From STEM Girl to Tech Founder
By: Jun Wu
Tags: Leadership, Work, Women In Tech, STEM, Feminism

How did you start your career in STEM? Was there a catalyst?

Early in my childhood, I was a girl in STEM. As I got older, I gave in to the societal pressures of being “cool.” At some point, I decided that being in STEM just wasn’t cool for a girl, and so I ended up getting my first job in marketing.

At that time, I was working for a startup. It was there that I first encountered marketing analytics. I was fascinated. Using marketing analytics, I could allocate our budget to different programs to optimize our campaigns. I realized the power of data and math. Over time, I started to look at how I could strengthen my skills in these areas. I learned all about Behavioral Cohorting and SQL.

Around the same time, I became fascinated with emerging technology like VR and AI. I read a book called Crossing the Chasm and it occurred to me that there’s an unexplored frontier in emerging technology.

I just jumped right in.

How did you end up starting your own company?

It was about a year from starting to explore emerging technology to starting my own company. First, I read all I could about emerging technology. Then, I was inspired to learn to code.

I created a program for myself called, “Self-led programming boot camp.” For four to six weeks, every weekend, I would lock myself in my room, order food in from morning to night, and I would take a different Udacity course. I finished three Nano-degrees during that time. Then, I went to my first Hackathon.

Did your technical skills help you manage your company?

I have a team of engineers now. Because I taught myself how to code, I understand what they’re saying when they talk about technical aspects of the project. I can have conversations with them about the product at a much deeper level. My engineers are often surprised when I jump into debugging sessions with them and talk problems out with them. I’m grateful to have learned technical skills early on in my startup journey.

As a woman in technology, did you ever find that people in technical positions assumed you didn’t have technical skills?

The first time I went to a Hackathon, I was really worried about what I looked like. When I shared this with other women in technology, they told me the same thing. They wanted to wear the right clothes so that the male programmers will have an easier time accepting them. That to me is not something that any of us should be worried about going to a Hackathon.

When I went to my first technology conference, I was there to demo our product. We had already raised funding. I was carrying an Oculus Rift, and I went to the front desk to check-in. While I was checking in, the lady at the desk asked me, “Is that a makeup box?” Obviously, I was shocked when she asked me that.

Later on, I found out that some of the most hurtful words are words that came from engineers that I worked with. Things like, “You are a great business leader, but you shouldn’t be making product decisions” that just served to undermine my credibility.

Having gone through all of that, I learned to develop a culture in my company where words like this aren’t tolerated. I’ve learned that being able to relate to engineers with my technical knowledge and being able to discuss product design decisions helps me establish my credibility with the technical team. It allows me to meet my engineering team where they are and partner with them to build solutions.

Collaboration and partnership are very much the cultures in our company now. All of us have a voice, we work as a team. There isn’t as much of a hierarchy.

What is the advice that you would give to a girl who hasn’t found her passion yet?

You don’t have to know what you are passionate about immediately. You just have to know what you don’t like. If you can calibrate around what you don’t like, then you can figure out what you do like. For instance, don’t just do nothing if you don’t like something. Move on. Take action to explore new things. This way, you are always one step closer to finding your passion.

Often, girls don’t want to be seen as annoying or stand out from the crowd. What would you say to them?

Don’t be scared to try new things. Don’t be scared to look stupid, be annoying, or to stand out from the crowd. You have to ask for what you want. If you don’t ask, you will never get it.

I remember when I was younger, everyone around me wanted to fit in. I wanted to as well. But, for me, I was lucky in a way that I didn’t have that many friends. Many times, I ate alone in the cafeteria.

Eventually, I realized that you don’t really want to blend in. Instead, what you really want is to be accepted. This acceptance only comes when you meet people who truly support you.

Learning to have healthy, supportive relationships is the key for girls who want to go into technology. Long-lasting friendships with people who will support you no matter what goes a long way. I think all girls can benefit from learning to have these types of healthy relationships earlier on.

How did mentorship help you in your career?

I still actively seek out mentors. I think mentorship is probably the most helpful relationship in everyone’s career.

The first thing I did when I started my company was that I reached out to 100 of the most prominent leaders in emerging technology on Linkedin as asked them to spend 20 minutes with me. Through that experiment, I found a couple of mentors who were willing to spend time with me regularly and give me advice. Mentorship is pivotal to any startup founder’s success.

What is the difference you’ve found between male mentors and female mentors?

I like to have both male mentors and female mentors. With female mentors, it’s just easier to talk about issues that only a female founder would understand. Some challenges are unique to female leaders. It’s much easier to talk to someone who can share your point of view or has gone through the same hurdles.

At the same time, having a male mentor is extremely helpful for a female founder. As a woman, when you are socialized to “not ask for more” or “not negotiate”, having male mentors who can shift your mentality away from that mindset can lead to greater success.

What do you think will allow today’s girls in STEM to become successful women in technology?

I would say a strong sense of self-worth and a strong sense of independence are the two things that are required for women in technology to be successful. As a startup founder or a successful woman in technology, you will have to make your own decisions. As a leader, it’s important to go with what you feel is best and to stick to your own decisions. Your self-worth should not rely on external validation.

What do you think will allow girls to feel like the world is open to them?

Working as a female engineer in technology, there’s still a lot of toxicity. The work environment can be unfriendly. This is why it’s so important to build a strong support system. Having this strong support system growing up, whether it’s family, long term friends, or coworkers — just being able to rely on this support system when times are tough — is important.

One of the biggest challenges many girls face coming into technology is the ability to be assertive. For me, I was always so scared to voice my opinions. Even when I was confident about my knowledge, I was scared to be assertive. It’s important for girls, when they are young, to take every opportunity to voice their opinions and feel confident expressing themselves.

I used to repeat this affirmation every day to myself, “My voice is important.” Eventually, I started to believe it. Now, I’m comfortable being assertive in my life.

From your experience, what’s the one issue that plagues women in technology?

A lot of women in technology tend to question what they do. They tend to second guess their own decisions.

My advice is don’t discredit yourself. Once something has been said, then just move on. Just always keep your eyes looking forward. Otherwise you become your worst critic and you end up holding yourself back. Have confidence that whatever you said and did at the time was the best that you could come up with given the information you had at the time. Then just move on.