Estefanía Tapias

Estefanía Tapias (@este_tapias) is a researcher on the topic of the future of cities and entrepreneur that was listed on Forbes reputable 30 under 30 list. She is from Colombia but has been living in Switzerland for the past few years, where she co-founded WeSpace. WeSpace is a community, co-workspace and digital platform inspired by women in Zurich, where she invited me to to record this interview. She obtained her Ph.D. at ETH Zurich and worked as a researcher and lecturer on the topic of smart Cities in Zurich and Singapore (Future Cities Laboratory).

We’ll talk about how Estefania took the leap from her academic career to found a co-working space, the mindset to to start your own venture, how she got featured in the Forbes 30 under 30, tools for website design, and much more.

Show notes: 03:21 -- How Estefania became fascinated with the topic of smart cities 04:32 -- Cooling Singapore project 05:22 -- The state of research in the field of climate change & cities 08:10 -- Advice on picking the right area of business or research to pursue 09:33 -- How Estefania decided what opportunity to pursue after finishing her PhD 11:50 -- How WeSpace got started and the purpose behind it. The future of targeted co-working spaces (like WeSpace which is a community and workspace inspired by women) 16:14 -- How to launch a capital-intensive business like a co-working space 17:53 -- Promoting your business initially 19:38 -- Initiatives that foster entrepreneurship among women & advantages of mixed founding teams 21:20 -- The mindset to make the jump to starting your own venture 23:40 -- The target group of WeSpace 24:25 -- Estefania’s favorite knowledge resources 26:13 -- Favorite books 27:56 -- How Estefania got featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 32:30 -- Estefania’s hobbies 33:40 -- Tools for Website design 35:15 -- Advice to your younger self - “Don’t take yourself too serious” 36:20 -- Estefania’s personal advisory board 37:40 -- Unjustified fears 38:30 -- What does courage mean to Estefania

Resources mentioned:

• “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Nuzzel: Twitter news summary
• Zero to one - Peter Thiel * Traction - Gabriel Weinberg
• Wix.com
• WeSpace
• Helen Clark

If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast app.