At Lede TV, we’ve had the great privilege of meeting some fierce female founders across a variety of industries, from food and beverage to consumer tech. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating these leaders and the generations of women who came before them to break barriers and drive equity and innovation throughout business, culture and society.
While Women’s History Month will come and go, we asked our trusted founders to help us continue the conversation by sharing advice to help the next generation launch and grow their businesses. Here’s their tried and true advice for female founders, paying it forward from one founder to the next.
Women often have the tendency to not apply for or start something unless they think they're "100%" ready for it. No one's ever "100%" ready to start a company, so my biggest piece of advice to potential female founders is to just do it! There's nothing more fulfilling than working for yourself.
- Marilyn Yang, Co-Founder of Popadelics
If you have a business idea I would just start working on it, don't wait for the right time because there will never be the most ideal time, you just need to start.
- Taylor Smith, Founder & CEO of Broma
Believe in yourself! How can you ask anyone else to believe in you, if you don’t first believe in yourself? How can you ask someone else to take a gamble on you if you won’t take a gamble on yourself? If you’ve made it this far, you absolutely have the perseverance, grit, and determination to make it across the finish line. Believe in yourself!
- Vicki Mayo, Founder & CEO of TouchPoint Solution
All great things take time! Believe in yourself, take good care of yourself, and keep surrounding yourself with people who cheer you on and know more than you do. Take care of the day to day, and keep putting yourself six months into the future as you create strategies to actualize your vision.
- Margaret Coons, Founder & CEO of Nuts For Cheese
Patience! Businesses are like plants - they require nurturing and care, and it’s not realistic to expect a sapling to become a giant oak tree overnight.
- Marilyn Yang, Co-Founder of Popadelics
As a woman in business it is so important to build your network of people who can help you grow and flourish. I believe first and foremost find your own confident voice, and then spend the time to find the right partners and teammates that will respect and support you as a female CEO.
- Lauren Marsh, Co-Founder of Happy Planet Group
Don’t be afraid to break the mold of the “typical” go-to-market strategies in your industry! Especially with how quickly the consumer landscape is changing by the day, don’t be afraid to disrupt old business models.
- Marilyn Yang, Co-Founder of Popadelics
Founder journey is different for everyone. Now is the time to start. Tough times create the best innovations. You don't have to be a unicorn to be a successful founder. If you have an idea, most likely someone else is working on it already. Don't get discouraged. Competition is good. It means there is demand for your future product. A lot of the success lies in the implementation and the network you are able to build. So listen to your customers and make lots of new friends.
- Olga Ten, Founder of Upmarqt
Calm is your superpower. Your ability to stay calm and thoughtful in these times of chaos will be what gets you through.
- Bridget Hunter-Jones, Founder & CEO of Impact Biosystems
Social media tells you that you have to scale in six months and exit in a year. Don't believe it, 99.9% of startups don't. Take your time and enjoy the process. So that when it gets tough (and it will) you can pull through and make it to the finish line.
- Olga Ten, Founder of Upmarqt
We’re grateful to all of these amazing founders for their invaluable advice. If you’re as inspired as we are, check out our interviews to learn more about the companies they have built.
Are you a founder ready to share your innovative product? Then it’s time to take the lede and share your product on Lede TV. Let’s get the conversation started.
