Embrace Your Inner Girl Boss: Finding Success in the Tech World – Techstra’s Jennifer Honig Interviewed on “10-Minute Tech Talks”
Techstra Solutions Founder and CEO, Jennifer Honig, was interviewed by Jonathan Kersting for Pittsburgh Technology Council’s “10-Minute Tech Talks”. The transcript follows.
Jonathan Kersting, host of Pittsburgh Technology Council’s “10-Minute Tech Talks”: For nearly 30 years I’ve been hanging out with some of Pittsburgh’s top technology entrepreneurs, telling their stories and having a great time along the way.
On this episode of “10-Minute Tech Talks”, I have the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Honig, an experienced tech entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of a tech consultancy called Techstra Solutions based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We explore the concept of the “Girl Boss” and how women can leverage their unique strengths and perspectives to thrive in the male-dominated tech industry.
In this conversation, you’re going to learn how to embrace your identity as a woman in business and how that can be a source of strength, not weakness. Jennifer shares how she proudly owns the “Girl Boss” label and uses it to her advantage. Learn how surrounding yourself with a complimentary team is crucial; [as is] understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and building a support system that’s going to help you excel. Discover how mentoring and supporting other women in tech is absolutely vital. Jennifer is committed to raising the next generation of “Girl Bosses” and serving as their role model. Self-belief is paramount. Being true to yourself and having confidence in your abilities are essential for success.
This is a must-listen conversation for any aspiring female entrepreneur or woman looking to make their mark in the tech world. I think the guys out there can get some value out of it as well. So, let’s start by welcoming Jennifer Honig to the show today.
Jonathan Kersting (JK): Always great to have you here on “10-Minute Tech Talks”. You are like my go to on building companies.
Jennifer Honig (JH), founder and CEO of Techstra Solutions: I love that!
JK: …[You are my go to on] things to do [when building companies], and, most importantly, things not to do, because there are things you can and can’t do that lead to failure. We’re the anti-failure show.
JH: Anti-failure works for me.
JK: Failure is a good thing. I want people to fail.
JH: [But] fail fast.
JK: Fail fast so they can learn from it. But the idea is, we don’t want people to fail. There are certain things you can do. And we were just talking about this topic the other day, and I said, we’ve got to do a podcast. This idea around “Girl Boss.”
JH: Love it!
JK: This is kind of a shocking term, because it’s just like, does a woman want to be known as a Girl Boss? Do they want their leadership to be based upon their identity as being a woman or not? Like, is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? And I think it vacillates a bit, and I’m sure there are pros and cons to it, but if you’re a woman entrepreneur out there right now, and you’re thinking: “My goodness, like, am I a Girl Boss?” What does that mean?
JH: Yes! I am a Girl Boss!
JK: Are you a Girl Boss?
JH: I am!
JK: Okay, good.
JH: I am, and I’m okay with it. To me, Girl Boss means I’m strong and independent and empowered and doing fabulous things.
JK: Could I be a “Dude Boss”?
JH: Why not?
JK: Yeah, just because I’d be like, identify as being like, from that thing, and that would be part of my strengths.
JH: Yes.
JK: Okay!
JH: I like to think about it as a strength. I like to believe, especially in the tech world, [that] it gives me a different perspective, and we add value to our clients in different ways.
JK: Okay, so how can somebody embrace their Girl Boss, to really make that a strength for them that they can use to their advantage?
JH: I think the first thing that is most important, and I know this is maybe going to sound a little funny, is that you really have to understand your strengths. Why that becomes important is because you can’t be a Girl Boss from a place of weakness, right? I know what I do really, really well. I lead a company well. I engage people well. I deliver for our clients. I’ve been able to build a company that’s authentic but also delivering results, and a good place for people to want to work. My weaknesses, I would say, and let’s be honest, I don’t have many (kidding). [The key is] surrounding yourself with a team that helps make you a better person and makes you a better company and [creates better] solutions…for clients.
JK: I like it! I like it! I just like the idea that if you’re a woman…it is perfectly fine to embrace the fact that you’re one, because I believe there’s strength in that. But I feel like there are some [that] don’t want that to be a differentiating factor. They just want to be [considered] based upon, like, certain things only. And it’s one of those deals where I’m like: “No, I think we should embrace that we’re all different, and because we’re different, it’s not a weakness.” Then, play up the strengths of that. I feel like that is something that you’ve done over the years. You’ve been in business for 13 years, doing what you’re doing, and you’re growing like crazy. I think it’s because you believe in yourself. That’s been one of your big tenants that we’ve talked about before. And by believing in yourself, you can embrace “Yeah, I’m a Girl Boss.”
JH: I’m a Girl Boss.
JK: [You] don’t have to pretend to be a man living in a man’s world. It’s like, this is just the world I’m living in, and this is who I am, and I happen to be a girl.
JH: No, well, let me say, I think you have to be mindful that – and it kills me to say this – that in the tech world, we are living in a man’s world. Where I would like to believe that more and more women are coming into the field, that they are changing the way the industry is happening, it still skews more male.
JK: It does. [And] here’s the scary thing…at the Tech Council, we’ve had lots of conversations around getting more women into tech, and we’ve worked with some organizations where the numbers are getting worse. We thought the numbers would be getting better, but it’s only like 20 to 25 percent of women actually comprise the tech industry, which is just devastatingly low. You would think the numbers would be getting better, but they’re not. It’s just like, “oh man”, which is why I feel like maybe if women could be more like you, more embracing the Girl Boss. It’s like, you don’t have to put away your identity to work in tech.
JH: Well, I think you can [embrace being a Girl Boss and be a successful woman in tech].
JK: You can be a woman in tech, and be [a successful] woman in tech, for crying out loud!
JH: Well, and you can feel a responsibility, like I do, to help mentor and support other women in tech.
JK: Great point. Yes, that’s something that’s huge, right? I mean, you got to be the one out there pulling the next generation up, right?
JH: One hundred percent! Because people need examples, right? They need people to help not only to support them but be a role model for them. And I am happy to do that.
JK: I like it! My key takeaway is believe in yourself and be you.
JH: Be you.
JK: And if you’re saying you’re gonna be a Girl Boss…embrace it. Don’t hide from it. Because [if] you’re not being true to yourself, then everything else is going to crumble underneath that…at a certain point.
JH: I agree.
JK: Yeah, good insights there. That’s why I have you stop by, Jennifer, to tell us about these things. For me, it’s always so much fun to talk to people that have been there and done that, and are still in there doing it. I talk to a lot of folks that have been there, done that, but haven’t done it in a while, and that’s cool, but you’re still scrapping it out day to day…that’s good stuff.
JH: Well, and I’m trying to raise two Girl Bosses, right? So, [it is important] to support women in our company and support women who are in the universities. But the other thing is, I feel it’s really important that we support our girls as they grow into women and become Girl Bosses of the future.
JK: Well put. We’re gonna leave it at that. Jennifer Honig, you are the best! Appreciate you being part of “10-Minute Tech Talks”.