The real deal about women pitching in a man’s world

Grabhouse co-founder Pankhuri Srivastava (left) and co-founder of Vibha Women Caroline Fernandes (right) speaking at the SheTalks event. Photo credit: BHIVE.

Women are good for workspaces because they are good at multitasking, because they are good at balancing home and office, because women are nurturers…er…STOP! (facepalm) Women also have degrees and years of experience in most cases too, you know!

Well, for a feisty group of women entrepreneurs present at SheTalks – organized in Bangalore by co-working space BHIVE and Tech in Asia – the discussion was bound to don a few shades of feminism.

“Should I talk?” “Should I oppose them?” “Am I on the right path?” “Will I make a fool of myself?”

Now, a little bit of self-doubt never hurt anybody. But if you are intimidated being a woman in a male bastion, Pankhuri Shrivastava of Grabhouse will tell you why you shouldn’t let doubt cripple you.

Women have to dispel concerns over working late with men, and that girls don’t understand tech.

She, for one, doesn’t like to think of herself as a woman when she is at work. “Most of these barriers and concerns of being a woman in a man’s world are mental barriers. In the entrepreneurial world, there is no right or wrong. It’s an open ground to experiment and no one else knows any better than you…”

Wait, so does that mean women don’t come across any prejudices? Sure, they do.

“I was a 22-year-old female entrepreneur. People did take me for granted,” Pankhuri says, “But once I spoke about my work and my startup, they were all ears.” Pankhuri sold her startup to Quikr in November 2016.

Pankhuri is the chief marketing officer of Grabhouse, a startup that helped consumers find houses without brokers. She co-founded Grabhouse back in 2013, when she was barely 22 years old. She isn’t a bag full of wisdom as yet, but she sure has learned how to navigate through the boy’s club.

Confidence is imperative, she says. “Know your subject; study it well,” is her second tried-and-tested win.

Pankhuri must be on to something, considering Grabhouse managed to raise US$12.5 million from the likes of Sequoia Capital and Kalaari Capital, besides undisclosed seed investment from India Quotient and a few angel investors.

Team BHIVE and TIA with the three panelists (seated centre) at SheTalks. Photo credit: BHIVE.