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A female entrepreneur/leader in a still male dominated world is a tough role to live. Getting lambasted for the very traits that have made you successful is after all not a great feeling, but something often successful women have to undergo. 
 
However, come what may, you need to be resolute in who you are and committed to who you want to become. So girls, NEVER APOLOGIZE for: 
 
1. Being Real It’s most often the traits that others feel jealous of that will make you successful in your life and business. The people around you can see this too, which is where the hate comes from. Don’t apologize for who you are. Be real! 
 
2. Being Accomplished Most people, men or women, that you encounter won’t have been able to create the results you have. That doesn’t mean that you have to stoop down to their level and apologize because “you got lucky” and the stars aligned just right. 
 
3. Being Motivated Since when did it become a bad thing to be driven to succeed? The fact is that most who don’t condone this character trait feel this way because they wish they could be more driven, more positive, more of an inspiration, but they just can’t seem to find it inside themselves. This isn’t your fault. 
 
4. Being a loved Female Entrepreneur So your beautiful, vivacious, intelligent, funny. Aside from being hard-nosed and driven to get what you want, you do need to be the type of personality that people actually enjoy being around. A nice, but not too nice boss is going to be better at managing employees than one who’s a constant grump. If you got it, flaunt it girl! Whatever that something is. 
 
5. Being Uncompromising You have to be stalwart, completely committed to the outcomes you’re looking for. When someone tries to get you to change something that you don’t feel is right, you need to stand your ground. Apologizing for this only sullies your goals and your reputation!

5 personality traits a Woman Leader should never apologize for

Neha Narkhede — The youngest self-made woman entrepreneur in India

<div class="image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Burning Angel" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/523c8a1269bedde469cb58c3-960/100923-joanna-hot-tub-pg-014-1.jpg"></a>Burning Angel</div></div>
"It isn't too different from an indie movie shoot," says <keyword id="1876594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Joanna-Angel">Joanna Angel</keyword>. "There's the challenge of a budget, which is a challenge for any movie, but when you're dealing with sex you're dependent on male genitalia to do a certain thing."
Joanna Angel makes <keyword id="6367992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Porn">porn</keyword>. It began in 2002 when she and her Rutgers University roommate started a website called Burning Angel. "We just came up with the name. It had a good girl/bad girl thing going, so we liked it," she told Business Insider recently. "Initially I thought of being a journalist, possibly a sex advice column type person kind of like a Carrie Bradshaw. I also had this odd dream to teach English classes to people in prison. Burning Angel was a very small experiment at first. I never imagined it would become my career."
Burning Angel distinguished itself by offering some exceptionally different fare from your conventional Playboy-style airbrushed nudity. While other porn operations are often focused the size of their models' members and mammary glands, Burning Angel went a different way and became a progenitor of what's now known as "alt-porn": pierced and dyed punk rock girls wearing tattoos and little else.
<div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image">Burning Angel</div></div>Today, as an 11-year veteran of the adult industry, Angel has served a number of roles in front of and behind the camera. Burning Angel is now a serious business with 10 other people involved in the day-to-day operation. It seems to run much like a startup. 
"I think we started at the right time and developed a lot of fans early on. I had a passion for it and I did anything and everything to get the word out about my site," she said. And the word did indeed get out.
Alt-porn is "kind of a silly name," <a href="http://www.complex.com/girls/2011/07/interview-joanna-angel-talks-alt-porn-piracy-and-her-blow-up-doll">she once told Complex</a>. "It's just supposed to mean porn that is different. It's like, what is alternative music really? It's just music that's different from pop music, you know? But I think what makes alt-porn is the community and the culture behind it in addition to the content."
Angel's site also differs from regular porn because it has a focus on community and culture. There are your standard offerings in picture and video, of course. But Burning Angel also has live events, both online and in the physical world, and there's also an active forum for members to discuss music or tattoos or pop culture in general. Engaging with other members (and even the performers) gives paying users a reason to return to the site again and again.
Burning Angel has to make money in a variety of ways since it's competing the endless world of free porn on the Internet. The lion's share of revenue comes from user subscription fees. After that, there's money in selling DVDs, hosting events, booking appearances, and selling branded clothing. Burning Angel even sells its own line of sex toys.
A subscription to Burning Angel content costs $29.95 per month, $68.95 per quarter, or $95.40 per year. A three-day trial run is three bucks. The site sees about 30,000 unique hits per day, and after a relaunch two months ago, this number is starting to grow. In terms of user base, there are about 60,000 active members, and because Burning Angel was built with community in mind, members stick around to socialize after they watch their porn.
Burning Angel's success didn't happen overnight. "When we started, I had a part-time job as a waitress. I wanted to quit so that I'd have as much time as possible to work on the company. I didn't want to work for myself during the day and for someone else at night," Angel says.
<div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image">Burning Angel</div></div>She won an Adult Video News Award (think: the Academy Awards of porn) for Most Outrageous Sex Scene in 2006, catapulted Burning Angel to mainstream attention. She has since won plenty more awards, written and directed a number of films, and has obviously appeared in many as well.
And in 11 years of work to date, she still hasn't tired of it: "I oversee everything, especially on the creative side. Nothing creative gets shown to anyone unless it goes through me first. I don't work on the day-to-day stuff anymore, but I still kinda do a little of everything. And sometimes I'm on camera too."
If Joanna has it her way, the future will only hold more work and opportunity for Burning Angel. "Porn is definitely tough," she said, "but this is my career and this is what I do. We want to expand the brand and do even more with it. At this point, we've been around for a while. But we're still growing because we're still a small business."

This Brooklyn-Born Woman Is Porn's Most Successful Entrepreneur

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Shutterstock</div></div></div>Starting a business is hard no matter where it begins. Some locations, though, can make it easier to grow that business into a successful company, thanks to a combination of culture, talent, technology, and capital. On Wednesday, Dell unveiled its 2016 Women Entrepreneurs study. The survey examined which cities would be most supportive to "high potential women entrepreneurs" - women who are building a business to surpass $1 million or more in revenue a year.Most cities still have a long way to go to fully support the woman entrepreneurial community - the No. 1 city only scored a 'mediocre' score of 58 overall - but some places stand out from the pack.Here's the list of the best cities for a high potential woman entrepreneur to start a business:

These are the top 19 cities for a woman to start her own business

<ul><li>Bumble announced a grant of $5000 for women entrepreneurs in India. </li><li>The grant will be awarded to each winner from six countries across APAC. </li><li>Bumble is backed by actress and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra. </li></ul> Social networking and <keyword id="8107031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dating-app-bumble">dating app Bumble</keyword> announced a $5,000 grant for women entrepreneurs. The programme is spread across six countries ( Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore) in the APAC region, where a woman entrepreneur from each country will be given the reward to build their businesses. Bumble is backed by actress and entrepreneur Priyanka Chopra. Differentiating itself in the market, Bumble branded itself as a women-first platform. In the Indian market, the company has said that the number of women on the platform grew twice as faster than men. “This is about providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs to pitch their best ideas, and we’ll help support them by opening more pathways to success, while also encouraging them to make the first move with their business ventures,” said Priti Joshi, Vice President of Strategy at Bumble. Through this initiative, Bumble joins a long list of global companies who are focusing on entrepreneurship in India. Earlier, WhatsApp, Facebook and more have organised startup/entrepreneur-led challenges in India. Bumble, globally has over 66 million registered users in more than 150 countries.

Priyanka Chopra backed Bumble announces $5000 grant for women entrepreneurs

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Courtney VerrillKate Levenstien in her New York City office.</div></div></div>With over 13,000 attendees, 100 craft beers to try, and a plethora of delicious bacon treats, the national touring <a href="http://www.baconandbeerclassic.com/">Bacon and Beer Classic</a> has become one of the most popular food and drink festivals in the US. The wildly popular food festival is hosted by New York City based, large scale event planning company, <a href="http://www.cannonballproductions.com/">Cannonball Productions</a>.After studying journalism and sociology in college, entrepreneur Kate Levenstien shortly discovered that she had a whole different passion - event planning. This soon sparked an idea, and at the young age of 26, Levenstein started her own successful event planning company, Cannonball Productions. As a young company, they are about to celebrate their third anniversary. Below, take a tour of their New York City office and see Levenstein in action.

Meet entrepreneur Kate Levenstien - the woman behind the Bacon and Beer Classic

In the last couple of years India has seen a massive surge in the number of women starting their own businesses and contributing to the huge economic wave that the country is seeing. According to the National Sample Survey Organisation, 14% of business establishments in India are being run by <keyword id="74945" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-entrepreneurs">women entrepreneurs</keyword>. While it’s still a small number, it certainly brings a fresh wind of change where there are many women entrepreneurs starting their own business and building products not just for India but for the world. The data also reveals that most of the women-run companies are small-scale and about 79% of them are self-financed which clearly indicates the amount of challenges and struggles women entrepreneurs face in order to kick start their own company. But there are women, strong women, who are ready to take on any challenge head on, we chatted with a few of them to know what it took for them to build their own business in India. Bhargavi Rishub from Bangalore started her company Fundamentor five years back. It’s an aptitude development program for kids between 8-15yrs. It uses tools like engaging content, analytics, gamification to help children learn faster. Not only was quitting a cushy, well paying corporate job was the hardest thing to do for Bhargavi but being a women entrepreneur bought on its own challenges, she says, “The biggest challenge that women entrepreneurs face is doubt. The ecosystem doubts their ambition more than their capabilities and that translates into self-doubt for the woman entrepreneur.” This is where a women’s journey to starting up her business in India starts, doubt. In India, women have to balance between household work and business work. Even more so in the smaller cities, women are often shackled back due to their responsibilities towards their family. Maheima Kapur started her business from the comfort of her home, a startup called Talking street, it helps travellers and foodies experience local food culture by helping them discover the most popular eateries that are frequented by local foodies. As the business grew Maheima realised balancing here work and family became tougher, she says, “one of the biggest challenges that I have faced (and continue to face) has been managing between work and home. In most societies, women are the primary care givers and given that, it has been a tough balance to manage to do justice to my family and my startup. I’m an over-involved mom and I like to be around my babies. But I’m just as passionate about Talking Street. There’s a constant tug-of-war that I deal with between the two.” It’s not just Maheima, most of the women entrepreneur we spoke to listed managing work and home together as their biggest challenge. For most women, roadblock of starting a business starts at home. For <keyword id="4978151" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sridevi-arunprakash">Sridevi Arunprakash</keyword> from Chennai, the biggest challenge was to convince her family about her business, “I am the primary caregiver in the family, so I need the support of my whole family to make this journey more pleasant.” Belonging to a conservative family, it wasn’t easy for Sridevi to get her first set of approvals from within her home. This is where many women in India end their start up journey as they are not able to gain the trust of their own family. Sridevi says “I come from a middle class family I was never allowed to brag and always made to believe whatever I do is not that great.” This level of doubt right from the start makes women susceptible to self doubt, it took so much more power for Sridevi in order to break all the initial inhibitions to start Guvi, an online tech skill accelerator in vernacular languages that helps users to acquire new language skills and learn in their native language. Once they convince their families and themselves about their new business, they have to start all over again with investors, employees and customers. One of the biggest concerns that was common amongst all the women entrepreneurs we spoke to was how it was so difficult for investors or partners to take them seriously. Amruta Desai, built her social networking site for universities/colleges called Campus Time, a private social network that enables students to connect with everyone at campus and get access to part-time jobs &amp; internships opportunities. It was a tough job for Amruta to convince the investors that she is fully committed and serious about her startup, “Nobody is ready to believe that women have the ability to build a billion dollar tech business. There is this inherent prejudice that women are meant to own tailoring shops, bakeries, eateries, family businesses etc. but not successful tech <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword>.” Just like Amruta, many women entrepreneurs feel the same way The biggest challenge that women face is of not being heard and taken seriously. They have to work much harder than their contemporary men to establish their prominence in the organization. -Bhavjot Kaur, Clinikk Healthcare Building startup is much more difficult as a woman entrepreneur because it's a long term play and you need investors to believe in you throughout the journey. - Swathi Bavanaka, Evibe Technologies The biggest challenge that they face is doubt. The ecosystem doubts their ambition more than their capabilities and that translates into self-doubt for the woman entrepreneur. - Bhargavi Risbud, Fundamentor So why is there a bias against women entrepreneur? Most of the women entrepreneurs think it’s because of the lack of diversity in the ecosystem. Majority of the investment partners in global VCs and angel networks are men, women constitute only about 5%, and these women believe this disparity leads to unconditional bias towards the male entrepreneurs. Tanvi Bhardwaj had to fight hard against the prevalent unsaid bias against women when she started Mishipay, a self checkout technology for retail which allows anyone in the store to pick up an item, scan the barcode on their phone, pay on the phone and just walk out of the door with it. She says “In a country like ours, where the society has been patriarchal for centuries, it is a challenge for women to fight against the very mindset which has clearly defined a woman's role to be confined to the household. The unsaid bais is reflective in the number of women who reach leadership positions as opposed to the number that enter a workplace with a qualified education.” For Sivareena Sarika founder of PregBuddy, a health monitoring &amp; concierge platform that provides personalised care for women, it was an even bigger challenge convincing the male investors about her business as women’s healthcare has always been a taboo. Sivareena believes encouraging more women partners in VCs and angel networks will help in removing the biggest roadblock for women entrepreneurs, “Investor community is a male-dominant domain, right from the first person who is analyzing your business to the person finalizing the fund, is a male. So investors have an unconditional bias to invest in their own “kind”. Even though women led businesses have shown 12% greater revenue as compared to male led, this unconditional bias still remains among the investors community.” All of these women entrepreneurs believe diversity in investor community can help women entrepreneurs in a big way. Even though there are multiple challenges for women in starting their own business in India but these women believe there has been a mark change in the start up scene for women in the country in the past 5years. In terms of what India needs to do in order to help women build for the society, almost all the women we spoke to trace it back to education of the girl child. Kabandi Saikia started her start up journey about four years ago. Her company <keyword id="4403556" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Omnify">Omnify</keyword> is a scheduling and e-commerce platform that provides schedule based services for small businesses. She believes that there has been a positive change in the startup ecosystem of India in the past five years but there is still a long way to go. Kabandi says, “The change needs to come at the grassroots level. We as a society should encourage women for entrepreneurship. I am a big believer of teaching tech (programming) in school so that women can at least have a choice.” Most of the women also talked about lack of mentors in the startup industry for women entrepreneurs or even big women led start up success stories that can inspire them. Amruta of CampusTime says, “There is a need to create more role models so that it can inspire younger women to take the jump to startup. Cultivate entrepreneurial mindset right from 5th grade.” Mishipay’s Tanvi too feels “we need to create more awareness about entrepreneurship and existing women entrepreneurs who have achieved success in their fields. There already is some awareness in the big cities, but it is imperative that these success stories reach households in smaller cities and villages as well. Other women should feel inspired and thereby have the courage to step out of the ordinary and do something different.”

Minding their own business: Women entrepreneurs in India and their start-up journey

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/danica-patrick-driver-of-the-godaddy-chevrolet-walks-from-news-photo/920078600">Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images</a>Danica Patrick at the Daytona 500 in February 2018.</div></div></div>You may know Danica Patrick as the most successful woman in the history of American auto racing or as the first woman to host the ESPY Awards.Now that she's retired from racing, she has even more in store.In <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/315298" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a recent interview</a>, Patrick discussed her retirement."I was just over the stress and the judgment," she told Entrepreneur magazine. "I wasn't having fun. And life's too short. I mean, really: Who cares?"Patrick is an <a href="https://www.prettyintense.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">author</a>, <a href="https://www.somniumwine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vineyard owner</a>, and <a href="https://www.hsn.com/shop/warrior-by-danica-patrick/15984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">athleisure-clothing line</a> designer. Her entrepreneurial streak has allowed her to spot opportunities and plan for the future, including her planned retirement from racing.Hear from Danica Patrick and many other emerging entrepreneurs and next-generation leaders who will inspire and challenge you to think differently at IGNITION 2018. Take a look at the full speaker lineup and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ignition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">register now</a>.To get the latest speaker updates, sign up for the <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdEJ874_Eq6U7gCzxTGEWjrcZ3cN9reIBwZuRHHFrUBJl-WKg/viewform" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IGNITION mailing list</a>.<div id="categorypromo"></div>

From race-car driver to dynamic entrepreneur: Hear more about Danica Patrick's career pivot at IGNITION 2018

Come <keyword id="124343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Womens-Day">Women’s Day</keyword> on March 8 and we get bogged down in a flood of seminars and events, all proclaiming to know what’s best for <keyword id="2101992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Womens-self-development">women’s self-development</keyword>. But this year, we have decided to move away from the experts and talk with <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword>, whose real-life stories of <keyword id="2101993" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Struggle-and-success">struggle and success</keyword> are bound to inspire all. In the first part of our Power Women series, <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> India chats with <keyword id="484475" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sramana-Mitra">Sramana Mitra</keyword>, an <keyword id="2101987" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="entrepreneur-and-a-strategy-consultant">entrepreneur and a strategy consultant</keyword> in <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> since 1994. Her fields of experience span from <keyword id="2101994" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Technology-disciplines">technology disciplines</keyword> like <keyword id="145965" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="semiconductors">semiconductors</keyword> to sophisticated <keyword id="2101995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Consumer-marketing-industries">consumer marketing industries</keyword> including <keyword id="6" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="fashion">fashion</keyword> and <keyword id="6355445" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Education">education</keyword>. 
 As a <keyword id="2101998" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Serial-entrepreneur-CEO">serial entrepreneur-CEO</keyword>, Sramana had earlier founded three companies – Dais (off-shore software services), Intarka (sales lead generation and qualification Software; VC: NEA) and Uuma (online personalised store for selling clothes using Expert Systems software; VC: Redwood). Two of these were acquired while the third received an acquisition offer from <keyword id="212570" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ralph-Lauren">Ralph Lauren</keyword> which the company did not accept. Back in 2010, she also set up a virtual incubator called <keyword id="484477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="One-Million-by-One-Million">One Million by One Million</keyword>, to help a million entrepreneurs from all over the world to reach a million dollars in annual revenue, build $1 trillion in global <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> and create 10 million jobs. What has life in Silicon Valley has taught Sramana? Here are the edited excerpts from our chat. 
 
<keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">Entrepreneurship</keyword> is not easy People often ask what inspired me to be an <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword>. Well, I am an entrepreneur’s daughter. I grew up watching my father run companies and I am sure that was a fundamental influence. But I also believe entrepreneurship is both <keyword id="49685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Genetic">genetic</keyword> and environmental. My maternal great grandfather was also an entrepreneur; so I had genes from both sides. 
 But let’s come back to the hard facts and let me tell you, entrepreneurship is not easy. Of course, there are many instances of overnight speculative success where you build something for a little bit, and someone comes and scoops it up for a lot of money. However, building long-term, sustainable value is extremely difficult. I have enjoyed my <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword>, but I have also made sacrifices to become an entrepreneur. What I am doing today with <keyword id="2102002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="1M">1M/1M</keyword> is extremely difficult, extremely complex. 
 
Get over the <keyword id="150208" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fear-of-failure">fear of failure</keyword> In January 2009, in the midst of raging <keyword id="6371665" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="financial-crisis">financial crisis</keyword> and a deep <keyword id="44850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Global-recession">global recession</keyword>, I hosted an <keyword id="2102006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-entrepreneurship-forum">online entrepreneurship forum</keyword> for <keyword id="2102008" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Laid-off-engineers">laid-off engineers</keyword> who were considering a <keyword id="2102009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Switch-to-entrepreneurship">switch to entrepreneurship</keyword>. There were 220 people registered for the event and 130 attended. About 145 questions were submitted, from which we synthesised some of the most commonly asked. Among those was one I want to close this volume with: How do you overcome the fear of failure? 
 When I was younger, I had an enormous fear of failure. I was quite used to winning and I was very bad at losing. Since then, while I have been successful in many ways, I have also failed at various attempts. My attempt at building a product company out of India in 1997 succeeded somewhat, but the company did not become a revolutionary brand of the order that I aspired for, nor did it achieve any significant scale. Somewhere along the way, though, I developed the <keyword id="23254" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="wisdom">wisdom</keyword> to take things in stride, embrace failure, learn from it and rise above it. 
 
Develop a personal philosophy: <keyword id="6389686" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Faith">Faith</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="88092" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="conviction">conviction</keyword> will get you going When I look back on my journey to trace the development of that wisdom, I see one overriding theme. Very early in life, I developed a personal philosophy. An unlikely juxtaposition of ideas culled from various systems of thought – from the <keyword id="62706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Upanishads">Upanishads</keyword> and <keyword id="28423" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="vedanta">Vedanta</keyword>, from <keyword id="78326" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="hindu-scriptures">Hindu scriptures</keyword>, <keyword id="115232" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ayn-Rand">Ayn Rand</keyword>’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, and certain <keyword id="2102012" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Buddhist-concepts">Buddhist concepts</keyword> of Futility &amp; <keyword id="910745" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nothingness">Nothingness</keyword>. 
 
The Hindu system of thought has a very powerful core concept: Tat Tvam Asi or I Am He. Instead of worshipping an external God, the Hindus believe that God is inside. Indeed, a powerful way of thinking. If the ultimate perfection lies inside you, and all you need to do is realise your own potential, much of your fundamental self-doubt vanishes. At least at an existential level, the individual is complete within. 
 Ayn Rand offers a similarly individualistic perspective, although from a radically different point of view. Rand’s <keyword id="18935" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="heroes">heroes</keyword> and heroines move mountains. Although reared in a communist and collectivist Russian background, he celebrates individual achievements and believes in one man’s ability to make a difference. Many entrepreneurs I know have been influenced by Rand’s writings and have drawn inspiration, especially from the character of <keyword id="2102013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Hank-Rearden">Hank Rearden</keyword> in Atlas Shrugged, who fights against all odds with tremendous <keyword id="740992" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="resilience">resilience</keyword>. Similar <keyword id="38769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="self-confidence">self-confidence</keyword> echoes in The Fountainhead’s architect hero, <keyword id="199919" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Howard-Roark">Howard Roark</keyword>, whose resilience and <keyword id="2102014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Personal-integrity">personal integrity</keyword> propel him towards a vision of architecture condemned by his contemporaries for its bold originality and threatening innovation. 
 
Yes, conviction and faith are incredibly important components of a sustainable personal philosophy, but where does it come from? How do you develop it? 
 
This is a question you must ask yourself. I can offer pointers on what to study, but how your own psyche will respond to the stimulus – I cannot tell. This is a spiritual, experiential journey, and you have to go it alone. 
 I will, however, share three more components from my own bag of wisdom: <keyword id="52698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="laughter">Laughter</keyword>, <keyword id="54209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="compassion">Compassion</keyword> and Nothingness. 
 
When the individualistic ideology overwhelms, when your head swells with self-aggrandisement, think of the Himalayas. Or the Pacific Ocean. Or the Universe. One can soon comprehend that we are nothing; we are insignificant; we are a single speck of dust in the continuum of time. So why be afraid of failure? 
 
Believe in the <keyword id="46426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Turnaround">turnaround</keyword> I was once fired from one of my own companies. I raised the <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> and we brought on a middle-aged, supposedly experienced guy as <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword>. I was in my twenties. The guy was incompetent and political. He didn’t understand the product, had no vision. We couldn’t figure any of these out until he joined, because he was on a charm offensive until then and I had limited experience of making a hire like this. We thought he could complement my product skills and vision with superior sales skills. 
 
Once he was on board, it started going downhill very quickly and he set out to fire me. I had massive immigration challenges, and had very little negotiating power because I didn’t have a Green Card then. 
 To cut a long story short, I was in <keyword id="76147" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="BUENOS-AIRES">Buenos Aires</keyword> when he called a Board Meeting on the phone and fired me. And the Board let him. I walked around on the streets of Buenos Aires trying to absorb the blow. 
 
Six months later, they had to fire the CEO. The angel investors offered to fund me again and start another company. I did. 
 
Life went on… Life always goes on. 
 Finally, if you are a woman and a wannapreneur, here’s one sound piece of advice. Be a damn compelling entrepreneur, not just a damn compelling <keyword id="210081" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="woman-entrepreneur">woman entrepreneur</keyword>. 
 
Watch this space tomorrow – <keyword id="122850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="power-women">Power Women</keyword> will be back with their intriguing success stories.

Power Women: I
Was Fired From My Own Company & What I Learnt From It

The spotlight has been on <keyword id="1105689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women-entrepreneurs-in-India">women entrepreneurs in India</keyword> recently. Women-led new age startups have been the toast of the town, such as LimeRoad by Suchi Mukherjee, Sheroes by Sairee Chahal, Zivame by Richa Kar, YourStory by Shraddha Sharma, Wedmegood by Mehak Shahani and mydala by Anisha Singh to name a few. Studies have pronounced a 50 per cent growth in women entrepreneurs in just one year, and accolades have been pouring in on women entrepreneurs for their new found successes in the world of business. 
 
Before we get carried away with this polite applause, think again! The phenomenon of women entrepreneurship in India is not new. Look around. You might not see too many in the stratosphere of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw but you will see no dearth of women entrepreneurs in lifestyle businesses like beauty, fashion, gems &amp; jewels, education, food, logistics, social enterprises. They have just been outside the radar of the new-age definition of startup entrepreneurs. 
 
So what’s new? The fact that women in India are ready to play a new game in business: The game of big, scalable startups funded by private investors. 
 
Let me be clear at the outset. I do not differentiate between the different kind of women entrepreneurs. I believe any woman in business faces the same challenges and is driven by the same entrepreneurial spirit. The difference lies in the sport they choose among the vast selection in business – and that decides the rules of the game. Here’s my Hi-5 to women preparing to grow and build in this new arena. 
 
Pick the sport &amp; master the rules 
While local lifestyle businesses can be played as an individual sport – the neighbourhood boutique, the local beauty parlour, the customized jewelry designer – the startup business built on funding from venture capitalists is totally different. This is a competitive team sport. Played on a large playing field. And women in India are ready to break through the old boys’ network to make their mark here. They just need to be clear about the sport they are picking and be the best in it. Understand that this is a game of scale. This is a game where the VC enters only to exit – at a profit. These cannot be played like a lifestyle or family-based business. 
 
According to The emergence of the Millipreneurs a recent <a href="http://www.bnpparibas.com/en/news/bnp-paribas-global-entrepreneurs-report-2016">report</a> by BNP Paribas, worldwide women entrepreneurs are a little more successful today as they are more ambitious than their male counterparts. In India’s bounding startup ecosystem, women entrepreneurs could learn from this and pursue larger than life goals without fear. And to do so successfully, women must reinvent themselves and break out of the typecast accorded to them. 
 
Get off the emotional roller-coaster 
Simply put, a VC-funded business is a game played from the head, not heart. Yes, of course passion is important. But if I was to put a weightage to it, I would say building a successful business in 30% Passion and 70% hardcore numbers. 
 
I have accompanied several women startup founders to their meetings with investors and VCs. Having witnessed the discussion as a silent observer, I truly believe we undersell ourselves, and do not do justice to our potential. My tip to them: Get over the shyness! Don’t trip over your emotional story. Be a consummate professional. It takes just a few simple steps, to achieve a metamorphosis from a timid chrysalis to a self-assured butterfly who can hold her own in the colossal arena of big business. 
 
Project your confidence 
Even the most hardened male entrepreneur admits to nervousness while pitching to investors. It’s only normal. The trick is to project an image of confidence. And this can be done by doing your homework. Just as you practice pitches to win new business, you need to perfect the pitch to investors and VCs. 
 
In a KPMG <a href="http://www.kpmg-institutes.com/institutes/global-enterprise-institute/articles/2015/10/women-entrepreneurs-passion-purpose-and-perseverance.html">report</a> Women Entrepreneurs: Passion, Purpose, Perseverence, a whopping 83 percent of women entrepreneurs ranked self-confidence as a must have trait for successful leadership. Confidence goes hand in hand with risk taking, enabling the bold decisions, deemed necessary in today’s disruptive environment. 
 
Speak the language 
Big business has a certain innate and unchanging dialect. You need to master this language. 
 
No matter what your weakness, be it finance or technology or anything else, get over with it. Get comfortable with “valuation” and “share of wallet”. Lead and participate in a smooth dialogue on cash flows, income projections, budgeting, cost efficiencies, risk analysis, financial modeling and even digital transformation. Take a colleague/advisor along if necessary to these meetings. 
 
A Deloitte <a href="http://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/women-entrepreneurs-report.html">report</a> recently pointed out that despite being more responsible borrowers, women face higher barriers in accessing capital. This disparity is the result of a complex interaction of factors, including the way private equity works, the way financial institutions operate, and the behavior of women themselves. 
 
Yes, the financial system needs to change its bias, but women themselves need to blaze through this bias by mastering the game themselves. So, test yourself, over and over again, take feedback, make the necessary changes. And at that all important meeting, lead the discussion and break the typecast! 
 
Learn to network 
Last but definitely not the least, you need to remember that to be successful at scale, you need to go beyond your own resources. Networking can get you access to knowledge, opportunities, capital, mentorship, even other startups that you can partner with in the ecosystem. Ever wonder why all the IIT and IIM graduates seem to do so well? Is it just the magic of their curriculum or their brains? Not to undermine either, the third big factor is their ready access to a core group – a strong alumni network. 
 
In India, women have traditionally been the window to the extended family or the neighbourhood community. Yet, in business, I have often met women entrepreneurs who confess that they find it difficult to network and think it is a waste of time. My advice to them is, weave that web of influence. Networking does not necessarily imply extending work-hours and neglecting your family. Be smart about it. Leverage your lunch-hour. Take small steps. But do not limit yourself by trying to go it alone. The power of a network can add exponentially to your strength. It is a necessary component of scaling up. 
 
There is heartening support for women entrepreneurs coming in from various directions today. The TiE Special Interest Group for Women Entrepreneurs, TiE Stree Shakti, <a href="http://www.nasscom.in/readying-women-entrepreneurship?fg=880017">Girls in Tech</a> programme by Nasscom, the funding of women ventures promised under <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=134220">Standup India</a>, the special focus on women entrepreneurs at an event like <a href="http://www.lhrunwaytosuccess.in/startupexpo/">The Startup Expo</a>. And the launch of a <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/now-a-venture-fund-for-women-entrepreneurs-115091400024_1.html">VC fund</a> focused exclusively on women entrepreneurs. While this is all adding to the momentum, there are miles to go. 
 
The battle of the woman entrepreneur in the Indian startup ecosystem is still herculean as she breaks long held perceptions, cultural biases and typecasts. But it is important that she continues to push past these to chase her dreams. I believe the success factor lies in an important shift in mindset of women themselves: We need to own our destiny. At the end of the day, only we are going to write our future. 
 
(The article is authored by Gita Dang, Founder &amp; Director, Talent Advisory &amp; TiE Delhi-NCR Board Member) 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Key success factors of women entrepreneurs in Indian startups

The <keyword id="6421805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="International-Womens-Day">International Women’s Day</keyword> is finally here but is the world around us getting more <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword>-friendly or at least gender-neutral? This year, the UN theme for Women’s Day is <keyword id="2112904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inspiring-Change">Inspiring Change</keyword>, which not only encourages women’s advancement in every sphere of life but literally challenges the status quo that hinders the equality, economic empowerment and overall fulfilment of a tribe, glamorised as half the sky but often left with little opportunity to grow. But could it be the same scenario at the top of the pyramid? 
 
In this fourth and last part of our Power Women series, <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> India chats with <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> <keyword id="2112899" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="professional-and-serial-entrepreneur">professional and serial entrepreneur</keyword> <keyword id="2112898" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ankita-Tandon">Ankita Tandon</keyword> to know more about how women are doing in the <keyword id="1948071" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-start-up">Indian start-up</keyword> space, <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> as a career opportunity and what it takes to make the most of that opportunity. Grab it while you can; the opportunity to tread a new path, to take up new challenges, to make lasting changes in your life won’t come every day. Look further afield, if one thing doesn’t work out for you or if you want to work across multiple fields like Ankita, in order to achieve that rare sense of fulfilment. Find out how you can be the change from this freewheeling conversation below. 
 
From Finance to starting up was a unique experience At the beginning, I was more focused on Finance than start-ups and my career was designed that way. I am a Mumbai girl, studied Economics at <keyword id="174168" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jai-Hind-College">Jai Hind College</keyword> and then joined <keyword id="174907" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Warwick-Business-School">Warwick Business School</keyword> for a post-graduate degree in Finance. I got placed with <keyword id="6357341" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Deutsche-Bank">Deutsche Bank</keyword> in <keyword id="6354968" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="London">London</keyword> where I worked for two years. But by that time, I was keen to start a business of my own and decided to move back to Mumbai. In 2012, I co-founded a <keyword id="6404679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="start-up">start-up</keyword> called <keyword id="2112909" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="DeliveryChef-in">DeliveryChef.in</keyword> (www.deliverychef.in), an online platform that allows users to order food online. 
 I am currently a core team member of another start-up called <keyword id="2030732" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Coupondunia-in">CouponDunia.in</keyword> (www.coupondunia.in). CouponDunia enables consumers to save money on their shopping and dining by distributing free coupons for India’s leading brands and retailers. I am also a guest lecture at Jai Hind College – so you may say, I enjoy doing different things. 
 
Get out of your <keyword id="1093785" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="comfort-zone">comfort zone</keyword> to do something new That’s crucial, if you want to do something new and you are serious about it. For instance, I realised pretty early in my career that I could become a <keyword id="48669" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="banker">banker</keyword> at any point in my life. But then, I have an <keyword id="2112917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurial-bent">entrepreneurial bent</keyword> and I am extremely interested in start-ups and what’s happening in that space. Also, while working in London, I was exposed to a lot of businesses and ideas which were not explored in India at the time. Yet, the way our country was developing, it was quite clear that there would be tremendous opportunity back home. I knew if I wanted to capitalise on the opportunity and take the <keyword id="2112915" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurial-plunge">entrepreneurial plunge</keyword>, it had to be now… when I am young and have the risk appetite. So at that point, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and give entrepreneurship a shot. 
 
Even now, it’s tough for female entrepreneurs 
Starting up or being part of a start-up could be extremely rewarding and fiercely challenging at the same time. And it helps build character. Right from Day 1, you are accountable and responsible for practically everything – right from operations, finance and business development to HR and even office boy duties. Of course, it is very satisfying because you can clearly see the incremental differences you are making and the fruits of your efforts. That is not always the case if you are working for a large organisation where you are like a drop in the ocean. 
 But as a <keyword id="210081" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="woman-entrepreneur">woman entrepreneur</keyword>, I have faced some challenges as well, especially during <keyword id="60356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fundraising">fundraising</keyword>. Many <keyword id="6359051" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="investors">investors</keyword> were sceptical about backing female entrepreneurs and ask several personal questions about marriage plans, etc. It is a lot harder to get the buy-in of investors if you have an <keyword id="2112928" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="All-woman-founding-team">all-woman founding team</keyword>. We had to prove to the investors that we were serious about our business and personal decisions would not impact the company. 
 
Believe in yourself and make it happen I read an interesting quote the other day... “Women can do everything that men can. And they can do it in high heels.” I honestly believe that women are blessed with creativity and natural talent; the only thing they lack is <keyword id="87248" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="self-belief">self-belief</keyword>. So I would urge all women to get hold of that <keyword id="38769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="self-confidence">self-confidence</keyword> and firmly believe that they can make it happen. I am sure they can succeed in anything when they put their heart and mind into it. 
 Another thing is extremely important when you decide to start up. Make sure you have the full support of your partner and family. Entrepreneurship is a tough and lonely <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword>, and you may see long stretches without success, which is demoralising. If you don’t have a family that supports you and cheers you on to get over the finish line, you will start second-guessing yourself and may give up prematurely. Start up once; it’s worth it.

Power
Women: Entrepreneurship Is A Tough & Lonely Journey, But Keep At It To
Prove Your Mettle

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/carla-harris-morgan-stanley?family=editorial&amp;phrase=carla%20harris%20morgan%20stanley&amp;sort=best&amp;excludenudity=true">Getty/Angela Weiss</a>Carla Harris.</div></div></div>When Morgan Stanley's <a href="http://carlaspearls.com/about-carla/">Carla Harris</a> offers up advice, you definitely want to listen.Harris is the vice chairman for global wealth management and a senior client advisor for Morgan Stanley.A former mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets banker, she's landed some major deals over the years, including the initial public offerings of UPS and Martha Stewart Living. In 2013, President Obama appointed her to chair the National Women's Business Council.Harris recently had the opportunity to give some career advice to a group of entrepreneurs at <a href="http://www.powermovesnola.org/city-ventures/">PowerMoves Miami</a>, an event dedicated to boosting the number of venture-backed, minority-founded startups in America."So often, the marketplace is not aware of the diversity of entrepreneurs that are out there with great ideas," Harris told Business Insider."So the more that we can elevate the visibility of this kind of entrepreneur talent, the greater the probability that you will get the sophisticated investment dollars flowing in their direction, thereby creating, of course, a multiplier effect. As these companies become more successful, they create more jobs, they create more wealth in the community, and they also inspire even more entrepreneurs."Harris served as a moderator at the PowerMoves Miami event and a judge in a Series A pitch competition. She was able to share some important advice with the participants, both as a seasoned banker with nearly three decades of experience working in the capital markets, and as a successful woman of color in the business world.Here's what she said.

Star Morgan Stanley banker Carla Harris reveals 3 pieces of advice for entrepreneurs

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/troy-wolverton">Troy Wolverton/Business Insider</a>Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon, CEO of Founder Gym</div></div></div><ul><li>Mandela Dixon, a longtime mentor of entrepreneurs, has a new startup that trains non-traditional tech founders on how to succeed in the industry.</li><li>One of the most important lessons she teaches is a concept she calls the "cosign," which is related to networking.</li><li>With her own startup, Dixon was fortunate when it came to getting a cosign, but many other non-traditional founders have a tougher time with it.</li></ul> It's a cliché that whom you know is more important than what you know - but that doesn't make it any less true.Mandela Schumacher-Hodge Dixon found that out in her journey from being a school teacher to a startup founder. And now it's one of the key lessons she tries to impart at Founder Gym, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mandela-dixons-founder-gym-trains-women-and-minority-entreneurs-2018-5">her new company that trains women and people of color in the basics of tech entrepreneurship</a>.Dixon's got a catchy name for the lesson. She calls it the "cosign.""It's one of the most important things in this industry," she said.The tech industry in general and the venture capital business in particular are fairly insulated and driven by networks of connections. If you're new to the industry or to Silicon Valley, it can be hard to break in.That's where the cosign comes in. If you're looking to raise money from a particular investor, one of the best way to get a meeting with the investor is to have someone who knows the investor introduce you, Dixon said. It's even better if the person who introduces you is a fellow founder in whom the investor already invested."You need someone in the industry to validate you to who you're trying to get to," Dixon said.In her case, Dixon, a biracial woman, says she lucked out with her cosign. Her first company was an education startup. But at the time, she was based in Los Angeles and was completely new to the tech industry, so she didn't know anyone in Silicon Valley or in tech.But at an event organized by Startup Weekend, she met a bunch of different founders and investors. One of those founders introduced her to Mitch Kapor, a legendary investor who, along with his wife, has made a point of supporting startups founded by non-traditional entrepreneurs. Kapor and his wife ended up the first investors in Dixon's startup, which led to investments from other firms."I had no idea who Mitch was until I met him," Dixon said. "We were so lucky. We really, really were."<h2>Networking is particularly important for non-traditional founders</h2>The cosign lesson is a crucial one for the types of entrepreneurs Founder Gym is focusing on, she said. After she closed down her startup, Dixon helped mentor other entrepreneurs, first at Startup Weekend and then at Kapor Capital. In that role, she saw firsthand the stark difference between the typical startup founders and the non-traditional ones.The typical founders were white, male, and affluent. And they generally had previous experience in the tech industry or knew or were related to someone who was in it. In other words, they already had networks in place and people who could cosign for them with investors.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image">Al NolanAl Nolan, founder of Notearise, helped build his network through Founder Gym.</div></div></div>"They already have a huge advantage in this playbook," Dixon said.Not so the non-traditional investors, who might be women or people of color or people for whom English was their second language. It's those founders whom Dixon is trying to help with Founder Gym.In her courses, she not only tries to pass on what she's learned about the industry, but she gives her entrepreneurs the chance to network with founders like themselves and learn from each other. They also get a chance to meet and talk with investors such as the Kapors and Ellen Pao who are willing to invest in non-traditional founders and understand the challenges they face.Al Nolan, who was in Founder Gym's first group of trainees earlier this year, said it was great to be able to use the program to build out his network. Nolan, a black entrepreneur who created a note-taking app for students called Note Arise, loved being able to meet other founders like himself and some top investors in the space. He's already capitalized on what he's learned to get as many meetings with investors as he had all last year."That's where I want to be as a founder, knowing who to talk to and what to bring them," he said. "Those are tools I just didn't have before." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-interview-axel-springer-ceo-amazon-trump-blue-origin-family-regulation-washington-post-2018-4">Jeff Bezos reveals what it's like to build an empire and become the richest man in the world - and why he's willing to spend $1 billion a year to fund the most important mission of his life</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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