Milan, Calabiana Campus. On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11, the Talent Garden community organized a brilliant interview with two women in the world of technology: Imen Jane and Alice Melocchi.
We were there and listened to their stories. We have collected them for you in this article, to offer you a source of information, but above all inspiration. The two young women come from totally different backgrounds: Imen Jane from economics and Alice Melocchi from pharma.
Imen Jane
Imen Boulahrajane, born in 1994, is a popularizer and economist active on Instagram since 2018. Today she has over 290,000 followers, a number that appears even more surprising if you think that the content she offers in her Instagram stories is purely economic and political.
You’ve probably come across some of his speeches and interviews on radio and TV, or in his short but very effective explanations on Instagram on topics that are not exactly easy, such as Brexit or the government crisis.
Dal personal branding alla startup
The big news and turning point for Imen was the decision to undertake an all-round editorial project in the technological world, decreeing the transition from personal branding to startup. Thus, together with Alessandro Tommasi, he created Will_Ita (a page that already has 117,000 followers at the moment).
The very first launch post of Will_Ita was an experiment, with an interview in which some people are asked for their opinion on the meaning of “will”.
This post is the emblem of the heterogeneity of the profiles with which Will_Ita wants to interface: men, young people, women, the elderly, it makes no difference when it comes to information .
In addition to the simple like, the participation of all types of people emerges, from housewives to graduates who ask us for information and ideas, because the difference for us lies in the numerous interactions of people who write to us daily.
Imen Boulahrajan
Women, between politics and social networks
Surveys state that women read little about topics related to economics and politics. “Will” has managed to go against the trend by managing to reach a female target with contents of economic information and international affairs.
This was a wonderful way to allow them to approach these issues, thanks to a tool (social networks) that women know very well. We have gone to a territory where women are already present, rather than implementing the reverse process, that is, bringing them into our space”.
Imen Boulahrajan
Non-traditional information
That of “Will” does not want to be Tunisia Mobile Number List niche information addressed only to educated people, smart young people who usually get informed, because the target does not exist. “The goal – explains Jane – is to give value to both the virtual and the real, through interaction and mutual enrichment, overcoming the concept of information brought down from above. Instead, it is a dialogue between people”.
The reason why so many choose to follow Will can be summed up in one English word: empowerment . To make a great impression at school, at work, at dinner with friends or relatives.
Will’s followers are really very active and the page grew in the first month without any sponsorship, but simply by leveraging the community that the influencer had personally built and also thanks to word of mouth. “We are aware that we have a very strong social responsibility,” concluded Imen.
Alice Melocchi
Co-Founder & CSO of Multiply Labs , Alice told us about her incubation experience in the United States, thanks to her successful startup in a high-level field, such as pharmaceutical technologies. Pharmacy degrees and a doctorate allowed her to spend nearly a year overseas at MIT , in the chemical engineering department.
Alice Melocchi
“In 2013 in the USA we began to talk about 3D printing ”, says Alice, who had the idea of overcoming the obstacle of injection molding, typically used in the pharmaceutical industry, in favor of a rapid prototyping system instead, more versatile and less expensive, like 3D printing. This system would have allowed the creation of capsules divided into compartments inside.
Back in Italy to finish her doctorate, she was able to continue working on this project, thanks to a university research grant.
It could have become a business project to all intents and purposes. At the time in Italy there was not much talk of startups, while in America it was already an established reality.
Alice Melocchi
Thanks above all to the entrepreneurial drive Hong Kong lead of what would later become her co-founder, a robotic engineer, she managed to propose the patent for this project, which was fortunately approved.
It all started with a bet, a game, but then it went on in an unexpected way.
Alice Melocchi
the startup
However, as in any business project, there were obstacles: they had started with the idea of 3D printing, but during the construction they realized that some types of process were not productive enough and therefore here they implemented a strategy “disruptive” , thus returning to injection molding, the traditional one.
A robotic system
Both protagonists of the evening, Imen and Alice, agree on the fact that sometimes the obstacles can seem insurmountable, but a change of perspective is enough to identify in everything that is a difficulty, the possibility of growth. This path is almost never linear, but often presents risks.
