Interview with Victoria Blechman
Our alumna Victoria Blechman joined the Cologne start-up scene more than ten years ago. After studying business administration (graduating in 2012), she worked as a product manager for a music streaming service. In November 2016, she founded the ART@TECH art festival, which she also curated. Since then, she has been organizing festival editions and concerts to provide a platform for artists and musicians who develop and perform technological art. She plans, organizes and moderates events as a freelancer for various clients, e.g. the Digitale Leute Summit, and is co-founder of moversXshakers UG. Victoria acts as a point of contact for founders, companies and investors throughout NRW and beyond. As part of International Women's Day, we spoke about her journey and the challenges faced by female founders in the start-up scene.
I know of several cases where women only received loans and funding once the decision-maker they had to speak to was a woman
Dear Victoria, according to the German Startup Monitor, the proportion of female founders has risen to 17.7% in 2021 and is encouragingly higher than the last figure of 15.9%. What challenges do you think female founders face?
The trend is of course encouraging and I also have the feeling that the number of women interested in starting their own business is growing in my personal environment. The challenges clearly still lie in the general system. Women are less likely to get loans, are often not taken seriously because they have to talk to people who are not empathetic and have simply been socialized to think that women don't know much about business. I know of several stories in which women only received loans and funding when the decision-maker they had to speak to was a woman.
In addition, there is still a lack of role models who show that being a woman and starting a business can work very well. Risk aversion also plays a role, of course, as does the imposed norm that women should be more involved in care work. And unfortunately, there is often no support from the family.
However, I am hopeful that the trend will continue upwards, because only with diverse teams (in every respect) can ideas be brought to sustainable success.
You are the founder and curator of the ART@TECH art festival, co-founder of moversXshakers UG, full stack event manager and mother of two children. Where do you find the strength and inspiration for such a diverse portfolio?
I've always enjoyed getting involved in different projects. For me, it feels natural and inspiring to do different things at the same time. Of course, this is often associated with stress, night shifts and a guilty conscience - I don't want to romanticize that at all. But I realize that new tasks enrich me, take me to a new level - both professionally and mentally - and that's probably the reason why I'm taking this path. I also have the great privilege of being able to choose which projects I work on. That makes the work much more enjoyable, of course. Incidentally, I would never subscribe to the saying "find a job you enjoy and you'll never have to work again".
Even if the work is fun, it is work and shouldn't be the one thing that defines a person one hundred percent. I definitely enjoy taking time out and my children help me to ground myself and focus on other things.
It’s important not to get lost in the world of networking and to decide in advance which contacts and which networking events are really worthwhile
What does networking mean to you? And do women network differently to men?
Networking is essential in my job. The important thing is not to get lost in networking and to decide beforehand which contacts and networking events are really useful. And then the motto "give, give, give, ask" applies , which I heard for the first time a few years ago at the Pirate Summit. Before you want to directly win people over or get them involved in something, it is important to listen to the other person and offer help yourself first. Because even if you can't directly see how the other person can help you, you can usually help each other and that's the best part of networking.
Generally speaking, I see a strong sense of solidarity among founders. There’s a lot of mutual recommendation and support.
I think women definitely network differently. I have often observed that they are more reserved at first and talk less about their projects and companies - perhaps because they have often had the experience of being ridiculed. Men tend to be more unscrupulous ;) In general, however, I see a strong sense of solidarity among female founders. There is a lot of mutual recommendation and support.
What experiences have shaped you and how do you see the future?
That's a very complex question, to which I would probably have to answer with an essay of several pages. :)
There are of course some people who have shaped me. Some of these influences I only realized much later. I think, apart from my family and my husband, my first job shaped me professionally in general. I quickly had a lot of responsibility and a job title that I had never heard of before. My time at the MTP student initiative was definitely also a formative time, because I was able to initiate many projects, made many contacts, some of which are still helpful today, especially from a professional point of view, and was also able to lay the foundation for my professionalism in terms of event management. I think it is extremely important to have many conversations with people who come from other professional and creative spheres in order to grow. I have been able to experience this a lot in recent years and benefit from this exchange.
I look to the future with hope. Anything else would not be sustainable. With the work I do, I can at least create moments in which people come together, exchange ideas, learn from each other and, in the best case, go home inspired. In this way, I want to make at least a small contribution to a future worth living.
Which blogs, podcasts, social media channels etc. do you follow to keep up to date?
As I work in different areas, the channels are also quite diverse.
A small selection:
- I really like Matze Hielscher's podcast, because he talks to lots of different people about their careers, their fears, their hopes and comes up with lots of exciting thoughts.
- "Die sogenannte Gegenwart", a ZEIT podcast, is also well worth listening to, as all current topics are addressed and discussed philosophically.
- I follow Maria Anna Schwarzberg on Instagram, who is also the author of the book "Proud to be Sensibelchen". I am also an introvert myself and find her work on this very exciting.
- I can also highly recommendMareice Kaiser when it comes to feminist issues.
- And if you want something fun, you should follow Donnie O'Sullivan and listen to the podcast Gästeliste Geisterbahn.
When people show empathy, much stronger, long-lasting bonds are formed, which benefit everyone involved
What would you like to give our students in general? What are your three tips?
1. show empathy. When people are empathetic, much stronger, long-term connections are formed that are good for everyone involved.
2 Don't be dogged. Whether you're in the middle of your studies and in the middle of exams, or want to start a business and are under a lot of stress - these are all difficult phases, but they are much easier to master if you are not dogged, but understand that you can move on afterwards. You should also be kind to yourself.
3. Embrace diversity. Even if you have no direct connection to minorities yourself, you should be aware that success can only be achieved through interaction with diverse groups. Supporting them - in whatever way - should be a priority for privileged groups.
Thank you very much for the interview!
Interview: Ayla Wisselinck