
measured on a month-to-month basis. Although a lot of
factors that are dependent upon the revenue prediction, but
mostly it rely on the relevancy of the business. By
foreseeing accurately, the firms can generate good revenue
that is crucial for the cash flow statements. By paying
attention to the seasoned fluctuations and affected timelines,
they can predict the revenues accurately.
Hiring Issue
Hiring a good staff is not an easy task. A decision like over-
hiring can create additional costs for the company in
contracts and long-term employee liabilities. The employer
is responsible for its employees and they have to provide
them with the employee benefits that increase the costs. The
key solution lies in hiring the term-based employees,
freelancers, and independent contractors as they will
provide services only for the time worked and employer do
not have to add payroll costs in paying them. These
independent contractors are paid only for their time spent
on the work. Depending upon the job, firms can easily find
out that whether these are perfect for the job or not. In
return, these can absorb the work-related wages and can add
the benefit of costs.
In eliminating the conundrums, the mind-power and
descision-making of the entrepreneurs is important. They
can seek loans and grants which are specifically tailored
towards boosting the company's finances. Even some of the
vendors allow the company to offer their assistance and can
refine the business debts. The players should not haste in
making a decision. They should be thoughtful and
intellectual for deciding the expenses. It is important for
them to think strategically. They should be aware of their
decisions and should seek guidance in decision-making and
in expenses.

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