Welcome back to a new chapter of “My Seat At The Table”, our exclusive blog series launched to honor International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, where we highlight some of the remarkable women who play a vital role in shaping Enfuce’s success.
In this blog series, we hear from five incredible Enfucers from diverse backgrounds and roles. Through their inspiring stories and unique perspectives, they share what it truly means to them to have a seat at the table, how they empower other women in their professional and personal lives and the changes they hope to see in the fintech landscape for greater equality.
Since its launch in 2016, Enfuce has experienced incredible growth – And behind every new partnership forged and every innovative service launched there are exceptional people driving the company forward. In this new interview we’re excited to speak with Venla Pouru, VP of Strategy and Revenue Ops at Enfuce, who’s leading Enfuce’s commercial strategy in this pivotal phase of expansion, from securing new partnerships to investigating new markets.
Have a read and join us in our mission to raise awareness, advocate and celebrate women in business.
Hi Venla, what’s your role at Enfuce?
I am responsible for defining Enfuce’s commercial strategy and overseeing its execution. In a scaleup environment, this can mean a variety of parallel tasks, ranging from supporting sales in tier 1 opportunities, developing business insights, investigating new markets and segments as well as steering the implementation of our key initiatives of non-linear growth. For sure there is a little bit of Powerpoint and a lot of hands-on business building work!
I am proud to have an absolutely stellar team consisting of a Strategy manager and two Revenue Operations experts. Our team’s role requires broad activity and influence across the company’s commercial and technical functions. Each individual in my team is highly proactive and analytical – that’s why they get sh*t done (as we say in Enfuce).
Each individual in my team is highly proactive and analytical – that’s why they get things done
What did you want to be when you were little?
I just loved reading books! I believe I can credit a large share of the imagination and creativity I have today to the piles of books I read when I was little, ranging from Astrid Lindgren’s and Harry Potter to Jane Austen’s and Emily Brontë’s works.
Probably my dream career was to become a writer or journalist. I definitely never thought about a business career until I had an epiphany while in university.
What do you think of International Women’s Day (IWD)?
This IWD, I was truly impressed by the amount of positive energy and acknowledgment shared around female leadership – both online and offline.
I believe IWD is a great day to reflect upon and praise the female leaders in one’s professional network, and also to drive open and honest discussions about career progression and experiences in the workplace.
What does it mean to you to have a Seat at The Table?
My business principles (or beliefs) revolve around full meritocracy and zero politics.
Having worked in male-dominated and technologically complex B2B industries throughout my career, I’ve developed a “positive bias”: I’ve always assumed a full meritocracy in any organisation, team, or project I’ve worked on (meaning that people are given a seat at the table based on their competence and acumen) and have behaved accordingly.
Furthermore, I’m not a big fan of organisational politics and firmly believe that successful organisations are lean and transparent. Therefore, my mantra has always been to make choices based on what I believe is best for the organisation. In parallel, I’ve always tried to promote openness, knowledge sharing, and a culture of direct feedback – and I do believe that this has contributed to being invited to different tables along my journey.
Can you share a personal or professional experience where you felt the impact of having, or not having, your Seat At The Table
Reflecting back on my earlier career, I could say I have attended the school of hard knocks. I started my career as a 24-year-old junior consultant, spending a year at a German shipyard with the aim of deploying a data-driven project framework for a 1 billion EUR new building project. My stint turned out to be relatively successful, but I did face a lot of resistance along the way. Also my next role in an engineering company included a fair amount of transformational development (and resistance to change).
I would say the key to gaining my seat at the table has been that I have always invested time, effort (and the famous midnight oil) in understanding and diving deep into the technology and solutions of the companies I work for. Sometimes it has been about playing with APIs, sometimes about interpreting data from automation systems over the command line. Technical understanding creates credibility and trust among the organizations one works with.
Who are the women who influenced your career the most and you feel helped you get #MySeatAtTheTable?
My mom was a businesswoman, and I had her as my role model as a career-oriented woman throughout my childhood. That is why I always had that “positive bias” towards women being able to work in demanding positions, with P&L responsibility, and still be present as family members.
I believe IWD is a great day to reflect upon and praise the female leaders in one’s professional network, and also to drive open and honest discussions about career progression and experiences in the workplace.
Prior to Enfuce, I never worked under a female supervisor (aside from some short-term exceptions). On the other hand, I have been lucky to have excellent female peers throughout my career, from whom I have been able to learn and develop professionally. These individuals have accelerated my professional development and provided invaluable support.
I have to admit that one reason for joining Enfuce was my curiosity to work with not one, but two female CEOs. At Enfuce, I do believe that we are close to achieving meritocracy – people are given a lot of responsibility and autonomy.
How do you empower other women at work or in your day to day life?
I try to lead by example and lead from the front, meaning that I am hands-on and strive to take responsibility. I aim to always be available to support my colleagues, encourage them to take calculated risks, and acknowledge good performance.
What’s the advice you would give to other women who might want to have a Seat At The Table and are currently facing challenges?
Learn to take risks in your daily work and strive to take ownership of business goals. I believe anyone can make a difference by raising their hand and taking ownership of a specific goal, and delivering on that commitment. When I mention risk-taking, I am referring to the ability to think ahead, set goals, and determine the actions necessary to achieve those goals.
I believe anyone can make a difference by raising their hand and taking ownership of a specific goal, and delivering on that commitment.
I also strongly encourage anyone working in a tech company to delve deep into the technology and develop a sufficient understanding of the company’s solutions as well as the customer’s business. Those capable of driving complex initiatives forward will typically be rewarded.
Knowing yourself does not hurt; it is crucial to leverage your strengths and showcase them, while also being mindful of your weaknesses.
In your opinion, what can the fintech industry as a whole do to promote gender equality and ensure that women not only have a seat at the table but also feel heard and valued?
Being bold enough to hire and empower female talent is crucial. I strongly believe in demystifying leadership and success. By discussing practical and concrete aspects of these topics, we can encourage more individuals, especially women, to take risks and pursue an accelerated career path. This is something that the fast-paced environment of fintech can certainly offer.
Thank you for sharing, Venla!
And that’s all for this week’s interview. Interested to hear more from incredible Enfucers? Check out our blog with Krista Rask, our Fraud Specialist, all about the importance of teamwork in and out of the workplace.
