Women DO belong in tech - introducing Herizon
Now is the time to train and employ 100,000 women.
Women don’t belong in tech, said my elementary school teacher when I wanted to stay in the class, playing on the computer while others went to have a break.
It was the first time I heard such a thing but after that, it began to be a bit too familiar.
Women don’t belong in tech, said my childhood friend’s mother at a school disco where I wanted to play Tomb Raider instead of dancing. And my relatives when I told them what I wanted to do when I grew up. And my college teacher when I (again) chose to spend my break on a computer, choosing tech instead of the people of a small town I grew up in and I didn’t really get along with. And the worker of the entrepreneurship office when I was founding my first company. And the older gentlemen on a cruise for young entrepreneurs. And the potential clients when I tried to sell the services of my first two, later failed agencies. And the investor who invited all the other (male) co-founders of my startup to spend time with him. And a handful of potential dates of the local LGBTQ+ community.
Where do I belong then?
And what if I just really feel like I belong in tech?
It took over 20 years plus take a local startup’s revenue up to 13M€ in 2 years while employing over 800 people, building a over 1M€ agency business with 15 employees, joining a VC, purchasing a Porsche, and going to therapy for 10 years to validate my self-worth after being told for years I don’t belong in somewhere where I naturally feel like I belong.
I belong in tech and so do you.
I’ve been in tech for over 20 years and I’ve seen its possibilities of a flexible career, self-expression, and financial independence for women.
That’s why I’m on a mission to make tech more accessible for women.
So far I’ve trained 90 individuals (mostly immigrant women) with an employment rate of 92% to access tech by building a training program at the VC fund where I work.
Now is the time to train and employ 100,000 women.
Join Discord or follow us on Twitter.
Who is Mari Luukkainen, founder of Herizon?
I'm currently living in Helsinki, Finland, in a 100-year-old wooden house with my partner, dog, and 2 cats. Working full-time at Icebreaker.vc, helping early-stage startup founders achieve their dreams to create more meaningful, inclusive jobs in tech. Coping years with low self-worth, I've identified that helping others is one of the key drivers of my well-being. I also enjoy making Neapolitan-style pizza, playing FPS games on Playstation, and drawing/writing fiction inspired by Cyberpunk.
