Start-Ups Changing the World

FountainBlue’s June 12 When She Speaks program was on the topic of Start-ups Changing the World’. Our panelists represented a wide range of industries, backgrounds and roles, but also had much in common.

• They are clear and passionate communicators with a track record for doing things big and small to change the world for the better.
• They have a breadth and depth of experience which they leverage to solve the strategic and tactical problems facing them today.
• They think about the big picture, engage the larger network, and focus on making things happen, delivering toward specific outcomes.

Below is advice they provided to the audience, regardless of whether you decide to be an entrepreneur.

• Be collaborative and inclusive. Develop networks and allies who are passionate about the cause.
• Be respectful of everyone. Be mindful of your purpose.
• Celebrate your successes and learn from your failures as they are great growth opportunities.
• Choose to be consistently excellent. Make this your brand.
• Keep your mind open, your network positive and broad, your outlook curious.
• Be strategic, engaging an ecosystem of partners to drive results.
• Make a plan, pivot that plan if you need to.
• Pay it forward, help others to also succeed.
• Be gentle with yourself.

Below is advice for entrepreneurs.

• Be all-in, but don’t let it be all-consuming.
• Whatever you do, do with purpose and with passion. Focus on making a difference that matters.
• Respect the down-sides of being all-in – you may be sacrificing your own health or the needs of your loved ones. Timing is everything, so maybe the entrepreneurial path is not right for you at this time, if you have other obligations.
• Look for a big idea that will make a difference, one that will inspire you, one that will help make the lives of many people better, leveraging technology which helps you customize and scale the solution.
• Dare to create something from nothing.
• Turn a challenge, a failure into an opportunity.

As we face these very real, very traumatic challenges brought on by the pandemic, the resultant recession and the civil unrest, our panel tells us to:

• Have faith, following each winter there’s a spring.
• Accept the data. And then link arms and do something to make a difference, engaging others.

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Please join me in thanking our panelists for FountainBlue’s June 12 When She Speaks program on the topic of Start-ups Changing the World’ and our hosts at Cisco.

• Facilitator Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue
• Panelist Heather Callender-Potters, Co-Founder, Vice-Chairman and Chief Business Officer, PharmaJet
• Panelist Karthi Gopalan, Product Line Director, Mobile Power BU, Maxim
• Panelist Lata Hariharan, President and Founder, SVAST
• Panelist Gayathri Radhakrishnan, Director Venture Capital, Micron
• Panelist Julia Zhu, Sr Manager, Analytics and Quality, Cisco

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