Be the Change
CodingGirls SG Women-In-Tech Series kick off
Written by Chiu Ling
“If someone tells you that you are crazy, it’s a good thing. Successful people are usually nuts… Success is driven by you trying to do something which is usually crazy, non-linear and unusual as a journey”
— — Yiping, Goh, Founder & CEO of AllDealsAsia, Founding Member & CPO of MatahariMall
“Failing is different from failure. Everyone who tried doing something different risk the chance of failing. That’s how society move forward and that’s how innovation happens…just because we fail at something doesn’t mean we are a failure… Don’t settle and keep looking for that thing you want to dedicate your life to”
— — Michelle Sun,Forbes 30 under 30, Founder and CEO of First Code Academy
“Entrepreneurship is learning to swim while swimming… If you want to pursue something. Take massive action. If you feel you are not good enough, don’t worry about it, don’t be afraid because everyone started from nothing. Just take a lot of action until you feel happy about it. If you are taking massive action, then you can be anything. You can achieve the highest that you never imagine you could.”
— — Pocket Sun, Forbes 30 under 30,Founder and Partner at SoGal Ventures.
“If she can see it, she can be it”
At CodingGirls, we believe in the power of role models to inspire and change the way women perceive themselves and their own potential.
On 20th May 2016, we gathered three exceptional female speakers Goh Yiping (Founder & CEO of AllDealsAsia Founding Member & CPO of MatahariMall), Michelle Sun (Forbes 30 under 30 & Founder and CEO of First Code Academy), and Pocket Sun (Forbes 30 under 30, Founder and Partner at SoGal Ventures) at Google Singapore office to launch our first Women In Tech Sharing Session — Be the Change: Women’s Path to Leadership — where we connect women with accomplished female leaders.
Confident, engaging and humorous, all three speakers instantly connected with the audience and inspired them with their honest and heartfelt sharing. Despite the success that these hardworking women have achieved to date, they remain grounded and hungry to learn.
Serial entrepreneur Goh YiPing kicked off the session with the point that ‘success is not a linear path’. Drawing from her own experience with failed start-ups and citing examples such as Jessica Alba, Jack Ma and JK Rowling, she highlighted the difference between following a “passion” which might fizzle out over time and finding an “obsession” to get things right and staying committed to push things through to success.
Investment banker-turned coder, Michelle Sun spoke about her near-fatal experience with swine flu, the social pressure to conform and stick to her investment banking job in Hong Kong and her first start-up attempt which failed. She share how these challenges spurred her to found the First Code Academy which fulfilled her desire to empower children to code.
Pocket Sun opened up about her insecurities reminding all that ‘everyone started from nothing’. She related how her life changed from an international student who knew nothing about entrepreneurship to becoming founder and partner of SoGal Ventures and Forbes 30 Under 30, all within three years. Most importantly, Pocket emphasized the importance of taking massive action to ensure that we get somewhere with whatever we set our hearts to.
The event concluded with a lively question and answer session which prompted interesting questions on entrepreneurship from an enthusiastic audience.
Do join us for our next Women In Tech sharing session!
( photos all by Zheng Long )
About CodingGirls
CodingGirls is a non-profit organization that inspires, unites and empowers girls to achieve their ambitions in the technology world.
Website: www.codingirls.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/CodingGirls
