ARYZE always attempts to interview successful women in the technology sector about their story and what they can teach other women to build their own business. This time we spoke to Pernille Andersen, who co-founded the online platform FeedsFloor in 2017.
Pernille Andersen has more than 15 years of experience within international business development from various Scandinavian companies and is an avid speaker about digital marketing and sales and transformation in especially B2B companies. She went from non-coder to coder at the age of 35 and is a big advocate of everybody having to learn about technology and coding. She is the former Co-Founder of a global B2B marketplace FeedsFloor and currently the Marketing & Communication Manager at Remondis Denmark.
What drove you to become an entrepreneur?
“I have always said that I never wanted to be an entrepreneur, as my mother and uncle always had their own businesses. I saw how hard they worked. But the idea of a simple to use global B2B marketplace overwhelmed me. So together with two other co-founders I decided you only live once and so I had to at least start it and get it off the ground.”
What helped you in particular to become an entrepreneur?
“What helped me is the idea that I believed so much in that I could not think about anything else. Day and night. That is why I even learned how to code because we could not afford to hire someone to code the platform for us. Another thing that helped is that I was never afraid of failing, as I have such an experienced background. So if everything would fail, I had other means of income.”
What should companies or industries change in order to support women to become more enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and technology?
“That is a big question. I think it starts at school level and continues at the university level that schools should include technology from a woman’s perspective. When I started university I did not know how to save a file on a computer. But in general, I think a positive and supporting attitude. In the companies and industries where this exist, there are no challenges on gender issues.”
Did you ever doubt whether you had all the ability to make your own business?
“I never doub my own ability to make my business, but I doub myself every time others tell me I am doing it the wrong way. So it took me some days to get back on track.”
What five tips would you give other women so that they dare to take the step of becoming an entrepreneur?
- Just do it.
- Don’t listen too much to others and believe in yourself.
- Talk to others about your challenges and take in those who are serious in their answers.
- No idea is too small or too big.
- Just do it!
What other criticism or comments would you like to make?
“The startup community is really helpful and I have always felt it was ok to reach out and talk to other founders, but the investor community is crazy. Focus on making money and do it yourself and not be dependent on investments, cause apparently, it is really difficult for women to get funded. Furthermore, I am tired of the media focusing on women entrepreneurship and not just include women in the general entrepreneurship scene every time they write about it. And the same goes for technology.”
FeedsFloor is an online platform that helps small & medium-sized companies connect with local & international customers, distributors and suppliers in an easy, affordable and digital way. For more interesting insights about entrepreneurship, tech and diversity stay tuned on our ARYZE blog!