Creating Sis Ventures: the story of a social impact enterprise

Tell us a bit about your background. How have you been breaking the law in your legal career?

I never considered myself a lawyer, not even after working as a lawyer for a long time. It had always felt a little off, like a path that someone else chose for me or that I took as there were no better options. I appreciated it but I remember always feeling the disconnection between my soul and my work. 

Once I realised that I am lit up by creating solutions to change lives, the pieces of the puzzle started to slot together. I realized that my passion, work and studies in the intersection of law, people, leadership, legal services, legal technology and social impact make sense and that clarity on the importance of empathy, emotional intelligence and creativity went alongside this. This led to my calling to create and advocate for social justice. So I am a lawyer in a sense, as long as it is used alongside other definitions of what I do, like that of a law breaker!

I have been breaking the law in the world of social justice firstly by developing client-centric and accessible legal services and innovative legal products in my own law practice. I then created and worked on a legal technology product that evolved into document automation platform Contract Mill, which enables the creation of client-centric and scalable legal services. Now I am entering into the space of social impact in building Sis Ventures, a holistic and empowering incubator for immigrant women that leverages legal design and legal technology. 

What drove you to create Sis Ventures?

Although the idea for Sis Ventures crystallised suddenly, I had been thinking about it for some time. I had been working with refugees and immigrants on a volunteer basis for some time and based on my limited experience, I began to notice the lack of women entrepreneurs and those involved in incubator programs. I did more research and talked to different people around the world and realised that this was a valid observation. Traditional incubators that focus on incubating the business idea and finding product-market fit leave women with immigrant backgrounds out of the programs. They therefore need specific attention to be able to participate and have a seat at the table.

An important step in the creation process was to have my friend Satu Elo as a co-founder to Sis Ventures. It made all the difference to have a partner to work with. Also, we come from very different backgrounds and experiences and that interdisciplinary approach is exactly what is needed.

This is by far the most challenging initiative I have worked on and I am very open about my shortcomings in this space. We do not pretend to know the answers to all the questions, rather we practice curiosity and empathy and co-create the solutions together with the women and stakeholders to make sure that we are solving the right problems in the right way. And the point is of course not to do this alone but to build open co-operation between all parties. 

What challenges did you encounter along the way and how did you overcome these?

It is challenging in that there are not really any ready made paths to follow. It feels like we are in unchartered territory, which is both inspiring and terrifying at the same time. Combining different elements like creating a sustainable business model for a social impact enterprise (rather than making this a non-profit one-time project) and working with and for women in the male-dominated space of entrepreneurship and accelerators seems often overwhelming. My solution to the overwhelming situations is to take one step at a time and to reach out to people to get support and advice. And there’s plenty of wonderful people that are willing to give their support and advice, everyday we keep finding more of them! 

How did being part of She Breaks The Law community help you create the initiative?

SBTL has had a very significant role in the creation of Sis Ventures. It was only a few days after I had come up with the original idea that I put my courage jacket on and posted the idea to the SBTL group that had just been created maybe few weeks or even days earlier. It was really raw and unfinished, just the shell of an idea. I was so vulnerable and it was scary as hell! But I received so much support, encouragement and also women to sign-up to help, that I got the burst of confidence and energy I needed to take the next steps and push forward. I am really grateful and happy for the support the SBTL community gave me and continues to give me and I make sure that I will pay it forward.

It is now three months after that first post and there’s already a small team working on Sis Ventures, a company incorporated around the idea, we have our first co-creation event with a women group coming up next week, we have had client meetings and made our first offer, we are forming partnerships, have joined global networks, are getting ready to pitch for investors etc etc. So it is really happening. 

What is your vision for the future of Sis Ventures and how can She Breaks The Law community continue to help you?

Our goal is to build a replicable incubator concept that can be taken to other countries as well as developing countries. We invite everyone who is interested to cooperate, because together we can do much more and go further. I am always up for a discussion so do reach out if this work resonates with you.

On a more actionable note, if someone in the SBTL community is looking for a concrete legal design project to work on or is interested in exploring opportunities to extend the incubator concept in their own country just let me know and let’s talk. And of course we’re looking for funding, so leads in that field are welcome as well.

Any words of wisdom for fellow SBTL creators?

My advice is to take action when the idea hits you, no matter how small the first step is, just take it and trust the process. Most of the ideas do not go anywhere and that is fine, but every once in a while you get that one idea that can move the needle for both you and the world.

This article is part of the She Creates series of She Breaks the Law. She Breaks the Law is a global network of women leaders who are disrupting, breaking the mould and challenging the norm in the world of law.