Taryn Andersen - Outlook Times

Taryn Andersen, CEO of Impulse4Women

Brief us about your outset story of your career.

I started my career in private banking in 2000 and I worked in this sector for over 13 years. In 2011, I set up Pluribus United Foundations together with 15 private foundations in order to work and create synergies between them. After that, I decided to change career paths in favour of entrepreneurship and worked as a mentor for startups. My first mentor programme was Startup-Bootcamp. In 2016, I became the Investor Relations Director at THCAP Venture Capital where I detected that females were presenting a different development strategy in the company compared to males. Both my interest in mentorship and background in investment led me to co-found Impulse4Women in 2017, with the objective of increasing investment in female-lead tech entrepreneurs and social impact projects as well.

Stepping EDGE was founded by my husband Sathishkumar and with his guidance and support, I took the bigger responsibility of becoming CEO-Means no compromise effort. Yes, we’re now growing incredibly and setting up the strongest technology team.

What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional?

I always strive to be connected and aware that what I am doing has a big impact and can contribute to society in a useful and positive way. I have been supporting and helping foundations and NPOs/NGOs since 2005. This started when I was working in the bank sector, where I tried to connect our private banking clients with those charitable projects / foundations which align with each other, using fiscality benefits. It’s a win-win for both sides. Currently at Impulse4Women, we are supporting female and social impact entrepreneurs in order to increase investment opportunities and enable them to grow and scale, which is the most important thing for me.

Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field?

I am not any different from others in my field. The difference is how we interact with our projects and develop them, but we have many of the same abilities. I am open to keep learning everyday, being resilient, having a dream and following it, and finally, doing what I really love. At the end of the day, there’s no real difference between entrepreneurs. Behind all these amazing projects, there’s always someone who believes in it and who wants to fight for it and prove there’s a need in the market. Passion is the guiding force behind every project and a good team.

Please tell us about your organization. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey?

Impulse4Women is an NPO matchmaking platform for female-led tech startups and social impact projects. We connect them with the right investors who can help their businesses to grow and scale. We believe that by fostering investments in businesses that aim to leverage greater economic value through gender diversity and social impact, this will lead to superior investment performance. We select startups according to their sector, maturity, economic need and geographical location. We also support startups at every life stage, from the MVP to the IPO. Our business model operates both online and offline, offering a range of services including Podcasts, Webinars, Mentoring and Pitching Sessions, Online and Offline events.

As CEO, I always need to make sure I determine the criteria of what I am doing, how I am doing it and measure how it works. To ensure the best chance of success of a project, it is important to make decisions on a daily basis, identify opportunities, implement business strategies, and set clear short and long-term objectives. I am also responsible for managing the team effectively in order to ensure that everyone is working in the same direction. I believe that an aligned team is the most successful team. I am learning from my team everyday and I think that’s the real secret. I am open to hear fresh perspectives and ideas, and receive feedback.

My biggest accomplishment is that I am seeing the incredible impact of our work at Impulse4Women. Our business is growing exponentially on a global scale. Startups have secured investment opportunities through connecting with investors on our matchmaking platform. Every time that a startup is getting investment through Impulse4Women, it’s an endorphins party! We are also witnessing the value of our mentoring sessions, which enable startups to learn from their mistakes and grow and scale faster.

Being a woman, what were the toughest obstacles you faced in your career?

This is a difficult question to answer because throughout most of my professional career, I have been working in the private banking sector where I was always surrounded by males. I don’t know if there was a difference between being a male or female in my job position. Actually, I think it was tough for all of us, regardless of gender differences. I was praying not to have a female boss in the bank environment. It was a great surprise when I started to meet female startups and develop relationships in the Venture Capital, a totally different context to the banking sector. This enabled me to change my perception about females in the working space. This is one of the reasons that led me to co-found Impulse4Women and support female entrepreneurs.

How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges?

We navigated the challenges brought about by the pandemic by moving our business model online. Although this meant we had difficulties getting sponsorship that we would have previously needed for offline events, we were able to massively cut our costs by transitioning to a fully online model. However, one of the biggest challenges we faced was finding the right Software to develop our platform to effectively support our goals as a matchmaking platform for startups and investors. Even though the pandemic was a difficult time, it enabled us to diversify our offering and expand our online presence. We were able to stay connected with everyone in our network and support all our female and social impact entrepreneurs. The pandemic meant we were working with a model which was constantly changing. This helped our team become more resilient, adaptable and open-minded in these evolving, unprecedented and uncertain times.

Who in your life inspires you the most?

My father is the person who has inspired me the most. Being an entrepreneur himself, he has always supported me, respected my ideas, listened to and understood my expectations. He has given me the self-confidence to pursue my dreams and make them become a reality. His advice has enabled me to grow both personally and professionally, and ultimately into the person I am today.

What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people?

When launching a startup, make sure that there is a need in the market for your product / service and that there is a problem to solve. This saves valuable time and also means you know exactly what your objectives are when going to market. You should also make sure that your business has the potential to grow and scale. It is important to identify mistakes quickly early on because they could take 3 months to detect, act on and resolve. Ensure that you seek out good mentors to avoid mistakes that could set you back. You should also take the opportunity to connect and interact with investors to benefit from their advice. It is essential to be brave, resilient and surround yourself with a supportive team who are equally motivated and passionate about the project. Everyone needs to believe in the project for it to succeed. Above all, you should believe in your own potential as well as your team’s. Don’t be afraid to take risks, seize opportunities, learn from your mistakes and persevere.

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