What we can learn from the drive and enthusiasm of Dame Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley

Season 2, Episode 18,   Sep 28, 2021, 06:00 AM

When tech entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley started her software business in the 1960s she had trouble getting noticed. People (men) would ignore her letters. So she decided to sign them off 'Steve Shirley' instead. It got her noticed, and the nickname stuck.

That's only one chapter in her truly remarkable story (read it all in her autobiography Let It Go). 

5 year old Stephanie Shirley arrived in the UK without her parents on a Kindertransport train from Viena, escaping Nazi Europe. The trauma of her childhood has shaped her life and is the reason for all her achievements, 

"I'm a survivor. I'm also a patriot. I love this country with a passion that only someone who has lost their human rights can feel. My childhood has driven my personality, driven my life and continues to do so. That is where the resilience comes from."
Listen to our conversation to find out how she has always used that drive to champion the achievements of other women, to encourage them to put themselves out there and make money. 

Also hear Steve's thoughts on 
  • public speaking
  • marketing a persuasion
  • happiness
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