Hi there, welcome to humanfirstapproach, if you’ve come across this blog and are thinking “What’s this all about?”, let me share a little.
I’m Chi-chi Ekweozor and I am a software engineer and female tech founder, my most recent product or platform is still in the build stage but having taken the start-up journey a few times before I wanted to start this blog to share some insight into the highs and lows of being a female tech founder and some of the learnings along the way which have informed the way I develop products and services. I don’t claim to be any kind of guru or expert (is anyone?) but I do believe that sharing journeys warts and all is the best way founders can support one another.
This month I want to talk about community
One of the most common pieces of advice people will give you whether you’re starting out as a female founder or already on the journey is ‘Network’ and they’re not wrong but I would say it’s not quite as simple as that, I’ve also found that networking is a word that can strike fear in many a founder. So instead I would say this: Find a community.
For a start, community sounds so much friendlier than ‘ go networking’ and by making it about finding like-minded people who are doing the same thing as you and sharing the same experiences rather than just ‘finding people to help your business’ it becomes and feels a much more accessible and, let’s face it, human way to create those connections we know are all important.
But how do you find it?
In simplistic terms, check sites like meetup.com and Eventbrite and search terms such as women in tech or women in data in your area to find groups who are hosting open events and sign up! We all know it’s not the signing up online that’s the hard part, it’s the actual going to the event and more than likely you may have to attend several events before you find a group that feels like your fit. To this, I would simply say ‘Just keep going’, keep turning up and meeting people and always use these opportunities for learning. There will often be lightning talks and panel discussions at these types of events so there will always be something to learn and take away and after you have attended a few of these types of events you will get a feel for how you will approach future ones and perhaps even what you feel is a successful outcome for you.
Knowing what you want to get from attending events and joining communities is key but it’s good to have a few outcomes in mind such as ‘ learn something new’ or ‘make one new connection’ or even, ‘asking a question from the audience’.
How has community worked for me?
To put it mildly, community has been ‘everything’ to me and my businesses, in my personal life I am part of very strong communities and this has extended to my business life, so much so I created my own community Female Tech Founder for women just like me which has enabled lots of opportunities to connect with and learn from people I would never have otherwise met.
Aside from that group, over the years I have become part of many similar ones and have invested significant time in contributing to other groups and communities, I am a firm believer that we never stop learning and that opportunity is truly created in these places of community as people are genuinely there to help and be part of something which is much more than just transactional.
If you’re looking for a community and would like to connect with fellow Female Tech Founders please do visit us at femaletechfounder.com, we are an online and in-person community for female founders and we’d love to welcome you.
I hope you enjoyed this blog and that you want to hear more. I’ll be sharing regular content here plus there’ll be plenty from the team too on a range of topics relating to start-up journeys, entrepreneurship and our learnings too.
See you soon!
Chi-Chi