Hamburg Geekette of the Month: Zara Gebru

What is your name, age, location?

My name is Zara Gebru. I am 23 years old and I grew up in Hamburg (Germany).

What's your background?

After high school I needed a bit time to figure out what I wanted to do with my future. I travelled to Ethiopia for three months to discover my second culture and to learn more about my father's heritage. In 2011, I decided to start studying Computer Science and Business Administration.

What inspired you to become an engineer? 

These days I worked part time for a 24h IT service company and lost all my “women worries” about the tech-world. If I am honest, it was a random idea of mine and maybe I just wanted just to explore at the age of 20. I was pretty certain that I would discontinue with this subject after one semester. But often in life, the spontaneous ideas are the best and most of the time I feel very comfortable with that what I am doing now. I would argue that I don't really love the whole program but what I do love is to sit down and to create something new. It is the challenge that gives me confidence to be an independent woman.

What are your next steps right now? 

I'm currently at an exchange program in South Africa, but I am coming home soon. I am looking forward to my first part time job, where I really can create software on a bigger project. 

What is the best advice you ever received?

Someone told me that the future is in IT. Special thanks to that person.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the last year?

At my university we have a big focus in pair programming and I feel like I learned a lot over the past year on the advantages and disadvantages of team work. 

And what are your plans for the future?

Sometimes I am dreaming about to becoming an entrepreneur someday, maybe in Europe or in Africa. But I don't really know yet. I want to get more work experience and I think it would be a nice start for me to work in a company which already has a developed infrastructure.

If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?

Actually I am really happy with my life because I feel like I have a good work/life balance. But if I could do something differently I am pretty sure I would have looked into tech at a much younger age. That is what I like about the Geekettes! They aim to support girls from a younger age and open the doors to the tech-world so they're less afraid. 

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?  

Do what your heart is beating for, do not be afraid to try new things and keep smiling.

Hamburg Geekettes App Camp

A guest post by Ines Schaffranek

Building my first app in less than five minutes was even more satisfying by making it about cats. More specifically, by making it about drawing on a cat’s picture of my liking and share it with the world to enjoy.

Hamburg Geekettes joined forces with ThoughtWorks to teach more than 30 women to build apps using the MIT App Inventor and I was one of them.

After a quick introduction to the open-source web application, four hours of intense teamwork and help by the coaches, we proudly presented our apps. One team built the arcade game “Whac-a-mole” (to impress the kids at home), another built a nifty homework organizer. There was also a well-designed nutrition app and a fitness app to keep you motivated.

So how does the MIT App Inventor work?

Log in with your Google account and get familiarized with the Designer.

Components like buttons, drawing elements and sounds are in the left panel of the screen. You can drag-and-drop them to the middle, the mock-up of a mobile screen, and specify function and design in the right panel.

After you set up the visuals, click on “Blocks” and have a look at the backend.

You will see various programming elements in the left panel, like objects, methods, and properties. Those prefabricated pieces of code can be assigned to your visual elements. They look and function like a jigsaw puzzle, only certain elements marry up.

If you want to test your code, open an emulation of an Android device - or use your actual Android device. And just like that your first app is born!

Imagine my excitement after sharing this beauty straight from my app on Twitter:

Katzen-Mal-App mit den @HHGeekettes bauen? Kann ich!!! #appcamp pic.twitter.com/oxjfz28riD

— Ines Schaffranek (@InesSchaffranek) 12. April 2014

I lost a few followers, but it was totally worth it.

Since attending the App Camp I constantly think of building my next app, which will be concerned with Sketchnotes.

And there will be no need for cats in this one.

Just kidding.

There is always a need for cats.

Find out more about AppCamps!

Hamburg Geekette of the Month: Martina Neef

Meet Martina Neef - our first Hamburg Geekette of the Month in 2014. Martina is a Business Angel, an Entrepreneur, a Mom, an Engineer, and much more! Thank you very much Martina, for doing this interview with us!

1. Martina, you hold degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Management. When and how did you discover your passion for engineering and entrepreneurship?

I grew up in an entrepreneurial household, my parents built and owned together a business. My father told me from a very young age, that it is important as a woman to earn your living yourself to be independent from a husband or someone else, even if you have kids. Since both my parents worked, I was free to roam around, to try different things until I mastered them, which allowed me to grow up without fear of failure. I think this is what originally sparked both my interest in engineering as well as entrepreneurship. For many years I worked as an employee for several companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in an environment that supported this mindset and allowed me as a young adult to grow professionally in ways that would have not been possible in Germany. Coming back to Berlin I missed the work ethic of self-responsibility, freedom and opportunity for personal growth in my job. In order to have that, I decided to start my first company.

2. You founded Rock It Biz – a non-profit organization that wants to bring entrepreneurship to students and schools. Why do you think this is important?

I do believe that everyone especially tomorrow’s adults require an entrepreneurial mindset and as well as the skills, no matter what career one might choose. It is important that kids make the experience, which demonstrates to them, that they indeed have the capability to take charge of their own life. There are several aspects why this is important. One of them being the changing work environment that might no longer offer long-term employment but will turn people through various changes for example the sharing-economy to „people entrepreneurs“ and freelancers. 

Rock it Biz offers a program that takes kids grade 6-9 through the process of a start-up with in a project week or over the course of a school year. Kids learn by doing, thus making the experience, which I would compare to jumping of that 10 meter tower at the pool. You could listen to theoretical information about diving into the water for numerous times, as long as you don’t take action, you won’t know that you actually have the courage and capability. However once you did it, you will know and feel that you can and your mind will be open for additional information on how to do. 

This is what I believe is important: Giving kids the experience of working in a team, developing a idea (in our case a product), convincing others (by raising money needed), turning their idea into reality by producing it themselves, selling it and being successful after working through frustrations and mistakes as a team. Kids can apply this experience to all sorts of areas, which makes this experience so valuable.

3. Before starting Rock It Biz you did other great things. Can you please tell us a little bit about your entrepreneurial journey? 

My first company was active both in Germany and Latin America. I did work with Governmental agencies such as FONATUR and ministries of economy and tourism on the development infrastructure projects. My favorite project was Formula One, which was very exciting. We did develop projects both from a business as well as a marketing aspect and helped to secure financing of those. Returning to Germany, I started investing in Start-Ups and worked with several of those very close. While I was doing this, I saw the need for change in our German education system and built Rock it Biz, which is a non-profit supported by many great entrepreneurs and business people. Additionally I am working on something new, which I will tell you about in our next conversation… 

4. Learning is an important part of entrepreneurship. What are the most important things you learned in the last few years?

Lessons are usually very personal and so are mine. Previously my choice of business partners may not have been the best one. In the future I will work first with someone on a project to see if we complement each other, share the same values and ethics before becoming a partner. Second I would be not built a company with a husband, boyfriend or life partner. If the relationship turns sour, so might your business collaboration.  Having both your personal and your professional life fall apart at the same time is quite exhausting emotionally as well as financially. I am starting fresh, which I experience as an amazing opportunity that I am enjoying immensely. For someone else this might feel scary though. 

5. You are not only an entrepreneur but also a business angel. What do business angels do? Which kinds of startups do you support?

Business angels gap the funding of ventures between the initial founder, friends and family investment and the first round of venture capital. In addition they lend experience, network, reputation and access to various partner to a start-up. In a nutshell I support start-up’s that have a team, which I believe is capable to achieve something great and that do have a product which provides a valuable solution to big enough audience of users. The product can be physical product, a service or a digital product or technology. 

6. It was not so easy for us to find a female business angel for an interview. Why do you think are there so few female investors? 

Generally I believe there are more men with the required capital needed to invest in a start-up. Women, who might have the funds to do so, may be more risk averse or look for other types of investments. One should not forget that investing as a business angel is very high risk with some of those investments potentially being a loss. One other reason could be the perception and communication as well. It may be, that be that men talk about it more than women. In my case for example people automatically assumed it is my ex-husband who is the one who is investing - not me. That may hold true for other couples as well.  

7. What advice would you give to women who are hesitating to start their own businesses?

If you choose to start your own business, please make sure to follow your passion. If you do, you will not be „working“. You will have fun instead - every single moment. It feels great and turns challenges into opportunities. Listen to your heart. Get advice, get different forms of advice, pro and con and make your decision yourself. Don’t let others convince you. Do what feels right to you, not to others. Inside I am sure you know very well what is good for you and what not... And no worries about being a mom or a single mom like me. If you run your own business, you have lots of flexibility with your schedule, which makes raising kids a lot more easier.

8. Anything else you would like to share with the Hamburg Geekettes?

I do mentor and I am happy to offer that to a Geekette that would like to start her own business. Further I would like to encourage all readers to mentor as well. It is great to give back and to see someone growing. Some of you might not think so, but your advice is valuable to others. 

We are looking to engage ambassadors for Rock it Biz, which is my non-profit for teaching entrepreneurship to children that I had mentioned before. We are looking for people that like to help spreading the entrepreneurial mindset to kids in German schools. If you are interested in doing so, please write to us at willkommen@rockitbiz.org. 

Please help us to reach out to the kids.

www.rockitbiz.org