Not every startup success story is carefully planned. Sometimes, one bold move changes everything.
That’s exactly what happened to Esther Bisschop, an exited founder, investor, and business leader who has leveled up at every stage of her career. From employee to employer. From founder to investor. From nearly going bankrupt to selling her company, Th3rd, to Snap Inc.
Key Takeaways from the episode
This episode is a true masterclass in reinventing yourself throughout your career. By listening, you’ll discover:
✅ Leveling up requires a shift in mindset before a change in title.
✅ Bootstrapping means balancing short-term survival with long-term vision.
✅ Bold outreach can change everything—be ready when opportunity knocks.
Listen now on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or Amazon. Or hit the play button below👇.
The Message That Changed the Future of Th3rd with Esther Bisschop | Ep. 93 – Women Disrupting Tech
Join the Women Disrupting Tech Community
One of the important things about changing the funding landscape is access to the right communities. That’s why I’m building The Women Disrupting Tech Community.
The Women Disrupting Tech Community is a growing community driving inclusion in tech by providing founders and leaders with access to insights, role models, and real-world strategies for success.
Enter your email below to join the community today.
- Key Takeaways from the episode
- Join the Women Disrupting Tech Community
- The Magic in This Episode 🪄
- Zero-Cost Ways to Support Women Disrupting Tech
- What stands out
- About Esther Bisschop
- The Book
- Share what’s on your mind
- What’s coming up?
- More episodes like this?
The Magic in This Episode 🪄
This is an episode where you’ll want to have a pen and notebook ready. It’s packed with practical advice and real-world insights. Esther’s story proves that resilience, strategy, and seizing the right moment can change everything.
In a long but engaging conversation filled with unexpected turns, Esther shares how she reinvented herself again and again, from employee to employer, from founder to investor.
Here’s some of the magic we’ll uncover:
🔹 The power of ownership
Esther started as an employee at TinQwise but made a pivotal decision to buy into the company. That shift in mindset from working in a business to owning it changed her career forever.
🔹 Surviving setbacks
When COVID hit, Th3rd’s clients froze their innovation budgets overnight. Instead of giving up, the team of founders persevered and stayed resilient. Esther used her freelance work to keep the lights on, while her two co-founders kept the business afloat.
🔹 One bold message
A carefully crafted 140-character LinkedIn outreach led to a meeting with Snapchat. What started as a partnership conversation turned into an acquisition offer.
She also shares how a visit to India is sparking yet another phase of reinvention.
🎧 Ready to discover all this and more? Tune in to the episode on Spotify!
Zero-Cost Ways to Support Women Disrupting Tech
Want to help make inclusion in tech the norm by 2032? Here’s how:
- Follow the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Better yet, leave a rating or review from one up to five stars on Spotify or Apple. You’ll help other people discover the podcast and help me improve.
- Share the podcast with friends, family, and co-workers. This way, you give the women disrupting tech the platform they need to make it happen. Use the buttons below to share.
What stands out
If you’re a startup founder, I recommend that you have a notebook and pen nearby when listening. This episode is loaded with advice on pretty much any stage of startup life. Here are three things that stood out to me.
Family Ties.
To say that family played an important role would be an understatement. Both her parents were entrepreneurs, and she became a co-founder in her brother’s startup.
Growing up, she saw firsthand that gender didn’t determine ability. That mindset stayed with her as she built her career. The partnership with her brother gave her the solid foundation that helped them to succeed. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.
You can’t plan startup success.
We all love a good startup exit story. The press loves to paint them as perfectly planned. But the truth is that Th3rd wasn’t actively looking to sell when Snapchat came knocking. They were just trying to find a partner to persuade investors. Then, a well-crafted LinkedIn message led to an unexpected response. And suddenly, they were in acquisition talks.
The Power of Pausing.
Many exited founders will tell you that after an exit, you will need to take time to decompress and plot your next move. Esther is “comfortably in limbo”, as she calls it. She uses that time for reflection and learning new skills so that she is ready to reinvent herself.
🎧 Ready to discover the rest of the magic in this episode? Tune in to the episode on Apple Podcasts using the button below.
Or click the image with the quote to watch the episode on YouTube.
“If you want to build for everybody, you need everybody on board of you team to fill these gaps and perspectives.”
Esther Bisschop, Co-founder of Th3rd and Angel Investor.
About Esther Bisschop
Esther Bisschop is an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader with a track record of building and scaling innovative companies. As co-founder of Th3rd, she helped shape the future of high-quality digital twins, working with brands like Nike, Adidas, and Timberland. In 2022, Th3rd was acquired by Snap Inc., marking a pivotal moment in her journey.
She started her journey at TinQwise, where she transitioned from employee to co-owner, gaining firsthand experience in leadership and business operations.
With a background in Cultural Anthropology and Social Informatics, she brings a unique perspective to digital innovation. Today, she continues to explore new opportunities, invest in startups, and embrace what she calls being comfortably in limbo, using this time to reflect, learn, and prepare for what comes next.
You can connect with Esther on LinkedIn, and you can learn more about Human Alloy (how Th3rd started) here.
The Book
At the start of the episode, I mention Robert Kiyosaki’s book ‘Rich Dad’s Cash Flow Quadrant.’ You can find it on Amazon, Bol and anywhere else where books are sold.
Share what’s on your mind
What is the biggest factor in startup success?
1️⃣ Smart risk-taking
2️⃣ The right network
3️⃣ Resilience in crisis
4️⃣ A bit of luck
Tell me what you think in the comments. There are no wrong choices here.
And if you would like to suggest a guest or a theme for the podcast, please let me know via email or send a DM on LinkedIn.
What’s coming up?
In episode 94, we continue hearing from role models in VC as Michelle Ter Laak is my guest to share her journey as a VC from passion to profession
When you’re considering a career in VC, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.
After that, we continue the journey to 100 episodes with more amazing female founders and investors. So stay tuned for more female role models in tech, and until we meet again in the next episode, keep being awesome.
More episodes like this?
If you want to listen to more founders turned investor, you should check out the following three episodes:
– in episode 54, Kimberly Ofori shares how she is harnessing the power of financial inclusion for a better planet.
– In episode 41, Lumo Labs’ Sabine Schoorl reveals how she is using curiosity to find exceptional founders with exceptional impact.
– In episode 14, Adine Tjeenk Willink breaks down her recipe for more diversity in the startup ecosystem. and spoiler alert: quotas are not on the list.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 