#WomxnOfVivaTech
By Lea Coligado & Raquel Small
Last week, the Women of Silicon Valley team flew to Paris to cover Viva Technology conference, “a global rendezvous for startups & leaders” that drew in over 100,000 attendees from 125 countries and 9,000 startups alone.
Over two jam-packed days, we got to interview 19 inspiring womxn, who despite coming from distant places around the world, shared stories that resonated with each other and hit many of the same themes: overcoming imposter syndrome, finding a career in tech via circuitous paths, and leveraging all the privileges tech has afforded them to help their communities.
With no further ado and a heartfelt adieu, we present you the #WomxnOfVivaTech!
In alphabetical order:
A****
Someo
“One problem I have is facing inequality as a woman. I’m French and Algerian too, so it gets even more complicated. I have to show French people I can work and do all the same things they do. I’m now an intern at a startup, Someo, and that’s why I’m at Viva Tech.”
Anaïs Rance
Moovjee
“I like to dance, and last summer someone proposed me a contract to choreograph a dance at the beginning of an event. On top of the choreography, I had to organize all the trainings, which was a great opportunity for project management. It was a success. Lots of people came up to me congratulating me and encouraged me to start my own business. My family never wanted me to become an artist so this was the first time people encouraged me to go in this direction.”
Anaïs Rostaqi
Sustainable4Planet
“Raising funds is so challenging because as a young woman, I’m not taken very seriously.
I’ve faced many people who don’t take me seriously, and I had to prove them wrong by pitching and winning them over.
But I love challenging myself. This is why I choose tech. I’m always choosing the option where women are not invited or encouraged because I prove them wrong. Yes, there are women in tech, and yes, we can create.”
“I’m always choosing the option where women are not invited or encouraged because I prove them wrong. Yes, there are women in tech, and yes, we can create.”
Anne-Laure De Belloy
Lucette
“I feel so proud every time I receive an email from a user of our platform telling us, “Thank you so much for your advice Lucette! I feel better in my body now.”” [Lucette is an online beauty consultant that offers personalized recommendations for products and routines.]
Ashley Ballard
“I’m really proud of where I came from; I bypassed college so the past ten years have pretty much been me working my ass off and applying my skills as best I could.
I’ve been working with technology since I was little, but I’m also really good at communication, so having been able to fuse those two together as I worked, I can say college was not the best route for me.
College is not for everyone, and I got here today learning by interacting.”
Jasmine Samantar
Samawat Energy
“A definite challenge I’ve faced is working as a woman entrepreneur.
When you sit at the table with investors, they often look at you as a woman and sometimes try to catch you off guard. They ask you certain questions hoping you won’t know the answer. It’s like they’re waiting for you to fail, and it’s happened to me many times.
One time I didn’t know the answer, and the guy said, “See, you didn’t know about that!” It lowers your confidence.
You have to work ten times as hard, especially if you’re a Black woman, and top of that a Muslim.”
“You have to work ten times as hard, especially if you’re a Black woman, and top of that a Muslim.”
Johanna Malanda
Adactive SAS
“A challenge I’ve faced in tech is men. I’m the only woman in my company so feeling alone is definitely something I deal with a lot. I think trust in myself is how I got over it. Trust is key — for both men and women.”
Lilik Nur Cholidah
Electric Visionary Aircrafts
“I’m proud of my hard work. I came here from Indonesia to pursue my dream of working in Paris, so being at Viva Tech is like a dream come true for me.”
Liv Erickson
High Fidelity
“When I got my first job out of college at Microsoft, I moved across the country and didn’t know anyone else out here. I didn’t feel like my time at school really prepared me for thinking about my career; I was ready for that first job, but it seemed that in the Bay Area, everyone around me had huge ideas, and they knew how to accomplish them. My imposter syndrome was real.
I set out on a journey to find my passions, which meant trying a lot of different things. Every night when I’d get home from work, I’d learn some new language and try to make sense of all of Silicon Valley’s options. After a few months, I discovered a virtual reality meetup, and something immediately clicked. My learning became entirely focused around immersive technologies.
Within a couple of months of teaching myself 3D development and design, I got to move into a role where I could develop and teach full-time. I think there’s a lot of pressure to know what to expect of your career early on, but I’ve found it’s a lot more fluid and flexible than I’d thought. It relieves a lot of pressure!”
“There’s a lot of pressure to know what to expect of your career early on, but I’ve found it’s a lot more fluid and flexible than I’d thought.”
Lisette Kapepula
Total
“What’s difficult for me as a founder is that I’m a mother so I have to take care of my child and my family. I go to work everyday, then when I go home, I work. It’s a lot.
Paris is a great city, but sometimes it’s difficult to do everything. I decided to get into tech because I met a lot of awesome women doing it, and I wanted to do the same.”
Moojan Asghari
SigFox
“I’m an Iranian tech entrepreneur born in Tehran and based in Paris. I’ve founded a few initiatives including Women in AI, a global community of women in artificial intelligence, and Silk Road Startup, the biggest international conference in Iran.
I got into tech by chance; I was working in finance and banking, and a good friend of mine invited me to join him on a startup project. I accepted the adventure, and it totally changed the direction of my life. Launching Silk Road Startup was quite challenging, especially leading it from abroad. I did it by finding the best people and transferring my vision to them.”
Natasha Riley
Domestly
“Domestly is a company that connects domestic workers with homeowners. The industry has been stagnant for years, and homeowners usually find people on the streets for domestic work. That’s how it’s always been.
As a result, many domestic workers are underpaid and very poorly treated, and Domestly wanted to change all of that. We make sure that domestic workers are getting paid correctly, and we also do training with them, not just for cleaning: we help them manage their finances, open bank accounts, etc. We also check the security of domestic workers: how long they were on the job, when they checked in, when they left, and on the homeowners’ end, we provide the security of background and reference checks.
It’s a very rewarding job, seeing people come in who’ve had trouble finding employment for years and suddenly be able to put their kids through school.”
Ndeye Diarra Diobaye
Bleuette
“I’m 24, and I’m a Black woman who was not only born in France but also moved back to Congo.
When I moved back, there was a necessary adaptation; I felt like I had to reconcile being part of the diaspora. I had an idea of the Africa I was sold, but also that I had sold myself on, and when I got there I had to deconstruct it and find where I fit in. I had to learn to accept that there are things I’m not going to be able to change. As part of the diaspora, I had so many ideas and there were so many reasons they wouldn’t go just how I wanted them to.
I overcame it by learning to take time and be patient. I am not a patient person, but I’m learning step by step to let things fall into place. I have a lot of privileges and schooling so I felt “I can make it!” which was a bit entitled. There were people who reminded me there are lots of others just as qualified as me. I had to adapt to being back in Africa and learn my place in the ecosystem.”
Nora Rado
The Medical Futurist
“I have a family member with health issues, and that’s what got me into working at The Medical Futurist. Working on me and my family’s health issues takes those traits you cannot learn in school: courage and persistence. But I’m really proud of my work. The Medical Futurist wants to help people take responsibility of their health, and if they need health tech, we show them how.”
Philippine Dolbeau
New School
“The hard part about being a very young entrepreneur is getting credibility.
When you’re raising funds in the face of a 10-man team, all in their 60s, and you’re a 15-year-old woman still in secondary school, it’s hard for people to take your startup ideas seriously.
Now, my aim is to tell the world that yes, women still studying in Lycée can create startups! Breaking stereotypes is my goal.”
Veronique Liverpool
ESCP Europe Business School
“A challenge I face is trying to find the balance between being hard and soft when going into business. As women, we sometimes fear that if we’re too vulnerable people won’t take us seriously, that we might get stepped on; but it’s not necessarily in my nature to be tyrannical. I’m just trying to find the balance.”
Reine Imanishimwe
FabLab Rwanda
“I’m a wood innovator — a lot of people are confused why I’d want to be a carpenter. They always say, “How can you make furniture with technology?” I tell them I have power as a woman, and I can do anything a man can do.
Some people understand it, others don’t, but it doesn’t matter to me. They can see I’m doing well for myself. I have my own company now, and I’m currently an innovator through FabLab [a tech innovation lab supporting Hardware Innovators out of Rwanda].”
Sophie Bolo
Orange
“I’m 48 years old, and two years ago I did my MBA. I was one of the most experienced students. I excelled at school, and I’m very proud of it, especially since I did it while taking care of two children. I’d wanted to get this degree for five years, and I finally did it.”
Yasmin Sheikhdon
Samawat Energy
“I’m really proud of being able to work in Somalia again. Our parents fled a civil war, so for us to go back and invest in our country is amazing.”
