Month: October 2021

Female Founders: Haley Rosen of Just Women’s Sports On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Haley Rosen of Just Women’s Sports On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

Trust yourself: I can’t tell you how many people have told me that “women’s sports will never be big.” Or that we need to be more lifestyle than sports. Or that we need to be “girlier.” But I was really stubborn in holding true to our vision and brand, and we’re now seeing that our unique approach has turned out to be our biggest differentiator.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Haley Rosen.

Haley Rosen is the CEO & Founder of Just Women’s Sports, a digital-first media brand 100% focused on women’s sports, providing fans with in-depth coverage, interviews, highlights, analysis, podcasts, newsletters and everything else that has been lacking for far too long in women’s sports. Rosen is also a former pro soccer player, and was an All-Pac-12 midfielder at Stanford.

Driven by frustration at not being able to follow the careers of her friends, former teams, and coaches after she retired from professional soccer, Haley Rosen founded Just Women’s Sports in 2020 to change the game for women’s sports coverage.

Today, Just Women’s Sports is a digital-first consumer media brand providing fans with in-depth coverage, exclusive interviews, highlights and analysis through editorial content, podcasts, video series, a bi-weekly newsletter, and a first-of-its-kind live scoreboard dedicated to major women’s sports leagues.

Following a year of explosive growth, JWS now reaches more than seven million passionate women’s sports fans on a monthly basis, up 300% year-over-year.

In May 2021, Rosen’s company closed a seed funding round headlined by institutional investors including Will Ventures, Thirty Five Ventures, DRIVE by DraftKings, alongside athlete investors Arike Ogunbowale, Elena Delle Donne, Hilary Knight, Kelley O’Hara, Sam Mewis, and Kevin Durant.

Prior to founding Just Women’s Sports, Rosen worked at a tech startup in San Francisco where she combined her curiosity in enterprise usage of virtual reality with her experience as a professional athlete. She was an All-Pac-12 midfielder at Stanford while earning her BA in science, technology and society and masters in communication with a focus on the societal implications of media multitasking.

Rosen has been honored as one of Sports Business Journal’s New Voices Under 30.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I played soccer in college, which was followed by a brief professional career in the U.S. and abroad. Afterwards, I moved to the Bay Area and started working in tech, and for the first time, I found myself on the outside of women’s sports looking in. I wanted to follow my friends that were still playing, coaches I played for, teams I had been on, and I genuinely couldn’t do it. The games weren’t easily accessible to watch, and analysis was hard to find. None of this made any sense to me. I had played in packed stadiums, I had interacted with enthusiastic fans, and I just kept asking myself, ‘Why doesn’t the media coverage reflect the excitement that’s out there?’

Just Women’s Sports was founded to fill this gap in the sports media industry by creating a comprehensive platform for athletes and fans of women’s sports, one that delivers the hype, analysis, personalities and stories that make women’s sports so awesome.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I’ve looked up to Billie Jean King for a long time, and I recently had the privilege of meeting her at the US Open. She was every bit the legend I imagined her to be, and in many ways, I feel like Just Women’s Sports is a continuation and extension of her legacy

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

To be honest, none of my mistakes felt funny at the time, but in hindsight…losing our Instagram account probably fits the bill. Just Women’s Sports got its start as an Instagram account, where I just posted awesome highlights that I found (think: “House of Highlights,” but for women’s sports.) It was all fun and games until the account got suspended for violating copyright — turns out, you can’t just rip highlights from wherever you want!

At the time, this was totally devastating. But while we were jumping through hoops and cold-messaging several strangers on LinkedIn to get the account back, we also stood up our newsletter and website. To me, the lesson was that there are going to be bumps along the road, and some of them might feel insurmountable at the time, but that if you’re onto something and keep pushing, good things can happen.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are so many people who have contributed to what we’ve managed to achieve so far (still a long ways to go!), and I want to give special thanks to all of the early employees at Just Women’s Sports who took a bet on this team and company. If there’s one particular person I need to shout out though, it’s probably Eric Chen at OVO Fund.

I met Eric a little bit before starting JWS and kept in touch during the early days. Like I said, we got our start as an Instagram account, and when we only had about 20k followers (and no other channels), Eric offered to invest in me and this idea. Even I thought it was kind of crazy at the time that he wanted to give his money to a kid with an IG account and a big idea. But I can’t thank him enough for believing in our vision and believing that we could get there!

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

To be totally honest, I think the whole narrative around this is way off base. We need to stop “supporting women” as if it’s a charitable cause and start legitimately investing in them.

Investing in someone doesn’t mean rewarding them for what they’ve done. It’s about betting on what they might do in the future. To use sports as an example, the MLS struggled for years, if not decades, to find its economic footing. But it continued to attract investors who believed in the future of men’s soccer in America. On the women’s side, leagues and companies are regularly dismissed because they haven’t yet hit profitability. It’s a double standard, in which one half of the room is judged based on their potential, while another half is told they have to already be producing.

“Celebrating” or “empowering” women is great. But to take the next step, we need to shift the mindset to focus on what women can do, versus just highlighting what they’ve already done.

Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

I don’t want to speak for a whole gender, but I also don’t want women to be deterred from pursuing their dreams just because there are hurdles in the way. What I will say is that even on my longest, hardest, most exhausting days, this work is still the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder?

One of my biggest learnings has been that I don’t need to know everything. I personally take a lot of pride in recruiting people who are way better at their job than I could ever be. And then it’s my job to point everyone in the right direction, get out of their way, and let great people be great.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee?

Yes, everyone is cut out to be a founder. I really reject the notion that there is some predetermined life that we may or may not be cut out for. If you want to start something, trust yourself and dive in with positive energy.

Now, the question of whether everyone wants to be a founder is different. It’s not nearly as glamorous as it’s made out to be — there are a lot of late nights, a lot of self-doubt, but also a lot of fun. From my experience, I’ve found that there isn’t a secret sauce here, so long as you have conviction and put one foot in front of the other.

Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

I don’t think thriving as a woman founder is all that different from thriving as a founder, period. There are a few small differences, mainly around confidence and taking up space. There is a high probability that at one or multiple points in your journey, you will literally be the famed “only woman in the room.” It’s not fair or always fun, but you need to have the confidence to step through that door.

We are still in the very early days of JWS, so I’m not sure I can claim to be a successful founder just yet. But here’s some of what I’ve learned along the way:

Trust yourself: I can’t tell you how many people have told me that “women’s sports will never be big.” Or that we need to be more lifestyle than sports. Or that we need to be “girlier.” But I was really stubborn in holding true to our vision and brand, and we’re now seeing that our unique approach has turned out to be our biggest differentiator.
Play your game: As an organization, competitors are going to come in, and they are going to have wins. And that’s a good thing — it shows the space is growing. It’s not zero sum, and the only way you can lose is by not playing your game. Know your strengths and do things your way.
Just go for it: At some point, you have to make the choice to dive in and do whatever it takes to get your company off the ground. Going from 0–1 is all heart and hustle. Worry about the finer points of strategy later, and just get the ball rolling. This is just from my own personal experience building a sports media company, but for what it’s worth, I learned way more from the first 10 Instagram posts we shared than from any TAM analysis I ever did.
Find balance: I’m a pretty obsessive person, and there’s always going to be more work to do, so I’ve definitely had times where I’m working in every waking moment, and then some. For me, it’s been really important to find time to take care of myself and separate my life and my work. As an athlete, I saw the importance of recovery, and I felt the downsides of overtraining, and I’ve had to take those lessons into my work life as well. I’m at my personal best when I’m more balanced — when I’m sleeping, exercising, spending time with friends/family, I can see things more clearly and avoid getting too emotionally absorbed in the day-to-day.
Lead with empathy: We’re really fortunate to have built out a really outstanding team at JWS. Every person here is taking a bet on this company/opportunity and placing a lot of trust in me. I feel a responsibility to reward and deepen this trust by listening, learning, and empowering my team.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Research has shown again and again that participation in sports has an overwhelmingly positive impact on girls’ lives. At various age groups, participation is roughly 50/50 for boys and girls, but as they age, girls tend to drop out at a faster rate. With Just Women’s Sports, we believe we can use sports to change the way women are perceived in society. I also think having more girls in sports is upstream of having more women in leadership roles.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?

I think the climate crisis has to be on the top of everyone’s list. Nothing else will matter if we don’t have a planet. It’s strange to me that people see environmental concerns as being diametrically opposed to business interests. Thankfully, it seems like that’s starting to change. Saving the planet is good for business, and I think it’s paramount that every company considers their ecological footprint. My hope is that as women’s sports grow, the space can do so in a way that’s environmentally friendly. So much is being built from scratch, that this needs to be a priority.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and work with many of the people who would have been on this list when I was getting started.

But if you believe in the future of women’s sports and want to get involved, get in touch. This company is going to change the face of sports, and I’m always down to connect with anyone who wants to be a part of the journey.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this

Female Founders: Haley Rosen of Just Women’s Sports On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Cassandra Chase of Chase Consulting Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive…

Female Founders: Cassandra Chase of Chase Consulting Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

By being intentional around everything I do, and connecting back to my main value of service. Providing educational opportunities for the youth, job training for young adults, and running for public office I have always kept the personal values of serving my community intact. I have been able to help others by keeping their interests in alignment with my own success.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cassandra Chase.

Cassandra Chase is a business owner and social entrepreneur committed to providing marginalized communities with opportunities and essential resources. For ten years, Cassandra has dedicated her career to public service leading massive grassroots efforts in education, health, wellness, and social reform.

Cassandra founded Chase Consulting Group (CCG), a boutique business consulting firm that provides strategic management, business development, and new media marketing services to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government entities. She also co-founded Read Lead, a nonprofit organization that provides literacy and leadership training.

Her foundational work has impacted over 2 million residents in Los Angeles County. In 2020, NIKE recognized and featured Cassandra as a changemaker in the Legacy Project among seven other black women transforming the landscape in Los Angeles.

In her spare time, Cassandra spreads accessible information on wellness, veganism, and yoga. As a thought leader, Cassandra continues to foster a culture of civic engagement in the community in which she lives and works.

Well, ultimately I would say what led me to this career path is a value of service. My Mom is a registered nurse and my Dad is a United Methodist Minister. From a young age, they taught me to lead and serve my community. Activism and community service very much became a way of life growing up. My sister and I were always in a space of listening, and also learning how to strategize. Those aspects of my upbringing are really what sort of brought me to where I am today.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I would say the most interesting part of my journey so far has been being a young leader. For my nonprofit we also hired a lot of young people, and being their leader I had to quickly learn different ways to take in everyone’s perspective. So just as a general point, understanding what it means to be a leader amongst peers has been the most interesting part of starting my own company.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I can’t really remember anything too specific, but I can say that I used to rush a lot. Sometimes I would not double check stuff with spelling mistakes or even who I was addressing in an email. Through those mistakes, I learned to find humor and became more humble in having my own sense of accountability.

My Mom. While she worked for over 40 years as a nurse she was still an entrepreneur. She had her real estate license and taught me the importance of investment properties and owning multiple streams of income. She taught me about balance, doing what you love while also having a staple that can support your family. My mother understood the importance of voting, making sure you have a voice. She was the only one who could vote in my house growing up so she took that responsibility very seriously. We would have family meetings about what was on the ballot because she knew her vote represented the entire family. I have memories of walking into the voting booth with her as a small child because she always wanted to make sure her family was included in the entire process. She was a role model for me, a true leader.

I think getting the financial support to help scale companies is one of the biggest factors that continues to keep women out of the entrepreneurial space. Women of color are the largest growing demographic of small business owners, but they are mostly running those companies by themselves. Being a “solopreneur” is not bad, but it can be a lot harder to scale when you are running everything yourself. My consulting business started off in that space and it forced me to make sacrifices, without the funding to build a team it becomes more difficult.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

There are some really good initiatives that are out which provide support on a federal, national, and local level. One that comes to mind is the small business administration which has been very intentional around ensuring resources for women of color in the entrepreneurial space. There are a lot of free classes on creating a business and managing marketing for your company. At the end of the day though, entrepreneurs need money. An idea is only as good as its execution and execution can sometimes take funding to be successful. Another program that comes to mind is the Tory Burch Foundation that supports women who want to be entrepreneurs and provides them with not only education but financial investment as well. Organizations like Nike Los Angeles and the Black Community Commitment Fund are also a few from the host of companies now supporting women to create sustainable businesses.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Women are the center of our universe, we are the leaders of families. Women have a special touch where we can lead with our hearts as well as our heads. We are able to speak about situations candidly from our own experience. Women are also the highest consumer demographic, so having the perspective of women in business is very important.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

The biggest myth is that being a founder is a very glamorous thing. It takes 10,000 hours and in many cases 10 years to get to a place where you are sustainable. I think the thought of what a founder is and what it means to be successful as a founder should be destigmatized. Being busy does not always equal being productive, and that is the reality of the challenges you face when leading a company. Being a founder does not mean you have to sacrifice your health in order to achieve your goals. The best entrepreneurs are those who take time to themselves and their community. You always want to run your business from a peaceful state of mind.

Stick-to-itiveness, I believe that is one of the biggest qualities you really need as a founder. You have to be willing to not give up, whether it is going well or bad in order to really get to a place to know if something is going to work or not.

Discernment, you need to have the space and grace to be conscious enough to know what will work and what will not.

Communication, you have to be a really good communicator in order to properly tell your vision for others to receive.

I don’t think everyone is necessarily cut out to be a founder, because it takes a lot of foresight to truly have a vision. I would say a “regular job” is for people who enjoy executing a founder’s vision.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, What are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

Having a vision. (Have the foresight to see something that can possibly help people in the future.)
Communicate the vision. (Explain the different aspects of what you are trying to create effectively.)
Get people excited about the vision. (Develop a following with whom you can create a symbiotic relationship between.)
Build a community around it, and ask for support. (Get help, create a team of supporters that make your foundation even more formidable.)
Have fun while doing it. (Do what you love, in order to be truly successful you have to follow your passion.)

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

By being intentional around everything I do, and connecting back to my main value of service. Providing educational opportunities for the youth, job training for young adults, and running for public office I have always kept the personal values of serving my community intact. I have been able to help others by keeping their interests in alignment with my own success.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I think it would be two-fold. The first part being centered around education, I would want to provide the highest quality of education to learners of all ages. I believe education is the foundation of success, so providing that to people who are in the need of it most would allow us to see a better world through that process. The other thing that I think would help us change the world would be a greater sense of awareness. People becoming more aware of who they are and calling into their lives what they wish to see. By doing this, we will be able to transform the world between our thoughts and actions. In order to accomplish any of this we have to be well ourselves, and take care of who we are.

Marie Forleo would be the person for me. She calls herself a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur and works in so many different interests just like me. She articulates who I am personally. I love how as her success grows she continues to hold onto the things that she loves. Marie is an authentic leader who has inspired me so much in my own career.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this

Female Founders: Cassandra Chase of Chase Consulting Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr Rebecca Jackson of Brain Balance: 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

Challenge (Use it or lose it) The brain grows and strengthens through use and challenge. The brain responds to load and challenge by becoming more engaged and activating more hubs and pathways to process and respond to the incoming information. Remember that the brain elicits more positive feelings and emotions when higher-level functions are involved when supported by the fuel and rest needed. Something as simple as learning (a topic you enjoy) can actually trigger happier mood and emotions in the brain!

As a part of my series about the “5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rebecca Jackson.

Dr. Rebecca Jackson is currently the vice president of Programs and Outcomes for Brain Balance, where she designs and implements programs focused on strengthening the brain to optimize human performance for a variety of ages and abilities. Jackson graduated from Life University as a Doctor of Chiropractic in 2001. You can find her most recent peer-reviewed research in the Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research 2021, Effect of the Brain Balance® Program on Cognitive Performance in Children and Adolescents with Developmental and Attentional Issues. Jackson has appeared on national broadcasts including ABC’s “The Doctors” and “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” and has contributed to numerous national print outlets including Forbes, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, TODAY, and many more. www.brainbalancecenters.com/.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I’ve always been interested in health and wellness, anything you can do to live your best life. I began my professional career as a chiropractor. I like to understand the WHY behind a symptom or concern, which is a part of the chiropractic philosophy. Then as a young parent I wanted to really understand the brain and development to set my own kids up for success. Reading books that provided activities and games wasn’t enough, so I started taking additional classes in neurology and development. It was in these classes that I had a huge “aha” moment. Our brain is at the core of who we are and all we do. Enhancing and supporting brain function has the potential to positively impact so much of our life. Our mood, how we handle stress, motivation and even attention can be impacted by improving the brain. This awareness of the far-reaching impact of brain performance is what led me to become involved with Brain Balance, a company that focuses on optimizing the brain to help kids and now adults overcome challenges with aspects of cognition and emotional well-being. My work with Brain Balance has provided me with invaluable experience in research as well as hands-on experience in seeing what changes are possible when the brain is strengthened and supported.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

While you can’t always control the things around you, there is the opportunity to impact your own thoughts and behaviors. With that in mind I work hard to stay positive in the hope that positivity will continue to breed more positivity. Admittedly there are days I am far more successful than others, but in knowing myself, going negative in my thoughts and words becomes a slippery slope going straight down. When I find myself becoming frustrated or agitated pressing pause and doing something to re-ignite the positive energy and emotion in my own brain is key. Going for a run, getting outside and soaking up the sunshine, making plans with a friend for dinner — not to vent, but to enjoy time together are all strategies than can help me alter my mindset so that I can remain productive and collaborative.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Mental health is often looked at in binary terms; those who are healthy and those who have mental illness. The truth, however, is that mental wellness is a huge spectrum. Even those who are “mentally healthy” can still improve their mental wellness. From your experience or research, what are five steps that each of us can take to improve or optimize our mental wellness. Can you please share a story or example for each.

Did you know that the emotions you are experiencing, whether they are positive or negative, and how you tolerate stress are impacted in part by which networks and pathways in your brain are activated? How your brain functions and the fuel you have available to support the brain will influence your ability to perform at your best, as well as how you feel. Our mental wellness is intricately tied to our brain wellness, which is exciting as it provides us with opportunities to positively impact both brain and emotional wellbeing.

Over the last decade there has been an important, and necessary shift in how we approach and understand brain wellness. This new understanding provides us with a different lens to view both brain health and mental wellness. This updated view has allowed for new insights and strategies to add alongside the more traditional tools and to provide us with proactive strategies to best equip us to face life’s challenges and stress.

Historically, science had a more singular focus, looking at each system in the body to understand what it does individually — the immune system to keep us healthy, our endocrine system to control our hormones and our digestive system processes food to turn into fuel. Advancements in science have shown how interconnected all these systems truly are in their functions. In fact, the gut is now often referred to as the second brain, or the gut-brain connection, as we begin to uncover the direction connections between our digestion, immune system, brain and hormones. Understanding the coupling of these systems has demonstrated the importance of considering these systems when approaching our mental well-being. As Dr. Thomas Insel, the former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health stated, “The future of psychiatry is clinical neuroscience, based on a much deeper understanding of the brain.”

To understand how aspects of life and stress can impact our brain, mood and thoughts let’s consider a set of functions in our brain called the executive functions. These are considered high-level brain functions that arise from mature development and provide us with the ability to sustain and control our attention, emotional regulation, planning, reasoning, decision making and more. These executive functions support our ability to act and interact in mature, productive, and effective ways for work, school, and social interactions.

To utilize our executive functions requires a brain that is well-rested, well-fueled and well-developed. Nothing in the brain happens in isolation, so these executive functions also pair with an emotional center of our brain that impacts our mood and emotions. When these brain functions are working effectively and supported by the appropriate fuel, they are more likely to elicit positive emotions. When the executive functions run out of fuel or are shut down due to other factors such as stress, the brain will default to different networks and pathways that will elicit more negative emotions and will make decision making, thinking and control of mood and behaviors far more difficult.

Our brain fluidly shifts back and forth between utilizing different regions and networks based on many factors. Realizing how simple daily habits can influence your brain’s ability to handle stress and to tap into positive behaviors and actions can help set you up for feeling and functioning at your very best.

The following are 5 key factors to understand and implement daily to contribute to your overall brain and emotional wellness. (*These tips are not a replacement for working with mental health providers but are an example of additional strategies that can be used in addition to what is recommended by a professional who knows you).

Fuel — The brain and body require energy to perform. That energy is provided in the form of fuel from the foods and nutrients we consume. Different foods contribute different nutrients and types of fuel. Some variations of fuel, such as sugars, provide an energy source that kicks in quickly, but also burns off fast, leaving your system depleted. Other fuel sources take longer to utilize, providing longer-lasting energy. Proteins and healthy fats provide slow burning fuels that contribute to a more stable energy source. Our executive functions require high amounts of fuel to perform. This high fuel need means it is harder to sustain these functions for long periods of time, and when fuel reserves run out, these functions will shut down. If you’re familiar with the term “hangry” you know what it feels like when your brain is running low on fuel. Hangry is that moment when you are so hungry you can barely concentrate and may struggle to do a simple task such as making a decision. In this moment you will find yourself highly irritable. Your executive function brain networks don’t have the fuel needed to perform, so your brain defaults to supporting lower level basic functions. The best plan of attack in this scenario is to refuel by consuming proteins and healthy fats. Once those nutrient kick in you will find your mood, energy and focus returning so you can once again tap into more positive emotions, behaviors, and focus.
Incorporating protein and healthy fats, such as those found in nuts or avocados, into meals and snacks is one of the simplest ways to ensure your brain is equipped to focus and maintain more stable mood and energy throughout the day.
Sleep — Every parent understands the importance of adequate sleep to impact their child’s mood and behavior. The reality is we don’t outgrow the need for sleep to perform at our best. Like depleted fuel in the brain, a tired brain has a harder time focusing and controlling mood and behaviors. A brain short on sleep will utilize connections in the brain in a more sluggish way and will once again have a much harder time accessing those higher-level skills that depend on high energy and fuel to support.
Sleep is a critical time for brain function. This is the time that the brain processes what happened throughout the day, it is a time of clean up, and energy production to face the next day. When rest doesn’t occur it can impact the brain’s self-cleaning and maintenance mechanisms that can lead to increased inflammation and a decrease in memory. Signs of sleep deprivation can include challenges in recalling information, shorter attention span and more irritable and negative mood and behaviors. Any challenges or struggles you are facing will be exacerbated by a lack of adequate sleep.
Minimizing stress — Minimizing stress is easier said than done, but understanding the impact stress can have on the brain can help you prioritize your management strategies. Stress is highly fatiguing to the brain, and when faced with stressful events the brain requires more fuel and resources to maintain executive functions and positive mood and behaviors. Whether acute stress over a short period of time, or chronic stress over a more sustained amount of time the brain will once again default to lower-level functioning and have a harder time tapping into the executive functions. Lower-level functions consist or more basic functions that allow us to function in the moment. This activates pathways that keep us alive but takes activation away from the pathways that allow us to control our behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and attention. Imagine how you are feeling and functioning when amid a heated argument. This is an example of acute stress, it may be short, but it is also intense. In this moment you are far more likely to do and say things you would never normally say. Impulse control and regulation are diminished, leaving you in survival mode — protecting yourself and getting your point across is your primary focus, rather than thinking about the repercussions of your actions. If after the argument someone asked you to read a scientific article and give your thoughts on that article, you would struggle to retain what you were reading, and to formulate a clear and thoughtful response would be nearly impossible in that moment. This is an example of how stress shifts your ability to readily access higher-functioning brain networks. Signs that stress is impacting how you fee and function can include difficulty in planning ahead, challenges sustaining focus on a task, a struggle to think about things other than what is causing the stress, and increased negativity and fatigue.
Neuroplasticity means the brain can change! Embracing the science that the brain can change at any age means that even if you are struggling in an area, there is the potential for change and improvement! Strengthening and improving pathways in the brain requires a combination of duration, frequency, and intensity. This means change doesn’t happen overnight, but with a plan that includes time, repetition and challenge it can happen! A very simple strategy to impact the regions you want to improve is simply doing more of what you want to improve. If you want to increase your ability to sustain attention on one task at a time — set aside time each day to do just that, then daily or weekly increase the amount of time by a minute or two. If you struggle with anxiety spend some time considering what helps to calm your thoughts or worries, leaving you feeling better and more in control, then do that more often. While this can sound simple to the point of almost being insulting, there is science behind this truth. Physical exercise intense enough to elevate heart rate and breathing is a great example as it increases activation of the brain which can help you more easily access higher-level brain functions that can help to regulate mood and thoughts. Pay attention to how you feel in the hours following activity to notice if it helps to bring an increase in calm and comfort. To really take advantage of neuroplasticity, participating in a personalized program such as Brain Balance can take your level of function to a whole new level of success. The Brain Balance programs are designed to increase the degree of complexity, challenge and endurance of your brain performance that can have a significant impact on attention, anxiety, memory, comprehension, and controlling your mood and behaviors.
Challenge (Use it or lose it) The brain grows and strengthens through use and challenge. The brain responds to load and challenge by becoming more engaged and activating more hubs and pathways to process and respond to the incoming information. Remember that the brain elicits more positive feelings and emotions when higher-level functions are involved when supported by the fuel and rest needed. Something as simple as learning (a topic you enjoy) can actually trigger happier mood and emotions in the brain! To learn something new requires engaging the brain, then introducing novel information, this provides the load or challenge. The new information either needs to leave a large enough impression to remember it the first time or needs to be repeated enough for the memory of new information to be stored for retrieval later.
Think of the last time you learned something that really struck a chord or inspired you. Remember how you felt in that moment, and how excited you were to share what you learned with someone else. For me, learning something new about the brain that creates an “aha” moment is exciting and energizing. But once we’re done with school, learning doesn’t always happen unless we seek it out. Picking up a new book, watching a documentary or signing up for classes and workshops are all productive strategies to challenge and engage your brain to spark your excitement and energy! Implementing these strategies will contribute to a brain performing at its optimum and will not only result in improved productivity, but in a happy and healthy mood and outlook as well!

Much of my expertise focuses on helping people to plan for after retirement. Retirement is a dramatic ‘life course transition’ that can impact one’s health. In addition to the ideas you mentioned earlier, are there things that one should do to optimize mental wellness after retirement? Please share a story or an example for each.

Retirement is a time in life nearly everyone looks forward to and hopes to be at a point in life to fully embrace. As you approach retirement keep in mind how much CHANGE is involved in this life transition, and don’t underestimate how hard change can be for the brain. Creating some simple and fun habits and patterns can help you face these large changes and get the most out of your retirement years!

Change that requires shifts in your habits and routines requires additional energy and activation from the brain. Tasks that we do out of habit, and with minimal thought, places very little demand on the brain. Changing habits and doing activities that require thought, planning or effort place a larger demand on the brain, engaging more pathways and burning more fuel. To face a time of multiple changes in your life requires high activation of executive function pathways and a lot of resources to support these pathways. All the strategies we mentioned above — fuel, sleep, stress management and activation will contribute to supporting the pathways needed for change so that mood and emotions stay positive.

Retirement can also result in changes in levels of both mental stimulation and physical activity. Without the daily cognitive demands from work it is easy to experience a significant drop off in cognitive challenge. Remember we strengthen what we use, so purposefully finding ways to engage your brain will help to keep you mentally sharp and happy. Taking classes for fun, picking up a new hobby or planning interesting vacations are all fun ways to continue to keep your emotions positive and your executive function pathways active.

For some, retirement is a time of increased physical activity, with more time available to do the things you enjoy, such as walking or pickleball. For others it is a time when people quickly become more sedentary. Without the need to walk from the car to the office or climb the stairs to meet with a co-worker some find themselves spending more time than ever seated. Being mindful of the need for consistent exercise will continue to keep both your brain and body more highly activated and engaged.

How about teens and pre teens. Are there any specific new ideas you would suggest for teens and pre teens to optimize their mental wellness?

As a parent to both a teen and a pre-teen I love this topic! When considering brain and mental wellness in teens and pre-teens it is important to remember that while the body may be close to full grown, the brain is not. The frontal lobe of the brain is not thought to be fully developed until young to mid-20’s. This region contributes to the executive functions involved in good decision making, regulating emotions and upsets, planning, follow through and impulse control. The result is that it requires more energy and effort to consistently tap into these skills and functions. To set teens and pre-teens up to optimize their mental wellness consider these two strategies:

Physical exercise. Not only does exercise release endorphins, chemicals that help the brain to diminish the perception pain and increase positive feelings, exercise also increases the engagement and alertness of the brain. Pay attention to your kids and you’ll often notice just how chatty and happy they are after physical exertion from exercise!
Beware of too much screen time. Remember the brain only has so much fuel to get through the day. Spending hours processing the bombardment of information involved in video games and even social media can be draining. The result of a depleted brain is an increase in NEGATIVE mood and emotions, and a reduction in focus and memory.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey. There is an art to writing a book about the brain and science while being user-friendly. Ratey nailed it in my opinion. This is the book I recommend most often to parents and teachers since it clearly drives home the point that exercise impacts your focus and memory. While the book is focused on the impact exercise has on learning the message hits home for any age — our brain is sharper after exercise!

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Brain wellness to drive our overall well-being is the movement I hope to continue to provide a meaningful voice and leadership around. We are given one brain. Leading a lifestyle that focuses on brain wellness translates into a life of health that impacts our mental and physical well-being. It is far easier to live a joyful and meaningful life when you are feeling good and have the ability to tap into higher aspects of brain functions to impact those around you.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“80% of Americans hate their job.” I heard this quote on the radio in high school and it has been a driving force in my life. It’s ironic, that as a relatively positive person it was a negative quote that resonated with me, but it continues to drive my actions decades later. We spend most of our adult lives engaged in work. I can not imagine trying to find the motivation to do something that does not inspire me daily. My hope for my children is they can be as fortunate as I have been in finding a passion that can be their life’s work and is rewarding and fulfilling.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

@drrebeccajackson

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Dr Rebecca Jackson of Brain Balance: 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Diane Yoo: 5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

Investing in industries that and sectors that typically draw more women. Not in a stereotypical manner but demographic wise, I was in the fashion business world which is not a space many older men in finance always want to invest in. he beauty industry for example, having a female VC invest is much more appealing than men. Looking to niche spaces and cultivating opportunities that will also reflect a brand better closes the gap of opportunity.

As part of my series about “the five things we need to do to close the gender wage gap” I had the pleasure of interviewing Diane Yoo.

Diane Yoo is a results-driven entrepreneur and venture capitalist with more than 15+ years of experience. As an accredited investor, she has invested in 35+ companies with a focus on diverse founders. She created 15 funds in the last year alone and is in the 1% of Asian-American female founders who are also a partner. Diane has founded angel networks, venture funds, and investment networks. She is Founding Partner for a Medtech and Healthtech venture capital firm in partnership with the largest medical center of the world. With VC and accelerator expertise, she works extensively with over 700+ global companies and her firm has deployed significant capital into the startup ecosystem. She has launched numerous venture funds for over 15 universities across the US and has built a powerful co-investor US network with offices in Texas and New York. Diane is Co-founder of Global She Ventures, an accelerator in partnership with Rice University to catalyze global women entrepreneurs. Diane is also Co-founder to a national media platform, Identity Unveiled highlights trailblazing Asian American women who have broken barriers and become firsts in their industry. She is also an investment partner to several Silicon Valley funds including the largest women’s fund and the first FemTech fund in the nation.

Diane is also mentor/partner to Global Venture Accelerator, a Rice University initiative. She serves as mentor/judge to Rice Business Plan Challenge, Rice University’s 48 Hr Accelerator, Gener8tor, Brandery, and Mass Challenge. She sits on numerous boards and advises other venture capital funds, diversity funds, and the largest women’s fund in Texas. Diane was awarded “Diane Yoo Day” on August 26th for her international achievements in diversity leadership. She received her MBA from Jesse H. Jones School of Business at Rice University.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the “backstory” that brought you to this career path?

I was born to break stereotypes. Growing up with all brothers, I fought back with resiliency and didn’t see the difference in terms of capabilities.

Playing sports with guys was the norm and was more familiar with aggressive contact playing. My 5’ 8’’ stature was not only an advantage in the basketball court but also opened opportunities for modeling at the young age of 13. I was regularly accustomed to stifling stereotypes and capabilities based on society’s expectations as a woman and fashion model.

Shattering conventions was my comfort zone growing up. In college, I played our football team’s quarterback. My fast spinning spiral was more intimidating than most men’s performance. The advantage of growing up with brothers created a duality of having a thick skin, being fearless, but also encompassing the contrasting advantages of a woman’s intuitive intelligence.
Navigating hurdles, I pursued a Rice MBA and started a fashion tech company. I would pitch to investors, but it was difficult to connect. The majority of the investors were those who didn’t look like me nor resonant with my experiences, hence their expectation of what a founder looks like, didn’t align with who I was.

I was more accustomed to the constant rhythm of fearlessly paving forward through grit and resilience. Through these life building experiences, I proved that I am more than capable — as a business woman and an entrepreneur. Further, I founded Identity Unveiled which is a national media platform that showcases the trailblazing accomplishments of Asian women leaders. I also started an accelerator program for women in technology in partnership with academic institutions, and am an investment partner to the nation’s largest women investing group with over 1,200 limited partners. FemTech Fund is the first fund in the nation focusing on women’s health and wellness and I currently serve as investment partner to FemTech Fund I and II. I am also an active member of PEWIN, the premier women’s finance network with over $3 trillion AUM. Additionally, I serve as the US partner to a Korean government agency for Venture Capital, driving economic development and innovation through a pipeline of hundreds of technology investments and acquisitions. I am firmly committed to advocating for women and minority founders and serve as a mentor at the nation’s top ten accelerators. In recognition of my leadership in diversity, I was honored with an official “Diane Yoo Day”.

My entrepreneurial expertise drove the foundation to launch several VC funds, including a fund partnership with the largest medical center in the world, Co-Founder to Rice University’s official Angel group, Founding General Partner to both the #1 Entrepreneurship graduate and undergraduate schools, Founding Partner to a legacy acquisition fund in partnership to alumni groups, and Founder to 13+ university venture funds with access to thousands of diverse LP’s across the nation.

My goal is to inspire more representation for Asian women in Venture Capital.

My mission is to empower, connect, and advance Asian women to succeed to the most elite levels and impact the future of Venture Capital.

Can you share a story of your most successful Angel or VC investment? In your opinion, what was its main lesson?

Two of my investments hit a billion dollar valuation. The greatest lesson was having the expertise to know when to invest and the gut intuition from years of investment experience to know if this would be a great company or not.

Can you share a story of an Angel or VC funding “failure” of yours? Is there a lesson or take away that you took out of that that our readers can learn from?

Never commit until the deal is done. Getting caught up legally by publicly saying anything is a mistake. Keep things quiet until it’s done.

Was there a company that you turned down, but now regret? Can you share the story? What lesson did you learn from that?

Yes, we were committed to invest in a deal but the deal was so hot it closed in faster than we thought. It ended up getting flooded with investors.

Ok let’s jump to the main focus of our interview. According to this article in Fortune, only 2.2% of VC dollars went to women in 2018. Can you share with our readers what your firm is doing to help close the VC gender gap?

As a women and person of color fund founder and entrepreneur, I see firsthand experience of inequalities for venture funding towards women and minorities. Our firm focuses on hiring more talented women entrepreneurs to operate portfolio companies and hit home runs.

Can you recommend 5 things that need to be done on a broader societal level to close the VC gender gap. Please share a story or example for each.

Creating more opportunities for women and minorities which is one of my focuses on diversity emerging managers
I’ve had an “a hundred-pound gorilla” try to stop me time and time again or take away opportunities just because I’m younger than a typical VC, I’m a woman and a minority, so by women like me standing our ground and making a seat for ourselves and not letting opportunities get taken away we’re automatically paving the way for other women and closing that gap
Investing in industries that and sectors that typically draw more women. Not in a stereotypical manner but demographic wise, I was in the fashion business world which is not a space many older men in finance always want to invest in. he beauty industry for example, having a female VC invest is much more appealing than men. Looking to niche spaces and cultivating opportunities that will also reflect a brand better closes the gap of opportunity.
One of the greatest pieces of advice a VC mentor told me was to watch out for uncoachable founders. Such founders could be to the detriment of the fund if they are litigious and do not adhere to the advice of board or venture partners. My mentor suffered a $150 million lawsuit at the hands of an arrogant know-it-all entrepreneur. Ensuring you’re coachable and malleable for any up and coming VC regardless or gender or race is important, you’ll have more opportunity than someone who is bull headed or not nimble
Shifting the discourse of what it means culturally to be a VC is part of that and through articles like this and stories like mine that happens at a cultural and societal level.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I was told “no” several times when I first entered the world of venture capital. Telling me no was essentially seen as an invitation for a challenge. My resilience was built through the tumultuous life of an entrepreneur and I forged ahead with grit building my career from the ground up to being the top 1% in VC as an Asian female partner in VC. As the VC ecosystem is largely white and male, my passion lies in creating an outsized impact on this world by breaking barriers to spur future women and diverse venture dreamers.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

What expertise do you bring to the table when you enter a room? What knowledge am I sharing and lead with that. I am the token Asian woman in the room. It’s about what value am I adding to the table?

Business is about building trust and establishing relationships. It’s not about what a person can be for me. Don’t assume anything.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂

Serena Williams is the epitome of a powerful black woman shattering records and revolutionizing women’s tennis. As the highest paid female athlete and the only woman on Forbes’ “100 highest paid athletes”, Serena also smashed records in VC where we have a shared mission to invest and empower women and diverse founders. She has championed a portfolio similar to my interest in e-commerce, health, food, and fashion. Our synergies work together and would love to ace our way through the male-dominated venture industry. She leaves a lasting legacy that women can do it all.

This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.

Diane Yoo: 5 Things We Need To Do To Close The Gender Wage Gap was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Mark Petersen of Arvie: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

A clear trend is traveling in tight-knit pods of close family members and friends so we can take trips that allow us to stay somewhat socially distanced, together. This bodes very well for the RV and rental home markets but has also pushed prices way up, and made reservations highly competitive. I expect that companies that help travelers create these types of intimate group experiences will do quite well.

As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Petersen, Arvie Founder & CEO.

Mark Petersen is an avid RV enthusiast, camp travel expert and business veteran with a substantial background in both the Fortune 500 corporate world and in private business ownership. Mark currently resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife Julie who are reinventing their new lives as “empty nesters” now that their kids are off at college.

Mark has been an avid camper since he was ten years old and has visited campgrounds of nearly every type and description all across the US. Mark is so passionate about RV camping that he spent the past two years developing Arvie, launching in fall 2021. Arvie is a game-changing new service platform that allows campers to find, compare, and book campsites far faster and easier than ever before possible — even in parks that were previously reported as being “Sold Out”.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I’ve been a camper, in some form or another, since I was ten years old. The sheer ability to get away from it all and enjoy nature has always been a key contributor to my overall happiness as well as my success as an entrepreneur.

As I immersed myself in the RV camping lifestyle, I quickly grew frustrated with the outdated and tedious “looking and booking” processes that came with it. That’s when I became passionate about finding a better way to find and book campsites. I spent the past few years researching and developing a new kind of service that gives RV enthusiasts back their precious time to enjoy the truly great parts of the RV lifestyle.

The result was Arvie — a breakthrough campsite search engine and booking platform that allows campers to search and instantly book hard-to-find campsites, particularly last-minute cancellations, from one centralized interface. With Arvie, I wanted to selfishly solve a personal problem, but in a way that could help others as well.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

That would have to be how the 2020 Covid shutdown directly led me to finally pursuing my obsession with a research file I had been compiling for a few years. I called it “Kamp Beacon” at the time. The core problem that I wanted to address was (and remains):

“Why is it so much harder to find an available campsite than a hotel room or private rental unit?!”

So I decided to contact a few friends in the tech and legal circles and dig into how this all might work. And once I got going, I just didn’t stop. We’re now a team of nearly twenty brilliant folks all playing different key roles in bringing Arvie to life. It’s an interesting time to be building something with a remote team, most of whom I’ve never actually met in person yet we all feel a true sense of camaraderie and purpose that connects us all. I would even call a few of them my true friends now.

Arvie will definitely be a testament to the power of Zoom, Slack and a few other online collaboration tools. Even just looking back a few years ago, I don’t see how this particular startup could have been conceived, built and launched in a completely decentralized environment. It truly is a great time to be an entrepreneur — especially one who is frequently on the road and off to the next campground.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest probably won’t make it to print, so I’ll go with a close runner-up.

It’s 1991. I’m twenty-three and four months into my first job as a commercial insurance sales rep. I leave very early Tuesday morning for a three-day trip that kicks off with an important breakfast meeting with a potential new client. I feel like I crush the meeting but get a strange vibe during my presentation. Then, I’m off to another appointment with someone else I’m meeting for the first time. I had to sit in the fairly crowded waiting room for ten minutes or so for that one and was surprised there wasn’t much of the usual light chat about the weather going on.

Then off to lunch with another client and I recall thinking that the waiter may have been looking at me a bit oddly. Later, I meet with Shirley, an existing client whom I know well and have a great rapport with and she asks about my big meeting that morning. As I start to answer, I cross my legs in the chair across from her desk, at which point I can tell something is wrong. She gazes down and across her desk, then at me. Two or three times she repeats this. It’s an agonizingly long moment of total confused silence right until she explodes into laughter as she points out my shoes are obviously mismatched — one black and one cordovan.

To this day, I still feel that the veteran sales rep who strongly advised me to keep business travel simple by owning “two identical belts and two identical pairs of shoes; one black, one cordovan” could have done a better job of discussing the potential pitfalls of that particular wardrobe strategy. Thanks a lot, Peter Mace.

The lessons learned were: (1) The devil is always in the details and (2) You better be able to laugh at yourself sometimes.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? Can you share a story about that?

For me, this one always comes back to a combination of family and nature. Those are my two sure-fire ways to get to a better place mentally when I’m too stressed out. I’ve also started meditating regularly in the last two years, which has been a huge help for both stress relief and focus.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

This is an easy one. My wife Julie has hands down been my rock and inspiration for most of my professional career. She made the difficult decision to give up her own successful career when we started our family, and although I’ve not taken the most traditional career path, she has always believed in me and supported the choices I’ve made even when some may have seemed crazy to most outsiders. That journey has included moving away from places she loved, and to some places, she didn’t. But through it all, she has been the one to keep our family together regardless of where my career path took us all.

As brand new empty-nesters, we now spend a lot of time traveling in our RV to our favorite places together. After decades of me being away on business and the circus that is raising two incredible kids, we weren’t exactly sure what to expect but we both fell in love with being out on the road together, and are closer than ever now.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

In the camping industry, there has never been a seamless way to search and book spots at campgrounds, across multiple booking platforms, in one centralized place — until Arvie. Our incredible team has developed the first-ever multi-platform online travel service dedicated to giving RV campers their best shot to get the spot. Together, we have created the ability to quickly search, then instantly book with just a single click at nearly 6,000 campgrounds in the US, including most State and National Parks.

Arvie’s breakthrough search engine technology, combined with our team of back-end agents, work together to help you find, compare and book the best campsite for your specific needs in lightning-fast time.

Arvie’s Sold Out Search feature can even find and book freshly canceled reservations at popular campgrounds that often require months of pre-planning to reserve.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

The camping community has long been grossly under-served in its ability to efficiently find, compare and book great campsites. Existing options are unnecessarily more complex, frustrating and time-consuming than the seamless way we find and book a hotel room or private rental unit. There isn’t currently a comparable hospitality search and booking solution such as Orbitz, Airbnb, or Travelocity that caters to campers.

The primary reason for this service gap is that — unlike for Hotels, Airlines, and short-term rental properties — the camping industry has no centralized place where campgrounds can send and share their real-time availability to prospective campers.

The reality is that campers can literally be required to go to 10–15 different campground websites just to find and book one great campsite. Additionally, the various booking platforms used by the campgrounds often have their own complex check-out processes to complete.

Antiquated booking platforms coupled with the pandemic-fueled surge in camping have made finding and reserving campsites more challenging than ever before. With Arvie, you can check real-time availability for your dates and equipment type at nearly 6,000 campgrounds across the US, and then instantly “One-Click Book” your spot.

The other pain point we’re addressing is what we call the “Sold Out Blues”. It’s so common these days for campgrounds to be completely sold out, but at the same time, almost every campground receives several cancellations daily. Those cancellations become available for a brief period of time until some lucky person, with the exact right timing, swoops in to book them. Sold Out Search is designed to reduce the luck component and give you your best shot to get the spot every time.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

One of the things I love most about Arvie is that we’re not replacing anyone else out there who is also trying to serve campers but we are disrupting the campsite booking process to make campers’ lives easier. In fact, Arvie is essentially a free customer referral service to campgrounds and the online booking platforms they use because Arvie helps keep their listed properties booked, without any fee to them.

Our mission is simply to make all those disconnected pieces work better together and in one place for the camper.

To make that possible, Arvie is introducing three revolutionary innovations campers have never had access to before.

Real-time Availability Search. For nearly 6,000 campgrounds across multiple booking platforms, presented to our members in a simple, but powerful user interface.
“One-Click Booking.” This first-of-its-kind feature simplifies and speeds up the booking process by doing just what the name says it does. Plus, we never charge a booking fee. Arvie Members always pay the exact same price they would have paid directly on that campground’s website including membership discounts like Good Sam and AAA.
“Sold Out Search with Insta-Book” will search for last-minute cancellations if your preferred location is sold out. Then either notify you or swoop in and immediately book it for you with our exclusive Insta-Book option, even while you sleep.

As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share 5 examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

A clear trend is traveling in tight-knit pods of close family members and friends so we can take trips that allow us to stay somewhat socially distanced, together. This bodes very well for the RV and rental home markets but has also pushed prices way up, and made reservations highly competitive. I expect that companies that help travelers create these types of intimate group experiences will do quite well.
Road trips are more popular than ever because they don’t require traveling with large groups on flights or cruises that can pose obvious health threats. Travel restrictions are also in constant flux so many are opting for trip alternatives that bring peace of mind such as exploring their own backyards or destinations that are only a drive away. This fear of crowds has also created widespread vacancies in hotels and an increase in short-term rental and outdoor lodging bookings which I predict will be a preferred option for many.
With the ever-evolving pandemic restrictions, travelers are starting to seek expert guidance to avoid time and money lost on their next trip. Travel agents and concierges are now in high demand for their guidance on fluctuating travel policies. We’ve all learned that plans can quickly change so having an expert on your side to coordinate unexpected curveballs is becoming an invaluable service.
Certainly, the facts point to outdoor events being far less transmissive of the virus compared to indoor events, so I expect hotels, restaurants, and other venues to leverage existing outdoor space or construct these areas to accommodate this new expectation from customers.
Younger travelers are checking off their bucket list destinations earlier in life and exploring travel lifestyles typically reserved for retirement years. For instance, a recent RV Industry Association study found that 18-to-34-year-olds now make up 22 percent of the market. This signals that more traditional travel companies and destinations need to start catering to the younger crowd.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

My travel style is somewhere between planned and spontaneous. For me, I love loading up the RV with my golf clubs, hooking up the Jeep, and taking off toward a beautiful rental home on a mountain, lake, or beach with a reservation that starts about 5 or 6 days before the day we take off. From there, I let the weather, traffic, sights and mood guide me to my destination, however that plays out. I’ve been using Arvie lately to help me successfully pull this type of trip off smoothly.

Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I grew up in Tampa, Florida during the latter years of George Steinbrenner’s life. His generosity was legendary, but he was also adamant that truly charitable acts are those in which you seek no attention or return, other than what your heart gives you.

That said, I do have one remarkable charity that I helped found and remain an active board member called Matthew’s Helping Hands which serves families who deal with the unique challenges of raising a child with Autism and other severe developmental issues. I also tend to support the heartfelt efforts of others who are trying to impact the world positively. Generally speaking, I look for opportunities to help others who are trying hard to live the best life they can but got saddled with an unfair circumstance for whatever reason.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I think if more people who have experienced success in business and life made a committed effort to mentor and support other young entrepreneurs, we could not only enrich young lives, but also motivate and empower them to solve real world problems in the future. I regularly mentor two young entrepreneurs, and it’s something I’m very passionate about. As a big believer in Karma, I try to help others avoid making the same mistakes I’ve already made and learned from. I also try to help them develop critical thinking and emotional intelligence skills as a way to be prepared to make the difficult decisions all entrepreneurs must face; particularly in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Follow Arvie on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest updates.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Mark Petersen of Arvie: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Christina Ross of Silverfrog Marketing: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve…

Christina Ross of Silverfrog Marketing: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your Business

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

In my experience, Instagram is stronger for E-Commerce brands but still absolutely works for any business as long as your customers are also on Instagram. For example, if you are selling knee braces for older people, you probably wouldn’t go to Instagram because older generations don’t shop that way. TV is still king for certain Direct Response brands.

As a part of our series about How To Leverage Instagram To Grow Your Business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christina Ross.

Christina Ross is the President and Marketing Director at Silver Frog Marketing and loves helping businesses with their creative design and overall marketing efforts. She has spent the majority of her career in the marketing industry, gaining experiences in areas such as website design, social media marketing, TV/Radio broadcast and Google marketing.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I actually began my career in the Franchise Industry. Throughout my 20’s I watched a larger National Franchisor rise and then fall, ending in bankruptcy and all of the employees losing their jobs, including me. This really opened my eyes in terms of running a company the right way, and simply doing things the right way from the beginning. Over the next decade of my life I got very good at building websites for different ideas I had, and then started helping fellow friends and family with their websites and overall marketing ideas. In 2015 I created Silver Frog Marketing, which was really just websites, email campaigns and light PPC campaigns in the beginning. Through all of this I have developed our core digital marketing package that includes everything a business needs for their marketing, like a new website, proper SEO, a cohesive email campaign and social media posting. Ultimately what got me here is a burning desire to help out small business owners and a strong desire to build and grow a company correctly.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

I have been able to meet the most amazing people but by far the most interesting things are the silly businesses or ideas that people want to advertise for. We had this one lady whose dog needed about $1,000 in vet treatments, and she was so upset by this that she wanted to air a commercial on her local radio station blasting this vet for overcharging. When we asked her what her ad budget was, she said $1,000! Why not just spend that money on your dog we asked? She never became a client. Ha! Another interesting one was this one call of a guy who was running for political office and he wanted our help in airing his spots on tv and radio. Ok, great, we can do that. Well, we got about 10 minutes into the conversation before we asked this guy what political office he was running for, you know; mayor, representative, even president. Nope, this guy was on a mission to become the King of the United States of America! HA! We all went to lunch and had a nice laugh after that one.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I never make mistakes! Haha, I’m kidding! Mistakes happen and are a big part of how you learn. Actually, when I was first getting started, I had a pretty straight forward website that needed to be updated, so I got the design done and once I moved it over to the live URL, I accidentally messed up their email servers. They stopped getting emails and started getting a bit worried. Luckily it wasn’t hard to fix, they are still a client and I definitely never made that mistake again!

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. For the benefit of our readers, can you explain why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

I have been planning, placing, and optimizing social media marketing campaigns for over 10 years now! I’ve seen so many changes and new platforms come and go. Each industry is a little different in terms of where your customers are, but I highly recommend setting aside some ad budget for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even LinkedIn. Your customers are most likely using these social platforms, so, you should be too.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

In my experience, Facebook is my go to for increasing business revenues. Facebook, as with the others, have really great targeting abilities so as long as I know who your customers are, I know I can reach them this way. We have a Dental Clinic client who was only doing minimal Google PPC when he first called us. We put together a marketing strategy that reduced his Google and added in Facebook, he was blown away by the results. He was reaching people that he never would have just on Google alone.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share five ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

In my experience, Instagram is stronger for E-Commerce brands but still absolutely works for any business as long as your customers are also on Instagram. For example, if you are selling knee braces for older people, you probably wouldn’t go to Instagram because older generations don’t shop that way. TV is still king for certain Direct Response brands. Now, let’s talk about Instagram for the E-Commerce client.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind with Facebook/Instagram to help build your business brand:

Be active and Tell a story
Plan out your posts
Post Quality Content
Follow similar High Quality Accounts
Embed your Instagram Feed on your website

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If I could join a movement and make a difference, I would aggressively address the homeless and near homeless issues in this country. I would start the conversations with larger Real Estate Developers, City Planning committees and community service committees to reallocate existing vacant buildings, malls and warehouses into short term housing to help many people in hard situations. There is a vicious catch 22 that affects too many good, hard working people, where they can’t find a job because they don’t have a home and they can’t get a home because they don’t have a job. Some people just need a little bit of help. In addition to helping with housing, I would also make sure counselors are available to help on that level as well.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Marc Cuban or Josh Nelson

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!

Christina Ross of Silverfrog Marketing: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Stephanie Kirkland Of Artful Gatherings: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Find examples of people who have done or who are doing what you want to do and remember that you are just as capable as they are. Finding artists like Allison who were making bold, authentic art and selling their work and using their art for good helped me to stay encouraged that I could do that, too.

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Kirkland.

Stephanie is an abstract and landscape artist creating paintings inspired by the outdoors. Her work is inspired by the many miles that she has spent hiking in remote parts of the globe. Like hiking, her paintings are created from a practice of grounding in the present moment, releasing control, and savoring the journey. Stephanie is also the host of the podcast, Artful Gatherings, which is a series of fireside chats connecting strangers across the globe through raw and heartfelt conversation.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?

I grew up on the outskirts of New Orleans. When I wasn’t outside, I was creating — drawing, painting, making “books.” I studied English and art in college, but I never thought art could sustain me in any substantial way, so after graduating, I pursued the commercial route. I used my creativity and communications skills to earn a living helping other organizations achieve their goals until one day I thought, “Why not use my creativity to implement my own vision?” And from there, my art business was born. My business has grown steadily since I began selling art in 2017, and nowadays I send my art all across the country, breathing hope and possibility into people’s homes through my paintings.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes, I actually just started a podcast! It’s called Artful Gatherings, and it’s meant to foster community and connection through inspirational interviews with people living boldly and against the grain. I make art for similar reasons — to inspire boldness and authenticity, to foster connection, to capture human experience and show others they’re not alone. A podcast seemed like a great way to share those same messages through a different, more conversational medium. I hope the podcast helps people to think differently and bigger about what’s possible for them and their life, and I hope it gives people the courage and drive to go after their wildest dreams.

In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Two things make me stand out as an artist. First, my paintings aren’t just visual replicas. They are created to capture feelings and experience, which is important because it allows my art to connect deeply with people rather than just being “pretty.”

The second thing that makes me stand out is that my art practice is deeply rooted in social issues and social justice. Art’s importance really struck me during a year in which I taught high school in a Title I school in rural Alabama. My school didn’t have art programs because it couldn’t afford them, which is such a shame considering how powerful and impactful art is. As an artist, I’m conscious of using my platform and resources to combat issues of inequity such as this, and I’m excited about growing my impact as my business grows.

Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

When I first started exploring the idea of taking my art seriously and selling it, so many people said that I couldn’t do it. They said that artists don’t make money, or if they do, artists only make money after they’re dead, or artists only make money selling work that is easily recognizable or consumable. They said you can’t make money creating what you love — which in my case was bold, outdoor-inspired abstract paintings.

I overcame those doubts by returning to my “why.” I was interested in making art not just to make money or to do something easy. I wanted to make authentic art because I believed in its power, and I wanted to have a really big and meaningful impact. Creating artwork that I loved, no matter how much money it made, was a no-brainer. Why bother making art otherwise?

In the end, how were all the naysayers proven wrong? 🙂

I have always created my paintings from the heart, and my revenue has grown every year. In fact, most years my revenue has doubled. I think it just shows that when you share something with authenticity, people respond to that, and your success is inevitable. You just have to be patient and realize that most successes don’t happen overnight.

There are so many people who I’m grateful for, but the person who immediately comes to mind is my mentor and fellow artist Allison James. Allison is so encouraging and full of empowering advice, and she really showed me that I can carve my own path and that my path will look different than everyone else’s — which is true for all of us. It was Allison who gave me the final push to blend my love of painting and writing by launching a podcast. As she says, if something lights you up, do it. That excitement is a sign that you’re meant to pursue it.

It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?

For better or worse, I have always been extremely stubborn and strong-willed, so there have been many times that I staunchly pursued something which led me to fall on my face, literally and figuratively. I think those experiences taught me that falling down isn’t so bad. At least you tried. You can always get back up, and the fall usually teaches you something, which can help inform what you do next and help you succeed the next time.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)

Find examples of people who have done or who are doing what you want to do and remember that you are just as capable as they are. Finding artists like Allison who were making bold, authentic art and selling their work and using their art for good helped me to stay encouraged that I could do that, too.
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Many people think that fear eventually goes away, but it doesn’t. You can be scared and ready to do something at the same time. I was scared when I started my business. I was scared when I shared my first painting. I was scared when I accepted my first commission. I was scared when I created my first mural. I was scared when I conducted my first podcast interview. But I did those things anyway and grew as a result.
Pretend to have the confidence of someone famous who you admire. For example, when I’m nervous or not sure how something is going to work out, I imagine that I’m Beyoncé. How would she think? Act? Talk? And I try to behave with that kind of unshakeable confidence. I’ve found that so many doors open for you when you approach them from that kind of contagious energy.
Focus on the next right step rather than everything you need to do to reach your end-goal. When I’m planning a mural, for example, I might decide on a color palette or I might develop a design or buy the paint. Those things are much easier and more manageable than something like “paint a 60-foot mural,” which can feel overwhelming. Always break down the bigger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Look back and marvel at what all we’ve accomplished through history. We’ve sailed across the world. We’ve been to the moon. We’ve cured polio. We’ve climbed Everest. We’ve learned how to predict volcanos and withstand hurricane-force winds. Nothing is impossible! Anything you want to accomplish is within your reach.

What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?

I have always loved Teddy Roosevelt’s “man in the arena” quote: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

I would love to create beautiful and one-of-a-kind dining experiences that bring together people of all ages, races, incomes, beliefs, and backgrounds to share their experiences, struggles, and dreams over dinner. There are few things that connect people and put people at ease like a nice meal, and I think that kind of environment would foster empathy and understanding that would benefit all of humanity.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes! You can find me most frequently on Instagram at @stephaniekirklandart. I also send monthly studio letters via email, which you can sign up for on my website at stephaniekirklandart.com. And of course, you can listen to the Artful Gatherings podcast on Spotify or your favorite podcast platform!

Photos by Jinny K Photo

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

Stephanie Kirkland Of Artful Gatherings: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Melissa Harlan On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Su

Female Founders: Melissa Harlan of ‘Drink Me! Tea Room’ On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Building a strong team. As a small business owner you have to look for team members that are strong and have the ability to step into other roles when needed. Having a team that works well together helps with the fluid system that you must build to keep operational costs down when starting your business. If everyone is willing to pitch in to get the job done, then we can provide the best experience for our customers which in turn helps the business to continue to grow.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Harlan.

Over her career, Melissa worked for some of the top companies known for their customer experience, including Disney, Southwest Airlines and Verizon. She knows how important attention to detail is in creating an outstanding and unforgettable experience. Ready to retire from spreadsheets and headcounts, Melissa began Drink Me! Tea Room in 2020 and put a modern twist on afternoon tea. Melissa puts all her detail-focused talent into ensuring guests have an amazingly immersive time with premium tea, plant-based and gluten-free treats and hand-crafted cocktails when they come to visit her unique Tea Room.

I had been a corporate employee for most of my career but wasn’t satisfied with my path. I knew that I wanted something different someday, something that was my own, magical, and would benefit my customers. This first leap of faith that I had to do was leave my corporate job before figuring out what I was going to do next. I wanted to give myself the time to think, explore, and plan for my decision. During this time, I visited London with my family who loves to travel and try new things. We visited a number of tea rooms during our trip and those visits quickly became the most enjoyable and memorable part of our trip. It dawned on me that I wanted to create something similar in my neighborhood. I started writing my business plan on our flight home. I wanted a place for people to gather and enjoy a tradition with my own modern touches. I am also vegan and gluten-free and have had a very hard time finding places that cater to people with allergies, so I wanted to create a place where people don’t have to worry about what is on the menu.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting piece of my new business has been the decision to open our concept in the middle of the pandemic. I had already put plans into place, so I decided to work through and still make this new concept a reality. Construction on our tea shop was interesting as we had to find people that could work with us during a time where the construction industry has been so tied up. Despite the current times, people were finding us and having tea with us. This gave us hope that even when businesses had to pivot and shut down, we were starting to thrive.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It wasn’t necessarily funny, but I learned quickly I can’t control all situations. For our business plan, we had determined a build out for the tearoom but because of a mix of COVID and some unexpected turns, we ended up having to spend much more money than planned. It was a major learning curve as a new business owner. Also, being very sustainability conscious, vegan, and gluten-free, my business couldn’t work with the large food vendors and companies that most restaurants utilize. Additionally, about a month after we opened, the tea room flooded due to a plumbing issue. I realized that there are so many factors out of my control, I just have to be great at problem solving and keep moving forward.

My wonderful husband and family have been amazingly supportive. I also have an outstanding business coach who provides the best coaching and support I could ask for. Additionally, during my decision journey I became very involved in a local yoga studio. My teachers at One Tribe Yoga have been my guides in so many ways. They helped me to work through the decisions that I needed to make from a small business perspective and an individual growth perspective. They constantly remind me to take a breath, make sure that you are centering yourself and moving forward in the right direction. Since they also recently started their new studio, they have also been an invaluable resource to me during my buildout, technology decisions, building acoustics, and even marketing. The love and support all around me helps keep me motivated and grounded in the reasons I wanted to become a bigger part of the community.

From my own experience I could see women feeling hindered to begin their own business due to the challenges with work, life balance. Women with children in school or little ones many times prioritize the family over beginning their own business. To open a small business you need 100% focus and dedication, which can sometimes be difficult with the demands of life. Having a family also means usually taking less risk when it comes to forgoing a consistent paycheck and benefits.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

I think more women would look to become entrepreneurs if there were available opportunities for funding or resources when beginning a business. This was something that I found lacking when I began my business.

I have found more resources now in the journey, but the support initially wasn’t there. Since opening Drink Me! Tea Room, I’ve started a small business support group so that we can lean on each other to find resources, help answer questions, and have a system in place when we feel lost. I’m also part of a few Instagram groups for both tea businesses and our small business mastermind group. We have monthly meetings and even guest speakers that give insight on a variety of topics to the group. In the groups we talk about our challenges and try to help by relating to problems that we’ve solved with our own businesses. I’m grateful for this support group because it provides a safe space to ask questions along my small business journey. I also enjoy being able to help other new business owners by sharing my experience and any knowledge I’ve learned along the way..

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Through the past few years of starting my own business, I have found that many other female entrepreneurs are very inclusive and supportive of each other’s businesses. I also love seeing the innovation and creativity that comes from female founders. I think the positive energy that comes from these women owned businesses make a great difference in their neighborhoods and in the small business community as a whole. Not to sound cliche, but it’s a force for good in the world that we could all use more of. The willingness to help each other shows that there is a strong female support system in the entrepreneur world. Many times women are scared to begin their own business, but I believe just knowing that there is encouragement from others who have already gone through this journey can help ease the concerns that a female may have.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

Before I started my business, a myth that I always thought was that you had to know everything about your business before taking the leap to begin. I knew very little but was able to learn and grow as I moved along in creating Drink Me! Tea Room. I’ve met a lot of new business owners who feel the same way, but once we began running our businesses, we became more comfortable with trusting our instincts and knowledge. Everyday truly is a learning experience.

I think another myth is that someone must dream of a business for years before making it happen. I began thinking of how my business idea could help people with food allergies and in a year and a half, I made it a reality without knowing everything that an experienced tearoom or small business owner should know.

Different paths are for different people. Not everyone is cut out to own and run their own business. Over the course of my career in corporate America, I worked with many people who were content with receiving a steady paycheck and having a consistent steady job. I was one of them for a long time. There is nothing wrong with that, I just wanted more and took the opportunity when it presented itself.

I think founders need to have curiosity and tenacity to move forward no matter what crisis or diversion happens along your path. I think a founder needs problem solving skills because many times something will arise, and you will have to do the job yourself. I also believe that you must be willing to spend all your time and focus on establishing the business with a vision of how to move it forward to make it a success.

In my case a founder must also be willing to do the dishes, mop the floors and clean the bathrooms. In order to move the business forward, you must be willing to do all of the things necessary to do so.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Building a strong team. As a small business owner you have to look for team members that are strong and have the ability to step into other roles when needed. Having a team that works well together helps with the fluid system that you must build to keep operational costs down when starting your business. If everyone is willing to pitch in to get the job done, then we can provide the best experience for our customers which in turn helps the business to continue to grow.

2. Adaptability is a requirement. Every day in a new, small business there are many types of challenges. Being able to figure these out with your team and having the ability to solve a problem quickly is imperative. This also stems back to having great leadership and systems in place so that when a problem does occur, it does not become a detriment to the business.

3. Tenacity goes hand in hand with adaptability. Showing tenacity in your everyday leadership will flow through to your employees. This will help to keep the entire team moving forward and learning each day. There are many setbacks that will challenge you, but the drive to correct course and move forward will help to keep everyone motivated.

4. Connecting with others. This has been invaluable during my journey as a new business owner. Whether it’s other small business owners or our guests, creating inspiring and genuine connections with others has been something that helps me through the challenges and reminds me of why I wanted to open my business.

5. Stay true to myself. My business is a reflection of who I am and what is important to me. Staying true to that in every choice I make is incredibly important to me; whether it’s using compostable packaging and organic ingredients or supporting other small businesses along my journey.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I think this was something that motivated me even before opening my business. I had two aspects that were a focus of mine because of my own experiences. The first was connecting with people through the tea room. This business has been vastly more rewarding because of this. We love hearing our customers’ stories. Where they are from, how their food challenges have hindered their lives, when and where they’ve experienced Afternoon Tea before and what celebrations bring them to Drink Me! Tea Room with their favorite people.

Another way I hope to make the world a better place is through small business connections. In addition to our working group, I try to connect and support other small and local businesses as well. As an example, I work with a local composting group, where we compost all of our food and paper waste, who we then buy locally grown herbs from. I also buy some of our cocktail spirits from a local distillery, Wild Hare Distillery. They are located 3 miles from our tea room and also have a female founder. There are many small businesses that I would love to partner with or support and help them succeed in turn. I think community and connection makes the world a much better place.

Every choice that I make as a business owner I do with environmentally conscious beliefs behind it. I knew that to stay true to what I wanted the concept to be, I needed to hire a sustainability consultant to help with the pain points that I couldn’t solve on my own. This has helped us improve our focus on the sustainably aspect of the business by providing better buying choices and also saving money.

The entire Tea Room concept was based on having safe and delicious gluten-free, vegan and organic food options. This has expanded into a thoughtful recycling program that now incorporates composting. This is exciting because we are able to help a local farm that uses our paper and scraps to create their own crops. We also use sustainable containers, have changed to all LED lighting throughout the building and are constantly looking for boutique vendors that we can potentially use to continue in this direction. Being thoughtful in my business , thinking of how I am spending money, and understanding how I can impact our plant and the customers that choose to do business with me is an important piece of the overall company.

From a business perspective, I would love to have a conversation over a meal with Jen Sincero. Jen has created the series of “You Are a Badass” books. I will read and re-read these books anytime I feel like I need to change direction or need motivation. I always listen to books for inspiration but hers are my favorite. She really knows how to light a fire of motivation.

From a Vegan standpoint, I would love to meet Alicia Silverstone. Her motivation for being vegan and starting a business based on this lifestyle is amazing to me. I also am always on the lookout for great vegan products and resources and love her supplements, My Kind Organics..

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

Female Founders: Melissa Harlan On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Su was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Emily Henderson of Secrets from a Stylist: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More…

Emily Henderson of Secrets from a Stylist: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy

An Interview with Candice Georgiadis

Bring The Inside Out: There’s nothing I love more this fall than utilizing outdoor space. And while there are a ton of disposable party items out there, bringing your indoor dishes, furniture, and textiles (like blankets) outside not only makes an outdoor party feel more special but it is far more sustainable and better for the planet. Plus, reducing clutter always sparks joy in my life 🙂 ha.

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Henderson.

Emily Henderson is an interior designer, content creator, blogger, and television personality. She is best known for winning “HGTV Design Star” and starring in “Secrets from a Stylist” on HGTV. Emily is also the author of New York Times Bestseller, “Styled” and is currently working on her second novel on all things renovation being published in February 2021.

Recently, Emily Henderson partnered with PRESS Premium Alcohol Seltzer to help consumers elevated their backyard gatherings.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/b7486361ae35cfefda7e35dccea24c13/href">https://medium.com/media/b7486361ae35cfefda7e35dccea24c13/href</a>

Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I started as a prop stylist, styling for photography and commercials but during the recession (2008) I started a blog out of boredom and went on DesignStar for adventure. Between TV, blog, and book they all just kinda fed each other and the rest is history.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

As a blogger, specifically, I took some interesting risks when I was just starting out. For instance, HGTV wanted to document my first child’s pregnancy and birth (in 2013) for a digital series. It was pretty casual — we hired a local videographer who we really got along with and he came on ultrasounds, baby showers and yes, filmed the unintentionally all-natural birth. Now the internet was a different place then, much safer I’d say, but there is no way I’d do that now (and no, you can’t even find it!). I do love watching it every year though 🙂

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Oh, I make funny mistakes every day, but most of them have to do with loving something so much that I don’t bother measuring it to see if it will even fit through my door. You’d think you’d learn that only once, but not me! It took me a few times of having to practically break a pine armoire to ensure that I bring a tape measure to the flea market.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Two big favorites come to mind right now: personally, we’re currently mid-renovation on a farmhouse project that my family will *someday* move into. It’s a run-down piece of property outside Portland and I can’t WAIT to raise our kids there, but currently, it’s a real construction zone. We’ve been documenting all the ups and downs on the blog and we’re so lucky to have an audience who can commiserate with the struggles and celebrate the wins with us. Professionally, my team and I are really excited about our partnership with PRESS Premium Alcohol Seltzer — over the summer, I was able to hold a safe and tiny backyard gathering for my team to shoot content where we highlighted how to make spaces sophisticated and comfortable. They’re a female-founded brand (and delicious, with some really elevated flavors to boot) and I love working with them — it’s been such a dreamy partnership and I’m so grateful for their support as we slowly and safely come back together.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I don’t know the key to success, but I do know the key to failure is trying to please everyone. As someone with a large following of readers who watch my every move pretty closely, I know that I have to act from my inner moral compass, listen to my close team, friends and family and make decisions based on experience. Trying to please everyone is simply as impossible as trying to be perfect and once you realize that, your life gets so much easier.

So many people. I had my boss through my 20s, Cindy Diprima, who taught me how to style, be resourceful and treat everyone in production. I have had so many team members over the years and currently who really brought a new perspective, expertise and frankly, passion to my company that I not only learned from but truly have admired over the years. Many have gone on to do such great things and I’m so proud and happy for them.

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

OH GOSH. What a good, big question. I’ve actually thought about this a lot this year, especially now that we’re able to gather together again safely. I want my spaces to spark joy for not only myself, but also for my friends and family and team. I actually made this a key theme of my partnership with PRESS Premium Alcohol Seltzer, so I’d love to share some of my favorite findings with you…

1. Elevate The Classics: You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, however tempting that may be. Just lean into things you’ve loved forever and scatter them around to elevate your indoor or outdoor space — I’m currently loving classics like plaids, ginghams, brown furniture, and string lights. Pretty looks good with pretty — don’t overthink it.

2. Ambiance Is Key: To that end, it all starts with lighting — if you’re inside, make sure to have a few different lighting options in every room. Outdoors, think string and fairy lights. They create such a lovely golden ambiance that’ll make you — or your guests — feel comfortable and cozy. As the weather changes, think about adding fireplaces, heat lamps, and candles for extra light and warmth. Lighting really does set the tone and make the space.

3. Garnish Your Drinks: This is such a simple and special way to treat yourself. My current go-to hack: an Apple Cinnamon or Pear Chamomile PRESS paired with some in-season fruits or edible flowers. The flavors are so sophisticated and elegant and such an easy way to make gatherings feel elevated and considered. We talk a lot about designing our homes to spark joy, but I think we sometimes forget that making memories in our homes is the real key to living in a place that makes us happy day in and day out.

4. Bring The Inside Out: There’s nothing I love more this fall than utilizing outdoor space. And while there are a ton of disposable party items out there, bringing your indoor dishes, furniture, and textiles (like blankets) outside not only makes an outdoor party feel more special but it is far more sustainable and better for the planet. Plus, reducing clutter always sparks joy in my life 🙂 ha.

5. Ready, Set, Game On: You want to be happy in your home? Leave out some fun activities that suit your interests — it could be conversation cards, or bingo (that’s what we have in my house, complete with a vintage ball cage!), or cornhole, or bocce. The opportunities are endless. Give yourself a way to relax and unwind and enjoy the space you’ve made…with a PRESS in hand, of course. 🙂

I’ve wanted to start more of a community service revolution for years. I grew up doing a lot through my church but for many people who are no longer attending a church, it’s not easy to just volunteer and serve (especially with kids). While there are programs out there, I love the idea of all of us coming together, with our kids, to paint a house, put together essential boxes for the unhoused, decorate a community center for the holidays, etc. It’s a muscle that you can start to develop in our kids when they are young, as my parents did in me, and I think it’s a crucial part of being a good citizen as well as incredibly fulfilling for everyone’s individual self-worth. I am extremely grateful that I have a job that I can incorporate service into my day to day — it has really helped shape my purpose.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

Michelle Obama. I wish I had someone more creative but I just admire her so much and would love to collaborate with her anyway possible. I used to have dreams of helping design low-income housing with her.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

You can follow PRESS on Instagram and Facebook @presseltzer

You can follow me on Instagram @em_henderson and visit my blog at stylebyemilyhenderson.com

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational!

Emily Henderson of Secrets from a Stylist: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Be bold — this industry is not for the timid or meek” With…

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Be bold — this industry is not for the timid or meek” With Nidhi Lucky Handa of LEUNE

Be bold — this industry is not for the timid or meek, show up with your A game and be confident and assured in your convictions.

Be willing to be wrong…because at some point you definitely will be! There’s a lot of fumbling in this space and how you respond will most definitely create your successes or failures.

Lean into your intuition hard…if it seems shady or to good to be true, it probably is..

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nidhi Lucky Handa, Founder and CEO of LEUNE

Nidhi Lucky Handa is the Founder and CEO of LEUNE, a California-based lifestyle brand forged on the principle of radicalizing the common narrative surrounding cannabis culture. Prior to founding LEUNE in 2018, Handa acquired years of experience in Luxury Brand Communications while residing in Boston and New York. Handa then parlayed her business acumen and brand marketing repertoire to Celebrity Talent Management in Los Angeles.

Hailed as a ‘Woman of Weed’ By High Times Magazine, Nidhi’s savvy, entrepreneurial spirit is now fully devoted to LEUNE. Honoring a Cannabis 3.0 consumer who knows that ‘getting high’ only begins to tell the story of what the plant truly represents, Handa is a formidable force that is propelling a multitude of topics like inclusivity, restorative justice, and cannabis etiquette forward within the space.

As a woman of color, Handa has dedicated her career to building a cannabis brand that will not only disrupt the dispensary shelf, but also raise the industry standards for workplace culture, representation, and social equity. LEUNE is a sponsor of Eaze’s Momentum business accelerator and also works closely with social justice reform organizations like The Last Prisoner Project. Through LEUNE, Handa is on a mission to revolutionize the cannabis industry from the inside out and establish new consumer ideals for the industry.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?

As a WOC entrepreneur and consumer, I couldn’t find cannabis brands that spoke to me and knew that I could not be alone in that thought. I saw an opportunity to create a brand that would appeal to a wider demographic than just men and super-stoners; that’s why I designed LEUNE’s cannabis products to be sleek, gender-neutral, and geared toward productive, high-functioning consumers who understand “getting high” is only one aspect of what the plant truly represents.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The most impactful moment in my leadership journey happened during the civil rights movement in 2020. I will never forget the weekly team call we had after George Floyd’s death — it was truly one of the most humbling, somber, yet completely activated moments in both my personal and professional experience. My team at LEUNE is extremely value-aligned: conscious, loud and proud, social justice warriors….but also, sensitive, caring, thoughtful humans who just like me were sitting in grief and disbelief. ‘Work’ was on no one’s mind — certainly not mine. Rather than lead our team through our normal weekly catch-up, I started the call in personal vulnerability — I was honest and raw and opened a safe space for dialogue for our team that would become defining for our corporate culture. We shared our thoughts and fears; the call was one of humanity, of grief, of frustration — we stood present to the reality of what was happening in our world and what happened next was something I could have never planned for. Suddenly our mission as a team and as a company was fueled by our collective spirit — the pause we took to focus on the bigger issues in our world created a deeper meaning and passion that has grown stronger and stronger everyday.

I learned a lot about leadership that day. There is no guidebook for being a leader through a pandemic… and concurrently a civil rights movement, but what I’ve learned is that there is plenty of room for authenticity and vulnerability in true leadership.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Oh boy — where to start. Not sure how ‘funny’ it felt in the moment, but certainly in hindsight I’ve laughed a lot over this one. When I launched LEUNE with the first 4 skus (2 infused pre-rolls and 2 all-in-one vapes), the sell through success was a LOT faster than I could’ve ever anticipated triggering demand to spike immediately. It was early December of 2018 and I had an imminent cutoff to order more packaging from China before Chinese New Year factory closures. I doubled down BIG and ordered a LOT of packaging. As fate would have it, not sooner than I signed the PO, the California cannabis regulators announced new packaging guidelines that would deem my packaging unusable in 3 months.

It was a very expensive lesson but I couldn’t be more grateful that it happened so early on. This industry is unlike any other in that it is evolving in real time. Risk in any decision making is extremely high and agility is paramount to success in this industry.

Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?

I was far more concerned about what other people thought of my vocation early on than I am now. Having said that, I just recently saw an old family friend who was, err, not very supportive of my choices. It was genuinely shocking to me as I had previously considered this to be a fairly woke, educated individual and was startled to hear his buy-in to the archaic stereotypes that have plagued this plant for so many years.

If I was looking to please everyone I know, this probably wouldn’t have been a path I would’ve chosen for myself. Part of being a trailblazer is understanding that you’re not going to resonate with everyone. The good news is, there are far more people who’ve been supportive and excited about my journey than not.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There is. One of my investors who also happens to be one of my closest and dearest friends who also works in the industry. He’s been an absolute rock to me — sounding board, connector, friend, cheerleader — whatever the need of the day, he’s been there.

Building a startup is all about the intersection of crazy ideas and execution — proving a thesis that hasn’t been proven before. There’s a lot of leaps required and a lot of faith required. To say you have to be good at taking rejection is a massive understatement — you need to learn to embrace it and figure out how to use it as fuel. It’s exciting, maniacal and truly the most fulfilling adventure if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by people who have the patience and kindness to support you along the way.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We have some new product launches lined up for this year and we’re planning to enhance our social justice initiatives which are of great importance to me. I’m committed to building a cannabis brand that will not only disrupt the dispensary shelf, but also raise the industry standards for workplace culture, representation, and social equity. LEUNE is a sponsor of Eaze’s Momentum business accelerator and also works closely with social justice reform organizations like The Last Prisoner Project. This is a non-profit organization dedicated to criminal justice reform and works to release and rebuild the lives of those who have suffered from cannabis criminalization. They operate with the belief that anyone profiting from or freely engaging in the legal cannabis industry has a moral imperative to work towards restorative justice. No one should remain incarcerated or continue to suffer the collateral consequences of prohibition and the War on Drugs which has and continues to disproportionately impact communities of color.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?

Individuals can and should challenge themselves to see their own bias. To really even begin to tackle this issue we must be honest and confront the problem head on and that starts with self. This included women too — I’ve had just as many interactions with women who have a hard time accepting me as a leader/CEO as men. Bias is real.
Companies must hold themselves accountable by creating pledges and commitments to reaching equity. That means taking a close look at who is being hired, how much they’re getting compensated and what their titles are with a focus on creating and maintaining gender (and diversity) parity.
Society a) + b) => c) in this scenario. If we’re looking inward and taking actions outward with the intention of creating parity, it will reflect automatically in our media, in our zeitgeists, in our conversations and thus in society.

You are a “Cannabis Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each.

Be bold — this industry is not for the timid or meek, show up with your A game and be confident and assured in your convictions.
Be willing to be wrong…because at some point you definitely will be! There’s a lot of fumbling in this space and how you respond will most definitely create your successes or failures.
Lean into your intuition hard…if it seems shady or to good to be true, it probably is.
Know that there is no true analogous industry to cannabis — you will hear it compared to post prohibition alcohol or to organic produce on the raw material side but the truth is that everything about cannabis is completely unique: the way it’s grown, the way it’s being regulated, the way it is used by patients and consumers. This is all to say, there’s no fitting the square peg of cannabis into any of the circle molds you may be familiar with.
You’re not crazy, but the industry might be. This one is perhaps the most important. Because of the stage we’re in as a new industry, there’s a lot of ‘tail wagging dog’ going on in every level of cannabis. If you come into the space and start feeling like you’re in upside-down land, you probably are.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?

The potential — this one is obvious and the MOST exciting. We’re just starting to scratch the surface in weed particularly on the brand communication side.
The culture — alongside my hard-working peers we’re building out something new that we can either be proud of or regret in the future. The eternal optimist in me sees this as a tremendous opportunity — let’s build something beautiful, inclusive and kind!
The people — every single person I’ve met in this industry has been independently guided to this destination and those who stay have a very special kind of conviction and passion. It’s something truly special to be a part of.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

Social Equity
Social Equity
Social Equity

Yes, I feel incredibly impassioned about this one that it takes up all three slots! We must hold ourselves accountable as an industry to stay aligned with the goal of righting the injustices of the past. Cannabis is a plant that has been weaponized by the US government for decades as a means of perpetuating racism and unjustly incarcerating people thus preventing them from upward mobilization.

This runs deep.

There are tens of thousands of people in this country still serving sentences for non-violent cannabis offences in states where cannabis is NOW LEGAL. Read that again and let it sync in.

We need to scream and shout and not stop until every one of those people is released from prison. We need to create social equity programs that support communities that have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. We need to make it not only a priority but a requisite for anyone profiting from legal cannabis to work toward these collective goals.

What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?

I’m excited to see the industry continue to grow towards federal legalization. This will allow more businesses to grow and stimulate the economy. As cannabis becomes normalized and less taboo, we’ll see brands utilize strategic and creative thinking for their marketing campaigns. We’ll see cannabis promoted everywhere the same way we see other consumer goods. It’s exciting to have this business at such a pivotal point in the industry.

Today, cigarettes are legal, but they are heavily regulated, highly taxed, and they are somewhat socially marginalized. Would you like cannabis to have a similar status to cigarettes or different? Can you explain?

Very very different. Cannabis has been used as plant medicine for literally thousands of years. While regulators struggle to find the language and lines between medicinal and recreational consumption, the reality is, the plant has been used to heal for-literally-ever. To equate cannabis to cigarettes is not only factually inaccurate, but also belittling to the power of this incredible plant.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“It’s nice to be nice.”

Might sound trite, but it’s something I think about and lead with every day. Whether in business or in life, we all need reminding sometimes that we’re all just doing the best we can. Oh, and being kind is free, so might as well be generous with it!

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Not very original, but it would involve finding an incentive that encourages people to truly ‘pay it forward.’ Anyone who volunteers their time to anything knows this to be true: to be of service is perhaps the most self-serving thing we can do in life yet so very often we are guided with a type of fear that encourages greed rather than collaboration or equity.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Be bold — this industry is not for the timid or meek” With… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.