Month: November 2018

During the Women Make 30 Day Challenge last October, I decided to work on a podcast. I’m revealing the first guest and episode today. Women Make recently celebrated its 6-month anniversary so I thought it would be a great opportunity to go over its history and what led me to launch the Women Make podcast.

Create a place for us

I created this community because I want women to have a place to find support in the maker community. Entrepreneurship already has its hurdles to overcome but it is even more difficult as a woman (and every minority in general).

The impact society has on how we perceive ourselves and what we think we are capable of is incredibly important. I know some women need to know everything is possible and to gain more self-confidence. We live in a world where it can be difficult for us to be taken seriously.

This community was created to help women believe in themselves and know they can be entrepreneurs too. Sometimes they just need a little push. Women Make exists so the ones who already took the plunge can rely on other peers living the same journey. It  is a place to find the support you need as a woman maker.

Put women at the forefront

My goal with Women Make is to put women at the forefront. Tech and entrepreneurship in general is male-dominated. If we want to be seen as much as men, we need to make some noise and take more space!

I started this community because I was struggling to get in touch with women makers, but also because I wanted to see more of them in the spotlight. Although things are improving, it is still so much easier to find men role models than women ones.

I have been working towards this goal of shining a light on women makers by sharing updates about women on our Twitter account, by helping our members launching on Product Hunt, by pushing them to write and share their progress publicly, by creating a publication for us on Medium, and by organizing the 30 Day Women Make Challenge. And today, I’m kicking it up a notch by launching a podcast interviewing women makers.

Overcoming my fears

Starting a podcast was actually something pretty scary for me. I’m more of the shy kind type, I don’t think I’m the best at speaking as English is not my native language. I had lots of reasons not to do it. But I thought that all these challenges were probably a good reason to actually do it.

So I got to work. I had no idea how to make a podcast so I did my research. I know fear can be paralyzing so I publicly shared my progress in a Twitter thread to make myself accountable. I was slowly but surely getting there. But obviously that was not the hardest part for me.

I was very nervous before the first interview. My hands were sweaty and my voice not as strong and confident as I wish but surprisingly (or not?) it went super well!

And now here we are! I can proudly share with all of you the work I’ve been doing. Of course it’s not “done” since I’ll be running other interviews but I’m super happy I managed to achieve something I was not sure I was capable of.

Launching the podcast!

Today I’m excited to share with you the first episode of the Women Make podcast. My very first guest is Kate Kendall, founder and CEO of CloudPeeps and The Fetch. I’d like to thank her for accepting my invitation but also because she’s been super nice and made herself available very quickly. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

 

 

Now you can:

🎧 Listen to the first episode here

⭐️ Leave 5 stars on iTunes to help the podcast being more visible (if you liked it)

✅ Subscribe on any podcast platform to get notified when the next episode is out

💬 Send me your feedback and guest suggestions on Twitter (my DMs are open)

 

Last announcement: as a certain number of the members asked me to, I made stickers & shirts for Women Make and I thought this was a good opportunity to reveal them today! Buy 4 stickers and get 25% off!

 

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Thank you Anne-Laure for proof reading this article.

 

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October was intense. Indeed, it was the month of the Women Make 30 Day Challenge. And it was freaking awesome!

The 30 Day Challenge: 30 days to build and launch

After 110+ participants joined the challenge, we all started working on October 1st with one goal in mind: build and launch something in 30 days.

It has been really inspiring and motivating since day one. Everyone was discussing their ideas, sharing their todo lists and templates, offering their help… That’s exactly the kind of atmosphere I wanted for this challenge: punchy and friendly at the same time.

When someone was having a hard time or was doubting themselves, the community was here to cheer them up. Our common energy was strong and powerful! Since then, it’s been such a delight to see all the members posting updates and sharing their progress publicly.

A podcast for Women Make

Although I’m the organizer of the 30 Day Challenge –and trust me it had its part of work too– I also participated in the challenge myself. I built Women Make because I wanted to create a place for women to find support in the maker community. But I also have a broader goal which is to put women in the forefront.

There are many talented women in the startup scene we don’t hear about, especially in the traditional media. I want to give them a voice. I want their peers to know they are not alone. And I want them to share their advice to succeed in this industry. This is why I decided to start a podcast.

This has been a totally new experience for me. I really did something I wouldn’t have imagine I could have done even a few months ago. I’m so glad I made it! My first guest is still a surprise… but you can signup here to get notified when I will publish the episode, probably next week.

A common launch

Today is time to reveal our work to the world and I’m so excited about it! I’m so glad that we built our projects alongside, together, by helping and supporting each other. This challenge was also the opportunity to meet new talented women, as many members joined the community last month.

Thanks to all the participants who took part in this adventure. I couldn’t have dreamed of better peers. One thing is sure: you can be proud of what you have achieved these 30 days!

Now is time for you to check all these awesome projects built during the 30 Day Challenge: Games, books, apps, online schools, job boards, blogs, podcasts… Be amazed by the diversity of our work!

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💬 If you haven’t yet, you should join us on Telegram!

Since this challenge was a success, I’ll probably organize a second edition. I know some people couldn’t make it this month so this will also be the opportunity for them to take part next time.

I’d like to thank newCo which hosted the challenge, all the participants who took a part in it and Anne-Laure for correcting this article among other things.

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Women Make is free but you can support my hard work via Patreon.