With empowering insights to help women entrepreneurs navigate the narrowest corridors of sexism, tech-industry pioneer Magdalena Yesil shares on-the-ground business advice that is as powerful as any MBA, in her new book Power-UP.
Pioneering Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Magdalena Yesil came to the United States in 1976 with two suitcases and $43, blind to the challenges she would face as a woman and immigrant in Silicon Valley. Today, she is best known as the first investor and a founding board member of Salesforce, the now-multibillion dollar company that ushered in the era of cloud-based computing. In her book, Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy, Yesil urges women to look beyond the alarming gender statistics of the workplace and feel confident entering tech or any field-but also to be prepared to deal with the challenges. She shares what she experienced as a woman in Silicon Valley with surprising candor and heart, relying not just on her insight but that of more than a dozen top women entrepreneurs to offer pragmatic takeaways on topics such as: Owning career choices while managing risk; Getting credit for your work; Managing sexual dynamics; and Recruiting allies in the movement toward a supportive workplace for everyone. Pragmatic, incisive, and full of highly actionable advice, Yesil prepares ambitious women to break glass ceilings and rise to the top in the New Silicon Valley--and beyond.
Author quotes
With this book I want to help the next generation of women look blithely past the poor odds to power UP and command the right to be in any room. I want to help you look beyond the gender statistics of the workplace and feel confident entering any of the technology related fields, but also prepared to deal with the challenges.
At the time I came of age in high tech there were so few women that we weren’t thinking about a political movement. We were doing what we needed to get work done in a man’s world.
Within each of us lies 100 percent of the capability needed to overcome the obstacles to any goal we set for ourselves. You are much more powerful than you think.
Powered-UP women become their own primary energy source; refuse to accept the rules as they are written; and never define themselves by gender or any other exclusion parameter or allow anyone else to do the same.
We can all Power-UP, no matter how low our beginnings or how big our challenges. Powering-UP beats all other alternatives. And when enough of us have powered up, we’ll just knock down the gates.
About the author
Magdalena Yesil is a founder, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist of many of the world's top technology companies, including Salesforce, where she was the first investor and founding board member. Her investing career started at US Venture Partners. She is a founder of Broadway Angels, an angel group of female investors. A technology pioneer, Yesil cofounded three companies dedicated to commercializing Internet access, e-commerce infrastructure, and electronic payments. UUnet, CyberCash, and MarketPay earned her the Entrepreneur of the Year title from Red Herring magazine. Her current company, DriveInformed, uses technology to bring trust and transparency to the auto finance industry.
Why LoA loves it….
Breaking into traditionally male-dominated business environments can be tough at the best of times, which is why we need role models who have been there and done it, on their own terms. Magdalena Yesil is one such powerful, pioneering role model, carving out her own, highly successful path in Silicon Valley’s notoriously tough business environment. Her book, Power-UP, offers really practical advice and inspiration for those women entrepreneurs looking to make their own mark in tough business sectors, giving an insight into how she overcame many of the challenges along the way. This is a great read for all those future women business and industry leaders who want to forge their own unique paths. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa