Eduarda
Eduarda is from Brazil and is 29 years old. She is the Co-founder of Bootstrack, a community for aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and creators.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before the venture/ corporate journey?
Before taking my first “official” job at the age of 18 (and I say official because I started freelancing when I was 14), after school, I used to spend a good part of my time playing team sports (mostly volleyball and rugby) and reading fiction books (lots of it).
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business/initiative? What motivated you within to say “YES, go for it!”
I know how eye-opening it was for me to explore new cultures and meet new people when I got out of my country. Now I want to make that easier and more accessible for others.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
The initiative is a short-term program (1-week or 2-week) where a group of like-minded people go to another country to have classroom sessions with industry leaders (it changes based on the programs), they network, visit the biggest companies in that particular country and of course, cultural sightseeing is part of it.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
Leading the women’s community in the previous company I worked with (seeing the gender diversity increase and helping to build a safe workplace for them… ) was very rewarding for me, and helped me grow into the leader I am today. Always looking to improve, obviously 🙂
I fail to recognise my own accomplishments, but I feel like an achievement every time I see one of my teammates growing and taking the next steps in their careers.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
There are hundreds of things that could be mentioned here. But I will say I want to see “Women helping women”. However we can, we should always help and support each other’s growth.
Eg: Starting from where we choose to purchase things, whom we hire, or whom and how we criticise our peers… small and big things. If we are together we can create A LOT of change.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women’s leadership today?
I am very grateful for the women who created change before me. They allowed us to voice out and participate as we do today. I am very happy with the growth and change of the past years but based on my experience I acknowledge that we still have a long way to go. We need to stay strong and keep pushing and taking over the places where we belong.
What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
You’re doing a great job! Your only competitor is yourself, keep learning and sharing knowledge every day – EVERY DAY. !!