"We have to modernise the tech geek"

Findify is the startup that has been supported by KTH Innovation and the KTH student incubator Student Inc. during the autumn 2014 and spring 2015. The case is developing a service to optimise the search function of e-commerce websites, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for and increase revenue for the online retailers. Today the team is made up of six people, of which Jaclyne Clarke is one of four co-founders as well as design and user experience manager.

– I'm from Canada, where I graduated with my Masters in Architecture. Before moving to Sweden I lived in New York for a year working as an architect, and then moved on to Tokyo with my husband where I began my career in UX design working on my own startup.

But it is the achievements with Findify, which she founded together with KTH students, that got Jaclyne Clarke nominated for the Lady Pitch Night Europe 2015, and she was to prove a very strong candidate. The competition, largest of its kind for female entrepreneurs in Europe, is judged based on a top class pitch in front of a 200 strong audience and an international jury. This is where she went all the way to the top of the podium.

– On a personal level, I was humbled to be recognized as a female leader in tech, just by doing what I love as an entrepreneur. I believe that coming out of the event named the “winner” will help me promote the Women in Tech movement more effectively, she says.

Is it important to highlight women in the tech industry?

- Absolutely. The more attention women in leading positions get in the media and in tech development, the more common it will become. A couple of weeks ago, the new Prime Minister of Canada (Justin Trudeau Ed.) was asked in an interview why he had decided to appoint the very first gender-balanced cabinet in the history of the Canadian government. And his response to this question was so simple and perfect, he said “because it’s 2015”. This response really resonated with me, because yes it is 2015 and yes it should be that obvious that we need more diversity and balance in leadership and the workplace, including the tech industry and startups. But as a female founder of a tech startup, I know this is not yet commonplace, says Jaclyne Clarke.
 

Behind the pitch competition is the international non-profit organisation "Girls in Tech", which strives to increase the visibility of women working in the tech and startup industries. Jaclyne Clarke maintains that this is an important initiative and relevant as long as the tech world is male dominated.

– Until we witness a more balanced distribution in terms of gender and more diverse teams generally, organisations such as Girls in Tech will continue to be extremely relevant, she says.

DI Digital recently highlighted  (article in Swedish) that the lion's share of potential capital is distributed to men's advantage. As many as nine out of ten venture capital investments are made in companies founded by men.

According to the article, DI Digital has reviewed this year's (2015) investments in Swedish tech and internet companies including both private and state owned venture captialist firms, and found that only 12 of the 106 companies invested in has one or more female founders. Only three of the companies were founded by women only.

So how do you attract more women to an education in technology and encourage them to have a career in the tech industry? 

- I believe there are more than one reason why women are under represented in my industry. A lot is to do with a really deeply ingrained stereotype which is that technology is a world made up of geeks and gamers. We see it in movies, music, school, kids toys, etc. So if women innately or socially find no appeal in spending their weekends in front of a game console, how could they possibly want to pursue a career in a world surrounded by this?  I believe the reason is not necessarily about the reality of the work environment in tech industry, but perhaps more about the perceived reality of it. What if we changed the stereotype from geeks and gamers to a reality of gender-neutral game-changers? Would young girls be more inspired to pursue an education in technology and women more attracted to pursuing a career in it? I think so, says Jaclyne Clarke.

Despite the lack of women in the tech and startup industry, the Findify founder believes that it is the few women on that scene that need to lead the change, even though the problem is shared by society as a whole. The tired excuse for the current stereotype that says "this is the way it's always been" is something we all need to start challenging.

- The whole team behind Findify believe that a diverse team brings greater success. If the future is not made up of the ideas, opinions, perspecitve and knowledge of the entire population, where gender is an important example, we are making a big mistake, she concludes.

Even though statistics favour men at the moment, the Findify co-founder has the world at her feet. Since winning the Lady Pitch Night just over a month ago she has been more than a little busy. Together with her Findify colleagues she got through the semi finals at the pitch competition at Web Summit, competing against 200 other startups, and she has found time to give a lecture at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco about her experience of being a female founder in a tech startup. And, like the natural winner that she is, she continues to draw attention to the few successful women in the industry where she herself makes such as distinct mark.

Malin Luuke
luuke@kth.se

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