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 below to hear to episodes
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.
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.
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.
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.
#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
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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.
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