As a woman in fintech, I’ve realised that the answers to some of my challenges were accessible within me. Throughout my startup and scale-up career, shifting my mindset in certain areas has made a positive difference to my overall success rates. Based on my experiences, here are my three key takeaways for women embarking on their own journey.

1. Know yourself – and be yourself

Reflecting on the mistakes I’ve made throughout my career in tech and finance, I mostly come back to the same conclusion – I wasn’t honest with myself. For me, this has taken many forms. For example, it takes an incredible effort and countless sleepless nights to drive change. It’s understandable that your work has an impact on your personal life, and vice versa. To put it simply, something’s got to give. Once I recognised this, I felt empowered to push forward with my eyes wide open.

In my case, knowing myself extended to owning and taking credit for my strengths (hello imposter syndrome!) I’ve noticed that I’m not alone in this – the professional women I know tend to underestimate and undersell their capabilities. However, you must also acknowledge the flip side and recognise your weaknesses. Think through your blind spots, where you are lacking, and able to delegate. It can be difficult to release control and ask for help, but it’s crucial. There are times when outsourcing a task, or hiring someone with a skill that you’re missing, is absolutely the right thing to do for your business.
 

Ultimately, knowing yourself leads to being yourself. Be authentic at all times, and don’t try to play a role to make friends. It’s better to be respected, anyway.

2. Don’t fear failure

I have perfectionist tendencies, but along my scale-up journey, I’ve learned to suppress them somewhat. It’s wonderful to succeed the first time, but each mistake teaches you an important lesson. In fact, I think my biggest learnings have come from my failures. They build resilience, which is crucial in business. They also force you to change, find new ways through, and focus on new areas for development.

Nowadays, I celebrate imperfection. When building anything from scratch, it is doubtful that (a) it is perfect from the start and (b) that you will have time and resources (time, money, (wo)manpower) to make it flawless. Fellow female tech leader Sheryl Sandberg nailed it when she said “done is better than perfect”. Having worked in management consulting for most of my career, I was used to creating the best deliverables possible and only focusing on one project at a time. In a startup or scale-up, it’s overwhelming how many areas you could potentially work on. It’s essential to prioritise, focus on the levers that will make the most impact, and don’t get distracted by striving for perfection.

3. Find your tribe

Scaling a business is an extraordinary feat, and we can’t do it alone. Finding a community of like-minded leaders was one of the best things I did. I’m now supported to fulfil my potential, and I get great advice from others who have already faced similar obstacles.

This goes both ways though – you must give to get. Aim to help and support others, especially women, as much as you can. Bear in mind that, according to the Rose Review, women are statistically less likely than men to know other entrepreneurs or to have access to sponsors, mentors, or professional support networks. If you can invest some time in becoming a mentor to a fellow woman in fintech, so much better. It’s a privilege to support the next generation of female leaders, and I’ve learned so much from their experiences and successes. 

No silver bullet

The gender imbalance in fintech is a systemic issue that is holding back not only women, but the industry at large. The unrealised potential of untapped female talent is enormous, and I firmly believe that we must work together as a sector and society to enable women to thrive. Adapting our own approach and mindset will take us so far, but the industry must meet us the rest of the way.