Creating an inclusive, diverse workplace is becoming an increasing area of focus for organizations big and small. Many understand that joining today’s calls for fairer opportunities and a more equal world is the right thing to do. But how many truly realize the tremendous business opportunity that a more inclusive, diverse and gender-balanced environment brings? The more diverse a business culture, the more enabled that business becomes in understanding different global needs, identifying opportunities for growth and fostering innovation. Women make up half of the world’s intelligence—representing more than half of its university graduates and influencing 60 to 70 percent of today’s consumer spend. So, tapping into this talent pool is a no-brainer for any business seeking to better respond to a rapidly evolving customer base and drive long-term growth. Real-life data confirms undeniably the link between gender diversity and better business results: A study conducted in 2019 by Korn Ferry, a global consulting firm, showed a 15 percent spike in profitability at companies where the number of women in corporate leadership roles rose by up to a third. In 2018, global leadership consultancy firm DDI showed that companies with at least 30 percent gender diversity overall—and more than 20 percent at senior level—outperformed less-diverse peers. As a leader in a Fortune 500 company in the midst of its own massive business transformation, I see firsthand the positive impact of promoting greater inclusion and diversity in the workplace. At Philip Morris International (PMI), we are working to create a smoke-free future, where cigarettes are replaced by better, scientifically substantiated smoke-free alternatives for the millions of adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke. And we know that to achieve this vision—to unlock the innovation and creativity needed to transform our business—we need an inclusive work environment where everyone can thrive and a culture that welcomes diverse skills, perspectives and ways of thinking. We’ve chosen to focus our efforts on a dimension of diversity where we could have the greatest immediate impact: increasing the representation of women in our management ranks. Our aim is to increase the number of women in management roles to at least 40 percent by 2022 across the company. We’ve already raised the proportion by 6 percentage points, to 36 percent, since 2014—but we know there’s still more work to be done. How do we go about this work? Well, firstly, by realizing that greater equality in the workplace is not a mere “box-ticking” exercise. It requires commitment from all levels of leadership and clear targets that go far beyond increasing the number of women we hire. It’s also about our shared responsibility as business leaders to change attitudes and shape workplace culture. We go about this in a number of ways, including by walking the talk on equality and equal opportunity, normalizing flexible work arrangements to enable employees to achieve a better work-life balance and encouraging diversity of opinions and perspectives in our day-to-day work and conversations. Another lesson we’ve learned along the way is that there are no silver-bullet solutions—taking incremental steps is necessary. For example, at PMI we decided that a pivotal step in our efforts for greater gender balance was to confirm our commitment to equal pay as the baseline measure of equality. As a result, following a rigorous process, we became the first multinational company to be globally EQUAL-SALARY certified, an achievement we’re all proud of. As part of this effort, we’ve engaged in robust conversations for 18 months with our female employees about the way they perceive management’s commitment to equality issues so as to better understand how the company can perform better. There’s still some way to go until inclusion and diversity become corporate norms, not exceptions. An important first step is acknowledging that the more inclusive and diverse our workplace is, the more we’ll succeed in driving innovation and business growth. From there follows the continued commitment and responsibility we have as business leaders to affect positive change by nurturing truly inclusive and diverse teams.

My name is Eugeny Voytishek and I’m a commercial director for software development company Magora. In my work, I’ve had plenty of chances to see how some startups achieve major success while others turn to dust. I’m going to share with you my observations on those company owners who’ve made it to the top. Firstly, all of them spent the lion’s share of their time on the crystallization of the great idea. How to choose a working concept Is there a problem nobody has ever managed to solve? The first step: think back – have you ever been disappointed while in need of something?Take, for example, the inventor of self-opening tins, who was upset with the lack of a can-opener at a picnic. Or the paper cuffs you see on coffee cups in Starbucks and McDonalds. Without them you would have burned yourself drinking hot coffee on the go, right? The guy who realized this and introduced the cuffs became a billionaire. Now it’s high time for inventions using AR/VR technologies. Improve something that existsThere may be a solution to the problem but it’s too expensive, slow or uncomfortable to use. If so, make it better! Think of Coursera and other online education platforms. They managed to make high-level education affordable and popularise science with their online project. Can you think about how to improve existing solutions with the help of image recognition, voice search, and virtual assistants? Train your creativityAnother approach to inventing things is to train your creativity with a new way of doing something or by doing the same thing with the help of a new product. A good example of such an approach is the Amazon book shop, which has become a world leader in e-commerce and now sells everything. What about creating a virtual fitting room with 3D models of clothes? I suppose you’re late to the party with this invention but keep thinking! Last resort: go to a crowdfunding platform and look at the most promising ideas. Interest expressed by a lot of people is a guarantee of market potential for such a product or service. The app cases I’ve chosen are “Rent anything you want” and “Trade on Youtube”. Test out your ideaOnce you’ve come upon with an idea, test it. Whilst being relevant and desirable, it should also include unique features that no other digital product on the market has. Ask yourself these questions: Do people really need it? Do you provide the best solution? What is your unique selling advantage? Is the idea protected from repetition by the law, know-how or location? Ask your friends and colleagues if the problem you’ve found bothers them and if they’re inclined to use your solution. It’s even easier to do so via social networks since you can make a survey and reach a wider target audience. Assess the market Understanding the market is necessary both in terms of knowing your competitors and of being able to predict revenues. I would divide the stages of market assessment into 3 tech startup: Sales prediction Do a rough sales estimation by multiplying the average consumption by the number of potential users and decrease your amount based on the number of substitutes. Market conditions Once you’ve assessed how many people are likely to like your product or to use similar solutions offered by your competitors, it’s time to find out precisely what reasons affect their choice and to assess the number of potential loyal clients.CompetitorsA very important stage of market analysis in the making of a competitor map. You need to know who’s number 1, 2 and 3 in your field, what their market shares are, what they offer and what you can do to turn their customers into your loyal clients. A great instrument to use is SWOT analysis, which reveals your competitors’ stronger and weaker points. Go through this test to assess your readiness for the serious business of creating a tech startup. Develop your app The final stage of your tech project will be to test an MVP on real customers. Do this as soon as possible after having completed all the other stages. However, you have to be ready to face the fact that things might not work out on the first attempt, or at least not sparkle as much as you expected. In this case, analyze what you did wrong, continue polishing your idea and try again. Finally, the last step: develop your app. Luckily, at this point, professional developers like Magora have got your back. About the Author Eugeny Voytishek is the Commercial Director at Magora Developer. In this post, Eugeny shares his experience in how to start a winning tech startup in 2019.