How SeenCulture’s Nikki Tugano navigated a capital-raising ecosystem built for men

Talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not.

For so long I’d been a believer in nurture over nature. That as long as I had the right mindset and tenacity I would go far, and I would make a difference. Surely my gender or physical appearance would hold no weight. I didn’t (past tense) believe in quotas. I wanted to be recognised and rewarded for my competence, my perspective, and my expertise. Not for being a ‘young Asian woman’. I wanted to be seen for who I am on the inside, not what I look like on the outside. The optimist in me took a heavy hit. 

Amongst my fellow founder peers, I had a great pace. Last year, we even got awarded the “speedy startup” in Australia. But I’m embarrassed to admit, I actually forgot just how far back from the starting line I started. Yes, we were making great traction, landing big customers, yet I was still crashing on my friends’ couch, living off snacks provided in the office and grazing platters at free networking events. We had all the speed, but I was running the wrong race, someone else’s race. 

I was running in the men’s division

I was told, “you need to act like a middle-aged white man. A rich American who went to MIT”. My emotions had never been more tested. On the inside I was screaming “Are you f*cking serious?”. In Adam Grants’ words, I wanted to ‘logic bully’ him about the Dunning-Kruger effect and unconscious bias. How we mistake confidence for competence. How I didn’t want to play by his rules. How I wanted to play by my own rules. Run my own race. But instead, I said, “I think there’s a fundamental incongruence between my values and your advice”.

The days I get those comments are becoming fewer. But I still hear, read, and feel them. 

After being selected for Techstars, an unsuccessful founder said about me: “I honestly couldn’t have dreamed up a better example of incompetence”. 

Sure, on a cognitive level I knew I deserved my place. But did it still hurt? Ashamedly, yes. Did it fuel my conviction to show him how wrong he was? 1000% yes. 

I’m grateful more evolved thinkers are moving us forward. We even report on the gender pay gap now (thank you, WGEA). As a startup founder passionate about closing the gender pay gap, you can imagine my anticipation for the report. The problem is now not only known to me and other people leaders. It’s known to the public. Organisations are both legally liable AND socially obliged to close the gap. 

The ripple effect of investing in women

I’ve had a tricky journey navigating the capital raising process in an ecosystem built for men, where less than 1% of startups get funded, only 3% of that funding goes to women, 0.7% goes to sole women founders, and 0.05% goes to women of colour. Let’s just say, the odds haven’t been in my favour.

The very problem I’ve set out to solve is the very problem I’d been experiencing as a startup founder raising capital. How do I close the gender pay gap when the gender funding gap is so much worse?

And the very people I’ve been pitching for investment exemplify the problem. When asked, “what problem are you solving?” I couldn’t very well say: “You. You’re the problem I’m solving”.

Following the release of last week’s gender pay gap report by WGEA, SeenCulture hosted an International Women’s Day event to discuss solutions and the ripple effect of investing in women.

Nikki Tugano is the founder and CEO of SeenCulture. If you want to invest in closing the gender funding gap or gender pay gap, contact her directly.