Susan Jones is the COO and Co-founder of Wear+Care, a Pledge 1% Member company.  

Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?

My father passed away from cancer 11 years ago and I always wanted to find a way to get involved in the community. Care+Wear was a passion project at first and was the first time I felt like I had found the right way for me to make an impact on the community.

Q2:  What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? 

Any advice on how they can build their career? Do what interests you. I started out in the fashion industry and found a way to take what I loved from that and channel it into Care+Wear and my role here.

Q3:  Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?

Yes, we are a Pledge 1% member and have made giving back a part of our business.

Q4:  Do you serve as a mentor?  What does mentorship mean to you?

Mentorship means taking the time to teach and listen to team members. I try to always be available as a mentor, especially to our new team members who are still learning about the company and are new to their roles. It’s fun for me to explain concepts and see them learning.

Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?

Always care for everybody.

Q6: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?

Find a good mentor.

Q1:  What is your Name and Title?

Gemma Sole, Cofounder and COO/CMO of Nineteenth Amendment

Q2: How long have you been in your current position?

3 years (!). Before this I worked in Venture Capital and Strategy and Communications consulting.

Q3:  What inspired you to work in this industry?

I’ve always loved bringing beautiful things to life. I’m an artist on the side and was very into fashion growing up. I went from consulting to the startup space and Nineteenth Amendment allows me to combine things that I care about: 1) helping creative makers do what they love , 2) helping small businesses grow and scale, 3) building things that are awesome.

In terms of fashion tech, the fashion industry really hasn’t had much innovation aside from effects of globalization (good and bad). What out platform does is provide the first real process innovation in fashion that is a win-win for all players. There is nothing more exciting than creating a business where everyone can win and talent is the determining factor.

Q4:  What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech?  Any advice on how they can build their career?

My greatest piece of advice would be to have conversations with real people in the industry you want to go into. This applies to any industry, but especially startups. The startup environment, the tools people use, the players change so quickly. You will learn so much more in one hour of conversation than an entire week or research, and you’ll be networking to boot.

As a woman, you have the ability to connect with other women in the industry who often want to help. So take advantage of it, just don’t forget to get the coffee and send that thank you. It’s also important you ask what you can do for them to show that you are willing to help and understand the value of their time.

Q5:  Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?

Yes! Nineteenth Amendment is a Pledge 1% member initiated by my cofounder, Amanda. We mentor for Girls Who Code and personally do volunteer work for groups for disadvantaged children.

Q6:  Do you serve as a mentor?  What does mentorship mean to you?

Yes, I mentor a lot in my college alumni network. I love mentoring. I like to give mentees real world advice to hopefully save them time and effort as they begin the process. Mentorship is really about making the next generation a kinder, smarter generation so they can make the world better for everyone. Sounds wishy/washy but it’s true! If I can pass along lessons and examples of integrity and kindness in business and personal life, I feel like that’s building a better future for everyone.

Q7:  What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?

Have faith in your ability to deliver. If you don’t understand something, speak up and ask about it. The worst thing you can do is just nod… Half of how you achieve in the long run is by trying something, understanding what you did well and what you didn’t, and suggesting ways to do it better next time….and then actually going and doing it (i.e. executing). What you quickly learn, as entrepreneurs or as employees, is that a lot of people have good ideas, but the best people actually do something about it.

Q8:  What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?

Five years ago is actually when I met my cofounder and quit my first corporate job. I had a great consulting job, had been promoted early, but wasn’t feeling like it was right for me. At the time, I moved from DC to Boston to live with my parents and figure out what to do next. I was scared and it was a lot of work. I’m so glad I did. My advice would be lead with your head but follow your gut. Mitigate risk but follow your feelings – if you do both of those things, at the end of the day, you know you will have made the best decisions and won’t have regrets.

Q1: What is your Name and Title?
Alexandra Lindsay, Head of Marketing for hobbyDB.

Q2: How long have you been in your current position?
A year and a half.

Q3: What inspired you to work in this industry?
One of the best parts of the tech start-up industry is how fast paced and collaborative it can be. Working for a start-up gives me the opportunity and autonomy to influence the creation and development of a new entity. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with some of the best minds in tech to create solutions in the areas of genealogy (at Mocavo) and collectibles (at hobbyDB) used by millions of people.

Q4: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?

I’m very lucky to have come from a line of strong, working women. When I was talking with my Nana, (who was born in 1939) about this interview, the first thing she shouted when I asked her this question was “DO IT!” Our generation is so fortunate in that we have had many women who came before us who fought to open doors and opportunities that they never had as working women. Although there is still a long way to go in terms of full equality, we owe it to past and future generations to have the courage to push ourselves into male dominated industries such as tech, and into leadership positions where we really can make a positive difference. I would also encourage women to build up and support their women colleagues. The more we can work together to build strong female leaders, the more positive influence we will have.

Q5: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
I’m proud to say that every company that I’ve worked for in Colorado has been a Pledge 1% member. It is such a wonderful way for us to prioritize giving back to a community that continues to support Colorado start-ups.

Q6: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
Throughout my life, I’ve had many important mentors who have helped mold me into the leader that I am today. Because of the positive influence they have had in my life, I knew that I also wanted to be a mentor. Luckily, there are many ways to become involved in your community as a mentor. During my time at the CU Boulder, I decided to take on the challenge of coaching a high school girls’ soccer team. Throughout the three years that I coached these young women, not only did I get to serve as a mentor for them as they prepared for their next adventures after high school, I learned more about myself than I ever expected. These young women gave me the courage to be myself, throw fear to the wind, and embrace vulnerability; all of which have helped me become a stronger leader in my career. That’s the best part about mentorship, that it truly can be a two-way street and you never know what you’re going to learn. I would encourage everyone to both find mentors to help you grow throughout your journey, and also find individuals that you can positively influence through mentorship.

Q7: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?

One of the best pieces of advice that I’ve received is to show up and work hard. It’s as simple as that. I believe that responsibility is taken, not earned. The more you can be counted on to show up every day and do a great job when no one is looking, the further you will go in your career.

The other piece of great advice that I’ve received is to lead with vulnerability. What this means to me is to have the courage to put yourself out there and potentially fail, to learn from your mistakes, to have honest, compassionate conversations with your team members, and to always be open-minded and daring.

Q8: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
Worrying is never productive. I’ve come to find that if I focus on setting myself up for success, and having a positive outlook, I am exponentially more successful than if I would have just worried. Realize that it’s okay if you don’t know everything and that you’re not ever going to be perfect. It’s always okay to ask for help and seek out the support of those who are rooting for you to succeed. One of the best parts of the journey is pushing yourself to learn and then applying that new knowledge to problems that you never thought you could solve.

Karen Lawson is the CEO of Slingshot.  She is an award winning business executive and leader in the digital industry. She has held executive positions within both global companies and joint ventures. With experience leading teams through change and motivating and developing cross functional teams to peak performance, Karen is extremely passionate about delivering great results and helping others achieve their true potential.

Karen is a prolific networker and an experienced media commentator and guest speaker, with appearances on TV, radio in print and digital, as well as industry forums.  

In 2016, Karen took the reins of Slingshot, a corporate accelerator focused on driving collaboration between Startups, Scaleups and corporates to lead the next wave of innovation. More than 50 Startups have participated in Slingshot’s programs, achieving a combined market capitalisation in excess of $60m and creating nearly 100 full time jobs.

Karen is leading the business through its next stage of growth, using her proven experience in driving reinvention and transformation to help Australia’s biggest businesses stay ahead of disruption.

Prior to her role at Slingshot, Karen served as CEO of CareerOne, a joint venture between News Limited and Monster Worldwide. With a remit to forge a new digital strategy, Karen restructured the business from a traditional job board, into a leading targeting and digital business offering media, employer branding, SaaS and sourcing solutions. CareerOne went on to be awarded a spot in the coveted BRW ‘Top 50 most innovative companies’ list for 2014.

BRW Magazine quoted this turnaround as follows: “CareerOne is no longer second to SEEK in the recruitment advertising market – not because it’s caught up, but because it has redefined the market it is in.”

Karen also served as General Manager – Business Development at Yahoo7! where she held full commercial and operational responsibility for data, advertising, publishing, technology, search, mobile and strategic partnerships, including the Microsoft Bing alliance.

Karen has a passion for driving innovation and has worked alongside a number of leading organisations as a consultant including Laureate International (the largest private educator in the world), Harris Farms and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. She was named UN ambassador for Womens Entrepeneurship Day, a Nominee for Telstra Woman of the year and the Australian Growth Company Awards 2015.

Karen is also a huge ‘foodie’ and has been a food and luxury travel journalist for over ten years, writing for a diverse range of publishers. She doesn’t have holidays, but has research and writing trips! To balance this out she is an avid runner having completed both New York and London Marathons, though these days she is more likely to be seen jogging around Blackwattle Bay at a much more sedate pace!