Stop teaching, Start empowering

Each 8th of March we gather the community to talk, to be inspired, to be empowered, to reflect and learn. This year we teamed up with Skåne Startups and Sony Startup Acceleration Program and we all came out with new learnings and filled with empowerment!

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Getting a NO

There are so many things one could say about this morning, and we will try to summarise it for you. First of all we listened to Pamela Nunez Wallgren, cofounder of Finch, she shared with us the all those times that investors said "no" to them, and finally one said yes, and that is what counts. It's a journey and you need to continue, but also remember that you have the power to say no.

You can also say NO to an investor, think that you will probably be working with that investor for a long time, so if it doesn't feel good, then it probably isn't.
- Pamela Nunez Wallgren

Todays audience was fierce and we got lot of great questions from you, but also extremely valuable insight. One of you shared with us the importance of not taking no as something personal, and Katja Fjellström, Minc coach added that YOU should also learn to say no. It's interesting how one word can express so many feelings and how we can learn to handle it. Saying no, accepting a no and learning from that is important. Instead of just taking a no, ask why they said it and learn from that, these wise words came from Pamela and we are in completely agreement.

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Women in Tech

The tech community got defined as being a drug by our panel today. What they meant was that it consumes you, it calls to you and even though it's a white man dominated world, it's still as attractive to both men and women. Vic Sandberg shared the horror stories of being a woman in tech when they often asked her to be one taking notes during meetings, describing the tech world as a the cool kids club where you have no place if you don't look the same. The discussion included question from the audience and the question that mostly showed up was if we needed to change the culture or just start creating our own spaces? When you change yourself to fit somewhere you might lose a bit of who you are, should we do it then?

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She told me a story

Talking about creating new spaces, Vic, Ashley, and Poliana are taking action. Being tired of the male dominated areas now they are creating their own space, a place where everyone is welcome but a place where women can talk and men can listen. This is a way to open up a safe space for women to tell their stories, whatever they might be, and for men to listen and understand them. We love this initiative and they are just getting started, so make sure to follow the journey on LinkedIn and Instagram. At the moment they are looking for a venue and of course for people to join. Are you up for the challenge? Are you in need of a new platform? Do you want to be empower? This is your chance to try something new that could be the perfect fit!

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Empowering - Inspiring

In todays society we know that the numbers are against women, men do get more funding, men do get more time, men do get more. Instead of trying to fight the system we might want to try a new approach. Why? Because trying to change a behaviour, a place, is exhausting! Instead we might need to rethink, what do women want to do with their time? Today we heard many of you that  want to feel empowered and empower others. That's is why starting with this approach might be more beneficial at the end of the road. We have tried for many years to change, to teach others, to create a space for women. But what if the space needs to be new? No more focus on changing, or at least for a while. Instead trying to create a new space where most of the time goes to empower yourself and others. It's not the answer to it all, but it's definitely a new way of thinking, we wonder, what would it looked like in 10 years if we all decided to create this change.

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8th March

We don't have the answers, but we provided the space where these thoughts could manifest, where we could talk about these future scenarios, a way for all of us to start thinking in different ways, to start asking questions and to start creating changes. This date is filled with all kind of emotions and we are too, at Minc we always strive to be as equal as possible, we encourage and empower women to both start their businesses and to start investing. We believe in women, in empowering women, but we also believe that the change must be made together. From today we take with us new knowledge and inspiration to continue our work towards a more equal ecosystem. Do you want to change the game with us? Get in contact, we would love to keep the conversation going!

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About Minc

At Minc, we believe in creating something bigger than yourself. We offer everything an entrepreneur needs to go from concept to market in-house. Our international network of advisors and award-winning programs will help your startup scale faster and smarter. Welcome to the startup house of Malmö.

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