Pledge 1%'s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Shilpa Sharma
Co-founder and CEO, Flyte
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
I’m the co-founder and CEO of Flyte. I oversee the entire business management including business development, investor discussions, hiring and product planning. At Flyte, we stand for equality and mental health so building the right culture and communicating with employees are my top priorities.
This year's International Women's Day theme is "Embrace Equity." What does this mean to you? How can we build workplaces that are more equitable and inclusive?
Being a female entrepreneur myself and having worked in male dominated workplaces, I have experienced the value of gender equality and inclusivity first-hand. I strongly believe in maintaining balance at the workplace so people can leverage each other’s perspectives and approaches for greater good.
We can build equitable and inclusive workplace by:
1) Communicating the vision: Every employee should know the business vision and how they can collaborate with each other to achieve that
2) Building inclusive culture: Leaders should build and communicate right culture in the company so their employees treat each other with respect
3) Adopting clear hiring process: Leaders should focus on hiring individuals based on their capabilities and perspective
Do you have any mentors or role models who have helped you on your personal journey?
Based on the stage of my personal journey, I have received mentorship from experienced professionals that helped me navigate through challenging situations. The one thing I learned through my journey, one should always celebrate success, be it small or big!
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Surround yourself with people who are invested in your growth and well-being
The past few years have brought many new and unprecedented challenges. What keeps you motivated or inspires you to stay optimistic?
Past few years have been challenging for so many people and we all adopted new ways of doing things including learning new technologies to support remote work.
The one thing that keeps me motivated is the passion for what I am doing. In addition to building my own business and helping our customers achieve their revenue growth through Flyte innovative technology, I helped many early stage startups through mentorship and guidance.
Recently I started mentoring women in sales & marketing through the Women in Revenue community. The President of the Women in Revenue community appreciated the effort and invited me to join their Speaker Bureau where I will further contribute through speaker sessions and webinars.
Pledge 1% helps companies of all sizes and stages leverage their assets for social good. Why do you think it's important that companies prioritize social impact? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
As an entrepreneur, you have a responsibility to contribute towards society and bring a positive change.
Today we are facing so many challenges, be it changing climate, mental health issues, access to healthcare, education, jobs etc. Companies should prioritize social impact and contribute towards building a better future for our next generation.
A lot of challenges can be solved by giving access to education and opportunities to everyone. Making people self-sufficient is the biggest gift. We promote education initiatives through our engagements with non-profit organizations.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
Innovative! My innovative thinking and creative ways of doing things helped our business bring innovative technology to market. Customers loved our AI powered solution and referred us to their colleagues.
Do you have any unique or useful life hacks to help get through your day?
Celebrating success and staying calm during challenging situations have been my hacks to be productive throughout the day.
Do you have any go-to apps or tools use love to use?
LinkediIn, Health, Zoom.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
Growing business with high profitability in mind. Personally, looking forward to expanding my network further through conferences & community engagements.
