Defining success in their own terms – Interaction with ‘SHE’-entrepreneurs
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Defining success in their own terms – Interaction with the ‘SHE’-entrepreneurs! With the strong desire to contribute to the vibrant community we support, we keep organising landmark events like FuckUp Nights, BHIVE Bash, Buzzfest and SheTalks. We at BHIVE Workspace – The largest coworking space in Bangalore, stand for women entrepreneurs.
Taking the legacy ahead with like-minded people, we present BHIVE SheTalks 4.0 #PitchLikeAGirl.
Scheduled for a bright sunny Saturday afternoon, it started with Nivedita Bhattacharjee from Tech in Asia inviting the panellist on stage. The session not only involves sharing insights on pitching the idea in front of investors but also other aspects of a woman entrepreneur’s life like work-life balance and much more.
Following is a brief introduction of the panellists:
- Caroline Fernandes, Co-founder at Vibha Women
- Pankhuri Shrivastava, Co-founder and CMO of GrabHouse
- Sahyujyah Shrinivas, Founder and CEO at LibeRent
The first question put forward was by Nivedita Bhattacharjee. “How women entrepreneurs handle the situation when pitching to a VC who doesn’t appreciate the idea and may pass some not so appreciable comments?” Pankhuri Shrivastava was quick to answer that is in a meeting with investors alone changes the way a woman is looked upon. It not only gains respect but the opportunity too. Investors are well acquainted with the fact that the person who is representing the idea is working on it 24*7 and thus knows her business well. According to her, being straightforward helps.
A women entrepreneur faces many hurdles, but some of them are just in her mind. These stop her from taking the first step towards her dreams. Answering a query on how one reacts to failures and ‘what people will say’, Caroline Fernandes said, “It’s all about the inner journey.” Women come face to face with such situations in everyday life, even if the person in front of you is a VC, a woman is more prepared to handle the situation as she knows her business well and has the burning desire to pursue it.
We often get busy analysing the rejection they come across.But, getting rejected is part and parcel of the journey. Coming across a person who doesn’t sync with your thoughts is not a rare occurrence. Caroline Fernandes suggests not to pay heed to such persons as they don’t deserve you and you deserve better. She advised not to spiral down but to go on a journey searching a better match.
Sharing her thoughts on self-doubts, Sahyujyah Shrinivas clears that she goes through times of self-doubt. But, that is not because she is a woman. You have to get over that phase and move forward with more confidence.
Answering queries from the audience and taking the session forward it involved both the genders put forward their thoughts on women in business. Post that we broke for networking session, ornamented by an exclusive music performance by Marine de Monteclaine. Mesmerizing the audience with her voice and soothing music flowing in the air, she made people dance along.