Asian Entrepreneur interviews Marija Butkovic for Women on Top in Tech

(Women on Top in Tech is a series about Women Founders, CEOs, and Leaders in technology. It aims to amplify and bring to the fore diversity in leadership in technology.)

Today’s interview is with Marija Butkovic. Marija Butkovic is a business, PR and marketing consultant who has worked across a range of projects in different industry sectors, including legal, journalism, IoT, tech and fashion.

She is a co-founder of Kisha Smart Umbrella – a wearable tech startup behind the
world’s smartest fashion tech umbrella, and Women of Wearables – an initiative that
supports, connects and empowers women in wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT and
VR/AR. In both businesses, she also performs the role of a digital marketer and PR
strategist.

What makes you do what you do?

I always wanted to create an impact, not only for myself and people I’m close with but for a much bigger community. It took me some time to find a perfect project/idea that clicks all the boxes, but then again, nothing is perfect, it only has to be perfect for us, right? Entrepreneurship was a way to go for me. It allows me to be creative which is a must-have in anything I do, whilst bringing diversity in my everyday life. I would say that anyone who has the itch to challenge a status quo and change things, needs to try his or hers luck as an entrepreneur. I honestly believe that our future can and will be changed by entrepreneurs.

How did you rise in the industry you are in?

I started my professional journey as a lawyer and wasn’t involved in the tech industry at all for many years. In 2013 I became a startup mentor in one of Croatian startup incubators as well as a tech journalist. This allowed me to gradually switch from more traditional legal background to a tech one. As many entrepreneurs, I never felt strong enough to take a plunge and leave my day job for something less stable and risky. And then I moved to London (2014). My team and I set up our business Kisha and created world’s first smart fashion tech umbrella which got me into the world of the wearable tech industry. At that point, I was hooked and I knew my journey is definitely set to be entrepreneurial one. While working in Kisha, I soon realized how wearable tech industry suffers from a lack of women, not only female founders, but also product and UX designers, smart textile designers, and entrepreneurs in general. At this point, my co-founder Michelle Hua and I decided to change something which was the very reason we founded Women of Wearables (or just WoW). Women of Wearables aims to inspire, support and connect women in wearables, IoT, fashion tech and AR/VR industries. We are not only building a community of women in these industries and connecting them with each other, but we are also offering support, mentorship, workshops and visibility.  So far, the interest has been overwhelming with women from India, US, UK, Canada, UK and many other countries in Europe and Asia.

Why did you take on this role/start this startup especially since this is perhaps a stretch or challenge for you (or viewed as one since you are not the usual leadership demographics)?

In full honesty, I somehow cannot imagine myself working only on one single project at the moment. 9-5 working hours was never my thing. Yes, this means that as a startup founder you have to be prepared for endless to-do lists, wearing multiple hats, as well as many sleepless nights, but it goes with the territory and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Read the whole interview on the Asian Entrepreneur here.