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 Do you think enough is currently being done to counterbalance what has become an obvious lack of women in technology?
I think there are a lot of great organisations that are helping women entrepreneurs at the moment. There are networking groups, like Women 2.0 and Girls in Tech, and funds that specifically invest in female-led ventures all of which are really important. That said, I think that more still needs to be done. Personally, I believe that engagement needs to start at the high school and university level, by encouraging women at a young age to consider technology and entrepreneurship as a career. In my opinion, the relatively low number of women working in tech is due not to a lack of opportunity but to there being a small proportion of women who currently consider it to be a viable career path.
Why did you choose a career in IT in the first place? E.g. was it a choice or a natural progression from something you'd done previously?For me, it was a natural progression. My first experience in building software was when we were working on our global adventure travel company and needed a software solution to help us manage our customer bookings and relationships. It was when we were looking for a solution to market our travel company on Facebook that we identified an opportunity and started Wildfire. So in fact, it wasn’t a conscious decision to start a career in technology but now that I’m here, I think it is the best career possible because technology is such a dynamic field, full of opportunity and highly scalable.
Are you aware of any preconceptions or stereotypes of women in IT, and if so what do you think of them?In my personal experience, I have found both men and women to be incredibly supportive of me as a woman founder & CEO in tech. There probably are stereotypes in existence but I have not experienced them myself.
How would you describe the work environment / working culture at Wildfire?Wildfire has very high standards and we look for intelligent, hard-working, highly motivated and passionate individuals. At the same time, we look for people who are very team-oriented, humble, down-to-earth and who like to have fun. So it’s an incredibly fast-paced but collaborative, exciting and fun place to work. We also try to create a very open culture, where employees can participate in the decision-making and future direction of the company. Our philosophy is that great ideas can come from anyone in our company, not just senior management.
How has Wildfire's stance on women impacted you personally?As a woman founder and CEO, I’d like to think that Wildfire is a very supportive place for women. A huge percentage of our employees are female and many of our best performers are women too.
Can you share a few words of wisdom for those people who are thinking about joining Wildfire?If you’re looking for an incredibly exciting and fast-paced company where you can learn a lot about social media marketing, if you’re willing to work hard, leave your ego at the door, keep an open mind and be passionate about what you do, then Wildfire would be a good fit.
Describe your background and career at Wildfire (how long you've worked there, the roles and responsibilities you've held etc.)I spent 2 years as an investment banker which taught me want I didn’t want to do with my life, then 5 years building a global adventure travel company with operations in 18 countries. This was followed by 2 years of business school which, after attending one career fair, made me realise that returning to the corporate world was not a good fit for me. I then co-founded Wildfire three years ago, which we’ve grown into a very successful business with 250 employees, 8 offices throughout the world and tens of thousands of customers and gained recognition as one of the top 50 start-ups in the world and one of the top 100 best places to work in Silicon Valley.
What is the best thing about working at Wildfire?The best thing about working at Wildfire is the incredible team and the excitement of working at a company that is growing so fast and that is helping tens of thousands of companies with their social media marketing.
How would you describe Wildfire's approach to diversity in its work force, in particular women's initiatives?We have a very diverse team in terms of gender and 40% of our team is female. I think the fact that our company is led by a woman helps us to attract top-notch women and I consider this to be one of our great strengths.
What are your tips for success at Wildfire?Be passionate, work hard, be smart, be very team-oriented, challenge yourself and your team mates, and most of all, have fun!
What are your career aspirations at Wildfire?I am currently living out my dream career!
Tell us a little about your life outside of work.For me, right now, Wildfire is pretty much a 24/7 endeavour. There is not a ton of time for life outside of work, but that’s OK because my work is so incredibly exciting and rewarding. I have been fortunate enough to do some pretty amazing travel for work recently, including attending the eG8, speaking at an event in Rio de Janeiro about women entrepreneurs and meeting the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. So life at work is sufficiently exciting that I don’t need a whole lot of excitement outside of work!
Do you think it might have been a different story, of "how you got to where you are now", if you'd been a man?Not really. I have never felt that my path has been any harder as a result of being a woman. But this is very much my personal experience, I know a lot of woman have experienced otherwise and I don’t discount for a minute the challenges they have had to face.
How important do think your education or background has been in influencing your career choices?My education has certainly been important because it has given me credibility and access to great contacts, which in turn has helped me to succeed as an entrepreneur.
My background has been instrumental in my career progression. My parents worked extremely hard to create a great life for their children and they told me (and made me believe) that I could achieve absolutely anything. They also taught me the value of hard work.
Do you think that there are obvious differences between what men and women have to offer an IT department?I think it depends on the individual. Some women might have strong emotional intelligence or be excellent multi-taskers or great team players, all of which are qualities often attributed to women. But at the end of the day, some women are terrible at these things and some men are excellent, so I don’t think you can generalise across an entire gender and say that all women bring certain kinds of benefits and all men bring others.
What books / websites would you recommend to others?I recently read Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (the CEO of Zappos) and I found it helpful in terms of how to build a strong team culture and how to ‘wow’ customers with a great experience, two things that are very important to us here at Wildfire.
If you could give young women looking for a position in the IT market place a single piece of advice what would it be?Persevere. I think the IT field is one of the best career choices (in terms of job opportunities, job stability, compensation, ability for growth, future prospects etc) for any young person, woman or man, so I’d encourage all young women who have the interest and the skills to pursue this path and to persevere even if they encounter challenges.
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