Women in Tech: Advice to Younger Selves

As it’s International Women’s Day, I wanted to do something a little different and hand the episode over to some of the amazing women I have had on the show and I will link to each of their original episodes in the notes below.

Today, we have Shellye Archambeau, Rana el Kaliouby, Sherrell Dorsey, Soraya Darabi, Eileen Burbidge, Yodit Stanton, Donna Auguste, Megan Smith and Dr Catherine Breslin and what follows is the one piece of advice they’d offer their younger selves.

First up is Dr Catherine Breslin - an AI and Machine Learning Scientist who managed the Cambridge-based AI Alexa team that, among other things, worked on technology that enabled the automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding behind Amazon’s Alexa. Full episode here.

The next guest is Donna Auguste from episode 16. Donna was the first African-American to enter the PhD program at Carnegie Mellon researching AI before she went on to lead the Newton engineering team at Apple. She then cofounded and sold her own software business for $147 million. In this clip, Donna offers some advice to a Donna in her twenties. Full episode here.

Then there is Eileen Burbidge from episode 20 – Eileen is an esteemed early-stage VC, co-founder and Partner at Passion Capital and was awarded an MBE from the Queen in 2015 for services to business. Eileen also was an advisor to both our Prime Minister and London Mayor. In this clip, Eileen revisits the traits instilled in her from a young age. Full episode here.

Next up is Megan Smith – an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist who has been at the forefront of pioneering tech for all of her career from General Magic, Google, and as CTO to President Obama. She is currently founder and CEO of Shift7. In episode 13 Megan talks about learning from history and how we can change the structures to allow for a more inclusive and equal world. Full episode here.

And then there is Rana el Kaliouby co-founder and CEO of Affectiva - a software company which builds AI to understand human emotions and cognitive states by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. The company was spun out of the MIT Media Lab and was recently sold for over $70 million. In episode 10, Rana and I discuss how to deal with doubt and the importance of believing in yourself as a founder. Full episode here. Buy Rana's book Girl Decoded: A Scientist's Quest to Reclaim Our Humanity by Bringing Emotional Intelligence to Technology here.

Next up is Shellye Archambeau from episode 4. Shelly’s career includes a Silicon Valley CEO, Fortune 500 Board Member, Advisor and Author. She was one of Silicon Valley’s first African American female CEO’s and pioneered a path in tech for others to follow. In this clip, she shares some great advice on how to put yourself first. Full episode here. Buy Shellye's book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms here.

Then there is Sherrell Dorsey from episode 31. Sherrell is founder and CEO of The Plug – an online news and insights platform covering black tech founders, companies and ecosystems and in this clip, she tells her younger self to relax a little and not be so focused on climbing that ladder we all find ourselves on. Full episode here. Buy Sherrell's book, Upper Hand: The Future of Work for The Rest of Us here.

Next up is Soraya Darabi –entrepreneur and investor. Soraya is co-founder and General Partner at TMV – a venture fund which focuses on investing in purposeful startups reimagining the future. And in episode 26, she shared her startup journey before becoming an investor and how having a chip on your shoulder isn’t always a bad thing as a founder. Full episode here.

And the final clip is from Yodit Stanton – co-founder and CEO of OpenSensors which is a technology company that provides advanced data-based solutions for workplace optimisation. In this final clip from episode 24, Yodit summarises what I have heard a lot of successful founders say which is the importance of savouring the moment in the crazy, wild ride, of your startup journey. Too many of us are rushing to get to the finish line, wherever that is, without really taking in what we have achieved and why it’s important. A great lesson for us all really. Full episode here.

Finally, I wanted to leave you with a quote from Admiral Grace Hopper, a pioneer in computer programming as well as United States Navy admiral – it’s an amended version of a quote by John A Shedd in his 1928 book, Salt from My Attic.

Hopper’s version reads, “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for.”

I think it sums up the entrepreneurial spirit so well. Founders refuse to stay in their comfort zones – they go out and they build, despite the barriers and despite the naysayers and that’s why they inspire me so.

Happy International Women's Day!

This special episode was hosted by me Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter  and edited by my long-time editor and project collaborator Jolin Cheng.