Taryn Andersen is the CEO and Co-Founder of Impulse4women, an online and offline international charity organization. Taryn has over 13 years of experience working in the private banking industry. Pluribus United Foundations was founded in 2011 by her together with 15 private foundations to collaborate and operate together.
After leaving banking, Taryn spent time advising entrepreneurs via Startup Bootcamp. She joined THCAP Venture Capital as Investor Relations Director in 2016. Based on her background in both finance and startup mentorship, she founded Impulse4women to merge her passions. She says, “Our goal is to connect female tech entrepreneurs and social impact projects with investors, corporates, and public-private organizations.”
Below are highlights of the interview:
Tell us more about Impulse4Women.
Impulse4women is a startup investing platform for female-led tech startups and social impact projects. We connect female tech founders and social impact entrepreneurs (both male and female) with the right investors for their businesses. We believe that by fostering investments in businesses that aim to leverage greater economic value via gender diversity and social impact, it will lead to superior investment performance. We offer a huge database with different projects from all over the world, giving our startups the opportunity to be seen by investors all over the world as long as they fit the criteria. We operate both online and offline, offering Webinar Sessions, Podcasts, Mentoring Sessions, Pitching Sessions, Online and Offline Events, Grants Communications, and Job Demand-Offer in order to support start-ups in every life stage. During COVID-19, we began to offer the majority of our services as online tools to help startups grow.
Why did you choose to become a startup expert?
Based on my background as a venture capitalist and working in the investment sphere, I gained significant insight into the way men and women engaged with investors. I detected difficulties for female leaders in tech that were seeking investment. We want investors to have a place to find female-led tech startups from all life stages; from MVP to IPO, and from different sectors, maturities, and locations. Most of our startups fall into the following sectors: health, foodtech, agrotech, watertech, circular economy, fashiontech, etc.
What are your major roles and responsibilities as the CEO and co-founder?
The main role of a CEO is to determine the criteria of what you are doing, how you are doing it, and how it works. Overall, this is implementing strategies to ensure the success of a project. CEO’s also need to be aligned with their team and those supporting their project, and vice-versa, in order to ensure you are working in the same direction. You have to be sure that the service you are selling is working and be ready and willing to make changes. Sure, there will be mistakes, especially at the beginning, but by remaining professional and competent, we can make it happen.
How do you motivate people to go the extra mile?
If you give someone responsibilities and they enjoy them, they are already motivated. It is not about motivating people; it is about respecting each individual’s contribution and enabling them to be part of the project. If we are growing and being successful, this is contagious throughout a team. It is great for everyone to see a project grow. Working in a startup enables you to see and experience much more than in a large corporation, making them similar to an incubator for future entrepreneurs. All of these factors automatically ensure people are motivated.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement so far, and why?
I am most proud of the fact that we are making a difference. Startups have had investment from investors in our ecosystem. We are supporting other startups with other issues they have to help them grow and are preparing different online courses for female leaders. We are seeing the impact of our work, and our business is growing exponentially. We currently have 11,000 startups in our ecosystem.
What advice would you give to the emerging women leaders and enthusiasts considering a career in today’s advanced world?
Bravery, resilience, and a supportive team are essential. Any emerging female leader should seek out good mentors to ensure you avoid mistakes that could set you back. Most of all, believe in yourself, take opportunities and take risks.
Where do you see yourself and Impulse4Women in upcoming years?
We are currently one of the few companies with a global ecosystem offering support specifically to women founders to connect with investors. We are rapidly growing which shows there is a demand in the market for our services. Impulse4Women has found a market niche which is growing more and more, and we are seeing greater numbers of female entrepreneurs in technology. We are experiencing exponential growth in the industry. There is a need in the market for investors to easily find technological female startups and social impact projects. We are currently looking to welcome donations from the USA through fiscal sponsorship in order to expand our offerings, with these including grants and academic courses.
Website: www.impulse4women.org
