The next generation of bright, ambitious female business leaders from Donegal offers hope for woman-led companies after Covid-19.
Last year, I completed the first cohort of Ambition, a pre-acceleration program specifically designed for women entrepreneurs with unique and early-stage business ideas. This program, promoted by the Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, aimed to provide the necessary support, know-how, and resources to help these founders take their businesses to the next level.
Several months later, I am proud to report that all eleven teams from the first cohort are still going strong, thanks to the exceptional women leading them. These founders are dreaming big and working on projects that have the potential to make a real impact on the business, social, and cultural landscapes. The concepts range from a digital platform for managing finances for people with disabilities (inCharge), to a contemporary sustainable knitwear brand (Moss + Cable), to an automated solution for data-driven decision-making in e-commerce (Exascale AI), and an app for transparent information on ethical and sustainable consumption (Ample).
Exceptional Challenges and Exceptional Resilience
Working with these talented founders provided unique insights into the experience of women entrepreneurs during the Coronavirus pandemic. We sat down with them to discuss their most significant setbacks and successes while starting a business during this period.
The stories they told confirmed that women entrepreneurs have faced unique challenges due to the Coronavirus crisis. However, it’s also clear that women entrepreneurs have shown exceptional resilience in the face of these challenges, pivoting to take advantage of the opportunities offered by these extraordinary times.
79% of our cohort reported that the positives had outweighed the negatives – and that they are optimistic for the future.
To support female entrepreneurs, we need to take their challenges seriously. We must find solutions for the gendered inequalities and suffering that this pandemic has exacerbated.
But to design effective ecosystems for female entrepreneurship, we should also look at what has been beneficial about the pandemic for women. For some, this period has brought time for reflection and innovation and removed physical or geographic limits to customers, teams, and resources.
Our conversations showed a mix of setbacks and successes.
Setbacks
Keeping the momentum going
Launching a start-up requires a considerable amount of motivation and stamina – and these were sometimes
at a low ebb during continued lockdowns.
Edelle McDaid of Inishowen Algae said:
“As an extrovert, I get my energy from other people. Continued lockdowns took that away, and I struggled to “fill my cup” from the energy of others in the way that I was used to”.
Without a dedicated workspace outside the home and the workday structure, several women entrepreneurs we spoke to had experienced a loss of momentum.
Juggling extra responsibilities
The global pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women – and this extends to women entrepreneurs.
A recent EU Report on Covid-19 and Gender shows that, on the whole, women have been hit hardest by the economic crisis as well as dealing with unequal caring responsibilities and other issues.
Many female entrepreneurs on our program said they’d experienced challenges juggling childcare and family tasks alongside their entrepreneurial goals. They also found it challenging to be separated from their extended family networks, with many unable to see their parents.
Disconnection from the wider world
Social isolation was another issue. Aside from the psychological effects of being disconnected from friends and family, early-stage teams benefit from being together, which wasn’t possible during Covid-19.
Technology has helped bridge the sense of loneliness, but most agreed that it’s just not the same as real human connection. Pre-acceleration programs are usually delivered in-person, and some participants said they felt they’d missed the sense of camaraderie programs typically bring about. Several felt that being physically together with the other entrepreneurs would have helped their focus.
“We knew that when we decided to run the Ambition Pre-Accelerator program in the middle of a pandemic that it would not be easy – there would be little if any chance for the participants to meet with each other, the trainers or the Local Enterprise Office staff. It’s often a very lonely place for aspiring entrepreneurs as they set out on their journey, and human interaction with the opportunity to share experiences and learn from others is so important on both the personal and business levels. It also provides opportunities for idea exchange and collaboration. Having said that, the program and the participants maximised the available technologies, and we continue to engage with them to help them achieve their business objectives.”
said Michael Tunney, Head of Enterprise, LEO Donegal.
Concentration was, at times, a challenge. A number of the entrepreneurs reported feeling overwhelmed by the pandemic situation, which affected their ability to really dive deep and think strategically.
Successes
And yet, on the whole, participants met those challenges with creativity and resilience and felt it was an excellent time to focus on the new project. The world slowed down, and at a slower pace, they could reflect and rebalance their priorities.
Headspace to think, reflect and plan
Several entrepreneurs said this reflective time led to better decisionmaking, with space to think and strategise.
“Lockdown was a crucial time for us to plan, develop and execute our business idea. It gave us the time to develop the habits we needed to improve ourselves and our business. If there was ever a time to start a business, this was it!”
said Sarah McDonald, co-founder of My First Focal.
For many women, the pandemic removed external distractions, allowed them to put their heads down and get work done. Working to accelerate their projects was a good use of this “dead” time. For Digital Sussed, this afforded time to focus on exciting new product development.
Spending more time at home also brought benefits for some. Various entrepreneurs appreciated having more quality time with their families, and they learned more about themselves and the importance of staying positive and being kind with themselves to get through.
Tapping into global opportunities
The entrepreneurs we interviewed also managed to turn remote working into a positive by tapping into the global opportunities offered by going virtual.
Several start-ups took advantage of having remote access to customers that wouldn’t usually be available.
“From the outset, we knew that our business had global appeal, but we weren’t prepared for how quickly we were able to get our products in front of customers. During Covid-19, we’ve successfully built a network of global retail partners across three continents”.
said Catherine Devine, founder of Pumpskynz,
Many of the entrepreneurs also appreciated being able to incorporate top international professionals into their projects. Working from anywhere opened up the chance to work with talent from around the globe.
Indeed, Rachel Craig’s project EU Remote Jobs, which won the Ambition program showcase, is a digital solution that enables companies to hire remote employees from anywhere globally while remaining legally compliant with local employment laws.
The participants could also remotely access mentorship and knowledge that would usually be out of their reach. Karen McCormick of inCharge described joining a valuable global conference that would usually have been impossible due to travel and hotel costs.
Though nothing replaces face-to-face contact, the interviewees generally felt thebenefits of other women entrepreneurs’ supportive virtual peer network.
Several pointed out social and personal, plus points: working virtually meant a vast reduction in commuting and other travel, which produced fewer carbon emissions and positively impacted the environment.
Supporting women entrepreneurs in the future
Our conversations showed, beyond a doubt, that start-up programs and peer learning work: we’re
better together, sharing our challenges and our wins.
Women entrepreneurs also benefit from mentoring and should have access to female role models to bounce ideas off and ask for guidance. Veronica Strain, Founder of Biz Enable, has personally found the program’s individual follow-on mentoring sessions invaluable.
“While committed to my business idea, at times, I lack the self-belief to keep the idea moving forward. The mentoring sessions have been an excellent boost to my confidence that my business idea can work. Mentoring from a female founder has inspired and informed, and provided a non-judgemental sounding board for ideas and concerns. I have been able to learn from my mentor’s experience and knowledge which has been incredibly helpful”.
The entrepreneurs we interviewed also highlighted a need for more explicit information about the available resources, particularly funding and other supports. There was a clear need for strategic tools and systems to stay on track to address the challenges in maintaining momentum.
By paying attention to what worked well for women entrepreneurs during the pandemic and the challenges they faced, we can learn how to provide them with the time, space, and support they need to bring their ideas to fruition. Onwards to cohort two.