our
story.
because it's time for a
new era of leaders.
Tremendous social, political, environmental and economic forces have radically reshaped life as we knew it, and one thing is clear: Our world increasingly needs us to show up in a more human way.
It's time for a new era of leaders.
Leaders who demonstrate self-awareness, empowerment, high levels of emotional intelligence and a collaborative mindset. We believe that by embracing their innately feminine power, their "female factors" such as empathy, intuition and compassion, women will step up, leading our world for the better.
By giving future leaders access to the right connections, boosting their confidence levels, and enhancing their competencies, we are enabling women to seize opportunities, get their seat at the table and build a brighter tomorrow for all of us.
how the fu*k did we get here?
Becoming company leaders ourselves at a young age showed us the importance of not only taking responsibility for our own organizations and teams, but of looking beyond, to our impact as leaders and the difference one can make on society as a whole.
We considered ourselves lucky to get into these positions early on, but really, it took the confidence in ourselves and our skills and, of course, the willingness to work for it (a lot!). And above all: We wouldn't be where we are today without an empowering community, a diverse support network across industries & countries, and mentoring from more experienced leaders who opened up doors for us.
In 2019 we decided it's time for us to give back: Sharing our combined learnings of 20+ years of leadership experience with our community and giving them access to our strong network of opinion leaders and decision-makers. Our goal was and is to empower the next generation of female leaders to step into their superpower by connecting them with the people and resources needed to succeed.
The female factor is our extended, global inner circle of (future) female leaders, ready to support each other and shape a better world, together.
meet our kickass team.
Tanja Sternbauer
co-founder & head of community
Tanja is co-founder of the female factor, being mainly responsible for the community, marketing & branding.
Florian Braeuer
head of product
Flo is responsible for realizing our tech product and also supports in all topics around funding.
Louise Gelling
mentoring lead
Louise is handling all mentoring relations, being the first contact point for mentors and mentees alike.
Fridtjof Petersen
data analyst
Fridtjof's area is everything related to data analysis and research-based practice.
Shiny Dhas
talent intern
Shiny supports the HR team with the talent scouting and onboarding operations.
Kerstin Wagner
partnerships intern
Kerstin supports the partnerships team with everything related to our partner organizations.
Dorijan Dlaka
entrepreneur in residence
Dorijan's tasks mainly revolve around project development and strategy implementation.
Mahdis Gharaei
co-founder & head of partnerships
As a co-founder of the female factor, Mahdis is responsible for partnerships and connecting companies with female talents.
Lisa Ambros
partnerships lead
Lisa makes sure that our all partner organizations are happy and presented in the best light possible.
Paulina Kania
community partnership lead
Paulina is taking care of all community partnerships across the globe.
Kasia Potocka
success circle lead
Kasia is leading our success circles, ensuring knowledge-sharing between members.
Alina Guseinova
human resources intern
Alina currently screens potential candidates for job roles and trains new members of the community.
Elifnaz Kabalci
marketing intern
Elifnaz creates visual and textual content for all our channels ensuring our core values are communicated.
Megi Sklepic
human resources intern
Megi is busy with hiring processes, scouting for digital marketing & content marketing leads.
Maryna Kovalyova
community lead
Maryna is our member happiness officer, being the first contact point and problem solver of all our member requests and beyond.
Vera Grablechner
digital marketing lead
Vera's area is everything related to digital marketing at the female factor.
Veronica Sclauzero
mentoring support
Veronica makes sure our mentoring summer series is a success for all mentees and mentors.
Olena Kondratenko
project lead
Olena runs projects smoothly by managing plans, analyzing scope and conducting market research.
Anda Popat
entrepreneur-in-residence
Anda is involved in the operational side of business including research, development and strategy.
Anne Lassen
marketing intern
Anne supports our communications team as a marketing intern by creating content for all our channels.
Polina Sergeeva
partnerships & hr intern
Polina assists our partnership team as an internship trainee and is our b2b brand ambassador.
hi, this is us.
We are Mahdis & Tanja, the co-founders of the female factor.
Reach out to Tanja for everything related to community, mentoring, our membership & if you would like to apply for a job.
Mahdis is eager to talk to you about partnerships or if you would like to stop by in our beautiful office in Vienna to get to know us.