Girls In Tech

We are delighted to announce our 2012 Call for Applications for the Astia Global Entrepreneur Program. Astia maintains an unparalleled success rate for the companies it serves — Astia companies have achieved 23 exits, 2 IPOs and over 60% of companies receive funding within their first year of joining Astia.

About the Program:

The Entrepreneur Program is a unique resource for success – a transformative program designed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs who want to become dominant players in their sectors. The format? A comprehensive 6-day workshop, 2-month program of personalized advising from premier experts and the opportunity to start benefiting from the global ecosystem of angels, VCs, corporations, and entrepreneurs that is Astia.

What Makes Astia Different:

Commitment to the journey – your journey. Driven by entrepreneurs, Astia understands that your entrepreneurial needs, questions and challenges do not end after a one-week training module or incubator period concludes. Your need to access high-quality, targeted investors, to readily connect with industry experts and key advisors, and to make the most out of your day with too much to do has pushed Astia to build a program that works toward your success in a timely, targeted and efficient manner. Our Global Entrepreneur Program and global network reflects over a decade of our work with entrepreneurs, their needs and how best to deliver results to advance their success.

Who should apply? Exceptional women-led high growth start-ups who know that success is not just about raising money but about growing a business and thriving even in today’s tough market.

Key Dates:

Call for Applications – 1 December 2011

Deadline for Applications – 4 February 2012

In Person Screening – 22 February 2012

Entrepreneur Program – 19-24 March 2012

Astia will be on-boarding our next class of outstanding high-growth companies in Cambridge, UK.

To apply, please visit: http://www.astia.org/content/view/600/877/

For information regarding Astia, visit: www.astia.org or contact Astia Vice President, Europe simone@astia.org

Qualification Criteria

• An innovative idea in a high-growth sector such as Technology, Life Sciences, Clean Tech, or high-growth Consumer
• A high-growth investment opportunity – at any stage of growth
• An exceptional team and business strategy
• A significant market opportunity
• A defendable competitive advantage
• At least one woman in a leadership role (at C level) or in significant position of equity

About Astia

Astia is a connected global community dedicated to the success of women-led, high-growth ventures.   Astia programming delivers access to networks and opportunities that high-growth entrepreneurs uniquely need to succeed, including connecting entrepreneurs to serial entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, advisors and service providers.

Why Apply 



Developed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Astia’s Global Entrepreneur Program is about delivering results in every area of an entrepreneur’s business, from initial funding strategy and growth to leadership development. As an Astia company, entrepreneurs will cultivate invaluable relationships with key players, receive introductions to capital in all of its forms (ventures capitalists, angels, strategics, etc) and gain access to expertise and opportunity from around the globe.

Guest blog entry written by Roshini Rajkumar, speaker, communication coach and author

Getting the job you want is about walking the walk and talking the talk as they say. Your wardrobe, vocal and subtextual behavior should be consistent to your passion and work ethic. Use your communication styles to let colleagues, superiors or potential employers see you in the role you desire. Roshini is in the business of using communication to successfully get your intended message across. Body language such as crossing your arms can send messages that say “I’m nervous,” and gestures like flipping your hair can unintentionally communicate flirting. Messages like these can undermine your position and can take away from your bottom line. Roshini connects communication to ROI; in 20 seconds you can leave the kind of impression that will enhance your career OR diminish it. Take the right steps to upgrade your professional image and watch your career soar!

Roshini’s Advice on How To Upgrade Your Professional Image for 2012

Start the year out right by defining who you want to be or become this year. Be specific. Write it down. Keep it close so you can always look back and measure your progress throughout the year. If you’re already who you want to be, then pinpoint how dynamic you want your persona/brand to show itself. We’re talking about growing your WOW! for 2012. Make a Lasting Impression!
Three key areas to develop as you grow the WOW!:

1. What are you saying?
2. What are you doing?
3. Who’s mentoring/advising you?

The Saying: make sure you have key messages and words that define your brand—whether that’s you as an individual business person or your company

The Doing: make sure your actions match your words and the mission you set for 2012

The Advisors: make sure these are people who are your raving fans; ask them to hold you accountable to your goals; seek their advice; celebrate accomplishments with them and show them gratitude
Other important components towards building the career you want in 2012! 
(These DOs are fantastic for New Year’s Resolutions)

DO: Define your passion and determine ways to incorporate it into your current job or determine career fields where your passion would be an asset. In your current position, are your colleagues and superiors aware of your passion and associated talents?

DO: Network in related professional organizations or clubs, or start your own! For example, Bloggers Who Eat could be a great club for a group of local writers who enjoy writing about food.

DO: Board Service is a great way to meet people with similar passions and to showcase your own. There are many opportunities to serve on boards in the fields of art, music, theater, animal care, medical conditions, etc. Connect your service to your passion and you may find that it leads to the job of your dreams!

DO: Mentoring. Seek out mentors who are where you want to be and can show you the way. Also pursue opportunities to mentor others if you’re looking to move into a managerial role.

DO: Awards. Get recognition in the areas you are passionate about, leverage awards and distinctions in your current career or your next one.

Roshini is a speaker, communication coach, and author of Communicate That! She is a sought-after keynote speaker and commentator to local and national media on topics related to powerful communication for executives and politicians, business strategies for climbing the corporate ladder, and rehabbing celebrity images. Her background includes more than twenty-five years of public speaking and a career in television news. Roshini is also a licensed attorney.

Guest blog entry by entrepreneur, Cathy Tao. The original blog entry was featured in Chinnovate.

The following article is from Cathy Tao, an entrepreneur whom I admire a lot.  She has founded the AirBnb crossed with New Oriental, TourBoarding, which is one Chinnovation that is uniquely China.  The essence of the company is that you teach (typically English language) for free boarding. Enjoy her article below.

Growing Weeds to Win the Jackpot
Much has been written about the weed-like proliferation of Chinese copycats to successful Western, often American, technological inventions.  Thus, Renren looks a lot like Facebook, Sina Weibo is a Chinese hybridized version of Twitter (with Facebook-style features), and Jiepang appears to be the Chinese rendition of Foursquare.  I could cite countless examples, such as the few hundred Chinese bred clones of Groupon operating at the moment, but I wish to be innovative rather than boring.

For the Chinese, having a high-tech startup listed on the Nasdaq is akin to hitting the jackpot, a goal worthy of aspiring to and salivating for.  What better way to hasten the journey than to, at lightning speed, whiff up a faithful or disguised replica of an American startup with billion-dollar valuation hounded by venture capitalists, also known as your ticket to the bank?  “Aha,” the venture capitalist thinks, “I recognize this business model; I liked it before, so why not now, in order to reap from the world’s biggest market?” Common sense is something the Chinese possess in abundance, so this would be a no-brainer.

Chinese aren’t the only Copycats
But if you think that the Chinese are the only ones that imitate the digital business models of Western companies, think again.  American companies are fairly ruthless at copying from each other all the time, often throwing out components that don’t work and improving upon existing models that are already well-established.  Two highly visible examples would be Google overtaking Yahoo as the king of search engines, and the recent muted sale of social networking site MySpace after losing significant market share to Facebook.  And whatever happened with AOL?  It used to be the American home portal for entry into the online world.

The reality of the matter is that everyone for the sake of survival imitates, and everyone, also for the sake of survival, innovates.  Maybe instead of the word “imitate” – I should use the word “emulate” in my business lexicon.  It sounds more respectable.

Scruffy Mongrel with a Dubious Bloodline
As co-founder of TourBoarding.com, I consider what we do here to be an example of pure Chinese innovation, perhaps even “disruptively” so though I don’t like to use that word.  It is hard to toot your own horn.  However, my feeling is that foreign journalists, investors, business partners, and those that are just curious view us with suspicion or subdued aversion, as somewhat of a “scruffy mongrel with a dubious bloodline.” It is difficult for them to accept that something original with global ambition could come out of the world’s low-cost factory. Our members are our biggest cheerleaders who have firsthand knowledge of the value and potential of what we offer.  Since we are a customer-centric enterprise, that is good news to us.

The American Difference
There is no special “DNA” that better equips one race or nationality with a Superman ability to create something new.  Disparities in the pace, quality, and disruptive impact of innovation among countries, such as between the United States and China, exist because of their inherent institutions, cultural norms, and operating environments.

The United States has definitely led the world in producing many high-tech global brands that dominate their respective sectors, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and now Facebook.  While I am not an academic, I have lived in the United States for many years and I attribute the US lead to three main advantages:
1.  A mature and comprehensive legal and financial system that hugely rewards those who know how to use it to make money;
2.  Educational institutions that attract the smartest people from around the world for both learning and research & development; and
3.  The magic dust of Silicon Valley that offers a vibrant hub for people to test new ideas and raise the money they need for their risky new venture, from seed or angel investors to later-stage venture capitalists, to eventual access to the capital markets, plus a supportive network for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Wild Wild East
While China does not presently enjoy any of the above advantages, its entrepreneurs are poised well to thrive over the coming years because of their experience in adapting quickly to constant change, uncertainty, and the watchful eye of authority.  At TourBoarding, every day we run the risk of being shut down by the authorities because of one potential violation or another, legitimate or not. This would be unthinkable for others who are non-Chinese, but the Chinese do business in this environment every single day.  Those who operate wildly profitable businesses in China have learned to manage risk very well – you could think of them as the world’s supreme risk masters.  Great risk begets greater opportunity.

A Peek Into The Future
Fortunately, Chinese innovation has just been given a helping hand as it is now a focal point of the central government’s 12th Five-Year Plan unveiled earlier this year.  No longer will China be content to rest on its laurels as the world’s low-cost, manufacturing sweatshop.  The Plan calls for China to transform its role to become the technological innovator to the world. Education and training of its massive labor pool will be provided to drive this transformation.  In areas where domestic innovation is lacking, then China will import this technology, with the proviso that it will actively domesticate this technology through a program of “assimilate and re-invent.”

China has not suffered to the extent that other countries have during the global financial meltdown, thanks to a hefty government stimulus package. However, this induced prosperity is unsustainable and will soon come to an end, according to Jim Chanos, the American hedge fund manager and famed short seller, who predicts that the coming economic collapse of China is inevitable.  Meanwhile, the United Nations reported that global prospects for coming out of the world’s recession and economic malaise are rather gloomy for the foreseeable future.

If the coming times are going to be lean and difficult as predicted, then Chinese entrepreneurs are much better prepared to deal with business obstacles than their American and western counterparts.  Paradoxically, it may be dismal times ahead coupled with a supportive government that could provide the window of opportunity for Chinese innovation and home-grown nimble companies like TourBoarding to shine and spread their wings to America and beyond.  For those willing to invest and take a gamble on them, a potentially obscene fortune awaits.
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Guest blog entry written by Cheri Beranek, CEO and President, Clearfield, Inc.

Throughout my career, I have worked almost exclusively in the area of emerging technologies. I cannot imagine a more exciting sector in which to work. I also cannot imagine a more daunting, intellectually challenging area to spend one’s waking hours.

As President and CEO of Clearfield, Inc., a fiber management firm in the telecommunications networking industry, I am fortunate to be surrounded by brilliant technical minds. I have learned that to effectively manage and lead technical brilliance, especially if your skill set is not particularly technical, there are some general guidelines. Here are some of the rules that have helped me:

1)    Do not be afraid to ask questions – I’m a marketing person not engineer at heart, and my kids are more tech savvy than I am.  But with a graduate degree in communication, I’ve learned that asking GOOD questions is as important as having the answers. Not only does it challenge the technology gurus to think outside of the box and validate their positions, but is also allows us to better formulate the advantages of our products/services into the value proposition that resonates with our client community.

2)    Trust your instincts – Good ideas, whether technical or not, resonate in the gut.  Technology firms should be nimble and move quickly.  That requires a culture that’s instinctive – trusting your gut, but verifying the variables to ensure appropriate risk/reward measures are in place.

3)    Remember the soft side – people.  Technology is still a people business and truly caring for the people who make the technology happen creates an environment that fosters creativity.

4)    Get out of the way – This is often the hardest part.  As a non-technical head of a technology company, my biggest contribution – and challenge, is to get out of the way.  Let people do their thing. And, perhaps most importantly, remove the obstacles that get in people’s way.

The best rule, of course, is that no rule is absolute. Everyone – technical genius or not – manages or is managed differently. One rule that is an absolute for me, however, is:  Companies are like communities – not families. Families do not choose each other. A business that operates like a small community – where every individual chooses to work because of the environment and infrastructure — will go on to do great things.

It’s working for Clearfield, anyway.

In 2007, Cheri Beranek was named President and CEO of Clearfield, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLFD). Considered a visionary in the telecommunications networking industry, Beranek has lead the company to unprecedented international growth, new product development, and, for the first time in the company’s history, four years of increasing profitability.

Guest post by Eliza Walsh, Director of Public Relations, Social Media and Communications at Identified.com

I recently joined Identified, a cool new technology start-up based in San Francisco that has the largest database of professional information on Facebook. Identified has built a technology that provides real-time, interactive feedback on how “in-demand” professionals are to companies right now through a scoring system. I came on board as a communications pro, but it was really my experience with understanding data and being able to explain the technical aspects of what Identified does to a general audience that got me the job.

One of my first projects was looking at our database to see what types of professions were most in demand across the board. The answer to that question was very clear: engineers. We decided to delve deeper into the numbers and release a white paper that puts this trend into context. The bottom line of what we found? Engineers are flying high when it comes to opportunities for success now and in the future. We based our conclusions on an unprecedented data set of 50 million Facebook profiles, analyzing 1.2 billion data points on professionals’ work history, education and demographic data.

The result is our white paper series, “The “Revenge of the Nerds” (download Part 1 here). In short, we found that over the last 10 years, the demand for engineering talent has grown dramatically. As a result, the salaries of engineers have increased rapidly, and the unemployment rate among them has remained extremely low compared to national averages. Identified Scores show engineers to currently be the most in-demand group with the highest scores across the board. Does this have broad-reaching implications in the American economy? You bet. And our study aims to put some hard numbers behind this trend.

To find out more details behind the rise of the engineer, download Part 1 in its entirety. Then, Check back for Parts II and III, which will look more closely at the typical career path of the engineer, and the recent trend of the engineer as entrepreneur.

A few interesting findings to whet your appetite:

• Engineers are far more in-demand than their liberal arts equivalent. They are searched for, viewed, contacted and hired 23 times more often.
• The more work experience they have, the more in-demand engineers are relative to their liberal arts equivalents.
• The reasons for this growth in demand are manifold: the growth of giant technology companies like Google, Apple, and Oracle, the startup boom and the number of new technology companies being launched, the increased automation and mechanization of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, and more.
• Despite the increased demand, the number of engineers being produced in the U.S. has barely grown in recent years.
• Not only is the U.S. limiting the number of foreign-born engineers who might be able to help satisfy engineering demand, but U.S. educational institutions are filling their already limited programs with foreign students who are often compelled to leave the country after graduating.

Guest blog entry written by Roshini Rajkumar, Executive Career Coach

2012 is the year of new beginnings and Roshini Rajkumar, Communication and Executive Career Coach, is offering her strategies for interviewing and getting your dream job! Get the leading advice on communicating your best to future employers, superiors and colleagues along with interview preparation, interview tips, and the follow up. After all, every communication style: wardrobe, word, and mannerism has something to say about you. How are you presenting yourself?

Before The Interview:

Get to know yourself before entering the interview. You will perform your best if you can easily answer two questions:

1.        Do I know who I am?

2.        Do I know what I know?

By using these two questions as your guideline, you will stay authentic and natural. Bring up topics that are interesting to you and relevant to the interview.

For example, I started a sales phone meeting recently with an enthusiastic response to the question on the other end: “How are you today, Roshini?” I said: “I’m great. There should be snow on the ground where I am, and there isn’t. I’m running a marathon in a few weeks, and this really helps with my training. I couldn’t be in a better mood so I anticipate this conversation with you both to go outstandingly well!” The two people on the other end were so pleased for me that we talked about my upcoming race for the first few minutes of my call.

Running is my passion so I was authentic and positive—there was no better way I could have scripted to launch this sales call. Getting down to business flowed naturally and didn’t seem like a pitch.” I received a terrific follow-up e-mail within minutes of the call ending.

The introduction of an interview is the perfect time to stage yourself and your hobbies. When your interviewer asks how your day is going, bring up an activity you’ve been working on. Are you training for a marathon? Demonstrating your passion towards hobbies can be a great icebreaker, and relaxes the atmosphere. Once you feel more relaxed, you are ready to sell yourself!

Roshini Offers Her Top Tips for Interviewing:

1.        Find your power outfit. When you’re confident in what you’re wearing, your best self will shine through. Always overdress, even if the place you are interviewing is “business casual.” It’s better to look sharp!

2.        Clean up your look. Men should be clean shaven. Women should have their hair bound back or controlled, and wear minimal makeup.

3.        Be yourself, be genuine. Let your interviewer get to know the real, authentic you. If you are trying to act like a jokester just to make them laugh, it might seem funny for a while, but as the interview goes on, they will see it as fake and even dishonest. Not to mention, it’s exhausting to act and be something that you’re not.

4.        Have current affairs knowledge. Throw out hot topics in the news or interesting local stories to strike up conversation. If you can tie it to the company’s industry that’s even better! Just being aware is helpful in case your interviewer asks you about the weather, stocks or sports. It’s embarrassing to be caught off guard.

5.        Do an analysis on who’s interviewing as well as the company, if possible. Knowing a little bit about your interviewers can certainly help in conversation! If you can ask questions about their past work experience and why they chose their university you win brownie points. It shows you’re interested.

6.        Think less is more. If you just have that mantra in your head you will be more effective.

The Follow Up:

Of course thank you notes are an absolute must after an interview! A handwritten thank you is the best way to demonstrate you want the job, as it’s a much more personal connection than email. The key is to include details from the interview in the letter. For example, if you found out your interviewer loves dogs and serves on the Humane Society Board, is there a way to incorporate that into your follow-up? If one of your interviewers won an award in his area of expertise, perhaps you mention something about that in your follow-up communication.

You never want to fake anything or seem like you’re reaching out in your thank you notes. However, these personalized touches will showcase to prospective employers that you were fully engaged and listening during the interviews. After all, it doesn’t really matter what you know if you don’t know how to communicate it. This is especially important in leaving that last impression with your interviewers in order to get the yes. Secure a positive impression with a winning thank you note!

Roshini is a speaker, communication coach, and author of Communicate That! She is a sought-after keynote speaker and commentator to local and national media on topics related to powerful communication for executives and politicians, business strategies for climbing the corporate ladder, and rehabbing celebrity images. Her background includes more than twenty-five years of public speaking and a career in television news. Roshini is also a licensed attorney

As President of Roshini Performance Group, Roshini speaks and coaches high-profile executives and celebrities around the country on communicating powerfully within their industries and for the media. Roshini is an instructor at St. Catherine University where she teaches businesspeople at both the Leadership Institute and the Center for Sales Innovation about how to powerfully negotiate and influence. Roshini has become the go-to person for business executives, authors, athletes and politicos who want to make an impression — clients include Bridgestone Americas, Great Clips, Minnesota Vikings, Wells Fargo. Roshini also advises television news anchors and reporters as they move forward in their broadcast careers. For fun and to keep challenged, she runs with the Minnesota REDs. Visit her website at http://www.communicatethatbook.com

Guest Post By Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, Social Media Business and ROI Strategist (@drnatalie) and Author of Like My Stuff

Social commerce is the addition of shopping to social networks. While if businesses aren’t careful, social commerce has the potential to ruin social networks. The skill with which brands fulfill on f-commerce will directly affect the success not only for their own individual brand, but as an industry as a whole. If social networking shopping sites are not delivered in the spirit of what the customer wants, it will fail. If not for this point alone, brands need to pay attention to f-commerce as an example of how shopping can be integrated within a social network.

An example of someone who really gets social commerce? That would be Rachel Roy. Rachel used a pop-up Facebook commerce store to create engaging social merchandising experiences that increase a brand’s fan base while driving transactions. By creating immersive brand experiences that fully integrate shopping as well as the shopper’s wider social network, the brand increased their social currency with those fans and customers. And a pop-up shop is a great way for brand to test the f-commerce waters without going into full-scale Facebook shop.

Rachel Roy launched a pop-up store on Facebook, giving fan’s a shopping event that included early access to Roy’s new jewelry line which was a collaboration with British R&B artist, Estelle. Rachel Roy provided a limited edition, time sensitive offering that helped drive sales without having to offer a discount. In this example, the pop-up store lasted three days and boosted Rachel Roy’s fan base by 25% in the first day and 100% by the end of the campaign. The Facebook Page acquired 1 fan every 1.5 seconds. The exclusive, limited edition piece sold out in only six hours.

The Rachel Roy pop-up shop was built on a software-as-a-service solution created by Fluid Social Fan Shop of the Fluid Agency. This is an e-commerce firm whose clients include Diane von Furstenberg, Nine West, Theory, Vans and Coach. 6 hours: Time it took for the Rachel Roy Facebook jewelry store to sell out. 3rd highest: daily sales made by Rachel Roy, the day it opened its pop-up f-store.

You can find more examples like this in Dr. Natalie’s Book: Like My Stuff: How To Monetize Your Facebook Fans With a Facebook Store and learn how to use social commerce for your business!

Dr. Natalie Petouhoff is a former Rocket Scientist, turned social media business and ROI business adviser. You can find her here:

Twitter: @drnatalie
LinkedIn: DrNataliePetouhoff
website/blog: www.drnatalienews.com/blog

Guest Post By Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, Social Media Business and ROI Strategist (@drnatalie) and Author of Like My Stuff

Ettitude is an Australia-based company that sells environmentally friendly products made from bamboo and organic cotton. Ettitude was founded on the simple idea that everyday products, such as clothing, bed linen, towels and stationery, could be made much more responsibly, and contribute to making the world a better place and at the same time, look good and are affordable. Their goal is to give people who care about their family and the earth the ability to easily adopt a greener, more socially responsible lifestyle. Ettitude does this by providing a range of premium and unique eco-friendly products in a quick, convenient, online shopping environment. Because they have such a compelling store, it is a natural for people wanting to share this among their social graph. Who heads up this great strategy? Green Entrepreneur, Chief Ettitude Officer and Social Media for Positive Social Change Enthusiast, Phoebe Yu

When I was on the Ettitude website to do some research for this book, I was impressed with their use of their traditional website as a “Facebook sharing moment.” Here’s how this works: I was on the About Us page, Figure 1, and I went to highlight some words on the site and a widget popped up and enabled me to share what I highlighted with my Facebook connections. This is a brilliant word of mouth strategy to create awareness for the brand and because their marketing message is something people can get behind, i.e., being more socially responsible, the ability to share that website information may even translate into shopping cart dollars.

When you click on the Facebook icon, to share your highlighted information, it asks the customer to allow permission to connect to Facebook and post the share on my Facebook page. The ability to allow your customers to find things they like about your company and post to their friends can be a very good PR and Marketing awareness tool. Especially for a company like Ettitude, that has a very share-able brand story around social and personal responsibility.

 Phoebe was able to combine exciting content, promotions and contests has helped her online retail store Ettitude create a shopping domino effect that leverages peer–to–peer influence and drives home 10% Facebook purchases every month. She’s done this via:
• Making use of Facebook APIs to enhance the e–commerce offering
• Structuring the Facebook store and installing plug–ins to improve user
experience
• Mirroring traditional e–commerce sites for ease and security
• Combining social campaigns with F–commerce to extract the maximum benefit

Figure 4 (30) Ettitude’s Facebook Storefront

You can find more examples like this in Dr. Natalie’s Book: Like My Stuff: How To Monetize Your Facebook Fans With a Facebook Store and learn how to use social commerce for your business!

Dr. Natalie Petouhoff is a former Rocket Scientist, turned social media business and ROI business adviser. You can find her here:

Twitter: @drnatalie
LinkedIn: DrNataliePetouhoff
website/blog: www.drnatalienews.com/blog