The Future is Female (Founders)
By Christina Esposito - Managing Director, Campaigns for Pericles
![(Tracy Chou, Photo Credit: Jingyu Lin for TIME) (Rebecca Lock, Photo Credit: Kidcaboo)(Lily Baiser, Photo Credit: Adrienne Fletcher)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F96e8e211-072a-4baf-89e2-357dc33c4aad_410x512.png)
![(Tracy Chou, Photo Credit: Jingyu Lin for TIME) (Rebecca Lock, Photo Credit: Kidcaboo)(Lily Baiser, Photo Credit: Adrienne Fletcher)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa80b7999-2c1b-4a0f-9c51-253fa3bf89ef_341x512.png)
![(Tracy Chou, Photo Credit: Jingyu Lin for TIME) (Rebecca Lock, Photo Credit: Kidcaboo)(Lily Baiser, Photo Credit: Adrienne Fletcher)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e80b5a7-2022-48bd-b4d4-29915ff063d5_512x512.png)
In honor of Women’s History Month, instead of taking a look at the past, I wanted to highlight the amazing accomplishments of women today. As a female leader at Pericles, I have the privilege of partnering and working with some brilliant female founders. Together, we work to solve complex regulatory issues so that technologies and new models of business can advance women across our society.
Unfortunately, many of our governing laws are from years past, where men solely wrote legislation based on their own experience. The Founding Fathers could have not predicted the role women would play in the centuries that followed the Constitutional Convention. It’s still staggering to see that only 28% of our Congressional representation is female. In the tech industry, it’s no different with 28% of US startups having at least one female founder and only 14% of startups having a female CEO. Therefore, it’s such a rewarding experience to work with female founders, like the Pericles partners I mention below, on amending these inequalities so they can achieve their goals and bring new solutions to the marketplace.
Tracy Chou, Block Party
In today’s digital age, women face sexual and online harassment, cyberstalking and bullying more than anyone should have to endure. As a woman, a minority, an activist and a developer, Tracy Chou experienced the awful side of the internet and social media. Instead of just “dealing” with it, she created Block Party. Block Party builds online safety and anti-harassment tools that give users more control of their online experience, so they don’t need to see all the hateful tweets. Tracy is not only solving the social media safety issue, she’s pushing for a more open environment for developers to continue building new tools for users so that everyone can choose the experience they want online.
Rebecca Lock, Kidcaboo
Rebecca Lock is a prime example of what happens to many working women after having children. Rebecca was a high-profile television producer and was offered a gaming-changing career opportunity. She looked everywhere to find transportation to get her kids back home from school or to their soccer practice in the afternoon. After finding no available options, Rebecca was determined to find a solution. She knew so many working mothers were in similar situations so she founded Kidcaboo. Kidcaboo is a modern children’s transportation solution that enables busy parents to schedule safe and reliable rides for their children. Rebecca understands the importance of helping other women, by getting them back to work to level the playing field in many careers.
Lily Baiser, Kinspire
Motherhood can bring new challenges when your child has a developmental disability or delay. Pediatric occupational therapist, mom, and co-founder, Lily Baiser, is working to solve that with Kinspire. Kinspire is a pediatric occupational therapy platform that transforms the care model for children, bringing the parents into the therapy. Families receive around-the-clock support from their Kinspire therapist with unlimited messaging services, a live 1:1 monthly session, daily parent education, and ongoing access to Kinspire’s mobile app and video library to monitor and measure progress. This supermom is working to expand telehealth coverage for all families across the country.
These female founders are currently building companies and technologies that will bring more equality for the women of tomorrow. Through partnering with Pericles, they are working to change antiquated laws, regulations, and processes – and we are just getting started. Female founders are working across industries to solve problems like reproductive health rights, fertility, maternal care, menopause, female cancers, and the list goes on (so stay tuned for more!)
Back in the 1940s, Rosie the Riveter was our icon, telling us, “We can do it!” While this message still holds true today, instead of getting women into the workforce, now we’re working to equalize women in the workplace.
For future female founders, here are some lessons I have learned:
Always be confident. You are smart, capable, strong. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Half the battle is believing in yourself, so don’t ever doubt that.
Do not be afraid to fail. If you fail, that means you are trying to make things happen. Learn, pivot, evolve, and keep going.
Being a woman is a strength, not a weakness. You are able to see things differently, you can bring a new perspective to the table. You can solve problems that other women face. Don’t let headlines like, “Female Founders Raised Just 2% of Venture Capital Money” stop you from achieving your goals.
Help other women. Pay it forward. I’ve had the benefit of working with amazing women as my managers, mentors, and clients. They taught me the skills and confidence to succeed.
In the words of Sheryl Sandberg, “One day there won’t be female leaders. There will just be leaders.” So leaders – when regulations don’t seem to make sense for our society, take a step back, analyze, reflect, and then strategize about how to work through the regulation. Or change the law so that it reflects the needs of women today.