Explained: Why businesses will need to commit to digital transformation to succeed. How the balance of power continually shifts between brands and consumers. And shares her insights on the road to success as a woman in tech.
Key Takeaway: The digital commerce landscape continues to evolve at an incredible pace. Women can succeed in the male-dominated world of tech, whilst there is still lots of work to do, there has been a meaningful change.
In S02E04 Tim chats to Shimona Mehta, Managing Director EMEA at Shopify. Shimona talked about the importance of investment in digital platforms. What is takes to succeed as a woman in tech, and building teams and her non-negotiables when hiring.
Shimona says it is vital that every brand is thinking about digital. There are those digitally native brands who are now looking at physical stores because they understand the continual importance that high streets will have. And there are traditional brick-and-mortar stores that need to pivot quickly to survive and are now investing digitally.
Our guest explains that a greater investment maybe needed in traditional bricks and mortar led businesses, to implement a cultural transformation. For bricks and mortar-led businesses, it’s not simply a case of changing the technology, it’s pivoting the way that you think about your business, and this means changing the mindset of the managers. Re-evaluating the skillsets in-house and researching your customers’ behaviours and deciding how, and where you are going to reach them online. Only then you can start to think about which technology suits your requirements and work out your investment.
Consumer behaviour has changed rapidly post covid-19. Whether you’re a bricks and mortar or digitally native brand, Shimona says nobody has it all figured out. But what has really impressed Shimona is the amount of collaboration between retailers and brands, the sharing of ideas and group networking is incredibly important for successful transformation and growth.
Having an omnichannel presence is also fundamental. Shimona observes there has been a power dynamic shift. Consumers no longer ‘make plans’ to go shopping, they can shop anytime online. Whereas the consumer used to have to go to the retailer, the retailer now must come to the consumer, wherever they are online. The importance of social commerce is mounting.
Which tech does Shimona tip to have the biggest impact on digital commerce in the future? Shimona says “What we are seeing happening with crypto, Fintech and NFT’s etc is the continual democratisation of commerce, economic freedom and empowerment that is being put back in the hands of creators, influencers, and brands.” Shimona shares an example of Shopify’s partnership with Spotify. Now, the power is back in the hands of artists who used to be at the mercy of labels and contracts. Allowing artists to build a personal store, link it directly to their Spotify page, connect with fans and drive them to their own eCommerce site to purchase.
Meaningful changes are at play and the industry is becoming increasingly inclusive and representative. These shifts are only possible because of strong men and women leading the charge and demanding a better environment.
So, what does it take to succeed at the top of your game as a woman in tech? For Shimona, it’s been a 10-year journey of figuring that out. Our guest explains that she’s often found herself in professional circumstances where she is the only female. However, she’s never let those experiences dim her sparkle. In fact, she does the opposite. When Tim asks for her best piece of advice for women in similar situations, she replies: “Be authentically yourself, lean right into what your strengths are, don't try to mimic anyone else's strengths.”
To hear more of Shimona’s career story about becoming a successful woman in tech, listen to the full episode.
“Hire for values. Teach skill,” says Shimona Mehta. For Shimona, values and integrity always rank the highest. She wants to see that the candidate connects to Shopify’s mission. Shimona says, “They could be a rockstar salesperson who crushes their quota every quarter, but if they're an ass, we don't want them on the team.”
Shimona goes on to talk about attracting the right talent. Each market is different so it’s essential to understand what’s important to the talent in your market. She asks herself the question ‘do you resonate as the employer of choice? Have you mapped and understood what diversity means within your market?
Once you have your team members, think about how to make them work. Building global teams that need to operate and work across language divides and cultural nuances and ways of communicating which can manifest differently, means that you need to invest the time to build trust and psychological safety. Shimona explains that this can be a simple idea. For example, as a fast-talking native English speaker, she has had to learn to slow down to ensure that her team doesn’t miss the message and remain connected to the topic and therefore feel able to contribute and be impactful.
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