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What do you think is the biggest challenge at the moment?

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“I'm really passionate about funding for women, and especially in the startup ecosystem where the research shows that women led startups receive a measly 2.3% of VC funding, in 2020.

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For those who might be listening to this for the first time, hopefully it does come as a shock because that is a shocking statistic, even though that there are so many studies that indicate that women owned startups are better financial investments because they're more likely to achieve higher valuations, they generate 10% more revenue than male lead companies and they earn 35% higher returns, as well as operate businesses more efficiently with less capital.

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When I say it out loud, it makes sense to me because, of course women are so good at stretching the dollar when they are, feeding their families and trying to run a household. So it should make financial sense for women to be leading really successful businesses!”

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How do you define your daily work habits and processes?

“You might laugh at this but I actually really enjoy fun and games. So I gamify a lot of what I do, I'm quite reward driven. So I have a point system for getting my stuff done. 

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Each day I try and see how many points I can get. Then each month those points add up to a reward because it gives me something to look forward to and it's my form of self-care knowing that the things I'm doing accumulate to something greater. It gives me a moment to celebrate because when you're a business owner, you don't always have a team to celebrate with and have these moments of joy.

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So for example, if I read for 15 minutes a day, that's one point I wake up at 5 am, that's two points. If I work out, that's three points, if I make the time to learn a skill that's four points. So I try and get ten points in a day and I know I usually won't, which is fine, but the reward might be at 500 points. So I build longevity into the game as my way of forming new habits.

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Once a habit is formed, then I might change the point system depending on what I'm trying to achieve which helps me to avoid burnout.I don't set myself a goal of getting 10 points every day necessarily because I know in times when I've tried to sprint, I'll squeeze out as much energy from myself as I can and I'll just burn out. So it's taken me a while to think of what motivates me and how to get things done in a fun way.”

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