On International Women’s Day, an entourage of enterprising women banded together to create the #theSIScode.
Men have a bro-code, that’s common knowledge. Things like not getting involved with your bro’s girlfriends, or always having each other backs. But what about women? There is no equivalent, official or otherwise.
And so these women decided to do something about it.
Rule #1 – Stop Being A Competitive Bitch
It was a cozy affair.
Organised by Startup Asia Women (SAW), it was held at the &Sons Gastrobar, where 80 over women, about half of whom were entrepreneurs, had come together to contribute to the #theSIScode.
Banding together in teams of 5-6, we took turns to share our experiences as well as the rules that deserved to be part of the code, no holds barred.
From always supporting each other to giving out constructive feedback to someone rather than gossiping behind their backs, the energy in the air was palpable, and so was the excitement.
Rule #2 – Never Ask Why She Isn’t Married And Doesn’t Have Kids
The event also saw 3 prominent female startup founders take the stage to share their story – Bolt Media’s Chan Yi Wen, Wander’s Krystal Choo, as well as Papaya Paths’s Muriel Boutin-Becuwe.
Rule #3 – Learn To Depend On Each Other
“I started out solo, then I had a partner, then I went back to being solo. The one thing that I learnt was that I never want to go solo ever again.”
When Boutin-Becuwe shared her adventures with Papaya Paths, that was the first thing that stuck to my mind.
Entrepreneurship is not a journey that anyone runs alone – from the team to the co-founders to the supporters of friends and family, everyone is important.
You can view more photos of the #theSIScode event here.
Wonder Women
“Compared to corporates, much less is spoken of Startup Careers.”
Founded by Christina Teo, StartUp Asia Women is the youngest community for female entrepreneurs in Singapore.
Christina is on a mission to reach out to the women of Singapore and as an ex-corporate lady, Christina seeks to become a role model to women in corporate who desire to be involved in entrepreneurship instead. But her focus does not stop there, as she expresses a desire to reach out to women of all ages.
“We believe that because we are a women community and with a clear focus on startups, women from all walks and all backgrounds will feel comfortable coming to our events to meet other like-minded women or write to us to ask questions.”
And their values in the community spirit are clearly reflected in their 5 mottos – #BeInTheKnow, #BeVisible, #BeInspiring, #BeCollaborative, and #BeGlobal.
As community leader, Christina curates the core themes for events based on areas of high interest as well as what’s trending. Excitedly, she shares that the calendar has been booked solid till September.
April sees an event on managing a subscription marketplace, and other subsequent events bring angel investors to talk about how they impact society alongside social enterprises.
Touching for a moment on how SAW differentiates itself from other female communities like The New Savvy and LadyBoss, Christina shares on a few fundamental differences, specifically pertaining to financial aspects.
Being a non-profit community and keeping event costs low is what sets SAW apart, although she emphasises that there is nothing wrong with how other communities position themselves.
For Women, By Everyone
“We need women from both side of the game. We need women established and seasoned in startups who are willing to “give forward” and women who are trying to explore startups or just started.”
But don’t be surprised to find men at SAW events.
SAW works with both genders although there is one cardinal rule – the recipients must be women. Men can come in the forms of agencies, mentors, investors and even speakers.
Christina had touched on how there was a lack of critical mass of women in the startup community, and it would be naïve to only have women supporting other women.
In fact, the April event will see “male founders who are very experienced in e- commerce and subscriptions marketplace [and] are very keen to share irrespective of gender.”
Follow StartUp Asia Women and their events here on their Facebook page!
Featured Image Credit: StartUp Asia Women Facebook
