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Female Founders: Jaclyn Trice of Muse Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Jaclyn Trice of Muse Group On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Lead yourself first — a founder who takes care of its people and the well-being of the organization can never fail, but your team can’t be good, unless you’re good.

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

Jaclyn Trice has been an active professional in all things digital marketing for nearly 13 years. She started Muse Group Marketing in 2015, bringing the presence of a full-service creative agency to the Reno-Tahoe area and has since expanded their reach into the Las Vegas area. Her agency experience has made her well-versed in a wide range of industries and her entrepreneurial drive stems from her passion to help businesses put their best digital foot forward in every way possible.

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?

Well, it was pretty simple. I always wanted to go into print and be a journalist, then, my professor at the time said I knew how to work a room, and I should go into public relations (PR). The only thing I knew about PR back then was that’s what Samantha Jones from Sex and the City did, and while I love her and that show, PR is sadly not like that. BUT I found out you still get to write and help people, so it was a win-win for me. Then, one day I woke up and realized I was tired of working for other people. Weird, right? I decided I was going to quit a good paying 8–5, Advertising & Public Relations agency with benefits and move to South Lake Tahoe. I worked as a server at a local breakfast staple and life was easy going. It gave me the chance to take a breather on life for a minute, but I found myself missing PR, so I started freelancing on the side and quickly realized, hey, I could make a business out of this. I started to pitch myself and potential clients would say: “Great! We’re excited for the PR, can you also do my business cards and website?” Obviously not. The design and coding realm was not in my wheelhouse. I put my thinking cap on and found a designer and coder, and boom, an agency was built over some beers! The brainstorm became Muse Group, an all-female marketing agency now going on seven years of being in existence in February, 2022.

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

Signing Starbucks as a client! For a boutique agency like ours (a staff of 9 women) that was a BIG deal for us. Little did we know, an hour outside of Reno, housed one of the only 4 Starbucks roasteries in the United States! When we found out they needed help putting on a hiring event to attract more candidates to their roastery and retail stores, we submitted a proposal and were chosen for the job. We put together a fun campaign that gave people applying for the position a chance to come out to the event and have a hands-on experience with the job. We brought out baristas, Master coffee roasters, tasty pastries and people got the chance to see what their job would actually be like before applying. This outside of the box idea and promotion resulted in a 30% increase of new hires (which was a lot for one day). The thousands of dollars in press placements we attained for them didn’t hurt either!

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’m not sure if this was funny at the time, but looking back, it makes me laugh. At Muse, we were hosting an educational event called “Bites N’ Business,” where we invited prominent speakers in the community to come educate on their business and the mistakes they learned along the way, to teach new entrepreneurs how to not make the same mistake. We made the event free in hopes we’d attract more people. It worked?! We had 80 RSVP’s. We filled the room with chairs, ordered a ridiculous amount of food, had media stations come out to see the crowd and meet the speakers. Then, hyped the speakers up telling them: “We SOLD OUT the place!” The event started at 7:00pm. At 6:50pm…I started to panic. Besides the Muse staff, there were only 5 other people in the room. It was a field of empty chairs. I was sweating head to toe. We promised these speakers and the media this would be a sold-out event! But…We later learned free events people RSVP to, but often don’t commit to. We ended up with about 15 people, 80 chairs and endless mini sandwiches. Even, if you’re charging $1, people will more than likely show up. Lesson learned and we made the most of the night because hey, 65 leftover desserts aren’t always a bad thing.

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?

I used to work for a good ol’ boys marketing agency. I ran the entire public relations department, and in an important meeting with our biggest PR client, the owner of the agency asked me to get the table some waters. Even though I was the only one in the room who knew what the hell was going on with the client, I was also the only woman. “So, sure. Yeah, I’ll get some waters!” Just that week alone, I had worked 120 hours. We had a huge event for the client and the event took place all-week long. But yet, I was still the one getting the waters… Right then, I texted my husband Jordon (boyfriend at the time) and said: “I think I’m going to quit” and he said: “DO IT!” So, I finished the meeting, took a deep breath, walked into my bosses office, and put in my two weeks. Without that simple text message giving me the confidence, I needed to “DO IT” I might still be working for The Man.

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?

Fear. It starts at a young age. Boys, are brought up to: be brave, take risks, BE A MAN! Girls, on the other hand, are brought up to: be polite, don’t to be too loud, don’t be too bossy, STAY SAFE. So, because of this, when women think of starting a business they see a one-way door. So, for women, the fear of starting a business means if they fail, it’s over. Men, on the other hand, if they fail, they’ll open another door.

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?

It starts at the parenting and school system levels. “Don’t put baby in the corner!” -Sorry had to reference my favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. But it’s true. Girls are put in a box to stay safe and not take too many risks. If we can eliminate the societal pressure of what it means to be “a woman,” and teach them to have more confidence, not to be afraid of failing, to push boundaries and take risks, just like the boys, I believe many more founders would be women.

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?

From my experience, women have more patience than men. We’re okay with the slow, but steady growth. We don’t need the moon tomorrow. We’re satisfied with a few stars knowing the moon will come when it’s time. We can also wait for the client to decide, or the team member to get out what they’re trying to express. Women can tend to be overthinkers too. I used to think this was a bad thing, but over the years, I’ve found that this is the thing that protects me and helps our business grow, because I’ve thought it all through and can be ready when things get thrown my way.

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

I think when you go into starting a business you’re like YES. I get to work for myself and I’m just going to sit in my corner, grab lunch with friends, wear workout clothes and do PR (or whatever your favorite part of the business is) all day. Not the case. I can’t even remember the last time “I did PR all day.” Most of the day is accounting, HR, sales, payroll, etc. etc. Even with all of that, once you’ve been your own boss you can never go back, and now I can’t imagine going to work for someone else.

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?

Not everyone is cut out to do this. I know, because I’ve tried to bring on partners throughout the years, and it wasn’t for them. Not everyone likes to take the wheel. Some people are just fine in the backseat and being along for the ride. If you like security, being a founder is not for you. Things you need are focus. Many people feel the need to jump at every “opportunity” they come across. Opportunities are often wolves in sheep’s clothing (my dad told me that). So, the key is to do one thing at a time perfectly, not ten things poorly. Then, the other piece is to make sure you love what you do. Don’t start a business simply because it seems sexy, or you think you’re going to make a lot of money. Do what you love. It’s not only important to create a profitable business, it’s also important that you’re happy managing and growing it day in and day out. If your heart isn’t in it, you won’t be successful.

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.)

1. Lead yourself first — a founder who takes care of its people and the well-being of the organization can never fail, but your team can’t be good, unless you’re good.
2. Free yourself from trying to “look good” and “get it all right” — you’re going to mess up! Cat’s out of the bag, accept that, move on, and lead your team.
3. Be an ally — your success is depending on those who work WITH you and FOR you. Share the good and bad news — both in business and your personal life and encourage your team to do the same!
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions– asking questions and reaching out to colleagues are the things that help you learn and improve. This is NOT a weakness.
5. Delegate — Your team is there to help you. Let them! Having the ability to delegate is what gives you the energy to do your job. It’s the only way out of not working 16-hour days! Learn to delegate, not because it’s a nice idea, but because it’s essential to growth.

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

I don’t have kids of my own, so I see every one of my hires, interns, clients and colleagues, as “my children.” Not in the sense where I’m babying them, or washing and feeding them, more in the sense that my focus can be there to care for them and help them succeed. Whether they stay with Muse or not. Over the years, I’ve tried to stay in touch with everyone who has come through the agency so I can continue to be a resource and help them in any way I can. Whether it’s with starting their own business, a new career, giving advice etc. I want to be there for them, I’m their biggest advocates and helping them with their success is also my success.

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

Women are strong. I would create a movement around not only convincing women of this, but trying to convince the world. Women have the confidence and resilience, but are lacking conviction. So, the movement would be around asking them: If not now, then, when? I pretty much ask this question to myself on the daily. Sometimes you just have to do it. Go for it, make the jump, because, at the end of the day, there really is never a “perfect time” or a time you don’t feel the fear.

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.

Brené Brown, her books have been my muse. I hope that’s not too generalized or cliché, but anytime I’m struggling with something I don’t know how to deal with, know the answer to, or am feeling stagnant, the first place I turn is to is a book by Brené for the answer.

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

Female Founders: Jaclyn Trice of Muse Group 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.

Female Founders: Dr Sheilagh Maguiness of Stryke Club On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Dr. Sheilagh Maguiness of Stryke Club On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Fear means you’re doing something right. Starting a company from the ground up is downright daunting. It is hard work. It is risky. It is scary. It took some time, but I have learned to harness and use the fear that creeps into my mind on a daily basis. This type of fear is good, it means that you are doing something that is worth doing well, that you want to see through until it succeeds. Stepping outside your comfort zone is when the greatest transformations occur. Taking a chance and succeeding outside your lane is electrifying, and makes you feel like you can tackle any challenge.

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

Sheilagh Maguiness, MD is a board certified Dermatologist and Pediatric Dermatologist with a busy, full time academic practice. She has two energetic, school-aged boys and lives with her family in the Midwest. Dr. Sheilagh has spent over a decade caring for children with all types of skin diseases, from common problems to rare and complex conditions. She is an expert in the diagnosis and management of vascular birthmarks, atopic dermatitis/eczema, acne and inflammatory skin disease. Dr. Sheilagh has a passion for education and has dedicated herself to providing resources and education for patients, families and her peers in pediatric skin disease. Dr. Sheilagh stepped into the role of Chief Product Officer for Stryke Club in 2019, helping the brand deliver thoughtfully formulated and highly effective personal care products for the unique skincare needs of teens and boys.

www.strykeclub.com

I am a board certified dermatologist, I work in an academic medical center caring for children with skin, hair and nail diseases. I completed my subspecialty fellowship in pediatric dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, where I trained with a phenomenal mentor. I now treat children with a range of skin conditions from common disorders like eczema, acne, and psoriasis, to rare vascular birthmarks. After being in practice for over 10 years, I have deep empathy and insight into the struggles of children and their families coping with disorders that carry the stigma of living with a visible difference.

Several years ago, a good friend from San Francisco, Darci Rosenblum — a gifted businesswoman and marketing guru — approached me with the idea for our company, Stryke Club: a personal care brand made especially with boys in mind. As a pediatric dermatologist and a mom of two boys, this was an idea that immediately resonated with me. You need only glance through the skincare and beauty sections at local retailers to understand that boys have been left out of the emerging self-care movement. Well-established acne brands continue to push products identical to those on the shelves in the 1980’s, when I myself was a teenager. There has been very little innovation in the acne space, and no brands that we could find have thoughtfully addressed the unique personal care needs of boys. I recognized Stryke Club as an exceptional opportunity, and I knew exactly what direction I wanted to take the brand and our products in terms of use and efficacy. Making the decision to become a founder of a company with zero business experience was terrifying. However, I fully committed myself to the mission of our company and embarked on learning a new skill set, formulating and testing our products, taking on the role of Chief Product Officer.

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

Right before we launched Stryke Club, in March of 2020, we were given the opportunity to take part in the Target Brand Accelerator program. Stryke Club was one of the fortunate few to be selected from hundreds of brand applicants in the beauty space. Conveniently I live in Minneapolis, hometown of the Target corporation, but two of my partners also flew in from California to take part. As a physician with no business or finance background, it was both exciting and intimidating to be part of this group. I attended every segment I could during the week, and saw myself developing an entirely new skill set. We had the chance to interact with other innovative founders, as well as the Target team of experts, who all helped us clarify our vision for the brand. The experience was amazing, however throughout the week, stress and uncertainty seemed to mount daily, as Covid-19 descended and the nation started to shut down. We were forced to make our pitch early and then pivot to virtual to finish the program. It seemed as though this force majeure might derail our dreams before they ever got off the ground. But our time together at Target yielded strong connections that resulted in a partnership and brand presence at over 1000 Target stores, all in the same year that we launched our direct to consumer site. It was an absolute roller coaster, but we made it work and are very grateful for the experience.

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 have made dozens of ridiculous mistakes over the past two years with Stryke Club. When there are only four people in the company, each one needs to wear many different hats; this alone can lead to funny and absurd situations. I’m certainly not a chemist by trade, but I’ve had to read and process more chemistry and stoichiometry than I ever thought I would need — who knew undergraduate organic chemistry would eventually come in so handy! I have had to dig through industry patents and chemistry journals to learn every detail about our ingredients in order to get the formulations just right. When I first embarked on the formula for our patent-pending cleanser, I tried to get some of the parts-per-million dilutions calculated at home in my own bathroom. Holding an iphone calculator and surrounded by a mess of surfactants, disinfectants and containers, it looked like a hurricane had run through a home economics class. This process has been very humbling at times, but it’s been a fun — albeit steep — learning curve. I try to embrace the humor and learn from my missteps, including always double checking my math.

This is so true, there are so many individuals and specific mentors who have helped shape me into the person and physician I am today. Firstly, my two boys and my spouse are my biggest supporters, they cheer me on and propel me forward on a daily basis. Having a partner who prioritizes my success and career makes it so much easier for me to get things done. I continue to practice pediatric dermatology at an academic institution while also working on Stryke Club. My career in pediatric dermatology would not be where it is today without strong mentorship. I have been extremely fortunate in my medical career to have had strong mentors, most of whom are women. When I set out to find a mentor in pediatric dermatology, my passion for helping children with vascular birthmarks led me to Dr. Ilona Frieden at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). After a few days of working alongside Dr. Frieden, I knew that her practice and values closely aligned with my own. She invited me to continue fellowship training with her at UCSF, and she has been deeply supportive of my career for many years. I try hard each day to implement the clinical and leadership skills I learned from her with my own residents, junior colleagues and other trainees.

Founding a company and formulating skincare products is a new direction for me, and one that I was very much afraid to step into. It seemed so foreign, and I felt I lacked experience. But our talented team of co-founders and good friends has made this new adventure surprisingly fun. Stryke Club was built by four moms, and we have 11 children between us. One founder, Nicole Brooks, is a licensed Child and Family Therapist. She had the crucial insight that while her daughter’s bathroom counters were overflowing with skincare products, she could barely get her son to wash his face, and he had no skincare products he felt were really his own. She and Stacy Blackman, our second co-founder and mom, have been lifelong friends. Stacy is a very successful businesswoman and serial entrepreneur, and when she and Nicole started talking it through, they realized boys need self-care just as much girls, but they lack the tools. The need for innovation seemed so obvious, they decided to start building a company together. Enter Darci, another mom, friend and long-term colleague to Stacy. Darci is a marketing and consumer packaged goods phenom, and immediately recognized the power of this simple idea. She joined as a founder immediately. As a long-time friend to Darci and an expert in adolescent skincare, I got the invite to join soon after. All four of us share the strong belief that our boys deserve better when it comes to personal care. Each member of our team brings a unique and irreplaceable skill set to the table. None of us could succeed in this venture without the other three working side-by-side.

It is estimated that over the course of a female physician’s career, she will earn at least two million dollars less than if she had been a male in the same position. This is the case today, now, in 2022. If such income inequality still exists in the medical profession, you can bet the same is true across many other disciplines. The stark and unfair reality is that women are still undervalued and underpaid in the workplace, period. Through years of observing the same inequitable patterns at home, in the workplace and in society, women are conditioned to simply expect less and do more. Men are afforded more respect and more opportunities in the workplace, and have consistently been paid more for the same work. Women observe these repeating patterns throughout every stage of our lives.

My hope is that success will promote success. More emerging female leaders in the workplace, our government and society send a powerful message to girls and young women. Women have incredibly creative, breakthrough ideas for products, businesses or other niches every day. But girls and young women need to hear the message early and often that they can do it — women can lead, women are empowered, women can take their ideas to the next level by founding their own companies.

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?

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts within government, business, health care and other industries are important initiatives that could help overcome some of the obstacles facing women. Expanding access to mentorship, affording women more opportunities and implicit bias training for employees are important steps in the right direction. But as I alluded to just now, the more these messages and interventions come from female leaders, the more powerful they will be.

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?

This is really important and I’d like to take it one step further. I would like to tell you several reasons why more women in medicine should become founders. As women, we are all experts at multitasking. In our society, women unfortunately are still tasked with the lion’s share of housework, childcare and elder care, even while working full-time. We innately understand how to meet the needs of our family and friends. Being a female physician in an academic medical environment adds yet another layer of challenge and complexity to our lives. We must meet the needs of patients first, then resident trainees, medical students and colleagues all while advancing our careers and balancing home life simultaneously. This is a huge challenge. However, on this journey, women in medicine observe and internalize the skills and traits that it takes to perform at the highest level in all aspects of their lives. We have epiphanies, new ideas, and we know how to solve complex problems, saving lives and improving quality of life for our patients.

More female physicians should be taking their skills and ideas to the next level as founders. This is extremely important, even essential, in the health, wellness and beauty industries. At the end of the day, when I decided to embark on this journey with Stryke Club it was because I knew that I had the medical knowledge, experience and skills as a pediatric dermatologist to create something for new teens that could make a difference. I asked myself the question: ‘who could do a better job in creating a safe and effective acne care line for teen boys?’ The answer was pretty clear, this was something I felt ready for and compelled to do.

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

That is a great question, I can think of two myths surrounding becoming a founder that I’d love to talk about. The first one is this: ‘There are shortcuts to success’. After decades of hard work on my journey as a female physician, and now with several years building a fledgling company, I can confidently state that there are actually NEVER shortcuts to success. Founding a new company is complicated and messy, just like obtaining a medical degree and completing a residency! Creating an entirely new personal care brand from scratch has been a monumental challenge akin to an uphill climb on a winding dirt road. We had very specific ideas about how our line should perform from a scientific and efficacy standpoint, and how we wanted to present a self-care line for boys to the world. We’ve fought hard every step of the way to hold fast to our original vision and make it reality. It took our team a full year before we found a chemist to work with us on our particular formulation needs. I was told ‘no’ by literally dozens of cosmetic chemists, labs and contract manufacturers before we landed on someone who understood our goals. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this person was also a woman. Being a founder takes patience, hard work and the confidence to persevere, even when you’re told no time and again.

Another myth I am happy to dispel is that you will automatically start seeing financial returns soon after founding. This could not be further from the truth. Founding a company often requires significant financial commitments and risks to get the project off the ground. Founders often continue working mostly for equity until the company becomes fiscally solvent. This process takes many years. This is not to discourage anyone from following their dreams; the upside to investing in yourself can be tremendous. But founders need to be entirely committed — firmly believing in themselves, their products and the mission of their company, and being methodical and patient, in order for it to succeed.

This is a great question, and one that I’m not sure I have the experience to fully answer yet. However, I do think that most individuals in their lifetime will have an important idea — one that could change lives for others or solve unique problems. It’s the process of turning that idea into a successful venture that is of course the complicated step. As my ‘regular job’ is as a practicing dermatologist in academic medicine, I see daily opportunities to solve skin problems for patients and families, and come up with innovative diagnostic or treatment ideas. Before Stryke Club, I often had kernels of ideas for new products or patient care options, but I thought I lacked the experience or knowledge to take those ideas to completion. In my case, the most important trait has been being open to new possibilities and taking risks: embracing the opportunity to work with an experienced team when it was presented to me. Risking failure while still believing in my skill set. This mindset helped me take that first step.

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.)

Don’t get in your own way — remove the limits you are putting on yourself. When Darci first approached me about joining Stryke Club, I was very conflicted, and almost turned her down. I saw myself as an academic physician who couldn’t (or even shouldn’t) start a business. The mental picture I had painted for myself over the years was of an educator and caregiver, not a boss or businesswoman. I had doubts and fears. I worried I would fail, and hurt my founder friends’ chances of success. I worried that my medical colleagues would look down on me as somehow inferior or as a ‘sell-out’. But I took the plunge, and slowly a new picture has emerged. I can succeed as an entrepreneur, and still be the physician I want to be. Just because I didn’t learn it in medical school, doesn’t mean I can’t teach myself and do it well. Once I removed these self-imposed limits, I was able to take more risks and move forward confidently in both roles.
Fear means you’re doing something right. Starting a company from the ground up is downright daunting. It is hard work. It is risky. It is scary. It took some time, but I have learned to harness and use the fear that creeps into my mind on a daily basis. This type of fear is good, it means that you are doing something that is worth doing well, that you want to see through until it succeeds. Stepping outside your comfort zone is when the greatest transformations occur. Taking a chance and succeeding outside your lane is electrifying, and makes you feel like you can tackle any challenge.
Recognize and implement good advice. About a year into founding our company, my partner Stacy Blackman gave me some insightful advice. I had been hesitant about having a presence on social media, and could not picture myself as an expert who could provide meaningful content. Like many others, I worried about the permanence of online content, and that any little mistake might haunt me forever. During this time, Stacy gave me the following feedback, channeling Voltaire: ‘Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good’. Recognizing and internalizing good advice and feedback when it is given to you is important. I now wish I had incorporated it sooner. It’s ok to make little mistakes, especially in service of the big picture.
You will be wearing many different hats. When you embark on creating a new business there is so much to be done. You might find yourself taking on roles you never imagined — like authoring a patent application, inspecting a product assembly line, or writing your company’s standard operating procedures document. You might be trying and testing things (in our case, our topical products) from home and arranging clinical studies. Not to mention financial oversight, marketing, advertising and the evolving role of social media in business. Most large companies have experts devoted to each area or title, but when you are a founder, you have to be ready to take on new roles, get creative, and learn skills on the go. I definitely did not anticipate any of this before I became a founder, so it would have been great advice to get at the outset!
Success does not follow a straight line. When I reflect on my career, my successes certainly haven’t always followed a straight path. My medical training and early career took me from Canada, to California, to Massachusetts and then to Minnesota. A spouse and family materialized along the way. Life is what happens along the journey, so you have to leave yourself open to exploring new locations and opportunities during the ride. With Stryke Club the same is true, our pathway to date has not been a straight line. However we have continued to build, saying yes to new opportunities and directions when they present themselves — which is why we are currently working hard and gearing up for having our products on the shelf at Walmart, Urban Outfitters and through Amazon over the next few months!

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

A career in medicine is a privilege, as you forge deep connections with patients and make a real difference in their lives. As a pediatric dermatologist I get to see the immediate impact that my care has on children and their family life, as improvements in skin diseases are so clear to the naked eye. This is a gift. At an academic institution, I help teach and mentor the next generation of physicians. Advancing care for children with skin diseases is my highest career priority, and where I strive daily to make an impact.

It is our hope and mission as founders that Stryke Club will make the world a bit more welcoming for teens, and in particular teen boys, who struggle with skin problems as they grow. We want Stryke Club to spark a personal care movement that boys can take pride in. We want to replace stigma and self-doubt with confidence and personal care empowerment. Changing the conversation on self-care for boys would be an amazing legacy to share with my own two boys.

Advancing self-care and self-acceptance for teen boys would be a truly meaningful movement. I would be very proud if Stryke Club could help to reduce the stigma surrounding self-care for boys. When people feel more comfortable in their own skin, I believe they are more open and empathetic to others.

I also hope to inspire my fellow female physicians. Women caregivers have pivotal ideas that have transformed and will continue to revolutionize healthcare quality and delivery. If more female doctors are inspired and empowered to share their ideas and visions, all the better for women, children, families and society at large.

There are several influential people whose careers I follow closely, and many women in particular that inspire me. it would be impossible for me to choose just one for a fantasy get-together. Strong women whose values and pioneering work have inspired me personally include Michelle Obama, Elizabeth Warren and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Reese Witherspoon’s career evolution has really spoken to me lately. I’ve watched in awe as she’s grown from a talented actress into so many more roles, like producer, entrepreneur, businesswoman and cultural tastemaker. She’s succeeded in so many venues, and she does it with the clear and unapologetic goal of advancing the narrative for women: in film, in literature, in apparel. You name it, and she does it. I admire the way she has paved a path not just for herself, but for modern women as an advocate, mentor and trailblazer.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Female Founders: Dr Sheilagh Maguiness of Stryke Club 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.

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Modern Fashion: Angelina Mahany of Angie’s Showroom On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Always do your research. Make sure you want to do it; the fashion industry might be not for everyone. Maybe even take a consultation with a professional to ask all the questions in advance

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Angelina Mahany.

Angelina Mahany is the CEO and Founder of Angie’s Showroom and the creator of Angie’s Luxury Bags, a sustainable resell e-commerce platform. She is also a Marketing Professional, a Business Owner, and a Fashion Designer based in Ormond Beach, Florida.

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 childhood “backstory”?

Sure. I was born in Moscow, Russia. I started to dance when I was 5 and continued my education at a professional ballet school at the age of 9. I was thinking I would become a ballerina. But life decided differently, and I went into business school. I graduated from the top 5 universities in Moscow and got a degree in Business Management, and then I moved to France to get my Masters in Marketing. However, art and dance would be always a part of me and my personality, which kind of led to my future business. That’s pretty much my childhood.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

It’s a difficult question. To be honest, I always wanted to work in the Fashion industry, but I never had a chance to get a job there. So, basically, I found a job in a good company with a good salary and I would take it. I worked in car manufacturers, telecommunication, IT services, and financial services companies but always dreamed about fashion. My last job was in Cyprus in a startup company. I guess this particular job changed my vision to switch from a corporate world, and actually start thinking about my own business. Then I moved to the United States, and here it’s when it’s all happened. My first business was a reselling of luxury handbags and accessories.

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

Honestly, I can’t think of any at the moment. But I think my life is interesting in general. I lived in 4 counties, I traveled a lot, I worked in huge corporations and also a startup. Back in the day, I would never think that I would become a business owner, and I would have 2 projects on my own or launch my brand. So, I believe that’s my interesting story.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I do believe that certain character traits are important to becoming a successful entrepreneur. I would name a couple that I think were important to me.

Hard-working. I think if you are not motivated and you are not ready to work hard for a couple of years or maybe more, then owning a business is probably not for you. You might be alone at first, and you will need to work long hours to accomplish all the tasks and start growing your business. Everything will depend on you at first. That’s an important characteristic.
Ability to learn. Be willing to learn, to listen to experts or coaches. Do not trust everything you hear but verify, and adjust to your business if needed. Always and always keep learning. Education is the key. We live in a very fast-changing world, and every day there is something new, we need to adapt quickly and education helps us keep our minds working.
Being risky. Do not be afraid to risk. Not all people have this quality. As a business owner, I have to make difficult decisions all the time. And I am not going to lie it is very difficult. But I have to take risks otherwise I won’t succeed or not know if it worked or not. Of course, many times I failed, as an example, I did open a brick-and-mortar store in a big Mall in my first year of business. And it was a huge mistake, I invested everything I had as well. But I learned a lot from this experience and I know now what I want to do and if I want to have a brick and mortar in the future or what I would do differently next time.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I am still a small business, and my company is small, but I believe that to stand out in any business first you have to have a great idea behind it that will be broadcasted to your audience and customers. They will always see the spark and follow you. My idea was to bring something unique and beautiful to the U.S. market, and I was struggling to find comfortable and beautiful lingerie in here. Then I remembered about my friends’ present for my bachelorette party, it was a 3-piece handmade lingerie set made of 100% silk. And that was it, the idea was born. I am trying to change the perception of women or men about lingerie, and I want them to see what it can be, and there is always more out there than Victoria’s Secret, for example.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Never a failure, always a lesson.” — As a business owner, I am always learning as I go. I have to try things; I have to find ways to increase profits etc. I am looking for new possibilities, and let me just say it’s not always the best idea. A lot of times during my entrepreneurship I lost money, I lost employees, I lost faith in my business. However, if you look at it as a life lesson, and what you learned from those actions and mistakes, you understand that it was a good experience, and now you know. Otherwise, you would still do it, and still try it. This happened to me when I opened my brick-and-mortar store. It was too hard from the beginning. It was expensive, and I was not ready. Everything was wrong, the location, the employees, the product was not the right one for this location. I learned a lot: how to open a physical location, how to advertise, how to operate the store, how to hire employees, how to pay salaries, how to do inventory, and even how to close a business. So, after this experience I do believe that nothing is a failure, it’s all a lesson.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

I see a big switch in sustainability when I look at big brands. Everyone is talking about the planet now, which they, of course, should. I just wonder why only now? Brands are starting to change their production methods. They recycle materials and use organic materials in their production as well. I love the idea, and I also want to be a part of it. We are still struggling to grow the product line and offer our clients sustainable lingerie or nightwear. That is my dream and I promise I will work on it.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

We use reduced packaging and sometimes recycled packaging. I still need to stay on the luxury side, so some things are not yet replaced. Also, we mostly work on pre-orders, meaning that we have almost 0 waste or at least we try to keep it close to 0. We make a set and sell them while the supply (lace or silk) lasts.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

We source a very small amount first, we make a sample, make a photoshoot, text it with our customers, and then send it to production. We keep a very small inventory; the rest is pre-orders. The same way we work with our wholesale customers. We work on pre-orders with them too.

Lingerie is a bit tricky because the idea from the beginning was to bring something unique, and high quality for affordable pricing. We keep our prices medium to high, but our materials, handmade work, and quality are much higher. So, at first, everything was about laces, satin silk, and silk. It’s a bit tricky to switch to new materials straight away due to the nature of our products. The materials are very specific to work with. It needs to be tested, touched, and worn to see if it works. So, I think we will start with home wear first.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

I like to support small businesses, especially handmade ones. I don’t say I don’t use mass-market brands or I don’t like them, it’s obviously easier and faster to shop, and yes, a lot of times it’s cheaper. That’s the problem I think that most people can’t afford handmade or small business sustainable items due to price. Even though they would like to try or switch. But I am trying to shop small businesses, it’s most of the time unique, not a lot of people would wear it, and if it’s sustainable it’s even cooler. I don’t think it’s true that Fast fashion is not sustainable, as I mentioned before there is a huge switch in the sustainability of big brands: Michael Kors, Abercrombie&Fitch, H&M, Zara, Tommy Hilfiger just to name a few.

As for my company, we try to move towards more and more sustainable production, but as I already said not everything is easy at the moment especially for such a small business. It takes time, investments, and even equipment.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

I think there are so many things.

Always do your research. Make sure you want to do it; the fashion industry might be not for everyone. Maybe even take a consultation with a professional to ask all the questions in advance.
Stand out — your products should be different from everything you see but still that people will buy. That’s your core identity, and people will love you for that.
Being consistent. You have to work on new collections when one is already out. Keep everything in order and consistent.
Find a partner. Life is much easier if you are not alone and if you trust someone.
Promote. Always look for ways to promote your brand by testing, trying, looking for new opportunities. Networking is also good.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

I believe it can. Everything changes so quickly, I still can’t believe that we have had Covid for 3 years, and how it affected our lives and still affect them. Same for business and industries, everything always moving and changing. Otherwise, you die as a person or as a business. It is a cycle to stay competitive, you have to move and quickly. There is a trend for 3D fashion, and that sounds interesting. I would like to see brands moving towards less production. Produce less, not sure if it’s possible. But each year the number is growing and growing. Yes, they start to use recycled materials and organic materials, but they still produce too much…

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

I would probably not start but continue the movement of sustainability and recycling. And I would work towards decreasing production amounts and waste. All this is to inspire women from all walks of life.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Company URL: https://angieshowroom.com/

https://web.facebook.com/angieshowroom.usa?_rdc=1&_rdr,

https://www.instagram.com/angies.showroom/,

https://www.pinterest.com/angieshowroom/_created/,

https://www.tiktok.com/@angies.showroom

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

Modern Fashion: Angelina Mahany of Angie’s Showroom On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Robyn Streisand of The Mixx and Titanium Worldwide On The Five Things You Need To…

Female Founders: Robyn Streisand of The Mixx and Titanium Worldwide On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Create a distinction between work relationships and friendships. My work is my passion and my vision for the future. My friends are truly my chosen family and I love them to pieces. I think when you have two things that are such a major part of your life and that you care about so much, it’s healthiest to draw a line and not mix the two.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Robyn Streisand of The Mixx and Titanium Worldwide.

Robyn is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community, and has made it her mission to make marketing and advertising more inclusive. As the recipient of AdColor’s 2021 Advocate Award, Crain’s 2021 Notable LGBTQ Leader Award, AdAge’s “Women to Watch” and the OUT100, Robyn is recognized as a gifted connector, strategic problem-solver and champion of marginalized communities. Having led The Mixx for 25 years, Robyn has built the creative agency into a formidable offering for Fortune 500 brands. With the 2014 launch of Titanium Worldwide, the world’s first collective of certified-diverse marketing, media and communications agencies, she continues her quest to provide innovative solutions. Robyn is living proof that when you lead with love, the ROI is remarkable.

I’ve always been a naturally curious person, and it’s led me on a path to always want to unpack the layers and discover what’s new. I went to school for marketing, and my first internship was actually with CitiBank between my junior and senior year of college. I didn’t know the first thing about banking, but I was passionate about marketing and willing and eager to learn and be successful. That internship eventually led to a full-time job, and I had the opportunity to advance as the company grew.

When CitiBank made the big move to Long Island, I was faced with the decision of moving with them or figuring out what my next steps would be. At the time I couldn’t fathom the thought of leaving Manhattan, so I had to do some digging and really think about what it was that I wanted to do. I had mixed feelings–on one hand the thought of change made me nervous, but on the other hand it was exciting because I knew a new chapter was up ahead. I was at the intersection of life where I really had to determine what happiness would look like going forward.

One day, while I was still in the midst of my decision, I was with a group of friends and we were talking about what I should do. One of the things they brought up was the fact that when I was on the corporate side of the house, I was often frustrated with the creative agencies I would have to partner with. One of my primary frustrations was that they brought the A-Team to win the business and the C-Team to execute after they’d won the account. My friends saw my potential and thought that opening my own agency would be something I’d be good at. This sounded great, but I was hesitant because I didn’t know anything about running a business or even where to start. One by one they started mentioning their connections and how they’d seen other people branch out on their own, and hearing these stories made it become more of a tangible reality for me. Before I knew it I was giving my two weeks notice and putting my stake in the ground as a graphic design studio with a specialty in financial services. The vision was to be a new type of boutique agency that cares about the challenges and pain points of our clients and actually does the work ourselves.

Then it was time to think of a name. I was talking with a friend and I was just throwing words out there of things that I love like “the beach,” “traveling,” “Madonna,” “cookie dough.” There were literally dozens of random words, but when we stopped and looked at all of them, we got stuck on cookie dough and how it’s made of different ingredients–it’s a mix. That’s how we got our name, The Mixx (spelled with two X’s for love, of course).

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

We’ve been in the game for over 25 years, so there’s a lot of interesting stories along the way. If I had to pick just one, it would be the way Titanium Worldwide came to be because it shows how a small moment can turn into a big idea. I vividly remember this day–it was summertime about ten years ago. It was a relatively slow day, and I was looking around the office feeling this really strong desire to grow and do something different. I got together with the intern who was working with me at the time, and we reflected on the work we’d done in the past and how we could iterate and innovate upon that success going forward. At the core, our focus was to create a new way to collaborate with other companies that shared our vision, while also becoming a larger player in the game.

On that day we ended up brainstorming the initial idea for what became Titanium a few years down the road. The initial vision we had on that day was to develop our own holding company, at the heart of which would be minority and women-owned businesses. That idea, which may seem cliché now, was very novel at the time because it was ten years ago before diversity was being used as a buzzword. We were truly the trailblazers of creating diversity as a business strategy. What we were doing was so special because beyond being our business model, it was the very essence of who we were, what we believed in, and what we were working to see more of everyday.

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?

In the beginning I was running The Mixx from my apartment for seven years. It was a fun time, but when you’re conducting meetings from your home there’s also a lot of juggling. Eventually it was inevitable that we had to find an office space.

I had no clue how to navigate that experience at first, and we made mistakes along the way, but I learned my lessons about conducting due diligence, finding a complementary team, and having a little separation between work and home. In hindsight, this “problem” or “mistake” seems so small and laughable, but at the time it was a huge deal for me.

I’ve always had mentors and coaches for as long as I could remember. The one person that stands out is Marc Byron. Marc had a light about him that was truly inspirational. Whether it was about business, life, or myself, I always learned something from him when we were together. I attribute my success to him. Marc passed away a few years ago, but his light and life lessons are here with me always. Now I have the wonderful opportunity of mentoring his daughters, so things have really come full circle.

I think that people hold themselves back, and as a result women hold themselves back. When we start separating ourselves from stereotypes and releasing limiting beliefs, we find that we actually have the ability to do anything. People say things about what women can or can’t do, and if you’re not paying attention you may subconsciously begin to believe those things. However, after you make it past those initial mental barriers, I think it’s really about finding the right team and resources. These aren’t easy things to put in place, but the right people and resources are out there for us; we just have to be tenacious in our pursuit of them. It’s our time.

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?

For starters I would stress that you always have to reconnect with what matters to you. It’s easy to get bogged down in the small details and daily goals and lose sight of your overall vision. Check in with yourself and make sure you’re clear on what matters to you, and resist the urge to compare yourself.

Second, I would recommend that you get intentional about surrounding yourself with people who have more knowledge and experience than you. Whether it be coaches, mentors, or guides, one key way to overcome those obstacles is to have the right people in your life.

Finally, I’ll say that if you’re not happy and passionate about what you’re doing, it’s hard to be successful at it, and even harder when you’re an entrepreneur. At your core, if you’re going to go through with the journey you have to be happy. This all goes back to vision and the way that you execute that vision on a daily basis.

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?

Ultimately I think it boils down to the fact that women were built to lead. If you look at the data, men think in a linear fashion, whereas women are natural-born multitaskers and jugglers. Without women in leadership society lacks the true wealth of creativity and opportunity that’s available to it. I think this is the case for a couple of reasons: first, I’ve found that women operate with a lot less ego than their male counterparts, and with that comes a greater degree of equality and collaboration in the workplace. Secondly, I believe women have a very innate sense of creativity and problem solving because that maternal instinct inside of us (regardless of our parental status) makes us want to bring out the best in ourselves and those around us. We’re natural connectors.

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

The biggest myth I’d like to dispel is that founders have all the answers. Some people think you get to this magical place where you know everything and that’s simply not the case. What is the case, is that being a founder means being a lifelong learner. Routine, process, and effective systems empower you and set you free by giving you clarity and structure. However, you’re never at a place where things are perfect. As a founder you just have to have faith that things can and will come together, but the journey is an evolutionary process of consistent learning.

To be a founder you have to have vision. It’s not about what you do or sell–it’s about what you create that doesn’t exist today. As a founder and CEO you’re essentially the one casting the vision for your organization, and that’s what makes the founder’s role different from any other role. You actually have to live and breathe your vision every single day, and believe in the vision even when others don’t get it.

Being a founder doesn’t come without it’s rough days, and so I think you also need to be a person who is a natural problem solver and has an innate curiosity to make things work. This trait also goes hand-in-hand with being a connector, because when you can’t do it alone, you need to be vocal and willing to reach out to others so that they can help you help yourself. It truly takes a village.

Once you have your village and your vision, I think it’s important to have patience. Many people want to see results overnight, but a successful founder knows that it’s going to take a couple years to really build a brand.

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.)

Create a distinction between work relationships and friendships. My work is my passion and my vision for the future. My friends are truly my chosen family and I love them to pieces. I think when you have two things that are such a major part of your life and that you care about so much, it’s healthiest to draw a line and not mix the two.
Let someone else manage the money. As the CEO you don’t need to be buried in all of the details and there’s some things, like finances, that will really take away from your focus on the vision and growth of your company if you don’t find someone with the proper background, knowledge, and time to take this on. Of course you should have a firm understanding of how your company is doing at all times and where you’re generating revenue and expenditures, but when it comes to details like managing daily transactions, benefits plans, and tax reporting, you should not try to handle it all on your own.
Stay in your lane. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. I’m a starburst thinker and I like to problem-solve, but there’s a balance between leading and managing.
Always have a coach. You don’t know everything and you can’t know everything, but if you are connected you’ll likely know someone that will know what you don’t know. I get coaching for every stage in my life, and I have different coaches as I continue to evolve as a person and a leader. I think having a human resource that you can lean on for guidance is invaluable as a business owner.
Have a business partner. Entrepreneurship isn’t an easy road, so I would recommend looking for someone that has a shared core value system and end goals, but that has a different, yet complementary skill set. Having a partner will make the journey a lot easier.

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

The work I do is all about making the world a better place. The space I work in at its core is all about connectedness and alignment–ensuring that advertising, marketing, and entertainment are truly representative of the great diversity that’s present out there in the world.

Outside of my companies, I also give to a number of nonprofits, as well as serve on a number of boards: the Hetrick Martin Institute is an organization that is near and dear to my heart for the work that they do to provide resources and protection for LGBTQIA+ youth. I serve on the board of How Women Lead, which is committed to three distinct missions including helping women in their investment journey, getting women representation on boards, and connecting women executives with underserved youth. Finally, I’m also on the board of the Phluid Project, a gender-free fashion brand committed to promoting freedom and self-expression.

There’s something really cool about intentional social consciousness that’s becoming more and more prevalent today. I think we’re at this intersection where my whole career is about what’s happening in the world right now. The focus on ESG as core values and pillars that really resonates with me because it puts words around what I have always been focused on at my core. People are really paying attention to how their actions, decisions, purchases, and relationships matter, and companies are finally taking the responsibility of thinking about their influence and legacy when it comes to making the world a better, more inclusive place. If I could continue to inspire this movement within my sphere of influence I’d feel very accomplished. That’s how I make my mark.

There are quite a few people, actually. If I had to pick just one it would be Sarah Blakely. Not only do I wear her products everyday, but I love her story and admire the journey she took to build the Spanx empire from the ground up. I also really admire her leadership and the way she treats her employees. I’m all about my people and my community, so to see someone else who has achieved so much lead from that kind of heartspace is very inspiring.

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

Female Founders: Robyn Streisand of The Mixx and Titanium Worldwide On The Five Things You Need To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Christina Thomas of MY Self Wellness On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Christina Thomas of MY Self Wellness On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Switch harmful beauty products out for cleaner alternatives. Most women only think about what they’re putting into their bodies and forget that a lot of the products they put on their bodies are actually filled with harmful toxins and chemicals.

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

As President and Founder of MY Self Wellness, Christina Thomas leads management and operations for the ketamine clinic — ensuring employees, partners, and customers alike experience the highest level of support and assistance. Christina has over a decade of experience in the hospitality and management industries and received her undergraduate degree from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).

When Christina isn’t working at the clinic, she’s a mother to her 2-year-old son, Charlie, and is a loving fiancée to Charles Patti, the clinic’s Brand Ambassador. Together, they are on a mission to serve southwest Florida. Christina believes that healing happens in a community and is proud to run one of the nation’s first female-led and owned ketamine clinics.

MY Self Wellness’ documentary, “Lighter: A Ketamine Experience,” chronicles Christina’s work and provides a deep insight into ketamine therapy.

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 know firsthand what it feels like to battle depression, anxiety, and PTSD after being involved in a life-threatening jet ski accident in 2007. I was prescribed a medley of pain killers and mood stabilizers to help suppress trauma caused by the accident, but the drugs left me feeling joyless and lost. I knew there had to be a better way and embarked on a self-healing journey. Using meditation and positive lifestyle changes, I was able to wean off prescription medications, but it wasn’t until my fiancé, Charles Patti, introduced me to the healing powers of ketamine that I discovered a faster way to heal. It was through Charles’ passion for psychedelic medicine and my personal recovery that MY Self Wellness was created. We saw firsthand the positive impact ketamine was making in our lives and knew our mission was to bring this healing modality to the world.

Today, I’m on a mission to share the restorative benefits of ketamine with anyone suffering from mental, emotional, and physical distress. Opening its doors one week before the COVID 19 lockdown of 2020, MY Self Wellness stands as a beacon of hope and healing to anyone suffering from mental health issues.

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?

Since opening MY Self Wellness, I’ve never had to look for staff. All of our team members have shown up synchronistically.

Our registered nurse (RN), who’s also a yoga instructor, originally wanted to help us lead community yoga events, but once she realized her RN background could be of service at the clinic, she decided to come on full-time. Likewise, we met our company therapist through an unfortunate food poising accident. My fiancé had gotten very sick from undercooked chicken, and the EMT who assisted us during the incident said his wife was a therapist and would love to work for our clinic. Then, our on-staff nutrition health coach came knocking on our office doors one afternoon after seeing our company brochure at a local gym. She said when she picked up the brochure it was 5:55 p.m. on her phone, and she knew she had to follow the signs. The very next day, she was at our clinic with her resume in hand.

The lessons I’ve learned from these miraculous events are to be open and to trust that the Universe is always working on your behalf. When you’re ready, it will bring you exactly what you need.

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?

The biggest mistake I made when starting out on my entrepreneurial journey was ignoring the red flags and not listening to my instincts. Throughout my career, I’ve been presented with business opportunities that looked fantastic from the outside, but my gut told me something wasn’t right.

In my early days, I would ignore my feelings because if everyone else was raving about this opportunity, it had to be a good fit for the business, right? Wrong! It took getting burnt a few times before I learned one of the biggest lessons in my career — always listen to your gut.

When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

MY Self Wellness is helping to give people their lives back when they feel like all hope is lost.

We’ve helped clients with depression and anxiety so bad that they hadn’t been able to leave their house in over five years overcome their fears — and even bought a plane ticket to a vacation destination after just six treatments! This medicine is powerful, and not only is it healing for the individual, but it’s also bringing families back together. There is no greater feeling in the world than reuniting a family after they thought they’d lost a loved one forever to addiction or trauma. We’re giving families their loved ones back.

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.

Tweak #1 — When you start to have feelings of anxiety or feeling overwhelmed, instead of giving in to your emotions and letting your mind run wild, take a step back, inhale a deep breath, and check in with yourself. Ask yourself, “Is everything ok in this present moment?” The majority of the time the answer will be “yes” and in those moments gently remind yourself that everything is going to be alright.

As a new mother, it’s easy for me to worry about worst-case scenarios when it comes to my two-year-old son, Charlie. There have been so many nights where I laid in bed thinking about all the dangers he might face in the world, but I’m learning to let go of my fears about what could happen because right now in this present moment, he is safe.

Tweak #2 — Make time each week (even if it’s just five or ten minutes) to prioritize yourself. Self-care is so important to your health.

Each week, I dedicate a few hours on Wednesday to myself. I check Charlie into daycare and rest easy knowing that the clinic is in my staff’s capable hands. Then, I focus on refilling my cup and refueling my soul with self-care activities. It can be as easy as getting my nails done or as intentional as journaling for hours. Whatever the practice, the important thing is that I make time for myself.

Tweak #3 — If you’re not currently taking vitamins, I recommend incorporating a high-quality regimen into your schedule.

I didn’t realize how depleted my system was until I started receiving weekly FastVitamin IV injections from the clinic. The serums can be administered in 60 seconds or less — quickly flooding your body with key vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Since beginning the treatments, I’ve noticed an increase in my energy, my skin is glowing, I’m getting better quality sleep, and I’m much more focused at work.

Tweak #4 — Begin each day with gratitude. Starting your day with thankfulness is a powerful lifestyle tweak that will make a big impact on your life. The simple act of being grateful raises your vibration and sets you up for a day of success. Even if it’s a challenging day, this practice will better equip you to tackle issues head-on when you’re coming from a place of positivity.

When my alarm clock buzzes, I silently say three things I’m grateful for in my bed before my feet ever hit the floor. Most days I give thanks for my healthy body, my beautiful son, and that MY Self Wellness is able to be of service to our greater southwest Florida community.

Tweak #5 — Switch harmful beauty products out for cleaner alternatives. Most women only think about what they’re putting into their bodies and forget that a lot of the products they put on their bodies are actually filled with harmful toxins and chemicals.

Before I opened the clinic, I was an esthetician, and I was shocked to learn that women on average are exposed to over 168 chemicals per day in their beauty products! I love using products like Osmosis Beauty Products knowing that they’re nontoxic and doctor developed.

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’d help people in marginalized communities have greater access to ketamine therapy and mental healthcare programs.

At MY Self Wellness, we’re proud to offer Group Ketamine Therapy. These community sessions are held every Tuesday at the clinic and are hosted by our psychiatrist, Dr. Andrew Ferber, and therapist, Hanna Pratico. Group Ketamine Therapy is 60% off of private individual packages, making this treatment package more accessible for individuals in need.

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

1.) There will be a lot of tears. When you’re a business owner, there’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulders — and, in my case, there are lives in your hands. Some days you will feel overwhelmed, but as long as your purpose outweighs the hardships you will be ok.

2.) Don’t start a business and have a baby all at the same time. Being an entrepreneur and new mother has been the greatest adventure of my life — but it’s also been a true testament to my mental and emotional strength. I recommend taking time to let your business be your baby before adding a newborn to the mix.

3.) Never give up. As a business owner, you will get kicked down several times throughout the course of your career — but never give up. Your perseverance is a sign of your strength and is a catapult for growth. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Just keep going. Believe in yourself. It can be done.

4.) Use your strengths, delegate everything else. We built this business from the ground up, and everything was created from scratch. As an owner, I wanted to hold on tightly to all aspects of the business, but what that ultimately meant was that I was stressed, overburdened, and was not focusing on my strengths. Once we started staffing up and letting our teammates take on some of the responsibilities, we truly started to flourish.

5.) Trust. Let Go. Be Open. For me, money isn’t the most important thing in the Universe… it’s frequency and alignment. I strive every day to be of service and to be in harmony with MY Self Wellness’ purpose of helping others on their healing journeys. I trust that when I am giving my all the Universe will take care of everything else.

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

Of all the issues happening in the world right now, mental health is dearest to my heart. We are facing a global mental health crisis — and, for many, current medical practices and prescription drugs aren’t working to ease the pain of those suffering from anxiety, depression, trauma, and more.

MY Self Wellness exists to improve people’s lives and to change the way the industry treats mental health issues moving forward. The healing powers of psychedelic medicine need to be more readily discussed in the mainstream and given as a therapeutic option to those who are suffering. We hope to shine a light that there are other treatment options available.

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

You can learn more about myself and the clinic at our website: myselfwellness.center or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Christina Thomas of MY Self Wellness On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Alexandra Chu of MedCreate On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Alexandra Chu of MedCreate On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Practice makes permanent, not perfect. If you keep doing something over and over again, there’s no doubt you’ll get better at whatever it is. However, if you learn it wrong and practice that, it won’t become perfect. I try to avoid this by always striving to learn more.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra Chu.

Alexandra Chu founded MedCreate, an international non-profit dedicated to merging the worlds of medicine and creativity, when she was fourteen-years-old. Her organization promotes empathy and imagination as well as fosters a community of students who are enthusiastic about science and the humanities. She has impacted thousands of students all around the world through her work to bridge the divide between the two fields. Now sixteen, Alexandra is continuing to inspire Gen-Z by making an impact in healthcare and education all while juggling rigorous schoolwork and college applications.

It’s a pleasure to be here. When I was younger, I didn’t have a fixed thought on what I wanted to be when I became an adult. I see myself as a polymath with a love (and knowledge) of biology, writing, art, figure skating, dance, etc., so I really didn’t know which field to choose. Over the years, I started wondering about what would happen if I combined some of my interests instead. This led me to start my organization, MedCreate, which combines medicine and creativity.

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

Reading, writing, and art are known as the “humanities,” which is often thought to have little connection to science. On the contrary, the two actually have a lot to do with each other. Medicine brings the objective research of science and the creative aspects of the arts together because it uses a lot of factual studies as well as innovation and imagination. Still, many people think that science and the arts are complete opposites. MedCreate works to dispel this belief through education and our works of writing and art.

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?

Our funniest mistake would still probably be not being clear about the intended audience for our team applications. MedCreate is a youth organization; all of us are under eighteen. It’s stated in the bio of all of our social media and job-posting-site accounts, so I didn’t think I would need to write it again on the opportunity post itself. However, we started receiving applications from adults who were way older than eighteen. Because of that, we realized that we needed to add a sentence at the top of each post saying that we were looking for applicants between the ages of twelve and eighteen. The funny thing is, we sometimes still receive applications from people who clearly aren’t in that age group. We write the required age range in all caps and in bold in the first line of each opportunity post, but some people just don’t read it. It’s annoying sometimes, but we find it hilarious as well. Because of that experience, we now carefully word everything we publish online to make sure our message is easily understood.

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?

To be honest, I haven’t really had a mentor throughout this journey (my guide has mainly been Google), but I would like to take this time to thank my support system. First off, thank you to everyone on the MedCreate team for believing in me and our dream. You guys push me to be a better person, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish next. Thank you to my friends for helping me out when needed and literally being the best people ever. Lastly, thank you to my family for being there every step along the way (even if you didn’t know it).

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?

People often say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Why should we disrupt an industry if it’s popular and effective? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a true answer to this question. No matter what you do, there will always be people who disagree with your perspective towards disruption. Since this is the reality of the world we live in, the best I can say is to trust your instincts and do whatever you believe in.

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

Practice makes permanent, not perfect. If you keep doing something over and over again, there’s no doubt you’ll get better at whatever it is. However, if you learn it wrong and practice that, it won’t become perfect. I try to avoid this by always striving to learn more.
You can’t do everything by yourself. Believe me, I’ve tried. What ends up happening is that you become miserable and burnt out. It may be fun at first to do big things on your own, but we all need some help along the way.
Know when to fake it. ‘Fake it till you make it’ works a lot of the time, but sometimes you’ll be thrown into situations when it’s better to be honest about yourself. Understand when to act with confidence and when to act with modesty.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Last March, we launched a series of virtual pilot classes for kids to learn more about medicine and creativity. Since then, our team has been working hard to improve them in order to make each class as educational and fun as possible. We’re planning to kick off the new batches of classes soon, and we’re also hoping to have some of them implemented in children’s hospitals!

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

Women are often not taken seriously. Society will praise male disruptors as ambitious innovators while criticizing women for being the same. We lack supporters and people who believe in us, so we often need to work twice as hard and act twice as confident to be accepted by male standards.

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

I recently read The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, and it really helped me reevaluate a lot of things in my life. The book taught me how to prioritize things I truly care about while overcoming obstacles. I was a bit skeptical at first of the ideas in the book, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and learning a lot. I highly encourage you all to read the book if you haven’t already!

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 would like everyone to know that science and the humanities aren’t disparate fields. Society often puts pressure on us to choose between the two in terms of hobbies, majors, and careers, but the reality is that we don’t need to make this choice, and we shouldn’t be forced to. Science and the humanities have a lot of connections, and at the core, they’re both meant to explain the nature of people and the universe, albeit in different ways.

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

“Maybe I made a mistake yesterday, but yesterday’s me is still me. Today, I am who I am with all my faults and my mistakes. Tomorrow, I might be a tiny bit wiser, and that’ll be me too.” -Kim Namjoon

We all need to learn to love ourselves a little bit more. We constantly express regret over what we’ve done in the past, and we worry about who we’ll become in the future. I’m sure that I made a lot of mistakes when I first started MedCreate. I had no experience in business or entrepreneurship, and I often doubted myself. There was even a point when I thought about quitting and shutting down the organization. However, I realized that it didn’t matter if I didn’t know what I was doing because mistakes are inevitable. Everything I do becomes a part of my identity, and I’ll always have the chance to further my actions or correct them tomorrow.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can follow MedCreate on Instagram (@medxcreate), Twitter (@med_create), Facebook (@medcreateusa), and LinkedIn (MedCreate, USA).

You can follow me on Instagram (@alex.mchu) and LinkedIn (Alexandra Chu).

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

Female Disruptors: Alexandra Chu of MedCreate 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 Disruptors: Erica Anenberg of Girl Flip On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Erica Anenberg of Girl Flip On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Think outside the box. Most people don’t want to be uncomfortable, so they conform and act in ways that keeps their world very small. If you want to do anything big in life, you have to think in ways that most people don’t. All the changes this world has seen come from people who realized there were different ways to find solutions. So be different and be okay with it.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erica Anenberg.

Serial entrepreneur and CEO of Girl Flip, Erica Anenberg is an agent for change, a disruptor, a passionate creator, and a prominent leader in the arts and business world. Erica brings more than two decades of hands-on experience in the business and home remodeling world to Girl Flip.

I have been a builder and creator my entire life. I’ve been working with my hands, creating something from nothing, and building brands for decades. My first trade was as a glass maker. I created big stained-glass windows and installations but quickly realized the best way to touch as many people as possible was mass production. I created a brand called e-glass in 1996 and sold small glass boxes to department stores. Every warehouse I rented, I would knock down a wall, build a loft, finish the concrete floors with an artistic touch, and of course, put in some kind of funky glass window. Similarly, every house I rented in my early 20s would need some upgrading. Whether it was pulling up carpets and refinishing floors or texturing an accent wall — my living space was altered to express who I was at that time. Self-expression through art was a prerequisite to everything else. My space had to reflect my inner self. When Covid hit and my wholesale business halted, I turned to what I love and am passionate about: building and creating space.

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

I love construction and building however, every time I worked on any project it was always with a bunch of dudes. If I pulled out my tools and did any type of work everyone noticed. They made comments like, “Oh, she’s a handyman now” or “Let me do that, I don’t want you to get hurt.” I have always been a bit of a rule breaker, disrupter, and played to the beat of my own drum, so seeing such a huge gap for women in the trades was not acceptable. With less than 2% of construction employment comprised of women, I decided that someone needed to empower the female engineers, architects, contractors, electricians, carpenters, and other trades women that were out there. GIRL FLIP helps women infiltrate traditionally male professions with the goal of a future where it’s not unusual to see a woman welder or trucker or auto mechanic. GIRL FLIP is ready to repair the world and change the perception of women across all trades.

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 I was in my 20s, I was very idealistic about changing the world. I read the Ben & Jerry’s book, The Inside Scoop and I wanted to make a difference for people. One of my first big jobs was making 5000 glass boxes for a department store. This was in the early ’90s, so I wasn’t aware about outsourcing or manufacturing overseas. I decided I was going to hire disabled people and give back. I didn’t understand that I needed more experienced workers than inexperienced workers and although my intentions were good, the practicality of having to train 80% of my laborers with disability challenges was more than I could handle. It ended up costing me all of my profits to have to redo the order, but I learned and that’s what business is all about!

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?

I have always learned by doing and there have been many people along the way who are like-minded and supportive but there isn’t one person who I would consider my mentor. I know this might sound strange, but Home Depot has been a place where I have learned, explored, figured out solutions and grown up with in the last two decades. Before I put together a team of builders, Home Depot was my spot. If I needed electrical work done, I’d hang out in the electrical aisle; if I had a plumbing question, I would go to the plumbing aisle. I would scope out the people and wait to find the perfect person who looked kind enough to help. If it was something I thought I could do myself, like installing a drip system in some planters or sanding and staining a deck, I would talk to the manager and find a salesperson that could walk me through the process. Home Depot is my home away from home.

You may find yourself to be ahead of the times, where your vision isn’t accepted the way you would have liked, but the bottom line in today’s world is, that women in construction are disgustingly unrepresented. They are under appreciated and underutilized. We have an industry that is dying and in the next 10 years 50% of tradespeople will retire. We have 50% of the population that is just as capable of being in the trades, but what we haven’t done is embraced and educated women that working in construction trades is a viable option. We haven’t taught our young girls that this career path is on the table for them. Women in non-traditional roles is ‘a thing.’ It shouldn’t be a thing. Just like two decades ago women in computer engineering was a thing and now it’s not a thing. We need to make these changes for women in construction, so that we are not a rarity, but a commodity.

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

Pivot. As a business owner this is a must. There is not much certainty in the business world but there is one thing that is certain and that is — everything evolves and changes. Having an open mind and being able to pivot quickly to find the best solution is key.

Don’t take no for an answer. I have always had an issue with the word “no.” I literally had a physical reaction when I was younger, where my entire body would tense up when someone would say “no.” As an adult, I realize that the answer is never “no,” it is just the answer for that one person in that particular space and time. When you hit a roadblock, or an obstacle, use it as fuel to your fire. Show all the “no’s” out there that there is a “yes” that was their missed opportunity.

Think outside the box. Most people don’t want to be uncomfortable, so they conform and act in ways that keeps their world very small. If you want to do anything big in life, you have to think in ways that most people don’t. All the changes this world has seen come from people who realized there were different ways to find solutions. So be different and be okay with it.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

Within Girl Flip, there are so many projects stacking up that will shake things up even more. Some I can talk about and some are still in flex. One of the key components is building a community of women who can rely on each other’s expertise and support in a world where non-traditional gigs aren’t easy to come by. There are many job boards out there, but there aren’t many real communities where women really help other women succeed. Girl Flip is changing that. It takes trust and strategy to build a community and we’re doing it. We’re also shaking up the old version of a tool belt with our Utility Babe, the Everything Belt. They’re not just for DIY projects. Hair stylists, make-up artists, event planners, gardeners, painters, waiters, and teachers can use them. We’re shaking things up wherever we can!

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

There’s a general consensus that a woman disruptor is an automatic bitch that’s hard to deal with, rigid, and doesn’t play well with others. So, when we set out to change something, we have to do a quick fear factor analysis and put an extra amount of energy into how we present the idea so it will be heard, instead of labeled, challenged, and struck down before it has a chance to grow. Men don’t have to deal with that as much. When I’m fired up, I’ve been told to slow down. When I have big plans and want to make them happen, I’ve been told that I’m a handful. This wouldn’t happen if I were a man. Expending that extra energy to make my ideas palpable for everyone else can be exhausting.

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

I love listening to Glennon Doyle. I can relate to her so much. I was married to a man and had a child. I met a woman, (who played soccer for the University of Denver) and she is the love of my life. My world changed when we met and going through a divorce was challenging however there is nothing like living life with your true love. My wife and I just had a baby girl, and we are excited to help create a world where there is gender equality in construction.

#createspaceforlove Meaning, wherever you live, whatever your cultural background is, whatever your talents, there’s honor in creating a space to hold that expression — and always leave room for love.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? “Whatever you set your mind to, you can accomplish.” And, “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.” I learned both of these from my dad, and they’ve served me very well. I’ve been digging in and getting my hands dirty and going after my dreams for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I can do. Sometimes, not. I’m human, but as long as I’m willing to get my hands dirty — it’s always a win.

How can our readers follow you online?

Website: GirlFliip.com

IG: girlflip

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

Female Disruptors: Erica Anenberg of Girl Flip 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.

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Kristina Cahojova of Kegg On The 5 Leadership Lessons She…

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Kristina Cahojova of Kegg On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Get to know your colleagues well so you can recognize their strengths and areas for growth. By recognizing their full potential and helping them pursue their passions, they will grow alongside you. As a result, you will be challenged in new ways and able to tackle new obstacles. Communication is key, and while time-consuming, I think one-on-one time with each team member is vital to the company’s success.

As a part of my series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kristina Cahojova.

Kristina holds a double Master’s Degree in International Management and Business Administration from CEMS in Europe. She was named the Student Entrepreneur of the year in 2011 for her first business venture, TailorMySuit.

She continued her career in London, where she led growth at AppyParking. Following that experience, she joined the marketing team at Amazon, later moving into the C2C marketing space at eBay in San Jose, California.

Inspired by her personal difficulties with cycle and fertility tracking, Kristina began prototyping kegg in 2017; she launched the brand under the Lady Technologies umbrella in 2020. Over time, Kristina hopes to expand Lady Technologies’ reach beyond fertility, and innovate in the service of perimenopause, menopause, postpartum, and more.

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

I have always struggled with tracking my fertility; my cycles are irregular due to stress and traveling, so ovulation prediction tests and temperature methods always provide me with limited information about my ovulation and fertile window. Later, when I refused to “fix my cycle” with hormonal birth control, I was told by a fertility specialist to track my vaginal fluids. I was shocked that there was no technology to help me with this.

After 7+ years spent working at Amazon and eBay, I decided to pursue kegg. For decades, we’ve accepted that our fertility is only good for conceiving. In reality, it is the rhythm of our being and our fifth vital sign — so I set out to create kegg, the first convenient and accessible, easy-to-use, modern medical device, to help women understand their fertility cycle with tangible data.

More information can be found here.

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 in kegg’s journey, I hired someone who misread requirements for an impedance device and frequency, which caused us to struggle with the development of the product for more than 6 months. We eventually righted the ship with a new team.

I learned that attention to detail is the key to success at a company. And while it wasn’t funny at the time, it’s definitely humorous in hindsight!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We are trailblazers in the vaginal and intimate women’s health space. We are the first company to offer a convenient and accessible, easy-to-use, modern medical device that offers women a large scale of tangible data on their cervical fluid and fertility options. The data kegg provides on vaginal fluids is key to understanding natural birth control, affordable fertility management systems, menopause, infections, and many other women’s health conditions.

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

We are excited to extend beyond analyzing fertile window prediction and further into the health and wellness space, by detecting and alerting the kegg user to possible infection, such as a UTI or BV, as well as working toward helping users by providing feedback so they can proactively work to maintain a healthy vaginal environment.

Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? What specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?

No, but I try to lead by example. I had an idea and a passion and with hard work, it came to fruition. I think encouraging young women to be passionate about femtech is a step in the right direction — this can be done by making women’s health and sex education mandatory topics taught in schools, offering more resources to young women, so they can learn more about their bodies, etc. I have and currently do employ students striving to work in this space. I also encourage my team to think outside the box for ways we can not only work well as a team, but also be pioneers in the science and technology field for future generations to come.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women in STEM or Tech that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts? What would you suggest to address this?

I think women in STEM face similar challenges to women in any other field where they are a minority — I think we can fight these challenges by encouraging women to follow their dreams and passions. I strive to create a working environment where all of our team members can pursue their passions and fulfill their potential. I hope to help women realize that anything is possible if you set your mind to it!

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a woman in STEM or Tech. Can you explain what you mean?

The myth is that women have equal opportunities as men — this is not true. Many men’s health brands do not struggle with the same issues (or at least not to the same degree). It is way more difficult to fund a company led by a woman, proven by the fact that historically, brands helmed by women receive less funding from investors, meaning that these companies are being asked to do more with much less (VCs have invested 98% of their capital in startups led by men). We need to work to change this statistic to better the system!

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Get to know your colleagues well so you can recognize their strengths and areas for growth. By recognizing their full potential and helping them pursue their passions, they will grow alongside you. As a result, you will be challenged in new ways and able to tackle new obstacles. Communication is key, and while time-consuming, I think one-on-one time with each team member is vital to the company’s success.

What advice would you give to other women leaders about the best way to manage a large team?

Again, I think the success of a large team results largely from effective communication and organization. A company is successful if the team is collaborative and works as a united front.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

It is impossible to launch a product without tremendous support from others in the field. kegg and other women’s health brands have supported one another, mutually resulting in beautiful collaborations and friendships. For example, I recently started a petition regarding unfair social media censorship of women’s health brands — in less than a week, 25 likeminded founders signed on board to instigate change. It’s clear that we’re stronger together than we are on our own.

Beyond this, I am thrilled that kegg has helped so many women receive data that was never easily accessible before — allowing couples to grow their families. On average, most couples are able to get pregnant within six months to a year. However, a study of couples using a cervical fluid-tracking method (known as the Creighton Model) found that 76% of the couples conceived within the first month of trying. 90% of the couples conceived after the third month and 100% after seven months. Focusing on cervical fluid allows couples to recognize when they are fertile and therefore, when they are most likely to conceive. The positive results and feedback we receive from so many couples using kegg that were struggling to conceive (or even just women trying to understand their cycles!) fuel me; we are making a difference in so many lives. kegg users were surveyed in the first six months from launch, and 27% of respondents noted that they had successfully conceived. In Spring 2021 the first kegg baby was born, and since then over 15 women have confirmed that they will soon be mothers thanks to kegg. Based on data and feedback from the growing community, the team also anticipates many more pregnancies to be announced.

You are a person of enormous 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?

I think too often we compare ourselves and feel the need to compete even amongst women. Women should be supporting women! So much good can come from women supporting each other and celebrating their differences, which is why I work with many other women’s health brands to support their causes, as every woman should have access to medically-backed devices that they can benefit from.

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

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Kristina Cahojova of Kegg On The 5 Leadership Lessons She… 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 Angela Swain On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Foster A Wholesome Life…

Women In Wellness: Dr Angela Swain On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Foster A Wholesome Life And Holistic Success Rooted In Spirituality

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I’ve watched myself silently disappear in between the cracks of parenting as I willingly gave of myself to nurture my boys while failing miserably to find time for myself. While redirecting your energy may not be easy, with spiritual fortitude and a healthy blend of mental, spiritual, physical, emotional, and social influences, you will yield lifelong success.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Angela Swain.

Dr. Angela L. Swain is the epitome of multifaceted and purpose driven. Dr. Swain is the Trifecta Business Coach who earned her coaching certification from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC) and is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from the International Coaching Federation. Her coaching acumen supported countless leaders, professionals, and entrepreneurs in healing through trauma, health, and wellbeing through times of transitions while supporting their teams to do the same. But her prowess doesn’t end here. Dr. Swain is a highly sought-after business psychologist, researcher, author, and speaker. She served as a researcher and moderator for The Emotional Intelligence Leadership Institute in Chicago.

Dr. Swain is the author of COVID-19 and Beyond: Supporting Your Staff in Times of Stress and Transition, Navigating Change: Breaking Barriers to Unleash Full Potential, and her book, Kitchen Table Talks with Dad: 5 Simple Tools to Become a Transformative Leader became an Amazon International Best Seller in Organizational Change Management and Conflict Resolution on launch day. An accomplished retreat speaker for pastoral and business leaders, she is also a recurring guest lecturer at Loyola University Chicago and North Park University. Currently, she is pursuing her MCC and BCC to become both a Master Certified Coach and Board-Certified Coach.

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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?

My life from birth has always been defined by pain due to multiple painful diseases. I entered this world with a folded stomach and twisted chin bones. From a tender age, I have understood the struggle to thrive when your body is plagued with limitations, first with MS and then Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I have lived with Multiple Sclerosis for almost 25 years now. MS has a host of symptoms, with the most dominant being numbness, tingling, fatigue, memory loss, and loss of balance. But before MS, a three-year-old me was unknowingly suffering from a Hiatal Hernia and learning to live with excruciating pain.

I vividly remember attending a routine doctor visit, and as the doctor examined my stomach, I shrieked in pain. My constantly aware mother was shocked and enquired why I never once related to suffering like this. I casually told her I was always in pain and didn’t know I shouldn’t be.

This was just the beginning. By the time I was 12, I had started suffering from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. I guess you can say I had to learn early to be steadfast, as I refused to live in a world where diseases and pain dictated my life.

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?

It was when I realized that people would pay for what I brought to the table. When I became aware of my value and that what I had to say needed to be heard and I had a waiting captive audience, it was the catalyst I needed. When someone blatantly expressed they would have had no problem paying me more than my fee, I knew it was time to reevaluate my sense of self and self-worth.

When I think of it now, I am reminded of King David. I hold tight the scriptures that speak about what happened when David perceived he was king. The ironic part is, it’s not that he didn’t know he was the king. Instead, it was the oozing of confidence and the overwhelming boldness he exuded when he perceived he was king. At the core of my coaching and speaking, I always aim to convey the importance of people harnessing the power of their desires, grasping them, and perceiving the ideal timing to go for it.

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, which I have realized is a constant recurring plague for many, is self-comparison. It’s a vicious cycle giving in to your inner saboteur, forcing you to compare yourself to others. In return, you feel even worse when you think you have fallen short.

I constantly compare myself to others and measure myself to the standards of others. I spent much time annexing myself with many “should haves,” including the type of client I took on. And I did it not because it was satisfying or worthwhile, but merely because, to me, it shouted from the rooftops, “Hey, look I am successful, just like you!”

But it isn’t real. It’s hollow, and most importantly, it isn’t sustainable because I wasn’t being my authentic self. Frankly, it’s exhausting. I couldn’t continue like that, so I turned to my solace, the Psalms.

Those feelings of inadequacy can quickly take root and bury you in a rut. But when I lean on the words that feed my whole being, I know I am enough because God is my safe space, and he made me, so of course, I am enough. Guided by this dogma, I blossomed in my strengths and was confident that there was no need to use anyone else as a measuring stick with Him in my corner.

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?

In my many hats, I aim to be purposeful. Whether it is lecturing to burgeoning minds at the university levels or pastors, I am dedicated in my pursuit of showcasing the benefits of being healthy and holistic. Wellness is a whole-life approach that isn’t limited to how you look. It’s as internal as external, and I am a proud purveyor of this. I am constantly open about my ailments and the fact that every day won’t be a great day. While this is the case, I also know that each day is still a chance to take up space and be the best version of yourself.

Whether you’re a leader or a mom being pulled in a million directions, I never fail to stress the importance of meaningful rest, meditation, and unabashedly committing acts of self-love. I think these are the core facets that make us successful in all aspects of our lives, which is the impact I continue to generate. Every book, every engagement, every executive coaching session is a lesson in love, light, health, and success.

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.

1. Stillness — We live in a constantly moving world. We aren’t presented with enough opportunities to embrace a lack of motion combined with perfect silence. So, to truly grasp the power of stillness, we must take it. Our lives foster anxiety and downplay the importance of stillness, despite it being the force that combats stress. Stillness requires relinquishing the power to God, knowing that his strength is more significant than another. It means being aware that while things may not go as planned, you can’t see the big picture, and you need to trust God and be assured of your stillness. This lesson was not the easiest for me. Suffering from an autoimmune disease makes it almost impossible to calm the wheels constantly turning in my head. My autoimmune disease made me constantly unstill. How would I be able to connect with my clients and give them the attention they require of me? Will I become bedridden? But I understand that I must accept the things I cannot change, I must trust God’s process, and all I needed to do was to embrace stillness, taking much needed time for myself actively.

2. Being dynamic — We are not one thing. We are many parts of a beautiful puzzle amalgamated to be a whole. It is time we normalize embracing all of our parts and do away with compartmentalizing. Every bit of who you are matters. I acknowledge that I am a beautiful cornucopia of dyslexia, MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis. They affect me, but they don’t define me. I live with them while being a mom, wife, trailblazing professional, and anywhere else, my faith will lead me.

3. Imagine — I often use the exercise of imagining no ceiling above and no floor beneath. What do you feel? Most clients say exhilaration, and others say fear. Both are normal, but what truly matters is that at that moment, you get to decide which serves you in that particular moment. And that perspective is a simple yet life-changing concept that can be applied in many ways.

4. Self-awareness — Ask yourself what do you REALLY want? What are you building and what does it take to get there? Don’t just go with a surface or default response. Dig deep and go to the inner places you often shy away from.

5. Name your outcomes — Never underestimate the power of envisioning yourself doing and being what you want. Then seek help in designing a strategic plan to get there.

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

Hands down, I would assist children battling food insecurity. I’d purchase land and have sensitization courses on sustainably producing from farm to table to feed themselves, their community, and how to make a profit. I know this model has been explored before; however, it’s so powerful and very much needed.

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

1. Entrepreneurship feels like riding a wave — The highs are high, the lows are low, and you must master balance to leverage the power of the tide.

2. You are both your greatest cheerleader and worst critic — You have to learn to cheer for yourself when no one else will, and you have to believe in yourself. Being your hardest critic makes you accountable, but it leaves the door open for you to fixate on your flaws with little room to be forgiving to yourself.

3. Achieving your goals is not a linear process — Despite our best-laid plans and preconceived milestones, life can and will happen. Your goals most likely will not be achieved consecutively, and that’s perfectly fine.

4. The marketplace determines the value of your service or product — You may love your product, but that won’t define its success. Learning quickly to keep your thumb on the pulse of the market is a crucial step in guaranteeing the success of your service or product.

5. Practice excitement — Entrepreneurship allows numerous opportunities for you to question yourself, including the value of your ideas and motivation. Here’s an invitation to trust the process and be excited about what is to come.

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

The cause that’s dearest to me is mental health, primarily because it’s not easily recognized to the naked eye, just like some of the ailments I suffer. I possess the intimate knowledge of having people completely ignore or downplay your disease because it isn’t staring them in the face. I think we must make strides to accept that merely looking is not an accurate summation of what someone is going through.

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

Please follow me on LinkedIn.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Dr Angela Swain On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Foster A Wholesome Life… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Julianna Carella of Treatibles On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Julianna Carella of Treatibles On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

There’s light at the end of the tunnel, although it’s a very long tunnel. I never imagined that 13 years after our founding date, cannabis would still be a Schedule 1 narcotic. We may be years away from full federal legalization but there has been tremendous progress in the past decade. This speaks to the necessity for activism as well as the success of the grass roots cannabis movement.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julianna Carella, Founder and CEO of Treatibles and Auntie Dolores.

Julianna Carella is the embodiment of a successful serial entrepreneur; fearless, focused, driven and always ahead of the competition. Her story is noteworthy in that she’s built one of the world’s first medical cannabis brands and since 2008 has created not one, but two multi-million dollar enterprises. These brands are dramatically altering the quality of life for health-conscious consumers and their pets by both providing broad access to safe alternatives and educating the public on the therapeutic value of cannabis and hemp.

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?

In 2008, my daughter was approaching college and my career as a bookkeeper became stagnant. I saw an opening that existed in edibles within the cannabis industry and that’s when I decided to launch Auntie Dolores. I started making medical cannabis edibles for friends and relatives who suffered from various ailments and Auntie Dolores ultimately became one of the leading lifestyle cannabis brands in California. In 2013, my loyal customers began inquiring if Auntie Dolores products could be used for ailing pets, which led me to create Treatibles, the pioneer and current industry leader in creating full spectrum hemp CBD products for pets.

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?

The growth of the Auntie Dolores brand happened during a time when advertising for cannabis brands was illegal and yet within a year of our founding date, the demand for our products spread from the Emerald Triangle all the way to San Diego. Our success was made possible thanks to word of mouth, guerilla marketing and social media. The main lesson I learned was to never underestimate the ability to create brand loyalty and generate good will through direct interaction with our customers, even if the law makes it difficult.

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?

The funniest mistake I made in business was doing an interview early on in our cannabis days and divulging sensitive details. The reporter asked me about how we managed the difficulty of operating on a cash only basis, being that we were denied true banking services. I jokingly stated that hiding cash to stay in business is not necessarily the easiest or best model, but a necessary one. The reporter then decided to write that I stash cash in my car every night. Once that story went to print, I started having male employees escort me to my car at night. Our kitchen was in East Oakland at the time. It’s a funny mistake now when reminiscing, but at the time it wasn’t so funny!

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?

At Treatibles we believe that by being part of this industry and by educating the public on the benefits of CBD, we are making a positive impact each and every day. In a world where anxiety seems to be one of the most common complaints, we work tirelessly to advocate the calming benefits of CBD for ourselves and our pets, truly creating harmony for the whole family. We believe in this statement so deeply, it’s become our tagline.

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.

Stay on top of a supplement regimen that keeps your whole system in tip-top shape because our food supply has become less than stellar, and many common foods are denatured and lack the minerals and vitamins we need.
Treat your pets with CBD when you treat yourself, to truly create “Harmony for the Whole Family”. Holistic approaches for a well-rounded and holistic outcome make for a happier pet and family!
Recognize that everybody is a little different, including our pets. We can dial in their happiness requirements by experimenting on dosage.
Don’t underestimate the power of good diet, exercise, and sleep — all things needed in healthy doses by human and furry family members!
The microbiome is where immunity lies; keep yours and your pet’s microbiome healthy with the right diet and supplements.

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

Cannabis and hemp have the ability to change the world in a good way so much so that I’ve dedicated my career to this movement. There are endless benefits and rewards that the plant provides, including a safer and more sustainable alternative to medicine, in addition to improving overall health and wellness. With the numerous ways the plant can be cultivated, extracted and researched, we have much more to learn about it’s uses. I’d love to end the stigma surrounding this miraculous plant, as it can bring calm, balance and ease to both humans and pets.

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

Banking challenges may slow you down, but they won’t take you down. It’s been a bit of a challenge running successful cannabis/hemp brands with limited banking. I look forward to some of this changing with hemp’s new classification.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time studying regulatory compliance. To be a successful cannabis or hemp brand, it’s essential to be knowledgeable of current and changing laws for proper marketing and labelling of THC and CBD.
Balancing both adaptability and tenacity is an ongoing effort. In any emerging industry, entrepreneurs need to be agile enough to manage the unexpected, while still maintaining a tenacious follow through on the original business objectives.
Don’t be afraid to overcome the stigma. Thanks to the discovery of CBD and other beneficial cannabinoids, more and more opportunities are beginning to exist for entrepreneurs.
There’s light at the end of the tunnel, although it’s a very long tunnel. I never imagined that 13 years after our founding date, cannabis would still be a Schedule 1 narcotic. We may be years away from full federal legalization but there has been tremendous progress in the past decade. This speaks to the necessity for activism as well as the success of the grass roots cannabis movement.

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 an area of special importance due to the potential impact cannabis can have on our mental health and how the plant is underutilized in this area. With a large percentage of our population on various anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs, we are not taking full advantage of the cannabis and hemp plants to address mental health issues. Hopefully the regulatory environment will ease up eventually so humanity can enjoy the full benefits of this plant.

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

We’d love for your readers to keep up with our blog at Treatibles.com. We’re also very active on social media:

Facebook: Facebook.com/Treatibles

Instagram: @Treatibles

Twitter: @TreatiblesPets

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Julianna Carella of Treatibles On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.