IWD 2021: Amber Probyn & Hazel McShane - Empowering Women in Innovation

As part of International Women’s Day, we interview Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane on their roles at Satis Urinals, their views on women in business and what a more gender-balanced world-view means to them.

Tell us about your roles.

Together, we Co-Founded Satis Urinals, producing the UK's first touch free, stand-alone woman's urinal. The role is all inclusive as at the start of a lean business you are the IP lawyer, the designer, the speaker, the project manager etc. It requires a willingness to be ever-learning and adapting to what the business needs in that stage of growth. 

As well as running our start-up, we both have full time jobs which take up the majority of our days. Hazel works as a test engineer at Femtech company, Elvie. Amber works as a Design Consultant at Innovation Consultancy, Industry of Us. Both of these roles feed well into Satis as the experiences is applicable, helping us to learn how to run a successful business, develop healthy culture and handle people from around the world.

What do you enjoy most about your job?  

The variation of each day keeps our job so interesting. We speak to lots of people across all backgrounds and specialisms, learning bits and pieces from all of them is such a huge gain. The majority of people we reach out to, or are working with, are also so supportive and we have become part of communities which spur each other on.  

And what are the most challenging aspects? 

As we both work full time, we have had to work earlier and later. This has prevented us from being further developed as we had hoped or missed out on opportunities that may have led to advantageous things. 

We founded our business in May 2020 which was the beginning of the pandemic. Lockdown stopped our product testing and research with our users, therefore testing new product ideas or developments with women has proved difficult. 

What 3 things do you think you need to progress as a woman in business?

Supportive network- having people who will further your development and who will offer their knowledge or experience on something related. Getting advice and mentorship from these networks has been hugely beneficial for us.

Resilience- Starting up your own business is very challenging and lots of people think you are crazy and that it will never work. At those moments we found that it is crucial to have the resilience to take the hits and the confidence to keep going. 

Gumption/ initiative- having the determination and the outspoken stubbornness at times to keep pushing forwards is helpful. Putting yourself in the right environments will lead to making the right connections, which encourages business relationships to develop which in turn benefits your business. 

What are the biggest challenges the future generation of women in business face?

Still being the ‘other’ in many business settings. People assume you don’t know what you are talking about and they know more about your business than you do...

What can the next generation bring to business that previous generations may not have?

Boldness and diversity.

What does a more gender-balanced world-view mean for you?

Equity for everyone.

How can we enable more women to take a place at the board-room table?

Invest in women in business.

How can businesses evolve to be more gender-balanced?

Represent all genders in the company at all levels as well as creating a healthy work culture which encourages people to go for opportunities and feel like they can put forward ideas at all levels. 

What advice would you give to young women and men starting out in business today in context of promoting a more diverse world-view?

Go for it! Take it on and be that change, that difference. In turn, you will inspire others to do the same and business will slowly become more diverse.  

What women inspire you and why?

Peers who are a year or so ahead of us in their business. Not only do they relate to our stage but also give helpful advice or warnings about things they came across. This saves so much time and encourages us to do the same for other younger businesses as we have found it so inspiring and game-changing.