In support of our January 2022 webinar... some background on why we are discussing this important topic. This piece was written by the host of the session - Becky Lodge from StartUp Disruptors.
TechSolent is committed to engendering a community of inclusion and diversity in its network, but historically women have not had the voice that they need in the world of technology; to amplify change and equality. This is something that can’t be done alone without the support of others and in order to start changing things, we need to have more open and frank conversations with women at the helm, to build awareness and support to move the agenda forward.
During this online session; Becky Lodge and Sarah Eggleston will tell their own stories from the world of business and technology and discuss some of the barriers that they have faced; continue to face and obstacles that they have had to overcome, during their 30 year careers, in the technology/STEAM based markets of operation both in the UK and globally.
This fireside chat will give attendees insight to the challenges that still face women in the world of tech and business today; and it will also will help senior leaders to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion in any vertical market of business operation. Businesses more then ever, need to be relevant to compete in today’s ever-changing market and this session will give you an insight into what the future looks like in terms of technology as a sector and the support that women need to thrive.
Who are the expert speakers for this fireside chat?
Becky Lodge (BA Hons) CIM
Becky Lodge is a degree and CIM qualified Founder and Director with a 30 year career history in STEAM based markets as an international sales and marketing director including commercial radio broadcast software and engineering infrastructure (power generation M&E).. Founder and Director of Little Kanga Ltd; Becky later founded a social media and digital/online brand called ‘StartUp Disruptors’. An online social community that helps early stage start-ups and aspiring business owners to fund and scale their projects and businesses and look after their mental health on the journey, in partnership with Solent Mind.
Started with 9 people in a pub in Portsmouth in 2016 (to protect the interests of new business owners; women and minorities, that were neurodiverse and subject to financial and emotional exploitation), Becky grew the membership community via social media, to 150 members in year one and now the community has over 50,000 social media followers and 2,000 members on Facebook. Members pay a monthly subscription of just £19.99pcm that allows people to access to qualified experts and world leading advice and support, at a fraction of the normal costs for business coaching, advice, support and entrepreneurship education, alongside sponsors including the University of Portsmouth Business School, Lawdit Solictors, Notion, Faster Capital, Uber and The Sasha Group.
This community has now become known as the ‘Netflix’ of entrepreneurship education in the UK and is the prime mover in this space, having been featured on Sky News and BBC radio.
One of Sky News 100 Women in business in 2017 and a contributing author to BBC News online for Technology, Becky was the first tech mentor in the UK to be approached by Faster Capital (Venture Capital) in Dubai to aid their tech start-ups for mentoring. A lecturer in operational sales management at the University of Portsmouth Business School, Becky has an agenda around enabling social mobility and gender parity through making entrepreneurship accessible and affordable for all.
‘StartUp Disruptors’ is sponsored and supported by Uber, Funding Circle, Faster Capital, Notion Capital, The Sasha Group, TechSolent and many others. This disruptive model has been the result of Becky’s ability to ‘see around corners’ due to her own neurodiversity and autism. Labelled as ‘gifted’ in certain subjects at school and told that she was a ‘failure’ in others, has driven her to be a top 1% sales performer throughout her prior career with problem solving capabilities and EQ that is off the charts.
Becky is considered to be the ‘go to’ person in the early-stage digital/online entrepreneurship space across the UK, and she is a passionate future thinker, innovator and social media influencer in B2B in the UK with over 15,000 connections and followers on LinkedIn (she is a Top 3% LinkedIn influencer) and 10,000 followers on Twitter alone.
A high-energy ‘super-connector’ with high EQ/emotional intelligence and open ‘can-do’ mindset, Becky is driven to help change the entrepreneurship education space for future generations and improve diversity and inclusion in business.
To learn more about ‘StartUp Disruptors’ or to join as a subscribing member or sponsor click here to find out more and join the mission today.
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