Passion is the secret to founding a business
Panelists talked about passion, families and compensation
Founding your own company is an exciting, exhilarating but also frightening prospect. There is no safety net: you do, or you die. It's not enough to work in an area you're just interested in: there has to be real passion.
That was the agreement of panelists in the Let's get started panel on day two of the Women in Tech Festival Global.
"There are going to be more reasons to stop and say ‘No more' than there are to stick around - so make sure you start in an area you are passionate about. When you have that passion, it's harder to say no," said Lina Chan, CEO and co-founder of digital health platform Parla.
She added, "When you have kids it pushes you to think about every choice you make: monetary and time-wise. When you take time away from them, it has to be spent on something worthwhile that you're passionate about."
Inas Ismail, co-founder of games studio Autsera, also had thoughts on the role of family, and how intertwined it was with founding a company:
"Personally I had wanted to start a business for years, but one of the things that held me back was having a family and knowing you have a responsibility - not just to yourself but to your family and household. I also had a fear of failure, and that held me back. But life is short, and you only live it once. I am the one who writes the song of my life. That is when I took the decision to start this business."
A question that many founders struggle with concerns pay, and many members of the audience were interested in how the panelists had handled this - especially with families. Chan, who already had a child when she founded Parla and had a second early on, said it was "a tough question." She advised, "As an entrepreneur you need to make enough to ensure you're not constantly looking over your shoulder and have the space to focus on the business; that's what investors are paying you for…[but] there's always a balance between equity and salary. Be really honest with your investors about what you need, and have an open dialogue."
Insiya Jafferjee, CEO of The Shellworks - a biotech company that creates a degradable plastic alternative from seafood waste - agreed, adding, "It's a balance, and the way we've always looked at it is: how much do you need to live comfortably without taking away from the business? We need to be able to balance these things and ensure you're still living a happy and healthy life so you can focus on the business."
The topic of equality arose when the conversation moved to investment. Currently, only a single-digit percentage of angel (private) investment goes to women, and there are many theories as to why. Jafferjee pointed out that more angel investors are men than women, but it is changing:
"A lot of my angel investors ended up being women. It's a network effect; if they like you they'll introduce you to someone else and they'll introduce you to someone else… It's also interesting, as a female founder, how you go about securing your investment. Why not look for women like you?"
Chan brought up the idea of passion again:
"Our investment has been half angel, half institutional, by value. Some of our most supportive investors have been our angels because they invest in the mission and share in the passion you have…
"The traditional male investor might not understand the same problems…but some of our biggest angel cheques have been from men. [Angel investors] know it's super risky, but they believe in the project."
Jafferjee returned to the idea of passion at the end of the session, with her top tip for entrepreneurs
"You should do something you're really passionate about," she said, "because that's going to help you set up a really amazing business, and do it with the right people."