Maastricht Geekette of the Month: Gabi Ras

What is your name, age, location? 

My name is Gabrielle Ras, I'm 22 years old and I live in Maastricht. 

What's your background? 

I lived in Curacao for 18 years where I attended primary and secondary school. When I was 18 I moved to Eindhoven to study Industrial Design but after a year I switched to Knowledge Engineering and I moved to Maastricht. For the past 3 years I have been very involved with my studies and sit on the board of our study association. At the beginning of this year I got involved with the Dutch Nao Team. In April, I participated in the RoboCup IranOpen and in July I went to Brazil to participate in the RoboCup 2014. 

What inspired you to study engineering and design? 

I always had a passion for science, engineering, design and art. This led to a bit of an internal battle for what I wanted to study and devote a greater part of my life to. I believe I have found a balance now. When I studied Industrial Design for a year I realized it was not for me. I actually wanted something with more reasoning and analytical thinking. I found what I was looking for in the Knowledge Engineering study, so I went for it. And to this day it was the best choice I could have made. After I decided to enroll, opportunities emerged and I took them.      

Please walk me through your day, what do you do at Swarmlab? 

If I need to do things for the Dutch Nao Team you can usually find me in the Swarmlab. This is the robotics lab at the department. My usual activities revolve around managing the team, so keeping track of what people are doing and handling the inbox. I also keep busy by actually programming, debugging and testing on the robot. Sometimes I need help or I'll help someone else out and then more people get involved. There are also meetings I have with my supervisor where we talk about how everything is going, or we discuss a problem I might be having. The other parts of the day include frequent trips to local coffee shop and hitting the next button on Spotify to find a good track :D  

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now? 

I don't think so. I will probably still be active in the same field of study (doing cool things with data), but in terms of the roles I will play, that depends on the situation and the fact that I love to change things up every now and then. But who knows, maybe I'll settle on something along the way. A lot of things can happen in 10 years!

What is the best advice you ever received? 

The best advice I received is what my mother always told me: Be an independent woman, provide for yourself and go out there and get what you want. I took it to heart and it's at the core of who I am. 

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

Don't try to do everything on your own. There's a fine line between being independent and overworked. Try to delegate as much as possible and keep the important tasks for yourself. 

And what are your plans for the future?

When I finished my Bachelors degree I wanted to do a Masters and than a PhD, all in the area of Artificial Intelligence. I also want to stay involved with the RoboCup community and participate in more RoboCup competitions. 

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

There's nothing specific in terms of choices or activities that I would have done differently. If I could go back in time and give myself some advice, I'd say "stop being lazy".  

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?  

Go for what you want, help others and be yourself. 

Berlin Geekette of the Month: Kalie Moore

What is your name, age, location? 

Kalie Moore, 28, I’m in Berlin 60% of the time and in San Francisco for 40%.

What's your background? 

My career started with legal marketing in California. Later, after getting incredibly burnt out working in an intellectual property practice at a top law firm in DC, I quit and traveled the world for a year and a half. While living in Istanbul, I had the opportunity to get to know the up-and-coming startup scene and began managing marketing/PR for travel startups targeting international audiences. I eventually moved to Berlin and now I handle marketing and PR, mainly for B2B companies that are focused on global high-growth. 

What inspired you to become a data-driven marketer? 

It was a mix of being in the right place at the right time and a passion for statistics and storytelling. 

Please walk me through your day, what do you do at your company? 

It really depends on which time zone I’m in, but since I’m writing this from Berlin, I’ll give you the run down of a typical day here. I usually start early, around 5am, as this allows me to check in with clients or contacts on the West Coast. I try to get about four hours of uninterrupted writing of press releases or blog posts before my European clients arrive in the office. At 10am, I walk to my favorite cafe in Neukölln and respond to emails, pitch journalists, check the previous days analytics, and handle the research for whatever data-driven content I’ll produce the next day. I try to work out in the afternoon and then share whatever was published that day around 5pm so both our European and West Coast audience gets access. 

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now? 

No. Technology evolves so quickly that I image data-driven marketing and journalism will look very different in ten years. Whatever it is, I’ll be involved and, hopefully, shaping the environment. 

What is the best advice you ever received? 

Someone I loved very much gave me Rilke’s Letters To A Young Poet when I was considering giving up and going back to a more corporate life. The best piece of advice I received came in the form of a quote: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.” I stopped trying to predict what my company, and my life would look like in a year, and chose to focus on building it day to day. 

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

Nothing happens as you expect it to. Roll with it. 

And what are your plans for the future?

I’ve done marketing and PR for amazing startups around the world for the last three years, and one need they all had in common was to turn their data into actionable insights. With that goal, I’m happy to announce the launch of my next company, Sassy Data, which will enable startups to turn smart data into sassy results. We will focus on providing data-driven marketing services and integrated intelligence analysis, based on their data and that of their competitors. 

And, of course, continuing to write about developing startup ecosystems at Berlin Startup Girl. 

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

Procrastinate less. 

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?  

Work abroad. There are vastly different - and far more interesting - job opportunities in emerging markets. 

Portugal Geekette of the Month: Maria Orey

What's your background?

Having studied Economics at university, I went on to work in strategic management consulting with a strong digital focus for seven years. Gleam came after that, bringing together a few things I love. Whilst I bring in more of a business background, Gleam’s Co-Founder Andreia Campos, brings in a strong marketing, fashion and retail background. We ended up complimenting each other in both strategic and operational aspects of running and growing the company.

What inspired you to become a founder?

I think there’s something very appealing in the idea of creating and developing something that you can not only influence but also grow. By working on a start-up you get to move in a fast pace environment and see almost immediate impact of any decision you take on. This is great and fulfilling. There is also something very satisfying in the freedom you have to surround yourself with people who share that same vision and passion. 

Gleam tries to help its users answer the question we all ask ourselves every morning – "what am I going to wear today?" The idea actually arose from a discussion in which I confessed that there are mornings when I stare at my closet and haven't a clue what to wear. 

Please walk me through your day, what does the Founder of Gleam do?

Our day starts with emails and checking the App! Once we get to the office the hours fly by in a whirlwind of to-dos; from checking in with the development team to discussing design proposals, to business development and a myriad of other tasks. We try to be organized with a priority list, but sometimes life happens and everything has to be re-organized at the last minute. This is not a 9-to-5 job, but that’s what we love about it. 

People who haven’t (yet!) worked at a start-up might think that the job description of a “Founder” sounds very glamorous, the truth is, its not. You basically have to do whatever is needed, and this goes from organizing coffee and biscuits for a meeting, to pitching to investors, and everything in between. 

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now?

Yes!

What is the best advice you ever received?

Focus on one or two very important goals for your business and channel all your energy into getting them done. Don’t spread yourself thin by worrying about every little detail and always keep the big picture at the top of your mind. If you get those things done, everything else will fall into place naturally.  

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

Building on the answer above, sometimes you have to let go of the tiny details. As a startup team grows it’s hard to let go of the things you were once responsible for. You may be a perfectionist at heart but empowering the team to deal with issues as they arise is the most important thing to allow the project to grow.

And what are your plans for the future?

We want Gleam to continue on the growth path we started in this first year of operation – we aim to continue expanding our current user base of over 250.000 to more global markets. Our roadmap and goals are all focused on becoming the best global fashion discovery and intelligence platform. We want individuals to have only one place that springs to mind whenever they are trying to figure out what to wear. 

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

When we first launched the Gleam app we only did so in English, despite the fact that we wanted to become a global tool. It took us a while to understand that there was a market need for language localization, especially given the fact we wanted to launch into Latin American economies. Now I'm happy to say we have launched Gleam in the 7 languages. 

Any advice for Portugal's women?

Technology and the start-up world may seem like a very male dominated environment, but there’s change in the air. If you have an idea you’re passionate about just do your best to try to make it happen and don’t be afraid to fail. From the micro to macro-level, from daily tasks to strategic decisions, trust your instincts, but never be afraid to ask for help. There are a lot of people out there who are willing to help and want to share their insights.