Jen Linton, Fenris Founder and CEO, is defying the odds. This startup veteran is part of only a small group of women who have launched multiple tech companies successfully. In fact, Built In reports that in 2016, women only received about 2% of total investor funding, and women-led businesses made up just 4.9% of all VC deals (1).
At Fenris Jen isn’t the only female leader breaking the glass ceiling. In an industry where 72% of women in tech are outnumbered by men in business meetings by at least a 2:1 ratio (2). Women make up 40% of the Fenris workforce including department heads of Marketing, Lorena Hathaway and Customer Success, Heather Rubesch. Having worked in software pre-sales and product marketing for several decades both Rubesch and Hathaway know what it is like to be the only women in the room working in tech. Both sought out a female led company in their choice to join Fenris. “In my 25 year professional career almost entirely in software, I have never worked for a female CEO. Jen’s track record of successful startup launches along with Fenris’ impressive product offerings were the icing on the cake” said Rubesch who joined Fenris this month to head the Customer Success team.
Senior Software Engineer Mary O’Neal also represents a significant role for a woman at Fenris since according to Pew Research only 14% of software engineers are female (3). “I truly feel lucky to be part of Fenris Digital. From a technology standpoint we have a great platform.” O’Neal said when asked about her experience at Fenris.
“I am excited to have the guidance and leadership from Jen Linton. She is no doubt a very smart leader. Our technology is high-caliber, and our team is growing. This is going to be a great year for Fenris. I am happy to belong to a very open and high-performance team” said Lorena Hathaway who joined Fenris beginning of February.
(1) https://builtin.com/women-tech/women-in-tech-workplace-statistics
(2) Trust Radius Women in Tech 2021 report
(3) https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/09/7-facts-about-the-stem-workforce/