What do you do and what is it about your job that gets you out of bed in the morning?
I am a Commercial Lawyer in Onfido’s legal team. This means that I help negotiate some of our largest deals, as well as helping with “business as usual” matters and also exciting strategy projects.
Being a lawyer in a tech scale up is fast paced and varied - no day is the same. The Tech world is a constantly evolving place and laws and regulations are changing to keep up with the rapid movement. From Product regulation, to expansion strategies, to new ways of working in a post-COVID world, there is never a dull moment!
The main thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is the brilliant team that I work with. My colleagues are intelligent, inspiring and supportive. I’m also very fortunate that, in the Legal Team, I have lots of women role models guiding the team who are complete trailblazers. They lead through their values and this then filters its way throughout the team. As a result, we are a collaborative team who are all ready to get “stuck in” and help each other as much as possible.
Another reason that I love working with Onfido is the encouragement that I’m given to excel in my professional growth. Due to Onfido’s leadership position in the IDV field, I have been asked to speak at multiple legal conferences about our industry-leading legal innovation and our implementation of legal technology. Thanks to our Legal Operations team, we now have a wealth of data at our fingertips to show the impact that the legal team is having on the business as a whole, and that tangible data excites me. This also means that I’ve been fortunate enough to grow my network hugely and it is now filled with inspiring women from many different fields, but especially tech.
How did you get to where you are today?
I got to where I am today by having encouragement and support from very inspiring people. My biggest cheerleader was, and still is, my mother. She was born with Spina Bifida and has faced myriad challenges in her life, but has always overcome them. She taught me that anything can be achieved with passion, perseverance and a positive outlook. Not only that, she always sought for ways to encourage me to pursue my dreams. She’s the best!
I’ve also been lucky to have teachers and mentors who have provided a guiding hand. All of them have been amazing at helping me believe in myself more than I would have done on my own. A support network is something I have always valued and feel grateful to have always had.
I also wouldn’t be where I am today without a huge helping of curiosity and an enormous amount of hard work!
What is the most important lesson you have learned along the way?
There have been so many important lessons (listening to my intuition more, having patience, remembering that downs always come with ups…), but the lesson helping me the most at the moment is remembering to nurture my relationships.
These are both my professional and personal relationships. I’m a firm believer that all relationships require effort from both sides. Reminding people of their importance to you, and how they have helped you, comes with so many benefits. Connection is very important to me, as is authenticity. When you can build out your network from these authentic places, incredible opportunities arise.
What's your pitch to CEOs in the identity space? What do you suggest they START / STOP / CONTINUE doing and why?
START: CEOs should implement diversity and inclusion initiatives that go beyond just hiring women. Companies should actively promote a culture of inclusion by providing equal opportunities for all employees - this should shape their values and run through the veins of the company rather than be a tick box exercise, and should start at the hiring stage. I believe that we need to encourage more women to get into technology. To do this, companies need to take proactive steps to create an inclusive workplace culture. By doing so, companies can attract and retain top talent from diverse backgrounds and ensure their long-term success in the technology industry.
CONTINUE: CEOs should continue to collaborate with clients to receive feedback and input about products and services that enhance user experience in identity, and which also will enable companies to implement methods to capture ever-evolving methods of fraud. I would also encourage CEOs to continue to innovate by exploring new forms of biometric authentication and other innovative solutions that can enhance the security and convenience of their systems. Staying ahead of the curve is crucial in the IDV sector.
STOP: As a lawyer in IDV, I often see Legal teams being regarded as bottlenecks and lawyers as people who only say “no”. CEOs need to stop any such rumors and must collaborate with the Legal team to ensure that they become excellent business partners who seek to say “yes”. With the ever-evolving Identity regulatory landscape, well-supported and resourced legal teams can help companies innovate and grow, minimizing risk and creating products by design.
In one sentence, why does diversity matter to you?
Because it’s crucial that our children grow up in a world where they have role models from diverse backgrounds - the more paths they see to success, the more successful they will be!
What book/film/piece of art would you recommend to your fellow members? Why?
The book Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser. An incredible book for women everywhere which helps us reassess our relationship with the word “power”. I couldn’t put it down.
What advice would you give to the teenage 'you'?
Absolutely nothing is going to work out as you had planned, but it’s all amazing and exactly as it’s meant to be. And stop being so scared about uncertainty - you have found some of the best moments in your life on the other side of change.
Where can we find you on social media / the Web?
LinkedIn: Efftichia Dower