- Victoria Wejchert founded a fast food company in Poland in the early 20s.
- Later, she created kinship, an app for property managers, in SH.BA
- Polish people respected her title and she encountered more prejudice in the US, she said.
This strong essay — to based on a conversation with Victoria WEJCHERTpartner Copia asset studios and the founder of kinship. Hasten edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in a family that did business across the globe. My parents were Polish, but they fled the country during communism, so I was Born in Ireland. When I was about 7 years old, we returned to Poland.
My parents led a media company in Europe and I learned about the entrepreneurship from them first. They rarely had a day off, and it was typical of them to attend board meetings During our family vacation.
Once, as a young man, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life during a car. My dad pulled the car to see me. “Your ability is venture,” he told me. He died only a few years later when I was 20, but it turns out he was right.
Now I am 35, and I have successfully established and exited two companies – one in SH.BA and one in Poland. I learned a lot about the differences between Being a female founder in those markets.
In Poland, people respected my title and severity
When I was in the early 20s, I was visiting a family member in Warsaw and noticing that there was nowhere to eat. At that time, I worked in London, where lunch options were endless. In WarsawPeople were still selling sandwiches from baskets they brought to office buildings.
I saw an opportunity for more eating opportunities. At that time, Starbucks just started coming to Poland, and the idea of a restaurant chain was new. I joined friends – enjoy your time, a healthy fast food option and increases it to 12 places within three years before it was won.
Although I was young and female, everything I had to do to gain respect in restaurant industry appeared and be harsh. Culturally, there is a lot of respect for the boss. People always officially referred me to my title, which translates as “Ms. CEO”. They took them seriously because colleagues knew that I had expectations and boundaries – how not to let workers drink at work.
In SH.BA, I was more likely to be overlooked as founder
By comparison, I felt like a stranger at a boys’ club when I started a technology company in SH.BA he was surprised to say NO – there are prejudices against women everywhere, especially in the SH.BA
Once, I was presenting at a conference, staying with a man. Another gentleman came out and started talking to him, assuming he was the founder of Kinship, my wealth management software. This kind of thing happens everywhere.
I crossed her working extremely hard. Before starting to raise funds, I read that it usually needs a man 100 meetings to close a round of funds, while female founders need 200-300 meetings. So, I doubled, knowing that I would have to do 2-3 times more work. Fortunately, people in America were also much more generous about sharing their contacts, which helped me get those additional meetings relatively quickly.
It is easier to grow a company in America
A major change is the pace of work in the US against Europe. In Europe, it is typical for people to remove the whole August. I didn’t take a break at the US for five years because I was constantly working in the company.
To be honest, that was good with me. America’s fastest pace makes it easier to finish work, and companies can grow faster. Plus, I grew up by parents who rarely stopped time despite their European roots. They taught me to determine the priority of the responsibility a founder has for their employees, families and clients and celebrate as the hard work of paying.
I did it last year after kinship was won. I got a two-week break in Mongolia, my first real time out of work in years. Knowing that my hard work had paid for it made it extra satisfactory.