What inspired me this week
The Grand Harbour (view from Valletta of the three cities)
It’s two months today since I moved back home to Malta from London. I thought I would have a calm and easy start with ample time to enjoy the sun and the sea, but this little isle had other plans for me. It's been busy!
The island is buzzing with amazing positive energy at the moment and there is lots happening. With European Capital of Culture - Valletta 2018 round the corner there is lots happening in the arts and culture arena which sees me out and about quite a lot. What I have also noted is that the entrepreneurial and startup scene is flourishing too and it is one that I keep a keen eye on, considering both my entrepreneurial experience and my stint in the London tech start up scene.
Every week brings with it an article, book, film or even just a phrase that I’ve read or heard, that leaves its mark somehow. Although I’ve been busy, this week is no different. Here’s what inspired me this week;
This week the Malta Communications Authority and the Malta Information Technology Agency together with a number of other entities organised a screening of “She Started It” which I was keen to attend. This documentary gives a fresh face to the image of the tech entrepreneur: a female face. It follows five females over two years as they pitch their ideas, build their teams, bring products to market and then fail and start again. The documentary explores the under representation of women in entrepreneurship and the realities female entrepreneurs face including the lack of role models and investors and society and cultural expectations and the feelings and emotions that come with all that. The stories of Stacey Ferreira and that of Thuy Thanh Truong are ones I really connected with as you see them both go through the experience of pitching ideas for funding and having to rethink and start again. I was also very impressed with the story of Brienne Ghafourifar who raised $1million in venture funding at the age of 17 for her start-up Entefy. Read more about these amazing women here.
Another source of inspiration this week was a reply by Babylon Health’s Ali Parsa in an interview with Sony. When asked what tips he could give to innovators hoping to break the mould, he replied; “…my concern is there are so many big problems left in the world and I’m always surprised by how so many people try to solve the small problems. The number of people trying to figure out how to sell you more financial quotes or deliver you more pizza as opposed to serious problems: healthcare, education, governments, democracy, welfare, challenges the elderly face. There are existential problems out there and it would be brilliant if we could put our ingenuity to solving the very large problems rather than the easier problems.”
I’ll leave you with that.... but before I go here's a read about the buzzing Malta startup scene; Malta: A Start-up Haven.