Event recap: How to create a culture for digital innovation

September 12, 2014December 13, 2015

We welcomed a full house at last week’s event at Rainmaking Loft on “How to create a culture for digital innovation”. We were joined by two very inspiring speakers: Lucy Blair, Director at Motive Unknown & Emma Robertson, Managing Director at Transform Consultancy.

The crowd gained some very useful takeaways, including:

Happiness matters at work! Your freedom of spirit will be much wider & you’ll be more creative.
Innovation doesn’t have to be flashy & mould-breaking, it should just be clever & looked at in a different way.
Invent before you’re forced to. Digital innovation HAS to be ahead of the game.
A la Steve Jobs: Start with the customer and work back toward the technology, not the other way around!

Thank you to both ladies for the wonderful insight.

In case you missed it, here is Emma’s presentation:

And here is Lucy’s:

Many thanks again to our sponsor Startupbootcamp FinTech Accelerator.

Looking forward to seeing you at the next event in October! Keep an eye on our Twitter & subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss a thing.

Apply now for Lady Pitch Night, hosted by Girls in Tech Paris

July 10, 2014December 13, 2015

Are you a female founder of a European-based startup? Consider applying for Lady Pitch Night.

On September 23rd, the 4th annual European Lady Pitch Night will be hosted by Girls in Tech Paris and Orange.

The criteria to apply for Lady Pitch Night is pretty simple: You must be a female founder or co-founder of a startup headquartered in Europe and have been operational for 6-36 months.

5 finalists will be selected to travel to Paris (for free) on September 23rd to pitch for an international jury made of entrepreneurs, experts and investors.

The following influential people were part of past judging panels: Gilles Babinet (business angel), Marie-Christine Levet (investor at Jaina Capital), Annina Svensson (Industry Head Entertainment at Google and ex Country Manager at Spotify), Claudia Helming (CEO Dawanda), Alena Osipova (Investor at Fast Lane Ventures), Catherine Barba (founder of Digital Commerce Factory).

The winners of the competition will not only get access to a lot of media visibility, but will also walk away with a number of exclusive prizes, including tickets for European conferences like LeWeb, mentoring from famous European incubators, and more.

To apply, just fill out this questionnaire. The deadline has been extended to July 31st — good luck!

Fundraising & Startups: An Evening with Female VCs and Entrepreneurs

June 26, 2014December 13, 20151 Comment

Last night, we were delighted to gather a panel of female investors and entrepreneurs at Barclays Fintech Accelerator space in Whitechapel to discuss the process of fundraising for our members. Here is a brief recap of the event, the take aways of the discussion and short snippet of the wise words spoken last night by some of the greatest experienced business women found in the UK at the moment.

Eileen, Kate, Alexandra, Kelsey and Linsey

We could not have dreamt of a better panel to discuss the topic of fundraising. Two well achieved women VCs and three women entrepreneurs that either have just closed rounds of investments, worked in venture capital or exited companies.

Investors and entrepreneurs uncovered the veil of how one ask for (a lot of) money to scale a business; what makes a good pitch, how much to raise at first, when to raise and from who.

Investing as a relationship - Traction

The panel talk was followed by good questions, popcorns and drinks. Thank you for all of you who came to listen, share and network.

A special thank you to our Sponsor Techstars London who has opened application for its accelerator and to our amazing panelists. We had the exciting presence of Tech City News, Sirius Program representatives as well as some TechStars fellow.

You can find the pictures of the night on our Facebook page and keep yourself up to date on our latest news and events via our Twitter @GirlsinTech_UK. We will be back in September with a nice “back to school” party & networking event! Have a great summer!

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Recap: Rooftop networking at White Bear Yard

May 28, 2014December 13, 20151 Comment

One week ago, we enjoyed a lovely evening of speed networking thanks to White Bear Yard who kindly offered their rooftop.

We kicked off with a speech from our Managing Director, Katy.

And promptly set off for some speed networking, 3 minutes at a time!

Luckily we got to disturb a few of our favourite ladies for some group pics…

Thank you to all who attended! It was surely a success. Stay tuned for details of our next event on fundraising for your startup, 25th June!

How to implement agile into your team

March 12, 2014December 13, 2015

Agile methodologies have become very common practice in today’s world of technology. They help improve efficiency in teams through iterative and incremental development. Although many companies think they are using agile, many actually are not using it properly!

The audience of our latest event, listening intently

At our second event of the year, hosted by New Bamboo on 6th March 2014, we dove into the world of agile with Laurie Young (Head of Operations at New Bamboo) and Andrea Nagel (Product Manager at zeebox). They helped clear up common misconceptions of agile and best practices for implementing agile into your team.

Presenter Andrea Nagel of zeebox

Take a look Laurie’s slides:

Agile vs agile (vs agile) from Laurie Young

All in all, it was a great night with very useful information on all things agile. Thank you again to our sponsor New Bamboo for providing the snacks, venue + talk.

Laurie would love to hear from you directly with any questions, so feel free send a tweet to @wildfalcon

Want to host an event with us? Get in touch: gitlondon@gmail.com

Watch this space for all the upcoming events and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Event: How (not) to run a business with agile

February 28, 2014December 13, 2015

As part of the Girls in Tech Kickstart Series, we’re proud to partner with New Bamboo, one of London’s leading development agencies, to present an evening of looking under the hood of agile.

From startups to Apple, successful tech businesses always claim to do agile. But what do they really mean? And how can you use agile to ship products, break into new markets and grow your business?

The evening will open with Laurie Young, Head of Operations at New Bamboo, who will give a whistle-stop history of how people have tried to get things done, and his observations that there are at least three different things people mean when they’re agile. With over seven years of driving commercial and development projects, Laurie has seen the gamut: chaos, command and control, and empowerment; he can help you identify what phase your organisation is in.

Andrea Nagel, Product Manager at one of the UK’s leading startups, Zeebox will then share her experience of managing and developing a product in real life. Zeebox has recently adopted a more agile approach to development, so Andrea will share their secrets of how you can practically and quickly implement agile ideas.

Andrea and Laurie will be on hand afterwards to help you improve your processes. And, in true Girls in Tech style, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to meet one another afterwards.

Doors open from 7pm, talks start at 7:30pm on 6th March. To sign up click here.

Don’t miss any of our updates, sign up to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Want to organise an event with Girls in Tech London? Email gitlondon@gmail.com

Networking tips from presenter Matthew Davies

February 5, 2014December 13, 2015

Our first event of 2014 at the moo.com offices on Tuesday 28th January was a great success! We had many ladies and gents come out, who all enjoyed Matthew Davies’ tips for acing the networking process.

Matthew Davies is the founder and senior coach at Power the Change as well as a successful writer and a broadcaster. With his enthusiasm, wit and charisma, Matthew helped our audience to feel more confident when networking. If you weren’t able to attend, here are some words of wisdom for you:

Before an event, rehearse in front of the mirror how you want to introduce yourself.
When at an event, just remember the word “ACTION”. Its letters stand for Acceptance, Courage, Thoughts, I am enough, Ownership, Needs of others
Lean into your passions and you can beat the fear!
If you easily get nervous, turn the spotlight on the other person rather than yourself.
Always be a keen listener and never sell!
Finally, if you’ve managed all the above, here are some real pro tips: speak up in order not to slur your words and remember to pause.

Thanks again to our amazing sponsor moo.com for the venue, pizza, snacks & drinks.

Watch this space for all the upcoming events and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get updates.

Event: Networking, Confidence and Presentation Coaching

January 20, 2014December 13, 2015

Girls in Tech event 2014

If among your New Year’s resolutions you’ve listed boosting your presentation skills and becoming a networking guru, here’s the perfect event for you!

Girls in Tech is proud to partner with Moo for a free event taking place on Tuesday 28th January 2014 with Matthew Davies, senior coach from Power The Change.

Click here to sign up and read all the details.

See you there!

London Startup Weekend: the fashion edition

December 23, 2013December 13, 2015

If we were in a John Hughes ’80s film, fashion and geeks would not mix. It would definitely be unlikely to see the chronicles of Molly Ringwald as a startup entrepreneur.

Luckily for us, we’ve put mullets, scrunchies and fluo clothing behind us, along with an antiquated mindset.

In today’s world, where Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue attends the Webby Awards and Angela Ahrendts moves from fashion label Burberry to Apple, there are no preconceptions anymore.

Samsung smartwatch has just shown the wider public a glimpse of where technology (and fashion) can head next. ASOS has relieved thousands of us to fight the crowds to get hold of a garment. Net-a-porter brought luxury back to its true meaning. Notwithstanding how 3D printing and Chris Anderson’s foreseen “makers revolution” will impact our lives in the future.

That’s why there couldn’t have been a more appropriate moment to give the London Startup Weekend a makeover and launch an edition entirely dedicated to fashion, which took place in December 2013.

If you don’t know how the London Startup Weekend works, here’s its simple formula: no talk, all action, launch a startup in a 56-hour long, hands-on jam!

With 12 ideas to develop and only 3 winners, this edition’s top teams were Fashion Brief, a project-planning software focused on shoots and shows; Swappi, a super simple group fashion swaps and Wardro, a Pandora for menswear.

Feeling inspired? Here there are the top tips from those who made it, London Startup Weekend’s mentors and judges:

– Background doesn’t matter

Don’t fret over the fact that you don’t know your Manolos from your Jimmy Choo’s. Nicola McClafferty, founder and CEO of Covetique, originally came from a finance background and never dreamed of being an entrepreneur. Her pre-owned luxury fashion business was inspired not from the pages of Vogue but from startups like Airbnb that focus on people extracting value from what they own. Her aim was to mainly focus on delivering a quality product in a lean way in order to streamline the logistics of moving luxury fashion. The hardest part? Deciding it was the right time to go for it!

– Listen up!

It’s good to be confident and pursue your dream, but beware. Amrita Kriplani, Senior Product Manager at ASOS, said “one huge problem with startups is getting stuck in your vision. Listen to feedback, don’t ignore it.”

– Do your homework

Lee-Jon Ball, founder of Alliants and fashion entrepreneur himself, said to always ask yourself a question: has the idea already been thought of? Complete a thorough research of what’s out there before diving into it. If there’s something similar out there, what can you bring to the table to improve it?

– Flexible business model

Vassilios Alexiou, Executive Creative Director & Founder at Less Rain, said that not all the good ideas should be developed following the steps of Mark Zuckerberg. Think if you can bring your services and expertise to existing firms and brands rather than starting fresh on your own and compete against giant competitors. Your project might not become the next best-selling app in the Apple Store, but it could more profitable.

– Don’t go solo

There are many opportunities out there. You don’t necessarily have to run your business from your bedroom, you may also seek out the support and partnership of bigger companies. That’s what Kevin Farrar suggests, who scouts the best talent for IBM and helps entrepreneurs grow within IBM.

What the Startup weekend showed is that great ideas know no boundaries, they can help solve problems in any sector, even saving fashion victims 😉

#LeWeb 2013: the future of the internet

December 20, 2013December 13, 2015

This year #LeWeb focused on discussing the future of the Internet. Leaders shared their views on what they believe will drive the next generation of digital businesses. Girls in Tech London was there (see our tweets here!) and here’s a first recount of the ideas bounced around during the prestigious 3-day event by Josephine.

I will start by a quick not on the concept of “the internet”. I find difficult to understand it as a comprehensive object or concept. I have a hard time putting in the same box Snapchat, Ebay, Microsoft and Uber. Of course, all of them are connected because they relied on the world-wide web infrastructure. However, the business models and the products/services that they offer are dramatically different. Therefore I think it’s hard to find consistency and to identify trends & patterns across all of them.

Guardian’s columnist Oliver Burkeman once wrote that the internet is about everything now, and so does no exist anymore as such. His article presented a valid point and at the time it was visionary because they were still were boundaries between online and offline. However, today, when I go home with a Uber cab, when I look for directions to a new address or when I tweet pictures of friends, it is no longer clear what offline life is. So what do we talk about when we talk about the Internet? Technology conferences too often focus on presenting tech as one thing consistent when I think what they describe more and more nowadays is the implementation of computer technology into businesses. Said differently, it is not anymore about tech, it is about innovation in businesses via the use of computer technology and people’s daly use of it. So to speak: the internet is no longer for geeks only.

This however, did not prevent anyone from speaking on stage and make predictions on the future of the Internet in general terms. Many speakers went on to discuss how their domain of the Internet is going to evolve – following the big common trends. They illustrated that without context and the sort of technology on which this future projections are built on.

The idea of the Internet that was left in me after #LeWeb was not clearer: crypto-currencies like Bit-coin will play a bigger role, more will choose entrepreneurship as their career path and of course mobile will be increasingly essential along with cloud-based technology.

Everyone seemed to be blind to the fact they were talking for the people that use tech and see internet as part of their lives. No one asked about the internet as an experience and hard-ware technology at the very source. It was assumed that new internet user consume internet like geeks do. My problem with that is less ethical or social, but really demographical. The people that will use internet tomorrow in bigger numbers will be from Asia and Africa, not the West. As such they will have a dramatic influence over the way the internet stretches and develop, no? So no one talked about what will be the impact and take up of the internet in countries and from people that do not have access to it yet. Or that use a common computer or same mobile phone for a whole family.

Except for one speaker – the very first to open the conference – Fred Wilson, venture capitalist at Union Square Ventures.

He laid down the macro trends pushing people and societies that will direct and drive the internet. He summarised them in 3 categories with concrete examples.

1 – Bureaucratic hierarchy is being replaced by digital technologies and networks. Twitter, Youtube or Airbnb are changing media the entertainment and leisure industry. The pyramidal hierarchy in business is being challenged by quicker communication and lower transaction costs. Bureaucratic process won’t be needed anymore and will be replaced because of inefficiency.

2 – Unbundle of services. Before, services were provided by one business (i.e. Royal Mail, or banks). It was expensive to produce and deliver and that’s why businesses were structured as a single full-service entity. Nowadays, with network and communication technology, it is cheaper to set up highly targeted services such as Netflix to buy movies, e-libraries to access books and Tinder to find love.

3 – Personal involvement in the network. Everyone of us is now personally involved in the network because enabled by mobile devices. From Uber, Tinder to Taskrabbit, people are using the internet more often for local search, to assist them with their daily life.

In a few words, he concluded that the internet just follows life, not the contrary.

That for me smartened the evening discussions: humans are shaping the future, including the internet, not the other way round. We are restlessly asking technology to answer our crazy imagination and desires, so ultimately the future of the internet will be what the most of us want and make it be.