Be bold if you want to build. It’s a message delivered to women by a female founders panel Thursday in Downtown Raleigh.
Susan Cook, CEO of Zaloni, mentors both men and women. The men? “The first thing out of their mouth. … I know I can do this job,” she said. And women? “I don’t know if I’m ready, I don’t know if this job is right for me.”
And that’s a problem.
Cook said it shows the importance of networking with other women in leadership positions.
“When we talk to our badass female network you actually assume that that person is wired like you are,” Cook said. “They come to you and say I don’t know if this is the right time … if I’m going about this the right way. The first thing the woman will say is … you are capable.”
If you don’t have those kinds of conversations, “you will spin and you will flounder.”
“We need a network of strong, assertive, successful women and that is the number one thing you can do for yourself,” Cook said.
Cook and Biomilq founder Michelle Egger were speaking in front of a group of women entrepreneurs gathered for a Triangle Female Founders Meetup. The event, held at Umbrella Dry Bar, is something Council for Entrepreneurial Development CEO Kelly Rowell hopes becomes a regular occurrence. It emerged out of conversations on LinkedIn last year and exists as an experiment.
Thursday was the second meetup of the initiative. Rowell envisions additional meetups, potentially including panels, all meant to highlight female entrepreneurship in the Triangle.