To mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, Found & Flourish has partnered with Plus X to curate a month-long series of events. Trailblazing Women celebrates the women in our business community that are innovating for social, environmental, and political good – in Brighton and beyond. Part of Spring Forward Festival 2021. Our founder Lara Sheldrake was interviewed by PlusX ahead of our #Trailblazingwomen event, here’s what she had to say.
Who or what inspires you?
Women, their resilience and fearless nature, often going against the grain and building something bigger than themselves. Also two women in particular I’d like to mention, Mel Schatinksi and her co-founder Mia Pledger (both F&F members) who are creating My Code Kit, an app that closes the social mobility gap by providing teens everywhere the opportunity to learn how to code on any device!
What advice would you give to female students considering their career path?
Choose something you’re passionate about. When you do something you enjoy and have a genuine interest in, you’ll be curious and will therefore take the time to learn and because of this you’ll likely become an expert.
Why do we need more women in leadership positions?
Women make great leaders and we simply don’t have enough of them. We bring to the table empathy, creativity and brilliant problem solving skills (to name a few). And you only have to look at the world leaders to see how well women lead their countries.
Your golden nugget of advice to someone thinking of starting a purpose-led business.
Be clear on your mission and whenever you feel lost, revisit your ‘why’. Build a support network around you because you will need it during the lows of entrepreneurship (of which there are many!).
Three qualities that make a trailblazing woman.
- Resilience
- Vision
- Kindness
What does innovation mean to you?
It means being creative and building something that solves a problem.
Something you wish you’d known before setting out
I always say had I known how hard it was I would never have chosen to build my own businesses. That said, I think every woman should know, although it will be tough and there’ll be days when you want to quit, you never have to do it alone. Community is everything, find one or build one and just know you do not have to do it on your own.
Want to know more about our Innovating for good’ event on the 8th March? Join us via the button below.
Lara Sheldrake
About your author
Lara Sheldrake is a business mentor, consultant and Founder at Found & Flourish. Lara writes and speaks on the topics of entrepreneurship, motherhood and social media for business. She also hosts the Bossing It podcast, aimed at empowering the next generation of female founders in the UK. Send Lara an email. You can also find her on Instagram @Lara_Sheldrake or Twitter @Lara_Sheldrake.
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