A “Dragon” on CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den, Michele Romanow is a tech titan who started three companies before her 28th birthday. She is the co-founder of Buytopia.ca, Snap By Groupon, and, most recently, Clearbanc, an online financial service.
She recently spoke on a panel at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network conference, an annual event for women business-owners, on how women employers can enact significant change through what seems like small actions. Michele specifically spoke about her proactive approach to ensuring pay equity within her organizations:
For Romanow, a self-described “passionate mama bear” in the crusade for pay equity within her organizations, women in positions of power have a duty to help others become comfortable asking for more. “I love the statistic that women apply for a job when they have all the qualifications, and men apply when they have, like, three of the 10. That goes back to everything about how we teach people to take risks at an early age, how we teach people to negotiate,” she said. “My own team will tell you that so much of my strength as an entrepreneur is my ability to negotiate. So, when we talk about a hand up, for me, it’s giving women on our own teams the skills they need to negotiate for the rest of their careers. It’s one of the biggest gifts you can give.”
Read the whole Maclean’s article covering the event here.
In her insightful talks, Michele shares the lessons she’s learned as one of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs, including the necessity of embracing change, encouraging disruption, and incentivizing innovation at every stage of the game.
Interested in learning more about Michele and what she can bring to your next event? Email us at [email protected].