You belong here. There is so much to discuss when it comes to diversity and equity in our industry to the point where people don’t feel a sense of belonging. Coupled with saturation of some markets, those wanting to explore entrepreneurship can feel like there’s no place for them in cannabis. Bring your brands, ideas, healing, perspective, experience. No one can do it like you. You belong. We need you.
As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing TaJanna Mallory.
TaJanna Mallory, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CannAssistants TaJanna Mallory is Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CannAssistants, a virtual assistant (VA) agency that provides administrative support to mid-size cannabis companies, founders, and business executives. CannAssistants works with a curated team of VAs and consultants to bridge the gap between administrative support, customer solutions, and a business’s bottom line. At the core of her work, TaJanna believes the foundation of every strong organization is a steady and seamless support staff that excels in daily operations and exceeds client expectations. In 2016, after spending over a decade providing administrative support, human resources, and talent recruiting for large teams and C-level executives in both the for-profit and nonprofit space, TaJanna launched on her own with a focus on providing these much needed services to the cannabis industry. TaJanna’s expertise spans startups, technology, finance, education and hospitality. She’s worked with national, multi-national, and Fortune 500 companies like Comcast, Chick-Fil-A, Deloitte & Touche, The National Football League, Fiserv, and Oliver Wyman. TaJanna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Florida State University and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University. She resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband of 14 years and their Chihuahua.
About CannAssistants
CannAssistants is a United States based virtual assistant (VA) agency providing administrative support to midsize cannabis companies, founders, and business executives. CannAssistants understand the unique culture, fast-pace, and nuances of the cannabis industry and will match you and your business with a team of well-qualified VAs that step in and take the extra work off your hands. CannAssistants’s goal is to relieve businesses of administrative load, leaving you with the work that you love. Flexible retainer options and virtual work models reduce the overhead of hiring the traditional way. For more information, please visit: https://www.cannassistants.com
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?
I was working in the corporate world as an executive assistant (AE). I was getting burned out by office politics, and I was developing this burning desire to travel the world. After a ton of research and a friendly push from my husband, I quit my job as EA to the CEO of a restaurant chain and I launched on my own as a virtual assistant (VA). My client right out of the gate was in the cannabis industry. I had no idea about the industry and wasn’t a consumer. A whole new world opened up and I’m forever grateful.
Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?
I identify as Christian and I’m often involved in my local church in one way or another. Around 2019, our pastor at the time asked me to take over much of the church administration. This would have given me unwanted exposure. I wanted to help but I didn’t want any judgy Christians getting on my nerves so I was dodging the pastor like crazy. Let me think about it. Are you sure you want me? Decline call. Ignore email. You would’ve thought I owed him money the way I was dodging him. Finally, I sat the pastor down and told him that I work in the cannabis industry and I’m not sure if he wants that smoke (no pun intended) from the parishioners. His reply was, “The work you do is legal, right? Ok cool. Thanks for telling me. When do you want to start?” All that energy of dodging him. Wasted.
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?
My husband Andrew is the reason I started freelancing as a VA. After researching for months, he encouraged me to just start because I was going into analysis paralysis mode. LOWD CEO Jesce Horton was my first client and the reason I’m in the cannabis industry. He didn’t know, at the time, that I was just starting but he did know that I was no cannabis expert. During our first call, he said, “No one is. And if they tell you they’re an expert in cannabis, they’re lying.” He sticks to that motto to this day. He took a chance on me and continued to challenge and mentor me.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m excited that we are developing content and community for cannabis VAs and freelancers. I think it’s important for VAs to have a place to develop, learn about business, and participate in this industry as entrepreneurs. There needs to be a place that fosters community and enrichment for us. We’re working on that.
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?
Among my peers, I’ve found that women tend to suffer from imposter syndrome and have a hard time speaking up for themselves more than men. Aside from therapy (lol), some ways that we can get over this is by sizing up our skills and comparing it with salaries. This takes some internet research and maybe conversations with staffing firms and recruiters as well as people who are in positions that you are in at other companies. This gives you perspective of how you actually compare in the marketplace. As business owners, learn to have value-based conversations with prospective clients and investors. Take the focus off of cost and focus more on how you and your company can be an asset.
Companies can do more to make their pay scales consistent and transparent.
As a society, we have to cease this culture of anticipating someone’s abilities based on what we see with our eyes — things like gender, race, or what may appear to be a disability.
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.
Serve first. I have found the most authentic entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry are also activists. They have the plant and the people at the core and they build their business around that. Clients and customers can tell the difference.
Be flexible. This industry can change on a dime. Those that are surviving are flexible with the changes.
Be ready. It’s fast-paced! Be ready for opportunities as they arise, as markets open and as you create new connections.
Stay creative. Year over year, I’m evaluating our work at CannAssistants to make sure that we’re always bringing value to the industry and the professionals that we serve. Stay creative to evolve with the industry.
You belong here. There is so much to discuss when it comes to diversity and equity in our industry to the point where people don’t feel a sense of belonging. Coupled with saturation of some markets, those wanting to explore entrepreneurship can feel like there’s no place for them in cannabis. Bring your brands, ideas, healing, perspective, experience. No one can do it like you. You belong. We need you.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?
I’m excited about the focus and attention on ancillary entrepreneurship. We’re showing another avenue for starting a cannabis business.
I’m excited about seeing more and more diverse business owners.
I’m excited about the constant conversations happening about how to make this industry better — how we can all serve the plant and the patients better.
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?
No, I want cannabis to have a similar status to a lemon. Lemons are natural and have so many purposes from cleaning to healing. Lemons come in many varieties, from different farmers, from different regions. Lemons are easily accessible for people to purchase. No one bats an eye when you buy a lemon. No one tries to tax a lemon. No one is heavily regulating lemons.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Keep saying “yes” until you’re ready to say “no.” This is advice that I give people when they’re considering opportunities or business ventures. I’ve told myself this as encouragement to take the next step into the unknown. It’s exactly how I’ve ended up here.
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. 🙂
Oh man! What a question! I would inspire a movement to remove roadblocks in this country for people to access good health and great wealth. Somehow, this country has managed to capitalize on just about anything a person can use to better themselves than hold people accountable for not bettering themselves. This is an amazing thing for me to think about. I need a plan.
Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!
Female Founders: Shagun Malhotra On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
It’s not easy to get customers — When you build a product you believe in, especially one that would have helped you immensely when you were in the shoes of the target demographic, you’d think it would be an easy sell. However, building a company isn’t just about the idea. There is so much work it takes that is separate from the core idea that is necessary in a business landscape — marketing, your reputation, building a brand, the list goes on. It took a full year of cold calling, meetings and hard work to get our first customer. The first time doing anything is always the hardest.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Shagun Malhotra
Shagun is an experienced auditor and process consultant, who designed ART for accountants. She started her career in public accounting and has worked in Fortune 100 companies such as Marriott and Freddie Mac. Her work focused primarily on internal controls and risk mitigation in both international and domestic arenas.
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 studied accounting but was not very interested in the typical accounting jobs. As luck may have it, the first job I secured was in a local public accounting firm to be a part of the audit team. I instantly fell in love with the idea that numbers could tell a whole story and my interest in audit, forensic and investigative accounting grew. There’s this misconception that accounting is boring, but the narrative ability of following patterns and changes in numbers can be so exciting. The average person may not know about the world of forensic accounting — there are actually hundreds of forensic accountants working for the FBI solving cases with the trail of numbers. In fact, forensic accounting was what led to the arrest of Al Capone!
Being on the auditing side of the accounting world, I felt like I was working for the better good by being the eyes and ears of the public, keeping the capital markets honest and increasing trust in the capital markets. People deserve to know the truth of what they are putting their money behind. Auditors are able to uncover fraud and deception, which can lead to consequences for companies that deliberately try to mislead the public. Uncovering fraud was something that was always important to me in my line of work, so naturally it became an integral part of the company I would go on to found. After working with Fortune 50 companies, I was able to see patterns and issues with processes which could either lead to fraud or inaccurate financials — and the month-end close process was the clear winner. Therefore, I decided to create a system that would minimize risk and enhance this process.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
When we arrived at a CFO conference, we were chatting with someone who mentioned our male team member was already there. That was odd since there were no male employees of ours at this conference. When we brought this up, the person insisted he had already arrived, and was wearing a SkyStem t-shirt. This was even more strange as everyone else was in business attire. We later realized one of our customers was wearing our shirt as a fan! We were so excited and humbled by this gesture. This CFO was a champion of our product and wanted everyone to know how great it is. It was definitely an unexpected surprise.
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?
Lack of preparation is a frequent nemesis in the business world, but it can lead to some pretty funny instances. One time we were not prepared for a conference. This is an environment where potential deals are made and so it’s important to maintain appearances to make sure your customers know they’d be in good hands with your company. One of the ways this is done is by having an impressive booth — cool swag, an organized table and the most important part: the banner which tells attendees who you are. Well, our banner broke and all of a sudden we found ourselves horrified at how we must look trying to prop it up with a tree branch.
To make matters worse, this was our first conference and we really wanted to make an impression. I’m sure we did, although it may not have been the one we wanted! We managed to get through the rest of the show relatively easily, and made some connections who admired our tenacity. We learned that no matter what life throws at you there is always a solution. Even if it’s not the perfect one the answer is in the perspective — either you can panic and ruin the experience or make do and acknowledge human error and have a bunch of fans in the process. It’s all up to you.
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 were many angels along the way, both my family and my chosen family. My parents supported the idea financially and I will always be so grateful they were able to help get the company off the ground. My brother has been the backbone from the start and supports SkyStem in all ways. And then Nancy, the person who first joined me and has been crucial to the success of SkyStem.
Nancy and I first met online — I read a blog she wrote. We were internet friends for a while who admired each other’s work and eventually decided to meet up in New York. The rest is history. You never know where you will make the connections that change your life! The lesson is to go for it and not wonder what the other person might think about a random stranger reaching out. Always ask — because without that the answer is always no.
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?
Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge how many amazing, hardworking women founders are out there today. It’s certainly more than when I entered the workforce. There’s a famous saying about Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire — she did everything he did but backwards and in high heels. I think that sentiment rings true in the business world. Women in our society are held to different and often higher standards. When a male boss is assertive he is just that, assertive. When a woman in charge behaves the same, she is called bossy.
In my opinion, there’s one main reason why women are a smaller percentage of founders. It’s the level of support women get from their families, children and the entire community to embark on a very hard journey of starting a company. Many times, women have to make other things a priority as they possibly do not get assistance to help overcome those challenges.
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 traditional roles for women need to be put aside and the expectations need to change so that they can elevate to whatever path they choose. This means supporting female-founded companies on a personal and structural level. Individuals can do things like addressing their own conscious or unconscious bias, including thoughts and actions which uphold barriers to entry for people without the same advantages as others. The government can pass legislation that targets practices such as the wage gap, bad maternity leave and childcare support and discriminatory hiring.
Sometimes a bias isn’t intentional. This can happen in a business situation like deciding which employee to hire or promote. It’s human nature to want to surround yourself with people you believe are a reflection of yourself, which can manifest in decisions like this. Since there are more male executives, it is likely they will be able to see themselves in those who more clearly match up with their identity. This isn’t always the case, but an example of how unconscious bias can uphold a marginalization of women in the workforce.
As a society, I think these issues start with how different genders are socialized. A study was done where researchers watched parents with a young child trying to conquer a physical obstacle. Boys were more likely to be encouraged by their parents to attempt the obstacle, whereas girls were more likely to be warned or even physically removed from the threat. A big part of starting a company has to do with facing your fears. When you are taught to avoid your fears rather than facing them head on, it takes a lot of work to undo that social conditioning.
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?
Diversity, as we know, definitely benefits the world at large. Around half of the world’s population are women. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a strong business decision to not ignore women as leaders, who may be able to better articulate and execute what their customer base wants.
However, many companies are unaware or perhaps choose to ignore just how much purchasing power women have. Take industries which have traditionally been male-dominated, like guitar. Research shows half of new guitar buyers are women. Yet many guitar manufacturers primarily market to men. Sometimes with advertisements that are downright offensive to women. If a woman were to found a guitar company, not only would they be able to put out better representation, I would wager female customers would be more inclined to buy from a company that reflects their identity and values. Being a founder is rewarding in its own right. You are a part of a community and able to make your voice and ideas heard. It can also be lucrative if you are able to tap into your target market.
The success of the different genders becoming founders stem from opposite strengths. We can learn from both kinds of leaders.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Being a founder is not as glamorous as it seems in the papers. There are a lot of emotional challenges that founders have to face. This can be anything from stress or even impostor syndrome, which is something a lot of successful women struggle with. On top of these challenges, you have to be able to lead a team as well, no matter what you’re feeling inside. You have to be strong for them even if you are struggling. I don’t think any team expects their leader to be emotionless or robotic, but as a good leader you have to keep a clear head in times of turmoil and be a guiding compass for the company.
Founding a company means there are no days off. While it is important to maintain a work-life balance and keep time for rest, you never know when an issue is going to arise. And sometimes it’s something that needs immediate attention. There is a kind of anxiety that develops when you have to be at least somewhat available around the clock. Oftentimes, your personal life can be affected by missing out on time with your loved ones. This can lead to a strain on friendships and other relationships in your life. You have to be able to put healthy systems in place to cope with the heavy demands of founding a company. And most importantly, surround yourself with people who are supportive of your endeavors.
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?
Resilience and being able to accept repeated rejection are the two main traits potential founders need to have. Fortunately, these are skills that can be learned. The question is if you are willing to accept all the failures you must encounter along the way. For some, this is too hard and that’s perfectly ok. The beauty of life is we can choose which path will bring us the most happiness and which lifestyles will best suit our needs and wants. It is a personal decision to decide what you are willing to go through in life to achieve what you want.
It’s also important to distinguish the variety of options available for starting a company in the digital age. There are plenty of people who have a small business of one — freelancers. In today’s economy there are influencers, dropshippers, resellers, artists, designers and everything in between. The old saying “if you build it, they will come” has never been more true if you are willing to put in the effort and accept the self-doubts that will inevitably sneak in. If you feel in your heart you want to be a founder and you are willing to take all the lows that come with the highs, there isn’t one set way to do it.
Ok super. 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.)
It’s not easy to get customers — When you build a product you believe in, especially one that would have helped you immensely when you were in the shoes of the target demographic, you’d think it would be an easy sell. However, building a company isn’t just about the idea. There is so much work it takes that is separate from the core idea that is necessary in a business landscape — marketing, your reputation, building a brand, the list goes on. It took a full year of cold calling, meetings and hard work to get our first customer. The first time doing anything is always the hardest.
Customers are your greatest asset — There’s a reason why market research is a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies don’t have to guess what their customers want, all they have to do is listen! It is a point of pride at SkyStem that we always have at least a certain percent of our new product features come directly from our customers. You may think something is really useful, but if your customers don’t agree it doesn’t matter. For this reason, you have to put your ego aside and let your users guide the development of your company as well. Plus, referrals are one of the best and most consistent ways to win business.
The world is full of flaky people –
At the end of the day, you are the only person you can completely rely on. I don’t mean this in a jaded way, just that you are responsible for making things happen. In life you have to plan for the unexpected, and be able to roll with anything life throws at you. Prospects will no-show to meetings, vendors will miss deadlines and there will be instances where you’ll have to act on the fly when issues like this arise. What you can do is remember you can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control how you handle it and be proactive to make sure you know what to expect. Always be the one to reach out, and a simple reminder can mean the difference of getting what you need and not. Communication is very important.
You don’t need all the information to make a decision –
Especially when you are first starting out or establishing new processes it’s important to move forward as quickly as possible (without being recklessly uninformed, of course.) In the start up world the concept of an MVP or minimum viable product is important to push a growing company forward. If we waited until we felt 100% ready to do something, nothing would ever get done. Tying into what we were speaking about earlier, women are statistically more likely to wait to make important decisions. While preparedness is never a bad thing, waiting too long to act can hurt your bottom line or cause you to miss out on other opportunities. Remembering to trust yourself and your judgment, it’s ok to take risks and it’s also ok to make mistakes. You learn a lot from your intuition and pivoting to find new avenues of success.
Chemistry with your team is paramount –
Your team is your company just as much as you are. Having alignment between your personalities and working styles is key for a business to run smoothly. That’s not to say differences will never work out, it’s also important to maintain diversity of thoughts and approaches. It’s more of a culture fit, between what your team members need and want in a professional environment and how that matches up to what the job description entails and what resources are available. For instance, at SkyStem, our culture is very DIY. Anyone is able to suggest ideas and implement initiatives that make sense. We put a huge emphasis on learning and growing outside of our comfort zone. This is a great match for team members who thrive when they are left to their own devices and have the discipline and time management to handle the freedom and creativity this kind of environment facilitates. However, some people might prefer a job where there is a more rigid process and less independence, like in a large traditional corporation. Finding the right fit is a two way street and it’s crucial to have that understanding and chemistry between the people you’re working closely with.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
Giving back to your community once you’ve reached a place of success is so important. I am very passionate about entrepreneurship and to invest my time back into the community. I have participated in panels, judged contests, and spoke as keynote speaker for entrepreneur type events. These are the places where people who are starting out get inspiration and learn how to forge a path forward. Volunteering for the events lets me have interactions with those who will go on to solve more of the world’s problems. It gives me great pleasure to motivate and guide new founders with knowledge I wish I had when starting out.
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 would love to inspire the next wave of female founders. I think the movement is already happening where more and more women are choosing to give their dreams a try and not succumb to self-doubt and external pressures. It takes a lot of courage to break the shackles of a previous society.
If there’s one thing I want people to take away from this interview it’s to show other women that they will never regret following their passion. It may be hard and at times you may feel like giving up, but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
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.
Richard Branson. I’ve always been an admirer of his entrepreneurial spirit. I once read he started his first business venture at 16! To have that kind of bravery and ambition at such a young age is something most people aren’t born with. The Virgin Group is truly a renaissance company in that they have all sorts of industries and business types. I’ve always had many interests and I’d love to pick his brain on what it’s like to have so many outlets. Plus, he might have some extra seats on a flight somewhere tropical!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this!
Women In Wellness: Gardith Edouard Of Affirm Candle On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Your story has power; share it. My own healing started when I began to talk about my trauma with others. I often felt that I was the only one suffering while others were living their best life. Everyone is a trauma victim; it’s our response to trauma that makes us different.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gardith Edouard.
Gardith is a scientist and teacher located in Philadelphia, PA. She created Affirm Candle to raise awareness about trauma, mental health, and holistic healing methods in her community. All of her products are vegan, cruelty-free, and Earth-honoring as she uses recyclable materials and makes most of her materials herself.
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?
I am trained as a scientist and teacher. However, all of the knowledge that I have proved to be futile in 2010 when I experienced immense loss and trauma. That year, I lost my best friend and 4 members of my family died in the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti. As a result, I was diagnosed with PTSD and really had to take ownership of my own healing. Little did I know that as a Black woman, I am predisposed to developing PTSD because all Black people retained the trauma from the Transatlantic slave trade in our DNA. Throughout my healing journey, I’ve learned a lot of information and skills. Western medicine did little in helping to heal my trauma. Thus, I had to turn to naturopathy and other forms of holistic medicine throughout my journey. I am grateful that I am finally at a place where I get to share the resources that have helped me heal with the rest of the world. Aromatherapy is one of them.
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 currently teach biology at a high school in Philadelphia. I’ve taught meditation to adults but didn’t really think about teaching it to my students. However, one day, I decided that instead of detention after school, we would meditate instead. After detention, one of my students went home and told a parent I ‘hypnotized’ him so he would never misbehave again. He enjoyed and benefited from meditation so much that he thought he’d been hypnotized. I had to explain to the parent that I am an actual meditation teacher and I use aromatherapy and meditation to help kids. I work with some of the most challenging students according to our society’s norms and standards. The teachable moment for me is that our students, our kids need healing too. What might be perceived as a child misbehaving could simply be a child who needs a reset. We need to find a way to include our kids in our healing trauma discourses.
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?
My biggest mistake was assuming that my reach would simply be local. I have folks ordering my products from all over the world! What I’ve learned from this experience is to never sell yourself short. When you have a good product, be confident and take risks.
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?
Every human being on this planet has experienced trauma. What differs between individuals is the way they respond to trauma. Trauma can lead to anxiety, memory loss, physical pain, depression, and much more. The point is if we don’t practice self-care and begin to heal, our bodies will eventually show the negative effects of our traumas. I want to normalize talking about traumas so that we can heal from them. I’ve tried a lot of resources and spent a lot of money on healing myself. What was shocking to me is that I could’ve healed on my own if I were given the right tools earlier on in life. When it comes to healing trauma, the little things make a huge difference. For example, infusing aromatherapy into my day would immediately change my mindset and mood. Coupling aromatherapy with affirmations daily has been a game-changer for me. I no longer have trouble sleeping and now know how to listen to my body for when I need a reset. Meditation, aromatherapy, and affirmations, are all free resources that do indeed heal trauma.
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.
Meditation: Science shows that meditation not only slows aging but literally helps decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, mind-wandering, etc. People benefit from the positive effects of meditation 3 years post meditating. Meditation has been proven to even help our body’s cells who are showing signs of cancer to commit suicide, known as apoptosis.
Aromatherapy:Essential oils are undervalued in western society. Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts in the form of essential oils to promote health and well-being. Aromatherapy enhances both physical and emotional health.
Affirmations:Affirmations are positive statements that you say to yourself over and over again. Just as physical exercise improves our physical health, mental exercises in the form of affirmations improve our mental health and well-being. In addition, the law of manifestation tells us that what we think, say, and put out into the universe can in fact become our reality. Practicing self-love in the form of affirmations is therefore worthwhile from every angle you look at it.
Locus of control: Your locus of control is your perception of the causes of the events that have taken place in your life. Research shows that one’s perception of their locus of control can either be external; believing that other forces control your destiny, or internal; believing that you shape your own destiny. People with a high internal locus of control, as opposed to an external locus of control, are less likely to conform to society’s ideals and expectations of them. These individuals are happier, manifest exactly what they perceive for their lives, and are highly self-aware and successful. It’s commonplace to often want to please others and succumb to their expectations of us. However, focus more on what YOU can do in manifesting what YOU want for YOUR life. If something is not within your internal locus of control, let it go…
Physical activity:We live in a society where ‘working and hustling’ are revered as opposed to relaxing and making time to reset and heal. Few people take time to take in the gifts that the Universe has granted us in the form of the Earth. Everything you need to heal both physically and mentally is within your reach. Nature walks and breathing in fresh air is as healing if not more than pharmaceutical drugs. Physics tells us that it’s very hard to stop a body that’s already in motion. If the only thing you can do for yourself in one day is a 15-minute walk or bike ride, then do it! Your body and brain will thank you!
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would impose 15 minutes a day of mandatory meditation using either aromatherapy or sound therapy on every human being. 15 minutes a day of meditation not only benefits our mental health but our physical health as well. The data for this is very compelling.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
Your story has power; share it. My own healing started when I began to talk about my trauma with others. I often felt that I was the only one suffering while others were living their best life. Everyone is a trauma victim; it’s our response to trauma that makes us different.
Healing is both your right and your responsibility. Some folks spend a lot of time on their traumas without looking for solutions. I want us to of course spend time sharing our trauma stories. However, the bulk of that discourse needs to focus on healing practices. When you shift the discourse to healing, you are claiming back your power and taking your story into your hands.
Your trauma is not your fault. Everyone is a trauma victim. This world has both good and bad people. Sometimes, the worst things happen to the best people. You weren’t singled out and targeted to be victimized. That’s why is very important to focus on healing and reclaiming your power.
Mindfulness works. Wherever you are in your healing journey, talk to a therapist, and practice meditation, and other mindfulness techniques. Trauma literally silences part of our brain that only meditation and mindfulness can revive.
An apple and candle a day will definitely keep the doctors away. When in doubt, eat healthily and exercise. Food plays a big role in our brain’s responses to stress and trauma. Exercise literally helps us release happy hormones. We live in a society that constantly exposes us to trauma and triggers our unfavorable memories. Healing and mindfulness thus need to be inserted into our daily lives. Carve out at least 30 minutes for just you and your body. You more than earned it!
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 dearest to me as I have been both patient and provider. In my own community, there is so much shame about mental illness which has prevented many folks from talking about it. Even seeking help is taboo. My goal is to de-stigmatize mental health conversations in my community and this country. I have chosen to be transparent about my own struggles, story, and healing with the hope of motivating more people to come forward, share their experiences, and begin their own healing.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Female Founders: Jenna Sereni Of HandsDown On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Everything takes longer than expected: All adventurous come with unknowns, and entrepreneurship is no different. I wish I had a better idea of how long things would take in general. From finding the right partners, hiring, raising money, negotiating with vendors, to launching a product, one thing has been a steady truth–it always takes a bit longer than you think it will.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jenna Sereni.
An Influencer Marketing innovator and pioneer, Jenna Sereni is widely known as the original creative inventor for the first ever influencer marketing agency, WHOSAY (co-founded with CAA and acquired by ViacomCBS). Today, Jenna continues to pave the way into the future of influence as the Founder ofHandsDown, the social commerce platform that allows users to share what they “hands down” can’t live without and discover what they’ve been missing, from people they trust the most, their inner circle.
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 was raised in an entrepreneurial family. My great grandmother founded our family business in the garment district of New York City in the 1940s, which my grandfather eventually took over, and my uncle after that. Everyone in our family worked for the business at some point, whether it was answering the phones or working in the warehouse. I worked for my uncle straight out of college, and he taught me so much about running a business, managing people, and how to navigate the dynamics of work and family. My parents both had amazing careers as well and I was raised in an environment where people worked really hard, but valued family and friends over everything.
When I got my first job outside of the family business, it was at Teen Vogue, and I was so excited. After my initial interview, they told me that sometimes they look for candidates who have a “fire in their belly.” And that I had a “bonfire.” I loved my time there, and raised my hand for every project I could possibly participate in. I was really interested in the trust that the brand had established with readers, and I think this is where my career-long passion for “voices of trust” really launched. I moved on to work in digital marketing at various publishers, and was recruited to be the first member of the marketing team at a new start up called WHOSAY, co-founded by CAA. WHOSAY was a celebrity social media app — that helped celebrities to launch and manage their presence across various social media platforms. The business evolved into becoming the very first and most trusted Influencer Marketing agency, which I helped run for about 8 years. We were acquired by Viacom in 2018.
Aside from career, my immediate family is huge and blended, so I experienced a lot of change throughout my childhood and ended up living in a house with six teenagers. It’s safe to say that organized chaos is a comfort zone for me, hence my interest in start-up life.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
The most interesting thing that’s happened since we started HandsDown, is discovering what’s happening in the state of Vermont. You think of Vermont and you think of Bernie Sanders, Ben & Jerry’s, Gardener’s Supply, Burton and Seventh Generation. But what’s actually happening is a massive boom in tech and entrepreneurship.
I just so happen to live here in the Green Mountains (I escaped New York City during COVID) and needed to register my company with a mailing address. So, I visited a coworking space in Burlington, and met the CEO of a Tech Accelerator that day. It turns out, investment in Vermont companies grew 500% in the past year alone and brilliant people are flocking here to create businesses. Some of the best skin care (Ursa Major, Ogee), electric airplanes (Beta Technologies) and space systems (Benchmark Space Systems) are being designed and produced right here in Vermont. So, HandsDown ended up smack in the middle of an incredible community of new startups, venture funds, former CEOs who’ve exited, and we have seen an epic amount of love and support from this community.
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?
When we first began designing HandsDown, it was called “Faves.” It’s the name Sonia (my co-founder) and I came up with in the earliest days, and our friends and family started using it in everyday language as a verb and a noun–which for a brand is an excellent attribute in a name. “It’s on my Faves,” “I Faved it,” etc. We noticed new companies popping up using the name Fave or Fave App and a few others, and we were so tied to “Faves” that we didn’t even really consider changing our name. We then had a call with an advisor, who told us about her experience in googling “Faves.” The name was everywhere. There were more companies than you can count on one hand–which was enough for us to decide to speak with a trademark lawyer and consider making a change. Another advisor was currently going through some naming issues at the time–and she reiterated to us the importance of originality and taking advantage of this opportunity that we had to make a shift, since it was so early on. It was such a massive thing that we didn’t pay attention to in the beginning because we were so emotionally invested. But, we spoke with a lawyer, and then began our search for a new name. It took what felt like forever. We ended up conducting focus groups and surveys, and landed on HandsDown about 5 months later. We learned that there’s always a strategic solution–and started leveraging “Fave” as a product attribute, instead of as our name. It was a pivotal moment for use, to see how flipping things upside down, can actually turn things right-side up.
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 helped me to get where I am. My mom, many past managers, friends, etc. But Lauren Jay is the first that comes to mind when it comes to serious managerial inspiration. Lauren is that Teen Vogue Associate Publisher I mentioned earlier, who noted the “bonfire” in my belly. I was nobody. A young wannabe at most. And Lauren not only gave me the opportunity to break into marketing, but she also always had my back at every turn. There was one experience where I made a huge mistake. A mistake that held legal implications for the company and our client. And while it was fixable, it was also catastrophic to a 20 something manager who was trying to impress everyone. From the moment I told Lauren about what had happened, she exemplified strategic thinking, support and the most epic management skills I’ve seen. She made me feel like we all make mistakes. And then we need to quickly shift to making the situation better, and avoid looking back. She also promoted me shortly after. Since then, I’ve managed many people — and one thing I tell them all on day one with me is, “You can make any mistake once, just learn from it, and grow from it.” I think this is extremely important. In order to truly innovate, you need to take risks. And taking risks requires making mistakes. Fostering a culture of acceptance when it comes to making mistakes is incredibly important to me and I’ll never forget how Lauren showed this to me.
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?
Parenthood + Home Management: Being a mother and an entrepreneur is almost impossible–yet we do it anyway. And in a pandemic? Gosh, queue therapy. Founding a company is 24/7. I don’t even look at it as a job, but as a lifestyle. I think about my company, our strategy, our tech, our people, social posts, user experience all day and all night, every single day. On weekends, on vacation, in the shower, on a walk. I can’t escape it. And frankly, it brings me a ton of joy. I love building things–making things, and watching them grow. It’s my favorite thing to do. But I certainly do have to work extra hard to be focused on myself and my family when I’m home at dinner time, working out or doing yoga, and while I rock my son to sleep at night. Nothing pains me more than those cute little words, “Mommy, put your phone down, stop working.” It’s like a knife to the heart every time. But at the same time, I want him to know that I believe in going for it, working hard, and empowering yourself to be your absolutely best and most authentic self. I think finding this balance between all of your babies: partner, kids, business, pets, is incredibly hard, and if you aren’t willing to take that on, then I can certainly see women shying away from founding a business because of it.
Funding: We are much less likely to get funded. Deciding to start up a business takes a lot of planning and strategic thinking. If you go through the risk analysis of what it’s going to take to pull something off, then as a woman, you’ll see, you’re highly unlikely to get funded. Less than 3% of funding goes to women, and without funding, in most scenarios, you’re highly unlikely to be successful. For some reason, I decided to take on this risk–but I don’t blame others who decide not to. Thankfully, there are a lot of amazing women rising in VC, and many funds erupting in success who have put their coin in female founders. We appreciate the work being done by BBG Ventures, Female Founders Fund, Venture Collective, and more…
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?
Access to affordable childcare for all families. Right now, families are expected to pay too much and early childhood educators are paid too little. Running a business means needing support both for your family, and for the families of your employees, and without affordable, dependable childcare, there will never be more women in business.
Since over 93% of Venture Capital is spent by white men, we still need more women and people of color in decision making roles at VC firms. But what can we as individuals do every day? Support female founded businesses. Shout about them on social media. Join their cause, buy their product, speak their names. Word of mouth is everything, and the louder we are, the closer we’ll get.
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?
The more women become founders, the more female founders’ success stories there will be. The more female founder success stories there are, the more successful female founders will invest in other female founders. It’s a cycle that we can initiate to seriously change the data.
Female Founders bring a different perspective to business that reflects half the population. To create more businesses that will serve half the population, women, we need smart women to be spearheading this type of work.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
Myth: Being a Founder is Glamorous
HA! I’ve worked red carpets, glitzy advertising shoots, high profile events, you name it. That was glamorous. Being a founder is hard work, epic responsibility to your product, users and your team, and an always-on schedule. While there isn’t much glamour (that I’ve experienced yet), there is flexibility. And to me, that’s a better perk.
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?
A great founder is resourceful and has an unwavering determination to succeed. They have to be so open minded, that they are willing to learn and even fail. The experience of starting and running a business, raising capital, running out of capital, raising more, growing, etc, it’s an emotional roller coaster. There are high highs and low lows, pretty much all the time. Specific traits needed are an incredibly high level of emotional intelligence, and risk tolerance.
Those who may not be as interested in the founder journey, are people who are creatures of comfort. Also those who may not have a thick skin. Founders experience a spectrum of discomforts and negative feedback on a daily basis. Investors turn you down, people question your ideas, users or customers share feedback. It’s never ending.
Ok super. 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.)
The importance of self care and good physical health:
When you’re an entrepreneur, just starting out, you’re on a solo mission. Researching, reading, writing, strategizing, talking to anyone who will listen, and planning, planning, planning. I learned early on that if I get run down or sick, all things come to a halt.
When we were building our MVP (Minimum Viable Product) in our first year, we worked for months to plan, discover, design, build and test what would be the very first iteration of our app. We were getting closer and closer to launch, and were about two weeks away. My son got sick. He was a mess. Cough, cold, fever, you name it. I set everything aside to hold him, rock him, give him popsicles, whatever I could do to make him feel better. He finally started feeling better a week later, and I was relieved that he was okay, and that I could get back to work on our MVP launch. I stayed up late and woke up early, doing whatever I could to catch up, report bugs and comb through the experience, despite feeling run down myself. A week from launch, I felt a sniffle but thought nothing of it because I had too much to do. I went about my day, and stopped at Walgreens to get a Flu shot and my COVID booster. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I felt as if all of the energy in my body had released and went somewhere else. I got more sick than I have ever been in my life. I was bed ridden, unable to move, fever, cough, you name it. I lost my voice and couldn’t even make out a whisper. Within 4 days or so, I started to get a little bit better, day by day although my voice was gone for weeks. On the day of our MVP launch, I got a call from the health dept. I had COVID. I launched HandsDown from my bed in isolation for the next 5 days.
There was really nothing I could have done to avoid this situation, but it made me realize that I’m the center of the team, and that I need to invest time and commitment in my personal health, both mental and physical. I’m glad that I discovered this in the early days of my business, because I was able to get ahead of generating a self care regimen that would keep me in tip top shape, to the best of my ability. I make sure to take care of myself, to take time to workout, eat a healthy breakfast, and to go for a walk outside on a stressful day. Culture filters down, and my team knows that on stressful days, I may pop out for a green juice and a hike, and they should too.
2. Everything takes longer than expected: All adventurous come with unknowns, and entrepreneurship is no different. I wish I had a better idea of how long things would take in general. From finding the right partners, hiring, raising money, negotiating with vendors, to launching a product, one thing has been a steady truth–it always takes a bit longer than you think it will.
We planned the release of our Beta product conservatively and to the day. Everything was going right. Our UX looked impeccable, our brand was on point, and the design tech teams were on standby and ready to rock. With two more weeks of design, we were untouchable. Then, our lead UI designer caught COVID. He was the person who truly understood the look and feel of our brand, and we didn’t want the product designed without him. We would wait. Then, his entire family caught COVID, and he needed to take some time from work. We ended up being set back about a month, which could have been worse, but you just never know what’s going to happen, and at the end of the day, supporting the team and prioritizing their health and wellbeing matters most.
3. Flexibility Makes it All Worth It: Being your own boss is truly a gift. While I work long hours regardless of weekday or weekend, home or traveling, day or night, I get to choose “me.” I get to prioritize my health, my wellness and my family. I get to stop and take a break when I need to. Some days, I just need some time to go for a walk and stretch. I find on the days that I take time to raise my heart rate, I end up getting so much more accomplished. I also am able to create space in my mind for more creativity and free flowing of ideas. I always struggled with the 9 to 5, manager check ins, and doing what someone thought I should do. Having the freedom to work as I see fit has opened me up to a whole new world.
4. Pitching is 98% of the Job: I’ve always had a knack for sales, but didn’t necessarily plan to choose it as my career path. That all changed when I started my own company. I pitch HandsDown on average 8 times a day. Everyone in your life wants to talk about your startup adventure. Those you work with, VCs, your investors, your friends, your family, the local coffee shop barista, the women at the nail salon, etc. These are all potential users or customers, and the more people you tell about your business, the more exposure your business will generate.
5. Don’t Wait to Build a Team that Shares Your Vision: As a start up, I just assumed that my co-founder and I would be the team for the foreseeable future. It would be the two of us brainstorming, planning and executing until we raise tons of money and launch the company of our dreams. But this couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Our business didn’t truly start to come together and have legs until we started bringing in passionate and talented people with innovative ideas to contribute with us. After the first 6 months, we started calling on some friends to join us in various ways on our journey. We offered equity as payment for brilliant design, legal advice and strategic planning. Every time we brought in someone new who shared passion around what we are building, things have progressed in such a positive and inspiring way. In hindsight, I wish we started building a team from day one, but now that we have, things are getting really exciting.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
We are still in our go-to-market phase, but are committed to an amazing organization called 1% for the Planet. Essentially, HandsDown will be donating at least 1% of all revenue generated on the platform to address the most urgent environmental issues of our time.
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 am a huge believer that equal pay for women, access to affordable childcare, and unlimited and free access to postnatal care for all new moms could completely change the culture of our country–enabling women to participate more freely in the workforce. Especially in a time like right now, I am inspired by companies like Mamava who are publishing their parental leave and support policies for others to learn from. I think female founders need to band together to commit to elevating women to the where they deserve to be.
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.
Oprah! We’re both very passionate about curating “Favorite Things!”
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
