When firefighting isn’t enough: Solving societal challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation
Today, we’d like to introduce a new and exciting addition to our team. We are thrilled to be working with a dedicated and inspiring student who has a unique background in special education and a passion for making real changes. Welcome, Arlene S. Styles!
From Kindergarten to Entrepreneurship
Our new team member has a background as a special education teacher and has previously worked extensively in the kindergarten sector and psychiatry. She has seen the challenges in the system up close and often felt that more focus was on firefighting than on finding effective, lasting solutions. This motivated her to enter a new world of entrepreneurship and innovation, where technology can be used to address societal challenges.
«When I joined Daxap, I realized that my commitment was taken seriously. With a fear that, as a woman, one might not be taken seriously or listened to in an IT company, it was very motivating to meet you. In this collaboration, you’re seen for the experience and skills you bring, not necessarily your gender.».
When firefighting isn’t enough: Solving societal challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation
Today, we’d like to introduce a new and exciting addition to our team. We are thrilled to be working with a dedicated and inspiring student who has a unique background in special education and a passion for making real changes. Welcome, Arlene S. Styles!
From Kindergarten to Entrepreneurship
Our new team member has a background as a special education teacher and has previously worked extensively in the kindergarten sector and psychiatry. She has seen the challenges in the system up close and often felt that more focus was on firefighting than on finding effective, lasting solutions. This motivated her to enter a new world of entrepreneurship and innovation, where technology can be used to address societal challenges.
“When I joined Daxap, I realized that my commitment was taken seriously. With a fear that, as a woman, one might not be taken seriously or listened to in an IT company, it was very motivating to meet you. In this collaboration, you’re seen for the experience and skills you bring, not necessarily your gender.”
Why Daxap?
As part of her master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at NMBU, Arlene will dedicate 400 hours to a product delivery. In her search for a partner who shared her vision for creating real change, she posted an open inquiry in several channels, which we at Daxap happened to come across. When we saw her unique combination of background and desire to work on lasting change for vulnerable groups in society, we quickly reached out to Arlene and arranged a meeting.
She became intrigued by our commitment to using technology and innovation to address societal challenges in a holistic way. Our approach to combining technology with ethical and sustainable principles strongly appealed to her, and we are delighted to support her in this project!
GDPR and Privacy
During her engagement with us, Arlene will focus on developing a framework for handling GDPR and privacy. She will explore areas that we might not have considered before, helping us become more conscious and proactive in the development of our tools. We are impressed by her ability to ask the tough questions and her commitment to ensuring that we consider ethical and legal aspects in our technological development.
Onboarding at Daxap
“From the first conversation, it took just two weeks before I was flown to Trondheim for a workshop with the entire company, gaining full insight into marketing and sales strategy. I had expected access to materials, but I really didn’t expect to be included so quickly into the company. You notice in the meetings that what you bring up and comment on is actually listened to. You are invited to the conversation with open arms, and they wanted to hear my perspectives!”
In a new IT company with many different cultural backgrounds, I was nervous about the first meeting with everyone. What made the most impression about the social environment was how much the employees cared for each other. It was clear that, even with many employees who had come from afar, they still had a tremendous drive to contribute to change. It was inspiring to enter an environment where you are included from the start and can communicate across languages to get to know the team members.
The Honesty Principle—The first thing I was told, even before we had secured a partnership, was that at Daxap, honesty is one of the most important factors. We are honest and straightforward with each other, we speak up if we disagree or if things could be done differently, with the aim of making each other better, our products better, and the company itself better—the transparency in the company and the common ambitions for the team motivate us to reach new heights.
We look forward to working with Arlene in the coming months and are confident that her passion, knowledge, and commitment will help make a real difference. Her willingness to challenge the status quo and her search for lasting solutions is the backbone of our ambitions with Daxap!