K: Do you think that this prolonged recession brings out a kind of an innate ability to forge forward and do things you wouldn’t have done in the past when one was comfortable with her job?

Cindy Gallop: Well, it doesn’t bring out any innate ability because right now in this country and all around the world there are many, many entrepreneurs by default. People who did not want to be entrepreneurs, people who did not want to start their own businesses, but who were laid off, couldn’t get a job, so people are having to work for themselves although many of them a lot of them would much rather not be in that position. I am a great believer that adversity brings out opportunity in very interesting and surprising places. So, I think that it’s certainly when things get as bad as they are currently and everything breaks down completely, that is what allows new ways of doing thing, new ways of thinking about things, new models of things to emerge in a way that never would have done if the status quo had continued. That’s the opportunity and then it’s all about the mind set you apply to ceasing that opportunity. I talk to people who are very depressed about losing their jobs, and I try to help them see the potential in doing something for yourself now, crafting what that is in a way that will enable you to make money, support your family, pay the rent or the mortgage and in a way that will ultimately enable you to live a much happier life than you did when you were a corporate wage slave.

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#economy #recession #entrepreneurship #startup

This is an excerpt of the interview with Dina Kaplan, which took place in New York City on October 10, 2011. 

Karolina: How is it to be a woman managing work and life?

Dina: I think every entrepreneur faces a challenge of managing not just the work life balance but how do you operate yourself in a professional environment without burning out. I think these are really real issues for both men and for women. But women obviously have extra challenges because many are caring for children or for whatever reason like to talk on the phone with their friends more [laughs] or have these very intricately woven social lives that are very important and very dear to them. This is definitely something I have gotten better at over time. When we started blip, I was 100 % to 0 on the work versus life balance. Pretty much gave no thought at all to my personal life outside of work and all my “social time” was spent trying to meet people to raise money for the company and in the early days to forge business connections with people in the middle days etc, etc. But look, when you are running a company, when you are running especially a start-up, which is usually very emotionally and intellectually and energy wise intense environment, you need to operate on the pace that is sustainable and scalable for two reasons: one, the average big exit for a start-up is 7.5 or 8 years. So if you are operating at break neck speed, you are just going to burn out before you reach that 8 years. It is really important that you go for the marathon, run at the pace of a marathon, not a sprint.

But the second reason is that your staff will look up to you, and they will use you as a guide and if you’re working all the time they may feel like they have to work all the time. But they have a little bit less I invested in terms in equity and just caring about this company you founded, which is your baby. And so you don’t want them burning out either. So it’s really important to have a balance. I think we have actually done a very good job of that here at blip. We start work at 10 am, which is especially nice for the developers who traditionally do not like to get up rally early. We try to chew everybody out by around 7:30 pm so that people can maintain good relations with their family members and their family members like blip as much as they do, and keep going. Because you have to keep in mind that you are in for the marathon.

#womeninbusiness #entrepreneurship #technology #womenintechnology #changetheratio #worklifebalance

thepoliticalpartygirl:

Watching these Penn State riots/protests/whatever, I can’t help but think of the students at Penn State who have been victims of monsters like Sandusky. To watch your classmates chant the name of a man who not only permitted but enabled the sexual abuse of young…

This is an excerpt of the interview with Cindy Gallop, which took place in New York City on September 29, 2011.

K: If you could trade places with one woman who lived in any point in history for one day, who would it be and why?

C: [Laughs] Well, first of all, I should say I have no desire to trade places with any other women at any point in history because I enormously like the life I have, but I guess on one hand I would like to trade places with Elizabeth the First of England because she was the queen and she got to rule the country when women never did anything of that sort. But there are certain disadvantages to being Elizabeth the First. So I would have to go for the same scenario but with a whole additional dimension, which would be Catherine the Great of Russia because she got to rule the country and shag an awful lot of men while she did it. So, I don’t want to be the virgin queen, I want to be the queen and I want to be able to have sex with a lot of very hot, young men while doing it. And Catherine the Great totally did that. So, I’d be Catherine the Great.

#womeninbusiness #changetheratio #entrepreneurship #identity #history #women #feminism