Named the 6th Most Influential BAME tech leader by the FT, June Angelides is an early stage investor at Samos Investments. She also founded a social enterprise, Mums in Technology, which was the first child-friendly coding school in the UK. She actively mentors founders and is on the Board Advisor of Cajigo App, which connects young girls to mentors.
Who is your digital hero?
My digital hero is Rav Bumbra. She is the founder of Cajigo App, which helps more women enter and progress in the technology industry. The concept of the app is for senior leaders in industry to mentor women by sharing experiences and provide guidance to develop skills with actionable results
What has she done to win hero status in your eyes?
I personally know the impact a mentor can have on your career trajectory and I wish I had been given the opportunity to meet more role models at an earlier age.
She has built an incredible community of digital leaders who are mentors on the platform and is working with schools and universities to reach girls at the point in their lives where they are most likely to drop out of pursuing a career in technology because of lack of representation in their classrooms.
How has her heroism helped drive digital?
The problem itself is a huge one. According to PWC, only 16% of females have had a career in technology suggested to them. By going into schools and helping the teachers help the students, she is changing mindsets and opening up opportunities these young girls probably didn’t know they had.
They suddenly have female role models and male allies and sponsors in the tech sector that they can speak to on the app and learn about what subjects they chose, how they navigated perhaps being the only woman on their course and how they progressed in their careers.
This information matters. And the more they are exposed to successful tech leaders that look like them, the more likely they will stay the course and pursue a career in technology. Rav has inspired me so much over the years with her passion and kindness. I couldn’t think of a better person to drive this company and mission forward.
What is the biggest challenge in digital we need another hero to solve?
I personally think the next big challenge is around privacy and misinformation. There are some incredible companies looking at this already like Metomic.
In a world with excessive amounts of information, there needs to be more accountability and responsibility on digital publishing houses to ensure vulnerable members of society are not taken advantage of.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
My most heroic personal achievement would have to be starting a coding school for mums, Mums in Tech, while on maternity leave at Silicon Valley Bank. I did this with zero coding experience but with a very helpful tech community behind me, guiding and encouraging me.
Over 3 years I ran 12 programmes and taught over 250 women all things digital, including modules on product, UX, Agile, HTML, CSS and Javascript. It really taught me that we are all capable of learning anything in the right environment, with the right resources. Many of our alumni went on to be developers and built great companies and that makes me really proud.
