MEET THE TRAILBLAZERS
Technology is our present and our future, so we’re celebrating the innovators making their mark in the field and inspiring a new generation to pursue careers in everything from coding to e-commerce. Here, nine game-changing women tell us how they got ahea
From the COO of Instagram to the director of an online luxe activewear boutique, nine game-changing women reveal what it takes to get ahead in the tech world.
Melanie Perkins, 29 Co-founder of the online collaborative design platform Canva
Iwas at university studying communications, psychology and commerce and tutoring students in how to use design programs when I realised they were far too complex and expensive. I knew the future was going to be to make design online, collaborative and available to everyone. It’s then that I started working towards the idea for Canva [a simple-to-use graphic design software company].
I dropped out of school to build my first company, Fusion Books, which tested the idea of Canva on the very niche market of high-school yearbooks in Australia. Once we’d learned a lot and proven the idea, we decided to tackle a much larger problem, enabling design to be simple for everything from socialmedia posts to marketing materials.
My first start-up was bootstrapped [built without any external funding], so I learned a lot about how to build a real business with short timelines – we had to become profitable quickly, or we’d have no company.
I received hundreds of rejections from potential team members and investors as I was raising the capital and finding the tech talent to turn my sketched-out products into a software. It would have been easy to get disheartened as it took three years from my first conversation with an investor to getting the first cheque.
I took every meeting I could, getting up at 4am in the US to catch the train to Silicon Valley. I heard the words “no” or “not yet” hundreds of times but focused on the things I could change and kept revising our plans and pitch deck until it was strong enough to find the right partners. In March 2013, Canva raised $3 million from investors.
My advice is just to get started. If I knew everything I would need to know, I would probably have been too overwhelmed to take the first steps. But you learn along the way. I’m a big believer in just-in-time learning.
I remember the first time I drew up blueprints for our first business and hired a software engineering company to develop it. Seeing it come to life felt
like magic. It enabled us to put graphic design skills into the hands of more than 10 million people all over the world and we’re just getting started.
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
Designing The Obvious: A Common Sense Approach To Web & Mobile Application Design by Robert Hoekman Jr.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
Set a goal that scares you.
TIPS FOR WORKING IN TECH
1. Solve a real problem that many people experience. 2. Go niche before you go wide. 3. Hire and work with the very best people you can. 4. Focus on the projects and tasks that are going to have the biggest impact. 5. Just get started!
FAVOURITE HASHTAG
#canvalove Catch Melanie speaking at The Sunrise conference during Vivid Ideas, which runs from May 27 to June 18 in Sydney; vividsydney.com
Marne Levine, 45 Chief operating officer of Instagram
Ispent most of my early career in government because I thought it was the best place to have an impact. My “Aha!” moment came almost 20 years into my career. was in my dream political job, working for President Barack Obama as an economic adviser, when I was invited to join a small social-networking company called Facebook. The job being offered to me was vice-president of global policy.
I was apprehensive when I was offered the chance to move to Instagram in January 2015 to be the company’s first chief operating officer. I was working at Facebook running policy, which was a job I absolutely loved. Moving to Instagram presented a new challenge and a leap into an operating role. What was even scarier was the job meant uprooting and moving my family across the country.
The question “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” kept running through my mind. I had to make my decision in the context of “why?” instead of “why not?”. I took the job – and I love it.
My greatest accomplishment to date is being married for 12 years to a wonderful guy. He keeps me laughing. We have two young boys and I’m far from a perfect parent – I’m continually learning on the job, but it’s brought out a level of compassion and humanity in me that I didn’t know I had.
Don’t be afraid to learn on the job. No matter how much preparation you’ve done, the tech industry is changing so fast that we’re all learning every day.
I’m proud of #Mystory, an Instagram project we started to celebrate women as storytellers. Across Instagram, you’ll find stories of women in science, engineering and business, women challenging beauty standards and gender norms. They include amazing artists, mothers and activists, to name a few.
The biggest obstacle I’ve overcome in my career is finding my voice. When I started working at Facebook, I realised I was transitioning to a culture where everyone was encouraged to share their point of view, no matter their role or level in the company. Even our office space is designed so that company leaders sit in the middle of the room, to hold them to the promise of being accessible.
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
Lean In: Women, Work And The Will To Lead
by Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook. And by the way, I think men should read it, too.
TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD BOSS
1. When I was in school, one of my teachers had two statements hanging from the board all year: “Be observant” and “Be empathetic”. Having the ability to relate to people is such an important part of management and leadership.
2. Be open. When people are encouraged to be themselves and not a “work self”, it builds deeper bonds and [leads to] better team performance.
3. Get the monkey off your back. It means delegating tasks as they come in to always keep things moving.
4. Pay it forward. As someone who has benefitted from great mentorship, I feel a sense of responsibility to mentor others.
5. Say thank you. Say it often and say it with meaning.
“HAVING THE ABILITY TO RELATE TO PEOPLE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF LEADERSHIP”
Gen George, 25 Founder of online job networks Oneshift and Skilld
Iwas on a working holiday in the south of France, making beds and cleaning bathrooms, when the idea for Oneshift struck. I never approached it as “I want to start a business”. It was solving a problem for my friends and myself about finding local work on a Friday night so you could go out on Saturday night.
I think the hardest lesson I learned was you can have the best idea in the world, the perfect timing for the market, but if you don’t have a team of people who are as passionate about the problem as you are and curious about how to solve it, then unfortunately you have no hope.
I work with some pretty smart and curious people who are continually challenging each other, which makes working collaboratively towards solving a big challenge actually really fun – even at 3am when the site has crashed and all you and the team want to do is get just five or six hours of sleep at least one night that week.
I don’t believe there is any set plan or journey. For me, I dropped out of university after the first year and it really was a “test, fail, learn” approach. This is now one of our company values. We try lots of different things, completely stuff it up and learn from it. That’s what got us to where we are today and launching our second product, Skilld [an online hiring and job-seeking service for hospitality and retail], and signing multimillion-dollar deals.
I still have no idea how to code! Tech for me is logic and constantly asking if there is a new and better solution to a problem. I knew I didn’t need to know about the detail but could create, quite literally on a whiteboard, exactly what I wanted. It’s about building a team of amazing experts and curious people. When I first started, it was a free blog. It then evolved to three developers in a terrace house in Surry Hills, Sydney. From there we built our own in-house team.
Supporting other women and sharing experiences is key. That’s why Jane Lu from [online fashion store] Showpo and I have created our own start-up group, Like Minded Bitches Drinking Wine, with a few thousand members in six months and events every month all over the world.
If you had told me five years ago I would be playing with machine-learning and artificial intelligence to connect local talent with local businesses on a global scale before they even know they need each other, I would have thought you were crazy!
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building A Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
Make it happen!
TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD BOSS
1. Respect works both ways. 2. Value honesty and integrity no matter what the circumstances. 3. Create a culture where everyone feels like it’s just as much their business as yours. 4. Operate as a family unit. 5. Celebrate every win, no matter how big or small for everyone.
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME IN MY CAREER
Coming to the realisation that no-one actually knows the right answer.
FAVOURITE HASHTAG
#challengeaccepted
Sara Blakely, 45 Inventor, founder and owner of the high-tech shapewear brand Spanx
Isold fax machines door-todoor for seven years. I was living with my mum, dating the wrong guy and dreaming about a better life for myself. One day I wrote down in my journal that I would invent something I loved and sell it to millions of people. I asked for the idea to show up. Two years later, I cut the feet out of my tights to wear under white trousers.
I didn’t tell any friends or family my idea for Spanx for a year. Instead, I quietly pursued it at night and on the weekends. That way I didn’t have to spend time defending and explaining it. I had periods of self-doubt, but I was so determined to create a better life for myself. I just kept pushing through the fear and doubt.
I’m so grateful that I’m a woman with options. I stay connected to how lucky I am and think about all the women who still don’t have options. It fuels me to keep going.
I still find myself feeling intimidated at work. It sounds crazy but I get through those times by thinking of my own mortality and how temporary this all is. It doesn’t make me sad to think about it; it makes me feel free and more daring. Life is not a dress rehearsal.
Funding, exposure, shared experiences, information and distribution are now more accessible than ever. It’s fantastic. Also, I see a lot more women helping women in business, which is great. It’s time for a good old girls’ network.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
The more you experience in life, the more you have to offer others.
TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD BOSS
1. Listen. 2. Don’t forget to inspire while you manage. 3. Set clear goals. 4. Encourage taking risks. 5. Reward out-of-the-box thinking. I often ask my team, “If no-one showed you how to do your job, how would you be doing it?”
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME IN MY CAREER
Getting the male-dominated undergarment industry to help make my first invention. It took a lot of convincing. Jodie Fox, 34 Co-founder of custom-made shoes website Shoes Of Prey didn’t love shoes until I started designing them myself and customising all the details. It was so much fun and when the shoes arrived, they were like nothing else available – my friends began asking where I was finding them. My co-founders, Mike Knapp and Michael Fox, were both working at Google at the time and were excited about the potential of online retail. They just needed a great idea.
We envisioned Shoes Of Prey as an online business from the get-go. We wanted to be the first to enable consumers to create their own shoes, customised for their style and comfort. The 3D design technology helps them to visualise their creation in the most realistic way possible and choose from trillions of combinations of colours, fabrics and styles.
Since launching the business in 2009, we’ve also created physical design studios in David Jones and Nordstrom in the US so customers can touch and see the fabrics and go through the design process with a Shoes Of Prey stylist. But the online component is still completely present in these studios, with orders processed online so shoes are delivered on demand.
Tech was a new language I had to learn. In fact, bridging tech communications in our organisation was one of the most important things we did for the unity of our team and success of our vision. Mike taught me an important lesson: to “fail fast”. When you’re faced with something completely new and you feel like you’re out of your depth, the best thing to do is to just jump straight in.
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-free Productivity by David Allen.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
Do everything before you’re ready.
TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD BOSS
1. Know when to listen. 2. Know when to lead. 3. Always use your heart in your work. 4. Bring everyone on the journey. 5. While you can’t know everything, know what you need to know in great detail.
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME IN MY CAREER
Lack of self-belief and a fear of failure.
“I SEE A LOT MORE WOMEN HELPING WOMEN IN BUSINESS, WHICH IS GREAT. IT’S TIME FOR A GOOD OLD GIRLS’ NETWORK”
“BEING LITERATE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE WILL BE AN ESSENTIAL SKILL, LIKE READING”
Anne Wojcicki, 42 Co-founder and chief executive officer of Dna-tracing company 23andme
The best thing I ever did was to push myself to have lots of different experiences. 23andme is an at-home saliva-based DNA kit that helps you learn about your genetic health, traits and family history. The idea came about after having a number of other experiences in healthcare, which helped me know that this is what I’m passionate about and want to do.
There is a big move to make computer science more diverse now because it’s impacting every area of our lives. Being literate in computer science will be an essential skill, like reading – it will just be critical for everyone to understand the basics. I think we are making good progress, but it will take another decade before there is gender balance.
My greatest accomplishment so far is sticking with my vision of 23andme even when there were a lot of forces working against us.
The beauty of a start-up is that it can evolve into anything. There was a ton of excitement around building things for the first time and imagining what it could eventually be. I was really lucky to be part of an amazing team of people who were pioneers and visionaries about what the consumer-genetics world could look like.
My mother is amazing. She really inspired me to love what I do and explore the world around me. She also taught me to save money and live frugally, which enabled me to never feel trapped in a job.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
Everyone is good at something.
TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD BOSS
1. Treat people well. Help them be their best and thrive in all areas.
2. Be honest and tell it like it is. Not every day is rosy.
3. Companies are not democracies and need leadership. It’s imperative to get opinions and feedback, but ultimately, if you’re in charge, you need to make decisions.
4. Empower people to make choices. There is nothing more thrilling than feeling the pressure of having to execute plans and live with the results.
5. Make the decision process transparent. When people understand how they’re made, they can better rally behind the conclusions.
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME IN MY CAREER
Staying focused when there were few believers.
Deborah Symond, 28 Director of online luxe active and leisurewear boutique Mode Sportif
Imajored in business at university and worked in retail since I was 17. I started on the floor and worked my way up – it has been my absolute passion. I worked for designers and multi-brand boutiques and this then evolved into e-commerce. I had a strong platform with a variety of retail experience that helped in my training.
I dreamed and brainstormed and discussed and debated for about six months before the idea for Mode Sportif was set in stone. I wouldn’t say there was a light-bulb moment, but I can say the day I stopped packing a gym bag to go to work in 2012 was a big push. I was mixing my adidas By Stella Mccartney yoga pants with Alexander Wang leather jackets and Nike sneakers – the look was polished athleisure, but truly took me from studio to street. There was nowhere to buy these brands, styled together in a way that educated me on how to construct my look. Not only in Sydney, but around the world.
I’m grateful to have an amazing network of family, friends and mentors who challenged me and pushed me and my concept further. I had healthy resistance, constructive criticism and guidance, which helped shape the Mode concept and business development.
Developers have a language of their own: e-commerce. Digital marketing and the general online landscape speak our language. Of course, like all areas this
is constantly evolving and I’m constantly educating myself. I have surrounded myself and worked with people who have extensive experience in the digital landscape and online world. I’m continually learning, which I love.
If you have the passion, the drive and a great idea with a point of difference, I say go for it! But don’t rush. Take the time to research your concept, competitors and put together a strong business case. And be prepared – it’s a commitment and a challenge, but has the ability to be the most rewarding and wonderful journey.
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
Daring & Disruptive: Unleashing The Entrepreneur by Lisa Messenger.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
My dad told me to always trust my gut instinct, and my mum told me to always believe in myself.
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE I’VE OVERCOME IN MY CAREER
Learning how to manage challenges that are out of my control.
Rosie and Lucy Thomas Founders of anti-bullying organisation Project Rockit
Rosie: The idea for Project Rockit was sparked on a park bench while on a family holiday in Noosa about 10 years ago. We had spiralled into a sister-to-sister chat about where each of us was heading in life. The more we talked, the more we found parallels in our career wants, our values and our frustrations with the world we saw around us.
Lucy: Growing up, our mum really hammered into us the importance of being ourselves, but when we headed into high school we both saw the way that bullying really stifled people in expressing their identity. We hit on a “what if?” that involved talking to schools about the risks and rewards of standing up to hate and, with the help of experts, sharing strategies that young people would actually use.
Rosie: It helped that we were pretty fresh out of school and didn’t really have anything to lose – no professional reputation or ego or adult savings. I guess we were so excited by this vision that we couldn’t see a logical reason not to give it a crack. We’ve both studied in different areas that really complement the business. Lucy developed a background in psychology while I focused on social entrepreneurship and business development. But in terms of getting up to speed with changing technology, the greatest education that we’ve had has come directly from working with students day-to-day in schools. We also work really collaboratively with the major social-media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) to ensure that the material we’re sharing with young people is super-accurate and up-to-date.
Lucy: There are understandable concerns around issues like cyber-bullying, but we’ve found the vast majority of young people are both ridiculously tech-savvy and ethically aware in the way they navigate the online world. We’re not afraid to ask for help and with students’ input, Project Rockit has really thrived online and been taken to the next level, leading to the development of our new online workshops.
THE ONE BOOK EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ
Lucy: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Growing up it always spoke to me as an allegory about a girl who takes a leap into the unknown with curiosity and courage. It’s worth a re-read as an adult.
FAVOURITE MOTTO
Rosie: When it comes to creating social change and getting stuff done: do now and ask for forgiveness later.
TIPS FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE
1. Know your audience and let them in on your journey.
2. Be authentic, humble and not too promotional.
3. Share content that is relevant and targeted to the platform you’re using.
4. Only post when you actually have something to say.
5. Make people laugh.