{"id":36749,"date":"2023-10-20T14:45:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/the-five-things-this-female-entrepreneur-learnt-from-building-a-leading-australian-startup-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:45:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:45:59","slug":"the-five-things-this-female-entrepreneur-learnt-from-building-a-leading-australian-startup-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/the-five-things-this-female-entrepreneur-learnt-from-building-a-leading-australian-startup-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"The five things this female entrepreneur learnt from building a leading Australian startup – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Before Caroline Woodhouse became a successful entrepreneur and startup founder, before she was recognised by Telstra\u2019s Business Women\u2019s Awards, she didn\u2019t really know much about tech.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I initially founded Where4Events I was actually not tech-savvy at all,\u201d Woodhouse tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learnt a lot about the tech and online industry on the job, and I made it a mission to upskill myself in certain areas to ensure that I was capable and qualified to manage and lead a successful tech company.\u201d<\/p>\n

After growing up in show business and touring the world with artists, Woodhouse decided to launch Where4Events<\/a>, an aggregator site that now streamlines over 80,000 events from ticketing systems like Ticketmaster<\/a> and Oztix<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She is also on the brink of launching a vehicle dispatch app Oiii<\/a> as managing director of NetCABS.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just goes to show that you don\u2019t have to be a tech engineer or coder to succeed in the tech industry, you just have to start somewhere and follow a passion,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She says she has learnt five key lessons in her startup journey as a female entrepreneur.<\/p>\n

1. You have to work twice as hard<\/h3>\n

Today\u2019s tech industry is a man\u2019s world and women have to go the extra mile to be taken seriously, Woodhouse says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a female tech CEO, I believe women need to work nearly twice as hard to get noticed than a male in the same role,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the developers I approached with my app concept were wary of working with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this is disappointing, she says the only way things will change is by more women entering the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, we have to persist and get on with the job,\u201d Woodhouse says.<\/p>\n

2. The right mentors are key<\/h3>\n

When Woodhouse started out, Woodhouse didn\u2019t know anyone in the tech industry so she reached out to though leaders through\u00a0social media, seeking mentoring and\u00a0support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to approach CEOs and managing directors through LinkedIn and set up some meetings to ask for advice,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Many of these people are now her friends and mentors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be where I am today without making those approaches to ask for guidance,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsking for help is certainly not a sign of weakness – in fact it is one of the keys to succeeding in business.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Go straight to the top<\/h3>\n

When running into issues with purchasing web domains or securing Twitter handles, Woodhouse would skip the support team and escalate her request to the head of an\u00a0organisation.<\/p>\n

By contacting a CEO or managing director through LinkedIn she could ensure her requests did not go unanswered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot tell you how many times I have managed to achieve the impossible by going straight to the top,\u201d Woodhouse says.<\/p>\n

4. Invest in legal advice<\/h3>\n

Woodhouse says it\u2019s crucial to invest in a specialist lawyer to protect your idea and establish the necessary frameworks to secure your growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a minimum you need to make sure you own your IP, source code, business and domain names, and any associated trademarks,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany developers will try to package these up under their ownership, which can prove disastrous if you ever part ways or need access to source files.\u201d<\/p>\n

To ensure the founder owns IP in any IT venture, Woodhouse recommends getting a Master Services Agreement and Sub Process Agreements within this.<\/p>\n

\u201cA statement of works document is not legally binding so you need to invest in a legally binding document to protect yourself and your IP,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

5. Be prepared for setbacks<\/h3>\n

Working in the tech world is challenging and Woodhouse says she has had to deal with poor quality work by developers, IP ownership challenges and expensive legal battles very early on in her business journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m still here and I\u2019m still moving forward, always looking at the bigger picture,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo survive in this industry you have to grind your teeth, take stock, learn from your mistakes, seek out advice, work hard and overcome your challenges – because in the end, persistence pays off and then it\u2019s all worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook<\/a>,<\/em> Twitter<\/a>,<\/em> LinkedIn<\/a><\/em> and<\/em> Soundcloud<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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