UCLA Marketing Expert Finds Niche in Tech Industry

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Startup fever 

After more than seven years at Yahoo, Audenaert caught the startup fever. “I wanted to build something for myself from the bottom up,” she said. 

Her next move was creating JumpTime, a business optimization platform for media companies and marketers, with three other co-founders. While running a startup was new to Audenaert, she found that she thrived in the fast-paced environment. “I always look for the chance to build something new, to grow something within a company, and to motivate people,” she explained. 

While handling the business and operations end of JumpTime, Audenaert simultaneously sought out venture capitalist firms for investment. During these meetings, she became aware of the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated sector. 

Although she had admittedly not developed the imposter syndrome — a feeling of self-doubt by high-achieving individuals who are afraid of  being uncovered as an unqualified fraud —  Audenaert encountered difficulty initially in garnering interest in JumpTime and Favrit, another startup she founded. 

“As a woman approaching the venture capital community, you’re more of the exception than the rule in an industry that likes to live off habits,” she explained. “Some investors aren’t used to seeing women in leadership.” 

Solving the pipeline problem 

Despite the challenges she has faced as an entrepreneur, Audenaert does not see being a woman in the tech world as a liability. “I don’t want to assume that being female will be an issue,” she said. “My mindset is that I am a woman, and I can take on anything.” 

Audenaert enjoys working at the rapidly growing Udacity because she is able to utilize her experience in digital marketing and education while enjoying the benefits of a startup culture. Similar to Yahoo, the company makes an effort to ensure that women feel welcomed in the workplace. However, the effort at this startup is more conscious, Audenaert explained, with Udacity ensuring that women are fairly represented both in hiring demographics and leadership positions. 

Udacity’s mission of democratizing education by providing the tools to learn important technical skills also ties into what Audenaert sees as the solution to the “pipeline problem.” 

“When you have certain students being directed to one path of non-STEM over a path of STEM, it’s important to offer students a connection to the world of technology by providing easy access to ongoing tech education, whether it’s through scholarship, mentorship, or outreach at conferences,” Audenaert said.

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