WoW Woman in Community Building | Emma Bates, CEO and co-founder of Diem
Emma Bates is the CEO & co-founder of Diem, a social platform for womxn-centric communities.
By trade, she’s a marketer and community builder. Her entry into marketing was somewhat untraditional, she started via growing a blog to 100k+ readers at age 19 and then transitioned into marketing some of the fastest-growing consumer brands. Most recently an early employee at D2C travel brand, Away.
Prior to Away and Diem, she headed up, creator network, Whalar’s, early community growth. Emma is also a passionate advocate for gender equity and equality. She is dedicated to making a positive social impact on the lives of women.
Diem is a network of social Spaces for womxn-centric communities and conversations. For womxn, Diem is a social knowledge sharing platform, one where you discover subject matter experts, like-minded womxn, brands & organizations. It's a place to join (or host) live events and communities – for any and every one of your interests. For brands, womxn-centric communities, clubs, subject matter experts, or organizations – Diem is a platform to cultivate true community, connect your audience with each other, and host events – all on one platform.
Emma, tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
My background is in brand marketing & partnerships. I’ve worked for both tech and consumer product companies to execute compelling marketing and partnership strategies, at the earliest stages. Most recently prior to Diem, I was a very early employee at Away where I led their early international marketing efforts before transitioning fully into brand partnerships. My passion lies in building communities – around brands, people and causes. That’s why I’m so excited to bring Diem into the world.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
It was a slightly unconventional entry! I was studying War Studies at King's College London and started a blog, which grew to a pretty substantial readership – I quickly realized I wasn't a big fan of the influencer life but really loved the creativity, marketing, and partnerships piece of it which is how I ended up in the marketing/start-up world. I wanted to understand how to build and grow my own business by working for early-stage businesses. Starting your own company (in a pandemic) certainly has its challenges but my passion for bringing Diem for the world has made it very easy to keep powering through!
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
I’m only 27 so I can’t say it took me too long. I always wanted to start my own business, and I knew I wanted it to be something that had a positive impact on a woman’s life. If I’m honest I would have done it sooner had immigration to the US not been such a lengthy & overwhelming feat. Biggest obstacle? It’s an obvious call out for any female founders but tech (and especially social platforms) is sooo male-heavy. While this doesn’t stifle my ability it certainly can be frustrating when you’re continuously underestimated in scenarios your male counterparts wouldn't be.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Starting Diem is one of my biggest achievements and getting into Techstars NYC Accelerator last year was pretty good too! We joined the program when we were 3 months into building Diem and it's been an incredible platform and support system to have since. Also proud of myself for moving countries age 22 - scary but one of the best choices I’ve made!
What are the projects you are currently working on?
Launching Diem! That's basically all I do right now. We're currently rolling out the platform to more communities in conjunction with Women's History Month and IWD.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
So so important! Not only from an equal funding perspective (which is literally ridiculous how unequal it is right now) but also it's so important to have women you can look up to in the industry and see yourself in. Right now women high up in tech are few and far between, and in the social platform world – it's basically non-existent. The more women in positions of leadership in tech the better for everyone.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
I believe that this is just the beginning of the community movement – as a community builder for most of my career, this is a very exciting prospect. I also believe that right now social platforms are not forms of normal communication, it's time to make social media actually social again! We're already seeing it start to trend this way.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Be prepared to be told no more than you're told yes. Define what's important to you & your vision for the world if (and when) you succeed. It helps to keep you going on a particularly bad day!
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Bozoma Saint John – as a marketer in tech, I'm super impressed by all her work.
Amber Atherton – a friend, advisor and investor in Diem. Formerly CEO at Zyper, recently acquired by Discord. Always impressed by all her work.
Reshma Saujani – founder of Girls Who Code, need I say more?!
Find out more about Diem on their website.
Follow Diem on Instagram.
Connect with Emma via her Instagram or LinkedIn.
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.