International Women’s Day Q&A with Rydoo VP of Sales, Sophie Vandriessche

Sophie Vandriessche, VP of Sales at Rydoo about International Women’s Day

• What does International Women’s Day mean to you personally?

Gender bias has been and still is present in our day-to-day world. This is a day where we can collectively reflect and agree the next step to assuring we build a society where we can develop ourselves and educate our children to be who we want to be, independent of gender.

• How can we encourage and inspire younger women to embark on a career in FinTech?

Digitalisation is omnipresent in all aspects of the business environment, and FinTech clearly brings the digital evolution to the responsibility of the business, as opposed to solely to the IT department. This leads to a clear ROI outline, not only for CFO’s, but for all end users within a company. FinTech develops and deploys solutions that impact the entire company. And having this holistic understanding and impact is exciting to work on!

• Which women in the FinTech industry inspire you, and why?

Tracy Garley, CEO of GoFundHer, as she is leading the crowdfunding platform that is inspiring women throughout the world to go and pursue their business dreams. Imagine how each of these women are equally inspiring their children, families and fellow citizens!

• What pieces of advice have you picked up over the years that have helped develop your career?

Every single day, we can make a difference if we believe, commit and go for it. We can reinvent the way we bring impact every single day.

• What advice would you pass on to the next generation of women in FinTech to help with their careers?

Much of the bias is unconscious and when starting in FinTech, we should not be influenced by ‘what has been’. We have to focus on how FinTech can improve how people connect, collaborate and continue to improve.