Here at IOD, we’re big fans of communication. We know how effective the right message can be in getting your story out into the world. But early-stage startups, developers, and engineering teams often need more. Sometimes, it’s helpful to start from the inside, with workshops, events, and networking opportunities that can turn developers and engineers into a community of advocates and product champions.
We’re taking the month of March to highlight female tech leaders, profiling women from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences. In our last profile, Karin Wolok , Head of Developer Marketing and Community at StarTree, explained how she came to tech from the broadcasting and entertainment world.
Today, we’re talking with Sharone Revah Zitzman, Chief Manual Reader at RTFM Please, a marketing company that uses the expertise of developers and engineers to create community and messaging around technical concepts and products.
As you’ll discover, Sharone, who holds a degree in political science, is a born-and-bred communicator—a bridge builder who’s equally at home in the worlds of engineering, developing, and marketing. Sharone started her own business for the same reasons that many people do: to achieve a better work-life balance and avoid confining herself to a single narrow job description. Or, as she puts it, “I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony.”
Let’s take a look at some of the tricks Sharone has up her sleeves.
RTFM PLEASE QUICK STATS
Founded: 2020
HQ: Netanya, Israel
Site: https://rtfmplease.dev/
Why did you start your own company? Did you face any challenges during the process of turning your vision into a thriving business?
I was really privileged to have a diverse career that exposed me to many different disciplines, from traditional enterprise B2B marketing to developer marketing, developer relations, and community management. While I enjoyed holding these roles at the excellent companies I was employed at, I realized I didn’t want to be a one-trick pony and in one place, doing only a subset of the many things I enjoyed. So…I decided to kickstart my own business, RTFM Please, so I could provide this diversity of services to many different companies and also benefit from learning about the many new trends in the industry while I’m at it.
Like with any new idea and business, it takes some time to figure out exactly what you want to offer and the correct business model. I was very lucky to land some pretty awesome clients from the get go. They were tolerant and patient with me as we figured it out together.
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What aspects of your job do you like most?
I like the diversity of activities I get to be involved in. Each company has a different goal and objective, and building the strategies and execution around these goals requires me to be my most creative. Likewise, I really enjoy learning about where the market and industry is moving from my diverse customers, which keeps me up-to-date on current trends.
What challenges do you think women in tech are facing today? Have you faced any yourself?
While I think that women are slowly but surely taking on more leadership roles, there is still a lot of work to be done until we see more equality in tech.
I also think that while there are many allies who are trying to change this, there are still a lot of tech-bro attitudes that make women have to fight 10 times harder than their male counterparts to receive equal recognition. All you need to do is go to one tech conference or read one Reddit thread posted by a woman to see this in action.
How have things changed for women in technology since you’ve been involved?
I think the entire way we think about work in general has changed—with much more emphasis on remote work and work-life balance. If, once upon a time, it was frowned upon for women to leave the office early to take care of their children, now there is much more acceptance across the board. COVID also helped change this mindset significantly.
I think being a parent and having a full-time job now has much more legitimacy than it did when office work was ubiquitous, and you had to put in heavy hours to be accepted as “pulling your weight.”
What’s one piece of advice for women aspiring to work in tech leadership positions?
It won’t come easily, but if you keep calm, believe in what you are doing, and do it with all of your heart and passion, you will see results. Don’t forget that kindness is the most important virtue you can cultivate. You’ll find that good deeds come back to you.
Summary
According to a 2021 report by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, almost half of entrepreneurs with early-stage businesses are women, but that percentage drops to about one in three after a few years. Female entrepreneurs were harder hit by COVID, possibly due to household responsibilities, and women in ICT fields are particularly overlooked by investors, incubators, and accelerator programs. Leaders like Sharone are helping close the gap by building more inclusive communities around up-and-coming companies and products.
Stay tuned for our next post, where we profile Emily Freeman, Head of DevOps Product Marketing at AWS. Surprisingly, like Sharone, Emily has a background in political science. She then went back to school to create a role for herself working at the pinnacle of the tech universe.
