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Canada’s media landscape is shifting and consumers want the news to come to them. Creator of Pressed News, Jacqueline Leung is making news approachable, accessible and convenient for consumers.

Realizing this, Leung created Pressed News; a digital media startup that makes the news easy to understand and delivers it to your inbox, podcast and Alexa Skill. Entrepreneurs are built when they identify that small plot of land that no one is inhabiting and build something there. Jacqueline’s biggest challenge is speaking loudly amongst a very crowded media market. Here she shares her insights.

 How do you describe what you do?

I run a digital media company that makes the news easy to understand for people who don’t follow the news. We’re using technology to integrate world issues into everyday life. Most days, I’m writing, planning, or fundraising!

What are the hardest challenges as a female entrepreneur in the Canadian media space?

I don’t think this is exclusive to the Canadian media space, but I’d say the biggest challenge is simply not seeing other entrepreneurs who look like me.  Did you know that only 3% of the companies that receive Seed/Angel funding are entirely female-founded (like Pressed)? Also,  I’m a solo-founder, I’m a visible minority, and most investors are men.

There are societal assumptions and expectations that come with living in a male-dominated world, too. I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t (yet) walk into a room with the same confidence as a fellow male founder. In my pitch deck, my projections are more conservative.

How are you hoping to change the Canadian media landscape?

I created Pressed because it’s something that I need. I looked for it before I started it – I even reached out to a couple Toronto-based publications to ask if they could create it! Crickets. It’s important to note that we are not competing with legacy publications; we’re actually driving traffic to them. We’re reaching an audience that isn’t looking for the news at all right now; an audience that gets caught up via social media and social gatherings. Pressed is their entry point; their introduction. We’re making the news more accessible to more audiences so that we can all have intelligent conversations about important world events.

What advice would you give to students fresh out of university hoping to pursue an entrepreneurial life.

It’s great to surround yourself with people who lift you up, build you up, and believe in what you’re doing, but don’t isolate yourself into a bubble. Talk to and learn from people who’ve done what you are doing/want to be doing. Entrepreneurial life is not glamorous; make sure you’re starting a business because you truly believe in what you’re building, not because you want to be the next Zuckerberg. Also, spending a couple years in a traditional corporate job/setting could teach you a lot.