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How do women in fintech, particularly women of color, make change happen? Goodfynd Co-Founder Sofiat, believes in leading by example. Here’s how she’s shaking up the industry.

Sofiat is the Co-Founder of Goodfynd, the platform helping mobile businesses grow and customers quickly find their favorite food outlets. In 2007 she was a student at Virginia Tech, scene of a horrific school shooting.

Nicole and Sofiat dive into conversation about why being vulnerable and honest is where change happens, how keeping trauma inside only means you’ll pass it on through your leadership, and the importance of reflecting on your past.

You’ll also hear Sofiat’s hot takes on how badass women can take every opportunity that comes their way, and how a female mentor encouraged her to give back to others.

And if you love listening to Humans of Fintech, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/humansoffintech

Thank you so much!

Follow Sofiat:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sofieabdul

You can keep up-to-date with everything Humans of Fintech at https://workweek.com/brand/wtfintech/

And if you’ve enjoyed Humans of Fintech why not try: Chicks of FinTwit, Tech Unlocked, Breaking Banks or Fintech Insider

Timestamps

0:00 Intro

2:03 Lessons Passed Down Through Women

3:07 Learning Never to Settle

8:16 Coming Through The Other Side of Trauma

11:15 Breaking Through Limiting Factors

14:52 The Inspiration to be Badass

19:09 The Responsibility to Pay it Forward

27:07 Authenticity Is Everything

35:18 Becoming The Change

39:01 Ends With Beyonce

The Importance of Empowering Female Founders

Women are founding fintech startups at a rate never before seen, but they continue to face unique challenges. According to TechCrunch, women only make up about 17% of founders of VC-backed companies and this number has remained stagnant for the last several years.

While programs and resources available to help support and grow female founders, it’s on all of us as a community to help lift women up and provide the tools for success. In this post, we’ll look at why empowering women as leaders is so important for the success of any company or organization.

Female Founders Are Shifting the Equation

Female founders have been around since the advent of entrepreneurship, but we’ve recently seen an increase in the number of women founding startups. This is leading to a few interesting shifts in the entrepreneurial landscape.

Women are leading the charge in a variety of industries. We’re seeing women lead industries such as healthcare, education, and sustainability. This isn’t just a fad, but rather a shift in the types of industries women are choosing to embark on to solve real problems.

The success rates of female-led startups are increasing. While it’s too early to tell how the numbers will stack up in a decade, we’re seeing that the success rates of female-led startups are catching up to their male-led counterparts.

There is also an increase in the amount of investment going towards female-led startups. It might be a slow trickle but moving the dial of female-led companies should be a priority for the Fintech industry.

Women Face Unique Challenges in Founding Startups

While these trends show that the playing field is slowly becoming more level, there are still unique challenges that women face when attempting to found a startup. Some of these challenges include: – The funding gap is still large: Even though we’re seeing a surge in the amount of investment going towards female-led startups, the overall funding gap is still very large. Women are receiving around 2.5% of venture capital funding, while male founders receive around 13.5%. – Women are receiving less mentorship: When it comes to the support of mentors, research shows that women receive significantly less support in this area. This can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the idea that men may feel more inclined to mentor other men.

Empowering Women Builds Strong Organizations

Women are a vital part of the entrepreneurial landscape. When female founders are free to exercise the full scope of their unique talents, they build stronger organizations.

As leaders, many women have the ability to nurture strong relationships not only with their executive teams and employees, but also with investors, partners, and customers. When female founders have the support of their communities, they are able to bring their best selves to the table and build stronger, more collaborative organizations.

Women are great at identifying and solving problems: Female founders are often hyper-focused on identifying and solving problems. This is critical in the modern business environment, where organizations must be nimble and able to solve problems quickly.

Conclusion

When we as a community help empower female founders, we’re building stronger organizations and helping to create solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. This can only be a good thing for all of us.