Day: December 23, 2021

Carla Cid de Diego & Jonathan Fakinos of Art & Hope: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t go around saying “NO”, try to always turn the Negatives into Positives, and doors will open for you — Instead of saying, for example “I can’t do this or that because I don’t have the tools I need to do it” take a look at the tools you have around you and see what you can do with them. Always see the glass half full, and life will make sure you learn how to fill it up to the top.

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 Carla Cid de Diego & Jonathan Fakinos of Art & Hope.

About Art & Hope

Zenith Art & Fashion presents the new venture Art & Hope, which is a creative organization that partners with the Arts in order to bring Hope to people in need, producing unique special projects to raise funds for different humanitarian causes.

About Zenith Art & Fashion

Zenith Art & Fashion is a unique Art and Design platform, Luxury Marketing and PR Agency that Unites Cultures through the Fusion of the Arts, bringing together creations by Artists and Luxury Designers from all around the world. Founded in 2016 by two young artists and designers, Carla Cid de Diego & Jonathan Fakinos, with a history of merging the Arts, Zenith Art & Fashion was born from a desire to help create a more inclusive, Contemporary Art & Fashion world, offering exclusive experiences through the Arts. At Zenith Art & Fashion they also offer Art advisory & luxury consulting, giving clients exclusive access to unique & rare artworks from top emerging artists to artwork from grand masters & blue-chip artists. Through Art & Hope, Zenith Art & Fashion designs and produces creative projects to support major non- profit organizations and help different causes around the world and raise funds for those most in need.

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’m originally from Spain, I was born and raised in an Art Family. My dad was a well-known sculptor with incredible collectors such as the Queen Sofia of Spain, President Clinton, Lord Robbins from the UK and has sculptures in the Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain, the White House in Washington or the Pink House in Buenos Aires.

My mother is a publicist and was my father’s art merchant for many years, and when I was born in Madrid, they founded a Stage Design company that created Guinness world-record breaking scenic and set designs and stages for Movies, Theatre, Ballet, Opera, Theme Parks, and when I was 9 years old, they brought their company to Florida. So, I not only had the chance to grow up in such an amazing world of Art and Creativity, but I also had the luck of growing up between 2 continents, 2 cultures, 2 languages, and that definitely opened my eyes and mind to not be afraid of anything and understand that nothing is impossible. I studied Art and Fashion Design at the prestigious Design and Architecture Senior High School in Miami, and later on pursued my career in Fashion Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, specializing in Womenswear & Corsetry from the 17th Century and International Marketing. I worked as a costume designer from just the age of 16, while still in high school, as I was invited to design costumes based on my portfolio for Duende Ballet Español, in Miami, designing and creating costumes for Flamenco shows, under the choreographer Rosa Mercedes, the only flamenco dancer that has danced on tour with the 3 Tenors. After college I worked for several Fashion Design companies in the US and Europe and also as a costume designer for Florida Grand Opera, The Frost School of Music (University of Miami) and several incredible Opera Artistic Directors both in the USA and Europe. And in 2015 I met my partner in crime, Jonathan Fakinos, an Architect and Designer, half English Half Greek, who comes also from a family of business owners, designers and entrepreneurs. Together, we started our own Fashion Brand, Carla Cid de Diego Madrid, a luxury Couture line composed of Handmade corsets and a unique collection of Sculpture Bags, handmade by my father, Fernando Cid de Diego. Due to the fact we started collaborating with my father, and joining Sculpture with Fashion, Jonathan and I created an Artistic Platform called Zenith Art & Fashion, where we represent Artists, Fashion Designers, Photographers, Jewelry Designers, and more, and we help them push their names and brands into the National and International markets. Our slogan is that “We Unite Cultures through the Fusion of the Arts. We act as their Artistic marketing Agency, we create shows, exhibitions and presentations, in order to push for sales and promotion for them. We produce special projects and unique events where we join all the Arts: Fine Arts, Fashion, Music, Dance, Theatre, Acrobatics, etc. In these events, we also often collaborate with many non-profit organizations and missions in order to help those in need through the Arts.

Zenith Art & Fashion is based out of South Florida and we work with artists from all over the world.

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

Actually, because we have always been concerned about our environment and the people within it, we have always looked at how we can help others. Although we have always worked with charities and foundations in different events, because we wanted to do more, we began to design and develop several large-scale projects to benefit charities and non-profit organizations, we developed a new company and platform, called Art & Hope.

Art & Hope is a creative organization that partners with the Arts in order to bring Hope to people in need, producing unique special projects to raise funds for different humanitarian causes. Art & Hope, together with Global Gift Foundation has partnered with Guiness-World-Record-Artist Sacha Jafri, Miami based Ikonick Gallery and French Champagne chateaux Hatt et Söner to create the project

– Sacha Jafri “The Power of the Reconnected World, inspired by Ikonick”. This project follows Sacha Jafri’s Humanitarian journey, raising funds to help the poorest children in the world, through Galas, Events and Auctions in different cities such as Miami, Marbella, Dubai, Paris, London, Tokyo and many more. We are excited to say that we have sold our first collectors’ Art Box at the Marbella Global Gift Gala raising over $200,000. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you are interested in donating or helping families and children in need while acquiring fabulous unique creations, we will be happy to help.

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

When Jonathan and I started our Fashion brand, Carla Cid de Diego Madrid, we knew we had a unique product that nobody else had, exclusive handmade sculpture bags that everyone that saw them would comment on them or stop me in the middle of the street to ask me about the one I was wearing… We knew they were something incredible and that people LOVED, but when we went to see showrooms to sell them from, the Fashion showrooms would tell us that they loved them but they didn’t really sell Art, and the Art showrooms or galleries would tell us that they loved them but they didn’t really sell Fashion… So, since we couldn’t find the perfect showroom that would sell both Art & Fashion, we created our own, and that’s how we opened our first store in Ibiza, Spain. In fact, we started off with a pop up for our own brand and the one artist we collaborated with, and artists and designers loved what we were doing so much they asked if we could represent them, so we created Zenith Art & Fashion.. That is why we believe our business stands out from the rest. We do things differently, appreciate the unique. We don’t “follow the rules”, we “MAKE OUR OWN RULES” , and when we do what is right for everyone, great things happen.

Our business will continue to be a creative solutions artist agency, addressing needs that artists and designers have for everyone to succeed.

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

Oh wow, yes, so many times! Family members, friends, other professionals! So many people for so many years have told me that my “idea” was crazy, impossible, or so hard to achieve! And the more I’ve heard that, the more I’ve always wanted to try and do it! I remember one specific comment from someone that knew me since I was in High School, she was very involved in the world of Art in Miami and she was much older than me, so I admired her as a professional and always respected her very much… When Jonathan and I created Zenith Art & Fashion, we opened our first physical showroom in the middle of Downtown Miami, a 12,000sq-foot space with black walls, high ceilings, a very large patio in the back and 80 feet of window display towards Biscayne Blvd. We filled it up with Art by artists from all over the world: Paintings, Drawings, Photography, Sculptures, Drawings, mixed with Fashion on mannequins and display tables and huge props that reached the 20ft ceilings! It was magical, a very unique place…

We invited some people from my past in Miami, in order to show them what we had created and to see how we could collaborate with them since they were all involved in the Art world. I hadn’t seen her since I graduated High School, I was a child, now I was a woman, a professional, a business owner and an Art professional just like her, and I was excited to share my success with her and to be able to finally join forces somehow…

She came in, sat in our office, which was in the center of the entire Showroom surrounded by Art, and she took a look around and said “Well…this place is just wrong…these black walls…so many mixes of Art…you have way too much Art, and you are competing with many of the best galleries in the world that have been around for 40 years in Miami…I don’t think this place will work out” And I said to her — “ I appreciate your comments and views, but we didn’t bring this business to Miami to “compete” with the galleries that have been around for 40 years, we came here to support them and collaborate with them. We don’t call ourselves a “Gallery” because we are NOT a Gallery, we are an Art Platform, we Unite Cultures through the Fusion of the Arts, different from everyone else, that’s why we show all the Arts, that’s why we have Black Walls, because we are not trying to be LIKE anyone else, we are Unique”. To which she answered “Well I’ll believe it when I see it”.

A year later, we were already known in Miami as one of the most exclusive and unique Showrooms to visit, we were visited by private tours that came from the Port of Miami Cruises, we had many magazine covers, stories and TV channels coming to shoot in our venue. Movie directors, producers, music concerts, presentations, fashion shows, charities from different parts of the world, wanted to celebrate their events in our venue because they said it was the most special and unique place they had ever seen in Miami. We even celebrated weddings in our Showroom because people wanted to get married surrounded by the good energy and beautiful Art our place had! We won several awards at Red Dot Miami during Miami Art Week for the “Best in Show” and “The most unique booth in the fair”… In just 3 years in Miami, Zenith Art & Fashion was not only known, but also Loved by our community and admired by people from all over the world…

So yes, we definitely proved that lady wrong!

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?

Absolutely…I have to say MY FATHER… The amazing, one and only Sculptor, Designer, Engineer, Inventor, Renaissance man, Fernando Cid de Diego, who we recently lost because of Covid-19… He not only was my favorite artist in the entire world, he was my mentor, my Genius, my best friend, my idol, my everything, He taught me everything I know about the world of Art, he taught me to think outside of the box, he taught me that nothing is impossible as long as you know how to use your intellect and the right tools, he taught me that we are ALL ABLE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN as long as we put our mind to it work hard for it. He taught me that we should NEVER be afraid of learning, of failing or of making mistakes, because every mistake is a lesson learned and it can only make us stronger, it shapes us as humans and it makes us be better. And most of all, he taught me that life is a gift and that we should all focus on doing what we LOVE, because when we do that, we won’t ever have to work a day in our life. He LOVED his work, for him, waking up in the morning to work on his Art, on his designs, was such a pleasure that he never liked to feel tired or have to even stop to eat or rest, because he felt he was losing time from doing what he really loved… He taught me that Art is something that makes us connect with people no matter where they are from or how far, even if they are not in this world anymore… He always gave me everything he had, is life, his wisdom, his energy, his LOVE, and ALL his Legacy. He gave me his name, and his name has opened incredible doors for me in the Art World… People know him and my mother, who has always been his other half (in every sense of the word, personally and professionally) for 50 years, as “The Geniuses”, and because I have their name, Cid de Diego, everyone expects me to be just like them, and even though I’m not (I wish I was), I try every single day to be close to their level. These are very big shoes to fill.

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?

As I mentioned before, my parents were never afraid of anything, they were able to always create a castle from a piece of cotton, always able to work around the circumstances to make their dreams and ideas happen. When I was 9 years old, after they had made some of the largest and most unique and special scenography and set designs in Europe, they suddenly decided to move to Florida. They had taken me on a vacation to Disney World and Key West, and they fell in love with Florida. They dreamed of a beautiful life for them, for me, for my brother, in a place that was always warm, by the ocean, in the USA, the country where “anything was possible”, so they packed their bags and moved, with a 19 year old boy, a 9 year old girl and an entire business, and embarked on the adventure that would become my entire life and opportunity. Our family, our friends, everyone told them they were crazy, they never understood why, if they had it all in Spain: Success, Money, a House, Cars, a beautiful life, why did they want to leave all that to go to a new country where they didn’t speak the language, they had never been in (for more than 20 days), and where they had no professional history or experience… But my parents didn’t listen to them, they took the leap anyway. And it wasn’t easy, they had to practically start the business as an entirely NEW business in the USA, they had to learn a language from zero, a new culture, a new everything…They lost money, they were scammed many times, they went through many tough times…but they did it anyway, they worked SO HARD, they fell so many times and got right back up and kept fighting, and they did it Happily, because they knew they were living what they wanted, their new life, and they were creating an entire new world for my brother and me. I’m very happy they never listened to the Naysayers, because thanks to that, I’m here today! The opportunities we have today are because they opened the doors of this country for me, and I will never be able to thank them enough for that.

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)

Know yourself — Know and accept your flaws, so you can always grow and improve where possible. Know and embrace your virtues, so you can use them to your advantage and make things happen. Don’t be afraid to try, just go for it, you’ll never be able to find the “perfect” moment to start a business, or to do this project, or to take a chance on this or that…every new adventure is scary, and everyone thinks that they need to prepare themselves first before they go for it, and yes, you should be prepared, but sometimes opportunities come and go very quickly and in order to not lose them you have to be brave enough to take a leap, jump! And then learn to fly while you’re falling… And if you fail, if it was the wrong move, then learn from your mistakes, get up and try again!

Don’t go around saying “NO”, try to always turn the Negatives into Positives, and doors will open for you — Instead of saying, for example “I can’t do this or that because I don’t have the tools I need to do it” take a look at the tools you have around you and see what you can do with them. Always see the glass half full, and life will make sure you learn how to fill it up to the top.

And last but not least, don’t compare yourself to others, and if you do, let it be to learn something that will help you be a better human or a better professional.

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

“She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on, despite them”.

I always say, the odds we encounter just make us stronger. Learn the lesson, take the hit and get back up, always taking the positive out of even the most negative situations, and soon enough you’ll reach your goal. Sometimes the goal changes along the way but that’s ok because at the end of the day the most important thing of all is the lessons you learn along the way that make you who you are. In the most difficult situations, we all need to be smart, creative and think outside of the box, and if one door closes, then open a window! You’ll make it, it’s all up to you!

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.

One of the things that Jonathan and I have always had very clear is that whatever we did, however much money we were able to make, we would always use part of it to help others in whichever way we could.. There’s no better feeling in the world than the one you get when you know you’re helping someone that needs it, it just feels amazing to be able to do good for others, so our goal has always been to help others while we do our job, what we do best. With this in mind, we created Art & Hope, so this is the new “movement” or platform that we are focusing on now, in order to do beautiful things in the world and be able to help others with that.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

They can follow us on instagram @zenithartandfashion / @artandhope_org / @carlaciddediego_official / @jdfakinos

They can also visit our web site www.zenithartandfashion.com / www.artandhope.world / www.carlaciddediego.com

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

Carla Cid de Diego & Jonathan Fakinos of Art & Hope: They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Annie Raygoza of WebEnertia On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Women tend to have the classic case of “imposter syndrome.” This can be a tremendous barrier when trying to voice opinions, bring up ideas, or even challenge specific situations. Being able to maintain a level of confidence is key to showing your worth and making your voice heard.

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

Annie Raygoza serves as the Director of Client Services at WebEnertia. Throughout her career, she has specialized in building strong, responsive relationships with clients by delivering strategic account and project management. Her deep insights into effective processes and powerful connection to the needs of their clients ensures her teams deliver on deadlines, stick to budgets, and always meet the client’s demands. It’s her expertise that helps ensure that projects achieve the clients’ business objectives. Annie has a master’s degree in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.

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’ve always had a passion for working in the creative industry, specifically within the tech space. I love how everything is continuously evolving, and I love being at the forefront of new trends. Beginning my career in search engine marketing, then moving into media planning, buying, operations, and eventually into account management — I was able to pinpoint my passion around the work I do.

Building relationships with clients and creating long-term business opportunities together is a personal driver in my career. Every person wants to feel heard and understood, and they seek an agency partner to support their goals and initiatives. Including that human element into our partnership is key to success — and what’s incredibly valuable to me in a Client Services Leadership role.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

In my role, I’m always communicating with the client through various touchpoints. Although that may not be seen as “disruptive,” the actions taken from these touchpoints make the work unique and beneficial for clients. When a strong relationship is understood, having these conversations becomes seamless. We understand pain points and create actionable plans to address and rectify the situations further, which enhances the relationship between the agency partner and client.

I proactively approach clients about current projects, capture feedback on crucial team members, address timelines and quality of work, and touch base on future goals and initiatives, so we can continue to brainstorm together. Realigning expectations both internally and with our clients strengthens our relationships. Being able to juggle both conversations equally creates strong morale between both the internal team and the client.

Adaptability is vital within the tech space. Things are constantly evolving, and the way we approach clients should also evolve. Consistently looking at new tools, technology, and approaches allows our client service team to always provide top-notch support for all of our clients. Taking on new technology or requests from clients is another way we’re competitive in the space. We’re always open to utilizing new tools to provide a seamless and straightforward experience for our clients.

Encouraging our team to participate in educational opportunities or conferences allows them to understand other new customer service and account management trends. By proactively addressing these trends, we’re setting up the team to manage these relationships and strengthen our partnership with clients.

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?

Early in my career, I worked for a tech company with clients in various countries, including Japan. I was instructed to send out emails to a few clients across different locations. I, unfortunately, was unaware of the etiquette required for addressing a client appropriately and professionally in Japan. It was a cringe worthy conversation with my boss, but also a moment I’ve never forgotten. Of course, it was a critical lesson on understanding different cultures and taking a step back — to ensure the message has little room to be misconstrued. I can confidently say that I always ask (or Google!) each time I address people within different countries.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

The desire to move into a management role was due to the mentors I have had through the different roles in my career. With the variety of leaders in my life, I captured those that resonated the most with me. Those that exuded patience and time to provide education and coaching were instrumental in my success. People that showed care and desire to teach made me feel valued. Additionally, it gave me the confidence to tackle new opportunities and challenges.

I took opportunities to share knowledge and coach and train people early on because I understood what it was like to be on the other side of things. Some of my most incredible mentors are those that I can be vulnerable around. Being open and honest about concerns isn’t a weakness. It’s an opportunity for your mentor to support and provide guidance. I’m so proud of the mentorship I have today because I know that I can capture honest opinions from my colleagues and view situations from different perspectives. It has also allowed me to be open to receiving feedback, further expanding my management skillset, making me a better manager for my team.

On the flip side, not all managers are great mentors. Taking those specific situations and personalities into account is essential. I must remember these situations and individuals to ensure I always approach things with humility and honesty.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

I’m a big advocate for evaluating processes and people often. Although what we may do may be normal or “what we’ve always done,” it doesn’t mean it’s the best approach. As people, clients, services are expanding and evolving — we must expand and evolve as well. Staying on top of trends, evaluating things from another lens, participating in educational courses or conferences to network and gain different perspectives are ways to disrupt these old or stale processes. Although something may not be a problem, we must ask if it is the most efficient process. Is it preventing growth or causing a decline in morale with the team? Could this be done better? These are good questions to ask. I also think that “disruption” must be done strategically and thoughtfully. It shouldn’t be rushed through, and it should be evaluated thoroughly before rolling out.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

1. Always remember what it was like to be new (in an organization or in your career).
2. If you have a problem, be prepared to throw out some solutions.
3. Always remain professional. You never know when you’ll cross paths with that individual again in your career.

How are you going to shake things up next?

Attending new conferences and networking gives me opportunities to not only gather new ideas in the industry but also the confidence to roll them out with our team and clients.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Women tend to have the classic case of “imposter syndrome.” This can be a tremendous barrier when trying to voice opinions, bring up ideas, or even challenge specific situations. Being able to maintain a level of confidence is key to showing your worth and making your voice heard.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

1. Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity (Kim Scott)
2. The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People (Gary Chapman & Paul White)
3. It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders (NPR Podcast). Yes, this is not business-related, but I really enjoy taking a step back to understand different perspectives on things that are happening in our world. I love the different outlooks from various cultures, listening to people’s stories, and listening to uncomfortable situations and how they’re approached. I think these are important soft skills for anyone in client services.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Remember that, at the end of the day, we’re human. When we talk to people internally or with clients, we can become frustrated with mistakes or issues that come up. At the end of the day, we’re all faced with challenges and goals in front of us. We’re all trying to do the best we can. If we encourage people to become more “human,” it helps arrive at solutions as a partnership.

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

“If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.” — Ruth Bader Ginsberg

“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.” — Hillary Clinton

Women in the professional world are oftentimes challenged with the ability to pick and choose things in their lives. Women are resilient, and I’m proud to support other women in becoming professionals — especially within the tech and digital spaces.

How can our readers follow you online?

Annie Raygoza, M.S. Mass Communications – Director Of Client Services – WebEnertia | LinkedIn

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

Female Disruptors: Annie Raygoza of WebEnertia On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Kirsten Saenz Tobey of Revolution Foods On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Have a clear vision. Knowing what you want to do with your company, why you want to do it and how to execute your mission are key components to a company’s prosperity. The day-to-day may look different, and at times you might feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle, but when you are guided by a true north star, you can steward that vision to fruition. Be sure to clearly define what success looks like, both for yourself and your team.

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

Kirsten Saenz Tobey is co-founder and chief impact officer of Revolution Foods. Prior to founding Revolution Foods, Kirsten was a teacher, researcher and garden educator with Earthjustice, the School for Field Studies, and Phillips Academy at Andover. Her career spanned from leading experiential education programs in the US and Ecuador to evaluating school feeding programs in Ghana. She is an Ashoka Fellow, Aspen Institute Environmental Fellow, member of the Culinary Institute of America’s Sustainable Business Leadership Council and past mentor for the Women’s Initiative Fellowship Program.

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 “back story”? What led you to this particular career path?

Prior to founding Revolution Foods, I was a teacher, researcher and garden educator. I worked with education programs in the U.S. and abroad, including evaluating the scalability of school feeding programs with the U.N. Hunger Task Force in Ghana.

My leadership foundation came from my parents, both of whom were educators. They always taught me the importance of helping others from a young age. My mom introduced community service to my high school as a requirement for graduation, and after spending a great deal of time volunteering in low-income communities in the U.S. and abroad, I realized how many people didn’t know where they would get their next meal. As I got older, my curiosity grew in addressing overall accessibility to food.

I had always thought I would become a teacher; however, I quickly realized that wasn’t my long-term goal nor my passion. I wanted to work in a field that addressed larger issues like hunger and food systems, and during my time as an educator, I noticed some students came to school ready to learn while others struggled to focus. I began to question if students’ home situations and access to food impacted their academic success.

I went on to business school, and that’s where I met my Revolution Foods co-founder, Kristin Groos Richmond. Although we came from different backgrounds, we immediately shared interest in socially driven causes. We ended up turning our business school project into a reality.

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

Since founding Revolution Foods over 15 years ago, Kristin and I each have had multiple children — no easy feat while building your own company! We’ve been able to juggle motherhood and leading a business. And while it’s been challenging at times, it’s also been the most rewarding experience. We hope to inspire other mothers and show them it is possible to build your family and still pursue your career ambitions. After all, mothers are assets to any team; they are intuitive, strong and emotionally connected, all of which drive greater success and deeper connections with the people they serve.

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’ve definitely had a couple of funny mistakes over the years but this one always comes to mind. When we bought our first delivery truck for distributing meals, we forgot to factor in the weight of the food carts. Anyone watching Kristin and me trying to hoist hundreds of pounds of fresh food and insulated fresh food containers into the delivery truck would have had a good laugh. Thankfully, a kind stranger passing let us in on the secret: the lift gate that all delivery companies use! He just so happened to be a metal welder, so he helped us weld a temporary plate onto the truck ramp for smoother access until we could get the lift gate installed over the weekend. After one week of deliveries, we took the truck to have a lift gate installed!

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?

Hands down, I would say Kristin. From the first week we met in business school to creating our company together, we’ve always shared a vision and have been able to build a talented team that share the same passion as us. Kristin’s boundless energy, focus on delivering excellence, and her ability to build a team of incredibly talented individuals has always been an inspiration to me. Kristin’s optimism is a major factor in what has made Revolution Foods successful. Her enthusiasm is truly contagious!

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?

Unfortunately, society has long set the expectation that women should play the primary parenting and home-making role than men, creating this pressure on the men to become the bread winner and ensure career success. If we got rid of these gender norms, women could prioritize their career free of the guilt caused by defying social norms. I believe for there to be more women founders, we need to normalize men and spouses taking on more of the home and parenting duties. We, as women, should encourage and support our male teammates who want to take on more parenting or home responsibilities. We must support our spouses in helping lighten our load; after all, it takes a village to raise children and build a career.

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?

The most important thing society can do is to normalize and recognize that mothers and women need help with parenting duties and household responsibilities. For instance, we should offer equal maternity/paternity benefits to encourage equal responsibility for childrearing. This would help both men and women to feel encouraged by their employers and society to build both a family and a career.

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?

If I can generalize a bit, women tend to be more emotionally in tune and can connect with clients and employees at a level that may not come as naturally to men. In my experience, women use a balance of logic, gut instinct, and emotion to lead. I also find that women tend to build more diverse teams, which has been shown to drive business success. I think women-founded companies thrive because of the unique talent women bring to the table.

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

Many people assume being a founder means you are your own boss; you can make your own schedule and choose what tasks you want to work on. In [my] reality, founders feel more pressure to always be working, to be constantly available to the team, to think of the next big thing — the list goes on. Kristin and I have put more of ourselves into this company than any other jobs we’ve had and that’s probably because we feel like the company’s success rides on our shoulders. Being the founder is not the easy path — it is all consuming and takes an emotional investment, endless time commitment and hard work. But it is worth it to be able to achieve your vision.

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? Can you explain what you mean?

Starting a company is not for the faint of heart. You have to be comfortable taking risks. If you are too risk-averse, a position that offers job stability and predictability might be a better career path. As a founder, you need to be creative in problem-solving, flexible, open to being wrong and being able to learn from those mistakes, all while striving for a vision that many tell you is impossible. Founders also have to have deep conviction in their ideas because when they believe in them, they won’t be easily persuaded by nay-sayers.

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.)

It’s hard to boil it down to just five but here are my top pieces of advice:

1. Build a strong support network. Both personal (family and friends) and professional (mentors and colleagues) support networks are vital to anyone’s career success, but especially founders. You need people you can trust and turn to for guidance — people that can lend an ear to bounce ideas off of or people who can support you to overcome obstacles. You are only as successful as the support system you build.
2. Recognize when you need help. Having the self-awareness to know when you need help is vital, but that’s only half the solution. The other half is actually asking for help when you need it. Whether that is inquiring how to raise money or figuring out difficult company decisions, help can come in many different shapes and sizes. Knowing how to get it will help any founder thrive.
3. Have a clear vision. Knowing what you want to do with your company, why you want to do it and how to execute your mission are key components to a company’s prosperity. The day-to-day may look different, and at times you might feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle, but when you are guided by a true north star, you can steward that vision to fruition. Be sure to clearly define what success looks like, both for yourself and your team.
4. Create a team that shares your passion. You can’t do everything yourself. Being able to delegate is key, but if you don’t have like-minded team members, you won’t get far. Your team goes beyond your employees; it’s your consultants, board members and mentors. When the entire team has the same vision, you can hold them accountable and trust they are doing the job just as well as you would.
5. Have a strong set of core values throughout the company. A clear, articulated set of values speaks to how teams work together, how team members are treated and what the overall expectations are — all of which is imperative to achieving the company’s goals.

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

Since day one, my team has been focused on completely transforming the quality of meals offered to students by offering a new approach to school lunch. Through public-private partnerships, we have designed, produced and delivered over 500 million meals to various sites across 23 states, including community feeding programs, childhood education centers, districts, charter schools, senior programs and afterschool youth programs. The company is continuing to expand its product and service offerings with the goal of making healthy, culturally relevant and delicious food accessible to all individuals, families and communities.

We also recognize the need for nutritious meals goes beyond school programs. When the pandemic began, we knew we had to expand our efforts. With the lasting effects of the pandemic exacerbating food insecurity across the U.S., the company shifted its focus to include the country’s most food insecure communities. Revolution Foods pivoted to partner with key cities and municipalities to create new distribution models — a model of positive systematic change.

Revolution Foods’ mission expanded beyond its core student focus to include vulnerable adult populations, such as the homeless, seniors and the homebound. The company now distributes 2 million meals per week in hundreds of cities and towns across the country. With school closures continuing due to the pandemic, Revolution Foods’ work became increasingly important because many families rely on school meals as one of their primary sources of food.

Our impact on the communities we serve goes beyond just providing meals; we create jobs for those who need work. For instance, we provided daily meals to New Orleans (NOLA) residents impacted by the pandemic through our partnership with the City of New Orleans, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local restaurants. Our team realized that the unemployment rate in NOLA was at a record high, so we leveraged our public and private partnerships to create more than 500 new local jobs. Local eateries and restaurants (many of which are BIPOC- and/or woman-owned) joined forces with 90+ of our NOLA teammates and 100+ of our local drivers to nourish NOLA residents.

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’d love to ensure people have access and the knowledge of the benefits of healthy eating. If more people — particularly parents — had access to high quality foods and introduced kids at a very young age to healthy, balanced eating habits, I believe it would bring a lot of good to a lot of people.

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 would be honored to share a meal with Megan Rapinoe, the professional soccer player whom my daughter admires immensely. Megan embodies those character traits I value so deeply — she lives with a values-driven purpose, she uses her platform to make a difference and inspire others, she advocates for equity and equal pay for women and men, and she strives for excellence. As a woman in leadership, seeing the personal impact that Megan has had on my daughter affirms my beliefs on how society should further embrace women leaders.

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

Female Founders: Kirsten Saenz Tobey of Revolution Foods 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.

The Future of Beauty: Jeff Durham of GIMME Beauty On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Beauty Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Beauty can be more accessible. — Prestige brands and brands with premium and healthy ingredients are often only found in specialty and department stores. Our brand is designed for our global community in every walk of life. We want everyone to have access to quality beauty solutions in the place where they shop.

As a part of our series about how technology will be changing the beauty industry over the next five years, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Durham.

Jeff Durham is the founder and CEO of Durham Brands — a family CPG company. The Durham’s have over 30 years of global design and sourcing expertise. The flagship brand is Gimme Beauty, which aims to eliminate bad hair days from the world. The Gimme brand specializes in custom hair accessories and tools distributed across multiple channels: Food, Drug, Mass Retailers, Extreme Value all the way up to Specialty and Department Stores.

Prior to starting Durham Brands, Jeff worked in innovation at Moen, a CPG leader in the faucet Industry. He holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve and a BA in marketing from Brigham Young University. He is also the founder of the CPGX forum, a group of CPG Brands and their Executives organized to network and leverage perspectives to collaborate in the brand-building effort. Jeff has 6 beautiful children and an incredible wife and that is his greatest joy.

Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Entrepreneurship is in the Durham Family blood. Mark Durham, Father & Chairman of Durham Brands is a color-blind oil painter that sees the world through a unique lense. He’s founded and sold companies. We’ve built and sold brands together. Years of global sourcing and connecting the dots between trend and market needs brought us to the beauty space and we’re here to disrupt.

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

The stars aligned for us during the pandemic. We bet big in a year of chaos and injected millions into digital and influencer marketing bringing patented beauty & hair care solutions to consumer’s homes when many salons were closed. The bet paid off as we doubled our business last year and even were picked up by ULTA Beauty as they recognized the brand’s momentum.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

Coming out of the pandemic, we see the masses jumping on the bandwagon, it is now up to us to welcome and nurture the community. This will be the tipping point. When you are blessed with success, you have to show gratitude to those that made it possible. We have BIG plans for nurturing and rewarding our community as we continue to accelerate our momentum. Brands that put revenues over community will never become household brands.

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

The list would be too long to share. I started a CPG forum a few years back to gather executives of like-minded brands to meet and discuss the challenges of CPG and retail. This network and the time invested has been the secret to getting further faster and magnifying our ability to compete and be a thought leader in our industry. At times when Target or Wal-Mart call to cut a new deal or restructure funding, it is priceless to be able to phone a friend that has similar experiences to navigate the deal points and design a fair outcome that will sustain. Relentless networking and going to lunches with someone new often is an under-utilized resource that comes at the cost of a sandwich but pays big dividends.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing? How do you think that will help people?

If you aren’t innovating, you’re dying. We are betting on beauty tech! As Tesla puts batteries in cars, we’re bringing wireless technology to the vanity. We have patents pending on hair styling tools that let dance moms do touch ups behind the curtain when outlets are unreachable. If you want to binge Netflix in your living room (not shackled to the bathroom), we’ve got disruptive solutions for that. We’re launching curling irons, wands, and flat irons with more wireless runtime than competitors. We’re launching a disruptive claw clip, brushes designed for unique hair types, and seamless hair ties that can withstand up to 70 pounds of pressure without snapping… The beauty world will look to GIMME BEAUTY for innovative hair solutions. #wetakecareofhair

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

While making beautiful hair accessible through technology and innovation is our mission, an unintended consequence could be that cosmetic beauty is prioritized over inner beauty. Our brand aims to instill contagious confidence, to give people more time through time-saving solutions, to spend more time doing things that matter most. We want beauty outside to breed inner confidence. A good hair day can bring confidence and self-worth and empower women to stand taller and reach their potential in leaving their mark on their piece of the world. We’re also building into our model an opportunity to give back to the community as we scale. More to come on this in 2022.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

With the advancement of so many technologies, the fruit becomes more low-hanging every day. You can decide to be the 100-year-old beauty brand that does things the way their mothers did beauty OR you can embrace the future and elevate beauty. Fail fast and lead quickly. We may not be perfect today, but we are adding more value and refining novel concepts through tight consumer feedback loops day in and day out. We listen harder to the consumer. We watch trends and forecast color. We are passionate about telling our story and love our community. Beauty tech is viral in nature and is exciting. This is an angle that will accelerate our mind-share grab in a noisy lipstick red ocean of beauty and hair care.

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?

1 — Beauty can be more accessible.

Prestige brands and brands with premium and healthy ingredients are often only found in specialty and department stores. Our brand is designed for our global community in every walk of life. We want everyone to have access to quality beauty solutions in the place where they shop.

2 — Brands are too exclusive.

We at GIMME = INCLUSIVE (all are welcome and every hair type is celebrated)

3 — Education can be accelerated through technology

Technology can be leveraged in products, but also to bring high-value education to the masses in convenient, virtual, authentic, and personal ways. We are building a technology road map to disrupt education related to hair care and health.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1 — Invest in your hair. GIMME products are available in most channels. Don’t settle for value solutions that will damage your hair. Damaged and broken hair from bad hair ties is unacceptable!

2 — Try natural care and scents. We recommend our lavender night-time-routine dry shampoo. You’ll wake up feeling fresh. Feeling clean is key to feeling beautiful — especially if you’re a fan of 4-day hair 😉

3 — A high ponytail with real volume using a hair tie that is customized to your hair type will help you feel powerful. No one likes a saggy ponytail.

4 — Find beauty in friendship — we encourage sharing products and trends with friends. We’re starting a movement and believe in community surrounding #nobadhairdays

5 — Strive for balance in life to find inner beauty. Wireless tools on the go can save you time and allow for touch ups in critical moments (interviews, presentations, recitals, etc) Brands should support your life goals. That is what is beautiful about our cause!

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 have dreamed of a movement to turn capitalism into an engine for good. I’ve sat on boards where we raise funds from those with abundance to further a cause. That is one way to make a difference. Begging for money will never be as effective as building a profit engine with a commitment to a cause. I’m building a community that will attract members that care. As they spread the word about the brand, they enable us (and them) to give back in perpetuity. No begging required. It also doesn’t have to be a single cause. It can be a million micro-causes and it can be funded through innovation.

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

Give more in value than you take in payment (Credit — the Go Giver Bob Burg & John David Mann) As I network, my goal at every lunch is to ask, “How can I give you value?” Without any doubt, I know that any value I give will come back in 18 months or less bearing a return on that value invested. I hope to end my career by calculating my net worth as the total value I created for others.

How can our readers follow you online?

The best thing to do would be to join our community. It’s not about me — it’s about building this brand to make a bigger difference. (https://gimmebeauty.com/pages/community)

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

The Future of Beauty: Jeff Durham of GIMME Beauty On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr. Tara Morris of Airrosti On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Develop relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. Understand that we are a specialized group of doctors, and that’s a good thing. We can’t take care of every condition, so do what you do exceptionally well and then find other providers you can rely on to send patients who need alternate care.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tara Morris.

Tara Morris, DC, CCSP, an Airrosti Certified Provider, has been a Doctor of Chiropractic at Airrosti Rehab for ten years. She graduated from Boston University with her undergrad and then went to Palmer College of Chiropractic West. Morris has been serving on the USA Swimming Medical Staff for over ten years and travels to exciting International competitions with the team. Since moving to Austin, TX, 15 years ago, she has also been the Team Doctor for the Austin Outlaws Women’s Full Tackle Football Team. She is also a mom to two very active boys who are athletes themselves.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Absolutely! I was a very active Army brat growing up, so we moved around a lot, and playing sports was how I made friends. I was a swimmer and played volleyball, basketball, and softball. This is where my passion for working with athletes started. I played volleyball through college, and then in chiropractic school, I got a part-time job coaching a local swim club team, beginning my work with USA Swimming. Also, in chiropractic school, I learned the process of working with other USA teams and set my goal for it! I took endless hours of seminars dealing with athletes, their injuries, rehab, etc., and when we moved to Austin 15 years ago, I decided to focus on swimmers. That led to my work with USA Swimming after a rotation at the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs. When I found Airrosti Rehab Centers 10 years ago, it was a perfect fit for me. I love spending time with patients working on their injuries and teaching them how to rehab and maintain their health.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I have a funny story that happened just a few years after I first started practicing, back in Pleasanton, CA. A patient came in for lower back pain, and after a few years of knowing him, I began to notice a pattern with his injury. I would only see him in my office with flare-ups in the summertime, and for the rest of the year, his low back felt pretty good. It seemed kind of strange to me. Well, upon talking more with him during his visits, I found out that not only was he an Oakland A’s baseball fan (like my husband and I were!), but he had season tickets to the games. One day, I asked him where his seats were at the stadium and when my husband and I went to a game that weekend, I found where he was sitting. After just a few minutes, I realized that to see the field of play, he had to turn his back in a particular direction, and he would sit like that for almost three hours every time he came to a game (which is A LOT with season tickets for baseball). So, we talked about his posture in his seats at his next visit. The following year, he changed the location of his season tickets, and guess what? No more chronic low back pain during the summer! So sometimes, you’ve just got to dig a little deeper with your patients to figure out what in their lives might be affecting their musculoskeletal conditions.

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

When I first started practicing over 20 years ago, I had no desire to run my own business. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of an option out there for Chiropractors to just join a practice, work, and get paid, so I was forced into an independent contractor-type of work. I didn’t take any business courses in undergrad, so I had no idea what to do regarding finances. I paid for many things with a credit card, which was NOT a good idea. Anyone I talk to now who is joining the profession, I try to emphasize that if their goal is to run their own office, then go out and take business courses along with their D.C. degree. We learn how to diagnose and treat patients, but we don’t walk out of school with MBAs. Some of the best doctors (in all different specialties) don’t make it on their own, not because they’re not amazing doctors, but because they don’t know how to run a business.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

I believe that my work with patients is changing their lives. I hope that not only am I helping people to heal and get out of pain, but along with that, improving how they function in their daily lives. Most importantly, I hope that I am educating them on how to stay healthy and take care of themselves in the future.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

So much comes down to posture. Technology has changed the world, primarily for good, but with it, we have become addicted to our screens and drawn into whatever happens to be on them at the time. So, my top 5 lifestyle tweaks mainly have to do with that.

1. Keep your head up! Hold your phone up, not your head down, to see the screen.
2. Bring your work/keyboard/mouse to you, don’t lean forward towards it.
3. Sit back in your seat. You don’t need a fancy $500 chair; you just need to USE the chair you have.
4. Sleep in a neutral position, don’t have your head flexed forward or rotated to the side.
5. Hydration! Drink water throughout the day.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

The movement I would start would be centered on standing up and taking care of your body, not on others for your health. Get up and move! Eat healthy most of the time (but allow yourself to cheat sometimes too, it’s all about balance) and find things that interest you, where you can get involved and develop personal relationships for your mental health.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Believe in yourself and own what you are doing.
2. Develop relationships with your patients. Find out about their lives, which can open up the door to what might be causing some of their underlying problems.
3. Develop relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. Understand that we are a specialized group of doctors, and that’s a good thing. We can’t take care of every condition, so do what you do exceptionally well and then find other providers you can rely on to send patients who need alternate care.
4. You will make mistakes, own them and grow from them.
5. Know your worth. You put a lot of time and money into your education, don’t give your services away.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is hugely significant as we’ve started to come out of the pandemic. I am very concerned about our children and adults who have spent so much time alone without in-person interaction with others. Virtual interaction is not the same as being in-person. At Airrosti and when I work with USA Swimming, being part of a team is one of my favorite parts of the job, being able to share in both the hardships and joys with your team. We need this as human beings. It’s essential to our well-being!

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

I will say I’m pretty old school when it comes to technology. I even still get an actual newspaper delivered to my house! But you can follow me on Instagram @14tjmm. You can also follow Airrosti on instagram, @airrosti, Twitter, @airrosti, or other social media platforms by searching, Airrosti.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Dr Tara Morris of Airrosti On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support P was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Jessica Beck of Alfred On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Adapt to change: We know that things change constantly. Day to day, minute to minute. If you expect things to stay according to plan, you will fail. Change is inevitable, so you have to embrace it.

As part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jessica Beck of Alfred.

Jessica Beck is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Alfred. Beck leads Alfred’s day-to-day operations and under her direction, Alfred has grown a best in class hospitality service and successfully rolled out a national building management service platform with tens of thousands of units managed.

In an effort to expand Alfred’s footprint, she has negotiated and developed partnerships with some of the country’s largest real estate developers, expanding Alfred to 44 major cities across the country.

Along with Alfred’s Co-Founder, Marcela Sapone, Beck supports founders who want to live more consciously through WHITESPACE Ventures, a seed investment firm focused on design-led tech for better business.

From SXSW to the Sante Fe Institute’s Annual Business Network & Board of Trustees Symposium, Jess speaks regularly on entrepreneurship and building scalable solutions in the sharing economy.

Beck holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in economics from Williams College, where she was captain of the women’s rugby team and graduated cum laude.

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?

In my early days at Harvard Business School, I met Marcela, Alfred’s CEO and co-founder. While in class, we both discussed how being a full-time employee, attending business school, and attempting to live a social life, was next to impossible. We began to do a lot of research and small experiments. We looked on Craigslist at the time and saw over 35,000 lists for recurring help in the top 10 cities in the U.S. We knew we were onto something and we knew we weren’t the only ones who needed help. This revelation led us to create Alfred.

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

Over the past year, our world has faced extreme tragedy due to the coronavirus epidemic. There was a drastic shift in resident needs almost immediately. Due to lockdowns, months of isolation, and limited connection, people needed more than just services and support, they were missing engagement with their communities and were left with isolation in the absence of social interaction. As Alfred began to integrate new community offerings, Marcela and I met co-founder and CEO, Francesca Loftus of HOM, an international technology-enabled amenity and community engagement provider. With HOM’s background and expertise rooted in wellness and engagement, we saw an opportunity to expand our community offerings to close the gap of isolation and encourage a greater focus on wellbeing and self-care to support our residents even more. Since our acquisition of HOM in May, Alfred has been offering virtual wellness services for residents, including fitness and mindfulness classes, webinars and community building activities. These programs, which have since expanded to in-person events, helped to reintroduce routine and community into our residents’ lives during a time when it felt like it was nearly impossible.

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?

Early on, I knew it was going to take a lot of progression, power, and talent to turn our class case study into a working business model. It’s not uncommon to fail along the way, and we certainly made our mistakes. When we first started pitching Alfred, we did it as often as we could. After countless pitching fails, brainstorms, coffee runs, and sticky notes, we realized we needed to focus on one key element: our audience.

Fast forward to when Marcela and I were prepping for TechCrunch Disrupt in 2015, we decided to make every detail of our pitch resonate with the male-dominated audience we were about to speak to (i.e. Dan from Silicon Valley). We made sure to note every question, comment, or concern we received during our early days of pitching and decided to use this feedback to refine our pitch this time around, thus leading us to win TechCrunch. We learned what people were thinking and used it to fuel improvement of our pitch, product, and business.

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?

It was recently reported that more than 300,000 women left the labor force, the largest drop-off of women from the workforce since September 2020. Census Bureau data shows that about 3.5 million mothers living with school-age children lost their jobs, took leave or left the labor market when Covid hit last year. It’s clear we’re still in this period where “traditional” home life has not successfully caught up with the current state of the workplace. The demands of meeting work deadlines, while trying to stay afloat from the endless second-shift duties that women traditionally take on, has had a serious impact on women’s careers. Helping people at home is a key element keeping women in the workplace. It’s about being intentional about where your time is going and where you can delegate your tasks.

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?

As a society, we need to increase growth opportunities for women in leadership and executive roles. This responsibility falls on all of us, men and women, to ensure we are creating an inspiring path for our future leaders. When women are in power, it shows society that it is possible. It falls on everyone running a business, to keep this top of mind.

Another big change that needs to be made across the board in order to ensure women are leaders, is for businesses to offer better benefits to employees. Whether that be through childcare, mental health support, or better paid maternal leave. Offering these benefits will open up a window of opportunity for women, because they won’t have to worry about paying for a babysitter, or only staying home with a newborn for an allotted amount of time.

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?

If you have a great idea, and are passionate about it, pursue it, especially if you are a woman. It’s inspiring to see females in high power positions, because it encourages all of us to aspire to that. We all deserve to share our ideas to the world, no matter our gender.

I also think it’s important for women to be the faces of companies that help women. We know ourselves better than anyone else, and should be the ones problem solving and creating companies that benefit women. Marcela and I set out to create Alfred to help with some of those issues facing women, and we hope that our story inspires others to be courageous enough to believe in their ideas.

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

MYTH: Entrepreneurs need to put their companies first and their lives second.

One of the most important things I have learned as a founder, and throughout my career, is that a healthy work life balance is crucial. If you aren’t spending time doing the things you love outside of work, then ultimately your work will suffer. If you aren’t fulfilled personally, then you won’t ever be fulfilled professionally. Burn out is real, and it’s important to put emphasis on building a healthy personal life.

MYTH: It’s all about taking risks.

Sometimes, you don’t have to take the road less traveled or put investment and time into a big idea. Sometimes, it’s the littlest, or simplest ideas that have the most impact. Risks can ruin a business, if they aren’t thought out well.

MYTH: It’s impossible to have two founders.

I would argue that it’s better to have two founders, as opposed to one. I don’t know where I would be without my co-founder, Marcela. Having two founders allows us to have two perspectives, more ideas, and more opportunity to grow.

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? Can you explain what you mean?

Everyone has a passion for something, it’s just whether or not they make a business idea out of it or not. To be a successful founder, it takes patience, determination, and compassion. It’s not always fun and games, but when it comes down to it — you’re the voice of the company. You set the tone and energy for the rest of the team.

Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Evaluate who you are as a leader: It’s important to look inward, and critique, as well as praise yourself. Are my employees happy? Am I setting the right example? Are my actions a positive impact on the company?

2. Embrace your strengths and weaknesses: Sometimes our weaknesses are what make us special. If you aren’t the best at something, it’s not a bad thing. It gives you the opportunity to find someone who is. It’s also important to lean into your strengths. Most of the time, your strengths are also what you are most passionate about.

3. Overcommunicate your asks: It’s important to remember that not everyone thinks the same way you do. If you’re asking something, make sure to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This will give you the ability to understand how they see your ask, and if you need to provide more detail. If you aren’t getting the outcome you want, evaluate how you are communicating your asks.

4. Stay humble: Never ever, let your success get in the way of who you truly are.

5. Adapt to change: We know that things change constantly. Day to day, minute to minute. If you expect things to stay according to plan, you will fail. Change is inevitable, so you have to embrace it.

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

We launched Alfred with a mission to make help a universal utility in every home, and to give people the support they need to focus on the things that matter most. Today, Alfred has become the leading resident-first software and lifestyle brand, offering a network of trusted services and support for residents in a sustainable, socially conscious way. Through the Hello Alfred App, residents can connect with their Home Managers or “Alfreds” — all of whom are W2 employees — to help them check off their to do’s, from grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions to folding laundry and paying rent. Our app even offers a marketplace with discounts and special offers to our local and national partners, making everything you ever need accessible in one place.

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.

Pushing women to escape from second-shift duties, so they can experience their life to their fullest.

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

Female Founders: Jessica Beck of Alfred On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.