One of FemGems’ live podcast shows at Factory Berlin earlier this year

Turning a Podcast into a Platform Empowering Female Founders

Transforming Talk into Action with FemGem40

The founder’s path is not linear. It’s full of surprises. In a surprising twist from the usual FemGems podcast format, episode 40 features none other than FemGems’ Founder herself. In it, she describes how her podcast is being reincarnated into the FemGems Club. FemGem40, Dora Petrova, is interviewed by her colleague Carmen who is also driven by ‘acting on values’ — a central theme at FemGems.

Read on to learn about FemGems’ transformation and how you can activate your own ideas!

Metamorphosis

Kicking off this special episode, Dora Dora dispels the myth that you need to know exactly what your business will be in order to start; instead, she elaborates on how she morphed from hosting a podcast into building a company that boosts female entrepreneurship. She effectively used the podcast to build a robust network, and to profoundly understand the challenges that female founders face — and then create a platform to actively address and contribute to solving those challenges.

FemGems’ founder Dora Petrova

Getting started: three focus areas

In short, Dora recommends the following three things. Use these three keys to shape your value proposition and test it until you have something that provides high value to your customer:

1. Know the problem you want to solve.
2. Know who you want to help.
3. Know WHY you want to do all this.

The power of inspiration: see it to be it

Dora drew deep inspiration from one of her guests on the podcast before she became one. That particular guest, Tatyana Mitkova (featured in Episode 2,) started her own business and dropped out of law school to pursue her idea, once it showed clear potential. Dora then realized: “If she could do it, I could do it, too.”

Since then, FemGems podcast has served as massive inspiration and has resonated globally. But over the next 30 episodes in having very real conversations with successful entrepreneurs about their journeys, Dora realized the podcast was not enough.

Producing the podcast and speaking with hundreds of early-stage female founders, Dora understood that she needed to create a direct 1:1 solution to help them. Being a part of the Founder Institute accelerated the company building process for her. Numerous customer interviews confirmed that FemGems must be geared towards serving a new type of founder: one who wants to grow sustainably, based on ethical values, and not in the typical hyper-aggressive Silicon Valley model.

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Living the FemGems’ values

There are four core values that connect the remote FemGems’ team and drive everything:

1. Solution- & Action-focus. In all activity and content across FemGems’ channels, there’s a sharp focus on positive action; you can see this even manifested in the evolution of a podcast for sharing learnings into a platform for connection and growth. The focus is always tangible results that move the needle.
2. Ownership & Empowerment. FemGems take responsibility for outcomes. This fuels self-confidence, letting you unfold your true potential.
3. Radical Candor & Safe Space. Communication is open, sincere, direct, and transparent. Constant feedback loops encourage and facilitate the 4th value:
4. Growth Mindset. Rather than a fixed mindset, where you operate only within areas known to you, we aim for growth beyond those boundaries. This means a continued love of learning, resilience, and a willingness to take on new challenges.

The cornerstones of the FemGems’ Club program

As emphasized by FemGems’ very first podcast guest, Plan A’s CEO, Lubomila Jordanova, there are no boundaries to what we can achieve.

Building a company is a magnificent opportunity to create an impact based on your values and identity.

To actually do so though, we all need access to a strong network and experienced mentorship; they are everything.

Since it normally takes a long time and significant effort to pursue a strategic network and the right mentors, FemGems Club provides the missing link here.

According to Dora, “Network and mentorship can be the reason that a company succeeds or fails and they determine the speed of that success or failure.” Furthermore, accountability is what keeps you on track and moving forward. How does this all manifest at FemGems Club?

1. Mentorship: For each of the goals you set, you are being matched with an appropriate and experienced entrepreneur to guide you towards that goal.
2. Accountability: You have a ‘progress partner’ to ensure you keep your commitments and provide support in the form of a sounding board or sparring partner who can ensure you stay on track towards your goals.
3. Mastermind Group: In response to a lack of a cultural ‘safe space’ for female founders (often discussed in the podcast), you’ll join a supportive group of people who can help you solve problems faster and who want to see you succeed.

Not only the FemGems featured on the podcast are mentors at FemGems Club, but a growing network of entrepreneurs who want to give back and support female founders on their journeys

Now for some FAQs

Who can apply?

FemGems Club is for any early-stage female founder. You can be a full-time founder or a side-hustler, at idea stage, MVP (prototype), near incorporation, or already generating revenue. No matter your progress so far, FemGems Club offers what’s needed at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey.

Why is it application- and subcription-based?

In order to ensure that when you join, you are surrounded by inspirational people with whom you’ll want to align. As opposed to a one-time program, FemGems creates a place where female founders belong and benefit from ongoing support.

Why should you apply?

If you see problems in the world around you that you want to solve, you owe it to yourself and your community to try and create solutions. FemGems Club will help you connect with the right people and pursue your ideas within a goal-driven support system.

When should you apply?

That’s easy! Right now. The first-cohort application deadline has been extended to August 9th. Successful applicants benefit from a reduced membership fee and a chance to shape the program based on their own feedback.

Learn more here.

Tune in to episode 40 to hear the full story. Subscribe to our MuseLetter right here to get updates and news. Share this article and give it 50 claps👏🏽, so more people can get inspired!

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