1. MAY 2015 FASTCOMPANY.CO.ZA 55
Next M Y WAY
LadyWillpower
LYNETTE HUNDERMARK IS PROOF
THAT A WOMAN WORKING IN TECH
DOES NOT MEAN JUST SITTING IN
THE CORNER, CODING
Go, go, gadget girl
Hundermark says she
is a geek at heart
who lives and
breathes mobile.
By Jamie Langeveldt
The scarcity of women
in the technology sector,
both locally and abroad,
is well documented. The
key to females making
giant strides in this sector
is through trusting their
abilities and not being
intimidated by their
immediate environments,
believes Lynette
Hundermark, co-founder
and chief product officer
of Useful & Beautiful
(U&B), a boutique South
African company that
delivers engaging mobile
experiences.
This powerful role
model in technology
encourages other women
to do what they are
passionate about. “It took
me a year longer to have
the courage to do what I
am doing. I was afraid of
failure; I looked out and
only saw men doing it. I
had to take that leap of
faith and go with it and
trust that I could do it. Yes,
there are loads of men—
but once you reach out to
them, they are actually
very encouraging and
supportive, and welcome
entrepreneurs of all
genders. Perseverance
and consistency is the
key,” she adds.
Hundermark feels that
women should not shy
away from entering the
tech sector. “Females in
particular seem to think
that working in tech
means you have to be a
geek in the corner, coding.
While sometimes it may
start out that way (I was
one of those geeks in the
corner for almost eight
years), it certainly does
not have to stay that way.
Tech is wonderful,
dynamic and so full of
progress. If you are willing
to embrace it, there are
no limits to what you can
achieve,” she told
WomeninTechZA.
As an expert tech
commentator and opinion
leader, Hundermark is
making her mark (excuse
the pun) in the world of
digital marketing. She
co-founded U&B with
George Reed while they
worked at Prezence
Digital, creating mobile
solutions for big brands
such as Ster-Kinekor,
Leisure Books, Old Mutual,
General Electric and
bidorbuy.
The company creates
mobile apps and mobi
sites that are tailored
specifically for the African
market. “We believe that
by being focused on the
mobile space, we can
offer this premium expert
service to our clients.
“U&B combines the
best of creative and
technology expertise
to create products that
are both ‘useful’ and
‘beautiful’ to the person
using them, and to the
business that has invested
in them,” Hundermark
explains. The name was
inspired by a quote by
English designer and
poet, William Morris:
“Have nothing in your
house that you do not
know to be useful, or
believe to be beautiful.”
Or in this case, on your
mobile.
She dedicates a large
part of her time to clients.
“I work very closely with
clients or businesses to
help them understand
how mobile can fit into
their current processes.
I spend a lot of time
understanding my clients’
needs, challenges and
objectives so that I can
empower them with a
mobile strategy that
not only fits their target
market’s needs but also
adds value to their
business. I also make
sure their mobile strategy
fits in with their overall
business strategy so that
mobile is not treated as
a silo,” she notes.
Hundermark’s decision
to bootstrap her business
has contributed to
shaping who she is as a
female entrepreneur,
she says. “It’s taught
me responsibility and
made me very ‘street-
aware’ businesswise
when it comes to
managing budgets,
cash flow, expenses
and accountability. It
has helped me learn the
true value of things, and
I have definitely grown
in character—more so
in the last nine months
than I ever did while
working at a corporate
for 15 years,” she adds.
She believes every
woman needs a role model
who can help guide and
inspire her. That is why she
is involved in a variety of
mentorship programmes
that aim to build a greater
community of passionate
people—particularly
women—in the tech and
mobile field.
She is also a firm
believer in networking
with other females, and
is a member of the
recently founded VOICES
Female Networking Club
that officially launched
in April. It gives women
a platform to ‘find their
voice’ and to make them
visible to the business
world. “What is so lovely
about VOICES is that it
isn’t limited to a particular
sector; women can come
together from all fields
and chat. Some
organisations are quite
industry-specific, which
is not a bad thing but,
for someone like me
who is an expert in my
field, who is around
tech people all the time,
it is much better for me
development-wise to
be among individuals
from other sectors to
learn about other
industries, challenges,
highs and lows, and to
be inspired by other
women in other fields,”
she notes.
“IT IS MUCH BETTER FOR ME DEVELOPMENT-WISE
TO BE AMONG INDIVIDUALS FROM OTHER SECTORS TO
LEARN ABOUT OTHER INDUSTRIES, CHALLENGES,
HIGHS AND LOWS”