The programme was a great opportunity to acquire knowledge about founding and to meet other interesting female founders. The exchange with the other participants and the mutual encouragement gave me a boost. I had the feeling that I wasn't alone with my thoughts. There was also a lot of input from the many workshops, which took away my fear of this enormous challenge of founding a company, as I now knew what I still had to do and how I could go about it. My awareness has changed for the better since then, my self-esteem has grown greatly thanks to the encouragement of others and I am now more courageous to tackle things.

Unfortunately, it is still the case that women often think they are fighting alone! I was therefore primarily interested in getting help with my start-up and becoming part of a network of great women. EXIST Women offers great opportunities here. The connection between the fellow scholarship holders was really beneficial and enriching, we exchanged ideas and if anyone needed help, it was always offered.

The Exist Women programme is a successful mix of financial support, practical workshops, methodological knowledge and personal reflection. It has not only helped me develop professionally, but also personally. The mentoring and workshops were particularly helpful, providing me with many practical approaches and methods to build up my self-employment in a targeted and step-by-step manner. The dialogue with other participants was inspiring and motivating. I found the opportunity to talk about challenges in a protected environment particularly valuable. Since then, I feel stronger and more confident in my planning and role as a self-employed person.