Once upon a time I was a model cum TV host. Which meant working maybe twice a week and flying off to exotic locations for photoshoots. Yet despite my comfortable “lifestyle”, I always felt something was amiss. And thus in time, I decided to give my dream of running my own business a go by launching my own start-up, TheLuxeNomad.com.
Suddenly my somewhat “glamorous” world was filled with geeky acronyms – “SEO”, “CTR”, “SEM”, “RoR”. Ummm … LOL? But hey, I’m not complaining! If you’ve read Malcom Gladwell’s book “Outliers” you would probably agree that every decade is defined by an industry ‒ and for this generation, it’s all about going web 2.0.
Fret not though ladies, contrary to popular belief, we need not be die-hard techies in order to work in an online start-up. Prior to launching my site TheLuxeNomad.com, the extent of my computer knowledge stemmed from an “information systems” paper at university that I never turned up to (Class was at 8am). So when the idea of TheLuxeNomad.com came along, I had absolutely no idea about ecommerce but decided to do it anyways. A year and a half later, we’re thankfully still in business!
TheLuxeNomad.com all-female team (from left): Stephanie Chai, Alia Soraya, Elaine Choong, Tasha Linda and Zo-Ee Chee. Image: NewMan
So to all of you out there thinking of making the move online, here are my 5 tips to becoming a female technopreneur:
1. “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors” – Be prepared for challenges! Because they will come your way. Here are some of the issues I had during early days. (a) A friend who wanted to partner with me refused to leave her day job – so we had to part ways (and unfortunately the friendship) and (b) a developer who was difficult to work with (my team eventually even asked me to fire him) resulted in us having to hire again and start from scratch.
2. Funding. As a generalisation, investors are apparently wary of investing in women as we are more likely to get married and have kids. I tick neither of the latter boxes but it is a question that never came up during investor pitches – they were far more interested in the business!
3. Most investors and VCs in Asia tend to be “ex-bankers”. The trouble with bankers or company men sitting at the helm is that they’ve never had the experience of running a business themselves. Don’t be disheartened if they shoot you down because some ratio doesn’t float their boat; I’ve learned that finding the right investors is a lot like a relationship – you need to pick ones that share the same values and vision that you have.
4. You need your friends and family. When the going gets tough, there’s nothing more valuable than a phone call to a friend or family member to reassure you to keep going. There were many times I felt like throwing in the towel, but my best friends would tell me not to give up. We’re only human; remember ‒ you can’t do it all on your own!
5. Choose people you can trust. Ideas are only 50 per cent of success; the remainder comes down to execution. And to do that well, you need the A team. Having run TheLuxeNomad.com I would have to say that people management is one of the most important skills you can have and is something I’m still learning along the way. Don’t assume you can hire some ivy league whiz kid and turn up to the office once a week. As the founder or CEO you need to constantly motivate and lead. Because if it were that easy – everyone would be doing it.
Last of all, don’t be afraid to let go. It’s easy to get so attached that you are over-consumed by the start-up and sleepless nights become an everyday occurrence. While I still do get stressed at times, I also tell myself that whatever happens – at least we tried. And that’s all you need. To try your best and to hope for the best. The rest is a little bit of luck. 😉
Stephanie Chai is the founder of TheLuxeNomad.com; discover amazing destinations and more at www.theluxenomad.com.
