SheVentures: Recent Episodes

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Imagine your significant other dies unexpectedly from a heart attack. In the midst of grief, you must find the resilience to go on while raising children and deciding how to move ahead professionally.

This week’s guest — Sejal Lakhani-Bhatt — shares her story of the unexpected and how she managed to balance her family, her health, and her profession.

Lakhani-Bhatt speaks candidly about her global banking career and how mentorship helped her climb the ladder at Deutsche Bank. Her husband, a tech entrepreneur, supported Lakhani-Bhatt when she decided to leave her banking job. Though she envisioned time with her children and yoga classes as a stay-at-home mom, her husband suggested she use her certified (and much-needed) project management skills at his tech startup.

Today, TechWerxe, a turnkey cybersecurity company in the Northeast, is thriving with Lakhani-Bhatt at the helm. As more cyberattacks affect us personally and in business, TechWerxe provides enterprise-level security needs for small and medium businesses. Lakhani-Bhatt encourages solopreneurs to prioritize cybersecurity essentials, offering practical and affordable insights on securing data and devices for smaller businesses that may not have a tech team.

Lakhani-Bhatt, opens up about her early childhood memories, why working in male-dominated careers has not been a stumbling block, what it was like to work with her spouse, and how she coped with sudden loss.

Listen to the episode as Lakhani-Bhatt shares authentically about her successes — and provides sensible tips. Highlights:

• Lakhani-Bhatt’s childhood and what it meant to be raised in an Indian family
• What it was like to work in global banking in the 2000’s
• How mentorship/sponsorship played a key role in Lakhani-Bhatt’s career
• Curious about Lakhani-Bhatt’s view on being a woman in two male-dominated industries?
• Tips for working on a startup with your spouse
• Insights on coping with grief and effectively managing the complexities of anger
• How to protect your business and personal information with practical cybersecurity tips designed specifically for solopreneurs
• Why solopreneurs and small business owners should prioritize the practical importance of financial literacy to understand and manage your books and records effectively
• Learn essential cybersecurity tips to protect your business and build trust with your customers.

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Named one of Inc. magazine’s top 100 female founders to watch, Maggie Adhami-Boynton is well-versed in the pivots required for an early-stage company to morph into a viable, scalable business.

A 15-year startup veteran, she understood earlier than most the rapid evolution of digital apps and e-commerce and hit the ground more than a decade ago. Adhami-Boynton helped grow Canada’s Plastic Mobile, an award-winning mobile app agency, to acquisition in 2015.

In 2019, she soft-launched ShopThing, one of North America’s first live video commerce apps, which quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. She is also one of the 2.3 percent of women who have successfully raised venture capital, closing a $10 million round in 2022.

Curious how Adhami-Boynton identified niche tech opportunities and how she leveraged her knowledge to start and grow a VC-funded business? Who doesn’t love to shop with an app?!

Highlights: 


• Learn how Adhami-Boynton became an early adopter of digital marketing before it was mainstream.
• Why consider a soft launch before quitting your day job
• Why age matters when starting a company, plus resources for founders
• How ShopThing streams online shopping events, and how customers can participate and, well, shop!
• Where Adhami-Boynton learned firsthand about early product adoption and marketing, and how this knowledge helped her when she started ShopThing
• How to avoid common content creation barriers
• Explore how ShopThing empowers consumers to become content creators in the dynamic world of live video commerce.

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Kimberley Nixon tells it like it is. Yes, she is a Los Angeles–based venture capitalist and the founder and managing partner of Open Venture Capital. Yes, she is passionate about increasing access to investment for women of color, who we know raise less than 1 percent of all venture capital.

Nixon is also keen to share the human side of her life. Health is a topic she knows intimately as she overcame cancer in her late 20s after a misdiagnosis. Today, she is balancing, like many of us, her passions with being a wife and mother to two tweens. If you are looking for a relatable, smart, hip role model, Nixon is it!

Highlights

• Nixon, who grew up in a Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn before gentrification, reflects on how “New York is a living, breathing manifestation of resilience.”
• Nixon shares how a total stranger helped prep her for an interview at Deloitte while waiting for their own interview for a more senior position.
• Nixon discusses being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a curable form of cancer.
• Though the same lump was misdiagnosed more than a year before, Nixon considers herself fortunate that she was able to receive care at Johns Hopkins.
• How Nixon’s passions for access to health, education, and real estate investing sparked the idea of raising her own venture fund
• Testing a venture fund and building a startup both require a proof of concept stage.
• Nixon explains honing in on companies that increase access to healthcare.

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If you’re feeling stuck in your pursuit of success in the music industry despite all the hard work and effort you’re putting in — you’re not alone! Karla Ortiz, founder of Monark Entertainment, delves into her struggles and victories as a woman of color in the entertainment industry.

Early in her career, Ortiz shaped digital marketing campaigns for megastars like Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, and Nelly Furtado. Decades later, she founded Monark Entertainment, an agency focused on streaming and digital marketing, with a particular emphasis on supporting women of color. Ortiz shares her experiences as a female executive, addresses challenges women face in the music industry, and advocates for strategic team-building and selective engagement.

Her journey took an exciting turn when she became a professor at the Los Angeles College of Music. Ortiz’s story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead for women in music and entertainment.

Highlights

• Ortiz gives tips to college students on how to mine LinkedIn and social media to find the type of internship you want.
• Fun fact: Ortiz remembers her first cassette. Remember those? The song was “La Isla Bonita.” Do you know the artist?
• Witness Ortiz’s pivotal shift from major music labels to entrepreneurship, a decision that reshaped her career.
• Quiz: What are the four most essential platforms in the music industry? 

Gain valuable insights as Ortiz reflects on her journey as a female executive, sharing lessons learned on the challenging yet rewarding path of entrepreneurship.
• Ortiz explains why she believes incubators for musicians are important and why they end up with a bigger cut of their work.
• Ortiz shares her vision for the future of the music industry, predicting trends and possibilities.

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Ever wondered how one woman can impact racial wealth and investment equity as well as advancements in women’s health? In two decades, Erika Seth Davies transitioned from a career in development and fundraising to becoming the CEO of Rhia Ventures, a groundbreaking fund that secured an impressive $44 million (in 2022) to revolutionize the U.S. women’s health market through impact investing.

But wait, there’s more! Davies isn’t stopping at women’s health. She’s also the mastermind behind the Racial Equity Asset Lab (the REAL), an impact investing venture tackling the persistent racial wealth gap. Tune in as we explore the significance of this groundbreaking initiative and its potential to reshape the narrative around capital allocation and wealth creation for minorities.

Highlights 



• Lessons learned from Davies’ extensive experience in fundraising, providing valuable wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs
• Explore the investment strategy of Rhia Ventures and how it strategically shapes the landscape of women’s health funds
• Addressing the crisis in healthcare for Black women, Davies sheds light on the pressing issues and challenges that need urgent attention
• Insights of the decision-making and strategy in impact investing, unraveling the thought processes that drive transformative change
• Davies shares valuable tips for women and minority entrepreneurs, offering guidance for navigating the entrepreneurial landscape.
• Davies delves into the harsh realities of racial inequity in venture capital — and shares the challenges and potential solutions for a more inclusive future

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From Nigeria to London to Paris to the United States, Pauline Idogho’s journey has taken her on a whirlwind tour of different cultures and experiences. But it’s her ability to adapt to change that has made her a successful entrepreneur. As the founder of Mocktail Club, an innovative line of elevated non-alcoholic beverages, not only does Idogho take pride in offering delicious, natural drinks, but she also dedicates 1 percent of her sales to support clean water initiatives around the world. She tapped into an ever-evolving market — and has learned to diversify her distribution channels and stay connected with her customers through social media. Idogho’s story can inspire you to embrace change and thrive in constant change, on this episode of SheVentures. In this episode, you will be able to:

• Discover the undeniable advantages of adapting to change for sustained success in your business ventures.

• Unravel the potential of diversifying distribution channels to reach a wider audience and boost revenue.

• Master the art of engaging customers on social media for a stronger online presence and genuine relationships.
• Explore the pivotal role flexibility plays in navigating an ever-evolving entrepreneurial landscape.
• Gain insight into the significance of inclusivity in branding and marketing for optimal resonance with a broader demographic.
• Check out Mocktail Club’s blog for tips and recipes.
• Help this small business by recommending Mocktail Club to local retailers or bars and asking them to carry the products.
• Donate to Mocktail Club’s clean water access initiative by making a purchase or directly by visiting the website.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://www.sheventurespodcast.com/podcast/pauline-idhogo-podcast-episode

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Becoming a parent is a seismic pivot in itself. Add the societal pressure to breastfeed — with virtually no support and sleepless nights — and you have a rocky six months. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Andrea Ippolito, CEO of SimpliFed, created a community to help women navigate everything from finding an insurance-covered lactation consultant to exploring different formulas to scoring the best-quality breast pump. Ippolito offers free classes and directories of allies and providers and works with workplaces and insurers to help parents get the support they need.

As a mom herself, Ippolito knows firsthand the paucity of resources for parents who need support to do what’s best for their new baby and her nutrition. With her background working with the Department of Veteran Affairs and launching and selling her first product (an AI-driven health appointment scheduler), Ippolito has the track record to make a difference.

Show highlights

• How Ippolito pivoted from biomedical engineering to creating her first product, an AI-driven scheduler, which she successfully sold to a healthcare company
• The arc of Ippolito’s entrepreneurial journey and how engineering and healthcare intersect Ipollito recalls her experience as a new mother and how it informed her decision to create SimpliFed.
• Ippolito’s crusade for workplace support for parents and breastfeeding working moms
• Why it’s essential to challenge gender biases that stand in the way of women providing nutrients to their babies. Yes, really!
• How her past experiences in healthcare and understanding systems helped Ippolito conceive SimpliFed
• Why support should start well before the baby is born
• What challenges breastfeeding working mothers continue to face
• Why access to networks and supportive infrastructures are essential for women entrepreneurs
• Ippolito on motherhood: “Moms are often discarded as the wrapper and moms deserve more help and care.” How the SimpliFed platform helps individuals, companies, and insurers work together.
• Why it matters to not only be a visionary but also a doer, one willing to execute tedious tasks integral to startup success.
• Why should every family educate themselves about their rights under the Affordable Healthcare Act?
• How to find out what your insurance covers in terms of postpartum care and baby-feeding assistance
• Telehealth can play a key role in supporting new parents and/or those seeking treatment for mental health.
• Ippolito suggests everyone stay informed about healthcare innovation and transformation efforts by following the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the General Services Administration.
• Why it is essential for healthcare to continue to innovate — and our role as consumers.
• How to find out more about Ippolito and SimpliFed

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Divorce is a life pivot that touches many, and it can be civil or act as a wrecking ball. You may know Kenya Duke from her BET+ show The Gary Owen Show, with her now ex-husband and their three children. Duke, an entrepreneur, real estate investor, and host of the podcast Truly Kenya, shares her experience of divorce, as well as its emotional and financial impacts. The pain of financial instability and the struggle to make ends meet can be overwhelming. But there is a way to regain control and find empowerment. Duke tells her story from childhood to what it means to be a Black woman in the entertainment industry. Duke shows how to rise above a nasty, acrimonious public divorce, take care of yourself, and build a secure financial future, in this episode of SheVentures.

Highlights

• Duke describes her humble upbringing, and how growing up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood instilled values of community, hard work, and resilience.
• Duke’s foray into the entertainment industry might not have been planned, but her pulse on various unconventional topics quickly catapulted her into the limelight.
• What it was like to work with her then-husband and children as the producer of The Gary Owen Show
• Why Duke prefers to be “behind the camera” instead of seeking stardom
• What it was like to have her marriage fall apart and the media scrutiny of her family and their personal lives
• Duke’s tips on how to rebuild your financial independence after a divorce If you are single or getting married, Duke suggests taking control of your finances and opening a separate bank account for personal economic independence.
• Learn about how Duke invests in the real estate market.
• Duke’s humorous take on the transition to dating with kids
• Tips for balancing a robust career, nurturing motherhood, and ensuring self-care
• How the transformative power of community — specifically women of color — helped Duke
• Duke candidly discusses how young hopefuls can explore the possibility of a career in the entertainment industry, whether in front of the camera or behind the scenes.
• By openly sharing her experience, Duke emphasizes that financial stability and success are attainable goals for any woman given the right mindset, education, and perseverance.
• Find Duke on her social media for behind-the-scenes content, and listen to her podcast, Truly Kenya.

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Have you ever considered opening a spa, but the number of unknowns stopped you? Not Crystal Bethea, founder and CEO of C3 Wellness Spa, who pivoted from Army veteran to licensed massage therapist, cosmetologist, and entrepreneur. Bethea is passionate about massage, acupuncture, and other wellness modalities. Coming from a family of veterans, she’s passionate about helping vets maintain their health and to help them pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and find fulfillment in their post-military lives. That’s why C3 Wellness Spa is a franchise and ready to expand!

Bethea works with her husband, Marus Bethea, also a veteranwho is a medical billing expert. The spa is committed to working with its clients and their health insurance benefits, to see if the spa’s services are covered.

Show Highlights

• Explore Bethea’s transition from military life to creating her own thriving spa franchise.
• Understand the potential power of word-of-mouth marketing and mechanisms to build a loyal client base.
• How Bethea incrementally grew her clientele starting with a mobile business through referrals.
• Bethea, who does not use paid marketing, demonstrates the value of reputation and client satisfaction in scaling a business.
• Get insights into the process and benefits of insurance company credentialing.
• If you are a veteran, check to see if you qualify for government benefits and inquire about receiving 100 percent coverage for services at
• C3 Wellness Spa through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• The key steps and strategies Bethea uses to run a solid business
• Uncover the opportunities for exponential business growth through franchising in the wellness industry.
• As a woman of color, Bethea speaks about the importance of generational wealth.

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Imagine rising through the ranks of the Federal government for three decades until one day a sudden heart attack forced you to reevaluate your life priorities. Debra Owens, Ph.D., is an Army veteran, former U.S. Postal Service employee, and a U.S. Department of the Treasury human resources manager. By all accounts, she built a stable career while raising two children, going through a divorce, and taking every opportunity possible to educate/upskill herself, tireless in her pursuit of knowledge.

While building her career, Owens was often asked by friends or family about how to navigate the Federal government. Initially, Owens helped because that’s her nature. Then it kept happening, and Owens recognized a gap in the market: helping people navigate the complexities of working with the Federal government, in addition to working with women on how to define and take action on their passions. Owens’ heart attack — which happened while she was working her then side hustle and full-time job — was a pivotal moment where she decided to follow, well, her heart and retire from the government. Today Owens is the founder and CEO of her own development consulting firm, Encore Empowerment International, an author, motivational speaker, executive coach, and consultant who holds multiple degrees and licenses, including one as an ordained minister! This is a story about resilience and determination.

Key Highlights


• Owens reflects on her upbringing, her education, and what it was like to be a woman in the military
• Where Owens met her first husband, and her experience transitioning to civilian life
• Why resilience and adaptability are essential in your personal and professional life
• What led Owens to constantly seek change and pursue education until she obtained her Ph.D.
• What it was like to fire employees in the Federal government
• How entrepreneurship manifested in Owens as a side hustle more than 15 years ago
• Owens speaks about her heart attack, her recovery, and her quick realization she needed to take action
• The roles faith and support have played in Owens’ life
• Owens speaks candidly about how she overcame life’s emotional challenges
• The significance of community involvement and support in fostering inner strength and endurance
• How did Owens transition to entrepreneurship full-time?
• Delve into the dynamics of personal relationships and uncover pearls of wisdom from real-life marriage experiences
• Real talk about Owens’ lessons from divorce
• Owens discusses regret and balancing work and family
• Where to find out more about Dr. Owens, her company Encore Empowerment International, and how you can work with her as an executive coach to enhance your leadership skills or develop conflict resolution techniques, or how you can hire her as a motivational speaker

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The pivot from finishing high school, college, or graduate school to landing one’s first job is often filled with anxiety. If you are like most recent grads, you have zero idea of how to approach your job search — unless you are one of the smart or lucky students who proactively sought help or had an amazing career development department.

The truth is many grads lack foundational knowledge in how to interview, write a winning cover letter and a resume, use LinkedIn, and most importantly, how to be proactive, tenacious, and confident in their career search instead of waiting for it to unfold passively. And that’s assuming they know what field they want to explore.

As a mother of two Gen Z daughters and the mentor to a handful of young women who’ve interned at SheVentures podcast, I’ve witnessed the need for quality job guidance firsthand. When I received a review copy of Beth Hendler-Grunt’s practical manual, The Next Great Step: The Parents’ Guide to Launching Your New Grad Into A Career, I knew I wanted to speak to her about the book as well as her role as the enterprising founder of Next Great Step, a company dedicated to guiding recent graduates through the transition from school to the job market.

A proud mother to two college-age sons, living the transition in real-time, Hendler-Grunt brings a unique, empathetic perspective to her work.

With decades of robust professional experience prior to founding Next Great Step, Hendler-Grunt leverages her workplace expertise and uses it to inform her job-seeking strategies, help grads understand their talents, and acknowledge and confidently articulate their professional value.

Next Great Step is a one-stop shop for some quality free checklists and videos. Hendler-Grunt embraces a B2B2C business model where she helps students, parents, colleges, universities, and corporates looking to hire recent grads or provide internship opportunities.

Highlights

• Let’s address the elephant in the room: Graduates’ mismanagement of expectations in job search, their lack of coping mechanism for rejection, and how they can learn positive and proactive tools, habits, and mindset.
• If you are still in school — even a freshman — learn what you can do to build career readiness. Why clarity and educated risk-taking matter
• What gender differences has Hendler-Grunt seen in career challenges?
• Find out how to apply your professional acumen for your children’s benefit while respecting their independence.
• Create a culture of trust with your children through candid communication.
• Develop an effective career mentorship structure fitted to the individual requirements of the young adults around you.
• Unearth the powerful secret to successfully pivoting careers and thriving in today’s volatile job market.
• Discover the transformative value of embracing failures and missteps in your career path.
• Learn practical strategies to smooth your transition from academia to the professional world, which will add value to your early career journey.
• Unearth the hidden significance of internships and how they provide critical industry insights.
• Understand the pressing challenges university career services face, how this might affect your journey, and how you can advocate for yourself.
• Learn how to hone your skills to distinctively shine in the competitive job market.
• Buy Hendler-Grunt’s book, The Next Great Step: The Parents’ Guide to Launching Your New Grad Into A Career, or visit Next Great Step online if you are a student, a parent, a career services office, or a corporation. Next Great Step offers a myriad of ways to help in this essential transition.

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In the cutthroat world of Hollywood, Tanika Ray — a renowned TV personality who appeared on networks such as NBC, HGTV, VH1, Lifetime, and is perhaps best known for covering red carpet events such as the the Oscars, MTV Music Awards, and the Golden Globes, to name a few — is refreshingly candid about her public and acrimonious divorce with her co-star and now former husband and the soul-searching required to pivot forward and focus on her passions. Ray, 51, describes her newish podcast Mamaste with Tanika Ray as “celebrating mommying AF while bossing like a queen.”

We marked this episode explicit in case you find the F-bombs objectionable that host Doria Lavagnino and Ray use as they discuss marriage, divorce, coparenting, motherhood and Hollywood’s well-known representation problem on this episode of SheVentures.

Highlights

• How Ray built her career as a woman of color in Hollywood and why it’s essential to create a more realistic portrayal of women’s experiences, breaking away from stereotypical Hollywood narratives and opening doors for more diverse and genuine representation within the industry
• Explore the pivotal role that self-care plays in enhancing your performance in your career and personal life.
• Ray provides serious real-life financial tips for any woman thinking about or in the thick of a divorce.
• Ray discusses the transformative power of women uplifting one another within their communities.
• Navigate the delicate equilibrium required to manage professional obligations alongside family commitments.
• Unravel the complex web of generational trauma — and uncover methods to disrupt this cycle and implement constructive boundaries.
• Acknowledge the need for broadening the scope of diversity in Hollywood and its social significance.
• Why navigating a demanding career and family life is a hurdle many — especially women in the public eye — confront daily plus tips that can help
• If you want to pursue a Hollywood career, consider the negative aspects of the entertainment industry, such as the lack of personal time and the pressure to conform, and evaluate if your goal is worth the potential sacrifice. There is no “right” answer in life!
• Recognize the progress made in achieving representation for people of color in Hollywood.
• Subscribe to Tanika Ray’s podcast, Mamaste, to join the community of mothers and to enjoy entertaining content about motherhood. Check out Tanika Ray’s socials and YouTube channel for real talk about motherhood.

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Maya Ford cares deeply about truth in marketing. As the founder of Ford Momentum!, she challenges stereotypes, ignites innovation, and is conquering the business world with a diverse mentorship style and a strategic mindset.

Nearly all marketing consultants champion their data prowess, so what makes Ford stand out (in addition to her two decades of experience in marketing, communications, and operations)? Her hunger for knowledge and penchant to challenge the status quo cause her to break free from the conventional narratives that surround various societal groups. Ford is not afraid to call a spade a spade.

Ford uses a new proprietary data-led methodology called STOLO (Standard of Love) that helps communities address unique regional or local problems accurately and compassionately. STOLO, backed by MIT’s Data, Economics and Development Policy program, is quickly becoming the go-to process for accurate data collection.

Why is STOLO so powerful? Historically, data has been used to confirm a theory instead of being used to offer new considerations. STOLO incorporates five pillars to guide data collection and analysis:

• Literacy
• Economic power
• Values
• Self-esteem
• Justice

Ford uses these pillars to inform data collection (surveys, gamified mobile apps) with the end goal of driving equitable results that are true to what people want and need, not only of benefiting those in power. STOLO is a radical way of helping the historically under-represented own their data and their voices — and leverage their assets for change. Listen to Ford describe STOLO in action, provide case studies where STOLO is already creating change, and why she believes this methodology will be embraced by more communities.

If you are a corporate leader, a parent, or a community member who desires change and isn’t afraid to tackle problems head-on, this episode is for you.

Key Highlights

• Unravel the importance of inclusive data compilation and storytelling in fostering societal advancement.
• How has traditional data aggregation fallen short of addressing the entire community
• Gain insight into Maya Ford’s entrepreneurial arc and her efforts to confront systematic challenges as she pivots to entrepreneurship as a small business owner.
• Understand the pivotal role diverse mentorship and strategic planning play in every entrepreneur’s journey.
• Learn about a STOLO case study in Houston, the process and costs of STOLO projects, and how the goal is to create more inclusiveness by representation.
• Realize the power of collaboration with skilled people in stimulating business success.
• Explore how technology is altering human relationships, influencing mental health, and reaching marginalized communities.
• Connect with Ford on LinkedIn to stay updated on her work and insights in marketing, communications, and operations.
• Consider hiring FordMomentum! to implement its data-driven approach in your own organization or community.
• Join the STOLO community and use its model to identify and prioritize the standards and values that are important to you and your community.
• Support FordMomentum!’s goal of creating justice, fairness, peace, and economic power by engaging with its services or spreading awareness about its work.

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What on Earth is the JOBS Act? How can I get my foot in the door of the investing world? Should I take my entire maternity leave? If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, then this SheVentures episode is for you.

Shari Noonan, co-founder and CEO of Rialto Markets, has always had an eye for market shifts. Not only did she witness the days when Wall Street traders used actual paper to trade on the floor of the stock exchange, but Noonan was also integral in digitizing trades. Now, with Rialto Markets, she makes the investment opportunities brought on by the JOBS Act easily accessible.

Noonan reflects on the positive changes in the workplace she’s witnessed over the years. More women are in senior positions, and creating support networks is getting easier. Going on maternity leave may still seem daunting in competitive industries, but Noonan has one thing to say about that: Take all of it.

For Noonan, her pivot from working in large firms to entrepreneurship took eight years. Even so, it still took time to feel like a “true” entrepreneur. Learn how she conquered her imposter syndrome and immersed herself in the world of entrepreneurship.

Follow along as Noonan describes how any woman can utilize Rialto Markets to invest. Plus, learn about the benefits and risks associated with investing in early-stage companies.

Highlights:

• How Noonan’s academic experiences shaped and influenced her fascination with finance and international studies.
• The biggest innovations in financial services in the past 20 years, according to Noonan.
• Why so few women have a seat at the table in the finance industry and how women can take charge
• Take your maternity leave. Period.
• Striking out on your own can be hard, but it’s often made harder by clinging to former connections.
• A review of the JOBS Act, its impact on the markets, and how Rialto was created to bridge the gaps between the industry and investor.
• Noonan explains how Rialto can be utilized by the average woman and the risks and benefits that come with investing in the companies it funds.
• What makes Rialto Markets different from any other crowd-funding platform.
• Interested in investing? Research the companies you’re interested in and familiarize yourself with the lingua franca of finance: financial statements.
• Noonan predicts that in five years industry staples, such as the 60-40 investing rule, will be subverted, and that Rialto will be there to ease the transition. Artificial intelligence, its potential effects, and other looming upheavals in the finance industry, per Noonan. Ready to learn more? Go to rialtomarkets.com

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Major personal events can be agents of change. Jan Patterson, M.D., candidly reflects on how her own cancer diagnosis — shortly after her son’s suicide — implored her to find inner strength and alternatives to augment her traditional Western medicine background.

As a result, Dr. Patterson (an infectious disease and integrative medicine specialist) began to explore and embrace holistic remedies like breathwork, meditation, and essential oils to help balance and heal both her patients — and herself.

With a 30-year career as a physician and teacher, Dr. Patterson, co-author of the book Breath for the Soul: Self Care Steps to Wellness, focuses on how we can have agency in our health. A key takeaway: Combining both Western and Eastern modalities emphasize disease prevention and stress reduction and benefit one’s physical and mental health.

We feature a heartfelt discussion on maternal grief and guilt, having tough conversations with your children, and incorporating self-care into your life — stat!

This episode of SheVentures will explore new healing methods that can help not only your physical well-being but your mental health, too!

• What sparked Dr. Patterson’s interest in becoming an infectious diseases doctor?
• How did Dr. Patterson’s interest in holistic medicine expand after she lost her son to suicide?
• Dr. Patterson’s fellowship at the University of Arizona allowed her to learn more about non-traditional healing methods like breathwork, meditation, and essential oils.
• What is Dr. Patterson’s biggest tip to being there for your children and those dealing with grief around you?
• How faith, friends, integrative medicine, and meaningful work helped Dr. Patterson in her healing journey.
• Despite a constant emphasis on traditional medicine, there is plenty of evidence for using non-traditional healing methods.
• How a cancer diagnosis shortly after her son’s suicide pushed Dr. Patterson to examine her life and focus on what had the most meaning
• The silver lining of life pivots
• How to forgive yourself and address misplaced guilt
• Dr. Patterson reflects on her greatest wins — including her two sons, her contribution to improved healthcare, and her implementation of integrative medicine at the hospital, in her practice, and in her life.
• Dr. Patterson tells listeners simple preventative techniques they could implement in their lives today!

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The devil’s in the details, and it’s easy to get lost in them where money is concerned. Post–high school education is no exception, and it’s rarely made easy. From saving to taking out loans — and paying off said loans — the cycle seems downright Sisyphean.

Patricia Roberts, founder and COO of Gift of College and author of Route 529: A Parent’s Guide for Saving for College, gets it. And, with her expertise with education savings plans, she’s here to help you make the details and devil within work for you. Her company makes it easy for anyone to open an education savings plan online in a matter of minutes. Plus friends and family can contribute $25 to $200, and the funds don’t expire!

As a first-generation college student herself, Roberts knows the struggles many face when thinking about post–high school education. For Roberts (who’s also an attorney), specializing in the intricacies of 529 education savings plans was personal — she and her husband wanted to provide their son with choices not readily available to them.

Some myth-busting about 529 education savings plans: Did you know they pay for a myriad of education-related expenses, such as K–12, trade schools, and college? Many 529 plans have tax benefits — check your state. The owner of the 529 plan can change the beneficiary to another family member — or use it for themselves.

Roberts also discusses diversity in the workplace and how far it’s come along since the 90s — but acknowledges it still has a ways to go, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries like financial services.

Save time sifting through different 529 resources and find the information you need in one fell swoop with Roberts’ insight. Learn about Roberts’ recent pursuits on LinkedIn and Instagram, and check out the hashtag #radicalgenerosity on Twitter for inspiration!

Find out who benefits from a 529, what can be done with the money, and more on this episode of SheVentures!

• Roberts discusses the lessons learned from her late mother and how crucial self-care is to long-term health.
• As a first-generation college student herself, Roberts reflects on the social and financial roadblocks she faced — and how she’s striving to ensure her son avoids the same pitfalls.
• From working in financial services to attending law school at night, Roberts’ early career and personal motivations led her to working with 529 savings plans (tax-advantaged education savings plans).
• How diversity in the workplace has evolved since the 90s, according to Roberts
• Corporate ladder climbing tips: Understand your motivation and your gifts, cultivate a community that supports you, and highlight your accomplishments when appropriate.
• How 529 plans are underutilized — plus Roberts’ tips for ensuring you reap the most benefit
• Through Gift of College (a college-savings platform started by Roberts), setting up a 529 plan can be as easy as buying a gift card.
• The differences and similarities between the 529 and the ABLE plan — and how each can best serve you
• Roberts debunks the biggest misconceptions surrounding 529 plans.
• Three skills that eased Roberts’ transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship
• Roberts is active on LinkedIn and can be found on Instagram and Facebook at @route529mom. More information about Gift of College can be found at giftofcollege.com.

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Imagine being the youngest female member of the Mongolian government and the country’s first female state secretary of digital development.

For Bolor-Erdene Battsengel, these are not mere titles. She crafted, implemented, and executed a plan to transform Mongolia into a “digital nation” by leading the E-Mongolia Project, ensuring internet access across the country. Before her plan, the nation faced challenges in digital inclusion. Today, she estimates 80 percent of Mongolian adults have internet access.

When Battsengel left her government position due to alleged cyberbullying, she continued her focus as a social entrepreneur in technology. She pivoted to create a program, Girls Code, that teaches coding skills to girls from disadvantaged, rural communities in Mongolia. Battsengel, raised in a rural community herself, worked at both the World Bank and the United Nations, and received an MBA as well as a master’s in public policy from Oxford. She was named a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine and a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Asia.

Listen to Battsengel describe her journey as a child from a rural village in Mongolia to becoming an advocate of social entrepreneurship on this episode of SheVentures.

Highlights:

• Battsengel describes how her childhood in a small town in Mongolia influenced her to become a passionate advocate for digital access.
• A self-described nerd, Battsengel remembers finishing high school at 14 and being the youngest person in the room for most of her professional life.
• How Battsengel transitioned to Oxford where she earned her master’s in public policy
• The World Bank and the United Nations both taught Battsengel how to implement programs to address a social need. She shares why she thinks so many programs fail due to a lack of cultural understanding.
• How the pandemic was used to promote E-Mongolia, a platform that offers more than 1,300 services to its citizens on its platform
• Gender perception in Mongolia and the challenges faced by women and girls who hold managerial or executive roles
• Battsengel discusses her experiences with age and gender discrimination in politics and the tech industry as well as the cyberbullying she faced as a result of her political activism.
• Why creating a culture of equality and collaboration to support women in leadership is her mandate
• Battsengel discusses the admissions process for GirlsCode, a free program, which is highly competitive and involves four exams and four interviews with the girls, their parents, and their teachers.
• Expansion plans: Battsengel hopes to expand the GirlsCode initiative to other countries; how international sponsors can help make a bigger impact.
• Make a donation to GirlsCode at girlscode.mn

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Many of us are told that confidence is innate. Not so fast, says Selena Rezvani, an award-winning journalist specializing in training people leadership skills and author of Quick Confidence: Be Authentic, Create Connections and Make Bold Bets on Yourself. Sure, many women face imposter syndrome, but they beat it one tiny step at a time. Action is the key.

Rezvani started in social work, but after realizing that maintaining work-life balance was impossible, she transitioned to a position where she could apply her skills from social work to multiple workplaces to reduce employee hardship.

While pursuing her MBA, Rezvani designed a project to interview women in leadership positions in business. Her only female professor gave her this advice: Go after the giants. Learn how Rezvani engineered the perfect emails to politely and uniquely slide into the inboxes of C-level executives.

These interviews became her first and second books. Take a risk and e-mail the CEOs of a company you love for an interview. You’d be surprised how many said yes.

Follow Rezvani as she details workplace scenarios — such as asking for a raise — and gives tips on how to best approach them.

To build confidence, Rezvani says, think like a dog: Don’t overthink too much — just do. Be the first to greet others. Extend a hand for a handshake. Be the first to welcome others into the workplace.

Tune in for a discussion about how gender bias affects children, the ups and downs of reducing gender disparity in the workplace, and battling imposter syndrome. Challenge harmful perceptions of what a leader in the workplace should look like and affirm a healthy work-life balance. Rezvani describes her moments of pride and regrets in exercising confidence in the workplace, on this episode of SheVentures.

Highlights

• Discover Selena Rezvani’s number-one female role model.
• After pivoting from social work to pursue an MBA, she focused her research on women in leadership positions. See what pushed Rezvani to score interviews with notable women despite her doubts.
• Rezvani on networking: Be short, direct, and specific.
• How the workplace is primed to favor men and why this leads to women being underrepresented in leadership positions
• We internalize gender roles from a young age. How Rezvani instills female empowerment in her children and dismisses gender stereotypes.
• Rezvani provides actionable tips on how to navigate common workplace scenarios women encounter.
• Imposter syndrome is debilitating and can be alleviated by reframing one’s mindset.
• Rezvani discusses how men are celebrated disproportionately over women in the workplace, while intersectionality is often glossed over.
• Workers are commonly discouraged from setting boundaries when balancing work and life.
• Are you inhibited in your workplace? Try initiating a conversation more often — watch your confidence soar!
• Rezvani reflects on how to use courage to power through feelings of doubt and to take action against avoiding regret.
• Quick Confidence is a book that originated as bite-sized confidence tips Rezvani provided initially in a LinkedIn newsletter. She quickly amassed almost 100,000 subscribers and a book deal! Rezvani shares how it went down.

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Do you want to create a harmonious and productive work environment where employees feel engaged and innovative? Are you searching for ways to lead with mindfulness and unlock the full potential of your team? In this SheVentures episode, our guest, corporate mindfulness guru Keren Tsuk, Ph.D., reveals the key to achieving these goals as the founder of Wisdom To Lead, a company with clients including Google and Bayer. Tsuk explores her wide-ranging pivots within the corporate world and combines them with a personal, 20-year mindfulness practice.

Tsuk — an international teacher, consultant, entrepreneur, and author — shares practical strategies and insights on incorporating mindfulness into leadership, fostering a culture of connection, creativity, and success. Her new book, Mindfully Wise Leadership, is a practical guide for implementing mindfulness in the workplace. By implementing Tsuk’s proven techniques, you can cultivate a workplace that thrives on mindfulness, leading to increased employee satisfaction, enhanced collaboration, and, ultimately, extraordinary results. Tune in to discover the power of mindfulness in leadership.

Episode Key Takeaways:

• Discover the transformative power of mindfulness when applied to leadership.
• Explore the rewarding balance of material ambitions and spiritual fulfillment in business.
• Uncover the multifaceted struggles of incorporating mindfulness into the corporate sphere.
• Learn about unique courses and retreats geared toward cultivating mindful leaders.
• Witness the art of career, academic, and family management and how Tsuk pivots with agility.

More Highlights:

• Why Tsuk decided to start her mindfulness-based leadership company, Wisdom To Lead
• How mindfulness helps overcome personal and professional resistance and fear
• Tsuk describes the role of mindfulness in her personal life and her practice.
• Balancing roles: Tsuk reflects on how she earned her Ph.D., taught, and started her company.
• The unique challenges Tsuk faces as a female founder include the importance of setting boundaries and asking for respect in the workplace.
• Learn how mindfulness can be integrated with diversity, equity, and inclusion in any organization.
• How Tsuk uses feedback from course participants to continuously iterate and improve
• Scaling her business by crafting a mindfulness-based leadership course and offering it to the corporate world
• Resources, recommendations, and how to work with Wisdom To Lead
• Check out Tsuk’s book Mindfully Wise Leadership and her pragmatic approach to implementing mindfulness in the workplace.

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Have you heard these myths about work-life balance in venture capital? Myth #1: You have to sacrifice your personal life to succeed. Myth #2: Only men can handle the demands of the industry. Myth #3: Taking time for self-care is a sign of weakness. But let’s be real, these are all…myths. And Ashley Aydin, principal at VamosVentures, is here to share the truth about balancing work and life in venture capital.

As a successful VC, she knows firsthand the challenges and rewards of juggling a demanding career and personal life. Get ready to debunk these myths and learn practical strategies for achieving work-life balance in the startup world.

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Unravel the untapped value of diverse funding in venture capital
• Appreciate the impact of empowering underrepresented entrepreneurs on driving sustainable economic growth
• Aydin’s career pivots from Morgan Stanley to working with an early-stage startup and subsequently earning her MBA from MIT Sloan School of Business
• Real talk about the marginalization of Black and Brown consumers — and what you can do
• Acquire the recipe for achieving work-life equilibrium in the fast-paced environment of venture capital
• Get a glimpse of the cutting-edge technological solutions tackling the complexities of aging and elder care
• Why Aydin is focused on investing in and empowering Latinx entrepreneurs.
• Hone your skills in delivering persuasive pitches that leave a lasting impression on potential investors

The tips mentioned in this episode are:

• Prioritize building a strong company culture as a founder to attract and retain top talent
• Focus on creating a viable business model that can scale quickly and target a large, growing market
• Know and understand your consumer or target audience to build a product that meets their needs and priorities
• Consider impact-oriented investing and allocating dollars toward diverse founders to make a big impact
• Seek out and learn from those who have been through similar experiences to gain insights and guidance

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Most people move once or twice in their life, but the move is seldom across continents. Following her now husband, Carice Anderson undertook a journey that led to much more than just a new location. Her book, Intelligence Isn’t Enough: A Black Professional’s Guide to Thriving in the Workplace, outlines how to overcome such big changes, remain authentic, and much more.

As a Black woman and the first member of her family to enter the corporate world, Anderson isn’t a stranger to facing challenges in the workplace. Though many businesses are slow to make progress, you don’t need to be. As Anderson points out: Change starts with the individual.

Discover how Anderson turned these obstacles into lessons for women of color, on this episode of SheVentures.

Timestamps:

2:00 Anderson’s move from the United States to South Africa 5:30 Culture differences between the U.S. and South Africa 8:18 Challenges Anderson experienced as a first-generation corporate worker 9:47 The framework of Anderson’s book 12:56 Anderson explains how to develop your personal brand. 17:07 Authenticity in the workplace 22:12 Anderson grades corporate America’s relationship with Black professionals. 26:27 Transforming yourself 28:06 Anderson discusses the difference between working in your business and working on your business. 32:25 Key takeaways for women of color in corporate America

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Swank A Posh CEO Ebony Swank pivoted from being a high school dropout and teen mom to building a $40M+ year fashion empire that sells body-positive clothes for women in a little over a decade. Swank bootstrapped her company with $12,000, and the first iteration of her online business failed. She attributes her success to grit, determination, hard work, being data-driven, and trial and error.

The next time you think you can’t accomplish something or there are too many cards stacked against you, listen to this episode of SheVentures for inspiration, as we take a deep dive into Swank’s life, her wins, and her trade-offs.

Highlights:

• Swank reflects on her childhood and the sacrifices her own mother made to provide for her family.
• Swank describes her sudden pivot to becoming a teen mother.
• Swank’s first job was an entry-level position in accounting and she worked her way up.
• Trial and error: Swank’s first retail business failed, as did a hair salon. Swank reflects on how this taught her invaluable lessons on pricing and controlling overhead costs.
• Swank reveals how she became phenomenally successful at online marketing — and shares her secret sauce.
• Insight on how to be a good negotiator and get the best outcome.
• Taking the supply chain into her own hands.
• How many buyout offers has Swank received?
• Three key tips for women of color who want to stand out professionally.
• Paying it forward: Why Swank created a secondary business called Business Best Friends, a program to help entrepreneurs learn how to run their businesses.
• Financial literacy and leadership in action: Swank mentors young Black women from entry-level employees to become high-level executives at Swank A Posh.

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Do you struggle to monetize your business, need guidance on setting boundaries, and find sales to feel, well, sleazy?

In this episode of SheVentures, Annie Ruggles, founder of the newly rebranded Quirk Works Consulting, speaks about coaching 200+ solopreneurs and small business owners who struggle with sales, much like Ruggles did in early entrepreneurship. You’ll listen to her tips on relational sales, the value of investing in personal and professional relationships, and the importance of finding your community.

Highlights:

• How her musical theater background helps her read a room
• Why she understands the plight of creatives when it comes to selling
• The importance of rebranding a business Ruggles’ mental pivot: “I am not only a sales coach but a marketer.”
• How to build authentic relationships with clients, listen, collaborate, and understand their needs
• Why it’s essential to contact clients for testimonials and referrals — and how to do it
• Book recommendations: Joy-Full AF: The Essential Business Strategy We’re Afraid to Put First and Practical Ikigai
• Let’s hear it until it sticks: Self-care is not selfish — and how Ruggles learned this firsthand.
• Key challenges female entrepreneurs face
• How to find your niche and why it matters
• Insights on the best social media platforms for business — it’s not what you think!
• Ruggles take on ChatGPT and why it will never replace humans.
• Why do you need to delegate tasks that do not align with your strengths?
• Ruggles’ professional wins and regrets, staying authentic, and overcoming sales avoidance

If you are struggling with your business, Ruggles recommends SellCoachSell.com, where you can find a copy of her noir sales novella.

Extra bonus if you find Ruggles on LinkedIn, drop her a line, and let her know you heard her on SheVentures!

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A successful podcast entrepreneur, as well as the founder and CEO of Ginni Media — a podcast strategy and creation company that serves both big-ticket clients and fledgling entrepreneurs with quality audio strategy, monetization, community building, and production tips — Ginni Saraswati, is the audio authority. After all, Saraswati, who has hosted a few morning radio shows, has embraced audio since….what? Radio?!

Saraswati shares her journey from Sri Lanka to Australia to the U.S. and details her experiences in radio and podcasting. She also discusses the challenges she faced with racial intolerance and what it was like to come out as queer to her traditional family. Not for nothing, but Saraswati is keen on all creators staying true to their values — and preaches the power of authenticity in business.

With characteristic authenticity, she recalls the business idea that failed and how she learned invaluable lessons from her mistakes as an entrepreneur. Listen to Saraswati delve into gender imbalance in podcasting as she speaks about being a woman in a male-dominated industry — and stick around for her tips for women looking to pursue their business dreams, on this episode of SheVentures Podcast.

Highlights:

• Saraswati talks about radio and podcasting, her passions for more than a decade, producing award-winning content focused on pop culture, music, entertainment, and the LGBTQ+ community.
• What it was like to interview celebrities like Paula Abdul and be the host of two-morning radio shows in Melbourne, Australia
• As a Sri Lankan immigrant to Australia, Saraswati speaks about her cultural acclimation.
• Entrepreneurship involves personal and professional transformations, including overcoming fear, reckoning with imposter syndrome, and learning to delegate tasks.
• Saraswati recalls coming out — and how she found support in the LGBTQ+ community.
• Facing discrimination and stigma, Saraswati found solace in the community and used her platform to amplify voices.
• Saraswati discusses the gender imbalance in podcasting and content creation and attributes it partly to obstacles and judgment women face. Representation is crucial in podcasting, and Saraswati’s journey shows how important it is to amplify diverse voices.
• A failed event business, Blink, taught Saraswati that having a greater purpose is essential for success.
• She started Ginni Media as a side hustle and won five clients before quitting her day job.
• Today, her client roster includes Cynthia Rowley, Allure, Siemens, and many entrepreneurs.
• Saraswati faced numerous challenges in her entrepreneurial journey, including losing all her money.
• Ginni Media grows through referral clients, prioritizing quality over quick growth.
• Reviewing how podcasts can be monetized — and how to decide what is right for you
• Saraswati encourages people to reach out to her on Instagram at @ginnimedia or @theginnishow

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Marjorie Radlo-Zandi is an accomplished entrepreneur, board member, and angel investor who started her career in sales and marketing and continued as a business development executive for decades. One major professional accomplishment: She grew a life science diagnostic company with angel funds, expanded it to more than 100 countries, and sold it to a multi-billion-dollar publicly held firm. Do you think she may know a thing or two about how to scale a business?

Radlo-Zandi also reflects on timing and work-life balance. Learn which company she did not become employee number 3 at because she was becoming a mother, and knew she wasn’t willing to spend 18-hour days at a promising startup and sacrifice her chance to show up for her daughter.

Radlo-Zandi is pragmatic about other work-life balance decisions she and her husband made, and she emphasizes the importance of finding equal opportunities for both spouses when making career moves. In her case, both she and her husband took turns putting their job first.

That said, Radlo-Zandi acknowledges she also has skills that are in high demand, so finding a job wasn’t a struggle whether in Silicon Valley or the East Coast. She stresses the significance of soft skills such as emotional intelligence, listening, and understanding cultural nuances in building relationships and trust. Listen to Radlo-Zandi’s candid discussion about how more women need to be in leadership roles. She underscores how angel investing and venture capital need to expand to a more diverse and inclusive community pool for investment opportunities. She talks business and is also refreshingly frank about the balancing act between her personal and professional lives on this episode of SheVentures.

Timestamps 1:53 Radlo-Zandi recalls how growing up in a family of entrepreneurs helped shape her. 6:12 A firsthand account of being a woman in Silicon Valley in the 1980s 8:17 The current state of venture capital funding for female tech entrepreneurs 9:47 Discussion on the lack of access to friends and family rounds for diverse entrepreneurs as well as the need for improved government programs 13:05 Tips for dual-career couples who want to raise children and are considering moves for career opportunities 17:50 Steps for entrepreneurs contemplating an exit 18:51 Radlo-Zandi discusses the importance of cultural match and transparency in mergers and acquisitions. 24:16 Building relationships and establishing trust in different cultures and why it matters 28:37 The importance of work-life balance and its positive impact on productivity and health for both employers and employees 29:00 What are Radlo-Zandi’s three important lessons for female entrepreneurs? 31:24 Radlo-Zandi discusses the exciting innovations in diagnostics, immunotherapy, and gene therapy in the life sciences industry as well as what the future may hold.

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If you’ve ever suffered from anxiety and depression so debilitating that you knew you had to slow down to focus on your mental, physical, and spiritual health — and uncover your career and life purpose — this SheVentures episode is for you. 🙏🏽

Jen Shultz’ career journey started in the music and entertainment industries before she pivoted to education. She returned to school herself, earned her master’s degree in education, and landed a job at an NYC charter school. But despite her love of teaching, she found herself becoming increasingly depressed and anxious, not to mention more than $100,000 in debt due to school loans. 😱

Shultz prioritized her health, quit her stable teaching job, and founded her first entrepreneurial venture: a tutoring business called Teacher on the Go, where she helped students as a private tutor. After the first one turned into several, she recognized that she was capable of creating a business that scaled. ✅

Like many entrepreneurs, Shultz also learned to keep perfectionism at bay so she could take action. After another bout of anxiety and depression, an epiphany led her to combine her passion for teaching and supporting others by becoming a career coach for women and launching The Non-Nine-to-Five, a business created to help women find their untapped or unrecognized potential. 🚀

Shultz faced those self-doubt gremlins as a new business owner. With the help of mentors and focusing on her personal growth, she was able to manage her anxiety and move her business forward while keeping her physical and mental health intact. ♥️

In our discussion, Shultz reveals her wins and her failures, taking risks, building relationships, and owning her potential. She also discusses the power of trusting one’s intuition and making decisions from the heart. Get ready for some real talk on this episode of SheVentures.

Hey, if you need to speak to someone immediately about your mental health, or you are considering suicide, please click on the hyperlink to the ➡️ Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or dial 988.

Jen Shultz’ offer for SheVentures listeners:

If you sense you are meant to create successful self-employment impacting the lives of others with your own unique skills and talents BUT you get caught up in self-doubt, second guessing yourself, or overwhelm - Jen invites you to apply for a private clarity call with her (her gift to you!). On your call, Jen will listen deeply about what isn’t working, she will aim to have you feel seen and heard, and you will see if the work Jen does is a match for you. Click here to apply! Offer expires 5/31/23 at 11:59 PM EDT.

Timestamps

1:53 Shultz discusses her career path in the music industry after college. 4:33 A suggestion from Shultz’s mother sparks an interest in teaching. 13:46 Working as a private tutor for a woman-owned business fascinates Shultz and builds her confidence as she starts to build clients one at a time.

16:03 Shultz’s father encourages her to start her own tutoring business and figure out how to market it.

22:35 What statement propelled Shultz to start her current business, The Non-Nine-to-Five?

31:06 Shultz provides insight on finding the right mentor from a coach and client perspective — and gives information on how The Non-Nine-to-Five process works.

40:05 Though she may appear confident, Shultz experiences mental health hardships, too.

42:44 Three tips for those who are at the start of a career or life change

44:59 Shultz reflects on her personal and professional wins.

47:20 Typical clientele of The Non-Nine-to-Five and more information on the business

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Franny Tacy, the owner of Franny’s Farmacy, a cannabis franchise, shares her journey from pharmaceutical sales to cannabis farming. She discusses her struggles with student loans, disillusionment with the pharmaceutical industry, and love for farming. Tacy’s story is one of perseverance and reinvention, and she encourages other women to follow their passions and take advantage of opportunities like the USDA loan for beginning farmers. Tacy acknowledges the challenges she’s faced in the male-dominated cannabis industry, and how she still became one of the few female hemp farmers in North Carolina.

Listen to how Tacy’s business began as a destination for community events, weddings, and goat yoga. She explains how she pivoted to hemp and cannabis farming, an unregulated industry (at the time). Tacy emphasizes the importance of building a strong brand and culture for her franchise. Learn how she measures her success with product safety, e-commerce, and her cannabis franchise model while remaining committed to diversity and mentorship on this smoking-hot episode of SheVentures!

Timestamps 2:03 Why Tacy started in big pharma and her pivot to farming. 8:11 Tacy discusses purchasing a farm and the difficulties she faced. 11:43 What is regenerative agriculture? 15:40 Tacy’s transition from a corporate career to the cannabis industry. 16:16 Getting involved with efforts to legalize cannabis cultivation. 22:50 Tacy’s entrepreneurial journey in the cannabis industry. 24:39 Tacy stays independent in a cutthroat industry. 28:15 Keeping the business small and authentic while building a brand. 33:41 Are there women in executive roles in the cannabis industry? 39:50 Is cannabis a moneymaker? 42:25 Tacy encounters legal obstacles in different states.

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Have you ever wished your passion project or side hustle could become your full-time gig ⁉️

Jamila Trimuel did, and though it took years of planning, she eventually transformed her personal and professional life. Today Trimuel is the founder and CEO of Chicago-based Ladies of Virtue, a nonprofit that’s worked with thousands of girls of color on confidence-building, leadership, job-readiness skills, and combating the marginalization young women of color often face.

Listen to Trimuel speak candidly about why mentorship matters, and what it took to pivot from a stable job in healthcare administration to embrace a complete career reinvention. She speaks authentically about her motivations, fears, and wins — and guides listeners through the journey of starting a nonprofit and slowly scaling to where it is today.

Trimuel’s long-term plan is to expand the organization nationwide. Through Ladies of Virtue, Trimuel is instilling confidence and empowering young women of color to succeed in whatever they choose to do. On this episode of SheVentures, learn more about Ladies of Virtue volunteer and mentoring opportunities.

If you would like to donate, please go to ➡️ lovchicago.org. ⬅️

Timestamps

3:16 Trimuel recalls how she realized the importance of positive role models. 15:53 How did she deal with life’s challenges? 17:07 Real talk about coping with miscarriage 20:56 How Trimuel started Ladies of Virtue 31:59 Get ready for master tips for networking and relationship building. 35:59 Utilizing corporate sponsorships for mentoring opportunities 43:27 Trimuel addresses harmful misconceptions about marginalized women of color. 48:57 Why it’s essential to meet women where they are 49:44 How Trimuel helps build confidence in young women 51:14 Steps to mentor proactively from a woman who has done it for more than a decade 52:58 Small acts of mentoring 56:00 Volunteer and mentoring opportunities with a virtual alternative

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Imagine experiencing a range of tropical fruit year-round right in your own home. From pink pineapples grown on farms in Costa Rica to fresh yellow dragon fruit native to Mexico and Central America, Desiree Morales provides exotic, tropical fruit in a box delivered to your doorstep. Morales recognized this niche during the pandemic — and went all in.

Morales, CEO and founder of Tropical Fruit Box, a company dedicated to providing fresh, exotic tropical fruit to consumers, is an offshoot of the existing family business, WP Produce, which was started by her father, Willy Pardo. He started out selling exotic and tropical fruit from the back of his truck in Miami to provide the neighborhood staples common to their diet, but tough to find in local markets. Morales’ business experience helped her identify a gap in the market, which she filled with on-demand tropical and exotic fruit boxes.

Inspired by her father’s commitment to building relationships, Morales and her family collaborate with farmers globally to supply quality produce to customers.

Listen to Morales discuss her experience as she grew up working alongside her father, how she applied her knowledge to expand the family business, and her pivot to building a venture of her own on this episode of SheVentures.

2:25 Morales speaks about her father’s success

4:10 Following in her father’s footsteps, Morales saw a need in today’s market and worked to meet it

6:23 Morales describes her experiences growing up in the family business

8:58 What kick-started Morales’ idea behind Tropical Fruit Box?

11:22 There were many roadblocks Morales fought to overcome

13:30 How did the COVID pandemic affect Morales’ business?

20:53 Morales discusses her highs in business and personal life

23:15 Morales describes lessons she learned while building her business to what it is today

26:05 Tips for entrepreneurial women looking to build their own business

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Imagine sourcing hand-sewn original lingerie from the labor of women who work in Ukraine and Russia, and navigating supply chain issues during the ongoing war. This is but one of many hurdles Angelina Mahany, founder, and CEO of Angie’s Showroom, has overcome in her personal and professional lives.

This ex-Russian ballerina studied and worked on three continents before deciding to settle in the U.S. after a two-year long-distance romance with her now husband. Mahany transitioned to life in the U.S., where the culture, people, and food were foreign. She persevered and started an Instagram e-commerce reselling business selling handbags as a proof of concept. Once she realized she could earn money and balance motherhood, she focused on creating Angie’s Showroom, an online store with hand-sewn lingerie.

She is offering SheVentures listeners 15 percent off of any lingerie purchases at Angie’s Showroom. Use the code SheVentures15 at checkout, good until May 31, 2023, 11:59 PM EDT. Cannot be used with other discounts.

10:00 What it takes to become a professional ballerina, and why Mahany pivoted to economics after a decade of ballet 12:00 How Mahany’s supply chain dried up in the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war 15:00 Comparing the cost and quality of higher education in Russia versus the U.S. 20:00 How Mahany met her husband online, and how they navigated a long-distance relationship for two years between Cyprus and Texas 26:00 Mahany speaks about getting deported after a visa mishap. She and her fiance spent thousands of dollars to get her into the U.S. 32:00 Reality sets in working remotely, newly married, pregnant, and in debt. 35:00 Mahaney’s first foray into entrepreneurship in e-commerce, reselling and selling handbags on Telegram and Instagram @shopaholic.in.usa — and making a profit 37:00 How a bachelorette party led to the concept of Angie’s Showroom 41:00 The difference between American and Ukrainian/Russian seamstresses 43:00 Expanding to consignment in Austin and creating her own lingerie designs 47:00 Plans for 2023: pricing versus sustainability, and finding the balance 49:00 Tips, pros, and cons on Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon Handmade

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Have you ever struggled with personal finance or worried that you may never attain financial wellness? You’re not alone. Certified financial planner Deanna LaRue is here to help you change your mindset.

LaRue recognizes the need for financial education, something often not taught in childhood or even high school. She started TimeWise Financial in 2009 — and with 18 years of experience — knows the importance of the personal connection between a financial advisor and her clients.

Money management is as much about mindset as it is about finding one’s goals and planning for them. Listen to LaRue describe how she started her first business, at 24 (she knew her professional path earlier than many) and why she is intentional about women learning how to manage their assets. La Rue recalls obstacles and the other common challenges women face with personal finance.

Just in time for financial literacy month, LaRue provides a financial framework for women in each decade of their lives — and most importantly, she provides tips on how to overcome financial fear, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:55 LaRue discusses her professional path and her pivot to entrepreneurial clarity. 4:15 What are the key differences between a broker-dealer and a certified financial planner? 5:42 LaRue recalls her early hurdles including imposter syndrome. 12:50 What are the common financial roadblocks female clients face? 15:20 LaRue gives financial tips for women by decade. 29:30 Why it’s crucial to consider relationships when it comes to money 31:30 Tips for overcoming financial fear 33:40 What are common money-related self-sabotaging behaviors? 37:00 What is one thing LaRue wishes she had done when she was younger? 38:00 Where you can learn more about LaRue and her business

Disclaimer: Any recommendations or statements do not take into account the financial circumstances, investment objectives, tax implications, or any specific requirements of readers/listeners. Tips provided by guests on SheVentures podcast and/or editorial content on our website should not be construed as investment advice.

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Many of us are taught that it will take at least three to five years to crack a six-figure income as a small business. Dr. Karwanna D says it’s possible to earn that amount in three to six months. How? From the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world always has cash on hand: the government.

Dr. Karwanna started in telecommunication sales and earned a high five-figure salary. She soon realized that working for a corporation meant losing agency over her time. She started bidding on small government contracts as a video creator and realized she could win government contracts after experiencing some early wins.

She has now taken lessons learned and converted them into a five-day challenge and a 90-day accelerator where she teaches small business owners strategies to land six- and seven-figure contracts with the federal, state, and local governments.

If you are interested in signing up for the next five-day challenge to pre-qualify your business, use this link.

As a speaker, author of Don’t Duck the Government Because They’ve Got Your Money, and business coach, Dr. Karwanna shares what she learned during her pivotal foundation-building years. Her courses are designed to help you skip the learning curve, but you still need to do the work. Dr. Karwanna shows up, is charismatic, and is ready to share her knowledge.

Listen to her journey from barely seeing her kids to buying her time back via government contracting, on this episode of SheVentures.

03:17 Dr. Karwanna pivots from a 9-to-5 career to entrepreneurship 06:45 Her 9 to 5 and why she pivoted to entrepreneurship 14:09 How failing forward and government contracting returned Dr. Karwanna’s time 19:29 She shows the steps to selling to the government 27:55 How one’s mindset is crucial to wealth building 34:15 How her 90-day government accelerator program works 40:31 Tips for women who are starting as entrepreneurs 43:02 Dr. Karwanna shares her professional goals in 2023 45:19 Learn how government contracting could earn you more money in less time

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How does a South Korean orphan who had difficulty walking grow up to become a seven-figure entrepreneur? One thing’s for certain: It did not happen overnight for Sun Yong Kim-Manzolini.

Suffering from physical and psychological abuse for more than a decade as a child, Sun Yong Kim-Manzolini was adopted by an American family at the age of 14. The United States opened doors to a new life of creativity and hope for her.

While working as a nursing assistant for more than two decades, Kim-Manzolini realized her current salary would lead to a stark economic reality. She would not have enough money to live on in retirement. So she decided to teach herself about options trading. Not only did she succeed at it, but now, Kim-Manzolini wants to share her knowledge and strategies with the world.

A multifaceted entrepreneur, business coach, and mindset mentor, Kim-Manzolini is also the author of Opposites/Opposites, a guide to understanding partnership and compromise in a relationship.

Listen to Kim-Manzolini describe her traumatic upbringing and how she overcame a series of challenges to become a successful options trader, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:00 Kim-Manzolini describes growing up in an orphanage

11:50 She recalls transitioning into an American family

16:02 How she overcame childhood trauma

21:43 Career pivoting from nursing to options trading

28:23 Kim-Manzolini breaks down what options trading is

30:05 Types of strategies she uses with options trading

36:31 What should listeners be cautious about when trading options?

38:35 Where to find Kim-Manzolini on social media

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Drinking in public can be awkward when you choose not to consume alcoholic beverages — for whatever reason. Becca Gardner, however, is paving the way to diminish this stigma.

Gardner is the founder and CEO of NKD LDY, an innovative company specializing in non-alcoholic spirits and beverages. The mission of NKD LDY is to ensure that delicious non-alcoholic mocktails are available along with wine and spirits. Gardner’s personal experience stems from embracing sobriety after years of working in a high-profile and high-pressure NYC strategy consulting role. She pivoted both career and location and embarked on her purpose-driven business.

Garner hopes NKD LDY will normalize the choice to consume high-quality non-alcoholic drinks. Founded in Gardner’s home state of Kentucky, NKD LDY uses actual distilled spirits as the base of its products. Once the alcoholic portion of these spirits has been gently removed, customers are able to enjoy aromatic and tasteful alternatives to whiskey, gin, and tequila.

Listen to Gardner discuss her experience with alcoholism and how she founded ALT Distilling, a venture-backed mission-based startup that creates non-alcoholic spirits under the brand NKD LDY, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:00 Gardner opens up about when she knew she had crossed the line into addiction — and how embracing sobriety led to a career pivot. 7:00 Gardner’s “aha” moment with non-alcoholic drinks 9:35 How did Gardner translate a business idea she first identified while in the U.K. and apply it to the U.S.? 11:00 Gardner discusses the process of creating non-alcoholic beverages. 17:00 Curious about the NKD LDY product line?

18:10 Gardner discusses her success in raising venture capital.

21:40 How did Gardner create a board for NKD LDY?

26:20 Gardner shares her biggest surprise as a CEO.

30:20 Tips for women considering personal or professional pivots

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If anyone knows how to create, run, take public, and exit a company successfully, it is Sheila Lirio Marcelo. The Filipino technology entrepreneur is famously known for founding Care.com, an online marketplace for childcare, special needs caregivers, tutors, and more.

After selling Care.com in 2020 for $500M, Marcelo embarked on a new business venture: the creation of Proof of Learn, a Web3 education platform, which allows students the opportunity to earn rewards while learning code blockchain, a skillset Marcelo says is rare.

Though Marcelo is an entrepreneurial icon, she is transparent about the values her childhood instilled in her that play a role in her success. Marcelo describes moving from the Philippines to the United States, and how it created challenges, biases, and opportunities to overcome on her way to the top.

Listen to Marcelo describe how she identified a gap in the market as a married mother and student that would lead her to create Care.com a decade before other companies embraced an online business-to-consumer model. She also shares the human side of entrepreneurship as well as the challenges she faced (and her wins), on this episode of SheVentures.

2:20 Marcelo describes growing up in the Philippines.

6:30 How did Marcelo balance both motherhood and a startup?

12:35 Marcelo weighs in on her educational accomplishments.

17:30 What was Marcelo’s experience like as a woman of color founder?

20:32 Tips for women who aspire to be in leadership roles

23:10 Marcelo discusses her new career pivot, Proof of Learn.

29:50 How Marcelo’s experience at Care.com influences her approach at Proof of Learn.

32:50 Marcelo speaks about a woman who inspires her and why

34:30 Where listeners can find more about Marcelo, her career ventures, and her current podcast, W3B’D.

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Menstruation is often a taboo topic. From the potential confusion surrounding your first period to embarrassment while purchasing feminine hygiene products, there’s a negative stigma many people associate with menstruation. And that’s assuming you are not one of the 63 percent of women who have difficulty affording these necessary products.

However, CEO Vilmante Markeviciene, is bringing power and positivity to the feminine hygiene market. She is the founder of the U.S. brand Genial Day and the European brand Gentle Day, sustainable feminine care products aimed at minimizing rashes, skin irritation, and unpleasant period smells and spills.

Pivoting from a career in business administration and interior design, Markeviciene found herself at a crossroads in 2008. During the recession, she realized how expensive pads, tampons, period underwear, and related products were in the United States — and seized the opportunity to expand her business from the EU to the U.S.

Listen to Markeviciene describe her entrepreneurial journey, and how your purchases can support displaced Ukrainian people who menstruate, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:33 Markeviciene describes growing up in Lithuania.

7:22 Markeviciene’s promise to donate one product to Ukrainians for each product bought

8:40 What were Markeviciene’s early career pivots?

10:38 How did Genial Day start?

17:10 What is the product approval process?

26:20 Markeviciene discusses the complications of going global. Hint: How did she end up with two names for one company? Listen to her tips so it doesn’t happen to you.

29:00 What role do women play in the feminine hygiene market?

36:00 Education is the base of Genial Day’s mission.

43:30 Markeviciene breaks down sustainability with Genial Day products.

49:42 Tips for young entrepreneurs starting out

51:10 Where to find Genial Day products

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Octavia Goredema, the founder of career coaching agency Twenty Ten, offers a variety of work strategy sessions and workshops for underrepresented employees. With areas of expertise in career mentorship, stress management, and navigation, Goredema works to amplify and redirect the needs of women of color in entrepreneurship and corporate America.

Goredema is the author of Prep, Push, Pivot: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women, a career coaching guide for women of color.

Listen to Goredema discuss her career and life pivots from moving continents for romance to her wins and challenges as a minority business owner,career coach, and book author, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:45 Goredema discusses her childhood curiosity.

3:50 How Goredema was appointed to the Order of the British Empire 11:54 How Goredema pivoted from corporate America to startup agency founder and book author

17:30 What role has rejection played in Goredema’s career?

23:09 How race and representation affect women of color in corporate America

30:40 Goredema discusses the three most common areas where women of color seek coaching.

34:10 Where listeners can learn more about Goredama and her book, Prep, Push, Pivot: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women

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When you realize you are role models for millions of women, it’s both exhilarating and scary. Sister co-founders Angela Muhwezi-Hall and Deborah Gladney had their reckoning this year as women of color founders. Both realized they are role models for all Black women — the 99.5 percent that haven’t yet succeeded in raising capital like they have — and they feel added pressure and responsibility to succeed.

Last year when we spoke, these founders covered their oversubscribed raise of $1.4M after completing the Techstars accelerator. In this episode, the sister-founder duo talks about raising more capital and share how it was tougher this time despite both being a “known quantity.”

Listen to them candidly discuss race, venture capitalists, the rebrand of their career-discovery platform to WorkTorch, and their goals for 2023. And yes, we set a date to speak again in 2024 to trace their growth, hardships, and wins.

As women of color, the pair discuss role-modeling for other women in entrepreneurship and tech and how important it is to remain confident.

Tune in to hear about what they believe they’ve done well, where they can improve, and their respective goals until we speak next year.

2:40 Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney discuss the milestones and barriers of raising capital.

8:10 The duo talk discrimination in the tech industry as women of color founders.

11:50 Tips for staying fueled and dealing with microaggressions in the workforce

14:00 All about WorkTorch and why a rebrand was essential

19:45 How WorkTorch is positioned as a B2C and a B2B company, always free for job seekers with a subscription model for companies

23:45 The impact and responsibilities Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney face as minority founders

27:20 Three tips about entrepreneurship the founder-duo would give to their past selves

31:50 Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney discuss their goals for 2023.

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Representation of women in the fintech industry is scarce. So scarce that women make up less than 10 percent of fintech founders or executive board members, according to a recent paper from the International Monetary Fund. But Sofiat Abdulrazaaq is changing the game for women of color in fintech.

Abdulrazaaq is the co-founder of Goodfynd, a platform that began as a way to help consumers find nearby food vendors/trucks and facilitate ordering and delivery where available.

Goodfynd also has a B2B application. Abdulrazaaq identified the need for all mobile vendors — food or otherwise — to have an accessible and affordable one-stop shop to run their business. This “business in a box” model is meant to reach the under-served community of first generation and immigrant mobile vendors, allowing them to include what they need from the Goodfynd platform — without extra bells and whistles. What started off as an organic quest to find food trucks before the pandemic morphed into B2C and a scalable B2B model.

Pivoting from a stint in privacy law (she got her JD then decided to become an entrepreneur), Abdulrazaaq shows resilience in the face of hardship as a woman of color in a male-dominated world.

Listen to Abdulrazaaq discuss raising capital and launching Goodfynd, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:45 Abdulrazaaq discusses her career pivots.

4:20 How did the idea for Goodfynd emerge?

10:15 Abdulrazaaq reflects how a grant from Lighthouse Labs helped her and her co-founders create a proof of concept.

19:05 Will Goodfynd expand its business model to all mobile businesses?

22:12 What does being an “impact-first executive” mean to Abdulrazaaq?

25:22 Abdulrazaaq shares her experience as a woman of color raising capital.

33:55 What are her three tips for women pursuing entrepreneurship?

38:06 Where can listeners learn more about Goodfynd?

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With nearly two decades of experience in brand strategy, Talia Boone is no stranger to marketing and brand collaboration. From pioneering a creative marketing agency to starting a fresh-cut flower business, Boone is a prime example of what it takes to creatively execute an idea.

Boone discusses how branding, creativity, and social change were a catalyst to start Inter:Sect, an agency focused on brand amplification and social issues. By implementing multimedia strategies and social impact initiatives, Inter:Sect gives consumers and partners a platform to showcase their brands.

It was during the pandemic when Boone was stressed that she turned to flower arranging for peace of mind. In doing so, she found an unexpected business niche in the flower market.

The idea of Postal Petals blossomed after Boone discovered that farmers needed a better way to sell their products. Now, Boone and her team provide consumers direct access to farm-fresh, high-quality flowers — delivered right to their doorstep.

Listen to Boone discuss her passion for social change and representation, as well as her pivot to entrepreneurship, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:17 Boone describes her activism awakening.

4:50 Boone discusses her creative marketing agency, Inter:Sect.

10:37 How have brands encapsulated the Black Lives Matter movement?

15:40 How to keep corporations and consumers accountable regarding representation

21:00 Boone shares her experiences as a woman of color in corporate America.

25:18 How did Boone start a business during the pandemic?

35:34 What can customers expect from Postal Petals?

37:37 Boone explores the most difficult and rewarding parts of starting a business.

43:17 Boone shares tips for women of color who want to start a business.

46:16 Where to find Postal Petals on social media

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If anyone knows how to pivot from a traditional job to entrepreneurship, it’s Kim Gros, founder of SteelCraft, a company that creates outdoor urban eateries from repurposed shipping containers. Starting in 2107 in Long Beach, California, Gros later expanded to outposts in Bellflower and Garden Grove.

Gros — with a leap of faith and a loan — built eateries where tourists and locals can eat artisanal food, drink craft beer, and enjoy community events in a shared safe space.

Gros decided to dive into the food industry with little knowledge and abundant determination. She curated her business from start to finish with the help of economic development partners and an idea that would stand out: using shipping containers — a common sight in Long Beach (the second largest port in the world) — as a dining space. Gros shares how she executed her business plan from scratch.

Listen to Gros as she describes the ups and downs of implementing a business idea and shares her advice for navigating unexpected challenges and honing in on making your dream a reality, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:12 Kim Gros reflects on growing up with inspiring people

13:09 How to utilize human resources tactics in entrepreneurship

17:10 How did the creation of SteelCraft happen?

21:22 How SteelCraft partners with vendors

24:27 The three core values of SteelCraft

29:00 Where can you learn more about SteelCraft?

30:05 Closing advice from Gros on finding your passion

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How does a single mother battling substance abuse end up pivoting to a career in the White House? How does she then become founder and CEO of her own seven-figure business?

The answer is within Rebecca Contreras herself. The CEO of Avant Garde, a human resources consulting firm, and author of a memoir, Lost Girl (in which she describes her childhood, her decisions as a young adult, and how she turned her life around), Contreras gives new meaning to perseverance, dedication, ambition, and humility.

Contreras’ life has been anything but easy. Though she has been successful in her career, Contreras began facing challenges at an alarmingly young age.

In Contreras’ eyes, growing up in an abusive dysfunctional household under the welfare programs paved a predestined path for failure. Determined to escape a cycle of trauma, Contreras relied on mentorship, endurance, and willpower to overcome the obstacles that weighed her down.

Listen to Contreras describe the trials and tribulations of her childhood and teenage years, and how she was able to go from potential destruction to achievement, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:45 Contreras opens up about her traumatic childhood.

8:30 Advice for young girls and women with painful upbringings

12:30 How Contreras leverages her network for success

18:10 Contreras discusses how she built her consulting firm from scratch.

20:52 How to incorporate self-care and love into your daily routine, and why it matters

23:20 How Contreras flourishes in a male-dominated industry

27:20 To what does Contreras attribute her personal success?

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With 20-plus years of experience as a news anchor, Kerry Barrett is the last person you’d imagine to have a paralyzing fear of public speaking. How did this Emmy-award winner overcome her crippling fear?

She faced it, and turned it into one of her core strengths. Barrett once suffered from anxiety that left her crouched in the proverbial fetal position — yes, it was that bad. Now, she shares her public speaking and media training knowledge with clients at her namesake company, Kerry Barrett Consulting.

From one-on-one public speaking coaching to media training and public relations, Barrett and her team offer various options to make even the shyest person come to life on camera.

Listen to Barrett describe her fear of public speaking and how she pivoted from news anchoring to becoming an entrepreneur, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:18 Barrett describes her fear of public speaking.

9:14 What public speaking challenges are most prevalent among women?

15:05 Barrett describes her pivot to entrepreneurship.

19:26 What makes Barrett’s consulting company different from others?

22:28 Barrett explains the process of assessing a client’s video IQ.

27:11 Where does Kerry Barrett Consulting earn the bulk of its revenue?

29:15 Barrett gives her three don'ts when appearing on camera.

32:32 Barrett reflects on her biggest win and challenge.

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How does one balance work and intimacy to achieve success and stay sane? If anyone knows this answer, it’s Cheryl Grace.

After decades as a corporate executive, Grace pivoted to entrepreneurship, to help other women achieve their dream work and personal lives.

Now she shares her tips through her business, Powerful Penny, a consulting firm for women who want to be intentional about identifying and achieving the next level of their career.

In this episode, Grace explains how she emphasizes her “fabulosity” mindset to clients, helping them set their priorities. Through one-on-one or group coaching sessions, Grace believes, any woman can achieve clarity to move forward.

Listen to Grace discuss how to discover and cultivate a “fabulosity” mindset, on this episode of SheVentures.

1:55 Grace recalls her grandmother’s influence on her childhood.

3:30 Grace highlights her impactful career milestones.

7:50 What led to changing to a multicultural marketing paradigm?

11:36 How can consumers tell if a brand is genuinely mission driven and not using social advocacy as a marketing ploy?

14:05 What propelled Grace to pivot into entrepreneurship?

16:50 What does Grace’s company Powerful Penny offer clients?

19:00 Grace explains the “fabulosity” mindset.

24:20 What gender-based career hurdles does Grace see consistently as a workplace consultant?

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Can you imagine being paid $1,000 per minute for a speaking engagement?

Tonya Rapley, internationally recognized speaker, millennial money expert, financial educator, bestselling author, CEO and founder of My Fab Finance, and owner of Club Loofah, doesn’t need to imagine it because it happened to her.

Learn about what attracted Rapley to entrepreneurship, why it matters to her to create generation wealth with passive income streams, and how she is able to so effectively engage with her audience.

Rapley also discusses relatable mom guilt — and how it plays a role in her decision-making. In one case, she didn’t want to miss her son’s first dentist appointment and felt the real heart-wrenching tug moms experience every day as they try to balance a successful career with life.

If you’re building a brand, Rapley’s story will inspire you. Listen to this episode of SheVentures.

5:00 Rapley describes a typical day.
8:24 How the idea for My Fab Finance came to fruition
13:10 How being a woman of color influenced Rapley’s mission
16: 49 Tips for female entrepreneurs to build their brands
19:37 What was Rapley’s biggest source of revenue last year?
21:50 How motherhood affects Rapley’s personal and professional goals
25:54 What Rapley learned while navigating her divorce
29:05 What are the best and most regrettable decisions Rapley has made?
30:46 What women give Rapley inspiration?
34:57 Where listeners can find out more about Rapley and her businesses

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Has love ever inspired you to risk it all and start a new business?

Isabelle Andrieu left her home in France to follow her heart and her future husband to Italy. How could they create a company that melded their passions — hers in linguistics and her husband’s in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science — with an investment of $100?

This was the catalyst for Translated, an AI-based translation company that — in the 20 years since its inception — now boasts 250,000 clients (including Google, IBM, Airbnb, and United Colors of Benetton) in 193 languages and 40 areas of expertise..
Andrieu’s passion for mentoring women means action. Women have grown their careers at Translated: some starting as interns and climbing the ranks to director positions at the Rome-based company. More than 80 percent of Translated’s project management team is female, according to Andrieu.

Listen to how Andrieu fosters leadership, paid maternity leave, and is able (and willing) to raise new mothers’ salaries and to help make their transition back to work humane.

Any woman who is responsible for policies affecting women in the workplace will benefit from Translated as a case study. Though increasing a new mother’s wage to meet the demands of childcare may cost the company in the short term, the loyalty is reciprocated and paid forward when employees are able to manage a healthy work/life balance.

Learn how Andrieu and her team decided to diversify their earnings and invest in the younger generation of entrepreneurs with Pi School, a dual- entity program with a venture arm, hosting seed rounds for startups, and an educational arm, with a scholarship program that helps to develop AI engineers. The goal: to use AI to foster solutions in various industries.

Tune in to hear Andrieu’s journey from bootstrapped startup to global translation powerhouse on this episode of SheVentures.

2:18 How did Andrieu and her husband recognize the opportunity for Translated two decades ago?
9:14 How does Translated work and who is their ideal customer?
11:35 Andrieu explains how human translators and AI coexist
14:50 The key challenges the translation industry faces
18:06 How Andrieu’s childhood shaped the vision for her career
21:53 What other companies could learn from Translated’s investment in female employees
30:18 Where did the concept of Pi School come from
39:30 Why Andrieu believes women tend to shun careers in AI
40:46 Andrieu speaks about diversity in AI.
42:27 What Andrieu thinks of companies that have IPOs with billion-dollar valuations without turning a profit
49:11 Her entrepreneurial successes and lessons learned
55:39 Andrieu discusses the Italian government’s support of entrepreneurs
58:25 Where listeners can find out more about Translated.com and Pi School

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This mom’s frustration with finding quality outdoor gear ⛷🧢 for her children drove her to start an Amazon business a decade ago.

Annalisa DeMarta says her initial interest in Amazon was an experiment spurred by an unsuccessful shopping trip with her son. DeMarta learned how to find manufacturers, run quality checks, set up infrastructure to measure and maintain her supply chain — and learned the ins and outs of the Amazon marketplace. Her small children’s outdoor apparel business morphed into a $5M direct-to-consumer, Amazon-only brand called Lone Cone quicker than she had anticipated. DeMarta sold Lone Cone for an undisclosed sum, adding her to the small but growing group of women founders who exit their ventures.

Clearly an Amazon whiz, DeMarta has used her experience from building and selling Lone Cone to pivot into co-founding an Amazon marketplace consulting agency. Ridgeline Insights consults with clients to help them launch and maintain their products on Amazon through an omnichannel marketing approach.

Bonus Alert:

Business veteran DeMarta shares the one thing that no one mentions when selling a business that she wishes she had known.
Tune in to hear her three tips to grow a brand on Amazon in 2022.
Why she speaks up and asks questions, especially to investors
How to prioritize when creating your Amazon strategy

All and more, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:50 How to start a business while navigating a growing family
17:52 DeMarta’s timeline from ideation to selling her products on Amazon
20:00 Ever wonder what the difference is between dropship and private label? How to decide what’s best for your brand.
24:50 DeMarta discusses the Amazon algorithm and search engine optimization.
30:12 When did DeMarta realize her business was scaling rapidly?
30:42 What happens when you sell your company?
37:30 The insecurities DeMarta sometimes felt when arbitrating purchase deals
39:21 How do you value an Amazon business? DeMarta shares her experience.
42:02 Three tips to grow a brand on Amazon
46:33 DeMarta talks about her pivot from entrepreneurship to agency owner.
50:40 What does omnichannel marketing mean?
55:33 Rookie mistakes aspiring women entrepreneurs should avoid

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Imagine locking eyes with a venture capitalist and saying, “I’m building a big, badass company. You would be so lucky to invest in me.” 🥊

Though this example may seem hyperbolic, it comes from this week’s guest, Madeline Pratt, who is on a mission to help underrepresented founders fund their businesses. Pratt outlines three core reasons why entrepreneurs who are women and people of color often struggle to raise money — and she provides solutions. We think you’ll want to listen in! ✅

Pratt’s professional pivot was the result of peaking professionally at an early age in the financial industry and finding her true passion: helping friends solve business dilemmas and scale their companies.

Initially Pratt helped out friends for fun or for a barter, but she soon realized she had created a sustainable business. She founded Fearless Foundry, a creative consulting firm that helps startups with branding, marketing, and business development. Pratt also started an online community, We Talk Money, for financial professionals with the tagline, “Make Noise. Be Seen. Earn More.” What’s not to love?

Pratt talks about her Give Back Program, which works with early stage founders who don’t have access to capital and often don’t know where to start.

Listen to Pratt’s mission, the challenges of bootstrapping a small business (while wearing many hats), and how she plans to disrupt the venture capital space on this episode of SheVentures.

4:48 What is Fearless Foundry’s origin and mission?
13: 24 Pratt describes the challenges entrepreneurs face with social media marketing.
18:56 How Pratt works with early stage founders through her Give Back Program and what services she offers
24:34 What Pratt believes contributes to the disparity of venture capital for women of color founders
25:24 Three core elements that discourage underrepresented founders from raising venture capital
33:38 The challenges of bootstrapping a business and being a woman founder
42:43 How Pratt offers paid maternity leave in her small business —if she can
52:12 Pratt looks back on what she aced and what she would do differently today.
56:12 Pratt’s long-term goals with Fearless Foundry and where listeners can find out more

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How many Black women billionaires can you name besides Oprah and Rihanna? 👩🏾 💵 🤔

This week’s guest is dedicated to making businesses owned by women of color more visible, fundable, and scalable. Regina Gwynn, angel and limited partnership investor and co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, believes that businesses can be innovated, launched, led, and built by women of color. Gwynn is looking for the next tech unicorn — that is — a company that grows to a $1 billion valuation.

Gwynn’s dreams about building an entrepreneurial empire were inspired by the popular ’80s cartoon Jem and the Holograms, about a record-company owner who’s secretly also the lead singer of a rock group. Gwynn successfully sold Avon products door-to-door as a teen, and that was where her interest in the beauty, fashion, and apparel industry grew.

Gwynn obtained her MBA from Northwestern University and used her job experience and business acumen on her first pivot Tressenoire, a beauty-tech startup for women of color who needed on-demand hair care and styling. The biggest lesson Gwynn has learned: understanding how timing and product-market fit influenced the success of her business.

Gwynn voices the difficulties Black women face when pitching to predominantly white male VC investors. These experiences serve as the catalyst for Black Women Talk Tech, a tech community designed specifically for Black women tech entrepreneurs. The goal: to create a space where Black women could be seen, heard, and engage with a community that can invest in their businesses.

Listen to Gywnn talk about the need to normalize the idea that an investable founder can come from anywhere, on this episode of SheVentures.

3:21 Gwynn talks about her childhood and the entrepreneurs in her family
5:53 What attracted her to the fashion, beauty, and apparel industry
9:51 Advice she would give young women pursuing a career in the fashion industry today
12:33 Gywnn talks about her pivot from fashion to her beauty-tech startup, Tressenoire
20:26 Listen to the difficulties Gwynn had, as a Black woman, pitching for venture capital
25:16 How Gywnn’s experience as a tech entrepreneur informed her next pivot: Black Women Talk Tech
27:56 Gywnn shares her opinion on the “pipeline issue” when it comes to venture/angel funding for women of color
33:24 What incentives does Black Women Talk Tech offer women to help grow their businesses
42:46 What are Gywnn’s biggest wins and unexpected challenges to date?
44:59 Gywnn explains why she included the word “billions” in Black Women Talk Tech’s mission statement
47:06 The goals and initiatives of Black Women Talk Tech
49:41 Where listeners can find out more about Black Women Talk Tech and its programs

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When you think of a truck driver does that memorable scene from Thelma and Louise come to mind?

Ellen Voie wants to change that stereotype and amplify gender diversity in the trucking industry; so she started Women in Trucking, a nonprofit, whose mission is to mentor women with the information, education, opportunity, community, and support they need to succeed in a male-dominated business. Established in 2007, the organization now boasts more than 4,000 members.

Voie’s pivot happened after earning degrees in broadcast journalism and communications. She landed a job in a steel fabricating plant where she moved up the ranks to transportation management and thus her second pivot into the trucking industry.

Voie speaks about her organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, the best practices for women drivers, and why “they should ask a lot of questions and make sure they know what they’re getting into before signing on the dotted line.” She also lends her opinions on how the pandemic affected the trucking industry and why the turnover rate for “on the road” — or long-haul — drivers is so high. Listen to her five steps to consider before pursuing a career in the trucking industry, on this episode of SheVentures.

2:03 What attracted Voie to the trucking industry?
6:04 What was the catalyst for Voie to start her organization, Women in Trucking?
13:22 Voie talks about barriers to women in trucking
15:35 Five steps Voie would recommend to young women interested in trucking careers
18:32 Voie shares typical wages for entry- and intermediate-level drivers.
23:38 Why is there a demand for on-the-road drivers, and how is their job different from daily drivers?
26:05 Reasons Voie feels churn (the turnover rate) is so high in the trucking industry
29:40 How the pandemic affected the trucking industry
32: 52 What are the statistics on assault and microaggression affecting women in trucking?
35:17 Voie speaks about her organization's diversity and inclusion initiatives
40:02 Advice Voie would give her younger self and where listeners can find out more about WIT

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💡Have you ever helped friends and colleagues solve a workplace issue only to realize you’ve discovered a niche business opportunity?

That’s what happened to Amy Spurling, so she created Compt, an HR tech management solution aimed at personalizing employee perks.

After spending more than two decades in mergers and acquisitions as a financial executive, Spurling knows how companies are built.

She successfully raised $1.5 million dollars in 2020 through venture capital firm Harlem Capital and talks about how “finding the right partners made all the difference for her company to scale and grow.” Spurling also shares how she perceives women in tech and finance, both male-dominated industries. Best of all: pitching tips for female founders who are often faced with a disparaging vetting process when looking for funding.

Listen to Spurling describe the landscape of employee benefits in 2022 — and how more companies are supporting remote working positions and moving away from traditional productivity measurements on this episode of SheVentures.

1:55 Spurling explains how mergers and acquisitions are structured.
7:21 How does Spurling perceive herself in a male-dominated industry?
10:35 Spurling shares how she came up with the idea for Compt, an HR tech platform.
17:00 How has personalization helped to make Compt stand out?
21:45 Spurling describes customer traction since she was funded in 2020 amid the pandemic.
22:39 How does Compt make money?
24:04 What tips does Spurling have for female founders pitching to venture capitalists?
32:51 How does Spurling see employee benefits evolving?
38:28 How Spurling measures productivity with a fully 100 percent remote staff
43:23 Where can you learn more about Compt?

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Erectile dysfunction products are widely accepted, but women’s sexual health and wellness are far less so.

Christine Brown is helping to reclaim the female sexual health and hygiene market with The Kind Cup, an innovative, ergonomically designed silicone menstrual cup.

Brown was first introduced to the menstrual cup at their all-women undergraduate college (where they obtained a degree in critical thought) — and it changed their views on feminine products forever.

This American Sign Language (ASL) teacher juggled their career and helped to run their family’s specialty fruit farming business, while casually researching product reviews about the incompatibility of some menstrual cups with women’s bodies. This eventually led to their pivot into entrepreneurship, where The Kind Cup was born.

Brown shares how their own hard-of-hearing journey and non-binary identity helped shape their ideology, explains the misconceptions in label setting, and defines the limits they sought to overcome by challenging people’s notions of what they think they know versus what they assume.

Brown shares how this philosophy is helping them to take the The Kind Cup to the next level on this episode of SheVentures.

5:38: Brown shares their hard-of-hearing journey.
15:00: How Brown pivoted from teaching ASL to designing menstrual cups
19:03: What sparked the idea for The Kind Cup?
23:54: How has their architectural background helped to inspire the design for The Kind Cup?
35:06: Brown takes on the Pink Tax.
41:23: What did Brown need to do to obtain FDA approval?
52:09: Is venture funding to scale in Brown’s future? Find out!

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When’s the last time you had the courage to take a major risk on faith? 🎯

Liziana Carter challenged herself to leave her home and family agriculture business in Romania to start a new life after watching a fitness video filmed more than 8,000 miles away. “Perseverance and hard work (got) me further than just being brilliant,” Carter reflects.

Her dream took a few years of planning, but she found her way to Australia’s Gold Coast, newly divorced and a young daughter in tow.

Carter is the founder of Grow AI, a chatbot/AI platform, and shares her ideal client, product/market fit, wins, and challenges as a woman in tech.

Candid about her mistakes, Carter explains how mastermind groups eventually led her to find her business niche. Hear how fortitude is one of the key ingredients for a successful entrepreneurship on this episode of SheVentures.

2:55: Why Carter doesn’t take hard work for granted.
4:22: The catalyst that led Carter to leave her family business in Romania.
15:32: What is the School of Bots, and how did it influence her entrepreneurial niche?
18:11: Carter describes her business model.
24:31: Tip alert! How to prospect for new clientele.
32:31: What makes Carter’s company stand out in the AI/chatbot space?
36:39: Do women have a level playing field in the tech industry?
37:24: Carter shares her biggest wins and challenges.

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Did you know that half of women don’t have personal retirement savings, according to the U.S. Census?

If that’s you — whether you are 25 or 55 — it’s never too late to find your financial footing. Even if you are contributing to an individual or workplace retirement plan, you don’t want to miss this knowledge-packed episode for financial literacy month.

Mary Beth Franklin, an award-winning and veteran financial journalist who specializes in retirement income, reminisces about her 40+ years in journalism, starting as a congressional cub reporter for United Press International before distinguishing herself at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, among other publications. During this time, she also became a wife and mother. Most inspiring, Franklin became a certified financial planner (CFP) late in her career, presenting to the CFP Board that her professional experience as a journalist was enough to meet the organization’s practical experience requirement.

This episode kicks off Financial Literacy Month by emphasizing Franklin’s prolific career and pivots while providing solid retirement information for all women — whether you are a homemaker, a solopreneur, or a CEO. Take a moment to jot down notes to ensure you are protected as best as possible when you retire. You are the one responsible for understanding your financial destiny, but there’s help and resources galore.

Tune in to hear Franklin tell all in this SheVentures exclusive!

1:36 Franklin shares the opportunities and pivots she took in her career
12:06 What challenges does Franklin see arising as tech plays a central role in journalism?
22:43 Franklin delves into her view of the retirement gap and women
24:33 How she educates people on the optimization of Social Security benefits
25:46 Franklin defines how Social Security is calculated for you or as a divorced or surviving spouse
32:02 Franklin lists effective ways to contribute to retirement
41:24 Why Franklin thinks it’s essential for stay-at-home moms to plan for — and understand — their retirement
45:14 Actions women can take to improve their financial future

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Have you ever wondered why there is so much buzz around Big Data? Should it be exalted or feared?

Retired Air Force Captain Kimberly Shenk believes data, used responsibly, is a force for good.

She earned her master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Draper Fellow, served as a senior data scientist in the Air Force at Pearl Harbor, and worked a few stints exploring how data can be segmented and inform marketing with companies like Sports Authority and Eventbrite.

How did Shenk pivot to her current role as co-founder and CEO of Novi, a
database that catalogs the supply chain of chemicals and other ingredients used in everyday products?

Shenk explains that consumers are demanding more transparency, as are businesses, who want to ensure they can continue to rely on ingredients they use, as the supply chain has been tested during the pandemic. Shenk successfully raised more than $1M to fund Novi.

Listen to how this woman, with a “superpower in problem-solving” is serving both B2B and end consumers on this 100th episode of SheVentures.

• 5:36 Shenk shares how her upbringing encouraged her to bypass gender stereotypes
• 9:42 How her experiences at MIT and in the Air Force prepared her for entrepreneurship
• 20:07 What led Shenk to co-found Novi
• 31:51 How Shenk raised more than $1M in venture capital
• 38:02 Shenk talks about being a woman (and a mother) in male-dominated industries
• 40:21 How does Novi earn money?
• 41:27 Shenk offers insight on where big data is evolving, and how it can make the biggest impact

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Have you ever felt afraid to find your voice and make some noise? Kristen Guillory, Ph.D, thrives on public speaking with a twist of dancing. She shares how to overcome fear, self-doubt, and show your authentic self.

A professor turned self-care coach, and author of Look, Stop Hiding! How to Find Your Voice and Never Dim Your Light Again, recalls becoming a professor in social work by age 27, and learned “not to put herself in boxes that weren’t meant for her.”

Guillory shares the mistakes she’s made, and gives tips on how women can stop being apologetic. Learn how to take ownership as an entrepreneur on this episode of SheVentures.

• 2:49: Guillory shares how she learned to show up as who she is.
• 16:30 : How did Guillory overcome her fear of speaking about herself?
• 20:33: What was the catalyst for her pivot from professor to entrepreueur?
• 24:32 : Learn from the mistakes Guillory made as a young professor and entrepreneur
• 27:42 : Want to stop apologizing for being assertive? Yes!
• 32:12 : What are fears unique to female entrepreneurs, and how does Guillory recommend building courage?
• 43:33 : Worried about entrepreneurial burnout? Guillory shares tips on how not to lose your light.

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Retired commander Majorie Eastman is not a career politician. Yet, this mom, Army intelligence officer, and award-winning author decided to run for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat.

Why?

Having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Eastman’s decade-long commitment to defending our country speaks for itself.

How does she plan on shaking things up as a D.C. outsider if elected? And why is she running? Eastman reveals all in this SheVentures exclusive.

P.S. Eastman is the only veteran in the North Carolina GOP primary field. Plus she’s the mother of a little boy who beat cancer. Her down-to-earth pragmatism is refreshing.

• 1:47 Eastman shares the defining moment when she decided to enter the Senate race.
• 4:34 Why should undecideds cast a vote for Marjorie Eastman?
• 5:53 What Eastman thinks it will take for a divided America to move forward.
• 10:24 Eastman delves into how socialism could be a threat to health care.
• 13:24 Eastman envisions her first 90 days as senator.
• 16:23 How will independents identify with her on the Republican ticket?
• 19:33 Does Eastman feel Gen Z has what it takes to effectively be political leaders?

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The odds are stark: Women of color in tech raised less than half of 1 percent of all venture capital in 2020, according to Project Diane.

Can you imagine using a vision board to inspire you to raise $1.4 million in venture capital? Co-founders Angela Muhwezi-Hall and her sister Deborah Gladney did just that for their career discovery platform, QuickHire. Listen in as these siblings explain how they pivoted from careers in editorial public relations management and college placement and career counseling to venture capital success.

Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney explain how their upbringing in a small town in the Midwest, as first- generation Americans with Ugandan parents, helped to shape their “no excuses mindset.” After working at a nonprofit, Gladney realized that underprivileged youth who decided not to take the traditional education route weren’t getting their fair share of opportunity. This birthed the idea of QuickHire.

Learn how networking and tenacity earned the sisters spots in the competitive TechStars Accelerator Program, which helped them hone in on the product/market fit of their idea.
Through the help of mentorship and continuous research, the duo focused on creating a platform that gives people what they need: equal opportunities, by focusing on empowering the job seeker to take hold of their career.

So how does QuickHire stand out as a new job platform? Tune in and find out!

• 2:25 Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney share where their tenacity as entrepreneurs came from.
• 5:01 The career pivots that helped them to identify their passions.
• 11:37 Muhwezi-Hall shares how she convinced her sister to become her business partner.
• 16:11 What is TechStars and how did confidence, research, and preparation help them get in?
• 20:48 How do QuickHire’s founders identify their customers?
• 21:54 What are the perks of participating in an accelerator such as TechStars?
• 24:08 How has mentorship made a difference in their success?
• 25:06 What is the business model?
• 26:55 What’s the difference between QuickHire and LinkedIn?
• 31:11 Was it easy for each partner to identify their roles in the business?
• 43:50 What are the dos and the don’ts for women of color raising capital?
• 48:30 What is QuickHire’s plan for the future with the capital it raised?
• 50:19 How do Muhwezi-Hall and Gladney define success?
• 53:44 Where can you learn more about QuickHire?

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Don’t think social entrepreneurship can earn a profit? Think again. Rahama Wright discusses how she built Shea Yeleen, a skincare brand that focuses on high-quality shea butter, produced by women’s cooperatives in Ghana.

Listen as Wright speaks about the decision to create living wage jobs (nearly five times the minimum wage) for women-owned shea butter cooperatives in Ghana, through Shea Yeleen. Wright offers some of the women the opportunity to travel to the United States to witness the business funnel from beginning to end.

Wright describes growing up as a first-generation American with Ghanian parents, which motivated her to volunteer for the Peace Corps in West Africa. Wright describes how her time there later sparked the idea for Shea Yeleen.

Discover how Wright pivoted from a foreign service officer for the State Department to bootstrapping her own social impact company. A classic type-A personality, Wright describes how she never let logistics get in the way of her goals, and how she’s determined to see her business — and those of the women she works with — thrive.

If you’re looking for inspiration, listen to this episode of SheVentures, as Wright covers everything from starting a business from scratch to scaling to partnership deals with WholeFoods and MGM Resorts International. For more stories of bold women who inspire, log on to sheventurespodcast.com.

Time Stamps:

• 2:10: Wright describes how her upbringing shaped her views on women empowerment.
• 3:20: She speaks about living in Africa while volunteering for the Peace Corps and how she witnessed the challenges that women face.
• 10:15: The pivot from foreign service officer for the State Department to starting a skincare brand.
• 12:15: Business Tips! Where did Wright find information after she had her initial idea of a social impact skincare brand?
• 15:00: Creating an ecosystem for women: Shea Yeleen’s training program for the women in Ghana.
• 26:40: With no business degree, Wright explains how she figured out each business step from trading to shipping to selling.
• 33:30: She describes her time on the advisory council on Doing Business in Africa, under the Obama Administration — and how individuals have an inherent bias, unknowingly.
• 33:50: What are the biggest misconceptions about social entrepreneurship?
• 44:00: How should aspiring beauty entrepreneurs approach distributors today?
• 45:50: Wright opens up about her proudest and most difficult moments.
• 49:30: The impact the pandemic had on Wright’s business.
• 52:15: Today’s America: Wright speaks about what Black women entrepreneurs face.

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What does it mean to be an organization that promotes equity? Listen as Kerry Mitchell Brown, Ph.D. (a diversity, inclusion, and equity strategist), shares her insights about how organizations can ensure they’re practicing workplace impartiality — as in walk the walk, not simply check the boxes and call it a day.

Mitchell Brown discusses her pivot from a C-suite finance exec — at companies such as Disney and Prudential — to founding KMB,

her namesake diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm, where she is CEO.

Like many women, Mitchell Brown faced work-life tradeoffs, as she juggled multiple personal and professional roles, both early on and later in her career.

Her motto: “You can do it all, but not at the same time; and you can’t do it all by yourself.”

Though the pandemic acted as a catalyst for many businesses to evaluate and invest in DEI, Mitchell Brown recognized the need more than a decade ago.

“Organizational health is based on how employees are valued, understood, and recognized,” says Mitchell Brown. A workplace’s culture that promotes equity will thrive as its staff’s potential is maximized.

How? Mitchell Brown transforms organizations focusing on sustainable, long-lasting, and impactful collaboration between employees and employers alike. That means listening to all points of view to find common ground.

After listening to Mitchell Brown, you will have a better understanding of DEI as a solid pillar in workplace culture. For more stories of bold women who inspire log on to sheventurespodcast.com.

Time Stamps:

• 2:26: Mitchell Brown outlines what drew her to the finance industry.
• 5:03: Getting personal: Remembering juggling work, academics, marriage, and motherhood in her 20s, she emphasizes the importance of having a “village” to support her.
• 11:21: How does one pivot professionally from C-suite finance roles to a DEI entrepreneur and company founder?
• 18:08: If you are a working mother, you will identify with the tradeoffs Mitchell Brown faced with her personal and professional lives.
• 20:26: In fact, this topic was of such interest that Mitchell Brown wrote her doctoral thesis on women of color and the challenges of balancing motherhood with work. Talk about pragmatic!
• 20:43: Reshaping workplace ideals: Mitchell Brown shows how the pandemic acted as a catalyst.
• 24:44: How Mitchell Brown defines diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• 29:31: Ways organizations can tap into the power of present and future leaders.
• 36:15: Candid talk: The conscious and unconscious biases Mitchell Brown faces as a woman of color business owner. Spoiler alert: Even the most “woke” among us have unconscious biases to tackle.
• 37:05: Small business owner strategies to implement a DEI culture, where cost might be a factor.
• 42:12: Mitchell Brown busts the one myth about DEI. What do YOU think it is? Listen!

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If you feel stuck in a career or personal rut, this guest will inspire you. If you’re a stay-at-home-mom reentering the workforce, she’s got you covered. Finally, if your marriage suddenly ends in divorce and you need to hustle to find your way back into the workforce — she’s been there done that.

From civil engineer to Secret Service agent to stay-at-home mother of three to divorced mom reentering the workforce, Lucy Chang Evans inspires listeners through her pivots on this episode of SheVentures.

Chang Evans grew up in Portland, Oregon, in a first-generation Taiwanese family. Chang Evans describes how she felt like she always needed to prove herself as a minority in the United States, which pushed her to pursue a degree in civil engineering.

Living in a post-9/11 world, Chang Evans decided to leave civil engineering to see if she had what it took to join the Secret Service. She did, and it was there she fulfilled her commitment to civic duty. Listen as Chang Evans describes her decision to leave the Secret Service to become a full-time stay-at-home mother of three and how this choice impacted her first marriage.

Another major pivot in Chang Evans’ life: reentering the workforce while going through a divorce and raising young children. Chang describes the differences in today’s hiring environment from when she started her career, and how she adapted in order to thrive and survive.

Just when you think we’re finished, Chang Evans touches on an additional career goal: her run as an Independent for City Council in Naperville, Illinois, while pursuing her MBA.

If you’re afraid to change direction in your life, Lucy Chang Evans’ story is an inspiration. Learn how to put yourself first and adapt to almost any situation on this episode of SheVentures.

Time Stamps:

2:25: Chang Evans describes how her childhood shaped her.
4:00: Women in STEM: Chang Evans describes her experiences studying and working in a male-dominated field.
6:55: Her first pivot: Chang Evans speaks about pivoting from civil engineer to working in the Secret Service.
10:20: An awkward moment:Chang Evans remembers an odd encounter she had with George W. Bush.
14:00: Her second pivot: Chang Evans describes the adjustment of having a high-profile job to becoming a full-time mom of three.
15:30: Life pivot: Chang Evans describes how she adapted to being a single mother of three and gives tips to listeners who are in a similar situation.
19:40: Some key advice: Chang Evans is candid about her challenges reentering the workforce in a digital era.
22:50:Chang Evans provides tips for women who are contemplating blended families.
24:00: Her most recent pivots: Chang Evans talks about her motivation to enter the political arena and why she is pursuing an MBA.

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No, we are not trivializing menopause, a life stage that can include as many as 34 symptoms, but we thought it was a clever wordplay. In truth, menopause is deeply personal and varies from woman to woman. Listen to Catherine Balsam-Schwaber speak about the importance of education and science-backed information to bring menopause to the forefront.

After spending 20 years working in leadership positions in marketing for well-known brands (MTV, NBC Universal, and Mattel), Balsam-Schwaber pivoted to a role that would fulfill her passion of understanding consumer motivation and providing quality health solutions.

That role was with Kindra, a science-backed women’s health community that provides a myriad of estrogen-free menopausal products and education. Balsam-Schwaber describes how “it was destiny” when she took over as Kindra’s CEO after the company’s inception at an incubator.

Balsam-Schwaber passionately describes the stigma and silence surrounding menopause. Some women experience a myriad of symptoms, others hardly any, and many somewhere in between. The Kindra community is defining the new normal when it comes to menopause, by sharing personal stories and science-backed research.

Balsam-Schwaber uses her team members’ wisdom and the strong women-centric platform Kindra provides as a guide for the company’s goals. Listen to her explain why these voices are more valuable than any three-year plan she could come up with alone on this episode of SheVentures.

P.S. Check out Kindra’s online quiz to help you learn more about your body — and determine where you are on your menopause journey.

Time Stamps:

• 1:29: Balsam-Schwaber describes how the skills she gained as a marketer translated to scaling a startup.
• 4:45: Are you curious about the origin of Kindra’s name?
• 13:00: Balsam-Schwaber speaks about why it is crucial to understand how menopause (an often taboo topic) affects the body
• 14:30: Balsam- Schwaber highlights the depth of feedback Kindra receives from its online quiz.
• 16:50: Lavagnino talks about how she experienced a sense of loss when she became menopausal
• 18:00: Our bodies are constantly changing. Balsam-Schwaber describes how menopause is another aspect of a woman’s health that is often stigmatized.
• 19:45: Balsam-Schwaber reiterates that it’s essential to get legitimate, factual, and science-backed information online

SheVentures note: Some additional resources to explore: the National Institute on Aging, the National Institutes of Health Menopausal Hormone Therapy Information, and the Office on Women’s Health

• 20:30: Balsam-Schwaber discusses how Kindra was initially in an incubator program, and how she became the CEO
• 22:15: Learn what it was like for Balsam-Schwaber to pivot from working at large corporations to leading a startup in the middle of a pandemic
• 29:50: Balsam-Schwaber delves into her deep passion for helping women.
• 34:00: Business tip! Balsam-Schwaber underscores why it’s a win-win when employees are in roles where they succeed, not necessarily a role they envisioned for themselves
• 39:45: Balsam-Schwaber describes how she listens to Kindra’s community to understand potential gaps.
• 42:30: Lavagnino and Balsam-Schwaber discuss the challenge of finding time for yourself and the importance of self-care

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Ever wonder how a person decides to go from a stable, well-paying job to risking it all as an entrepreneur? Discover how Natalie Palomino pivoted from a lawyer at the Department of Justice pursuing terrorist financing to a bottom-of-the-pit hair assistant (for a minute), where she learned her new trade from the ground up. An avid student, Palomino says she checks her ego at the door, and believes humility is one key to her success.

Palomino tells listeners about her early life and how it shaped her decision to become a lawyer despite her love of styling hair. Another key pivot: her diagnosis with an autoimmune disease — which helped her define her market — a “clean” pure-ingredient, zero-waste brick-and-mortar haircare salon called North Salon in Southern California.

COVID-19 led to Palomino’s next pivot: her transition to an online store (North Atlantic) — which was something else she had to learn from the ground up. She immersed herself in research and adopted a can-do attitude during the pandemic where she used the extra time to be productive. Palomino learned about e-commerce, SEO, online marketing, and where to find money to pay her staff and keep her business alive.

If you want business tips, get out your notepad during this episode of SheVentures.

Time Stamps:

• 1:17 - Palomino talks about why she became a lawyer.
• 4:00 - What is it like to chase after terrorist finances?
• 10:30 - How networking helped Palomino win a highly-sought-after position.
• 11:30 - Learn how Palomino overcame imposter syndrome.
• 13:20 - Tips on how to network effectively.
• 15:50 - Palomino describes her pivot from government attorney — a job with mega-security and a pension — to becoming an independent contractor as a hairstylist.
• 18:30 - Palomino gives listeners tips to help them decide what they want to do in life.
• 22:00 - How to make money as a service provider.
• 26:20 - Palomino describes being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and how it propelled her to seek out ‘clean’ products.
• 28:25 - Palomino gives helpful tips to secure grants/funding for small businesses.
• 30:45 - Palomino describes how the COVID-19 pandemic — while undoubtedly a tragedy — was a silver lining for her business.
• 44:00 - Learn the easiest and hardest aspects of transitioning from a brick-and-mortar to an online business
• 40:50 - What are the myths and realities of becoming an entrepreneur?

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🙌 New Season of Bold Women!! 🙌

Are you working in a toxic environment? Listen as Asha Tarry, a trauma-informed corporate consultant, life coach and psychotherapist, offers actionable tips that you can use in the workplace to make your job work for you–not the other way around.

Tarry describes her overarching passion to help others as her catalyst to pivot from a mental health practitioner in private practice to becoming CEO of Behavioral Health Consulting Services. A 20-year veteran in the mental health field – Tarry started her work after earning her masters degree in social work.

Tarry delves into workplace burnout, anxiety and unhappiness, as she speaks about the common concerns she hears from employees. She also covers the prevalent–and perhaps overused phrase– The Great Resignation. Tarry explains what it is, why it’s happening now, and whether it will promote permanent changes in work culture.

Tarry specializes in workplace issues that affect women of color, the LGBTQ community, and employees with disabilities while balancing the goals of employers and their businesses. She performs her work at the intersection of a myriad of workplace perspectives. Tarry helps each client take steps towards a more dynamic work culture. Employees are shown how to demonstrate their value, and how to start a conversation about discriminatory concerns without the fear of reprisal.

After listening to Tarry, you will be hard pressed not to take charge of your career in the new year on this episode of SheVentures.

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Sharon Kan built and successfully exited four startups, acquired by names such as Microsoft, Barnes & Noble, and Oracle. Listen to her pragmatic approach to business and learn what she believes is the one quality all entrepreneurs should embrace.

Raised in war-torn Israel, Kan reminisces: “You lived today because you weren’t sure what might happen tomorrow.”

Nonetheless, Kan started her first business at 14, selling homemade cakes to local shops, served her mandatory two years in the Israeli military (air force), and embarked on a multi-decade career in marketing, business, and product development. But her corporate career path was sidelined by motherhood. How did she react?

Kan chose to focus on “feminine power” and boost the mom-economy by co-founding Pepper Lane, a platform designed to provide a community of women to co-mentor and inspire one another — complete with workshops, mentorship, and the myriad of services one needs when starting a business.

It’s time we stop apologizing and embrace our feminine power in the workplace whether we’re moms or not, says Kan.

Listen as Kan dishes real talk on how to bring your authentic self to the workplace on this episode, the season three finale, of SheVentures.

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Imagine what it’s like for any immigrant to embrace the culture and norms of a new nation. Then think about being a highly respected doctor, practicing for years in your native country. When you arrive in the United States, you learn that if you want to practice medicine, you’ll have to dust off your organic chemistry and anatomy books and pass a rigorous exam.

That’s what happened to Noor Ali who skipped undergrad, going straight from the renowned Bronx High School of Science into six years of medical school in Bangladesh, only to barely miss the cutoff when she sat for the U.S. exam to practice medicine. How did she cope?

Ali always knew she wanted to follow in her anaesthesiologist grandfather’s footsteps and become a doctor, but she never envisioned being denied the ability to do so — especially after “paying her dues” and finishing med school. With a successful career in her home country of Bangladesh, Ali was recognized by the United Nations as a volunteer — bringing healthcare to pregnant women and children. Ali felt lost and downtrodden.

Ali’s pivot? She founded a business, Dr. Noor Health, where she marries medical knowledge with health insurance in an advisory role, helping the “healthy and wealthy” find more fitting health insurance policies in the private market based on their health status.

Listen as Ali describes being an immigrant in New York City, volunteering in the slums of Bangladesh, and the price of reinvention on this episode of SheVentures.

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She joined Microsoft when it was a startup, when it was not uncommon to run into Bill Gates in the hallway. She never envisioned a career where she would travel to 60 countries, while being a parent to three sons, a wife, and an executive.

Though Kate Isler did not start her career with dreams of globe-trotting, she defied expectations with the help of a supportive husband, who was willing to move as her career thrived with their growing children in tow. Rather than view their lifestyle as a negative, the family enjoyed the adventure of experiencing new cultures.

Isler’s pivot? Today, she is founder of an eCommerce platform for female-owned and -led businesses called TheWMarketplace, which she and her team created during the pandemic. The platform boasts about 400 women-owned brands, more than 2,000 products and services, and is growing rapidly.

Isler is not-your-typical-success story. She focused on work experience first, spent 20 years as an entrepreneur, but realized that with only a high school diploma, she was limited professionally. Another pivot: returning to school and earning her bachelor's degree in education in 2018.

SheVentures is not the only media outlet that finds Isler's life story inspirational — HarperCollins Leadership published her memoir, Breaking Boarders, earlier this year.

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Twenty percent of LGBTQ+ people say they are “much worse off” financially because of the pandemic, compared with only 11 percent of the general population. Hadassah Damien, queer femme writer, digital technologist, and financial strategist joins us to provide actionable tips for the LGBTQ+ community to take control of their finances today.

Damien grew up in a single-parent household where she experienced financial challenges. She entered adulthood believing money was unattainable. But as Damien embraced nonprofits, community art, archiving and #vanlife in her 20s, she taught herself personal finance basics — and put herself through grad school. 

When Damien left the corporate world after the 2008 financial crisis, she focused on how she could help other artists learn to manage their finances and found people she could help as a financial coach. 

Damien candidly speaks about the challenges those in the LGBTQ+ community face when it comes to money, and provides some suggestions on what they can do, one step at a time, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Six months before she was due to receive tenure (which is highly coveted in academia), in the midst of a pandemic, this psychology professor left it all behind.

Janet Ahn, Ph.D., pivoted from academia and entrepreneurship to consulting for large companies such as Procter and Gamble, before joining MindGym (a behavior change company for organizations and corporations) as chief behavioral science officer. Now, she focuses on the science to support workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Ahn discusses why traditional approaches to DEI in the workplace aren’t successful — and maps out the psychological pillars that should be a part of any workplace DEI efforts.

Ahn also reveals how a marshmallow drew her to psychology despite her first-generation Korean father not considering it a “real” science, the truth behind intellectual differences between men and women, and the steps to effectively implement DEI in the workplace on this episode of SheVentures.

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Nearly 2 billion people lack access to nutritious food — a staggering number likely to increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lara Ramdin, Ph.D., and Barbara Guerpillon are trying to change that. These two global female executives are playing integral roles toward Dole Food’s corporate initiative: the Dole Promise Sunshine for All, the goal of which is to make nutritious foods accessible to 1 billion people by 2030.

Ramdin, chief innovation officer at Dole Packaged Foods, has built her global research and development team to be made up of 60 percent women, demonstrating her advocacy for women and girls in STEM.

Guerpillon, head of ventures at Dole and Asia Fresh, is the first person to hold this position and focus on a global strategy to enable profitable business growth through start-up led innovations and the creation of entrepreneurial networks worldwide.

Listen to how these two women foster change by showing how a large company can leverage the ingenuity of the global startup ecosystem to help solve food inequity. It’s all in a day’s work as they balance their home lives as well.

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What path leads you from NBA marketing exec to the mystic world of shamanism and moon circles?

Ashley Cramer was a burned-out marketer, yearning for change. Becoming a shaman was the last thing on her mind, and even today she understands people may be skeptical of shamanism and what it entails. Cramer’s healing journey along with her appreciation of lunar cycles and all they involve inform her practice today.

Shamanism is a term used for energy healers across many cultures worldwide, and Cramer is seeking to modernize her lunar practice with her new website and app, Align With the Moon.

Learn more about how Cramer focuses on the moon’s position and energy to help her clients engage with their innermost emotions and to help discover their purpose on this episode of SheVentures.

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COVID-19 required us to be mindful of our physical health like never before. What about our mental health? It’s time to talk to about it.

Kristin Miscall is a psychotherapist with nearly two decades of helping others under her belt. She worked initially with homeless LGBTQIA+ youth before pivoting to private practice. Last year, she, like many in the mental health field, transitioned to telemedicine to meet the unprecedented need for her services in the midst of the pandemic.

Miscall noticed women were impacted disproportionately by COVID-19, and she shares her experiences of teletherapy over the past year. She speaks about the adjustments both she and her patients made — a blueprint for any practitioner.

Listen as Miscall recounts the impact of COVID-19 on women specifically, and on humanity as a whole, her ultimate tips for self-care in a time when we need it most, and the power of saying “no” and setting boundaries on this episode of SheVentures.

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What is pro-poor financial technology, and how is Mae Watson Grote’s company at the forefront of making a difference?

Mae Watson Grote is dedicated to improving the lives of the under-served and under-banked in the United States. As founder and CEO of the Change Machine — a nonprofit dedicated to building financial security through technology — she is doing just that.

The platform is available to all kinds of practitioners who work with women (financial advisors, social workers, coaches) and want to help their clients escape the poverty cycle. Focused on both short- and long-term outcomes rather than just outputs, the Change Machine recently launched a recommendation engine on its platform that suggests vetted products and services to practitioners that line up with their clients financial journeys.

Listen as Grote describes the pitfalls in “the system” that keep people (particularly people of color) poor, how Americans and financial institutions can combat systemic poverty, and the importance of alignment and a shared vision within your team on this episode of SheVentures.

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Five languages. Three continents. Three kids. Two careers. One foundation. Zankhna Parekh is a trailblazer.

Born in India but raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Parekh always knew she would venture into medicine. With a 20-year successful career as a physical therapist under her belt, Parekh was keen to return to her career after having two children.

But, Parekh noticed (as do many women who become mothers) that her pre-baby clothes didn’t fit the same way anymore. So she decided to make her own — and then start selling them. Through her education in Kenya, Parekh had the skills she needed to found Zankhna Designs.

With a focus on the coined term Zaftan, a new generation of kaftan (a long, loose dress or shirt), Parekh seeks to revolutionize luxury clothing by making it elegant yet affordable, with an international flair influenced by Parekh’s background (India, Kenya, and the United States).

On this episode of SheVentures, listen as Parekh discusses the difficulties of running a business while raising three children under age 4, the foundation she and her husband started to help and educate people in developing nations, and her (surprising) tips for managing a career and a hectic family life.

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From an early age, Kristi Data knew she wanted to make an impact, and she used sports as her gateway. In the fourth grade, Data petitioned her school to allow girls to play basketball — and got it done the very next season.

Data went on to receive a full athletic scholarship for volleyball — the pressures of which caused her to spiral into an eating disorder that lasted throughout college. Data discusses the reality of this situation that so many women and girls in sports face today.

After a stint in medical sales, Data is now a certified values determination coach, passionate about fitness, nutrition, and above all, community. She founded Girl Gang Evolution, an event company focused on female empowerment that she hopes to see take off internationally in the years to come.

Listen as Data discusses what goes into clinching an athletic scholarship, how to find your perfect coach, and the impact that one singular woman had on her life in this episode of SheVentures.

If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, help is available. Contact the National Eating Disorders Association’s helpline for support, resources, and treatment options.

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What maximizes your chances of receiving funds from a venture capitalist? Shelly Kapoor Collins knows firsthand. She’s a tech entrepreneur and public servant–turned– founder/CEO of Shatter Fund, a venture capital fund that invests almost exclusively in female entrepreneurs whose businesses stand to disrupt the tech landscape.

With more than 20 years in the tech sector advocating for innovation and policy reform, Kapoor Collins was appointed to the National Women’s Business Council in the second Obama Administration, served as vice chair of the Women in Public Service Project started by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and was part of the transition team for then California Attorney General (now Vice President) Kamala Harris.

Because of her experience, grit, and commitment, Kapoor Collins has received numerous accolades, including being named one of the top 20 global influential Indian women by the Economic Times of India as well as one of Forbes 40 women to watch over 40.

Shatter Fund also launched The Shatter Foundation, a nonprofit organization that connects girls in under-served communities with access to capital, networks, and markets, in an effort to foster an inclusive economy and equitable entrepreneurship.

Listen as Kapoor Collins discusses what drew her to the tech sector in the 90s, how the tech landscape has evolved, why she started a venture capital fund, and what female entrepreneurs can do to improve their chances of securing funding on this episode of SheVentures.

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Did you know female founders face bias in how venture capitalists ask questions and are often negatively impacted when their products fall in a male-dominated industry?

These are two separate findings of Dana Kanze, Ph.D., that add to a growing body of research that quantify gender discrimination in attracting investors. After all, women receive a paltry 2.3 percent of venture capital — women of color even less, according to the Harvard Business Review.

A little-known fact about Kanze: She started her career as an entrepreneur before pivoting to academia where she earned a doctorate at Columbia Business School. Kanze experienced firsthand what it meant to be equally qualified but sometimes sidelined. This experience contributed to her interest in researching why this common phenomenon happens.

Now a professor at London Business School, her groundbreaking research focuses on the unconscious gender biases that many women experience daily. Kanze provides actionable tips for female entrepreneurs on how to beat these often subconscious but harmful biases on this episode of SheVentures.

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Sometimes, the best business ideas are right in front of you. That was the case for Ashley Clark, who pivoted from being a banker to an entrepreneur and creator of old-school board games and flashcards that teach financial literacy — going against the current trend of online gaming with six-figure success during a pandemic.

A decade as a banker underscored that too many people didn’t understand their own finances. Clark began to write down common customer questions — using this as her initial “market research.” Next was her tough focus group: her children. Her passion for teaching people about money flourished, and today Clark is CEO and founder of Sense 2 Cents, a financial literacy–based game company.

Sense 2 Cents aims to take the chore out of learning and foster a solid financial foundation by making the flashcards and board games a family activity, in which parents can learn alongside their children. Clark has also developed active communities on Instagram and Facebook.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing: Three months into starting this venture, Clark was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and, being so ill, she understandably wanted to quit. Advice from her entrepreneurial mom helped her stay focused, and now she has tips for those starting their own business.

On this episode of SheVentures, discover why financial literacy is so important in establishing generational wealth in under-served communities, what financial institutions can do to help, and Clark’s top tips for success.

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To begin Financial Literacy Month on SheVentures, who better than Leslie Tayne to discuss one of America’s biggest financial problems: debt, a $14.6T reality for American households.

Leslie Tayne always knew she wanted to be a lawyer despite her father warning her when she started 20 years ago that it truly was a boys club.

She tried many facets of the law before she pivoted to what became her passion — as in-house counsel to a debt company.

Today, The Tayne Law Group is changing the face of debt resolution law. Her mission is to create a more constructive way of handling debt resolution. Tayne is well respected as someone who focuses on the solution and how to educate and engage her clients.

Tayne’s “open door” policy encourages her clients to consult with her team before taking a financial action they may regret later — such as student loan and credit card debt, decisions on major purchases like buying a new car, or taking out a mortgage. With a focus on financial wellness and working with their clients as a team, Tayne’s group points clients in the right direction, even if it’s outside their practice. She wants to do what is in their best financial interest.

Listen to find out what actionable steps you should take if you find yourself in seemingly insurmountable debt — facing unemployment, the unexpected positives of COVID-19, and the truth behind debt consolidation myths on this episode of SheVentures.

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With more than 25 years in the life sciences, lawyer Diane Lifton is a huge proponent of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and communities.

Witnessing how incredibly hard her mother worked to balance raising children with returning to law school, Lifton credits this experience to her own genesis of hard work and advocating for others.

Lifton spent two decades as a partner in two top-tier East Coast law firms. She pivoted from partner to in-house counsel and today is senior vice president, legal, at Sumitovant Biopharma in New York City, where she continues to champion diversity in the life sciences and in the workplace. With a seat on the board of World Connect, and as a volunteer at Goddard Riverside Community Center in Manhattan, she is putting her beliefs into practice to help eradicate food insecurity and support women and girls worldwide.

On this episode of SheVentures, discover tips for getting vaccinated from someone in the field, what it takes to become a partner in a law firm while balancing competing demands, and how women and girls can advocate for themselves and others.

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Inspired by her lawyer grandfather, from a young age Caroline Whistler grappled with the question: What does it mean to serve others in a measurable and impactful way?

To that end, Whistler co-founded San Francisco–based nonprofit Third Sector Capital - a consulting firm that has deployed $800 million in government resources and $40 million of private funding to help 40 U.S. communities. Whistler advises governments, community organizations, and private funders on how to help the public sector measure the effectiveness of their social programs to truly impart change and racial equity across the United States.

After college, Whistler received a Fulbright scholarship to study how nonprofits in Brazil scaled their public programs — and that's when she began to effect change. Given her self-described “very white suburban upbringing,” Whistler learned that the best way to help was to listen — to take a step back from academia and work in solidarity with the communities that knew the issues they faced better than an outsider.

Named as one of San Francisco Business Times “40 Under 40” in 2020, Whistler is working toward improved and equitable outcomes for Black Americans, as she believes that if we can tackle racism in the public sector, there will be enormous strides toward equity and opportunity in this country.

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Anna Lee never wanted to be an entrepreneur, much less design and champion a data-driven sex toy.

Graduating from University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in the male-dominated field of mechanical engineering, Lee — the daughter of conservative Korean immigrants — worked at corporate giant Amazon as the sole woman on the concept engineering team. Having fully realized the “American dream” for which her parents sacrificed, Lee still felt professionally unfulfilled.

In time, Lee found her purpose when she and her co-founders joined to create Lioness: the award-winning, first smart vibrator. Lioness improves sexual health and wellness by measuring your pelvic walls while you are having an orgasm. The data helps women learn more about their bodies and feel comfortable talking about sex. Think of it as a fitness tracker for female pleasure.

Added bonus: Studies and awareness surrounding female sexuality are severely lacking, and Lee and Lioness are helping to solve that.

Lioness partnered with the Center for Genital Health and Education on the world’s largest physiological data set on sexual behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic that asks “How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed our sex lives?” It’s also the world’s largest study of data collected from inside the bedroom, rather than in a lab.

On this episode of SheVentures, discover the roadblocks to advertising a sex-tech company — even if it’s for health — how women can take charge of their sexual health and pleasure, and how we can all help to destigmatize female sexuality.

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Cynthia Coredo’s childhood was rife with loss. At age 6, her father was murdered. Coredo witnessed his lifeless body lying on the streets of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. As a teen, she lost her older sister to illness and her mother to suicide, the result of depression from joblessness.

Coredo embraced the realization that she was responsible for raising her siblings and herself, and she knew that vocational training and education would be the pathway to self sufficiency. As a result, Coredo recognized a broader vision and created Footsteps a leadership and entrepreneurial incubator for young women and girls.

With three grants totaling about $5,000, World Connect, a nonprofit that invests in sustainable grassroots projects, collaborated with Coredo to expand her vocational vision. To date hundreds of Nairobi women have been taught vocational skills and placed in internships; the majority now work full time.

Pamela Nathenson, executive director of WorldConnect and two-time guest of SheVentures, emphasizes that World Connect has a high project success rate after several years because of the nonprofit’s emphasis on local entrepreneurs being the key to understand the roadblocks in their own communities. WorldConnect provides some of the capital to jumpstart their solutions.

In sum, these two women — one in New York, one in Nairobi — are working for the betterment of women in under-served, poor, and slum communities.

On International Women’s Day, listen to this riveting story and consider how you can effect change for women and girls internationally on this episode of SheVentures.

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Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is an advocate for inclusive leadership, and what it means to create an equitable workplace environment. It’s not as simple as giving everyone the same opportunity — you need to meet people where they’re at. We are, unfortunately, not all created equal. 

The first Black woman and the youngest person to act as chairperson of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, on top of a career including roles at NASA, KPMG, and Motorola, Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is a pioneer. 

On #BlackLivesMatter, Ellison-Taylor doesn’t care if your business is buying into it for commercial purposes: Net net, if you are creating opportunities for people of color who would not have them otherwise, it’s a move in the right direction, she explains.

Listen as Ellison-Taylor talks about diversity in the workplace, being a woman in a man’s world, structuring your business so diversity is not only doable but also scalable, and having to work twice as hard to get half the credit on this episode of SheVentures. 

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Spoiler alert: If you want to eavesdrop on a candid conversation about being a black female entrepreneur, this is a must listen.

Imagine being told repeatedly that no market or need for your business exists — yet your experience and social and financial acumen tell you otherwise.

Makisha Boothe experienced this firsthand; now she helps other black women navigate their business lives.

Raised by strong women who were adamant she wouldn’t get stuck in the “system,” Boothe has spent five years building a black female entrepreneur community with Sistah Biz. “If just one woman crosses the six-figure line and breaks the cycle of poverty in her family, it’s empowering.”

A nonprofit accelerator for black female entrepreneurs, Sistah Biz offers free and low-cost business coaching sessions and courses. In 2019 alone, the company provided 151 free coaching sessions, 12 weeks of free business bootcamps, and scholarships to aspiring entrepreneurs. Check out Boothe’s work, and if it’s close to your heart, you can make a donation.

Listen as Boothe discusses the landscape of black women business owners, dealing with racial trauma, and acknowledging how the #BlackLivesMatter movement impacts her work and life. Boothe also emphasizes self care, pacing oneself, and creating a sustainable business plan supported by a community that supports you.

“We are building success on our own terms and in our own way,” says Boothe. Listen to her candid tips on being a black female entrepreneur on this episode of SheVentures.

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As the daughter of first-generation immigrants, Sima Gandhi is no stranger to hard work. Her father encouraged her to succeed, and her desire and drive to take risks and break down barriers may come from her humble but stable early family life. Determined not to define female business acumen by the 90s pantsuit — Gandhi found her own direction. 

With an industrial engineering degree from Stanford University and a J.D. from NYU School of Law, Gandhi’s career has spanned from the U.S. Department of Treasury to American Express to being one of the first 20 employees and head of business development at fintech giant Plaid. 

Now, Gandhi is using her experience to advise fintech start-ups through mentoring and angel investing. She’s also focused on helping marginalized populations become more visible through technology.  

Listen as Gandhi discusses the potential impact of fintech on financial literacy (but how it’s not there yet), the importance of building great business partnerships, and how diversity in the workforce is essential on this episode of SheVentures.

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At the age of 6, Ngozi Okaro knew she was going to be a lawyer and change people’s lives.

Growing up, Okaro’s clothes were mostly handmade by her mother to accommodate her towering 6-foot-tall figure. While she resented it at the time, it instilled an appreciation for design and inclusivity within her.

Now, with a law degree from Georgetown and 14 years of experience in organizational development in NGOs under her belt, Okaro has pivoted back to design. Okaro is executive director of New York City- based Custom Collaborative, a development program that combines teaching design skills with empowering women from low-income and immigrant communities.

About 80 percent of women who study at Custom Collaborative live below the poverty line. Okaro and Custom Collaborative provide life-changing opportunities for women to break out of the poverty cycle.

Listen as Okaro talks sustainable fashion, the challenges of fundraising as a Black woman, and the inherent problems in the fashion industry on this episode of SheVentures.

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For 25 years as a writer and editor for large magazines like Suede, Essence, and Latina to name a few, Marcia Cole embraced the editorial realm and conquered it.

Now, as founder and CEO of Ivy Digital (a content, technology, and data-driven marketing agency) and as the founder of nonprofit organization Passion Meets Purpose a service that empowers the homeless), Cole is constantly learning to better meet the needs of those her companies serve.

And that’s not all: Cole is also a certified career and life coach using her own experience to help other professionals succeed.

Listen as Cole discusses the evolution of pop-culture media in the ’90s, the rise of hip-hop and how it brought a voice to the previously unheard Black community in more ways than one, the importance of giving back to your own community, and helping yourself, too, on this episode of SheVentures.

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From a young age, Kaitlin Maier’s parents were huge advocates for her pursuing a career in STEM, which still sees female participation at a paltry 28 percent of the workforce.

A mechanical engineer, Maier wanted to do something in the often-overlooked field of women’s health. While in college, she stumbled upon pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a condition that affects 35 to 50 percent of women — of all ages. In severe cases of POP, the uterus can protrude from the vaginal opening. With such high numbers, it’s surprising more women don’t know about the condition. Maier and her team want to change that.

The current most popular form of treatment for POP is called a pessary, a silicone device inserted into the vagina to support the surrounding organs: the bladder, vagina, uterus, cervix, and rectum. But current iterations of this device are often difficult for women to use, according to Maier’s research, resulting in doctor visits every few months and even surgery in some cases.

Enter Reia, the femhealth company of which Maier is co-founder and CEO, and the company’s innovative product that wants to reshape the industry around POP. Maier and her co-founders have developed a new form of pessary that women could potentially use themselves, reducing the total number of doctor visits per year, thereby reducing their healthcare costs as well as increasing their self-confidence and autonomy. Reia recently received a grant of $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Listen as Maier discusses POP, the process through which medical devices get funded, how femhealth entrepreneurs can seek NIH grants, and advice for small business owners in the medical field on this episode of SheVentures.

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Advocacy runs in this woman’s blood. As the current director of advocacy and action for the National LGBTQ Task Force, Stacey Long Simmons has dedicated her life to helping others. 

The LQBTQ task force website reflects the current state of affairs in America. The homepage reads: “Stonewall was a riot. #BlackLivesMatter. We support and protest and revolutionary fighting for the dignity of black people.”

A lawyer, political strategist, and civil rights lobbyist in Washington, DC, and a woman of color, one of Simmons’ — and the tasks force’s — current initiatives is #QueertheCensus, the goal of which is to ensure the LGBTQ and other under-represented and under-served communities are counted in the 2020 Census. Simmons is a realist who recognizes that affecting change at the legislative level starts with being counted, gaining visibility, and representation.

Listen as Simmons candidly discusses the real issues that the LGBTQ community are facing in the current political climate and what you can do to help the community on this episode of SheVentures. 

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Whether you’re an amateur cook or a master chef, we bet you’ve never thought of “Greek-ing” up your favorite dishes, right?

Kelly Salonica Staikopoulos and Joanne Staikopoulos-Marzella, two sisters formerly in the editorial and accounting worlds respectively, are now cooking up a storm with an innovative twist: Using recipes largely gleaned from their Greek mother, Mary — aka Kukla (“doll” in Greek) — with their blog Kukla's Kouzina.

Well-known in NYC’s fashion district, Mary Halkias Staikopoulos worked with fashion icons Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta and styled Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy. While she was known as “Kukla” to the fashion world, what she brought to her daughters in the kitchen inspired a legacy of love, family, cooking, and the seeds of a business.

Now, with two cookbooks out, and a YouTube series in production thanks to Joanne’s daughter Jacqueline, Mary’s Greek food legacy lives on. Discover how heritage is a key ingredient to this sisterly collaboration, the pitfalls of starting a business, what Kelly and Joanne have learned from their mistakes, and so much more, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Almost 7 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 17 in the United States have a developmental disability, the CDC reports, and the community is still largely under-served. Carissa Tozzi is changing that.

From an iconic New York City life as the entertainment editor of CosmoGirl and Seventeen to a publicist for social media influencers to the co-creator of an app for moms of children with special needs — Carissa Tozzi has done it all.

Tozzi saw a gap in the market: a community where moms could interact with other nearby moms — the app asks for your zip code — as well as vetted experts. True to her sense of style, Tozzi also created a virtual apparel outlet full of cool, fashionable clothes, toys, and interior decor, for this overlooked and often stereotyped community.

After her son, Wolf, was thought to have sensory issues as a toddler (later proven false) Tozzi became more aware of the challenges that parents — particularly moms — face when raising children with special needs. When Tozzi moved the next town over from a former colleague and power mom of two children on opposite ends of the autism spectrum, Wolf and Friends was born.

The app is designed to build a community for moms of children with special needs, both from a shopping and lifestyle perspective. The app also provides access to experts in the space with whom you can engage on Zoom, a store to browse brands that cater to children and moms, and much more.

On this episode of SheVentures, find out what it’s really like working with celebrities, the value of influencers, and how more brands could stand to accommodate this under-served community on this episode of SheVentures.

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After more than 25 years as CEO of advertising giant J. Walter Thompson’s American division, an alleged scandal involving her boss during the #MeToo movement began to monopolize Lynn Power’s time. As a result, she began wilting in her role, which was no longer about creativity, rather crisis.

The pivot into starting her own strategic consulting firm, The HMS Beagle, was a natural one, but Power didn’t stop there.

Masami, a premium vegan hair-care line, was born from 10 years of research on her business partner’s behalf. Now, having recently launched the product, Power and her partner want to give back to the ocean from which they source their ingredients with their own fund: The Masami Institute, which will help research rebalancing the aquatic ecosystem off of Japan.

Listen as Power delves into the sexism inherent in advertising and how the industry has changed over the years thanks in part to the #MeToo movement.

Bonus: Power includes a wealth of tips for small businesses (including free apps!) on this episode of SheVentures.

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This woman was not only the first foreign lawyer to practice law in Afghani courts — but she also won the first-ever presidential pardon of a moral case in the country’s history from former President Hamid Karzai. Seriously.

From standing up for her Korean mother on the streets of Milwaukee to fighting against human rights abuses in Afghanistan and other countries, Kimberley Motley is an unstoppable social justice force.

A former U.S. beauty pageant winner turned international human rights litigator, Motley has changed the lives of countless men and women around the globe. From overturning guilty sentences to freeing a pregnant 16-year-old rape victim from the clutches of an “adultery” charge (yes, really), Motley continues to take on both corporate and pro bono work to improve people’s lives.

Discover firsthand what it’s like for women in Afghanistan through Motley’s vivid recollections. How did this one woman earn the respect of a patriarchal culture? She is outspoken, tenacious, and driven. Most important, rather than imposing another legal system on Afghan legal cases, Motley embraced Aghani and Islamic laws to litigate her cases and win the respect of locals.

This episode of SheVentures is one of our most riveting installments to date.

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Feminist scholar turned real estate entrepreneur, Janelle Briggs wants to ensure the American Dream of homeownership is affordable and accessible to everyone.

An idea that may sound far-fetched and futuristic — one that most architects have only dreamed of on paper — Briggs and her cofounder/partner are making a reality. Stackhouse, a real-estate development company, is creating building structures — called stackhouse towers — in which shipping container homes can be stacked one on top of the other in a communal living space, with shared areas such as a roof deck.

These tiny container homes can be customized and moved city to city in the United States. A basic container home will set you back about $45,000. Yep, you can be a homeowner for a fraction of regular costs. Briggs and her cofounder are helping people who otherwise couldn’t afford to live in an urban space by creating these tall buildings with a small physical footprint, requiring only modest land space to be built.

The first stackhouse tower is planned for Tucson, Arizona, with others being slated for Texas and Colorado.

Listen as Briggs talks managing mental health and workload, being overlooked in the boardroom because she’s a woman, and using her privilege to stand up for what’s right on this episode of SheVentures.

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What makes a ‘Vagipreneur’ anyway?

From working in public relations to earning an MBA at Stanford, Rachel Braun Scherl had an untraditional foray into the world of marketing, so it’s no surprise she later trademarked the word vagipreneur.

Her start in PR led to her greatest lesson: the power of building business relationships. From there, Braun Scherl ventured into the world of female sexual health with her takeover of Semprae Labs.

The idea behind her book Orgasmic Leadership came from a boardroom meeting at which participants giggled at the “titillating” subject matter of Semprae’s product — made for female arousal — rather than pay attention. Worse, while erectile dysfunction was considered a bona fide medical condition worthy of advertising money, female arousal was not.

Today, Braun Scherl and her consulting company, Spark Solutions for Growth, focus on female sexual and reproductive health innovations, a market expected to explode in the upcoming years.

Listen as Braun Scherl discusses the inherent inequality of male vs. female sexuality, what it takes to be heard in a pitch meeting, and tips for raising capital for female entrepreneurs on this episode of SheVentures.

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Before COVID-19 forced everyone to take a microscopic look at their finances — Leigh Phillips was helping Americans save.

As unemployment claims skyrocket, it’s clear just how fragile Americans’ personal finances are. Roughly 40 percent of Americans don’t have an emergency fund of even $400.

So how can anyone think of retirement savings when the day-to-day budget is already a struggle? Enter Leigh Phillips and her nonprofit SaverLife.

Starting in local government, Phillips served as director for the office of financial empowerment in San Francisco, spearheading programs for the “unbanked” like “Bank on San Francisco,” which has taken off nationwide.

Phillips also oversaw the implementation of the nation’s first publicly funded universal children’s savings program, through which 100 percent of public school elementary students have a college-savings account in their name.

Now, as CEO of SaverLife — a nonprofit organization whose mission is to establish savings habits and incentives for the under-served and for employers — Phillips continues to try to improve the financial lives of people everywhere.

On this episode of SheVentures, listen as Phillips discusses the systemic setbacks many face, the spirals of poverty, challenging yourself to pivot careers, and so much more.

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Oppressive dictator regime. Sexual abuse. Drugs. Sex work. Incarceration. Transitioning. Actress. Trans rights and sex worker rights advocate. Positivity embodied. Fighter.

Cecilia Gentili grew up in an oppressive dictatorship in Argentina and fled to the United States in her 20s for a better quality of life. She’s battled drug addiction, imprisonment, and ICE; now Gentili is fighting another battle: trans and sex worker rights nationwide.

Gentili founded Transgender Equity Consulting in 2019 after having served as the director of policy at GMHC, the world’s first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and advocacy. Listen as she discusses the reality of sex work and sex trafficking, transitioning in a time when there was barely a word for it, and finding beauty amidst fear and persecution on this episode of SheVentures.

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Eleven million women or 28 percent of all caregivers provide unpaid help to an aging adult as well as to children, according to the National Alliance on Caregiving.

MaryAnn Jones — a 20-year-veteran magazine art director — lived this struggle: balancing a high-powered career, a daughter with type 1 diabetes, and a mother with an ovarian cancer diagnosis. All this while grasping for the precious moments of self-care her life afforded her.

It took a layoff in 2008 to provide a full-fledged opportunity to pivot to creating a health-coaching business, ThriveNaturally, which has changed Jones’ life and has afforded her the chance to help others.

Today, as a certified functional health coach and an on-site workplace wellness coach, Jones talks about balance: caring for your kids, your parents, and yourself.

Jones also consults in many companies, and emphasizes the importance of workplace wellness, how to change your habits, outlook, and behavior for good on this episode of SheVentures.

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Never tell Roshawnna Novellus, Ph.D. she can’t do something.

At age 15, she raised $600,000 in scholarships to fund her education. And after being told by an educator she “couldn’t do math,” Novellus earned a doctorate in engineering with a minor in finance.

So it’s no surprise that Novellus keeps breaking barriers today.

Though she got her start in corporate America, Novellus realized her skills could be better utilized with underserved communities in Atlanta — and later in counterterrorism.

Today she is helping to solve “the 2 percent problem” with EnrichHER, an SEC- and FINRA-approved lending and support platform for women in business. Novellus hopes to improve the paltry 2 percent of what women-owned businesses receive in angel and venture capital — women of color receive even less.

So how did a shy girl learn to become a total boss? Novellus, who wins 50 percent of the pitch competitions she enters, provides tips on how to improve your pitching skills. Discover how an accelerator can help your startup — and how EnrichHer provides a community for women to learn and support one another on this episode of SheVentures.

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Amanda Lannert raised $20 million in venture capital for Jellyvision, a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that helps employees make financially sound choices about their benefits. Lannert gives smart tips for other women trying to make headway.

Lannert managed global brands for global advertising giant Leo Burnett before becoming CEO of Jellyvision. She completely changed the direction of Jellyvision with her sharp instinct and talented team. Lannert’s pivots come from reading the marketplace and not being afraid to adapt in order to survive — a huge feat for anyone following the tech crash of 2001. (Yes, Lannert has been at the helm for that long!)

The company has grown to serve hundreds of mostly Fortune 1000 clients with ALEX®, the most helpful employee decision support platform on the planet. In 2017, nearly 17 million employees and $101 billion dollars’ worth of premium decisions were entrusted to ALEX.

How did she do it? Find out on this episode of SheVentures.

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She’s a former Brooklyn high school English and theater teacher who transitioned to founding a conflict resolution business. Who is this incredible woman?

Sara Steinweiss takes center stage when she talks to SheVentures about how she coped with her father’s death, her debilitating anxiety disorder, bullying — and the importance of getting help. Steinweiss provides wisdom for meeting one’s teen where she or he is and discusses how the arts saves lives.

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What if you could receive a 0 percent small business loan from a group of SheEOs? It’s called #radicalgenerosity, created to focus on time-sensitive world issues through entrepreneurship. That’s what today’s guest, Vicki Saunders, has dedicated her life to by founding the transgressive SheEO.

With a society more focused on the financial return of an investment than on its environmental or social return, Saunders has vowed to blow up the system and press the reset button. SheEO has rejected the traditional business loan paradigm and created a community of mostly female “activators” who collectively fund loans at a 0 percent interest rate.

How can this possibly work, you may ask? Saunders will tell you how simple it is on this episode of SheVentures.

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This woman won more than $100 million in sales for Broadridge — a company that offers financial advisors a platform to connect with their clients — so when it comes to the industry, Linda Wittich knows a thing or two.

With her pivot to industry giant IBM, Wittich embraced AI — and advised fintech startups that brought this technology to the forefront of financial services, a major pivot for the industry as well.

Today, Wittich, founder of Top Line Focus, acts as both a consultant and an advisor to the fintech sector.

Discover how she navigated these male-dominated fields, what made her an effective sales leader, and the inside scoop on the 2008 financial crisis, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Anyone who creates a product knows how important a supply chain is, especially if you lose control of it.

That’s what happened to Flores in her first entrepreneurial venture. Starting with creating hair extensions — after a long stint in financial services — Flores and her partner found that importing hair first from China and later India provided challenges in quality and logistics.

Her “come to Jesus” moment involved a business pivot to an entirely new product for the customers she already attracted with her hair extensions. Enter her mid-tier line of CBD-infused beauty products, Victoria Flores, our fiftieth guest, shares lessons galore.

Lux Beauty Club is a brand of holistic beauty products that are “from farm to shelf.” Flores and her team directly oversee the entire process to ensure the best quality as well as total control over their supply chain. Find out how she navigates an industry that is still illegal on the federal level during this episode of SheVentures.

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Sally Outlaw created something remarkable. She took on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be able to create a bond that yields a 5 percent return, can be bought in $10 increments, and her company, Worthy Peer Capital, reinvests that money as a loan to small U.S. businesses. What happens if a company defaults? Outlaw invests only in asset-backed/inventory-based companies, so Worthy would theoretically recoup any losses.

Making bonds understandable and accessible, as well as providing customers an app to easily withdraw or add money, is a pioneering concept in the financial services industry. Outlaw speaks about helping the 99 percent gain financial security.

Find out about her early career as a documentary maker and how she took on the SEC on this episode of SheVentures. 

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What would you do if divine intervention careened your career in a wildly different direction? In the midst of retirement after a 24-year stint in teaching, school administration, and graduate and doctorate studies, that’s exactly what happened to Sara Thurman.

Thurman never picked up a paintbrush or easel, or took an art class before her faith spoke to her and she became an artist. Since 2014, she has sold more than 750 paintings and written a book about her experience. The proceeds from sales of the paintings go to missionary workers around the globe.

Now, Thurman has come full circle and is a speaker and mentor once more, hosting e-courses and retreats, all to spread the message she received from God. Curious? Listen to her speak authentically about her life-changing pivot.

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The U.S. cannabis industry is on fire — last year it grew to $11.3B. Genifer Murray has played a key role in the weed world since cannabis was legalized in Colorado, and now boasts more than nine years of experience in the business. She is also a staunch advocate for women in the hemp and cannabis industries.

As a lobbyist, scientist, speaker, entrepreneur, and influencer, Murray helped found one of the first analytical cannabis testing labs in the U.S. She was ranked one of the 100 most influential people in the cannabis industry by Cannabis Business Executive magazine. She now runs her own cannabis-inspired jewelry line, High Point Jewelry (formerly GENIFER M).

Murray explains the state and federal laws impacting cannabis, her passion for enforcing testing standards, and alludes to where she sees the future of this commodity headed. You’ll get it all on this episode of SheVentures.

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A pioneer in her field who started in her early 20s, Nicole Dahlstrom is leveling the playing field for female-health related startups across the U.S. and beyond.

Dahlstrom is the founder of FemTech Collective, a 500 female-founder strong network that connects innovators in female-focused health tech through events, media, and an online platform. It’s a place for women to join forces and strive to solve bias and barriers to entry in the tech industry.

Listen as Dahlstrom discusses these barriers, especially when it comes to female sexual health and the stigma surrounding it. All this and so much more, on SheVentures.

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These two women hope to change the stigma at-home caregivers routinely face through their app and platform.

Lifelong friends Aileen Kelly and Felicia Kashevaroff were able to stay home after their children were born. Like many stay-at-home caregivers, they felt their work was invisible, undervalued, and unappreciated. 

Kelly and Kashevaroff created Persistiny, a web platform to address the inherent inequality of at-home caregivers. Check out the hundreds of articles encouraging women to speak about their experiences with other women and their partners. 

The duo then created an app: Tend is a task manager and journal. Its purpose? To promote self-care, acceptance, and an open and honest dialogue around caregiving. Kelly and Kashevaroff hope that journaling will enable caregivers to realize just how much they do. The women also hope to use the data from the app to understand user pain points even better.

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New York is the backdrop of Daniella Stromberg’s tale, pushing her toward peace in a chaotic world. She saw beauty in the streets, admired the elegance of prostitutes and transvestites, seen through the eyes of a young girl through the window shades of her mother’s Greenwich Village studio apartment. Stromberg sought out her own luxurious bubble in a city of grit.

From working with the one percent to opening her own holistic day spa in the heart of Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, Stromberg’s travels and her study of kinesiology inspired her vision for her spa business. The holistic luxury spa, D’Mai Urban Spa, is Stromberg and her patrons’ escape from the hectic rush of the city.

Stromberg was recently honored by the Brooklyn Borough President as a leading businesswoman, notably one who gives back to diverse and under-served Brooklyn communities. Learn how she and her wife built the business in part by hand, why she used her own apartment as collateral on her small business loans, and so much more on this episode of SheVentures.

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Imagine losing a 9-year-old daughter to cancer, facing a divorce, and dealing with mounting financial struggles. Jen Thoden’s world was gray — and in need of a transformation.

A chance upload of an ebook for window dressing helped Thoden identify a gap in the market. Novices wanted instructions on how to create window dressings. She delved into her first successful ebook entrepreneurial venture from her garage while raising three children.

One day after her divorce, Thoden caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror. The death of her daughter, the end of her marriage, and the unyielding demands of her business and growing children took their toll on Thoden both physically and mentally.

Thoden knew she needed to pivot to survive, so she turned to color. Her business, YourColorStyle helps thousands of women (and men!) identify what colors work best for them, accounting for their personality and other personal details. Every month Thoden helps her customers regain their confidence through the way they dress and accessorize.

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Knowing firsthand what teachers are up against, Shayna Pond is taking her knowledge of teaching and applying it to helping educators in the classroom. She started with a side tutoring business, which was an unintentional pilot for the two nationwide businesses she runs today, Model Teaching and Action Potential Learning. 

In this episode of SheVentures, Pond delves into many issues entrepreneurs face when they scale in their niche. Today, her businesses help with professional development for teachers, administrators, school districts, and tutors. Pond tells SheVentures just how she made it all happen. If you are an educator or are learning how to scale your business, this episode is for you.

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Kate Walling knew entrepreneurship was in her blood. At 24, she cooked up a digital recipe startup long before Nailed It became a family pastime. Then 2008 happened. Enough said.

Originally from the deep South, Walling moved to rainy Seattle to build a boutique consulting agency, Scrappy Face. The company thrived, but her personal life got complicated as she faced divorce. And did we mention the rain?

Walling had her “screw it” moment and left both her business and Seattle to experience Silicon Valley.

Her latest venture, Traction Hero, is an agency solving high-growth companies’ marketing challenges. Listen to the twists and turns of Walling’s life and how she came out on top in this episode of SheVentures.

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Find out how Reesy Floyd-Thompson handled the stigma and financial challenges that came with her husband’s prison sentence.

Today, she helps other prison spouses acclimate, provides tips on how to survive financial hardship, and reveals her top marketing tips for free.

Find out how she balanced her life while building a superstar marketing career on this episode of SheVentures.

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Growing up in Nigeria’s male-dominated society was tough for a feminist with a strong ambition to further herself and her education, but Dr. Lola Adeyemi never stopped. She came to the U.S. to study public health at John Hopkins University and sustainability and environmental management at Harvard University. Now she seeks to revolutionize the health-care industry in her home country with Magna Carta Health, a company she founded to focus on preventive care.

She found that changing people’s behavior is challenging. While it makes sense to see a doctor before one gets sick, it’s often left to an urgent, last-minute decision. This makes it more likely to have an outcome that is both adverse and expensive. Adeyemi works with individuals and companies to change this.

Adeyemi also values community and mentorship. As a result, she founded Mentoring Her, a platform that links female professionals with other women they can learn from. Find out how she has navigated the Nigerian government to establish her company and help others with preventive health — as well as why female mentorship is essential — on this episode of SheVentures.

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Imagine commanding 83 soldiers and $35 million of intelligence equipment, vehicles, and weapons dispersed over six locations in a war zone — that’s the experience Valerie Lavin stores in her professional arsenal. A retired Army sergeant who spent 21 years in the military, Lavin is drawing on her background and skills for her new venture Luminary Global, and is eager to share her tips and tricks.

Luminary Global provides emergency medical service, fire, law enforcement, and military personnel as well as private citizens, with the equipment and supplies they need to save lives at home and abroad. Listen as Lavin describes the military and her business, and how the two overlap significantly, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Deepti Sharma, named on the esteemed Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, embodies “the pivot,” whether through volunteer work or her own startup. Community is her passion.

She served on the board of directors for the Business Center for New Americans, a microlender that creates a pathway to self-sufficiency for immigrants, refugees, and women.

Today, as founder and CEO of corporate catering concierge service FoodtoEat in NYC, Sharma continues to empower immigrant women and minorities specifically, providing a platform as food service providers. The marketing mind behind #IMadeYourFood puts a human face behind any catering event she hosts.

Sharma is a mother of two boys and also one of 17 mentors at WE NYC (Women Entrepreneurs NYC), an initiative dedicated to helping women start and grow their businesses. Find out how Sharma does all this, and so much more, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Imagine being diagnosed with a crippling digestive disorder in your early 20s, and as a result, identifying a gap in the market: healthy food made and delivered to busy professionals years before the food-delivery craze caught on. Bonnie Coberly created a recipe for success in the D.C. area out of her desire to help herself and others.

Fast forward three years, and Coberly was stunned to discover that her co-founder embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars, leaving her in debt and in an even worse mental state. She met the challenge, repaid the debt, and eventually sold the business, allowing her to start anew as a coach for entrepreneurs who struggle with burnout, self-care, exhaustion, and a myriad of other issues. 

On this episode of SheVentures, listen as Coberly discusses her story, her pivot, and the stark reality of depression in entrepreneurship with actionable tips on how to start healing.

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A med-school dropout turned entrepreneur, author, angel investor, and venture capitalist, Renata George is doing her damnedest to pave the way for women in the VC industry. Born in Poland, George spent most of her life in Russia and studied in the U.K. She launched a media business in the former USSR and had a successful exit, making it possible for her to become an angel investor and venture capitalist herself.

On a “short trip” to the U.S. in 2012, George woke to a Twitter message informing her she had been named on Forbes’ list of female angel investors to watch. She’s been here ever since.

On this episode of SheVentures, George breaks down the stats in her uber data-driven approach and reveals the mistakes female entrepreneurs are making when raising capital.

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From a cooking blog to the future of the gig economy and a contingent workforce, what Nikita Gupta has accomplished in 23 years is remarkable.

She first realized her love for computer science when her dad fostered her entrepreneurial spirit by helping her set up her own cooking site.

Now, with a bachelor’s in computer science from Cornell University, and a coveted internship at Apple under her belt, Gupta co-founded, and is currently CTO of, Symba — an online platform for virtual internships.

A strong advocate for #GirlsInSTEM, listen to her story on this episode of SheVentures.

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Data and analytics matter for a company to succeed, and Andrea Amaraggi is a ninja with data analytics. Her career pivots are based on where she has used them, from financial auditor to technical trainer, business consultant, kosher caterer, analytics consultant, and cannabis consultant. Amaraggi has done it all and has the wisdom to prove it.

Now, with her consulting firm Cohere Insights, Amaraggi uses her 20 years’ experience to help businesses get data and analytics right whether they’re start-ups or Fortune 500 companies.

On this episode of SheVentures, get free consulting advice that will change the way you look at your own company.

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After being diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome — a hormonal condition rendering her prediabetic and making it difficult to conceive, Charlene DiPaola hit a wall. Dissatisfied with her career in digital marketing, DiPaola knew she needed to pivot — both in her career and lifestyle. 

The answer for DiPaola laid in the joy of dance, so she created Hip Shake Fitness: an online, on-demand dance studio with workouts tailored to your taste and fitness level.

Whether your thang is Tone N Twerk, KPop Dance Party, or Burlesque Burn — you will find hundreds of dance routines. Find out how she morphed from marketer to dancer extraordinaire, inspiring women to take charge of their health through customized dance fitness. 

Sign up now for a 60-day free trial using code: sheventures.

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How do you handle the demands of the real world while also coping with the tiny human you just birthed?

From executive editor at Glamour magazine to author of The Fifth Trimester — all about the birth of the working mom — and mentor for working mothers everywhere, Lauren Brody has learned her worth, and can help you find yours.

On this episode of SheVentures, learn how U.S. maternity leave sucks, how you as a new mom can navigate the working world, and how as a business owner you can make it easier for your postpartum employees.

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After spending years as a financial advisor for Merrill, Shannon McLay grew tired of working solely with the wealthy — the majority of whom didn’t need her help in the first place. Realizing that 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, McLay found her true calling: helping the everyday person get financially fit.

And so the Financial Gym was born. McLay sought to provide a service that didn’t prioritize selling products over people. Money is emotional, and the brick-and-mortar Financial Gym provides a welcome change of scenery for one of the most taboo subjects of all: personal finance. You’ll get all that and more on this episode of SheVentures.

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Imagine leaving your dogs in the care of someone you trust, only to return to find her feigning death just to avoid paying you back your $150. No, really. This actually happened.

Shocked at the level to which this dog sitter went to evade her, Jenny Thompson was left to ponder how she could’ve been more careful. Leaving a 20-year career in the health supplement industry behind,

Thompson ventured out into the world of detailed background checks. Find out more about her product, SafetyPIN, and how it can help you, on this episode of SheVentures.

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Unhappy with her senior management positions at ABC and The Oprah Network, Danielle Vincent had a “fuck it” moment that couldn’t have come sooner. Leaving the big bucks and job security behind, Vincent went out on a limb and opened her own handmade soap company, Outlaw Soaps.

Imagine a lone cowboy or cowgirl wandering into a new town with a fistful of dollars and the accompanying swagger to boot. That’s what Vincent is selling — and to date, she has 20,000 customers to show for it.

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Tired of going on crappy dates, deleting one dating app after the next in the quest to find ”the one”? Lily Womble, former matchmaker turned dating coach has been there.

Despite being a top matchmaker at a large firm in the U.S., Womble was disappointed with her clients’ level of success — and grappling with her own toxic romance. By speaking to hundreds of women and getting personal, Womble discovered techniques and tools that led her to create Date Brazen — a date-coaching community. On this episode of SheVentures, find out what the heck a dating coach does and how she can help.

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Frustrated with her 13-year career in corporate marketing, Irene Fehr longed for something more fulfilling. When she left her sexless marriage feeling there was something wrong with her, Fehr found herself on a journey of self-discovery.

Since then, she has worked as a sex and intimacy coach, helping hundreds of couples get their sexual mojo back by working on their intimacy issues. On this episode of SheVentures, listen as Fehr discusses the plethora of ways women are affected by all the incorrect sexual information out there.

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If you look up “pivot” in the dictionary, Marisa Ricciardi’s picture should be front and center. From an intern at a white-shoe financial services firm to a business development and marketing executive, Ricciardi climbed the ladder one hard-earned step at a time.

Now, as founder and CEO of the Ricciardi Group in New York, she discusses company acquisitions, being competitive with yourself, and the ways in which the marketing world has changed in the post-digital era.

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Do you want to be a bad bitch with a power pitch? That’s what Precious L. Williams is selling — helping women (and only women!) have the confidence to pitch and build their businesses.

Williams pivots include: from attorney to founder and CEO of Curvy Girlz Lingerie to a killer pitch master and professional speaker with 13 pitch competition wins under her belt — including an enviable appearance on Shark Tank.

Despite her battles with alcoholism, mental disorders, and homelessness, Williams embraces her past trauma to fuel her current success. Listen as she gets real about stigmatization and self-confidence, and as she provides, well, killer tips for public speaking, all on this episode of SheVentures.

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Laura Rebell Gross’s parents instilled female empowerment in her from a young age. Now she is shaping the lives of countless underserved, low-income young women as the Managing Director of Girls’ Education at Student Leadership Network, overseeing five all-girls public schools (The Young Women’s Leadership Schools) in NYC and 15 affiliate schools nationally. 

Listen as she talks about female-focused events, Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, and what she has learned from her students.

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Tara Langdale-Schmidt is no stranger to pain. When sex became impossible for her and her then-fiancé, and doctors were flummoxed, Langdale-Schmidt knew she had to take matters into her own hands.

Find out how she created, tested and brought her sexual therapy product to market on this episode of SheVentures.

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Imagine representing not one, but two consecutive Grammy-nominated (including one Grammy winner) clients before you even hit 30? For Lydia Liebman, that became a reality this year when she saw herself at the Grammys for the second year in a row. Born to two successful musicians, Liebman was immersed in the jazz scene from the get-go. She took jazz vocal lessons at age 10, but quickly realized that a life working her magic behind the scenes was more up her alley.

Liebman began her PR career by helping friends and musicians in college, and she’s never looked back. She is dedicated to amplifying female jazz musicians in a male-dominated industry. Find out how she makes it all happen on this episode of SheVentures.

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Growing up in Durham, North Carolina, D’Shawn Russell was no stranger to racial tensions and prejudices. Her great-grandmother and grandmother were huge influences on her life, and she still applies their values to her business today. After a 22-year stint as a math teacher, Russell realized it wasn’t the path she was meant to embrace. So she did what many of us wish we could do: She turned her hobby into her full-time job.

Russell founded Southern Elegance Candle Company — where candles throwback to a simpler time and are made using locally sourced products — and hasn’t looked back since. Each candle represents a place that has meaning to her in the South. Find out how she dealt with racism and sexism on a regular basis as she grew her company from the ground up. You’ll get it all on this episode of SheVentures.

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It’s Financial Literacy Month, and national student loan debt has reached a menacing $1.6 trillion. Yep. Trillion. Talitha Oliveri, businesswoman turned high school teacher, is seeking to combat the debt culture that is so prevalent in the U.S. today. How? By providing stellar financial literacy education at her school in Hopedale, Massachusetts.

With 20 years of experience under her belt, Oliveri has seen it all, and realizes that sharing her personal experience with finance growing up is one of the best ways to get students to learn.

Since recording, Oliveri was named 2019 Massachusetts Business Teacher of the Year. She will work with the Worcester County District Attorney’s office to bring a financial literacy program to the entire county!

Oliveri believes that if we teach personal finance from an early age, we will improve lives and outcomes as well as the economy.

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Let’s face it. With a $1.6 trillion national student loan debt issue, it’s no wonder parents want to know how to save for their kids’ education. Enter Ksenia Yudina, who has created an app called U-Nest, which simplifies the college savings process.

Originally from Russia, Yudina is a certified financial planner with an MBA from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and a mom of three. Her mission is to raise financial literacy by making saving for college as easy as downloading an app.

Yudina’s vision is to demystify 529 college savings plans and ensure no one ever feels intimidated about setting one up. U-Nest is a free download from Apple’s App Store. The small $2.95 management fee is being waived for three months for anyone who enrolls by May 29, 2019.

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Tired of the lack of female role models in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) field, Sarita Menon, Ph.D. in cancer biology, decided to take matters into her own hands. With a multitude of amazing women in the sciences, Menon is featuring them on a platform where science doesn’t normally shine — glossy magazines.

Smore, a bimonthly glossy for girls aged 7-12, features promising female scientists on the cover and throughout.

Her inspiration? After arriving in the U.S. from India to complete her higher education, Menon was shocked that more women weren’t encouraged to go into STEM and realized that more emphasis was needed earlier on in their lives, by showing them female role models today.

You’ll get it all on this episode of SheVentures.

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Finance often has a way of controlling our lives, whether we want it to or not. But what if you were already two steps behind before the financial race began?

Cait Howerton, financial coach and CFP candidate, turned her “mess” into her “message,” and is speaking openly about the pitfalls that the LGBTQ+ community faces in the financial sphere.

Howerton, who talks in detail of her difficulties coming out to her family, is channeling her experiences into knowledge and leadership for the LGBTQ+ community and the financial community alike.

On this episode of SheVentures, we get real.

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After losing her husband to cancer around the same time she herself was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, you might think a woman left to raise three teenagers on her own would crumble. But Sally Kalksma took her anger out on, well, stairs. She channeled her emotions into stair-climbing competitions, racing up some of the world’s most notable buildings like the Empire State and the Eiffel Tower.

She is also writing a book called Life Gets in the Wayabout her trials and her ability to see humor in anything, including her own circumstances. Listen to Kalksma’s infectious energy as she takes you through how to cope with loss, cancer, and 600 floors’ worth of stairs on this episode of SheVentures.

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Only 2 percent of women secure venture capital, but this mother of eight recently raised a cool $1.75 million. What gives? Larson takes a seat at the head of the table when pitching her business, knowing that no one knows it better than her.

She is passionate, business-minded, and a great reminder that women do not have to ask for permission. Larson’s app, Momni — the Airbnb and Uber for child care — is empowering women all over the globe.

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What better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than with an in-depth look at a woman who is tirelessly working to improve women’s lives globally?

Pamela Nathanson and her dedication to helping women and girls across the globe is an inspiration. As executive director of World Connect, Nathanson and her team focus on issues ranging from sex trafficking to entrepreneurship.

Each project has the goal of making these communities self-sustaining. One of World Connect’s projects in Rwanda  single-handedly reduced urinary tract infections (UTIs) in a group of women and girls by 100 percent.

World Connect requires women’s involvement in all projects, and a whopping 51 percent of them are women-led. This episode highlights women's struggles outside of the United States.

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What started as a personal, fun side blog for math and science teacher Erin Chase skyrocketed to a multifaceted digital brand that garnered 2 million users after it went viral.

$5 Dinners, Chase’s brainchild, started in 2008 and stemmed from the overwhelming urge to coupon everything after she returned from living in the Dominican Republic for many years doing missionary work.

The blog’s popularity took off in response to the world financial crisis at the time, and Chase has been working to help people save money and eat well ever since, all she balances raising four young sons to boot.

We’ve also got an exclusive reveal on what’s next for Chase’s product suite… Better get listening to find out more!

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After immigrating to the U.S. from Morocco as a teenager, Iman Oubou had to learn not only a new language, but also a new culture.

She quickly adapted and went on to earn degrees in biochemistry and biomedical engineering, as well as to become Miss New York. When a pageant judge asked her if she’d rather have beauty or brains, it spurred Oubou’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Fast forward to today, and Oubou is cultivating an online community, Swaay, for women to celebrate prowess in business and beauty — however they define both — without having to compromise either.

Want to find out more? You’ll get it all on this episode of SheVentures.

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Running up the hills by her grandparents’ place in Alabama started an illustrious if almost unbelievable career for Renette Dallas, N.D. She’s a naturopath who has earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, competed in bodybuilding competitions, joined the U.S. Air Force, become a certified fitness trainer, earned a doctorate in naturopathy, studied raw food preparation, and become a motivational speaker and author.

It’s hard to believe one woman managed to fit this all into one lifetime — and she’s still going! Not even a diagnosis of tuberculosis could keep her down. And no, we’re not making this up.

Find out how she managed to do it all on this episode of SheVentures.

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When her dad said “no” to buying her lip balm, 9-year-old Zandra Cunningham said “yes.” She decided to make her own lip balm instead, and eight years later at the age of 17, she was named 2017’s Small Business Award Young Entrepreneur of the Year for her company Zandra Beauty. Zandra is now 19, and her beauty brand is a leading plant-based social good company that inspires young women around the globe and earned over $1million in revenue in 2018.

None of this would have been possible without Zandra’s mom, Tamara, the “driving force” behind Zandra’s success. Tamara has also started her own venture called “Raising a Mogul Society,” a mastermind group for those interested in raising entrepreneurial young adults. How do they do it? Find out on this episode of SheVentures.

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In 2014, four-time Olympian Lauryn Williams became the first American woman to win medals in both the summer and the winter Olympics. While she began in track and field, an injury sidelined her, and a chance encounter led to a silver medal in bobsledding.

As lucrative endorsements started racing in, the then 20-year-old realized that she lacked the knowledge to make informed financial decisions. Now she wields her experience to coach athletes as a kick-ass financial planner with an MBA and a financial planning certification (CFP) under her belt. Her book, The Oval Office: A Four-Time Olympian's Guide to Professional Track & Field, teaches young athletes how to make their sport into a career. Find out more on this episode of SheVentures.

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After 16 years working for Congress in Washington as a communications director and lobbyist for small businesses, Becky MacDicken finally realized what she wanted to be when she grew up.

A chance job offer based in Pennsylvania led to the discovery of her passion for teaching financial literacy to prison inmates and the disabled community.

Now, having touched over 10,000 lives with her classes, MacDicken continues to spread the good financial word all across the state.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com 

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Across all branches of the U.S. military, only 14 percent of active service members are women. Veteran, mother, and entrepreneur, Marjorie K. Eastman is a marvel who wants to change that number. Her book, The Frontline Generation, was the first of its kind to define post-9/11 service and leadership and what it means for this country.

After 10 years in the military, Eastman’s journey is far from over. She’s now involved with Bunker Labs, a nonprofit network for veteran entrepreneurs that has had immeasurable success. Her son was diagnosed with cancer when he was six months old, and he was given a 30 percent chance to live.

However, Eastman focuses instead on how her army career helped her cope with the situation. Learn more about this amazing woman on our latest episode of SheVentures.

For more information, visit https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-6-marjorie-k-eastman/

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Former American Express marketing executive Yi-Hsian Godfrey yearned to create a business that would help ease the all too common struggle with work-life balance.

Godfrey co-founded Apiari — a play on the word apiary, or beehive — an AI-driven home-care “colony” that offers vetted, experienced part-time housekeeping and childcare help for parents.

Yi-Hsian and her co-founders built an online matching platform that eliminates the time and stress of interviewing countless candidates for essential part-time positions.

How does she balance motherhood with the roller-coaster ride of startup life?

For a transcription or link to resources mentioned, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-5-yi-hsian-godfrey/

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Jen Groover’s been through it all and has the emotional growth to prove it. Rather than letting her troubled childhood with an abusive, alcoholic father defeat her, she used it to shape her view of life, business, and finances. A motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Groover is a strong advocate for human potential, as well as for the success of women.

Complete organ failure at 26 from overexertion made her realize how negative patterns were harming her. Listen to the way she transformed herself and about her latest venture, Empowered Eyewear.

For a transcript, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-4-jen-groover/

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Erica Meltzer has taken the of SAT and ACT tutoring sphere by storm. After scoring an improbable 800 on the verbal portion of the SATs, Meltzer realized that she had a unique perspective to share, which she now spreads on an international level.

Her first book, The Critical Reader, which she originally self-published, has sold over 160,000 copies to date.

How has her focus on the socioeconomic disparity of tutoring in the U.S. set her apart from the rest in her field?

Find out on this episode of SheVentures.
For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/ep-3-erica-meltzer/

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Every entrepreneur faces a moment when they decide if they’re all in.
For Belinda DiGiambattista, it was one weekend when she and her husband agonized over whether to take out a loan out against their home in order to fund a much-needed upgrade to her food business’ kitchen. They could have lost everything.

Instead, DiGiambattista’s focus, drive, and unrelenting optimism catapulted her first company, Butter Beans — a business whose mission it is to provide healthy lunch menus for public, private, and charter schools — to a multi-million-dollar revenue business. After nine years, she successfully sold the company for an undisclosed amount. She says she is now “financially comfortable.”

DiGiambattista, who earned her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, decided the valuable lessons she learned as an entrepreneur could be sold as online classes on the platform Teachable. She is now an “infopreneur” who ran her first successful pilot this fall and plans to relaunch her full-blown course in the coming months.

Listen to what it means to grow up on a farm, move to the Big Apple, bootstrap your business for nine years, and succeed. Get ready to be inspired.

For more, visit https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/ep-2-belinda-digiambattista/

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I met Alexa Carlin last year in Washington, D.C. After hearing about her conference, WEX — short for Women Empower Expo — I wanted to see it for myself. I admit, having attended many conferences in the past, I was dubious about the value I would get as an entrepreneur.

Damn, was I wrong.

Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go: WEX is a conference for any woman who wants actionable, affordable advice on starting or improving her business or her mission.

WEX’s tickets range from $30 to $99, priced by design to be inclusive, and I have never been to a one-day conference that represents such racial, socio-economic, and age diversity. I spoke with teenpreneurs, women in their 60s, and everyone in between. The panel topics I attended were immediately relevant to my business.

My only critique is that I left fully charged, but I wanted more. Also, I’d love to see Carlin expand locations. Travel can be a big expense for entrepreneurs, especially those of us who are bootstrapping. I know she is aware of this and is announcing a third location for 2019 somewhere west of the Mississippi. Think NYC for your fourth!

At WEX, Carlin spoke authentically and vulnerably about her near-death experience without feeling an ounce of victimhood, about her excitement when five people attended her first event, and about how her success is very much about showing up and not letting fear stop her. I was impressed.

Carlin is charismatic, confident, and a natural leader. She carries herself well as a public speaker because she speaks passionately about what she loves: helping other women and girls make a difference, all while being an entrepreneur herself.

It’s also appropriate that Carlin is the first episode of SheVentures because she made a difference in my own career and in this project.

I’ve always had a moribund fear of public speaking, though I would do it when my previous jobs demanded it of me, whether on TV, on the radio, or in front of a group of people. But when I saw Carlin speak so effortlessly, I realized my silence was, in fact, harming me. I wasn’t telling my own story. Nor was I doing what I desired, which was to host in-depth interviews of other women to inspire and build community.

Carlin’s course on public speaking can be found on her site, and I highly recommend it. Our interaction speaks to how women can help each other through community, networking, and support.

Here’s SheVentures’ first episode. Listen to Alexa Carlin share her journey from a teenpreneur to the founder of a national conference that attracts thousands of women and counting. We’ve also picked out some of our favorite moments below.

I’d love your feedback and any ideas for future guests. Venture on!

Best,

Doria Lavagnino

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Jana Lynne Sanchez Pivots from PR Maven to Political Hopeful

Listen to the inspiring story of Jana Lynne Sanchez, a woman who ran a tight race as a Democrat in Texas’ 6th Congressional District and nearly won in a red state. She is now a political consultant for Blue Texas Strategies, where she’s putting her political prowess to work.

Sheer determination, grit, savvy, and kindness are Sanchez’s hallmarks. From her early Texas roots, she became a political and business correspondent for Reuters in Europe. From there, she pivoted to building her first venture, a PR firm called City Savvy that had offices in Amsterdam, London, and New York, and then returned home to Texas where she ran for Congress.

Get ready to be inspired by her tips on how to change direction and follow what you’re meant to do.

For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/bonus-episode-jana-lynne-sanchez/