Category: Featured

Female Founders: Goodnews, Roseline & Blessing Nkama of Chidi Fashions On The Five Things You Need…

Female Founders: Goodnews, Roseline & Blessing Nkama of Chidi Fashions On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Great support system: for us, that’s our family & friends — like the time they showed up to our pop-up shop despite the snowstorm that night. As long as it’s a venture of ours, their attendance and loyalty are never a question. A great support system will help you get through tough times.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Goodnews, Blessing, and Roseline Nkama from Chidi Fashions. Chidi Fashions is a fashion company owned by three Nigerian sisters. According to the Nigerian Igbo tribe, CHI-DI means God is present. Their foundation is their deep roots in faith and pride in the African heritage. As immigrants in the United States, they experienced significant limitations in pursuing the American Dream, so they created our own path. They are a physical testament that if you want something bad enough, believe in it, persevere through setbacks, and never give up, it will happen. Their dual-cultural experience as Nigerian-Americans allows them to bring a dynamic richness to fashion in an affordable and exciting way. Chidi Fashions delivers an Affordable Afro-modern style. When you wear CHIDI, they want you to feel inspired to pursue your dream, empowered to see untapped opportunities rather than limitations, and be strengthened by their story to rewrite yours.

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?

Chidi Fashions was born from a place of hunger and desire for more. We followed the traditional path of going to school, hoping to get the good job that follows, after which our lives would be all set. However, that wasn’t what we experienced, so we started the search for something else. As immigrants in the United States, we even experienced significant limitations in our pursuit of the American Dream, so we decided to create our own path. We wanted to become strong, independent entrepreneurs who built something that outlived them. So we came together to brainstorm a common ground we were all passionate about, and the answer was fashion. It was something that came naturally to us and something we all enjoy doing. It has been a worthwhile choice.

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

One of our initial products included Kaftans. We thought they were super classy and would be the most sought-after item in our inventory at the time. However, we were in for a rude awakening. Our market did not respond favorably in the way we’d expected. This incident helped us hone in and clearly define our target demographic. We realized Kaftans catered more to an older demographic than what we were hoping to attract. So we had to adjust our offerings accordingly to ensure our products met our target consumers’ fashion tastes and needs.

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

It was choosing the name of our business! We had originally agreed on a name that consisted of our initials. We thought the name we chose was so cool, and we were so excited about it. When we went to register the business, it turned out that we couldn’t make up a word… it actually had to be a name or a word in the dictionary. So we had to come up with something on the fly. We chose CHIDI since all our Igbo names all had “Chi” which means God, and we want God in our business hence “CHIDI”. Even though it all worked out, we learned the importance of research and being prepared.

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?

Of course! Our parents and brothers will have to take the crown on this. They’ve been incredibly supportive from the start and even till now. Growing up, our parents instilled in us the right principles and exposed us to the power and influence of entrepreneurship. My dad, as a Minister, opened a couple of churches both locally and internationally. My mom started and ran a successful school. So even from a young age, we wanted to be able to build something lasting for ourselves and others just like our parents did. As a result, we worked hard to achieve our goals. And even now, after the successful launch of the business, when new merch arrives, they’re the first to cheer us on and actually purchase products. They’ve been a big part of our success in every sense of the word. Similarly, our brothers have always shown up for us. In whatever capacity we needed them, whether as a photographer, videographer, or model, they delivered no questions asked. We’re so grateful to have them and couldn’t have done it without them.

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?

In our opinion, it will be cultural backgrounds and traditional expectations of women. For so long, many women have stayed in the box they were unconsciously put in by society and culture as only domestic caregivers. Many haven’t broken out of that box for fear of what people, especially their loved ones will think of them. And some simply just think they don’t have what it takes, which is a lie. They forget that Women are multifaceted and can do so much more outside the home. We are strong and dynamic individuals, and so much is constantly being expected from us, both in our homes and by society. But we believe that women CAN do it all; they can have a wholesome, stable family life and also be ground-breaking bosses and entrepreneurs. But we have to see it for ourselves, choose it, and believe it in order to achieve it.

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

It begins in the home. Families have to encourage their daughters that they can be anything they set their minds to be. Their dreams don’t end in the home, and they can also be trailblazers and entrepreneurs. Then we have to strive for a mindset change as a community where women are not looked down upon for wanting more. Workplaces also have to be conducive for women such as having childcare services or affiliations, paid maternity leaves, and inclusion of more women in leadership positions.

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

The beautiful thing is that women of this generation are go-getters. We have finally realized there’s more to us than being a mom and a wife. Women who are on the fence about starting a business should know that we are stronger than society gives us credit for. As natural-born nurturers, we have the capability to succeed in whatever we set our minds to do. Additionally, with more women as founders, young girls will have role models and be inspired to know that their dreams and abilities are valid and without limit, contrary to what others and society might say or think of them. Based on our experience as women founders, we genuinely care. It’s not about the bottom line. Our customers and the people we do business with are at the center of our mission. It’s important to us that they are good.

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

A popular myth is that you will be successful right away, and that is not the case. Starting a business requires you to be patient, especially in your season of waiting. Success does not happen overnight. It requires hard work, resilience, and of course, patience. And nobody knows about you and all the work you are putting in until you are successful, and it seems like it was overnight. Another myth is that those around you will automatically support you- this myth right here can either break or make a new business owner. For future founders out there, keep in mind that NO ONE is obligated to support you, and the majority of your supporters will be strangers and not friends.

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?

I believe that everyone is cut out to be a founder, it just depends on what they want out of life and how badly they are willing to fight for it. Traits that increase your chances of becoming successful include being passionate, hardworking, determined, and being a risk-taker. A founder is not afraid of failing, being disappointed, and is always ready to pick themselves back up when things fall apart. If you are a person who is afraid of what people will say or afraid of failing, then being an employee might be the best route for you. And there is nothing wrong with that. Employees can create a life of success too, and entrepreneurship is not the only path. A founder never quits regardless of how tough things get, and this is the main attribute of a founder.

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

Faith: Our faith in God keeps us grounded and hopeful. We believe in God’s plan for us, so we hold on to his promises, especially in the dark days.
Great support system: for us, that’s our family & friends — like the time they showed up to our pop-up shop despite the snowstorm that night. As long as it’s a venture of ours, their attendance and loyalty are never a question. A great support system will help you get through tough times.
Passion: when all fails, your passion and “why” will keep you going. After the first year of business, when things got hard, we didn’t quit because we held on to why we started it in the first place.
Commitment: If you’re not committed to your business, who else will? Having sisters as partners in this venture who are equally committed improves our chances of success. Commitment drives the discipline to do the necessary things that need to be done despite our feelings. Being committed to the vision keeps us accountable too.
Student mentality: No one knows everything, every day presents new learning opportunities. We are committed to a growth mindset. So we seek ways to get better, whether it’s by watching tutorials or speaking to other business owners.

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

We know the importance of giving back to the community, so with every opportunity we get, we do not hesitate to contribute to the growth of the community in the little way we can. We have hosted clothing drives, sponsored events, raised funds for good causes, and lend helping hands whenever it’s needed.

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.

If I’m to inspire a movement it will be to encourage every high school student to think beyond a career, and focus on what their purpose is. What they have been put on earth to do in order to help make the world a better place. We believe that we all have a role to play, and if each person does their part, our world will be a better place for us all.

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.

For us, it would be Tyler Perry. His story is characterized by faith, strength, and determination in the midst of adversity which we can relate. His story encourages us that the beginnings don’t define the end and that there’s hope. Hard Work and persistence does pay off, if you wait for it and don’t give up.

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

Female Founders: Goodnews, Roseline & Blessing Nkama of Chidi Fashions On The Five Things You Need… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Dorothy Spence of Imaginal Ventures on the Five Things You Need To Thrive And…

Female Founders: Dorothy Spence of Imaginal Ventures on the Five Things You Need To Thrive And Succeed As A Woman Founder

An interview with Candice Georgiadis

Even though it’s a personal journey, don’t take things personally! Keep your business and yourself separate. There are feelings of guilt and shame, of not being enough or doing enough, and you need to separate all of that out or else you’ll really beat yourself down. A lot of the burnout that entrepreneurs experience comes from not being able to separate self-worth from business success.

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

Dorothy Spence is an engineer, serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and the founder of Imaginal Ventures and The Purpose Led Business School. Dorothy’s 20 years of experience as a skilled business and leadership advisor has helped countless companies catalyze profitability and asset growth. Her work with scaling purpose-led businesses through building supporting structures and systems has gained distinction in the entrepreneurial community, including being named the Canadian coach for SheEO and receiving the Top CEO Award, Innovation Award, and the Professional Engineers Service Award.

Dorothy was one of four women (out of a class of 80) in her graduating class from Dalhousie University’s engineering school. She went on to become a pioneer in building technology-focused companies, including a nationally deployed healthcare platform. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating environments where non-traditional entrepreneurs can thrive and become successful business leaders.

Imaginal Ventures is the culmination of her decades of experience, fusing her background in technology with her passion for entrepreneurship and leadership.

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 about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Today I’m a “serial entrepreneur” with a passion for starting and growing businesses, and for helping others do the same. But I didn’t always see myself in this role. In fact, I have a degree in engineering. When I was in school only 5% of my class was made up of women; so even before starting my first business, I knew what it was like to be a part of this extreme minority. It gave me a real understanding and empathy for women founders right from the start. My first co-founder and CEO role was with a national health technology company, another place where women were the minority. I’m used to the traditional hyper-competitive business environments right from these early experiences, and I think that’s one of the big reasons I find so much purpose in guiding change away from that world. We need a shift into hyper-collaborative business environments, where searching for connection and meaning and purpose is an important part of the business. And we’re seeing that shift happen, especially after the long wake-up call of the pandemic.

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

Well… the path of being a founder is all interesting! I have a million stories to tell, but maybe the most interesting one was being asked to represent the Dalhousie University medical school on a visit to Kuwait in the mid-90s, in order to gauge the viability of a telemedicine network. I was a young woman in Kuwait during Ramadan, and I was just completely immersed in a culture that was different from anything I had ever known. For instance, I had to have a written introduction from the Kuwaiti Minister of Health just to start my meetings. I’m there trying to understand how a telemedicine network would operate in their healthcare deliveries system, and I quickly realized there was a cultural component that was as big as any infrastructure or logistics component. That was a real lightbulb moment for me, realizing how this network creates a flat system that would have been disruptive to their culture’s traditional hierarchical system. Without getting bogged down in the details, we ended up with this great solution that created a technical benefit to citizens and the school while fitting into Kuwaiti culture.

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 mentioned my background as an engineer, so this really fits in. My very first design assignment as a student was in a pulp and paper mill — the first time a woman worked in the mill. I had to design a sprinkler system for a remote part of the mill. I spent all summer figuring out the pipes, pumps, and everything else in this complicated system. It was a huge undertaking and I was so enamored with the scope of it all. But when I came back at Christmas to see how it was doing, they informed me that not a drop of water was coming out of it. That is the exact moment when I realized that full-on engineering design was not my thing. I’m a philosopher, I love systems and big ideas. But someone else can get in there and do the hands-on engineering part of it!

None of us are able to achieve success without some assistance 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?

That would be Jim Moir, the Chairman of the Board at my first business. He’s an outstanding leader who really understands human nature and how to help people realize their potential. He taught me an incredible amount about people and how to lead from the heart — in particular, how to be courageous and bold.

I met Jim when he came into our MBA class and invited anyone to see him after. Well, of course I would take him up on that — what an opportunity! I remember walking into his big corner office and saying, “I am here to tell you the story of two amazing, courageous women…” and proceeded to lay out the plans my co-founder, Linda Weaver, and I had for our first business. Little did I know I had him with that line! He became our second major institutional investor and stuck with us through thick and thin. We learned so many things from him — the importance of not running out of cash, how to lead, how to be bold in our vision. These were foundational lessons that have played key roles in essentially all of my business ventures, and I was lucky enough to have someone showing them to me on my very first entrepreneurial experience.

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?

Making the choice to grow your business by bringing in investors and external funding sources is a challenging journey for any founder; but usually, there is a whole ecosystem or network of mentors and supporters and potential investors to assist you on that journey. One of the challenges for women founders is an absence of that same level of support as exists for men. The “boys club” is, unfortunately, a real thing even still. Male founders start to go south (80% of businesses do at some point) and a group of men come in and say, “we’re going to help you sort this out.” That same network doesn’t exist for women to the same degree — it’s starting, but that same network of connections and established success is not something that women have built to support other women. And that’s simply because men have had a massive head-start here; it wasn’t until the 1960s or 70s that women in Canada and the United States could do things like open a bank account without their husband’s permission! How were we supposed to start our own businesses? Women entrepreneurs are very much a new thing and our network is still in its relative infancy, but you know what? It’s growing fast, it’s growing strong, and it’s already bringing important change into the world as a whole.

But the fact is: if you’re going to get funded, you have to know a lot of rich people. You need investor networks or know how to access them. That’s a big gap for most women founders. Added on top of that, research shows that when women present an investment opportunity to investors, they focus on the risk. When a man presents, they focus on growth and vision. There’s a bias in how we grow businesses, how we think about businesses… which actually makes women founders a safer bet!

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

Role models! We need more women who are running funded founder companies who step up, talk about it, and get profiled in the media (just like this article is doing). The more we can see ourselves in somebody else, the more comfortable we’ll be going there. That’s something I didn’t have when I started this journey, and it’s something I actively look to pay forward with everything I do.

We also need more of our own support network. There are some great organizations out there currently, like The 51 based out of Calgary, who actively look to fund women founders and are really advocating for women to get involved in investing. Meanwhile, they’re also educating men on how to get involved in these opportunities. This is exactly what women in business need in order to level the playing field.

We’re also seeing all kinds of research and policy decisions starting to be made at different government levels around the world to focus on women entrepreneurs, plus we’re starting to see a big shift in research and programs going in that direction. Unfortunately, many of them currently are in response to the pandemic bringing about the “she-cession” with women leaving the workforce in droves. Women are taking on the burden of childcare, they’re leaving office jobs, and many of them are expected to never come back. That’s bad news for the workforce, but it also means that there are a lot of potential founders out there just waiting for the right opportunity to shine.

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?

One of the biggest reasons, to me, is that we need more control in creating work environments that are sustainable and renewable and inspiring, compared to the meat grinders out there. I strongly believe that if you see something that needs to be changed, you do something about it. More feminine energy is needed in businesses: more caring, more collaboration, more awareness, and more compassion. The world needs that different perspective, that different point of view. We need to unlock that power within and to move from the “Me” to the “We” philosophy.

Being a founder is not an easy journey, but it’s not an easy journey for men or women, so don’t let that stop you! Starting your own business can be really satisfying plus you can make a significant impact on people’s lives. The new economy needs more of that to balance out the over-consumptive and hypercompetitive environment we have now. It needs growth that is renewable and sustainable.

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

Despite what you hear, it doesn’t have to be hard and you don’t have to go it alone. It takes a village to raise a business! There are predictable ways to grow a business and there are actually a lot of resources to help you. On top of that, you don’t have to work 24/7. You can set the pace to what you want. There are intense periods, sure, but in general, you get to choose the pace that works for you. It’s never been my experience that “the harder you work the more success you have.” True success comes from working smart and being focused. And it’s more predictable than you might think since most businesses experience the same struggles — especially early on.

No, this certainly isn’t for everyone. But then again, what is? To be a founder, you really have to understand the intensity of it and be up for that journey. It’s a distinct journey, and not for the faint of heart. You need to be ready to dig in deep, to tap into courage and face adversity, to take rejection and still stand up for what you believe in. And you need to be ready to do that on a sustained daily basis. Just know that in the end, it will all be worthwhile.

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

An understanding that it’s a personal journey. Being a founder will require a lot of growth and transformation. You’ll discover things about yourself and others in this environment that you’d never have an opportunity to experience otherwise. We have a saying at Imaginal Ventures: “Businesses don’t transform — people do; and leaders go first.” Expect that, and live it.
Even though it’s a personal journey, don’t take things personally! Keep your business and yourself separate. There are feelings of guilt and shame, of not being enough or doing enough, and you need to separate all of that out or else you’ll really beat yourself down. A lot of the burnout that entrepreneurs experience comes from not being able to separate self-worth from business success.
Ensure that you have the support you need for this journey. Whether that’s aligned investors, an aligned partner in your personal life, aligned clients/customers, or (ideally) all of the above and more, get the level of support you need! There will be financial challenges, personal struggles, frustrations, aggravations, and days when you just want to throw your hands up and quit. The trick is to keep going, and for that, you need support both personally and from within the business.
Self-care. You have to maintain your center, your energy, and your health, throughout this journey. Without that, the business isn’t going to go anywhere. Plus you’re modelling it for everyone in the business — leaders go first, remember, so you’re always setting the example. Whether that’s burning yourself out or burning brightly and sustainably, your staff is going to follow suit.
Make sure the business is connected and aligned to your personal values. A business can be a powerful way to create change in the world, and your values are your renewable and sustainable energy source. If your business connects to your “deeper why,” you will have all sorts of willpower and energy to put into it. If you’re doing it for the money, I’d say consider finding a different job — it’s a surer bet.

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

One of the core values of my business is to improve the world! Every time we work with a company, we emphasize how important it is to leverage their business as a way to create positive change. We’ve spread this message far and wide over the years. We work best with women technology founders who understand their business and who are working on the biggest societal challenges with their products. They’re high growth, and they comprehend how a business can be a force for good in the world.

Self-responsibility! It’s so important to understand yourself and be responsible for your behaviors, thoughts, and actions. I’d love to see that happen on a massive scale. It’s all about living an examined life and learning about what it takes to be self-responsible. If we all lived that way, this world would be a much different place and, I believe, a much better one.

I don’t think it’s that far-fetched an idea either. People are really uncomfortable right now, and many have been placed in a pressure cooker where we’ve really been forced to re-examine things due to the pandemic and everything that’s come along with it. It’s creating a big opportunity for change. Some people are getting angrier, but many others are coming out with a renewed sense of purpose and a better understanding of who they are as a person, and that brings about a new sense of peace.

We are blessed that some very prominent names in business, venture capitalist 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.

The last time we spoke, I mentioned how much I’d love to meet up with Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia. Well, Yvon and I have a date this week to meet up and talk about creating business ecosystems that heal the earth as they scale.

Not to tip my hand too much about my love of Patagonia’s business philosophy, but I’d love to meet their former CEO Rose Marcario and have a discussion about being a female CEO in today’s rapidly evolving world. I’d also love a chat with Jeff Weiner, the former CEO of LinkedIn, as I find him very inspirational and self-reflective, plus I know he has a big vision for humanity. I always pick businesspeople for this sort of one-on-one because I know we are future world leaders and we’re capable of creating great change!

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

Female Founders: Dorothy Spence of Imaginal Ventures on the Five Things You Need To Thrive And… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Cara O Frank of Six Fishes Acupuncture On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and S

Female Founders: Cara O Frank of Six Fishes Acupuncture On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Running a successful business involves mindfulness. Allow time for quiet, uninterrupted thought and use this time to think broadly. I have a special teal velvet “thinking chair.” Sometimes I make lists. Often I’m envisioning what I want to create.

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

Cara Frank, L.OM., is an acupuncturist, herbalist, businesswoman, and author. She was raised in a health food store in Brooklyn, NY. When she was 8, she cartwheeled 5 miles from Greenwich Village through Soho and Chinatown and across the Brooklyn Bridge. For nearly 40 years, Cara has had the same crazy passion for Chinese medicine. At 17, she had her first acupuncture treatment. At 20, she enrolled in acupuncture school. In 1998 she went to China to study, where she fell deeply in love with East Asian Herbs. Since then, she has devoted her life to studying and teaching the topic.

Cara is the founder of Six Fishes Healing Arts in Philadelphia, where she maintains a busy acupuncture practice and acts as the head fish of a warm and lively office. She is the president of China Herb Company and has recently launched China Herb Seminars. Cara is the author of TCM Case Studies: Eye Ear Nose and Throat Disorders.

Thanks so much for inviting me here! My background was far from traditional. My parents were Beatniks in the East Village in the ’50s. I am named after my father’s Reichian therapist. My mother was macrobiotic in the ’50s, and she opened the 2nd health-food store on the ground floor of our Brooklyn brownstone. Later, it evolved into a natural foods restaurant, and as a teenager, I worked for her, so cooking and food were what I knew. Our house was filled with an eclectic stream of students, artists, draft resisters- everyone was welcome. Everyone was fed. It was warm, love-filled chaos!

When I was 17, I became ill with colitis. This was in 1977, and acupuncture was new to the United States. In fact, it wasn’t even legal to practice- there were no laws in New York State at the time. My stepmother took me to see a man who treated me with acupuncture, and I was literally cured with one treatment. Choosing my career was fully in alignment with my upbringing. I never had to shift my values. I was born for this work.

When I graduated High School, I moved to the Boston Area and began cooking in fancy restaurants, but I was bored. I saw a small article in a local paper, and on an impulse, I applied. This was in 1980. I joke that this was the Mesozoic era of Acupuncture. Disposable needles hadn’t been manufactured yet. There were virtually no books in English. But I knew I had found my path.

In 1988 I was investigated for practicing medicine without a license. I was living in New York, and the laws to practice weren’t enacted. So lots of us were doing it anyway. But I kind of took it for the team.

I closed up shop and moved to the Catskills. And then a friend gifted me money. So I decided to study Herbal Medicine in China. I chose a program at a hospital in Beijing and really fell head-first in love with herbal medicine.

When I returned, I moved to Philadelphia. I began to build an herbal pharmacy. A friend who owned an herb company asked if we could fill custom formulas for them. And another colleague asked if we could fill her formulas. And so, I founded China Herb Company, which to this day, more than 30 years later, is my other business.

A couple of years later, people began to ask me to teach- and so, since I’m in the habit of saying yes, I created a 300-hour herbal program. Later, as the field became more regulated, I created 660 hour nationally accredited programs at two acupuncture schools and student clinics.

A friend working for a Chinese publishing house asked me to edit and translate a textbook. I spent 4 years on that project!

My practice was always busy- too busy for one person. I began thinking about the community acupuncture movement. I wanted acupuncture to be accessible to everyone. I began to envision a hybrid practice with private and community acupuncture. Literally on a whim- I found a space in a rapidly growing part of my neighborhood and signed a lease. With no team, no plan, no budget. Let’s just say I lost a lot of sleep. Now, we have about 750 patient visits monthly, and I have a team of 5 other practitioners.

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

The pandemic proved to be a crystallizing experience for me and the practice. In the blink of an eye, I went from owning a business to leading a business. It’s different, and the latter is value-driven and heart-centered.

Beginning in late 2019, I was watching what was happening in Wuhan very carefully. The global acupuncture community began to share the successes of Chinese doctors using herbs with Western Medicine within hospitals. Because of their prior experience treating SARS, China had already amassed a great deal of clinical data showing improved outcomes with Covid patients. In fact, the treatment of epidemics has been recorded and studied for millennia. I gathered all the available information and, on Feb 5th of 2020, presented a lecture on Facebook live, sharing this. It wasn’t my work- I just wanted everyone to have all the tools possible so we could help.

In PA, we are considered an essential service, so we never had to close the practice. But we did close for a month in March of 2020. I had a lot to put in place: air filters, Plexiglas shields, new flooring, disinfectant procedures, and an exposure event process. We immediately pivoted to telehealth appointments. In the beginning, the focus was anxiety management and immune support. But it quickly evolved into the usual health concerns: IBS, fertility, headaches. Because herbs are our superpower, we have a powerful tool with which to help people from afar. Now- telehealth is a stand-alone service we offer.

My primary concern was the safety of my staff. We needed to stay healthy. I knew that if I prioritized my team, then the patients would be safe. I am forever grateful for their adaptability. We became a machine of safety rules to stay strong for the community. We navigated this- as a team. I included them in every single hard decision, and I really listened to their concerns. Because of this, our patients felt safe coming to the office. We were also treating active Covis via telehealth with the sole focus on keeping them out of the hospital. Now, of course, we are treating long Covid.

Then, in May-June, the Black Lives Matter riots happened, and Philly was gutted. It was traumatic for all of us. Normally, we offer free acupuncture treatments in a community crisis, but the pandemic precluded this option. How could we help? I decided I wanted to give. But to who? Black Lives Matter? Community Bail Fund. Nope. None of that felt right. I need to stay rooted in our values: health. I wanted to address disparities in Black and BIPOC disparities in Maternal wellness and health. So I donated 100% of the proceeds of our online vitamin sales for wellness and homebirth funds. This year, I was reading about period poverty. I became so upset about this. I decided to repeat my fundraiser. See this blog. I raised $250. Here’s a picture of me with a wall of pads and tampons. Honestly- it’s not a fundraiser, per se- I’m just donating the money.

Many practitioners became paralyzed with anxiety and stopped practicing. They studied herbology yet didn’t have the confidence to utilize this skill with the patients. I identified an opportunity to give them practical skills and also teach telehealth literacy. An accurate diagnosis from afar means you rely more on visual and verbal cues. So- China Herb Seminars was born!

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

Oh geez- I don’t know any mistake that feels funny at the time. I’d say I have been the queen of making expensive mistakes. In the past, I was the queen of doing things the hard way. But I have a history of what I call cart before the horse: Jumping in without a real game plan. I mean- who on earth opens an office with no plan, budget, or team? I’m way more strategic now.

None of us can 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?

You know, I’d like to give a shout-out to Goldman-Sachs 10,000 small business program. Very few of us are born businesspeople. I call myself an accidental businesswoman. But I also needed to get my big girl pants on and hone my business chops. The guidance I received from them helped me improve as the owner of 3 businesses. Still, it helped me develop the culture I wanted to create for the women who work with me and the patients we care for. Plus, it connected me with so many local, national and global resources.

Having a growth mindset involves knowing where to find support and resources: banking, grants, mentorship, marketing research. I have learned that there is so much support for women in business, locally and nationally. However, getting from bootstrapping to a business is not for the faint of heart. I feel that the culture of business, in general, is male-dominated: often rooted in competition. And there’s the reality that the lion’s share of childrearing still falls on women.

Unconscious gender bias, as well as race bias, also can play a role. But, for me, imposter syndrome has been my biggest struggle.

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?

Do your banking with a smaller bank: a local bank that is interested in supporting the community.
Reach out to your city and learn what grants, tax breaks, and incentives you can take advantage of.
Are there small business incubators in your community? Ask for help. You’d be amazed by how people want you to succeed.

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

Women should become founders because of all the superpowers that make us born to lead: Being logical, yet intuitive, Broad, yet granular, strategic, yet nurturing. I find women collaborate more easily than men. In addition, I think that women are suited to build value-driven businesses that support them and improve the community for all.

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

Hmm- the myth that any of us does it alone. Six Fishes is great because my team is great.

No- not everyone is cut out for the world of business. I see this a lot in my field: acupuncture. I think most practitioners don’t love running a business. Or they aren’t good at it. But, they love focusing on their craft: Chinese Medicine. Unfortunately, there are some brutal statistics of graduates who don’t succeed. But, the simple fact is, everyone can learn the rudiments of running an efficient small business.

Put your health first: You cannot and will not succeed if you are running on empty. Nurture yourself, body-mind, and spirit.
Lean into your superpowers and get help on the rest. We’re not supposed to be good at everything. Farm out admin or copywriting or whatever you don’t enjoy. Even if you can’t afford help yet, maybe explore bartering. Or check out resources like Fivrr or Hire My Mom for virtual help.
Running a successful business involves mindfulness. Allow time for quiet, uninterrupted thought and use this time to think broadly. I have a special teal velvet “thinking chair.” Sometimes I make lists. Often I’m envisioning what I want to create.
This leads me to: Name your goals: if you can say it, you can create it. And while you’re at it- be aspirational. Let yourself think so big that it takes you to the edge of your comfort zone. Then I like to make a mind map to break down the steps towards that goal. Plus- I make passwords out of positive affirmations.
Have a mission statement: Honestly- it was one of the hardest things I ever had to write. I felt like I need therapy. But the point is to say, and own, what your doing, makes it happen.
Be committed to lifelong learning. Stay curious.

OK- I snuck in an extra.

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

I honestly try to improve people’s health- body, mind, and spirit- by generously sharing knowledge with the community and practitioners to elevate them.

I would like every hospital in the US to employ acupuncturists and treat patients using acupuncture and herbal medicine. The Cleveland Clinic actually created this!

One line of my mission statement is that “Chinese Medicine is a practical tool.” I mean it. It’s a safe and effective treatment for so many diseases. What could be better than a drug-free modality that is safe for nearly everyone?

You know, the first woman I thought of was Harriet Tubman. Then Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now you know my heroes. But, moving to the present: I would love to share a meal with Dolly Parton. She’s so talented and entrepreneurial and generous. And she’s funny as hell. She’s a great role model.

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

You’re welcome! This was a lot of fun!

Female Founders: Cara O Frank of Six Fishes Acupuncture On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and S was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Stacey Ferreira of WorkJam On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Stacey Ferreira of WorkJam On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Understand your North star — Ask yourself, why are you doing this? Why do you want to start and run a business in the first place? If you don’t know, it can be one of the most demotivating factors into building a business.

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

Stacey Ferreira is the Director of Digital Workplace Strategy at WorkJam, primarily focused on helping Ops/HR/IT leaders select the right workforce management platform for their employees to succeed in the 2020 decade. Previously, Stacey was the co-founder and CEO of Forge, a flexible scheduling and talent sharing platform (acquired by WorkJam, ’20) and the co-founder of MySocialCloud (acquired by Reputation.com, ‘13). She also co-authored 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials Are Breaking Down Age Barriers & Changing the World.

I started off my career in an untraditional way. I became an entrepreneur at 18 years old, creating an internet security company called MySocialCloud and selling it to reputation.com after 2 years of running the business. My friends, family, and colleagues all knew me as a go-getter, so after selling my business they asked “what next?” I had a passion for helping the younger generation think about the endless possibilities to positively impact the world using technology, so I co-authored and published a book called 2 Billion Under 20 to showcase young people leading the way. This led me to the idea for Forge, a flexible scheduling company I founded that allowed frontline workers to swap shifts with each other on a digital platform. The company was acquired by WorkJam in 2020 and now I work at WorkJam as the global director of revenue operations and business development.

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

One of the most fascinating stories started when I began fundraising for my first business. I was an 18 year old, female entrepreneur, living in LA, and was making every effort possible to raise money for the business. I had no connections, I was young, and other than starting my business, the only other experience I had was working in a nursing home when I was in high school. But one day I saw a tweet on Twitter from Sir Richard Branson at Virgin Group. He was asking for 2,000 dollar donations for a charity event he was hosting, and in return he gave every donor the chance to meet him in person. I didn’t have 2,000 dollars to donate, but I sent an email saying I would love to meet Richard Branson. His secretary responded by saying I have to donate to meet him, so I borrowed 2,000 dollars to go meet him.

My fundraising and donation was successful; I met with Richard, got his email over the course of two nights, then a month later thanked him for the event and asked pointed questions about how to grow my business. He sent one of his friends, an investor named Jerry Murdock, and had him meet with the small team we had at the time, and after that meeting they invested $1.2 million into our business.

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?

Sometimes the funniest mistake you make is figuring out you “don’t know what you don’t know,” and for me that was with the basic sales process. When I was first starting the business, we had some organic growth — press that turned into customers. But when it came to branching outside those inbound leads, I was lost. At the time, I was straight out of high school, so I didn’t know what a sales cycle looked like for our type of product. I didn’t know how to assess a buying center within an organization. I didn’t know the difference between an influencer and a decision-maker within a deal. And I certainly didn’t know anything about sales funnels or conversion rates. Looking back it’s a bit comical, because I remember distinctly sitting on the floor of our office with a friend of mine getting a crash course on everything sales until 2am for multiple nights in a row. But that’s what entrepreneurship is all about — starting off with not much more than a hypothesis and then asking a million questions, trying different things and eventually figuring it out.

I’ll refer to my story about Richard Branson above. Without Branson, Jerry Murdock, and Alex Welch who all invested in that first business, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I learned so much from the three of them, and the fact that they took a chance on a few high school and college kids is something that still inspires me to this day. I hope to do the same as I continue to grow in my career.

This is a great question and a hotly debated topic. From my point of view, there are two things in particular that I had to mentally fight to get started. First, time constraints and priorities are a real issue. We’re human, so we can’t do everything we want to do in life. We have to pick and choose, and women at times have to make some choices quicker than men do. As a professional woman who wants kids of my own some day, math, prioritization and an acute awareness for time passing are always top of mind. Regardless of the pressures society puts on me, biology tells me that if I want kids of my own, I have to prioritize that sooner rather than later. While my male counterparts can wait to make that decision until well into their 40s or 50s, I cannot. For a lot of women, this is a huge deterrent to starting a business. We feel the need to finish high school, college or an MBA, start off with a career at a stable company to financially prepare ourselves for taking on that responsibility of parenthood in our 20s and 30s. That’s almost the opposite of starting a company with no money that could fail.

Another constraint is workload. Some couples balance workload extremely well and try to split responsibilities 50/50. But in a lot of cases, the workload isn’t or can’t be split 50/50. Household chores, taking care of kids or pets, organizing some semblance of a social life are all things that, more often than not, fall to women — which means they have less time for things like starting a company. So anytime I see a woman starting a company, especially one who has a family…I know she must be great at making decisions, prioritization and delegation, at a minimum.

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?

One, as individuals, having better support systems and better communities that consist of female founders builds confidence, builds a community of ideas, and builds a foundation for female entrepreneurs. Setting boundaries as individuals is key as well, saying what you will do and what you won’t do from the start will save so much headache and ill-informed investment.

Two, as a society, we can do a better job supporting people and granting better access to resources and opportunities for women and minorities looking to found a business. Many times we don’t offer or don’t make women aware of the resources available to help them jumpstart their business, which could be the deciding factor between a successfully run woman’s business and one that doesn’t get the chance to start.

From a government standpoint, they can do more to fund and give resources to female founded businesses, which also applies to most minority owned businesses. Similar to society’s role, the government can also offer more programs and make their current programs more widely known and available for women to utilize and build a business off of.

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?

Tons of reasons. One is freedom and flexibility. Being a founder of a business will give you freedom and flexibility with time, and when it comes to family time or other responsibilities, owning a business allows you to set your hours. Depending on how you like to work, building a business may be the freedom you need to tackle everything you want in life. Another one is that businesses pave a path to wealth creation. There is a difference between salary and wealth creation, and owning a stake in a business naturally has more dollars flow to the owners and more women owners means more dollars to women, logically.

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

Yes! One myth I would love to dispel — people think founders are a glorified, non-hard work position and that it is an easy job. This could not be farther from the truth. Out of every 100 things a founder does, founders are successful one time. We just see the success on social media and on television. It is not a glamorous life; it’s a life of long hours, hard days, and every initiative we embark on is very strategic. It takes time, work and effort.

Additionally, people also glorify financing rounds. People don’t understand these funding rounds are a debt that needs to be repaid — and using the money for profitable ventures is the ultimate goal for the investor. Everything around funding is overplayed, and the myth that raising a lot of money means the business is doing well is too prevalent. It indicates that a group of investors thinks the business is doing well, but the balance sheet is what matters more. The main takeaway is ensuring your business is healthy when it comes to operating expenses. Don’t worry about the mega-fundraising rounds some companies go through.

Everyone can be a successful founder, if they want it enough! It comes down to values and sacrifice. Do they value being a successful founder over and above everything else? The self motivation has to be extreme, the grit has to be extreme and your leadership skills are essential to lead your employees and other folks to come with you on your journey. You must also be excellent at sales in order to sell your business offerings, but if you have all of that, yes you can be a successful founder. Additionally, as a founder, you wear a lot of hats in your business and things can begin to get very granular. If these things excite you and you want to dedicate yourself to these traits, then you have as good of a shot as anyone.

You will need motivation. When I was starting my second company, I was doing a book tour, going to college and starting my business all at the same time. I made it work because I was willing to put in the hours even with everything going on in life. Don’t take the easy route; keep going and find the motivation in yourself to never stop.
You need grit. Many people will tell you your business will not be successful. It can be especially draining when sending out cold emails to get investor responses in a seed round. With my last seed round for my company, out of 120 investors, only 16 wrote checks. It can be painful to receive rejections or no responses, but having the grit and tenacity to remain positive and hopeful for your business will allow you to keep operations going.
Understand your North star. Ask yourself, why are you doing this? Why do you want to start and run a business in the first place? If you don’t know, it can be one of the most demotivating factors into building a business.
You must have a can-do attitude. You need to be willing to learn more about every aspect of your business. If someone knowledgeable comes along and gives advice to build on your marketing, your go-to market operations, or your sales, you need to have a “yes” attitude and learn more about the business. There is no room for stubbornness when looking to expand your business, so when good advice comes through the door, take it!
You need a support system. You need people you can learn from and lean on when you hit that brick wall and have nowhere to turn. That support system will help you push through that brick wall and stay on track. In the past, there was a time in my first business where we hit a sales plateau, and we didn’t know how to grow past reaching out to friends and family for successful sales. A good friend sat me down, asked lots of great questions on my most successful customer acquisition process, and it gave me perspective on what it takes to reach the right answer and how to tap into your support system. Finding people like that and brainstorming ideas with each other is the key to building a strong support system!

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

A few ways. First, software, by nature, truly helps millions in their daily work life. Millions spend a lot of time at work, and these workers need flexibility, transparency, expectations, and productivity at their job. With the flexibility software at Forge, my second business, that software gave frontline workers the help and flexibility they needed to make their jobs easier. And, I’m proud to serve a similar mission in my current role at WorkJam — helping businesses improve the management of their workforce while simultaneously improving the lives of their hourly workers. I am also an angel investor, helping fund female founded businesses and using my business expertise and resources to leverage that.

If I could inspire a movement, it would be one on entrepreneurial education. This is because if I were to start a business again, my ability and impact on founding that business is just that — one person starting a business. But if I can go out and educate 100 women on how to build a business, that impact is multiplied 100 fold. I would educate them on how to start a successful, positive business that significantly impacts the world and drives them to become their most effective, entrepreneurial selves.

I would be interested in eating with Ray Dalio, an American investor who runs Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. He wrote a book called Principles, which is about a business run on radical transparency. He explores how to manage and create a transparent company culture and why that works, and I would love to pick his brain about that topic and see behind the mind that created such a fascinating concept.

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

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

Female Disruptors: Dr Jenny Finn of Springhouse On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your…

Female Disruptors: Dr Jenny Finn of Springhouse On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Finally, the last piece of advice is from my husband. He has taught me to see the beauty in the moment and not seek happiness through novelty or attention and praise. I have two examples of this. One was in my early thirties. I was bored, and probably lonely, and looking for something on the outside to make me happy. At that time, I thought it was moving to the ocean from the mountains of Colorado. He said, “If you can’t walk down our street and see something new, worth noticing, you won’t find it at the ocean either.” He was pointing to my perspective problem, which I wasn’t willing to own at first. I am really glad I listened to him at that time, as I would have been chasing something that I needed to find within me. The second example occurred when I was going to facilitate my very first community dance. I was afraid no one would come. As I walked out, my husband said, “If dancing in that beautiful church with God is not enough, nothing ever will be.” So true. To clarify, God for me is vitality, life, and is known for me in the inner voice I described earlier. I am very grateful for my husband and his words of wisdom.

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

Dr. Jenny Finn has designed structures that foster vitality in people, communities, and organizations for nearly thirty years. Finn’s work has taken many forms, including non-profit direction, trauma and hospice care, spiritual care and hospital chaplaincy, private practice, community-building through the expressive arts, and educational and cultural design. Finn holds a Ph.D. in Sustainability Education from Prescott College and is the Founding Visionary at Springhouse — an intergenerational community in the Blue Ridge Mountains that, for the past eight years, has been building regenerative culture through vitality-centered education that responds to the world’s emerging needs. Springhouse now shares its design principles globally through the Sourced Design Network.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/59e0dd5d04f28e7e3dad0bee9b66e909/href">https://medium.com/media/59e0dd5d04f28e7e3dad0bee9b66e909/href</a>

I would be happy to, and, as you might expect from a disruptor, this will be a strange story to most of those who read it. In my early 20s (I am now 50), I had an experience that changed the course of my life forever. I was knee-deep in alcohol addiction at a young age, causing damage mostly to myself, but also to those around me. One night, I was at a fraternity party, very intoxicated, and heard something within me say, “Put the drinks down. You will never drink again.” At 20 years old, I listened, which is frankly a miracle. It has been 30 years, and I have not had a drink since that night. I have listened to that intuitive voice that has led me all over the world into very interesting “career” paths, including directing a nonprofit that brought people of different backgrounds together around the dinner table; leading dance with hundreds of people on a study abroad program aboard a ship; working in spiritual care in a trauma department and hospice; mentoring hundreds of people and organizations who wish to return to a greater sense of vitality in their lives and places; and, finally, founding a school — the last thing I ever thought I would do.

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

Orienting around something that I ultimately can’t explain has led me into work that demands courage, creativity, clarity, and compassion. For the past three decades, I have moved towards places in our society that are in need of revitalization. Eight years ago, I co-founded a school that is leading the way in regenerative educational and cultural design. The industrial model of education no longer serves the needs of this time, and education is a leverage point to disrupt and redirect culture. Education is the place where adults in power determine what is most important to pass down to our young people. What we are passing down today in education perpetuates an individualistic culture, one where the currency of the community and the connection to this Earth is often ignored. To build a life-giving culture, we must shift the way we define and practice education. At Springhouse, we are disrupting education as it stands, and are now a strong example of a design that is giving hope to others around the world.

We now support those who wish to put vitality at the front and center of their design through the Sourced Design Network through which we offer Sourced Design Labs for participants to work with the design principles in their communities; monthly meetings to support disruptors globally in their vitality-centered design work; an annual gathering that spotlights whole-system design changes; and an 8-month immersive experience for those interested in diving even more deeply into the cultural change work that Springhouse is up to.

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?

This actually isn’t funny, but when you ask about a mistake, this is the one I have to share. This happened right when I was beginning to lead movement and dance experiences as a way to foster vitality in schools. I was with third grade students leading a movement exercise that went something like this: Move like it’s your birthday. Move like you just won an award. Move like your little sister just knocked down something you built. And then I said, Move like your goldfish just died. It seemed like a pretty benign invitation, but when I offered the goldfish prompt, one third grader started to cry — then another, and another — until about a third of the class was crying. I look back now and smile at myself. I tried everything to stop them from crying; after all, I had to get them to math class. When I brought them to the teacher sniffling, she took over, inviting them to sit at the desks and pull out a pencil. I went home and had that terrible feeling that I was in trouble. Sure enough, when I returned the next day, I was called into the principal’s office. He basically said this: “Your work is needed, but you can’t do it here. We don’t have the structures to hold the range of emotions that these children have and neither do most of their families.” I agreed, and then asked, “What do we do then? What do they do with these emotions?” Of course, there was no good answer. I stayed at that school, and we worked through it. To hear the whole story and more, you can listen to a TEDx talk I gave some years ago here.

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?

What a great, important question. Thank you for this. Since I was 20, I have had a mentor of some kind in my life. A few years after sobering up, at age 25, I was diagnosed with a serious cancer. I had two mentors then: one was a Catholic priest and the other, a former Franciscan monk. These two walked me through a deep crisis of doubt and fear and reoriented me to the voice I had first heard only a few years before. Their faith, rooted in ancient traditions and universal wisdom, pointed me in a direction that only strengthened my desire to be of service to this world. Tom introduced me to a stillness that I hadn’t known before through meditation, and John showed me the power of working with your hands through his love of pruning bonsai trees. Another mentor, Melissa, led me back to a relationship with my body on the dance floor. I apprenticed with her over the course of a year as a young mother and then several years after that. The pain of addiction and cancer lived in my body. Dancing with Melissa allowed me to break through what was holding me back. Melissa said something to me then that I will never forget. She said, “If you are not experiencing any resistance, you are not doing anything new.” I have been very fortunate to learn from some of the great disruptors of our time, including a long-term mentor of mine, who asks me almost every time we talk, “How is your loneliness?” He reminds me that I am not alone and that being a cultural disruptor can be lonely work. He also reminds me that I walk beside many who gather their strength from a deeper source in service to a healthier world.

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?

To answer this question, we must consider the context of what we are disrupting. We also must consider the why behind the disruptor. What I use to determine whether or not a disruption serves the common good is this: Does this action, or disruptive action, serve life? Does it bring forth more life, more connection, more authenticity to this planet? There are many cultural disruptors who have used various leverage points to change the direction or the agenda of our culture at large. Martin Luther King, Jr is one obvious example of a disruptor who came from a deeply convicted inner place to carry out a movement that made a difference. When disruption is initiated to perpetuate an unsustainable culture, like some of the educational policies that have been passed to solidify the practices of standardized learning and remove the autonomy of the adults in the system, this is not positive, in my opinion. For “things that stand the test of time,” or tradition is another way to say that, if they are traditions that foster vitality, then they stand the test of time because they are rooted in sustainability and care and support something that we need more of to heal and regenerate. If they don’t, and they are oppressive structures that stand the test of time, it is time to disrupt. The question is less for me about whether it is good or bad, and more about does this take care of life. If it doesn’t, disruption is called for.

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

The first thing I thought of comes from a 13 c. mystic, Meister Eckhart, who said, “The outer work will never be puny when the inward work is great.” For thirty years, I have focused on getting to know myself — my strengths and my weaknesses. I have opened myself to what I don’t know about me, not resting for too long in a false sense of security. The discipline of cultivating self-awareness does not lead to perfection — it leads to freedom. My life is an example of staying close to my inner compass. I live, and have lived, a beautiful, enriching, adventurous life of service — one that unfolds from the center of me. For this, I am grateful.
The second piece of advice that came to mind comes from my Dad. When I had cancer, I was going in to have a really painful test done. My Dad had quite the story of his own and climbed mountains that, for many, would have been insurmountable. When I was walking into the test, scared to death about how I would make it through, he said to me, “Ask them how long it will be. Knowing how long I have to make it through something helps me make it through.” Sometimes we can’t know how long something will be, but when we can know, I can parse out my resources to make it through what seems impossible. I sustain myself through difficulty better that way.
Finally, the last piece of advice is from my husband. He has taught me to see the beauty in the moment and not seek happiness through novelty or attention and praise. I have two examples of this. One was in my early thirties. I was bored, and probably lonely, and looking for something on the outside to make me happy. At that time, I thought it was moving to the ocean from the mountains of Colorado. He said, “If you can’t walk down our street and see something new, worth noticing, you won’t find it at the ocean either.” He was pointing to my perspective problem, which I wasn’t willing to own at first. I am really glad I listened to him at that time, as I would have been chasing something that I needed to find within me. The second example occurred when I was going to facilitate my very first community dance. I was afraid no one would come. As I walked out, my husband said, “If dancing in that beautiful church with God is not enough, nothing ever will be.” So true. To clarify, God for me is vitality, life, and is known for me in the inner voice I described earlier. I am very grateful for my husband and his words of wisdom.

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

Great question. By creating a network of disruptors! I am the Founding Visionary at Springhouse where I work with an amazing team of adults and teens building regenerative culture right now by disrupting the way we educate and reorienting educational design around taking care of this precious life. We do that through five principles that include:

Take care of vulnerability
Cultivate personhood
Build beloved community
Respect the wisdom of the Earth
Love and serve others

Springhouse offers a Day School for teens; we provide programs for adults to wake up to the vitality within themselves and foster life in the communities they live in; and finally, we share our design through the Sourced Design Network, which includes design labs, an 8-month immersive experience, and an annual gathering where vitality-centered practitioners share their experiences from around the world. This year, we are activating our farm (that was gifted to us two years ago) through our Cultural Design Fellowship. This fellowship brings people from around the world to engage in regenerative farm design with the Springhouse community. This, along with our investment model and organizational structure, is culturally disruptive. We have moved this year from a tuition-based model to one of trust and transparency, and we also seek to restore the relationship between humans and the Earth by designing the farm as a healing place that serves the needs of our community. Finally, we also engage in what we call Collective Liberation Work as a community. This work includes examining racism and privilege in creative and courageous ways; offering courses in LGBTQ+ studies for teens and adults; and, beginning this year, exploring our connection to place by learning about the ecology of Floyd County, which includes learning about the indigenous peoples who lived here. These efforts will continue to strengthen Springhouse as a leading example in vitality-centered cultural design.

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

Another good question. There are many challenges. When I stepped into this position of leading — not just a school, but a cultural movement in whole-system cultural design change starting with education — the resistance was real. Much of it was because we are experimenting with a system like education that hasn’t significantly shifted in a couple hundred years. It is often the fear of change that initiates the criticism, skepticism, and downright judgement. As a woman in this role, I have experienced being devalued by others despite the successes that Springhouse was achieving. I have also felt that my emotions and my passion for this work, which as you now know is deeply personal, are too much — that I should tone it down in some way. I also have experienced, both from within and without, “Who do I think I am to be leading this kind of charge?” As much as devaluing women is part of our societal story, it is my responsibility to find my strength from within and do my work anyway. When we orient around life, and we commit to taking care of vulnerability in a design, everyone is valued — not just human beings, but the other-than-human world, too. Being devalued as a woman has only led me to a greater determination to continue to live and share the message that we have to reorient our cultural design around taking care of life, and we’ve got to start with education. The evidence is clear — many societal institutions need revitalization, especially education. It is this revitalization that leads to valuing all people, no matter what.

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

The work of Dr. Bill Plotkin affirms and supports the work we are up to at Springhouse. Dr. Plotkin puts forth an eco-centric human development model and invites us into a deeper relationship with ourselves, each other, and the planet. Bill works closely with us on our model of vitality-centered education for teens and adults. HIs book Nature and the Human Soul is one of the most important guides I have found when it comes to building culture that moves us beyond patho-adolescence and into healthy adulthood.

Right now I am reading Seth Godin’s book, The Icarus Deception, to prepare for a course I will be co-facilitating for older adolescents. It is so powerful in that it invites us all to live the life we came here to live. He talks about the difference between a safety zone and a comfort zone, and the two are not the same. He said we can be safe and be uncomfortable at the same time. Growth does require varying levels of discomfort, and I love how he speaks directly to that in the book.

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. 🙂

Thank you! I am inspiring a movement, and I am not doing that alone — I am working beside the Springhouse team of teens and adults every day. We serve a common mission and purpose. Springhouse is a living example of what culture can be when education shifts radically to orient around life. Examples, more than ideas and dreams, bring hope. Springhouse brings hope to many around the world because of the example that it is, and now it has given rise to a movement we call the Sourced Design Network. To join the network, people first participate in a Sourced Design Lab; then they can participate in the immersion or attend monthly meetings that allow us to support each other in practicing the design principles around the world. There is also an annual gathering that celebrates vitality-centered design in all the ways it is being practiced across the globe. My hope in the long-term is that, through these case studies, the evidence will be even more clear — whole-system design change is needed, starting with education.

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

A friend who I traveled around the world with in 2010 quoted these words to me from the Aboriginal activist, Lilla Watson: “If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” I am not here to save anyone. That is not within my power, and it is not my role. My role is to show up to this life as best I can — as courageously, compassionately, creatively, and clearly as I can. The human will has limits, and when those limits are respected and used in ways that tend to the common good, we can show up in ways we never imagined — at least that is my experience. Through a lot of reflection, practice, and surrender, one’s very presence can be liberating for all.

How can our readers follow you online?

If you would like to learn more about an intergenerational learning community committed to building regenerative culture now by creating and activating vitality-centered education, you can learn more about Springhouse at springhouse.org.

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

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

Female Founders: Patty McDonough Kennedy of SpeakWell Youth Leadership Corp On The Five Things You…

Female Founders: Patty McDonough Kennedy of SpeakWell Youth Leadership Corp On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Build a strong, authentic community & seek to serve others. I think it’s fairly easy in a social media saturated world to mistake likes and followers for an authentic community. Anyone can take selfies, throw in a quippy line, show off their body and face and hope people “like” them. I get why they do it, but it’s a little sad to see people measure their worth that way. You’re more than that. Building an authentic community is critical. It’s a community of people who lift each other up, have each others’ backs, and nurture each other’s strengths. I’m so incredibly grateful for a strong community of friends, colleagues, clients — they are my backbone. I’m also very intentional about who I surround myself with in real life and online.

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

Patty McDonough Kennedy is an international entrepreneur, speaker, and communication trainer. She has more than 20 years of experience advising multinational companies and senior executives. A graduate of St. Bonaventure University, Patty spent 10 years overseas in Eastern and Western Europe and East Africa.In 2005, she founded her company, Kennedy Spencer and transformed it into an international business. In 2018, she was named “Female Disruptor,” for pioneering a study about the impact of communication on our brain. A TEDx and public speaker, Patty has spoken in 10 countries and been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times, and Entrepreneur Magazine. In 2018, she found her passion for teaching and started SpeakWell — a youth leadership and public speaking program that focuses on building stronger student mindsets, teaching leadership, speaking and reinforcing practical life skills. Patty is the proud mom of two sons, both who have gone through the SpeakWell program. For more information visit www.speakwell.rocks.

After I graduated from college, I moved to Washington, DC and later had the opportunity to live and work in Kiev, Ukraine. That led to an assignment in Kampala, Uganda and then London, England. What was supposed to be a three-month assignment turned into seven years. Living and working abroad at such a young age, being away from everything and everyone that was familiar, and building an incredible group of expat relationships and diverse perspectives was invaluable. It taught me the critical importance of thoughtful communication. This experience laid the groundwork for becoming an entrepreneur and starting my first company, Kennedy Spencer, as well as my second, SpeakWell. I was interested in bringing the same kind of leadership skills that I learned from senior executives and life experience to youth. I feel strongly about the importance of doing this for all students — particularly girls and underserved communities.

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

In July, 2019, a last-minute change opened up an important relationship for SpeakWell. I ended up having to pick up my son and his friends at a basketball camp. At that camp, I saw former Syracuse University, retired NBA player and NY Knick, John Wallace, speaking to the campers. While I knew little about basketball or John, the way he spoke — and what he spoke about — were the same lessons we were trying to teach through SpeakWell. At the time, the 7th-grade kids were preparing to deliver TEDx talks. I had two incredible adult speakers and needed a third who also knew how to connect well with kids. John was signing autographs and I remember walking up to him thinking, “This guy is going to think I’m nuts.” But I didn’t care. The kids were working so hard. I knew if he agreed to do a TEDx talk they’d be over the moon. He agreed. As an aside, I think he is the only NBA player to have given a TEDx talk. He later became our first role model, an advisor, and two years later — to the day — we added the SpeakWell component to John’s basketball camps to help build leaders on and off the court. Now we’re quickly expanding that camp model. It’s an interesting story — especially considering I wasn’t even supposed to be at camp pick-up that day.

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?

Everything about teaching and talking with kids is funny. I don’t think we’ve ever had a class where we didn’t laugh. As far as mistakes go, we — and I especially — make mistakes daily, which I encourage the kids to do as well. If you’re not laughing, learning by making mistakes, and growing, what’s the point? Something that is particularly funny — as the program evolved to include more online and technology aspects,which can be challenging to me — it’s quite handy to have 12 and 13-year olds always ready, willing and able to help me out!

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

There are really so many who helped create SpeakWell. It really took a village. The original students, parents, community and teachers from St. Joseph’s School — Yorkville, in NYC — where the program started. That community is ingrained in my heart forever. All of the students, schools that have since joined; adults who have supported, cheered on, donated, volunteered; the role models, advisors and companies who went out on a limb for the students. None of what we’ve done had ever been done before (the company panels, TEDx talks, writing national articles). It simply wouldn’t have happened without them. Of course, my own family, especially my parents & mom — who taught me how to find my own voice. Most of all my sons — who are incredible people. But particularly my older son — who, if he didn’t previously have stage fright, I probably wouldn’t have taught the class in the first place. He also dealt with the fact that his mother was the coach — which isn’t easy. He’s an alumni of the program and going to high school this year, so I’m looking forward to going back to being his mom.

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?

I can’t speak for everyone, but in my mind, there are three things:

1. Mindset — the thought, “I could never do that” or a lack of belief in their abilities or those who will support them- which is false.

2. Time & focus: Particularly if one has children or is operating in a caregiving capacity, there’s a question of having the time & emotional focus to start something new.

3. Funding — while there is more funding today than 20 years ago, I think the number of women who receive funding is around 3% — and that number fell in 2020. While women have proven themselves more than capable and successful, many funders want to see a track record or already established business record. We need more funders investing in the ideation & beta stage. I was lucky and worked hard to take on other contracts during that time — with some incredible people & companies — in order to support myself, my kids, invest back into the business, and provide program scholarships for students in need. It was hard, but worth it. Women are loyal. If you invest in her, she’s not going to forget that and work twice as hard to create success.

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?

Yes — Model, teach, encourage, create networks/space for that to happen, fund the ideation/beta stage & let her soar. Any one of these things is helpful — do all of them and she’ll hit it out of the park.

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?

I say this to students all the time: “Leadership is not a position, gender, color, or age, it’s an action.” To me, leadership means serving and supporting others. That’s what made me successful and what we teach. I think that’s somewhat intuitive for most women. To your question, why should more women become founders? Because there’s not enough.

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

Ten years ago, I used to get the question: “What’s the hardest thing about being a woman in business?” I’d reply, “Having to answer that question.” I identify as a female. I think when I walk into a room, most

people assume that I’m a female. I think the key to being a happy person is knowing & caring about the things important to you. I try to be a good person, accept & apologize for my mistakes, keep going, and hope to be judged on merit. The myths that may exist around me or what I do — while I am very aware of them — are not my focus. Others may not have my challenges or opportunities, and I don’t have theirs. I’m less concerned with disproving others’ opinions of me and more focused on what I have done, can do, and what the students can do.

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?

Thick skin is required to be a founder and being able to articulate your message consistently while staying true to yourself. I was taught a long time ago that to be a leader you must first learn to serve others. I think the only difference between leaders and founders is that founders have their own unique view of a service or product and how that meets the needs of the world. I’d say if you have a strength and that strength meets a need in the world, you’re willing to work harder than you thought — you’re a good candidate to become a founder.

Start with the Basics– I talk a lot about Maslow’s 1943 theory of motivation and the five levels of needs required for human beings to thrive, and in some cases, survive. It starts with the basic and physiological needs and moves up to community and self-esteem. You have to ensure the basics are met. You can’t build a strong house on a shaky foundation.
Mindset — Believe in yourself. Mindset is 90% of success and cultivating a strong mindset takes practice.What usually stops us — from doing anything — is fear. Fear of being judged, fear of failing, fear of things not working out as intended. But the truth is, everything you want is on the other side of fear. You have to consistently work at it and through it. I just said to a student struggling the other day, “Well, if you think you can or think you can’t, either way you’re right.”
Build a strong, authentic community & seek to serve others. I think it’s fairly easy in a social media saturated world to mistake likes and followers for an authentic community. Anyone can take selfies, throw in a quippy line, show off their body and face and hope people “like” them. I get why they do it, but it’s a little sad to see people measure their worth that way. You’re more than that. Building an authentic community is critical. It’s a community of people who lift each other up, have each others’ backs, and nurture each other’s strengths. I’m so incredibly grateful for a strong community of friends, colleagues, clients — they are my backbone. I’m also very intentional about who I surround myself with in real life and online.
Consistency & Commitment. You need to have a deep belief in what you do — no matter what the naysayers say — especially when that naysayer is you. There will be plenty of times as a founder, and in life, you have to stand alone. But incredible things happen once you understand failing is part of learning, commit to what you’re doing, and consistently work hard.
Authenticity & Kindness Our number #1 rule in the SpeakWell program is to respect ourselves and others. That doesn’t mean you say or do the perfect thing all the time (God knows, I don’t!) That means you have the courage to be yourself. Statistically speaking, every one of us has about a 1 in 4 billion chance of even being on this planet, you owe it to yourself to be yourself. But you can do that while still being respectful. Also treating others as you want to be treated, believing in something bigger than yourself, listening and seeing people for who they are — not whatever circumstance they are in at the moment. It’s important to be kind — to yourself and others. You really don’t have any idea what other people are going through.

I believe in the above as key to thriving as a Founder, but also as a happy, healthy, secure human being. That’s why we teach those lessons through the SpeakWell program.

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

The focus of SpeakWell is to build youth to be productive members of society, find their own strengths, voice and provide opportunities to demonstrate those strengths. In all the things I have done professionally, whether it was my first business or through the SpeakWell program, it has been with an eye toward a greater good. The name of the student TEDx talk was “Creating a Better World,” — where the students all shared their own ideas to create a better world. The whole purpose of the program is to help create stronger, more confident students who believe in themselves, support one another, find their own voice and know how to have respectful conversations — especially when they disagree. I think that makes the world a better place.

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

I think SpeakWell is already inspiring a movement. And I believe the program can really impact our students and society in profound ways. I’ve already seen it assist young people in ways they and I didn’t expect. In the words of the students, “It made me think differently about myself and also the way other people saw me.” Building that kind of self-esteem and respect has a ripple effect. The 8th and 9th grade SpeakWell alumni have already mentored the younger students. That’s important. Strong, secure students become strong secure adults who support one another.

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 the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this if we tag them.

I don’t look at people as famous or influencers, but what good they are doing in society. If our ideals and values align, we will likely be friends and good business partners. I tend to migrate toward people from whom I can learn from, grow with and we can help one another. So if any of those influencers from business, sports or entertainment read this and believe our ideals and views align, I would love to chat with them. Not just for what they can do to enable SpeakWell, but for how we can work on other things to better our young people finding their way and create a better world.

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

Thank you for the opportunity! It was my pleasure.

Female Founders: Patty McDonough Kennedy of SpeakWell Youth Leadership Corp On The Five Things You… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Tierra Jae of New Beginnings Credit Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR) On The Five…

Female Founders: Tierra Jae of New Beginnings Credit Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR) On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

As a successful woman founder, I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without being self-disciplined, organized, purpose-driven, persistent, and confident. Having self-discipline is the most important factor in success. In my earlier years of being an entrepreneur, I found that out the hard way. Without anyone to hold me accountable or tell me what to do and when to do it, I was just winging it and my business lacked because of it. I would have work to do but the moment my friends called me to hang out, I would put my work on the back burner. I got better at being disciplined and now regardless of how I feel, I get the job done.

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

Tierra Jae is a serial entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan. As the founder of New Beginnings Community Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR), Tierra has helped hundreds of individuals across the country enhance their lifestyles and restore their hopes for the future. NBCCR specializes in credit restoration services, bankruptcy assistance, criminal record expungements, and felon-friendly resources. To date, with NBCCR Tierra has helped over 300 clients across the country and has launched the first Black-owned credit management planners, The Credit Calendar.

From the moment I was old enough to answer questions about what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer has always been to become an entrepreneur! Creating my own business was always a goal but it wasn’t until I found myself fixing my credit that I decided to make a career out of it. I knew I needed to help others.

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

The constant acknowledgment & recognition I get for my company is the most interesting thing to me! Over the years I’ve been able to receive accolades just for being me and doing what I love. Most recently I was featured on the cover of a magazine, 3 Reasons Why, and when the owner called me he told me I was referred to him by a friend who spoke so highly of me and thought it would be a great idea to showcase my company. It was completely random but I was so honored. I got the cover blown up and framed to hang in my office and gifted one to each of my parents.

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

The funniest mistake I’ve made early on was thinking I could be my own graphic designer while only having a basic skill level in designing. I often look back at my old promotional flyers and laugh with embarrassment. Since then, I have invested in advancing my graphic skills and formed a business relationship with a professional graphic designer.

I have a host of family and friends that I’m grateful towards for helping me get where I am today. The way they believe in me and encourage me to keep going contributes to my success and often drives my accomplishments. I want to continue to make them proud.

To be specific, however, I’ll have to say that my 13-year-old daughter is the person that I’m most grateful for! My determination to be the best example for her while providing the best life for her is the reason for who I am today. Knowing that I have someone who depends on me and watches my every move has helped push me all these years. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that my kid truly admires me and the work that I do. She began following in my entrepreneurial footsteps at an early age creating two of her own businesses and she’s already decided that she’ll be taking over my company in the future.

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?

In this day and age, the only thing holding women back from founding companies is ourselves! You have to just go for it regardless of the statistics and regardless of the lack of funding. We can’t be afraid to start somewhere and do it!

Honestly, I got in my own way a few years ago. I started my company in 2015 and did extremely well in the beginning but by 2019 I got intimidated by the growth so I gave up. I went and got a job at a luxury department store and started an online boutique until I figured out my next move. The transition from boss to employee was rough for me. I hated working for someone else and playing by someone else’s rules. Working there only made me realize that I was wasting my time. After six months of working in retail, I got back in my groove, revamped my company, and came back better than before. Five months after leaving that job, my company had over 50 enrolled clients and I was making four times what I previously made. Once I got out of my own way, it all worked out!

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

I believe it starts individually, if more of us are creating the companies then society will follow. Once society sees that there’s a vast amount of women-founded companies, then the pressure can be applied to get them funded. I don’t believe the government will do too much more at the base level. Women have to just take the initiative, utilize the resources we currently have, and figure it out, as we always do.

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?

Other than my biased opinion that it’s one of the best career choices possible, there are lots of obvious advantages for women founders but here are a few:

Avoid the typical inequalities in the workforce
Take advantage of the freedom in time scheduling due to family life and raising kids
Show those that come after us that anything is possible

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

One myth that bothers me the most about female founders is that our success is always somehow accredited to a man. People are so quick to assume that a father, a significant other or a relationship with any man in power is at the root of our wins and that is not always the case. I find it so disheartening that people credit a woman’s success to the men around her.

Another myth is that it’s easy to be a founder especially when you have a team that works for you. There is nothing easy about building a successful business. The lessons you learn early on; the mistakes you make along the way; the days you have to motivate yourself to stop from throwing in the towel and giving up; it can all be so difficult!

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?

If you’re not driven, persistent and have the ability to lead, then you should just work for someone that does. To be a successful founder, you have to be driven. You have to wake up every day determined to succeed. Persistence is key when starting anything new and to achieve any goal you have to continue to keep working towards it no matter the obstacle. Being a leader is a quality not everyone possesses. Some people have it naturally, while others can be taught, but everyone isn’t cut out for it. If you are, take advantage of it!

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

As a successful woman founder, I know I wouldn’t have made it this far without being self-disciplined, organized, purpose-driven, persistent, and confident. Having self-discipline is the most important factor in success. In my earlier years of being an entrepreneur, I found that out the hard way. Without anyone to hold me accountable or tell me what to do and when to do it, I was just winging it and my business lacked because of it. I would have work to do but the moment my friends called me to hang out, I would put my work on the back burner. I got better at being disciplined and now regardless of how I feel, I get the job done.

Being organized made it easier for me to become self-disciplined. My friends always compliment me on how organized I am when it comes to my business. Having the proper tools, systems and protocols help me run every aspect of my business smoothly. I believe that living my purpose is a big reason why I’m successful. I know that my purpose in life is to help people and because I’m aligned with my beliefs and values, I enjoy what I do and it barely feels like work. The fulfillment motivates me every day and continues to push me to achieve my goals. This also ties into the persistence I have to have in order to take my company to new levels.

Lastly, confidence is key! I hate when I hear a business owner doubt themselves or seem like they’re unsure of their product or service. You won’t get anywhere like that! If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will.

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

Considering my line of work, I help people enhance their lifestyles and live a better quality of life. If that isn’t making the world a better place then I don’t know what is!

I’m currently working on a movement as we speak. I created a product called, The Credit Calendar, a planner that focuses on credit management. It helps you improve and manage your credit scores by remaining in a routine and staying on track. I created the product for any and everyone who needs it, but most recently I realized that college students might also benefit from it.

Personal credit is not heavily taught in the education system, but your credit affects 80% of your life’s decisions as an adult. I want to prevent every college student from making the same mistake I made in college. My aim is to inspire them to start building their credit profiles now so they can benefit from it in the future.

This might be a bit of a stretch but I would love to have a private lunch with Mark Lemonis. I admire him so much as an entrepreneur and I’m obsessed with his tv show “The Profit”. I’ve learned so much from watching his show to see the advice that he would give to other business owners and implementing it into my own practices. Having lunch with him would be a dream so please pass that along!

Thank you so much for this opportunity, answering your questions has been a pleasure!

Female Founders: Tierra Jae of New Beginnings Credit Consulting & Restoration (NBCCR) On The Five… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Christina Terplan of Atheria Law On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed

Female Founders: Christina Terplan of Atheria Law On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

A good business plan — Know your area of business inside and out. Ask yourself, “How will money come in? When will it come in? What are your realistic costs?” Vet your plan with knowledgeable people whose opinions you value and who will be critical by asking you difficult questions about your plan.

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

Christina Terplan is president and a founding partner at Atheria Law, a California-based law firm providing legal services to insurance and reinsurance clients, focusing on the technology, privacy, cyber, and professional-liability sectors. Christina represents insurers in connection with claims involving privacy breaches, cyber attacks and data usage issues.

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As an undergraduate, I studied engineering and then went to UC Hastings with the intention of becoming a patent lawyer. However, after graduating law school, I was, quite honestly, focused on paying off my student loans! I knew that getting out of debt was important to my future personal and financial freedom so I joined a mid-sized law firm in San Francisco.

I enjoyed working with the attorneys in my practice group. But then the group left the mid-size firm to join a larger firm…and then a larger firm. We ultimately found ourselves at a large, international firm and after a while, I realized it wasn’t a good fit for me. For years, I had been asking myself, “What if I started my own firm?” I envisioned a nimble, tech-savvy law firm that allowed for more flexibility, where I could have a say in business decisions and make an impact on the company culture. When I broached the subject with my fellow founding partners (over half of whom are women), we decided rather than move to yet another firm, we would take the leap and start our own firm. In October 2019, Atheria Law was born.

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

Recently, a female attorney shared with me that this is the first law firm job where she’s felt she doesn’t have to be constantly on guard. It made me proud that we have created a culture of transparency and mentorship at Atheria Law where our attorneys feel they can grow and be themselves because, so often that’s not the case for women in the traditional, male-dominated law firm environment. It drove home the fact that the female leadership at our firm is having a significant, positive impact on the next generation of female leaders.

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 really try to avoid the concept that something is a “mistake.” Rather, I try to keep the perspective that a decision that leads to a negative outcome is really just a growth opportunity, as long as you take the time to reflect on, and learn from, that decision.

When Atheria Law opened its first “official” office in San Francisco (we had been working out of a WeWork space initially), one lesson I learned the hard way was to never, ever do your own signage. We purchased our signs online, thinking we could simply apply the vinyl lettering to our front door and reception area. How hard could that be? Well, it was a total disaster, so we decided to stick to law and we quickly brought in the professionals!

I am most grateful for our business manager, Mark Cooley. Mark mentored me when Atheria Law was still just a dream. My legal and engineering training had made me lean toward being cautious and risk averse. My fellow founding partners and I needed someone to instill confidence in us to make the firm happen. As an entrepreneur with a strong business background, Mark was that person.

The lack of adequate and affordable childcare and parental leave is one major factor that holds women back from founding companies. Women often bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities and in the United States, parental leave is typically very different for men and women. As a result, women are often out of the workforce longer than men when a child is born, and this has consequences with respect to their careers.

In addition, there is a lack of female leadership in the legal industry. All the law firms I worked at prior to Atheria Law were run by men, and there were very few women in meaningful management positions. This lack of visible female leadership made it difficult to ever imagine myself in a management position.

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?

We need better and more affordable childcare alongside equal parental leave and more media attention to female founders who have a great impact on our society. My daughters can name many male founders of companies but struggle to name any female founders. Just as I had difficulty envisioning myself in a law firm leadership role due to a lack of female representation at law firms, I worry the lack of representation of female leaders in business could have a similar effect on my children.

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?

I have a love/hate relationship with statements about women making better leaders or founders because they are more empathetic or have some other type of inherent personality trait assigned to their gender. To me, empowering more female founders is purely logical. The make-up of founders should reflect the make-up of our society.

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

A couple of myths are that it is always exciting and that the company will be successful if you work hard. While entrepreneurship has many exciting moments, there’s plenty of drudge work, as well. For example, I will never find it fun to pay our company’s bills or review the details of a 50-page lease agreement. And hard work is a necessity but, unfortunately, not a guarantee of success. Many companies fail despite a ton of hard work by the founders. Sometimes the company is great with incredibly dedicated leadership, but there are external factors beyond anyone’s control that cause the company to fail. We saw this, in particular, with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Definitely not everyone is cut out to be a founder. There is a certain amount of resiliency and flexibility needed. For example, some days I find myself negotiating an important contract and then acting as our on-site IT support for an employee who is having technology issues. That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking employment under someone else, as people should pursue their own paths and harness their gifts in a way that is best for them.

1) Professional support network — You need people who you can turn to for advice on all types of topics, such as what to outsource, how to manage communications, etc.

2) Resilience — Remember, there are no mistakes if you learn from them and adapt accordingly.

3) Personal support network — You need people outside of work to help you switch off at times and keep you sane.

4) A good business plan — Know your area of business inside and out. Ask yourself, “How will money come in? When will it come in? What are your realistic costs?” Vet your plan with knowledgeable people whose opinions you value and who will be critical by asking you difficult questions about your plan.

5) Confidence — You need to believe in your business. Customers and investors can sniff out a fake a mile away. If you don’t truly believe in your business, no one else will.

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

I am truly committed to mentoring women and people who are first-generation professionals in the legal field.

I am passionate about addressing climate change. The changing of our climate feels very real right now. I am concerned about what the world will look like for my children when they are adults and for future generations. We need to act now.

Miss Piggy. No joke, she was the first strong female figure I looked up to as a child. She went to outer space, ran her own business and bossed people around, all while looking fabulous and wearing heels.

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

Female Founders: Christina Terplan of Atheria Law 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.

Female Founders: Molly Moore of Decent On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman…

Female Founders: Molly Moore of Decent On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Put your best players in the game — This is one of the things I took away from playing and coaching roller derby; you want your best players in the game to win. Do not be afraid to hire great people and do not be afraid to fire low performers. Bad hires early in a company can be toxic and in some cases deadly.

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

Molly Moore, founder of Decent, a start-up disrupting the health insurance industry, has spent the last 20+ years exploring the healthcare industry from many angles. She has worked in a variety of roles for providers, payers, venture capital investors, and self-funded purchasers. Molly hopes that her work with Decent will disrupt the status quo healthcare industry and drive meaningful change to improve the lives of all. Molly lives in Seattle with her family and is a roller derby coach in her spare time.

I have been in healthcare my entire career. I honestly didn’t think I had the risk-tolerance to become a founder. But health care coverage in the US is in need of change, and that requires people tackling the big issues. I felt I had a lot to add to any disruption strategy because I deeply understand the industry and why it is so broken.

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

We started raising our Series A in February 2020. We went from in person meetings on Sand Hill Road to learning how to work virtually in the span of two weeks. We were living at home and working at home. In fact, we raised our Series A on Zoom. I was pitching Andreeson Horowitz while my 4-year-old daughter was doing zoom calls with her pre-school teacher. It was a very interesting time.

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?

We started out as a blockchain company. We thought we could build an entire health plan on blockchain technology in two years. We did not do that. Blockchain has come a long way since 2018 but holy cow we were really optimistic on that front.

The team at Decent has become like a second family to me. You cannot build a company without an insane amount of scrappiness and teamwork. We wrote the tenets of our culture in the first week of forming — and one of the most important and lovely things we staked in the ground is that we would welcome everyone and ensure that everyone could bring their whole selves to work — the good, the bad, the ugly. People take mental health days, show us their new tattoos, change their pronouns, we have a slack channel with photos of team members’ pets. The team is what makes this all worth it and they act as support if anything goes sideways. Without getting too sappy, my husband has also been amazing. He is the best partner I could have ever asked for. Being a mom-founder is not easy and my husband has been rooting for this company since day one.

Obstacles will be different for different people. In my experience, I faced (and continue to face) three obstacles: confidence, networking and the mom juggle.

Developing confidence as a leader is tough as a woman. Imposter syndrome is real. I work on this every day. It’s a skill and some never get passed it.

When it comes to networking, I’ve learned that it is not what you know but who you know. This is especially true when are using your network to fund your new business idea. So, build that network! There’s just one problem — you know when networking events typically are? After work. For me, after work is family time. I spend all day in the office and after that I have a whole other job. Quality time with my daughter generally happens between the hours of 5 pm and 8 pm (prime happy hour time). I’ve had to weigh mingling with strangers versus being a present mom.

Society is rough on working mothers. It’s a constant juggle weighing “Good Mom” and “Good Founder” responsibilities. Imagine looking at a typical venture capital investor in the eye (read: older male) and saying — “I will bust my butt to make this company a success, but I have boundaries and I intend to enforce them.” Delivering that message takes one tough momma to hold her ground. (A salut to all my mentors that filled me with confidence to set these boundaries.) If I didn’t have set boundaries and just killed myself for the success of the company I would be absent from my family. How could I ever reconcile that?

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?

From Large to Small undertakings.

More than six weeks of Paid Family Leave!! A year is reasonable, six weeks is not. At six-weeks post-partum I was sleeping just two hours at a time. If my financial circumstances or employer had required me to return at that time, I would have been fired for falling asleep on the job. My employer at the time “allowed” me to take 12 weeks but 6 were unpaid. Losing six weeks of income and then paying a $5,000 in hospital bills was a huge financial stressor. We are so far behind the rest of the civilized world on paid family leave. We need to ensure women can have children and not lose their careers. Period.
Remove gender bias from job descriptions. Job descriptions can be easily retooled to remove gender bias language and the laundry list of qualifications. Women use qualifications as a checklist of skills or experience they must possess in order to apply, and most women won’t apply unless they meet 100% of the qualifications. Men use the qualifications section as a guide and apply when they meet roughly 60% of the qualifications.
Re-think networking. I had an opportunity to influence ‘networking’ hours at a previous job, re-imagining them as breakfast happy hours. It was a dream for me as a new mom.

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?

Executive leadership at large and small companies act as a north star for communication, transparency, resilience, and empathy, When times get tough (which they always do in early stage companies) leaders often have to rally the team and speak to employees in one voice. Women should be a part of that voice. As a woman founder, you are also a role model for other women in your company and beyond. As a founder, you can eventually get more control over your work and home life balance. You’ll be able to hire smart people to help you share the burden. One of my favorite parts of building a team is hiring people who are great at the things that you don’t love (and are often not very good at). Never am I so happy as when I’m building a team where I can hire a whip-smart details-oriented person to balance out my high-level strategic thinking. They make me and the company better.

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

There are so many. Here are three that come to mind:

You have to be confident in your ideas, but you do not need to be “cocky” about them. Except during fundraising. During fundraising, your idea is the best darn idea anyone ever heard. It’s clearly a billion-dollar idea and will IPO and make the VCs tons of money. (wink, double guns, high fives, fist bumps, etc.)
You cannot do it on your own. You need to get good at asking for things. You will need to ask for things you never thought you would ask for: Millions of dollars, free stuff from a business partner, your lawyers to reduce their bills, etc. People who are invested in your success, want to help where they can — but you need to ask for help.
Love the word “no”. There is book dedicated to “getting to yes”. It’s a great resource but, I really love someone saying “no” because it can 1) fire me up to prove them wrong. 2) sometimes a “no” turns out to be the best intel you ever gathered for strategy 3) a firm “no” is WAY better than the deadly “long maybe”. The “long maybe” can kill an early company — “Sure, we would love to buy your product/do this pilot with you we just need to identify the right people/where the money will come from/etc.” Just move on.

Yes, everyone can be a founder. If you are passionate about something, good at it, and can make money doing it — do it! But don’t do it alone. Know thyself. A combination of fantastic co-founders, a fantastic coach, or hiring the best people in the world can get you to starting and sustaining your company.

Have Thick Skin — Being a woman founder is hard. Getting and incorporating feedback from your team is key to being a good leader. Don’t take things personally and if you can (this is hard for me) let the negativity roll off your back. Do not apologize for things that aren’t your fault. It’s all about balance. You are going to become VERY aware of how the cards in the deck are stacked against you and you are going to get mad. Good. Use that to fuel your own success.
Put your best players in the game — This is one of the things I took away from playing and coaching roller derby; you want your best players in the game to win. Do not be afraid to hire great people and do not be afraid to fire low performers. Bad hires early in a company can be toxic and in some cases deadly.
Incentives drive behavior — Whether you are building a consumer company, a healthcare company, or determining compensation for your team keep incentives in mind. There are times to use the stick and times to use the carrot. Here’s an unsuccessful stick example: if you want to incentivize a patient to shop for healthcare services what incentive will you offer them to wade through the mire to even try to price shop? A higher co-pay for not doing it? It doesn’t work. People don’t want to shop for healthcare services, it’s confusing and they are sick. Here’s an unsuccessful carrot example — What are you telling a salesperson that doesn’t have any commission potential as part of their compensation? You are telling them “you still get paid even if you don’t sell”.
Be Authentic — If you are excited about what you are building you are projecting that to your team! People love genuine enthusiasm… and it’s catching. Also, if you are putting on a show, when stuff gets hard the smile will fade and your real self will emerge. Why build a company that doesn’t let you be you!
Be Humble — Being a founder, raising money and starting a business is so rewarding. If you have grace and humility, it’s easier to bear the losses and celebrate the wins! And you should celebrate the wins!!!

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

At Decent, in 2019 — I was able to design and sell a health plan in Texas at 35% less than market rates that included FREE primary care, a one-time $1500 co-pay to have a baby (that’s it, leave the hospital and pay $1500 full stop). I also included coverage for people seeking gender reassignment health services — including mental health coverage. During Covid-19 lockdown we offered free virtual visits with your doctor. I had the ability to do the right things to get people affordable health coverage.

I have also helped women start, or get smarter about, their own businesses from car repair to raw foods to physical therapy. I have mentored men and women in early stages of their careers. I love encouraging people and facilitating people’s dreams.

I am a healthcare nerd. I truly believe everyone should have access to healthcare. Universal healthcare is not going to happen in the next decade. Instead, we must take steps in removing the employer from the health coverage equation. As a patient and a consumer, you should be able to select your health insurance coverage based on your needs without your employer stepping in the middle. You should also be able to select a health insurance carrier the same way you select car insurance, in an open and transparent market. If we could do that, health plans would be much more focused on YOU as the customer rather than the employer. The downstream impact of this move toward portable benefits include:

Allowing YOU to choose the price point you want to pay, provider network, and company you buy from! Like a real consumer product.
Allowing YOU to get the tax advantages of buying healthcare coverage rather than your employer.
Giving you a raise. . . since your employer isn’t helping contribute to health care coverage.
Offering economic incentive alignment between the patient and the health plan.
Better customer serivce. Over time, the individual market just becomes The Market so health plans will have to compete for your business not your employer’s loyalty.
Saying goodbye to your employer reaping the benefits of your healthy lifestyle.
Improved health programs since the ROI of said programs can be measured over a customer’s life rather than their employment tenure. (The estimated lifecycle of a person on a health plan is 30 months.)

Vice President Kamala Harris: Hey Girl. . .Let’s talk healthcare policy + Innovation and raise awareness of the benefits of universal coverage. Also, because we are eating pancakes and having mimosas we should praise our supportive husbands and brace ourselves for the adult versions of our spunky daughters.

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

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

Female Founders: Michelle Huie of VIM & VIGR On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Michelle Huie of VIM & VIGR On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Data Not Drama. Start tracking data as early and as possible and use this information to make decisions. I know this seems simple, but it does take discipline to set up processes to track data. Early on in my business, I targeted a particular retail segment and was seeing some success, but when I looked at the data, I noticed another segment that had higher order values and revenue. I then shifted my focus and double downed on this other segment which really propelled my business. I would have never had any indicators to change course if I didn’t track and look at my data.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Huie, Founder & CEO of VIM & VIGR.

After 15 years in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, Michelle Huie founded VIM & VIGR in 2013. A stylish compression legwear brand, VIM & VIGR is sold in over 1,300 locations throughout the US and internationally. In 2018, VIM & VIGR was named one of the fastest growing private companies by INC 5000.

Prior to starting VIM & VIGR, I was in Corporate America and worked in marketing and sales in the healthcare industry. When I moved to Missoula, MT, I took a sales job that required me to drive throughout Montana and Idaho and I noticed the negative physical effects of my sedentary job. A friend, who is a physical therapist, recommended that I start wearing compression socks — the options that I found were uncomfortable, poor quality, and made me feel like I had a medical condition. This inspired me to launch VIM & VIGR by infusing great designs, fabric, and quality into compression socks.

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

I think one of the more interesting things that always comes up is the fact that my company is completely bootstrapped without any outside investment. A year after I launched, I was approached by two investors who wanted to partner with me and buy 50% of VIM & VIGR. I went to NYC to meet with them, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t feel like having investors was the right move for me or the business at the time. It can be very flattering and validating to be approached by investors, but you ultimately need to do some critical soul searching to narrow down on the type of business you really want to run.

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?

My first inventory order sold out in a few months and when my second order came, one of the bestselling styles of my knee-high compression socks was too long and pulled up to my mid-thigh. I was freaking out because I was sold out of product and the retail customers that I just secured were anxious for more. I was able to work closely with my manufacturer to reproduce the product. I learned a few lessons from this. The first lesson confirmed the important relationship you have to have with your manufacturer. If I didn’t take the time to develop that relationship, they would have unlikely worked with me to fix the product. The second lesson is to never think twice when it comes to the quality of your product. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable using or wearing your product, your customers wouldn’t either. The negative long term ramifications would have been much greater than the short term loss.

Absolutely — I have had so many people play a critical role in various parts of my life and career. When I first started VIM & VIGR, one of my mentors encouraged me to fly to Taiwan to meet my manufacturer immediately. I was hesitant because I felt it was premature, but he told me it was the only way if I wanted to start a product-focused manufacturing business. I took a few days off of work and flew to Taiwan for a long weekend. This initial visit really solidified and built trust with my manufacturer. They took a chance on me and worked through countless iterations of the product. It is deeply critical that all of your partners uphold the same values and quality that you have for your brand.

I think there are several factors here. I think that women play an overwhelming and demanding role within a family, and this became extremely evident during COVID. Studies have shown that COVID dealt a major setback to women in the workforce. A recent study showed that during COVID, 1 in 4 women have considered leaving their jobs or downshifting their careers and it’s these competing demands that are forcing women to choose. I also think the expectations placed on women and the expectations that women place on themselves are high. Another component that I often see which is supported by research shows that women are less comfortable with self-promotion relative to men. In my experience, I have seen extremely smart women with great ideas, but they second guess themselves or they feel that things must be perfect before they can launch.

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

It’s often assumed that because women are less comfortable with self-promotion indicates that they are less confident or less capable and I don’t think that’s the case at all. These are assumptions that people make based on certain behaviors that emote aptitude. I think employers and society have an opportunity to re-evaluate certain behaviors as positive or negative. These types of subjective markers can be pregnant with conscious and unconscious assumptions and stereotypes that can hurt women in the workplace. Rather than looking at subjective behaviors as an indicator of performance or promotability — employers can create more objective measures to evaluate performance to reduce unintentional biases.

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?

As a society, I think it’s important to have diversity in business and this could come in the form of gender or racial diversity. Founders have a lot of power in terms of the type of people they hire and it’s human nature for people to hire others that are “familiar” to them, which breeds this vicious cycle of homogeneity. I think diversity of thought is critical and can often come from a diversity of lived experiences that need to be authentic. I think it creates a better company and better product.

One other reason why women should be founders is the flexibility and wealth they can create for themselves. The wealth that women create for themselves contributes to society in a substantial way. Women as a whole tend to donate more of their money to charitable causes — so the more women make, the more others benefit as well.

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

I think people often think that founders and entrepreneurs are risk takers. I actually disagree with that — I don’t think you have to be a risk taker to be a founder. I see two characteristics from founders — the first is that a founder sees risk in a very different way because they’re so optimistic and convicted on their idea. The second characteristic I see is just the sheer determination and effort entrepreneurs put towards making their dreams a reality. I think more than risk taking — it’s a combination of optimism and determination.

No and that’s okay. I don’t think everyone is meant to be a founder and in fact, I have seen some people start businesses and go back to working for others because they realize they don’t have the correct characteristics to make them a founder and that they hated the process.

When you start a business — it becomes all consuming. It’s also a lot of work — more work than you can imagine. So you have to be a very obsessed person to be a founder because there isn’t anyone holding you accountable other than yourself. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to think about work after 5 PM, don’t be a founder. If you’re the type of person that needs external pressure to complete a project, don’t be a founder.

Focus on what YOU really want. When starting a business, you’re constantly barraged with comments from others on what you should be doing and even now, I receive unsolicited “advice” on my business. I actually notice this mostly from men and I do think it’s linked to a paternalistic instinct that men have with women. Early on my business — I was overly focused on growth at the expense of profit. Though I was growing, I was constantly stressed about cash and payroll and I realized that I wasn’t happy in my business. It became a beast that constantly needed to be fed. A few years ago, I shifted my focus by creating a healthy business that was focused on healthy growth and profitability. I learned so much from this experience and feel lucky that I was able to realize this before it was too late.
Data Not Drama. Start tracking data as early and as possible and use this information to make decisions. I know this seems simple, but it does take discipline to set up processes to track data. Early on in my business, I targeted a particular retail segment and was seeing some success, but when I looked at the data, I noticed another segment that had higher order values and revenue. I then shifted my focus and double downed on this other segment which really propelled my business. I would have never had any indicators to change course if I didn’t track and look at my data.
Cash is King. When I started my business — I definitely focused much more on marketing and sales than my finances. After I launched, I realized that I was over leveraged and needed to get the business out of trouble fast. I started to develop weekly metrics based on performance and financials and reviewed my P&L and balance sheet on a bi-monthly basis. Now we’re doing better than ever and this would have never happened if I didn’t focus my energy on increasing my cash flow which can be difficult in a manufacturing business.
Develop a Community. I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of my mentors early. I shared with him how the “highs can be high, and the lows can be low.” He corrected me and said, “the lows can be lonely.” I have felt this loneliness time and time again throughout the eight years of owning my business and this is why I have a strong community of people I talk to on a regular basis. When things get bad, you can feel like a complete failure and like the walls are caving in and you will need to rely on that community and your mentors to reset your mindset.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help. This can be hard for some people. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. It’s a sign of strength and the realization that you will do what you need to do to make sure the company and your employees are successful.

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

The first is simply through my product. We hear tons of comments every day from our customers saying that our product helps them live a healthier life everyday just by wearing our compression socks. At VIM & VIGR, we also donate our product to people who need it the most. Over the past 18 months, we have donated over $200,000 worth of VIM & VIGR to front-line healthcare workers. We have also partnered with various organizations that help promote women entrepreneurs by providing education and mentorship.

On a personal level, I dedicate a lot of time to support and provide guidance to other entrepreneurs. I’m a big proponent of “pay it forward.” So many people have helped me along my journey and I’m equally as eager and encouraged to help others.

I would say one of my biggest mantras is “why not now.” One of my dear friends and mentor made an analogy that really resonated. He said when you’re five years old — one year of your life represents 20% of your life so it seems like eternity. As you get older, one year represents a smaller and smaller percentage of your life and it’s easy to allow one year to flow into the next. I don’t want to “wait” to start living my life and doing what I love. If it makes you happy, start now, everything will fall in line.

I would love to have lunch with Mickey Drexler — the former CEO of J.Crew and GAP. He has been through so many ups and downs in business and I’m sure he has the most fascinating stories.

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

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