The Female Founding Edit: A Pop of Startup Culture

By Jordan Podojil

Usually being a woman in the startup world is perceived as a disadvantage. What if it could be turned into an asset?

Inclusion and diversity in the entrepreneurial community are changing the industry for the better. People of all genders and ages are able to participate, which has caused immense progress in the busine

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Release date: Dec 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781636761855

Book preview

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The Female Founding Edit

The Female Founding Edit

A Pop of Startup Culture

Jordan Podojil

New Degree Press

Copyright © 2020 Jordan Podojil

All rights reserved.

The Female Founding Edit

A Pop of Startup Culture

ISBN

978-1-63676-576-1 Paperback

978-1-63676-182-4 Kindle Ebook

978-1-63676-185-5 Ebook

Contents

Intro

Part 1. Basic Pitches

Chapter 1. Throwback of Entrepreneurship

Chapter 2. Getting Started in Startups

Chapter 3. Modern Women

Part 2. Bring the Vision to Life

Chapter 4. Wear Confidence Every Day

Chapter 5. You Don’t Need the Pythagorean Theorem to Take Calculated Risks

Chapter 6. Failing is Fun

Chapter 7. Make the Wage Gap Your Bitch

Chapter 8. Technically Speaking

Part 3. The New Era

Chapter 9. The W Advantage

Chapter 10.Age is not? Just a Number113

Chapter 11. Final Thoughts

Acknowledgements

Appendix

This book is dedicated to my whole extended family. You all made me who I am today and I couldn’t be where I am without you. A special shout out to my parents for everything you’ve done for me in my 22 years and counting.

Intro

* * *

Has anyone ever told you that you cannot achieve your craziest dreams? Or that it’s not realistic? If so, then you are going to want to keep reading. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase The Future is Female. Simple, yet powerful. But how can we believe this statement when we are abundantly aware of the reality of gender norms? Looking back, the odds have not really been in women’s favor. Before 1988, women had to have a male’s signature to take out a loan for any business.¹ I’m here to empower you as you work to forge your own path in the entrepreneurial space.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Jordan Podojil. Growing up my mom worked a lot. This was hard as a child because when my friends were getting picked up from school every day or having their moms drop them off McDonalds at lunch, I was getting off the bus by myself, getting the mail, cooking my own meals (or just eating half a box of Cheez Its) until my parents got home. I grew up in a small suburban town near Cleveland, Ohio.

With this instilled independence, I have always known I want to focus on my career and make that a priority in my life. However, after seeing my mother work so hard at a Fortune 500 company for over 25 years, I knew that the strict corporate life was not going to work for me. I think her dedication to work has been very influential to my own path, so while I have chosen a different route, I probably would not have half the motivation that I do if it weren’t for her. Having my mom work in a white-collar job and my dad in a blue collar industry, I was able to grasp a good perspective of both. I think they are equally important and I have learned a considerable amount from both of their work ethics. I do have many family and friends who own small businesses, so these entrepreneurs have also taught me a lot.

I graduated from Miami University in 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 madness. I am very aware that learning in a classroom is great for foundational aspects, but to understand the full scope of any subject, you really need to put yourself out there and experience it first hand.

In college, we pitched to professionals and heard many first hand stories, but I wanted to know the ins and the outs of the startup industry. Fortunately, Miami University offered an internship program in San Francisco for a semester. This was the perfect opportunity to further my education out of state, and gain real-world experience. In a cohort of twenty students, most worked at startups in various industries, but I had the opportunity to work for one of the most connected people in the San Francisco area, who works with all kinds of startups. He started his company the year I was born, so he is filled with knowledge!

There I was with a 3 hour time difference from home, living in an unfamiliar territory with 3 roommates in a small apartment in the city. I spent my fall semester of my senior year in San Francisco working for a company called PeopleConnect that coordinates weekly pitching events for startup companies. A startup is an early stage company that works from the bottom up to bring a product or service from development to the market.²

These weekly events were called PitchForce in the city and Silicon Valley. These were very similar to the show Shark Tank. The CEO and a small team must work to convince the investors why their startup is going to be more successful and innovative than all of the others. It is very difficult to receive funding as a startup founder because these investors come across so many different business concepts, many of which become repetitive.

What makes a startup succeed?

• a charismatic and knowledgeable CEO

• a viable traction plan

• a unique marketing strategy

At PeopleConnect, I interacted directly with entrepreneurs and gave them feedback and advice before doing their actual PitchForce presentations. We usually had 5 angel investors on our panel and they would ask questions, give feedback, and give an overall score to the pitch. Angel investors are individuals who invest in companies in exchange for some type of equity or ownership in the company.³

Many of the entrepreneurs were curious as to who the investors were going to be for the events because if their backgrounds aligned with the company, it typically gave the entrepreneur a leg up. Tech companies tend to prioritize diversity in culture and gender, but venture capital does not. Following this further, Facebook’s Chief Diversity Officer stated in 2019 that Facebook has increased the number of black women by 25x and black men by 10x in the last 5 years.⁴

I was once asked by a female entrepreneur about the potential investors on the panel and the fellow presenters to get a sense of the room before her presentation. She followed up this question with one that caught my attention immediately: Do you think I will have an advantage pitching as a woman?

Usually being a woman in the startup world is perceived as a disadvantage. What if it could be turned into an advantage? There are so many times and places that women have the upper hand. However, at the moment, the startup industry is not that place. But that’s not to say it can’t be soon.

I want to encourage YOU to start the company you’ve always dreamed of, to take action right away on a brand new idea. Whether you are a quiet female wanting to break the mold, a traditional investor, someone ready to switch careers, or even a young kid with a dream, I want to empower you to make a change and take on the startup world. Create the lens you want to see out of and find your fullest potential through it. I bet whatever you are envisioning, you can dream even bigger. Expanding your mindset is the first step toward achieving your professional dreams. Many of these concepts can be applied to similar industries, like other side hustles or intrapreneurship that is present in some larger corporations. Intrapreneurship is when employees do for corporate innovation does what an entrepreneur does for a startup.⁵

Society has created high standards for all us. The sad part is that, in our society today, we tend to be our most creative in our youth and lose a lot of our innovative thoughts as we get older. Creativity tends to be an unlearned concept for many. As kids, we did not have an income, so what did we do? We had lemonade stands. Some of us had lemonade stands. Sometimes you barely made any money, but the thrill of making signs and waving to people gave us the thrill that entrepreneurs still get today when promoting their brands and beloved products. Others mowed lawns or took care of the neighbor’s cat. We were creative entrepreneurs!

As women, we are perceived as emotional, social, and intuitive. These are all great traits to have as an entrepreneur!

• We need emotions to have passion for our projects and to take care of our employees.

• We need to be social to network and spread the word about our companies.

• Lastly, we need intuition to read the room. By understanding where investors come from or the values behind companies, we can understand people, even if we hold an outside perspective.

Most characteristics can be both negative or positive,