Exclusive Trusted Magazine Q&A with Lotay Amrit Kaur, Founder @ The startups hub
How could you describe your career path in few words?
Studying Economics at a London University opened up a variety of career options. The very first job was with a local council whilst figuring out what to do next. Pursue further education or focus on career? This led me to try my hand at teaching. It wasn't for me. A career in sales followed by a career in accounting. Something wasn't working. There was a sense of something missing. As a result of a chance encounter, I ended up in the world of technology. Back then a woman entering a male dominated industry, was not something really considered. Life has never been the same since then! Next steps included moving from permanent roles in to consultancy which led to becoming a Director of a tech consultancy. Over the past few years, having founded a few tech startups – has now led to building a Digital Bank and offering Banking as a Service to other fintechs in the Middle East. This is in addition to mentoring startups globally and assisting them with every aspect of their challenges. Furthermore, I am also pursuing my dream of running my own fashion line in the UK and planning to launch it in the near future!
What was your most challenging experience and has it changed your mindset?
Narrowing it down to just one experience that changed my mindset is difficult. The first is the change in direction from Economics to Tech. It was a huge decision. Did I have the courage to move into an unknown territory? As a result of the choice made, this turned out to be one of the best decisions. It taught me not to be afraid of taking risks. That brings us to the second challenge. Transitioning from permanent work to consulting. As a result other insecurities started to surface. Setting up and running my own business, no guaranteed work, discovering new clients, going months without work, and not getting paid unless work was delivered. This forced me to work fast and give 100% to every client. Lastly, founding start-ups. In order to succeed, required finding co-founders with whom I could work long-term. A lot of the time, things didn't go as planned and this ended up creating toxic environments. The approach now is to pick people to go in to business with very carefully and not to trust anyone too easily.
Based on your experience, what’s the key success factor for a female leader/manager?
Not having experience in the banking world or as a finance professional when I entered the fintech world, didn’t deter me from wanting to launch a digital bank. To take first steps towards dreams and ambitions, did not require me to know absolutely everything. Having a great mentor, carrying out research, learning from the best in the industry, and having an entire team supporting my skillset, was enough to get things going. Despite being the only woman in the entire team, I stand tall alongside peers. Gender has never been at the forefront of my mind or held me back from achieving success. It all starts with confidence! Confidence in knowing that you can apply for that promotion. In knowing that you are good enough. Confidence in knowing that you can start that business. In knowing that you can change careers at any time. In order to succeed, you must have the confidence to know that you can get back up and continue or even start again. And not to be afraid to ask for help when you need it. It's not just about males and females anymore, there are many aspects of inclusivity to consider. Skills, abilities, and mindset should be some of the deciding factors, not gender!
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