“Drive investments towards advancing gender equality” – Mission of Think Yellow (1)
Last night, I attended the fireside chat of Karina Storinggaard, Think Yellow and David Butler, Startup Grind (2).
Think Yellow sees gender lens investing as the most efficient tool for their mission. Gender Lens investing is the deliberate incorporation of gender factors into investment analysis and decisions. They look at a large number of factors including board composition, management, employees, equal pay, flexible working, maternity, paternity leave, policies, etc.
They can be very proud to see tangible results, helping create products with leading institutions for people to invest in.
What stood out for me from the talk:
- Be brave – They had the courage to apply for an F10 accelerator program (3) just 2 weeks before the deadline. They got into the program meaning that they had access to and support from major players.
- Pivot – They pivoted a number of times already since starting 1.5 years ago. Sometimes you have to have the guts to change direction.
- Big mission – Have a big mission you believe in. Karina gave a great analogy about helping everyone, male or female, to see over the fence.
It is always fascinating to see what drives people, what challenges they face and how they deal with them. It’s helpful to meet and network with like-minded people, both to get ideas and support.
Find the groups that work best for you.
Footnotes
1) Think Yellow
2) Startup Grind
3) F10 is a Zurich based FinTech Incubator and Accelerator