The Female Equity Scholarship in partnership with Siemens Energy Ventures is awarded to women in our Venture Builder Programme who need support in overcoming obstacles that are often a product of being female. With this measure, we want to ensure that more women become climate tech founders and can focus on building a climate tech startup with as much energy and as clear a head as possible.

The Female Equity Scholarship is a combination of a financial component and mentoring from an experienced manager from the Siemens Energy cosmos. Let’s put the spotlight on the mentoring relationship between Florencia & Florina, who worked together over the summer in phase 2 of our Venture Builder Programme.

Mentee Florina Minzat:

“I’m Flo, the technical co-founder of EcothermiQ. I co-founded EcothermiQ with Graeme earlier this year. We met at Carbon13. And, after teaming up, I was lucky enough to, meet Florencia as well, who’s been very, very supporting.”

Mentee Florina Minzat:

“I’m Flo, the technical co-founder of EcothermiQ. I co-founded EcothermiQ with Graeme earlier this year. We met at Carbon13. And, after teaming up, I was lucky enough to, meet Florencia as well, who’s been very, very supporting.”

Florencia, why was it important to you to support female founders at the very beginning of their entrepreneurial journey?

I think it was an amazing opportunity to promote and encourage female founders. Female founders face a lot of more challenges, than male counterparts on the entrepreneurship world. So being able to guide Florina in any way that was possible, provide some of the corporate point of view, and also help her navigate all of these challenges, for me has been, very important for my own development. This was the first time with somebody, that has built her own company, which is impressive. It’s been very rewarding from my side to to be with her and support her all the way.

Florina, what impact overall had the female equity scholarship in combination with the mentorship by Florencia on your entrepreneurial journey and your life as a founder?

The scholarship itself supported me to move out because I was living with my parents. That was not the best scenario for an early-stage entrepreneur.

I was very grateful to receive the scholarship because that enabled me to get my own place and focus on building a business, with my own routine in my own time. And the mentoring part was a great additional value. Florencia listened to me through my ups and downs, and I shared my start-up journey with her, getting valuable input. Especially since I’m the technical co-founder, raising money and other commercial aspects often felt like gibberish to me, but having women around who could explain things was incredibly helpful. It taught me patience and the importance of learning from others.

Florina Minzat (in Romania), Florencia (in Florida, US) and Simon from Carbon13 (in Germany) spoke via Zoom.

Florencia, how how did you experience, Florina’s progress from your very first meeting to now?

I’ve seen a lot of evolution over time. From having an idea to creating a prototype, her progress has been outstanding. As a mentor, I reminded her to believe in herself. Being an entrepreneur is overwhelming, but I’ve witnessed significant growth in her product, leadership, confidence, and pitching skills. It’s been rewarding to see how my advice has had an impact.

What’s next? Will your connection remain?

Florencia:
I’m from Latin America, so connections are very important to me. We created a bond beyond business, sharing many personal things as well. It’s a two-way street; I’ve learned so much from her, and I believe I’ve been able to support her too.

That was just the first round of our partnership, and the community will continue to grow. We definitely want to keep you in the loop, especially as you grow as a founder. Prospective female founders will love to hear from you and learn from your achievements.

Speaking of role models and “paying forward”, we’re opening applications in mid-December and will kick off the 4th Berlin cohort and the 8th Cambridge cohort in April. What would you tell women who are in doubt about becoming entrepreneurs? Is it the right time? Do they have the necessary skills? I imagine you, Florina, have experienced doubts as well?

Florina:
I just had a call last week with an angel investor, one of the co-founders of Women in Tech. She told me something that stuck with me: the imposter syndrome will never go away. You just have to get used to it, get comfortable with it, and learn how to tune it out. Doubting yourself is part of the process because it’s a never-ending learning journey. No matter how much you know, there will always be more to learn. If you’re not open to learning and think you know everything, it won’t work out. It’s important to feel confident in what you know and ask questions when you don’t. There’s no shame in asking questions; often, others have the same questions but don’t ask.

If an opportunity comes to you, it means you’re ready, even if you’re not 100% prepared. Jump on the ship and see how it goes. Some days will be tough, but others will be amazing. Just show up every day, and it will eventually work out. Don’t let the negative side of your brain influence your decisions. We are more capable than we think.

Florencia:

Take it as a learning opportunity and enjoy the process of developing your company or project. It’s also important to create a network, not just with corporate leaders, but with women like Florina who have gone through the process. Having someone who has navigated those challenges can be incredibly beneficial for female entrepreneurs.