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Female Disruptors: Sherri Turpin of ZP Better Together On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Sherri Turpin of ZP Better Together On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Really there are two words: People first. At the end of the day, most especially when it comes to disruptive change, all leaders must prioritize people, their team in particular, above all else. My grandmother embodied this and I have tried to instill that throughout my career journey. I am reminded every day how fortunate I am to have such a committed team alongside me at ZP, especially in our united fight to ensure communication equity for the deaf and hard of hearing community. As a leader you definitely have to keep your eye on the business goals and tasks at hand but without the support and buy-in of your team, without them knowing you first value them as people, none of it is really possible.

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

A bold purpose-driven leader, Sherri Turpin is CEO of ZP Better Together (ZP), a leading provider of innovative communications solutions, including video relay technology and interpretation services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Proficient in American Sign Language, Sherri is a member of Fortune’s CEO Initiative; a signatory to CEO Action, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance workplace diversity and inclusion; and was named a 2022 Best CEO honoree by the Austin Business Journal. With Sherri as CEO, ZP has been named a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” the past three consecutive years; has established innovative technology partnerships with top brands like Apple and Meta; and continues to boldly lead the “Total Access” advocacy campaign, pushing federal policy and congressional leaders, the public, and business community to step up and join her in the fight to ensure full and equal communications access for the deaf and hard of hearing community.

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

I grew up in a small town in Texas. To say my career journey has been the farthest thing from a straight line is a huge understatement. But in so many ways, my non-linear path is the very thing that has made me a far better, more empathetic leader. And, I would not change a single twist or turn. Technology has always been a constant in my career from my days at Earthlink to my work with private investment firm Kinderhook Industries. However, if you told me in my 20s or 30s that I would be leading major DEI and social impact initiatives and critical advocacy work, fighting every day for equal communications access for the deaf and hard of hearing community, I am pretty certain I would not have believed you. Now, though, looking back on all of this, I firmly believe a lot of this was my leadership destiny. With ZP and the deaf community I absolutely believe that I have found a true home not only to continually test and challenge my own leadership, but to have the opportunity to create a better, more inclusive world.

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

This is a great question and there is no short answer. The work I am doing alongside the entire ZP team of employees and sign language interpreters, and many community leaders is disruptive on multiple levels.

First, more generally, the deaf and hard of hearing community is still overlooked and underrepresented in so many fundamental ways throughout our world. Our work to prioritize the deaf community, to put the deaf community front and center and on equal footing with the hearing community, especially when it comes to technological innovation and everyday communications, should in no way be considered disruptive simply because it’s unique or asking for equitable access. Our work should in no way be considered disruptive when it is simply advocating for long overdue modernization of the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Video Relay System (VRS) program along with its structure, pricing and, importantly, how our nation and leaders think about and approach such a critical service. Unfortunately, today it still is. At its core, the work ZP is doing every day is essentially helping to disrupt decades and decades of societal biases and discrimination against deaf and hard of hearing people and their signed languages.

Most hearing people just do not have a good understanding of what deaf people face. I know I didn’t before I was named ZP’s CEO. The communications inequities for the deaf community, even on a fundamental everyday level, are beyond unacceptable in today’s golden age of technology. How is it possible today that a deaf person needs two phone numbers, one for texting and a second for video calls? How is it acceptable that E9–1–1 emergency services do not geo-locate a deaf person the same way they can hearing people? Why can’t a deaf person easily jump onto an impromptu Zoom meeting or job interview? To help educate the public, congressional and policy leaders, and the business community, we developed this What If video to literally place hearing people in the shoes of a deaf person and very directly convey the inequities.

We have been working diligently to address and change all of this. One of the most important initiatives I am leading with ZP and several prominent deaf leaders right now is our ongoing work with “Total Access,” a nationwide advocacy campaign. Simply put, this is some of the most disruptive and important work that I have ever done. What I am trying to do is essentially disrupt decades and decades of outdated telecommunications infrastructure, to help modernize a critical program, to democratize communication access for the deaf community, to change old thinking, to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing individuals have the same fundamental right to 21st century communications that the hearing community takes for granted every day.

Central to all of this is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). For the past several years, I have been asking the FCC to step up and invest in the deaf community, specifically to deliver on the telecommunications “functional equivalency” that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) promised more than 30 years ago. Currently, the FCC supports what is called the Video Relay Services (VRS), a critical communication service for the deaf community, by funding the providers of such services. Every few years, the FCC revisits and sets those provider rates; however, this past summer, the FCC issued a one-year extension on making any new rate decision. This was the third rate extension on a decision that was supposed to have been made in July 2021. As a result, VRS providers like ZP are operating on 2017 pricing, annual rising labor costs year over year and now one of the worst inflations in the past 40 years. Add to this the fact that over the past decade VRS rates have been cut by nearly 50%. This is hardly a recipe for a thriving marketplace where the consumer — in this case the deaf consumer — benefits from steady innovation, healthy industry competition and expanding consumer choice. Quite the opposite.

As a longtime technology executive, I know that the actual solution to fix this is not hard. In fact, I have made a “Community Investment” proposal to the FCC outlining how this can be done and without any substantial increase in FCC funding. We just need the FCC to step up, work with us, and invest in the deaf community. I do want to note that we are very pleased that the FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel committed to making a decision on the VRS program rates by or before July 2023 and we remain hopeful it could be sooner. It is long past time to close the gross inequity gaps and deliver to the deaf community the true functional equivalency that the ADA promised decades ago.

All of this is what I am working every day to disrupt and, while it is no easy task, I am as committed as ever to do as much as I possibly can to change this. I am pushing the FCC. Why? The FCC has the power for the first time ever to fulfill the ADA’s promise to the deaf community. I have gone to Capitol Hill to address congressional and policy leaders who have the power to help change this. I have spoken about this at major conferences such as SXSW. Also, the hearing public can help change this by joining our Total Access campaign. I continue to speak out about this in national media outlets like The Authority so that I can educate as many people as possible about the gross inequities that still exist, the old thinking and approaches that must change, and the program modernization that is so needed. It is 2022, not 1922. It is so long past time for change.

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 will share one that I have shared before — it’s quite good. Soon after I was named CEO of ZP, I knew how important it would be for me — a hearing person — to learn American Sign Language. I committed to doing so, worked with a certified ASL instructor and, while I am not yet fully fluent in ASL, I have made very good progress through the years and am now proficient. But, at one of my very first employee meetings at ZP, I unknowingly ended up using the wrong sign for a word — not just any wrong sign — let’s just say a very colorful, not-so-G-rated sign. While those employees were so forgiving of my error, they have certainly never let me forget the faux pas. And I too will never forget that. While we all still get a few laughs out of this story it reinforced for me how important learning and respecting ASL and deaf culture would be to my leadership and that it was something that was going to take a substantial and long-term commitment on my part to do it right. I have never taken that for granted.

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?

My grandmother, her kindness and her values have always been a constant guiding force for me. She was one of the most loving, giving people I have ever known, always putting people first. As a young girl and young woman, I always knew that whatever I did I wanted to try and emulate my grandmother. I knew that if I did that I would always be a better leader.

Also, Chris Michalik, founder of Kinderhook Industries, a leading New York-based private investment firm, has been a significant mentor for me and a second critical guiding force in my career and leadership. Almost two decades ago we met and we had a great immediate connection. Chris essentially opened the doors for me to the private investment industry. This was an industry I had never really planned on entering but Chris believed in me and advocated for my leadership. Some of my greatest leadership learnings have come from my time in private investment and working alongside Chris and his team. It was private investment that led me to ZP which is without question the most rewarding leadership challenge of my career. ZP is where I have grown the most as a social impact leader and I have Chris largely to thank for that. Chris and I are so closely aligned and exactly where it matters most. He shares my tenacity, my never-give-up approach and ZP’s steadfast commitment to the deaf community and our ongoing fight for what’s right. Without Chris, navigating this part of my leadership journey — the most difficult and challenging of my career — would have been nearly impossible.

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?

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to move very very fast and that the words “no” and “can’t” are completely missing from my vocabulary. I am just not a huge believer in the old adage that says not to fix something if it isn’t broken. I think that brings a status quo mindset and culture which can be detrimental to your organization. I believe that you really cannot have good leadership without continual disruption. I am always looking at how and why we are doing what we are doing and always trying to find ways we can do better, ways we can provide more innovative products and improved services for our customers. It’s continual improvement for me. Never static, never status quo. I just don’t know how you can be a great leader in today’s world without a steady commitment to disruption. It’s very rare that I ever view disruption as bad. Disruption is really a means to a very good end. I know that when I am disrupting, when ZP is disrupting we are innovating, we are leading and ultimately, we are delivering game-changing products and services to our customers.

I will say that if your team does not understand the why of your disruption — if they do not understand the end reason as to why you are disrupting — then this is where your leadership will be challenged and your disruption can very easily be perceived as bad. Disruptive leaders must ensure that their employees, their customers and their partners have the vision behind the disruptive change you are seeking. If they only see the disruption and not the bigger vision that is driving it, your leadership will fall far short.

The best example I can give you of positive disruption is the work I am doing now to push the FCC to change decades-old thinking and outdated infrastructure in our VRS industry that simply is not delivering equal telecommunications access or the best 21st century technologies to deaf and hard of hearing individuals. If I am successful in this work and the FCC implements the solution that I have proposed, I firmly believe that for the first time ever, the promise of true functional equivalency in telecommunications for the deaf community will have been achieved

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

Really there are two words: People first. At the end of the day, most especially when it comes to disruptive change, all leaders must prioritize people, their team in particular, above all else. My grandmother embodied this and I have tried to instill that throughout my career journey. I am reminded every day how fortunate I am to have such a committed team alongside me at ZP, especially in our united fight to ensure communication equity for the deaf and hard of hearing community. As a leader you definitely have to keep your eye on the business goals and tasks at hand but without the support and buy-in of your team, without them knowing you first value them as people, none of it is really possible.

A few years ago, as part of crisis and contingency planning we were doing, ZP devised and launched a pilot program allowing sign language interpreters to work from home. This was quite game-changing as it really had not been done before. And, a bit ironically, we did this before the COVID-19 global pandemic. The reason I wanted to do this crisis and contingency planning was to ensure that we always put our customers first and that we also put our interpreters first in our service equation. I wanted to ensure that regardless of the crisis that ZP might face we had the best contingency plans possible firmly in place to ensure as best we possibly could that our services were uninterrupted for deaf and hard of hearing individuals and that our interpreters could also safely and efficiently do their jobs in servicing the deaf community. People first was central to all of this and the resulting innovation that ultimately came from it became invaluable during a global pandemic, far beyond our wildest imagination.

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

If we are successful on our “Total Access” campaign and our fight to ensure communications equity for the deaf community — if we can get the FCC to step up — then the shaking up for good that we can do together is nearly endless. We can then very aggressively invest in R&D and bring new innovative technologies and services to market — we can then significantly increase the choices and options the deaf community has for their everyday communications — choices and options that have been closed to them for decades. Honestly, if we succeed with “Total Access,” a whole new world of 21st technology opens up for the deaf community, a world that goes far beyond the status quo. This is the world I know is possible. As I have said before, it is more than past time to modernize this program’s infrastructure for the deaf and hard of hearing community and fully ensure their fundamental human right to communications access. This is the world I won’t stop fighting for.

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

I still see a double standard applied today where women disruptors are generally judged very differently — far less positively — than our male counterparts. It is sad to say but we still fight the negative stereotypes associated with bold, strong and decisive female leadership. We are hardly rewarded for it, or worse, diminished, sidelined and passed over because of it. This is quite unfathomable to me and it is so past time for this to change.

It’s changing but I also believe that some women still consciously or subconsciously buy into this premise or just don’t want to try and fight it. While I do not blame them it does create somewhat of a domino effect that prevents too many strong brilliant women leaders from advancing in the workplace. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had great mentors who have not only supported but encouraged my bold leadership style. And, when I needed to lean into them they were right there for me. I do recognize, though, that not all women have this support structure and that we still have a long way to go for our workplaces and society as a whole to embrace versus punish female disruptors.

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

Many things and many people have influenced my thinking and my leadership over the years. There is a lot in Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, that resonates with me personally, most especially the parts about believing in yourself, finding your voice and speaking up. I know that her book does not resonate with everyone the same way and that gender equality in the workplace is not only up to us as women. It’s just not that simple and, without question, businesses themselves must commit to change. This is a big part of the reason that I have been a signatory to CEO Action, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

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. 🙂

Inspiring a movement is exactly what I am trying to do with our work with the “Total Access” campaign. I am trying to inspire others to join me in this fight. Deaf people need to know exactly what is on the table right now with the FCC. It impacts their fundamental right to full and equal access to communications. Hearing people need to know too. They need to be allies in this. We need more people, more business leaders too, to join us and to stand up and let the FCC know that they are on board. If we are successful together we really will change the world.

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

There are two that really resonate with me right now, especially as I face one of my toughest leadership challenges in our work to modernize the nation’s TRS VRS program and services for the deaf and hard of hearing communities.

“I want to be in the arena. I want to be brave with my life. And when we make the choice to dare greatly, we sign up to get our asses kicked. We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can’t have both. Not at the same time.” — Brene Brown

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” — Rosalyn Carter former First Lady of the United States

Both quotes reassure me, inspire me to stay on my path, to keep standing up for the right thing, no matter how tough it can be on any given day. Both quotes fuel my innate sense of tenacity. They remind me how damaging the status quo can be. They reinforce the “why” of our work to help provide true functional equivalency to the deaf community. I simply will not give up on this.

How can our readers follow you online?

LinkedIn is probably the best — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherri-turpin-b969399

Twitter @turpin_sherri

And also through ZP — our website @ https://www.zvrs and on Instagram @zvrs

Photo Credit: Photos by Tate Tullier

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

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

Women Of The C-Suite: Andrea Gilman of Banyan On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior…

Women Of The C-Suite: Andrea Gilman of Banyan On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and jump in from day one. Startups are not long-established, over staffed corporations. That’s a motivator and actually quite fun.

As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrea Gilman of Banyan.

Andrea serves as Banyan’s Chief Marketing Officer and also leads Banyan’s culture and belonging initiatives. She previously spent 20 years as an executive at Mastercard in new product development and marketing roles. Andrea currently advises several fintech start-ups and tests her growth mindset by learning how to golf.

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

I’ve had an extensive career in payments, primarily focused on delivering transformative value to both merchants and banks. While an SVP at Mastercard, I led teams to deliver a global set of capabilities for SMBs to become digitally enabled, and also pioneered first-to-market B2B real-time payment applications that provided merchants a more seamless, data-rich payment experience. I saw the power that attaching data to payments could have in opening up more relevant and fruitful experiences. I joined Banyan as CMO in 2022 because the opportunity to work with smart teams and build an item-level data network to benefit consumers, merchants and banks was incredibly exciting to me.

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

When leading marketing at a startup, you need to conceive big ideas and build company-wide support and buy-in to achieve those concepts. It is critical to focus on the really big and important initiatives that will have the greatest impact on customers. By embracing difficult challenges and removing the clutter, we can identify opportunities that will truly benefit the bottom line of the merchants and banks we are working for. At Banyan, we constantly gather customer feedback and determine which use cases they deem most valuable. Some of the questions we ask ourselves are “Where exactly will access to item-level data allow them to create better experiences for their customers?” or “How can this drive preference and top-line growth?” This process is how we identified the problem with expense reporting as it relates to business travel. We were told that searching for receipts, tracking past expenses and filling out expense reports was a very bad use of company time. From there, we began to explore how Banyan’s ability to provide item-level data can solve this problem and increase efficiencies around expense reporting and improve the customer experience.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. 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?

One of the first events I tackled at Banyan was planning our activities at Money 20/20. Initially we planned on hosting a large dinner event, but it was hard to get a night-long commitment from event attendees. We decided to pivot to a cocktail party event which delivered a fabulous turn out and led to many valuable conversations with prospects and existing clients. This experience taught me that it is key to create opportunities for connection that are not only meaningful, but also convenient. This is especially true at a crowded event like Money 20/20.

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?

Early in my career I was lucky to have a manager who became my advocate. As any good mentor should, he alerted me to any missteps and taught me how to lean into my strengths. This guidance helped me secure my first senior management position. He forced me out of my comfort zone and really pushed me to achieve things I never thought possible, such as delivering a new company wide strategy and presenting it to the board within the first few months of a new role. He was a true believer in servant leadership and really took the time to understand how and where I wanted to grow. It was clear he genuinely cared about all the people on his team. When one person fell ill, he made it a point to visit them in the hospital several times to provide encouragement. This mentor taught me the power of helping people by pushing them to achieve and exceed their potential.

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?

At Banyan, there are so many opportunities that our technology and solutions can unlock, so the real challenge is remaining laser-focused on projects that will deliver maximum success for our clients. It really comes down to ruthless prioritization. One of the most important things that a leader can do is make decisions about strategy — not only about what we’re going to do, but also what initiatives we are going to shelve because they are not going to be the best performer at the moment.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

Being an executive is about defining priorities and ensuring everyone in the company is in sync from initial concept, to strategy and straight through to execution. I also think it’s important for executives to be able to shift seamlessly between teams depending on what a situation calls for. Sure, I lead the marketing group, but I also spend significant time with the leadership team. And, when I’m in the room with leadership, I’m fully engaged with that team, working together to solve our collective challenge rather than staying in my marketing cocoon. When you fully understand your colleagues’ goals and objectives, you can provide meaningful contributions to your company beyond simply your “defined role.”

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

One big myth about being a marketing leader is that your only job is to manage vendors and spend money. It goes well beyond those things. It is critically important that marketers have the ability to create a compelling narrative and connect with people on a human level. It’s not simply crafting a compelling story — it is identifying what is special about your products and your company and then conveying those truths in an engaging fashion.

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

While it’s assumed that men will naturally pursue a seat at the table, women need to actively decide that they want a seat at the table, when they want that seat and then go pursue it on a timeline that best suits them, and oftentimes, their family. Women are expected to play a leading role on diversity committees, and others in the company may not understand the amount of work that goes into these initiatives. What’s more, this type of work is not always rewarded or compensated appropriately, despite its importance. For a short while at Banyan, I was the only senior executive on our DEIB committee and it was also clear that we needed more male representation. I discussed this with our CEO. Fortunately, he made an immediate decision to join the committee himself and he has been truly engaged in this work with the team.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

The most striking difference is scope, especially moving from a larger company to a startup. At a startup, you have to wear so many more hats. You need to be focused on top-down strategy in one moment and ready to roll up your sleeves on something granular the next moment. The depth and breadth of the role across the different dimensions is much bigger than I thought it would be, but I’m also having a ton more fun than I anticipated.

Is everyone cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

The first trait is being able to make a lot of decisions effectively and quickly. The number of decisions that I need to make on a daily basis is rather high. And, as an executive, people expect you to have an answer on the ready. It’s okay to say, “Let me consider this and I’ll get back to you,” but you can’t say that every time. So it’s really important to know which decisions must be made quickly, which ones will benefit from a bit more time and which ones you need to socialize. Another key trait is the ability to inspire people to be their best selves and to bring their utmost effort to work every day. This is especially acute in a culture of remote work. It is critical to connect with and motivate teams at every turn. Of course, the primary focus must be on the customer — what it is that keeps them up at night and how you can help them advance the performance of their business.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and jump in from day one. Startups are not long-established, over staffed corporations. That’s a motivator and actually quite fun.
Invest in your colleagues. The extent to which you invest in your colleagues determines how much they’ll invest in you and the company. This cannot be overstated.
Stories are powerful, especially in a technology company. Start identifying your company’s unique offerings and begin building your story bank as soon as you can. This will allow you to communicate the power of your solutions and help you connect with customers in a meaningful way.
Marketing and company culture go hand in hand. Marketing is how your brand is perceived externally, and culture is really about your internal story and mission. Both need to be authentic and synergistic.
The value of meaningful work is a virtuous circle. It’s so important for each of us to find meaning and value in the work we are doing. When this dynamic is in place, anything is possible.

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

I spent five years on the board of Girls Inc. Westchester, a non-profit that works to educate girls ages 5-18 and gives them access to resources that help them be more confident and empowered. At Girls Inc., girls learn to value their whole selves, discover and develop their inherent strengths, and receive thesupport they need to navigate the challenges they face. I’ve seen Girls Inc. truly transform young people’s lives. The girls that go through the program are so poised, and most go on to do amazing things. Investing in our youth, especially those who do not have access to the resources they need, has the ability to bring the most amount of good for all and inspire them to improve upon the systems they inherited.

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

Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb. First off, he’s an amazing storyteller, and he fully embraces the power of a great story. He’s also done so many powerful things from a marketing perspective that really connect with people on an emotional level. I love the OMG! Category that features a collection of the most interesting and quirky homes on Airbnb. I also love how that company overcomes challenges. One example is the way they improved relationships with local governments. Also, Airbnb has an exemplary focus on its customer. After people complained about hidden fees, Chesky led Airbnb’s efforts to introduce a new policy that improved transparency and created more trust. I admire the way he innovates, collaborates and communicates.

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

Women Of The C-Suite: Andrea Gilman of Banyan On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Jennifer McMahon Patronski of Structural Concepts…

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Jennifer McMahon Patronski of Structural Concepts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Be comfortable with stepping outside of the proverbial box — This might mean do not let fear or doubt keep you from going after a goal or trying something new. We grow most when we push outside of our comfort zone.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jennifer McMahon Patronski.

Jennifer McMahon Patronski joined Structural Concepts, Inc. in 2012, rising to the position of firm principal three short years later. In January 2020, Jennifer became full owner of the firm. She has worked in the field of structural engineering for 25 years, during which she’s amassed experience across multiple market sectors in the Midwest, East Coast, and Southwest regions. Her experience is based in building design and, with her current position, has transitioned toward Industrial, Civil Infrastructure, and Bridges. When she’s not working, Jennifer enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Chris, and their four children, Sam, Bowen, Max, and Archer, whose support has been invaluable to her career success.

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”?

I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona in a close knit, hard-working, middle class family. I’m finding out now that it was a bit of an idyllic childhood. I have one older sister, Shannon, and we were very close in age and were often together, whether it be with friend groups, school, or sports. I think the most influential part of my childhood was the time we spent as a family on the softball field …or the countless hours pitching to my dad in the backyard! (Thanks, Dad ❤) We have many great memories, travel tales, and life-long friendships that came from those days. And, softball was a major stepping stone for both my sister and me for college and beyond.

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

I attribute my choice in career path partly to my maternal grandfather who was a civil engineer in Arizona for many years (there were some genes), but mostly to my high school Physics teacher, Mr. Lockwood. Near the end of my junior year, Mr. Lockwood asked me what I planned to study in college. I shared that I planned to follow an aunt that was (still is!) a role model into the Accounting and Finance world. He suggested, “Have you ever considered engineering?” …And here I am!

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?

Positive Mindset — Being able to see the proverbial open window when a door closes — and being able to see the opportunities that fall into our laps all the time. I believe “the universe” is constantly giving us opportunities, we just have to be open to pursuing them. I have had to leave two wonderful and valued career opportunities because I moved cross-country following major family / personal events. Both times I was saddened and nervous, but accepting and open to change. Both resulted in fantastic opportunities to grow, to learn, and to work with new mentors and colleagues. My move back to Arizona came at a time when I needed to “re-write” my plan for my and my kids’ futures, and though I was uncertain, I chose to view the change as an opportunity. I was given a great work opportunity at SCI which has grown into something far bigger than I ever expected!
Eagerness to Learn — From a technical perspective, engineering is all about continued learning. Materials, technology, methodologies are constantly advancing in the engineering field, and engineers have to be willing to learn constantly to stay relevant. I have always loved the science of engineering and learning more about it. From a business and management perspective, I have found even more value (and maybe more challenge!) in learning that promotes intra- and interpersonal growth and improvement. By becoming more self-aware and studying my strengths and weaknesses, as well as by staying willing and eager to learn from mentors and peers (shoutout to my local Women Presidents Organization chapter!) I’ve been able to bolster everything from my emotional intelligence to my management style, and there is still much more to learn! The more we learn about human nature and human interaction, the better we, as leaders, can encourage and harness the best from our colleagues, our employees, …and ourselves!
Drive — I learned the value of hardwork and perseverance through competitive athletics. I was never a “blue-chipper”; I didn’t have this massive underlying talent. But I did learn that practice, focus, positive thinking, and persistence brought me to a level where I could compete successfully and laid the foundation for the self confidence that comes from that challenging success.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Can you help articulate a few of the biggest obstacles or challenges you’ve had to overcome while working in a male-dominated industry?

Finding my voice and having my voice heard. As a female in the engineering and construction industries, I believe I have always been seen — often because I was the sole woman in a room and hard to miss — and I have typically been treated with courtesy and civility, however, gaining respect for my technical knowledge and professional approach was the real challenge. As a woman, being louder than the men in the room did not help me be heard and it did not suit my personality. Spending the time to find my personal leadership style and define my career and company goals gave me poise and confidence which was reflected in my interaction with others, and that is where I have gained the most respect.

Can you share a few of the things you have done to gain acceptance among your male peers and the general work community? What did your female co-workers do? Can you share some stories or examples?

I think in times when I felt tentative or unsure about my acceptance with an individual, I have asked for their opinion or advice. I have found that showing the person from whom you are trying to gain acceptance that you value them allows them to be more open to you, regardless of your respective roles.

Early in my career, I found that asking questions was a bit of an olive branch to, say, a construction site supervisor — typically an older male — when having to endure inspections by a young and green female engineer. More recently, when I became a Principal in our firm, and one of my mentors became one of my employees, letting him know his opinions and advice were still valued by me helped to bridge a potentially awkward transition.

What do you think male-oriented organizations can do to enhance their recruiting efforts to attract more women?

Investing in early exposure and support opportunities. I think a great example is the grassroots efforts you are seeing through STEM programs in primary and secondary education and other similar avenues. The increase in the number of females pursuing STEM careers shows that it works!

Ok thank you for all of that. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. A Role Model: Sometimes, a dream or vision needs a bit of inspiration in order to bud. One of my first role models was my aunt Margaret who is 13 years older than me, and played more of a big sister role to my sister and me. We watched her go away to college, excel in a finance graduate program at ASU, and then embrace this “whirlwind” career with an international mining corporation. She entered as an accountant at the age of 22, lived and worked all over the world with her family, and retired as a Vice President at the age of 56. While her model was informal and really organic for me, I always had a “tangible” vision of a female in a powerful career path. I think it normalized, in my perception, the concept of “male-dominated” careers into something unrelated to gender, and more related to striving for your own idea of success.

2. A Support System: Male professionals think very differently than female professionals, and that is a good thing! Diversity is beneficial; it can, however, be very isolating. Having an industry association, mentor / career coach, or peer-advisory group is a good way to gain perspective, advice, and accountability. For me, finding a peer-group of other female leaders as I have in the Women Presidents Organization has been invaluable, especially as I have advanced into ownership. Being around other women in leadership positions has helped me to grow into my role as a leader and employer. I have been able to explore that role in a safe and kind space; one that allows vulnerability and reflection with a female perspective.

3. 4. And 5. The Ability to be Comfortably Uncomfortable: I think being able to be uncomfortable and move through that discomfort really rounds out the final three things for me.

Be comfortable with being different — Lean into your differences and uniqueness. Accept that others’ inexperience or ignorance can result in awkward moments, and respond with grace.

Be comfortable with stepping outside of the proverbial box — This might mean do not let fear or doubt keep you from going after a goal or trying something new. We grow most when we push outside of our comfort zone.

Be comfortable sharing and receiving ideas and opinions that may differ from the “norm” — No idea or question should be dismissed outright. Be comfortable sharing your ideas, even if they are against the grain. Remain open to all points of view. We never know where the next great idea will come from!

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her? Would you advise a woman friend to start a career in a field or industry that’s traditionally been mostly men? Can you explain what you mean?

I would absolutely encourage women to start a career in a male-dominated industry. First and foremost, passion and skill has no gender. If you love it and you are good at it, dive in and do it!

Secondly, I believe a female perspective in a male-dominated industry can bring huge value that may not otherwise be there. For instance, my generation of female leaders understands the challenges of “working -parents” better than our male predecessors, and sometimes better than our high-achieving male colleagues.

Have you seen things change for women working in male-dominated industries, over the past ten years? How do you anticipate that it might improve in the future? Can you please explain what you mean?

Specific to my field, the number of women choosing engineering as a career has increased significantly, with women in leadership roles within the engineering community increasing as well. I attribute much of that increase to the women-focused STEM programs and support programs at the high school level and university level. Women supporting women works!

I have always wanted to meet Morgan Freeman. I am certainly not a movie aficionado, however I have always enjoyed the characters he has portrayed; and he has hosted or narrated a number of history, science, and theology documentaries that are interesting to me (“The Story of God” and “Through the Wormhole” are two of my favorites.) Additionally, I think I would find value in his perspective: from his growing up in a pivotal time in US civil rights history to the myriad of experience and exposure he has likely been afforded as a celebrity. Beyond that, through news and through social media, I perceive him to enjoy life, share his good fortune, and appreciate expanding his mind. I imagine he would have some interesting and deep conversations to share.

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

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Jennifer McMahon Patronski of Structural Concepts… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Of The C-Suite: Joana McKenna on The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. We forget this lesson as adults, but it is really important to remember these simple things in the workplace. Every role I’ve had there are people that forget that. Always treat people the way you want to be treated.

As a part of our interview series called “Women Of The C-Suite”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Joana McKenna.

Born and raised in Paris to parents who survived the Holocaust, Joana McKenna is half Spanish and half Turkish, a Sephardic Jew, and an immigrant. She’s been married for over two decades with her children and dogs. This unique background combined with her deep sense of curiosity and thirst for learning, have set her apart in her career path. From founding and selling her own successful business, to leading teams at some of the world’s largest brands, Joana has built a career defined by family, curiosity, and hunger for knowledge.

Joana is a seasoned tech leader with more than 20 years of international leadership experience in building global brands and businesses, inspiring innovative thinking, and driving international growth spanning enterprise, e-commerce, and retail industries. A veteran of the information technology market, she has held key leadership roles in sales, general management, product management, marketing, supply chain and operations at Jane, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, and Amazon. In recognition of her achievements, Joana has been named a Top Women in Retail Honoree, a 30 Women to Watch Honoree and Utah’s 40 Over 40.

I was born and raised in Paris, France as the child of Holocaust survivors and have lived all around the world including three different continents. I originally went to law school but never practiced law. I’m a “geek” at heart so I pursued a career in technology. My journey has taken me to some great companies including Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, Walmart and now Jane.

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

As CEO of Jane, it’s my job to figure out how to respond and manage through the many unknown macroeconomics pressures of the world. Currently, Jane is known as a daily deal site, but we are working to build an evergreen marketplace committed to the discovery and support of women-owned businesses. We have more than 2,000 sellers on Jane and 89% of them are women — that’s incredible and special. None of the other big players in the marketplace can say that and we are going to own it. The Jane community is rallying around our new positioning, and we are just getting started. It’s an incredible time to be a part of Jane!

Tech has seen amazing advancement in communications (Teams, Slack, Zoom, etc.) It can also be humbling. One day, I sent a reminder to 500 people on Teams about submitting a survey and noted that every department was being graded. I sent a note saying “don’t forget to fill this out” with what I thought was an emoji finger pointing to the link. Well, it was a finger, a middle finger. Needless to say, I don’t use many emojis these days.

So many! I think that is one of the greatest lessons learned — being a leader is not about me at all. It’s about how I empower the people around me to be successful. My mother-in-law is one person who helped set me on the path I’m on today. When the opportunity with Amazon arose, it required a cross country move (not a small factor with kids, a dog and a husband). My mother-in-law took me aside and said “you should probably take it. You won’t always be able to go, but you can always come home.” That was the most important advice of my career (and life!). It gave me permission to embrace opportunities and calculated risks, which has led me to being in this seat today.

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?

So true! I think it gets really hard when you have to make people and team changes. I’m an empathetic leader and care deeply about my team members. However, as a CEO, you need to look at the growth of the company first and foremost. There were times when I should have taken action sooner than I did. If you know deep down team changes are inevitable and needed, don’t take too long to make them. Evaluate where your company is today and put people in the right seats, with fresh eyes, different frames of thinking and diversity of thought.

Being a CEO doesn’t mean you are making all decisions. You are crafting the vision, but it must be collaborative. You should strengthen yourself by hiring people much smarter than you. A CEO brings together great minds with diverse experiences to execute the vision. It’s about being a guide and on any given day, I might be the captain of the ship but I’m also the cruise director who drives communication, camaraderie, execution, and accountability.

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

The myth is it’s an end all/ be all role. Some people get nervous about me being in the room, but my role is to move out of the way and give the team the tools to set them up for success. I can only do that by stepping aside. The greatest achievement is that I’ve given everybody the tools to drive and execute their deliverables and even if I’m gone, they can always continue on.

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

Where to begin. There have been a lot of positive steps for women, but there’s still a lot of work to do involving discrimination, male chauvinism, etc. There is still an underlying need to prove that women can do the job. I’m the CEO and CFO of my house, we manage all of these things, and it speaks to a woman’s ability to take on big roles, managing teams, etc. I look at stay-at-home moms and think they have exactly what it takes to make it in the workforce. At the end of the day, the greatest moment will be when we stop talking about gender altogether.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

Surprisingly, being a CEO is exactly what I thought it would be. It’s about knowing what the board needs to know and sharing information about the landscape of ecommerce, retail, and Jane specifically. I knew the business needed to evolve. But when I took the role, we didn’t anticipate inflation, war, or the weakened economy. With that said, while the macro pressures came fast and furious, I’m leading the team to capture market share and embrace our mission to support women-owned businesses through our new evergreen marketplace. It’s been a great ride and we’re just getting started.

I’m not one to judge if someone has the skills to be an executive. Skill sets can be learned over time. However, I think to be successful you have to be empathetic and possess human-centric leadership skills. If you don’t invest in your people and culture, you will go nowhere — fast. You can’t only be top line/bottom line revenue-focused; you need to be engaged with the people and initiatives with some degree of futurism in how you approach the business. Agility and the ability to think about the future or hire smart people who think about the future for you is key. For me it’s about humility and acknowledging that I don’t know what I don’t know. I’m stronger with my team and I think strong executives feel the same.

What are your 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything. We forget this lesson as adults, but it is really important to remember these simple things in the workplace. Every role I’ve had there are people that forget that. Always treat people the way you want to be treated.
When you get into senior roles, keep in mind people take what you say as the holy grail and run with it. Be mindful and preface it with “this is not solidified, this is just a conversation, etc.” people very much tie that to “you know everything” or what you are saying is the truth. We’re all human, and we need to talk openly with people to find an answer together.
It can be hard and lonely to sit in this seat. I like to chat with others to flush out ideas or concerns but as CEO, there’s no direct peer to really vent ideas to. Obviously, I connect with my Senior Leadership Team, but I find it’s helpful to look outside the company for support as well. Join industry peer groups. I belong to Women in Retail and it’s a great group of executive women.
It’s ok to set boundaries. Make time for your kids and family. Admittedly, I missed a lot and can’t get that time back. It’s ok to say I am not available between 4–6 p.m. Times are changing and there’s more emphasis on the importance of family in work/life balance than 5 or10 years ago.
Don’t put yourself in a box of what you think a woman in leadership is.Be yourself! I’ve learned overtime that it’s ok to just be me, but I didn’t always understand that. Earlier in my career, I thought I had to look a certain way, dress a certain way, and speak a certain way to excel my career. Earlier in my career I remember using my “teacher voice” in meetings. Forget that! We’ve come a long way and we need to start telling the younger generation of women they don’t have to pretend. It’s ok to work on figuring out who you are, it’s not a representation of you or what you bring to the table.

I would love to inspire a movement around talking about valuing human life as human beings regardless of gender, ethnicity, etc. How do we inspire the next generation to think beyond labels that we have continued to carry on? Humanity is extremely valuable.

I would probably want to have lunch with Lebron James. There is extreme value in people who play sports at that level. Their work ethic, the urgency to be the very best, etc. How do we take those attributes and bring those to the workforce? How do you drive that dedication? That and my kids call my mom Lebron James. Lebron, call me for the backstory!

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

Women Of The C-Suite: Joana McKenna on The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive 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: Dr Lisa Sellers of Vector Laboratories On The 5 Leadership Le

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr. Lisa Sellers of Vector Laboratories On The 5 Leadership Lessons She Learned From Her Experience

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Embrace differences and seek them out in your team. Homogeneity doesn’t make a team cohesive and letting everyone’s individual strengths and styles shine can make your team more capable and adaptable.

As a part of our series about “Lessons From Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa V. Sellers.

Lisa V. Sellers, PhD, is an accomplished leader and mentor in life sciences with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. As CEO of Vector Laboratories, a top innovator in immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and glycobiology products used for scientific discovery, Sellers drives the company’s expansion and business strategies. She has a stellar track record of spearheading successful business strategies based on unmet market opportunities, while prioritizing the development of a people-first work environment. This winning combination has created unstoppable forward momentum at Vector Laboratories.

Before joining Vector Laboratories, Sellers provided consulting services for numerous life science companies to guide them in accelerating product development and commercialization to enter new markets. Sellers has served in executive and senior management roles in marketing, sales, and specific product lines for companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, 10x Genomics, Life Technologies, and Argonaut Technologies, among others.

While Sellers has earned notable success as a top life science industry expert, she has always believed in the importance of giving back.

Sellers serves as an Advisory Board Member with the LEAD Scholars Program at Santa Clara University, a board member with Notre Dame Belmont, and an Advisory Board Member, Master of Biotechnology at San Jose State University. She has a personal passion for coaching professionals to navigate job choices in STEM to achieve their potential and to provide the utmost in career fulfillment. As such, Sellers has been a speaker at ISPE, Navigating Your Career Amidst Uncertainty in Dec 2020; Women in Product, SF Bay Area, for Go-to-Market Series in May 2019; and was featured in CMO.com, Best Leadership Advice I Ever Received publication in Feb 2019. Sellers was also named A Women of Influence in 2022 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Sellers earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BS in Chemistry, ACS Certified from Santa Clara University.

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

From the time I was in high school, science and math felt like the first things that really “clicked” for me and gave me a sense of belonging and confidence. At the same time, I was always fascinated by the structure and operations of a business. I started working at a small computer business as a teen and was fueled by interacting with the different functional managers, seeing how logistics fit together, and watching teams of employees with different attributes work as a unit. After studying chemistry in college and graduate school, I got a job in R&D for a chemical company. I didn’t have any formal business training, but I started engaging with a colleague working on business cases. She walked me through the structure of a case and I dug in to try to use this format for my own research area, learning everything I could, doing my own market research, and going along on sales calls. This culminated in a business plan presentation to our department leadership. I was so excited by that experience that I came back to work the following Monday and decided I was leaving to pursue a role in business.

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?

I’m not satisfied, but there is so much more representation and inclusion across the STEM landscape now than even one or two decades ago. More women are pursuing science in college and graduate school, but they’re still less likely to earn tenured professorships or leadership positions. Less than a quarter of current biotech CEOs identify as women. Hiring is definitely an issue– leaders tend to hire through their network, and if men are at the top, they’re more likely to bring other men up that leadership chain. I think networking styles are also somewhat gender-specific, as we tend to assume people will recognize our good work whereas men will spend both work and free time putting themselves out there. Relationships add up. Women could take more time to advocate for themselves and take time to build and use that network. It’s not selfish; making connections and getting advice will serve your current role and open up future opportunities.

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

Especially for jobs in STEM that are very technical or at a high level, I think women can more often be held back by self-imposed limitations. There’s a societal tendency towards expecting perfection in women, and girls grow up with those challenges in self-perception. Women are more likely to discount themselves if they don’t fit every piece of a job description or have a different background from someone currently in that position, while many men will just give it a shot. We set different bars for ourselves while giving others the benefit of the doubt. I’ve become conscious of this and coached other women in not placing such a large burden of proof on themselves to be validated in a skill or a role when they’re actually very capable.

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

While this isn’t exclusive to women in the field, I think people can be quick to judge scientists with interests and endeavors outside of STEM as less committed or less serious about science. There’s definitely more visibility and appreciation for this now, but women are still sometimes put into that box if they choose to start a family, for example. For girls in school, there’s a misconception that being passionate about art or writing or dance is at odds with excelling in math or science, when creativity is essential to that kind of problem-solving. I loved engaging with art as a kid, but that often had to come second to taking the rigorous science and math courses. That’s why STEAM is so important– it helps young people see that having a breadth of interests and a flexible thinking style is a strength, not a weakness.

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

Women tend to be socially and emotionally intelligent, but being in touch with your emotions is often seen as a weakness when it’s actually a great strength. It’s possible to be analytical and empathetic. I’d advise other women leaders to remember to bring their humanity through the door and encourage their teams to do the same. I once had an employee who was having a tough time and cried in the office, and they were terribly embarrassed, but I emphasized that being vulnerable and having human feelings didn’t make them any less of an employee. It’s a problematic idea to have to be a different person at work vs. at home. Fostering an environment where people can be themselves and give themselves grace through challenging times is very powerful.

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

Embrace differences and seek them out in your team. Homogeneity doesn’t make a team cohesive and letting everyone’s individual strengths and styles shine can make your team more capable and adaptable.
As a leader, it’s easy to just take on a task or fix an issue yourself, but far more satisfying for yourself and your team if you create a space for team members to be challenged and stretched. Support your team members with direction, resources, and support along the way and, more often than not, these team members will surprise you and themselves with what they can accomplish. It takes more work, but the outcome is better in the long run.
Build a culture of trust with your employees. They’re all adults and you’ve hired them because they’re capable. Trust them to do what needs to be done and offer flexibility when needed. When employees are given clear direction with clear expectations and resources, where communication is dynamic to course correct when needed, they will deliver. The more you acknowledge, appreciate, and leverage their strengths, the more your employees will delight you in what they can accomplish.

My undergraduate research mentor, Dr. Amy Shachter at Santa Clara University, was instrumental in shaping my path as a scientist and a leader. Even though I wasn’t a straight A student, she recognized my drive for chemistry and took me on as a research student. Her leadership was subtle but powerful– she let me propose what experiments to do next and allowed me to make mistakes without fear. She gave guidance without direction, which I’ve put to use in my own leadership roles. Dr. Shachter created a safe environment to test my hypotheses and pivot when things didn’t go as planned and having that space fostered confidence and self-sufficiency. Her mentorship was definitely a model for my own approaches to creative decision making and coaching others.

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

There are many for different areas of my life! For work, one of the more recent ones that is circulating in my leadership team is by Brene Brown: “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” I’m a direct person by nature and my motivation for giving direct feedback and encouraging others to do so is best captured in that quote. When managers can wrap their head around this idea then most are able to overcome barriers that have prevented them from being direct. It’s amazing how much more efficient things become when you operate this way. People and projects move in a forward direction faster and with less churning within a team or within a project.

For home and work: “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier,” by Colin Powell. When life can throw so many unexpected turns or wrenches at you along the path of life, this one is a way of living that has gotten me through some challenging times. I’m still amazed at how the power of positive thinking can improve both your physical and mental health.

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

Oprah Winfrey. She lives by the Colin Powell quote I mentioned above, both through her nonprofit work but more recently through her social media reach. Her Oprah Daily posts are an amazing reminder that through the worst of times, the practice of gratitude is most impactful for persevering− focus on everything you have as opposed to what you don’t. This is how I try to live my life and how I teach my kids to view life and the world around them.

Thank you so much for your insightful answers!

Inspirational Women in STEM and Tech: Dr Lisa Sellers of Vector Laboratories On The 5 Leadership Le was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Erika Maldonado of Calicia Care On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed…

Female Founders: Erika Maldonado of Calicia Care On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Believe in yourself even when it seems nobody else does. While I do feel lucky to have the support system I do, sometimes it’s just not enough. You have to pull the strength from within and work past any challenges you might face.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Erika Maldonado of Calicia Care.

Two sisters, Lexi Maldonado, RN, BSN and Erika Maldonado, EdD, started a new concept in healthcare, “ritzy recovery,” in Beverly Hills, Calif. Calicia Care offers patients superior 24/7 nursing care as well a myriad luxury services as they heal post-op. A portmanteau of their beloved grandmothers’ first names Carmen and Alicia, Calicia Care’s amenities include limousine transportation to and from the surgery center accompanied by the patient’s own dedicated nurse, a suite at a luxury hotel such as the Beverly Wilshire, private entries and elevators to avoid the gazing eyes of the public and a great number of other, more unusual services to meet their unusual demands as one of the few such businesses in the nation devoted to serving this rarified, affluent patient base.

My backstory begins with having earned a Masters degree in Learning Technologies and a Doctorate in Educational Change and Leadership then I started my career at an education technology company where I pursued my passion of creating meaningful online experiences for learning. And, when I accepted that position at the company it was a start-up. I absolutely fell in love with the bootstrap environment and became very comfortable with being uncomfortable…that is making something out of the unknown. After being with the company for some time, it went public and it was an amazing experience being there at that time. I had never experienced anything like I did there where the company grew from just a few employees to well into the thousands. I witnessed, firsthand, the IPO and it being listed on NASDAQ. It was so inspiring, in fact, that it laid the groundwork for pursuing my ambition to launch my own company. I learned so much from the top leaders of the company as it grew exponentially due to their great leadership abilities and overall capabilities. This intensified my desire to break out, follow in their footsteps and make my own mark in the business world, but I just wasn’t sure what kind of company to launch. Fast forward a few years and my sister, Lexi, had been a nurse for a long time and she was working in post-op care with celebrities and a very upscale clientele. She was constantly talking about how she was having such a great time doing it, how clients loved her, how doctors loved her, and she would also sometimes vent her frustrations about how her company and others like it were not living up to their potential. There was so much room for improvement in the field that it started my wheels turning even though I had been involved in the healthcare arena before. But I was intrigued nonetheless as starting my own business in this field would not only be lucrative but it would make a positive difference in people’s lives. From the moment of conception things have moved at breakneck speed for us. My sister and I named the company in honor of our grandmothers, Carmen and Alicia so Calicia Care was born. It’s been particularly rewarding as I have been able to integrate my knowledge of technology, business, and education and create a business that holistically addresses the post-op needs of patients.

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

Our very first patient was someone who was having surgery by famed plastic surgeon Paul Nassif, M.D. from the hit reality show, “Botched.” I thought that was so cool, because we were just starting out and the patient did not want her post-op care from a company Dr. Nassif suggested, but chose our service instead. She opted for Calicia Care because she was seeking a service with top-notch care and was Latin and female owned and operated. She found us via the social media content that we had been posting in preparation of opening our doors. It emphasized our unique amenities and experienced staff. She herself was a Latina and acclaimed in her field. It was also pretty exciting because Dr. Nassif actually has a velvet red rope in front of his offices and one must be personally granted access — very exclusive.

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?

Yes! Our branding consultant and I spent a tremendous amount of time perfecting our logo. Our name is meaningful to us because it represents the matriarchs of our family and I also wanted our colors to engender a certain “vibe.” After much back and forth, we finally came up with something really beautiful. But before making our final decision, we did our due diligence and took a deep dive into what the competition branding was like. That’s when we came upon a logo that was very similar to the one we were contemplating. Needless to say, we went back to the drawing board and started all over again.

My grandmama, Alicia Garrido, who just recently passed away, was a huge inspiration to me. She lived with our family and helped raise my sisters and me. She was strong, stern, kind, warm, and also one of my biggest supporters. She was always very frank…she said what was on her mind and did not hold back. I often reflect on the sacrifices that she made as a single mother who immigrated from Ecuador with my mom in tow. She lived a tough life — her mother, brother and sister all died before she was 25 — but she was indomitable…no matter what challenges she faced, she met them head-on, learned important life lessons and forged ahead. I so admire her and try to emulate her.

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?

Being scared of the unknown and not having the confidence to pursue what dreams they may hold dear. In my experience, especially in the corporate world, men intrinsically have the confidence to speak out — sometimes even when they are not masters of that subject. So, being a woman and wanting to do something like starting a business takes guts and the ability to stay focused.

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?

Shift the focus entirely when it comes to asking women about their goals. As soon as I got married, I was constantly being asked when I was intending to start a family. This despite them knowing that I am a Latina with a doctorate. I love kids and I want them someday, but being who I am and having the education that I worked so hard for is a big part of who I am and I’m proud of it. Maybe 1% of female Hispanics can call themselves doctor yet my educational accomplishments were oftentimes dismissed or overlooked. It’s time for society to recognize the growing achievements of women and women of color, in particular. I like to say that before asking a woman when she plans to start a family, ask her husband.

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?

Why not? There are so many entrepreneurial stories shared by men and you know why? Because they just do it. There’s no reason in the world not put your dreams into action. The only thing that holds us back are our fears and inhibitions. So embrace your dreams and go for it.

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

I think being a founder of a business can seem luxurious and glamorous from the outside. But, it’s not all that. Sometimes my day is filled escorting my patients, picking up their prescriptions, taking care of business for them and other mundane duties. While these aspects of my business are not “glamorous,” they are necessary for running a successful business.

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?

Anyone can be a founder but you won’t get far without grit. You need to have grit. It’s one thing to have an idea for a business, thoughts, dreams etc. But, it’s completely different to actually do it. And, having grit means you do just that…even on the days that are hard, even when you want to give up, and especially when you don’t feel like every single person around you is doing their best to support you.

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.)

Believe in yourself even when it seems nobody else does. While I do feel lucky to have the support system I do, sometimes it’s just not enough. You have to pull the strength from within and work past any challenges you might face.

Get comfortable with the unknown. There is no single blueprint for running a successful business, even businesses that resemble your own. So, get ready to face the unknown and get excited about where that journey takes you.

Be prepared for unexpected costs and build a reserve to help you overcome any challenges you may not have been prepared to face. Know that you are going to incur costs ranging from acquiring a business license to retaining legal advice.

Just do it! Don’t be daunted when you feel less than confident about a matter. Go for it and move on.

Be prepared to lose some people in your life. I made the decision that those who didn’t support me or tried to make me feel insecure about my abilities had to go. I recommend taking a tally of those around you who truly add value to your life and holding on tight to them.

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

We are opening society’s eyes to the world of post-op care. Currently, most of our business is helping plastic surgery patients. And we’re finding that Calicia Care is not just for celebrities and the rich and famous. It’s for the mom who wants to rejuvenate herself after having 2, 3, 4 kids. It’s for the 70-year-old woman who is undergoing a breast reduction to finally relieve the back pain that having large breasts has caused her. It’s for the gentleman who undergoes a facelift to gain a new lease on life.

My movement would be Carpe Diem. Life is short and you never know what’s going to happen. We may as well make the best of it and take chances, take risks, do anything that we have to do to make dreams a reality.

I adore Shakira. She speaks several languages, had a successful media career, is an extraordinary performer, and manages several businesses while giving back to her community.

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

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

Dreamers: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” With Adriana Lynch of Chief…

Dreamers: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” With Adriana Lynch of Chief Outsiders

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Embrace change. Life throws curve balls at all of us along the journey. But, it is how we react and how we file those moments in our hearts and our minds that will come to the surface when we mature. I came to this country with a dream, and despite the curve balls thrown at me, now at 56, I get to throw them back and play ball!

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

Adriana Lynch (or Adri, as she likes to be called) has over 25 years of experience in Strategy and Brand Management. Her global experience has demonstrated significant success in creating and executing award-winning strategies and plans to improve product positioning, brand recognition, and revenue.

A wiz at brand and business strategy, Adriana has held management positions with The Walt Disney Co., Häagen-Dazs, Pillsbury International, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and St. Joseph Health System. After being classically trained in Brand Management at P&G Brazil — where she managed Pampers and Always — Adriana came to the USA and got her MBA from Harvard, graduating in 1996 with Second Year Honors.

Adriana’s global career has taken her throughout Asia, Russia, the Middle East, Greece, Israel, and Latin America.

Adri and her husband, Patrick, live in Newport Beach, CA, with their two sons, Connor (20) and Taylor (13). Adri is also very involved in their community leading the HearAid Foundation as their CEO, with the mission to provide hearing aids to those who can’t afford them since it is not covered by insurance (www.hearaidfoundation.org).

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you better. Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How will that help people?

By far, the most impactful work I do is with The HearAid Foundation, which provides hearing aids to those who cannot afford them since hearing aids are rarely covered by insurance in the U.S.

Allow me to explain the root of my passion for this cause. I am an only child, and once I became a (PROUD) American Citizen, I sponsored my parents’ green cards, and they both moved to this country at the ripe age of 75. My dad (who passed away five weeks ago) always suffered from Meniere’s Disease, which left him deaf. That’s when I met Dr. Jack Shohet, a renowned surgeon and wonderful human being who performed a cochlear implant on my dad — hearing again brought my dad back to life! After six years of silence, my dad became isolated and depressed. Now he was back to being “my dad.”

Frustrated by the lack of insurance coverage for hearing aids to help those in need, Dr. Shohet founded The HearAid Foundation and asked me to join as a Board Member in 2012. This was the perfect opportunity to put my business mind and gift to work for the greater good. Fast forward to 2015. I became the volunteer CEO for the Foundation.

We are all volunteers, a daring and daunting business model for non-profits, but it allows 100 percent of all donations to benefit those in need (ok, 99 percent, we have to host the website, buy stamps, etc.). Whenever I have the pleasure of going to a fitting, i.e., the session where an audiologist fits a recipient with their brand new hearing aids, I cry. It is a life-changing moment for our recipients, and I am honored to be a small part of it.

What makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

Hands down, Purpose. Consumers today choose very carefully which Brand gets their hard-earned money. Purpose-driven companies get ahead of the pack and gather customers’ dollars and loyalty. This is true for Brands that sell direct to consumers (think Bombas Socks, Toms Shoes, Natura & Co.) but also for business-to-business. Today, all sorts of institutions, including financial institutions, are taking more responsibility for their role in the world and are being rewarded with loyalty, revenue, and profits.

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

I heard I could not leave my country, my beloved Brazil, a great place to visit and a tough place to live. I heard I would never get admitted to Harvard. I heard I would never work in the US…much less for Disney, a dream of mine.

When admitted to Harvard, I heard I would never be able to pay for it. When Fundacao Estudar offered me a scholarship to fund my second year at Harvard (my first year was grueling, typing papers to pay for room and board!), I heard I would never succeed in corporate America. The more I heard “you can’t,” the more I felt “I will.”

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

Resilience and hard work pay off. Truth be told, when you hear so many times “you can’t,” it kind of gets to you. So, I applied only to Harvard Business School and did not tell a soul — only my boss and a teacher, who had to send letters of recommendation, knew — as rejection hurts less when it’s dealt with in private. So, I sent the application and waited for a refusal.

But I still remember the day a box from Harvard arrived, signaling approval and full of pre-work. It was May 4, 1994. I was shocked! When I told my parents, my father was happy for about two seconds and then turned white, thinking about how we would afford it. So I began to look for alternatives and found Fundação Estudar, which gave me a scholarship. The academic experience at Harvard changed my life, and since 2010, I have served as a Harvard College recruiter, my way of giving back.

I was determined to stay in the US, so I applied for ten jobs and received nine offers upon Graduation. I chose to work for Pillsbury International purely based on company culture. They had an open-door policy, and I felt everyone’s opinions were heard. It proved to be one of the most rewarding moves of my career. I was with Pillsbury between 1996 and 2000, first as the International Marketing Manager for Russia, the Middle East, Greece, and Israel, then as Director of New Products for Häagen-Dazs, where I had the honor to be at the forefront of the launch of the Dulce de Leche flavor, a worldwide success that turned out to be a case study at Harvard.

Then in 2000, Mickey called, and I packed my bags for California, where I still live. Disney — the only one among the ten companies that did not make me an offer out of Harvard- invited me to be Disneyland’s Director of Brand Strategy. They had not forgotten!

It was a dream come true. They were asking ME, a LATINA, to lead the strategy of one of the most iconic Brands in the World — Disneyland.

We can only achieve success with some help along the way. Is there a particular person you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My first job out of undergrad in Brazil was with Citibank, where I had my first Mentor. Honestly, he still is a mentor. He believed in me as a young professional; thought I could fulfill my dreams. It challenged me when I doubted myself and played a critical role in my life by writing an incredible letter of recommendation to Harvard on my behalf. We are still close, and I consider him a role model in the global business community.

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

My Dad was an incredible businessman who faced adversity but never gave up. His work ethic, honesty, and dedication to his family and mission were parallel to none and imprinted on me.

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

Turn those words of discouragement around, and make it your mantra to build resilience. My Mantra was, “I sure can.” Simple but powerful when you say it to yourself and believe it.
Celebrate EVERY achievement. I don’t know if it is only me, I am going to guess not, but when we face so many obstacles and adversities when success comes into our lives, we almost feel ashamed. Why? Why can’t we celebrate our achievements? It fuels so to pursue more endeavors! It’s in that spirit that I share here two of the Awards I received throughout my career and of which I am most proud.
American Business Association — Woman of Distinction, 2003
Stevie Award, Silver — CMO Maverick of the Year, 2014
Yes we can, Si, se puede!
Have your priorities clear. At times in my career, I had t stop the career ladder and care for my family; it was the BEST thing I could have done. I took two years off to care for my youngest son when he was two years old, and it was the best decision ever. Was I scared of what that “time off” would do to my career? No. I had my priorities right.
Be passionate. Put your gifts to work at something you are passionate about. My gift is to solve complex problems to help businesses grow. That philosophy and energy got me to find my business home with Chief Outsiders. We affectionately call ourselves the Tribe. We are 120 robust Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Sales Offices from around the country focused on helping mid-market companies grow and thrive and continuously learning from each other.
Embrace change. Life throws curve balls at all of us along the journey. But, it is how we react and how we file those moments in our hearts and our minds that will come to the surface when we mature. I came to this country with a dream, and despite the curve balls thrown at me, now at 56, I get to throw them back and play ball!

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

“When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny.” Dr. Bertice Berry

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

Giving the gift of hearing through the HearAid Foundation is the movement I dedicate my life to. Unfortunately, 20% of people in the US have been affected by hearing loss, often leading to problems with balance, lack of speech, isolation, and depression. Over-the-counter hearing aids are a first good step to help some, but since those hearing aids amplify all sound frequencies equally, they mainly help those with mild hearing loss. Therefore, I urge all of you to visit HearAidFoundation.Org and donate to give the gift of hearing.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Of course! How fun…

LinkedIN — https://www.linkedin.com/in/pozzani/

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

Dreamers: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” With Adriana Lynch of Chief… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Lisset Verde On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

I see a tendency to do better than in the past. Be it through mindful choices like ethical sourcing, which has a less negative effect on the environment, or through helping others less fortunate, like we do with Wuitusu. Customers are demanding sustainable practices, and the fashion industry is responding. It is encouraging to encounter companies that try to better their artisans’ environments, use recyclable materials to create their products, or directly help a cause close to their hearts.

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 Lisset Verde.

L.A. fashion brand and storefront Wuitusu was founded in 2019 by Lisset Verde. Wuitusu specializes in high-end apparel and accessories handmade by the Colombia and Venezuela Wayuu tribe artisans. Currently, Wuitusu has two Los Angeles storefront locations: Santa Monica Place and Ovation Hollywood (formerly Hollywood & Highland).

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”?

I was born in Venezuela, in a working class family, and I had a very happy childhood surrounded by hundreds of relatives, and friends. I always loved reading: I’d prefer to stay in my room reading than go out. I loved reading about people in other countries and their cultures. One of the novels that influenced me was “Sobre la Misma Tierra” about the plights of the Wayuu people in my country. This was my first introduction to the Wayuu culture, and now that I work with them, I remember my childhood readings. I find it an honor to work alongside such an impressive culture where artisans can make a difference in their lives doing the crafts that have been practiced in their culture for centuries, and where women can make important decisions in their society as it is a matrilineal one. That information impressed me and made me wonder how it would be to live in a society like that.

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

I have always been interested in fashion, and about 5 years ago I fell in love with a Wayuu hat and bag I saw online. They were super expensive and I started researching about them. I figured out they were handmade by member of the Wayuu tribe, who live in Colombia and Venezuela, my birth country. I was a teacher at the time and a student of mine told me she had friends living close to Wayuu territory, and these friends could buy me one bag and one hat. After thinking about it, I asked these friends if they could buy me 13 hats and 13 bags (lucky number 13!) and I started selling them among friends and acquaintances. It is a pleasure for me to offer our customers gorgeous, one-of-a-kind handmade products that are not found everywhere, and we can offer them for a reasonable price.

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

I think the most interesting story that has happened to me since I began Wuitusu was having Patricia Velasquez, the President of The Wayuu Taya Foundation praise the work Wuitusu does. I had followed her career faithfully since she was a 90s supermodel and Hollywood actress, but especially the great labor she does with Wayuu Taya in favor of the most vulnerable members of the Wayuu people. So, her praise was just a dream come true.

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?

Self-awareness: I know my strengths and weaknesses — what I’m good at or can learn effectively, and what I am truly not good at. This self-knowledge makes it easy for me to ask for help and surround myself with people who know what I do not.

Curiosity: I love learning new things, skills, and about people and cultures. This openness has made it easier for me to understand and communicate with different people: old and young, and people from different countries. I can adapt easier than others to new places, and that’s why I made the USA my home.

Respect: I truly believe we need to respect everyone, no matter the social status, religion, skin color, or any other differences. My Wayuu partners, employees, and customers can feel that in our interactions, and that allows for better relationships.

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

I think Wuitusu stands out not only because we offer a beautiful, unique, and meaningful product, but also because each item is so different that it seems like it was made tailored for one person. I always tell the customer that they will know which one is the right bag, or hat, or clutch for them, because there is a special one for each person. If not, we can have it made for them. Besides the special products we sell, we also give back to the community. From the very beginning we have been faithful to our motto: “Beauty with a Conscience,” and we have made sure to support causes close to our hearts. Through “Helping Children in Venezuela” we help feed children in impoverished communities every Sunday, and through “The Wayuu Taya Foundation” our customers can help feed five Wayuu children with each $50 purchase.

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

“Never say no.” I have basically learned not to let my fears say no to opportunities that present themselves to me. I finished high school when I was 15 years old, and won a scholarship to study here, in the USA. I was so scared to come here, never having left my home country, and there were challenges, but it was one of the decisions that made me who I am now.

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 tendency to do better than in the past. Be it through mindful choices like ethical sourcing, which has a less negative effect on the environment, or through helping others less fortunate, like we do with Wuitusu. Customers are demanding sustainable practices, and the fashion industry is responding. It is encouraging to encounter companies that try to better their artisans’ environments, use recyclable materials to create their products, or directly help a cause close to their hearts.

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

I think Wuitusu brings goodness to this world in two ways. The fist way is that we are a slow fashion company. We value fair trade and honesty while we bring value to our customers in the form of a product they cannot find in many stores. We introduce them to a new culture that they did not know existed, in many cases.

Also, Wuitusu is always looking to help others less fortunate. We started partnering with “Helping Children in Venezuela” for which we have collected clothes, shoes, toys, medicine, and food through many fundraising events and drives. Then, we partnered with “The Wayuu Taya Foundation” through which our customers can help feed Wayuu children with the purchases they make in the stores and on our website.

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

We make sure to work only with members of the Wayuu tribe. Wayuu bags can be sourced from other countries where they are made and sold cheaper, but we consider Wayuu bags to be cultural heritage of the Wayuu people, an expression of the way they look at the world that surrounds them, so we make sure to purchase only from them.

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?

Wuitusu teaches customers the importance of a Wayuu product: that it reflects the viewpoint of Wayuu artisans, their traditions, dreams, and how they view the world that surrounds them. We also explain the amount of time each item takes to be made, in some cases months. We hope they care for and love their purchase because these are items that can last a long time, and they can even be passed onto the next generation.

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.

Know your customer: who they are and what they want.

Know your product, your vendors, and your limitations.

Know your numbers: know your costs and the price customers are willing to pay.

Be resourceful: be able to mitigate the problems you encounter with practical solutions.

Pray that luck will be on your side.

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

Many companies in the fashion industry are under pressure to cut costs, which leads the industry towards producing in low-cost countries under poor conditions, even at times forcing children to work. Nowadays, customers are more and more conscious about all these production processes. They are penalizing those companies that are relentlessly pushing down costs, even by unethical means. Customers are seeking meaningful products that are made ethically. They want the industry to support ethical measures, not exploitative ones.

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 tell people to make “purchases that do good” either buying from small businesses because it is known they help support their communities, or from small companies that help protect the environment, or directly help the communities that make their products, like Wuitusu does.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this. How can our readers further follow your work online?

https://wuitusu.com/

http://instagram.com/wuitusu

https://twitter.com/WUITUSU1

https://www.facebook.com/wuitusu

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

Modern Fashion: Lisset Verde On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Power Women: Pattie Ehsaei On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Act The Part: Men, due to their confidence, walk around the office like they own the place. Their heads up, chest out. Women on the other hand, tend to be shrinking violets, heads down, shoulders crouched. This body language demonstrates a lack of confidence and people will treat you accordingly.

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Pattie Ehsaei.

Known as the “The Duchess of Decorum” by her 960,000+ followers, Pattie Ehsaei (@duchessofdecorum TikTok ), has established herself as the expert of “P’s and Q’s.” Pattie’s TikTok teachings on social and workplace etiquette and financial literacy have over 6.1 MILLION likes — answering questions such as “How do I make and keep a budget?” “What is this little fork for?” “How do I ask for a raise?” “How can I be financially smart in a relationship?” These are the type of questions that Pattie provides real and honest answers to, that keep her fans begging for more. A lawyer by trade and currently a Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions lending for a major national bank, Pattie is the perfect example of “tough but fair” and believes that success comes from information and empowerment.

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”?

I was born in Iran and immigrated to the US at the onset of the Iranian revolution. We first moved to Beaumont, TX where our only US based family member resided. I didn’t speak a word of English and had a very difficult time assimilating. Not only was the culture extremely different, but no one looked or sounded like me and my parents. Due to the language barrier, my parents had difficulty finding work and thus, we struggled with our finances.

Out of necessity, I started working at the age of 10, going door to door in our apartment complex, collecting residents’ trash and hoping for a quarter. That is when I first experience the gratification of earning your own money and financial independence, which has been the driver of my success.

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

I started out as a criminal prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago. As a person of Iranian descent, the expectation is to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or a disappointment. Fortunately, I was always very interested in the law and I decided to take that path. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2001, I was set to work at a bankruptcy firm. Prior to starting, I accompanied a friend to a job fair where I met the hiring manager for Wells Fargo Bank merchant services. We immediately clicked and he was interested in hiring me as a sales representative to sell credit card processing. Although that wasn’t of great interest to me, I inquired about the advancement opportunities and learned that if I knocked it out of the park, I could very quickly advance to a management position. I took the job and 4 months later I was the #1 salesperson in the organization. Shortly after, I was promoted to a manager and have worked my way up to now being an SVP of Mergers and Acquisitions financing.

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

When I first started out as a prosecutor, I was in Traffic Court. My salary was meager and I had to work as a waitress in the evenings to be able to support myself. One night, a group of men were seated in my section at the restaurant. One of them continuously referred to me as “babe.” I repeatedly asked that he call me by my name, “Pattie.” He refused to listen and finally asked, “why are you so offended by that word?” I replied, “It’s a derogatory term. It would like me calling you ‘Bro.’” He got very offended, called me racist (as he was African American), and asked for my manager. My manager reprimanded me and didn’t listen to my side of the story.

I went into the broom closet and began to cry. To this day, that is the only time I’ve cried at work. While in the closet, I spoke to “the Universe,” and said, “I don’t have power to shut this man down because I’m in a subservient position. But please give him what he deserves.”

The following morning while I was prepping my cases in my courtroom, guess who walked in? “Bro.” Turns out, he had too much to drink the night before, got in his car, and was arrested for a DUI. And his case was in MY courtroom.

He walked up to me and said, “Are you the Public Defender in this courtroom?” To which I replied, “No, I’m the first chair prosecutor, please have a seat.” I then turned my back so he wouldn’t see the huge smile on my face.

Needless to say, I didn’t cut him any slack. He tried to be assigned a Public Defender but based on his car, I knew he didn’t qualify and made sure the court knew. He was forced to come back with an attorney, insisted on a trial, which he lost. In sentencing, he received a higher sentence due to his arrogance and lack of cooperation. It was one of the best and most satisfying days of my life. The Universe does not like ugly.

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?

The 3 character traits most instrumental to my success are 1) persistence, 2) discipline, and 3) consistency. When I started in financial services selling credit card processing, the first few months were rough. I went door to door, in 100-degree heat for at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and didn’t sell anything for the first month. In fact, I was kicked out of so many establishments. Most people would have given up. But I knew if I continued on this path, staying persistent and having the discipline to continue my activities, I would succeed. Every time I failed, I just got right back up. Toward the end of my second month, I signed my first deal and shortly after, my second, and then skyrocketed to the #1 salesperson in the organization. There is no substitute for persistence, discipline, and consistency.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

We have been inculcated to expect women to act and be a certain way; namely demure, gentle, and agreeable. Women can say the same exact thing, in the same exact tone as a man and he will be seen as strong and decisive, whereas we’re seen as aggressive and bossy. The moment a woman does not conform to our expectations of how we believe a woman should act, we’re taken aback and feel threatened. Then we try to muzzle her by calling her unbecoming names so she can stop her non-conforming behavior and to make ourselves “comfortable” again. It’s all a result of sexist societal indoctrination.

Without saying any names, can you share a story from your own experience that illustrates this idea?

Given I work in a male-dominated industry, I’m typically the only woman in the room. I was in a meeting with all men and one of them made a suggestion which I disagreed with. A male colleague said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea and it opens us up to liability.” I piggy-backed on this comment and said, “I agree with “X”, we should look for an alternative solution which is better in line with the mission of our company.” Later that day, my boss asked me to his office and told me I was disrespectful to the male colleague who made the suggestions and came off as “aggressive.” I was floored. I couldn’t have been more respectful or professional in my approach. I asked if “X” was told the same thing because his statement specifically said our colleague’s idea “wasn’t good?” As expected, his comment was received as perfectly acceptable, and mine was not.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

In order for things to change, women have to call it out. In the example above, I asked my boss to provide me with specifics around how my comment was disrespectful or aggressive. He couldn’t, he said it was just a “feeling.” I didn’t let him get away with it and said, “I’m open to constructive feedback. However, the next time you want to provide constructive feedback, I would appreciate empirical data regarding the behavior at hand, rather than a ‘feeling.” He never did that again.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

We need to understand where our discomfort comes from, which is strictly from our archaic beliefs around the standard norms of behavior for women. Once we understand this, we are more open to look inward and determine whether our discomfort is actually valid. We can ask ourselves, “would I feel the same way if she were a man.” That’s the first step to change.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

In a lunch meeting with a prospective male client, he suggested that I should grow my nails longer because he found it more attractive. I was so shocked by his statement that I asked him to repeat himself, and he did. After reprimanding him for his comment, I got up from the table and left. Unfortunately, this situation is very common for women. Men often give themselves permission to comment on our looks, yet they would never do the same to a man. Further, men believe we are still “Barbie dolls” with the goal of looking attractive for them, and they have little shame in making this known.

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

The double standard, by men and women, on how a woman leader “should act.” We want our women leaders to lead with compassion and understanding, but don’t expect the same from men. For men, it’s all about business and that is acceptable. Women on the other hand, are expected to be more nurturing. What is missing in this expectation is the understanding that women leaders have to work twice as hard and outperform their male counterparts to achieve their level of success. They have to fight and claw their way to the top. And when they finally arrive to the top, now, that same woman is expected to be “soft and cuddly.” That is impossible because if she were “soft and cuddly,” she would not have been able to reach this level of success because the men would have eaten her alive. To have such an expectation from women leaders is not practical.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I am not married and do not have children, so my struggle probably is not as great as women who have one or both. However, I have been in relationships where my partners felt I worked too much or prioritized my work over their needs. In those situations, I tried to find out what exactly they required in order for them to feel happy and valued in the relationship. If I could meet those needs without significant impact to my career, I was happy to do it. If not, then I knew it wasn’t a good for either one of us. My fiancé now understands my work requirements as I understand his, and we schedule time to spend with one another that meets both of our needs.

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

Truthfully, I can’t say I have reached an “equilibrium” because in order to be exceptional at something, other things have to suffer. However, I did have an eye-opening moment on the rudeness of my behavior. I was dating someone right as I started a new job. My focus was completely on that job and at times, I failed to return his calls or make time for him. He called me out and said, “if you don’t even have the courtesy to return my call, then I don’t think we’re a good match.” The word “courtesy” stood out because he was right. Being consumed with work doesn’t give anyone the right to be discourteous or impolite. While the relationship ultimately didn’t last, I made it a point to be mindful of my manners.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

“Beauty” is a broad term and it means different things to different people. I put a great deal of emphasis on my appearance, but the goal is not to look “beautiful.” The goal is to look professional, polished, and put together. People underestimate the importance of appearance, especially in a professional setting. Before you open your mouth or make any other type of impression, your appearance is the first thing people notice and this first impression will be carried with them throughout the rest of your interaction. This is why appearance is so important. I always say your appearance should never outperform your substantive skills. This means, your appearance should not be “distracting” or take focus away from the business at hand. The moment focus is steered away from your words and directed toward your appearance, you’re losing the business game.

How is this similar or different for men?

Society seems to give men a pass when it comes to their weight and age. Women are more scrutinized in these areas. However, men who are disheveled or dressed unprofessionally are equally scrutinized in the workplace.

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

Confidence.: You have to believe you are just as good as your male counterparts. We’ve been inculcated to believe that we are less than and because of this, we exude inferiority in the workplace. Inferiority is smelled a mile away and if you feel inferior, people will treat you as such.
Act The Part: Men, due to their confidence, walk around the office like they own the place. Their heads up, chest out. Women on the other hand, tend to be shrinking violets, heads down, shoulders crouched. This body language demonstrates a lack of confidence and people will treat you accordingly.
Make Your Voice Heard: Women must speak up in meetings and show our opinions are valuable. I always contribute in meetings because I know my thoughts have value. In a meeting years ago when I first started in private equity, I was the only woman in a room with 8 men. We were prepping for a meeting with a potential client and I suggested we discuss our relationship with Chinese sovereign wealth funds. They all scoffed at my suggestion, and brushed it off as “not necessary.” Shortly after, we met with the potential client and when we finished our pitch, the client said, “I liked everything you said. However, we want to work with a group who has relationships with sovereign wealth funds in China.” The entire room turned and looked as if to say, “you were right.” From that moment on, I didn’t doubt the value of my contributions and never allowed anyone to ignore them without a fight.
Strength to call out sexist behavior: Studies show that men were more likely than women to talk over others, especially in intrusive ways that silenced the rest of the room and demonstrated their dominance. Because of this, women become intimidated and quiet down, which is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. We need to have the confidence and strength to call out this behavior and not allow it to silence us. When this has happened to me in the past, and it has happened quite often, I merely say, “I would appreciate your allowing me to finish my thoughts without interruption.” This puts others on notice that you will not be intimated or silenced by a man, and demand respect.
Mentors: Women mentoring women is crucial in succeeding in the workplace. We mostly face the same issues and being able to commensurate with someone whose gone through it and can provide guidance is invaluable.

Lilly Ledbetter. Most people don’t know of her. But she was the pioneer in fighting the gender pay gap between men and women. She was a supervisor at Goodyear and found she was making 75 cents to a dollar of her male counterparts. For 10 years, she fought to close the gap between women’s and men’s wages, fighting with the Supreme Court, lobbying Capitol Hill in a historic discrimination case against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

Ledbetter won a jury verdict of more than $3 million after having filed a gender pay discrimination suit in federal court, but the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling. Despite the defeat, Ledbetter continued her fight until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama, on January 29, 2009, signed into law the first new law of his administration: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

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

Power Women: Pattie Ehsaei On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life As A Powerful Woman was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sheena Jongeneel of Stylette: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make…

Sheena Jongeneel of Stylette: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make That Happen

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Too much can be too much. As women, we tend to share a lot, and be overly honest. I wish someone had told me that I don’t need to share all the details. People, especially investors, don’t want to hear about the down moments, the doubts, the hesitations — they want to hear about the pivots, the strategies, the solutions, the successes. As a founder, you have to sort through the ugly moments yourself and move forward. Investors want to fund confident founders.

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

With three successful business ventures on her resume, Sheena Jongeneel is still as driven as ever. After working in the health/wellness industry for over twenty years and then returning to school to get her MBA, Sheena devised her latest project and launched Stylette as an avant-garde fashion shopping destination. She has received a variety of funding and awards for Stylette, including help from various business accelerators like the Fearless Fund, and the Tory Burch Foundation.

I’ve always been a business owner. I knew from a young age that I wanted to create companies, rather than work for someone else. I became an entrepreneur in my early twenties, which was the beginning of more than two decades in the health and wellness industry. Eventually a series of life events, including a divorce and the passing of my mother, helped me realize that it was time for a change, so I decided to go to graduate school and strategize what I would do next.

The inspiration for Stylette was born out of the frustrations I felt at this point in my life with the available clothes shopping opportunities for my young daughter. As a single mom, trying to balance work, graduate school, and family life left me with very little time for anything else, especially keeping up with new fashions, my daughter’s ever-changing tastes, and her growth spurts. I used Stylette for all of my MBA projects, started fundraising while still in school, and even got a small check to launch the brand. This was the catalyst for launching Stylette, and my daughter was the inspiration behind the brand.

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

It’s been a whirlwind these past couple years since launching in late 2019. I essentially started this company right before the pandemic. That in itself, presented a mountain of challenges. Can you imagine launching a rental platform with special occasion outfits at a time when no one is leaving the house? It’s been one interesting story after another as I worked through every unforeseen obstacle that I came up against. I’ve had countless growth opportunities, but my favorite story is how I ended up on the Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch show.

After attending a women’s Venture Summit in California, I reached out to Kim Perrel, a judge on the show, to whom I had previously pitched Stylette. Her book was in the gift bag from the event — so I took it as a sign, and an opportunity — and just sent off a quick email. A few hours later, I got a reply from the Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch team asking if I could be in Florida at 7AM the next morning to be on the show. Needless to say, I grabbed my carry-on bag, which I hadn’t even unpacked yet, and caught the red-eye to Florida. I drank way too much coffee on the flight, practiced my pitch all the way across the country, and made it to the studio just in time for hair and makeup! I’d love to tell you what happened, but you’ll have to watch the episode, which airs Nov 30th. All I can and I say is that it was well worth it, and the lesson learned here as an entrepreneur is that you have to be bold and say yes when an opportunity arises!

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

The biggest mistake I made when I first started Stylette was doubting myself. I focused on the things that set me apart from what is often the typical view of an entrepreneur — I was female, I was Latina, I was a single mom to a young daughter — and I was hustling in a really tough market niche. What I didn’t let myself focus on was that these were my strengths, and they had led me to recognize a need and an opportunity in the children’s clothing space. It takes many things to become a successful entrepreneur, but none of them are gender dependent.

I realize your question was about the funniest mistake, and I gave you an answer about something sad. As entrepreneurs, women face huge hurdles with regard to accessing funding, working within the social expectations set for us, and even finding other females in the workplace and in mentorship roles. I’m now very comfortable and confident in the startup world, which is still dominated by men. One of the most important lessons I ever learned came from pushing through all of the self-doubt and learning to believe in myself and my vision.

Yes, I’m grateful to Kim Kreuzberger for being my biggest cheerleader. We met at my daughter’s preschool four years ago, while she was still at Goop, and she has been my best sounding board ever since. And this answer wouldn’t be complete if I also didn’t include my daughter. We have been through so much together, but the experience she is getting and hopefully the example I am setting, should prove to be invaluable to her. She’s accompanied me everywhere, from board meetings to private investor dinners. She knows how hard I work, and she is always there to encourage and support me.

Yes, indeed. Only twenty percent of the founders are women, and out of those, only three percent get venture funding. The lack of capital available to women is holding them back. Even when a woman starts a successful company, her chances of receiving the capital necessary to scale her business are much slimmer than those of a man in the same position. It’s discouraging to know that the stats are against you from the start.

I’ve heard many stories of men getting funded on a napkin idea, or just on a deck. However with women, investors want to see massive traction, a million in revenue, or some other metric that’s really only possible after the opportunities provided by an infusion of capital. Women are so powerful and creative — we really have to be in this marketplace — and businesses started by women are more successful than ones started by men, but the money just isn’t there for us yet.

The PR message nowadays is all about helping female entrepreneurs, but when push comes to shove, they are still not getting the capital. We have a long way to go and need to keep raising awareness for female entrepreneurship, but this is also a huge opportunity as there is much room for improvement. Until we have the same access to capital as men do, it’s imperative that women in business support each other. We really need to raise each other up until the system catches up with us.

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

The distilled answer is that women need more grants from individuals and government agencies to fund their enterprises. Expanding on that a little more, we need to do a much better job of moving women into roles where they can offer support and mentorship to other women in business. We just don’t get the same opportunities as men do, and we really need to start bolstering our networks to guide women in all aspects of business. Not every woman will start her own business, or even wants to, but we need to be sure we can provide them with the same opportunities that men have if that desire does arise.

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?

Statistically speaking, women have higher success rates in building companies than men do. Women who run their own companies generate more revenue, are better leaders, are more collaborative, and can multitask better than men. Women are also more resilient and honest, making them more successful than men as CEOs.

When one gender is grossly underrepresented in the corporate world, we all lose out. There are literally thousands of business opportunities that are being missed. There are thousands of unique perspectives on business that will never be capitalized on. From a consumer standpoint, this leaves so many needs unmet, and so many people unsatisfied.

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

I think the myths that I grew up with are that you have to be a man, have a tech company, and be ivy league educated to be a founder, unless you’re Steve Jobs (still a man) of course. You don’t have to be any of these things to be a founder. You can be a woman, a mother, a single-parent, you can launch a creative brand outside of tech, and you can still be a successful founder.

I don’t think everyone is cut out to be a founder. It takes a certain personality and mindset to succeed on this journey. To be an entrepreneur you must have really thick skin, as well as physical and emotional endurance. When you start out, you’re going to work seven days a week, you’ll never get enough sleep, and you have to be on constantly. You’re going to miss out on time with family and friends — you pretty much have to be willing to let your job become your life for a period of time.

High-energy people tend to do well at this. Entrepreneurship is like a marathon and there’s no time to be tired. You have to learn to pace yourself and keep moving, adapting, pivoting, and always moving. You have to be okay with rejection, because you’re going to hear “no” a lot, and you need to have complete conviction and confidence in your vision.

If you like to play it safe, want a steady income, and want quality time for yourself and your family, then you should take a “regular job”. As an entrepreneur, your business comes first — even before family — which can cause tremendous tension at home. Whenever possible I integrate my daughter into my business so that I can maximize my time with both of them. This is the kind of flexibility that entrepreneurship demands.

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.)

Too much can be too much. As women, we tend to share a lot, and be overly honest. I wish someone had told me that I don’t need to share all the details. People, especially investors, don’t want to hear about the down moments, the doubts, the hesitations — they want to hear about the pivots, the strategies, the solutions, the successes. As a founder, you have to sort through the ugly moments yourself and move forward. Investors want to fund confident founders.
Don’t over analyze. Analysis is good, but don’t let it stand in the way of your forward motion. Don’t overthink things, because in business you just have to do, and move, and create — there’s no time for anything else. Overthinking can slow you down, and provides the opportunity for fear and doubt to enter the equation.
Don’t be desperate. As a founder, there is always a sense of urgency in raising capital and scaling, but not every door that opens may be the right door for you. Always remember that if one door closes, it may put you on the path to bigger and better opportunities elsewhere. I’ve either said, or been told “no” plenty of times, but it isn’t until I fully write off that “lost” opportunity that I can find my way to the better partnerships that are often waiting right in front of me.
Build plenty of extra time into your schedule. Timing can be so important to every aspect of a business, so it’s a good idea to assume that everything will take longer than you think. Just because you’re moving super fast as an entrepreneur, that doesn’t guarantee that anyone else is moving at your pace. Don’t get discouraged if things take longer than you want. This is one of those moments when you have to take a deep breath, let go, and trust that things will come together as they should.
Build a strong Founder Community. You’ll need a great support network to guide you through your entrepreneurial journey, but you may need to build it from scratch. No matter how wonderful your family and friends are, you’ll still want to have someone who understands exactly what you’re going through and can help you along the way. You’ll need people who can share business expertise, help you solve challenges, even take advantage of new opportunities. Mastermind groups are a great place to connect with like-minded people.

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

The success of Stylette has enabled me to continue building and improving our circular economy platform, which lets parents rent clothes instead of buying them. So much of what we produce in the textile industry every year ends up in landfills, but we are able to significantly prolong the useful lifespan of all of our garments. Our brand stands for sustainability, and by showing that this goal can be achieved in the fashion industry, we are setting an example for all other industries to follow.

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?

Can you imagine how different the business landscape would look if women were equally represented? I would love to help more women take a leading role in business by bringing opportunity and capital to female founders. I’d like to see more of us out there. And eventually I’d like to be on the other side of the table — there are very few female funders. It would be wonderful to sit in that seat that’s usually occupied by a man, and be the one who gets to say “yes” to another woman and help her vision become a reality.

Yes! I would love to have a private meal with Serena Williams! She is my idol as an athlete, a woman in venture capital, and a mother. I love that she has retired now from tennis to focus on her family and to help invest in female founders through her fund, Serena Ventures. I would love to pick her brain, hear her words of wisdom, and ideally have her on our board. As a mother of a young daughter, she can feel the pain points of kids growing too fast too, and understand the platform we are building to help parents and the environment.

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

Sheena Jongeneel of Stylette: Why We Need More Women Founders & Here Is What We Are Doing To Make… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.