3 Women Who Broke the Glass Ceiling in Business – And Their Advice to You
It's courageous women like these that can inspire generations of women to come
Three women, four questions, all with very revealing answers. As entrepreneurs in their own right, they have faced their own set of obstacles as they fought for their own seat at the table. As experts in their field, these three women have firmly stamped their mark in their respective industries of retail, tech and finance.
But these women aren’t without their own mistakes and have stumbled over the blocks to get to where they are now. But that didn’t stop them from claiming their seat, and they’re living proof that you can claim yours too.
So what have their journeys looked like along the way, and what advice do they have for you? The reality is that it’s never plain sailing. But that’s the thing about channelling your power as a woman - it’s not easy. But these women are showing that that’s where the real power lies. It’s the journey that matters.
Victoria Prew, CEO & Co-founder of HURR
Victoria runs a multi-million pound fashion rental business, paving the way towards a more sustainable future by reframing how we approach ownership. Victoria’s mission is to empower women to extend the lifespan of their clothes and HURR is one of the world’s “Top 50 retail-tech startups” allowing women to do that. With an extensive background in building products and setting up businesses, she’s setting a strong example for female entrepreneurs seeking to build their own.
1. What obstacles have you faced in the business world as a female entrepreneur?
“Statistically, women pitch to men. This is across every level of the investment spectrum: angels, VCs, growth, private equity and family offices. Women are, therefore, less likely to pitch to women, men are more likely to pitch to men.
“This obstacle can only be tackled by increasing the mix of experienced female investors who support female entrepreneurs and giving more credence to their businesses.”
2. What does financial freedom mean to you as a woman in business?
“Having the time and the financial security to make angel investments, step back from everyday tasks and focus on empowering the next generation of female entrepreneurs.”
3. Has becoming an entrepreneur empowered you in more ways than just the financial aspect? If so, how?
“I feel empowered as an expert in my field, and someone who’s invited to keynote on circular economy, raising venture as a female founder and everything around sustainability in fashion. Becoming an “expert” takes time and I started from zero.”
"Be allies for each other, keep pushing forward and to make sure their voices are always heard.”
4. From your own perspective, what would the world look like with more female entrepreneurs accessing male dominated spheres?
“We know female-led businesses outperform men’s. This will require a structural shift - with less than 2% of VC money going to female founders. So I’d tell them to be allies for each other, keep pushing forward and to make sure their voices are always heard.”
Oyinkansola Adebayo, CEO & Founder of Niyo Group
Oyinkansola runs Niyo, a group of multi-award-winning companies that specialise in using technology to economically empower black women to be builders in the tech industry, with one main mission: to upskill, transform their careers and create a world-class black female ecosystem using the latest technologies. The team grew from a team of 5 in 2018, to a team of 25+ by 2022. Overall, they have grown by 408% and are set to continue to grow over the next few years.
1. What obstacles have you faced as a female entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?
“I have made so many hiring mistakes which have affected the culture of my organisation. In the early days, the finance to launch my idea was difficult too. I overcame these by looking at the common trend of the ‘wrong hires’ I had and created a better hiring strategy by asking specific questions during the recruitment process that will help me identify whether they were the right fit.
“Access to capital still remains a challenge, however, I continue to look for creative ways to raise finance through being dogged with our sales process, therefore focusing on revenue.”
2. What does financial freedom mean to you as a woman in business?
“Financial freedom means my ability to diversify my personal asset class in properties, angel investing, stocks and many more to enable me to secure a future for myself and my future children. Doing this whilst also living comfortably under my means.”
3. What messages do you have for women who want to claim their seat in the world of business?
“Belief is the greatest ingredient any woman in business needs to thrive. You will get a lot of ‘nos’, however your belief in yourself and also your product is a key ingredient to keep you going!”
4. From your own perspective, what would the world look like with more female entrepreneurs accessing male dominated spheres?
“I believe we would have more accessible products that are inclusive and would enable a world of equity where we will see more women economically empowered as well as socially included!”
Felicia Hjertman, CEO & Founder of Tillit
With an impressive background in financial services and portfolio management, Felicia founded Tillit in 2019 - a platform dedicated to making investing easy, engaging and open to everyone after her personal experience of finding investing inaccessible. Her team has doubled in size every year and is strongly backed by experienced venture capitalists. Bringing her extensive financial knowledge and insights to the table, she’s created a more humanistic approach to investing, empowering everyone to be in the driving seat of their finances.
1. What obstacles have you faced as a female entrepreneur and how have you overcome them?
“The closest I have come is a potential investor asking me during fundraising conversations if and when I plan to have children. This is of course an inappropriate question, and one that would most likely never be asked of my male peers. At the time, my response was to politely steer the conversation into a more relevant topic. We have all seen the data - less than 2% of VC capital go to businesses founded by women, so there is a clear problem in my industry.
“I am a founder. I don't think of myself as a female founder. And just like we don't refer to my male peers as male founders, I think one of the best things we can do to normalise being a woman in a male dominated industry, is to stop using a gendered adjective in front of our titles.”
2. What does financial freedom mean to you as a woman in business?
“The ability and the access to make my own decisions about my financial future.”
3. What messages do you have for women who want to claim their seat in the world of business?
“Be the change you want to see. I genuinely believe that change will come faster if we lean in, don't be afraid to be different and really back what we believe in and why our voice needs to be heard. We cannot afford to wait for 'if you can't be it, you can't see it'. We have to claim our own right to make a mark.
“Don't apologise, don't second guess yourself, and just run with it. The worst thing that can happen is that you fail, and even then you will at least have learned something. I can assure you that your ambition and drive to try will have inspired someone else to try as well.”
4. From your own perspective, what would the world look like with more female entrepreneurs accessing male dominated spheres?
“There has been a lot of academic evidence showing that diverse teams and groups of people make better decisions, whether they be investment decisions or business decisions. I therefore think only good can come from broadening out any industry that is dominated by a specific cohort as I believe it will lead to better outcomes for everyone - companies, investors and customers, as well as society as a whole.
“I personally support a few initiatives that try to get young women and girls more involved in some male dominated industries, whether that be tech or investing. I am hopeful that the foundations that are being put in place today will lead to not just more diversity, but more inclusivity, for generations to come.”
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