#LeadHers – supporting female founders through equIP

All entrepreneurs face multiple challenges when starting up a new business. But research has shown that female entrepreneurs face additional challenges to male founders with start-ups. 

#LeadHers Campaign

To support female founders in tackling those additional challenges, we launched the #LeadHers campaign in April 2019 with overwhelming support from professionals across our network. 

Introducing CMS equIP and #LeadHers’

The #LeadHers mission is to: 

• support the growth of female founders on the equIP programme and encourage more female led businesses to apply to equIP 
• drive change in the wider start-up ecosystem by collaborating with other organisations that support diversity 
• encourage and advocate leadership commitment to address the barriers facing female entrepreneurs
• identify and share actionable steps people and organisations can take to accelerate the progress towards diversity in the tech sector

#LeadHers Launch Event

At our launch event we heard from an impressive panel of speakers about the challenges female founders face, exploring why investors seem to invest more readily in male-led businesses and considering what pro-active steps we can collectively take to encourage more diversity within the male dominated tech start up environment.

Testimonials from CMS equIP Members

Talking to #LeadHers Podcast

Talking to #LeadHers by CMS is a podcast where we extend the conversation around female entrepreneurship beyond the challenges and instead focus on positivity and the actions we can each take to drive change. Featuring members of the CMS equIP accelerator programme and showcasing the work of inspirational female founders, we provide an in-depth view of the entrepreneurial journey and the developments taking place across their industries.

Subscribe, download and listen to the CMS ‘#LeadHers’ podcast here.

Season 3

Click the images or links below to hear to episodes.

Episode 10: Dr. Rebecca Allam, CEO and Co-Founder, PreActiv

In this episode, CMS Senior Associate, Caroline Walker speaks to Dr. Rebecca Allam, CEO and Co-Founder of PreActiv.

They discuss the challenges and rewards of moving from a structured professional institution to a turbulent yet exciting environment of being a co-founder of a health tech startup. 

Episode 9: Izzy Obeng, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foundervine

In this episode, CMS Partner in our Corporate Team and a member of the Leadership Team of CMS equIP Accelerator Programme, Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon, speaks to Izzy Obeng, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foundervine.

They discussed the key motivators that drove Izzy to start Foundervine, a pioneering start-up accelerator programme for minority founders and one of the largest and most active accelerator ecosystems in the UK. Foundervine has supported the acceleration of 663 businesses, empowered 1,932 leaders, and helped raise £75 million in funding, creating 1,353 new jobs.

As a woman of colour who grew up in a working-class background, Izzy is also determined to give a voice to those who have traditionally not had a voice in the boardroom. Seven years on, Foundervine has become not only a space to support founders but also a force to challenge and shape the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurship and capital fundraising.

Episode 8: Bryony Williams, the Founder of The Glass Female

In this episode, CMS partner Catriona Aldridge speaks with Bryony Williams the Founder of The Glass Female, a coaching & leadership consultancy providing HR/talent advice, leadership coaching and support to startups and SMEs.

We discuss the value of conventionally masculine and feminine traits in the workplace, intuitive listening, and daily wellbeing practises to enhance the founder journey.

Episode 7: Natalija Karpichina, COO of Matlogica - coding, resilience and being a disrupter

In this episode, CMS Finance Associate, Tycho Orton, speaks to Natalija Karpichina, COO of Matlogica.

Natalija reveals her interesting and trailblazing journey from a teenager learning to code at age 14, to becoming a female COO at Matlogica.

Episode 6: Carolyn Shepherd is the Founder of Emmeline.AI

In this episode we discuss:

• The opportunities artificial intelligence can offer women in their careers and everyday lives
• How to tackle the gender skills-gap in knowledge and understanding of AI
• Supporting founders to empower their teams to become confident users of AI
   

Episode 5: Rachel Citron, Invest in Women Hub

In this episode, CMS Partner Katie Nagy de Nagybazcon speaks to Rachel Citron, Content Manager of the Invest in Women Hub.

They discuss the purpose of the Invest in Women Hub and why it was set up, the importance of mentoring for founders and the challenges in the industry itself. 
 

Episode 4: Priya Guliani, CEO of EarthID

In this episode, CMS Associate Christina Fraziero speaks to Priya Guliani, the CEO of EarthID.

They discuss what inspired her to delve into the realm of decentralized identify platforms, the advantage of their use of blockchain technology, and her experience as a female founder whilst building and scaling her company in the blockchain industry.
 

Episode 3: Claire Trant, Co-Founder and CEO of Untap Health

In this episode, CMS Corporate Associate Jasmine Lam speaks to Claire Trant, Co-Founder and CEO of Untap Health. 

They discuss Untap Health’s journey from COVID and beyond and how the perception of illness has changed, as well as recent achievements and upcoming opportunities, and the benefits of a founder peer network.

Episode 2: Alice Smith Cheif Executive of SpeakUnique

In this episode, CMS partner Bruce Harvie speaks with Alice Smith is the Chief Executive of SpeakUnique.

We discuss the role of medical technology to deliver voice banking solutions and the growth journey SpeakUnique has been on to get to where it is today.

Episode 1: Carolyn Currie, Chief Executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland

In this episode, CMS partner Bruce Harvie speaks with Carolyn Currie, Chief Executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland. 

We discuss the role that Women’s Enterprise Scotland plays to promote policy and best practice to enable women to successfully start up and grow their own businesses.

Season 2

Click the images below to hear to episodes

Episode 1: Cindy van Niekerk, Founder & CEO of Umazi

Episode 2: Dr Ruth Faram, Chief Scientific Officer at Higher Steaks

Episode 3: Layla White, CEO & Founder of TechPassport

Episode 4: Aimee Nisbet and Kenan Packman from The Hearst Corporation

Episode 5: Andrea Sommer, Co-founder and CEO of Hive Founders

Episode 6: Emma Loedel, Startup Grind and novosound

Episode 7: Jo Eckersley, Founder and CEO of Bubbl

Episode 8: Ruby Pillai, Co-founder and CEO of iWarranty

Episode 9: Gabrielle Bourret-Sicotte, Co-founder and CEO of Greenr

Episode 10: Dagmara Aldridge, Chief People and Culture Officer, Zumo

Season 1

Click the images below to hear to episodes

Episode 1: Democratising Finance and getting female founders funded

Episode 2: Strong foundations for building and scaling a successful start-up

Episode 3: Revolutionising HealthTech and closing the gender health gap 

Episode 4: Founding a mission led start-up

Episode 5: Wealth management and open banking

Episode 6: How decentralized finance is shaping the future of financial services and FinTech

Episode 7: Financial inclusion through open banking and relationship based fundraising

Episode 8: Prioritising employee wellbeing when returning to work

Episode 9: Prioritising employee wellbeing and opportunities for collaboration when building a thriving start-up culture.

Episode 10: Mentoring in empowering young adults and how the network effect plays a key role in social mobility

#LeadHers Scotland: the Imperfect Path

In this series we speak to inspirational female founders and leaders in Scotland discussing in particular challenges and obstacles encountered along their business journeys and how their reactions to those challenges have helped them build resilience and get to where they are today. 

Subscribe, download and listen to the CMS ‘#LeadHers’ Scotland: the Imperfect Path podcast here. 

Female Entrepreneurs Report 

Since launching this campaign, we have continued to support Female Founders in Tech and were proud to be included in The Female Entrepreneurs Report with Beauhurst and Newable which was published at the start of 2020. This report explores gender diversity across the UK’s high-growth ecosystem, highlighting key trends amongst, and disparities between, all-female, mixed gender and all male founding teams.

CMS Corporate Partner, Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon, contributed to this report and talks about her passion for supporting female founders through the #LeadHers campaign. 

You can read the Female Entrepreneurs report by visiting the Beauhurst website to find out more about investment and opportunities in female-founded companies.

To join the conversation about female entrepreneurs, follow updates about the #LeadHers campaign and other CMS start-ups initiatives via  CMS equip on Twitter.

Partnerships

	UKBAA Angel Investment Awards The annual UKBAA Angel Investment Awards celebrate the high growth and success in the angel and early-stage investment market – recognising the fastest growing brands and acknowledging the founders, angels, crowd funders and early-stage venture capital investors behind them. CMS equIP and the #LeadHers committee have supported the High Growth Woman Founder of the Year’ category for a number of years which recognises the exceptional leadership of a woman founder or co-founder of a high growth business.
	WeAreTechWomen – OneTechWorld Conference  WeAreTechWomen’s OneTechWorld conference brought delegates the very best global virtual learning experience. The conference provided ample opportunities to learn about emerging technologies and what is innovating and disrupting the industry. The conference featured some of the world’s finest speakers who joined the event to share their wisdom and knowledge. There were innovative sessions on over 50 different areas of tech, with a side order of career development and ample networking opportunities.
	Stemettes OUTBOX Programme  Stemettes is a UK organisation that engages, inspires, and educates young women into STEM careers. CMS equIP team members and equIP Founders joined their summer STEM programme - Outbox in 2020 to run a Takeover day and host sessions with a variety of groups focusing on Tech, entrepreneurship and presentation skills.

For further information on the #LeadHers campaign, please contact Sarah Wright or Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon.