Category: Featured

Justin Buck of Pearl Rolling Papers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a…

Justin Buck of Pearl Rolling Papers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or CBD Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The amount of money that you think it will take to launch or scale your business, you should double and, in some cases, triple that number.

When starting or scaling a business, the first thing that you should do is try to lay out all the expenses that it will take to start or scale it. Once that is complete, you should have a large reserve of money for unexpected expenses. Always hope for the best but be prepared financially for the worst possible outcome.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Justin Buck.

Justin is the CEO and Founder of Pearl Rolling Papers. He is originally from Prince George’s County, Maryland, and was raised in a blended family that was foundational to his upbringing. Being an active athlete, honor student, and older sibling taught him many life lessons that he would depend on later in life.

After he turned 18, Justin moved to Atlanta, GA and obtained his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Morehouse College. Immediately after, he moved to Denver, Colorado where he worked for a billion-dollar startup company and immersed himself into the roll your own and cannabis industries.

Seeing these emerging industries sparked a passionate energy that motivated him to become a subject matter expert on all things related to cannabis. In 2020, he left his secure job at the unicorn startup company, enrolled at the University of Maryland, Baltimore to obtain his Master of Science degree in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics, and returned to his home state of Maryland.

Since returning home, Justin’s sole focus has been directed to building and scaling Pearl Rolling Papers, assembling a smart and reliable team around him, and finishing his medical cannabis studies. You can purchase Pearl Rolling Papers here.

The rest of his story is to be continued…

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

In college, I started to use cannabis recreationally for social purposes. I quickly realized it’s medicinal purpose when it would help me block out distractions and focus on my schoolwork. The more I smoked, the more interested I became with the entire process of smoking. This includes breaking down the cannabis, rolling it up, smoking it, and in most cases passing it to a friend. I enjoyed the process until I had to roll up the cannabis and would become frustrated by how cumbersome and messy rolling up was. I wanted to see if there was an easier way to roll up, so I did some research and saw this video of Wiz Khalifa creating a boat to make rolling up easier. I used that method for some time and then added my own spin on the design to make it more effective. I did this by adding moisture to a small portion of the gum line at the end of the paper to completely seal the boated design. With this added feature, the rolling paper would then have a completely sealed end to fully prevent spillage and a handle + tail to hold on to while filling up the paper. I loved this design and hand-made the paper like this every time I smoked and showed all my closest friends my new method. They all really loved it, but I became tired of hand making the paper like this every time, so I asked myself — why aren’t there papers already pre-boated to make this easier for everyone? When I did my research and saw nothing like the idea I had, that’s when the lightbulb in my head went off. I was still in college, but I said to myself I need to patent this design right now. I realized that I had just identified a gap in the rolling paper marketplace and since then I have committed myself to bringing this vision into fruition.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think the most interesting story is how I was able to physically create the product. Once I received the patent in 2020, the hardest part came next — finding a supplier to innovate the rolling paper to match my vision. Innovating is difficult mainly because you can’t do it alone, so it requires partnership, constant effective communication, high minimum order quantities, and long production times.

I spent many months searching for a rolling paper supplier who was willing to change their entire rolling paper manufacturing process to help me change the design of the paper and packaging. During those months, I got rejected by 15–20 suppliers, so I chose to pivot to custom manufacturing. My thought was — if I can get someone to make a custom machine, we can make the papers ourselves in a warehouse. I was able to find a custom manufacturer that agreed to help us out with the machine but quoted the work to be around $250,000 and would take 2 years to complete, which was tough to hear. Although I didn’t have all the money, I asked my high school friend for an investment to help me at least start engaging with them to see if the machine (and the papers) were possible for them to create at scale. This initial investment plus the investments of family members helped propel me forward. We put our savings together and started the process of designing this machine with the custom manufacturing company. During the process, they asked me to send them the hemp paper samples I wanted to use so they could better understand how to feed the paper into the machine without tearing it. I then researched and tested a bunch of different rolling paper samples until I found the one that I liked the most. I reached out to that company, told them what I was doing and asked them to ship the samples to my manufacturer. Then, the greatest moment in the company’s short history happened — the hemp supplier responded and asked “we can send the samples to them, but we can also create this product for you at our facility here. Does that interest you?” I immediately responded “YES”, knocked out the details with them over the next 9–12 months, and then we launched at the end of 2021. I went from thinking I wouldn’t launch the company for another 2–3 years to everything turning around in less than a year. I was just so happy that my determination paid off. I’m very proud of my younger self for pulling that off. The main lesson that I learned from this was to never assume anything based off previous experiences. I assumed that this company would not be able to make the product for me because of the previous rejections I received from every other supplier. Never assume anything and know that it only takes one “YES” to make your vision come to life.

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?

Personally, I don’t find any of the mistakes that I made funny because I’m very critical of myself and take things too seriously sometimes. The most memorable mistake is not having patience in college to wait until I could afford an actual patent attorney. I thought that I would be speeding up the timeline by not waiting and completing the patent application myself. This decision turned an 18-month process into a 3-year process because of the mistakes I made trying to rush my patent application through. When I graduated college and got my signing bonus from my first job, I spent it on furniture for my apartment and a patent attorney. They were able to clean up the application and push it forward but only after another 18 months of making corrections and working with the patent examiner. From this, I learned that speed is important but taking your time to ensure the best quality work is always the top priority.

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

Yes! My team and I are working on two exciting projects that I can’t wait to launch. The first project is our Non-Fungible Token (NFT) project that we plan on launching in either Q4 of 2022 or Q1 of 2023. Anybody that believes in me as an entrepreneur and Pearl as a company will get to invest and benefit socially and financially through this project. That’s all the information that I want to give out right now, but everyone who is interested should follow @pearlfectionists on Instagram for updates on that. The second project that I’m really excited about is hosting pop-up shops and vending in multiple areas to meet customers in person, build brand awareness, and make industry connections. I’m so inspired to get this work out to the world and hope everything goes as planned.

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?

There are so many people within my village that have helped me, but I want to use this platform to shine the light on my team who have been working alongside of me for 5 months now without pay, while working their full-time jobs. It means the world to me that they trust me enough to take that risk and give their free time to this business. Not only do they take several things off my plate so I can do more, but they also motivate me to stay on top of my game because they have sweat equity in the business. I told them I plan on building this business to scale so that they can reap the benefits financially of being on the ground floor of a business that we all believe can be one of the top rolling paper brands globally.

A good story is when my co-owner, Ray, and I went to the Minorities for Medical Marijuana Mixer event last year at MJBizcon in Las Vegas. This was our first time attending an event like this even though we had been to a few other networking events prior. It was a private event that included all the things that a smoker would need, and we met some great people in the industry and became extremely inspired by this event after we left. This led us to planning a similar event on the east coast, which was held on Friday, April 22nd! It was a huge success, and we plan on doing this continuously. I am just so grateful to be on this journey with people who are my close friends and whole-heartedly believe in the vision and trajectory that the company is headed.

This industry is young dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Yes, I am a big believer in daily content creation but not without a strategic plan. You must walk the tightrope of expressing your creativity and making relevant content that either provides entertainment, education, or shows your product in a unique way. To achieve this effectively, my team and I create our content the week before and then automate the posts on the weekend so that we can focus on making next week’s content and the other things on our collective to-do list. We also have been making a lot of influencer deals so that they can assist us with that content creation and spread our brand awareness quicker than we can on our own. We do other things as well, but I think these two tactics and the way we go about them are innovative and unique.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

I am also in graduate school at the University of Maryland of Baltimore studying Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics and so there are things beyond the recreational use of cannabis that both excite and concern me. Three things that excite me are the novelty of innovations/products, possible federal legalization, and continued efforts for equality in the industry among minorities. Like our product, there are many clever and necessary innovations that have already been created and that are coming down the pipeline. The cannabis industry is one of the few that have many unanswered questions and problems, which allows our generation to be discoverers of scientific knowledge that is currently unknown. As a person who studies the science of cannabis, there are few things more exciting than that. In addition, the federal legalization process is both concerning and exciting, but the exciting part is that cannabis will finally be treated the way that it should have been for the past century. Lastly, the effects on black and brown people from the war on drugs caused by Richard Nixon and Harry Anslinger has set us back centuries. I want to be a part of the process of bringing us back up and reclaiming our market share within this industry.

Three things that concern me are possible federal legalization, cannabis exposure for high-risk populations, and too much human interaction within the plant. Federal legalization can lead to a lot of good, but it can also give leverage to already established multistate operators who can possibly form an oligopoly, which would box out small and minority owned businesses with less resources. Some states, such as Florida, already have laws like this in place that favor big companies over other entrepreneurs trying to get their foot in the door. In addition, cannabis is widely available everywhere and this trend will continue with federal legalization. This is concerning because there are certain groups of people that should not be exposed to cannabis such as pregnant women, young kids, and adolescents. Prenatal, pediatric, and adolescent cannabis exposure have all been studied and deemed as a contraindication due to altered or delayed development of the brain. More research is required, but currently this is something that I know happens too often without people knowing the true consequences. Lastly, the cannabis plant is naturally effective at being therapeutic and psychoactive. Scientists and entrepreneurs are trying very hard to alter the plant for better convenience, a better smell, and a more intense high. I think as an industry we need to leave the plant alone and only alter it for medicinal purposes such as Dronabinol or Epidiolex.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Prepare for extra fees and barriers for entry since the regulatory process is currently murky.

As a hemp company, there are very little payment processing companies that are willing to take the risk of servicing our industry. At the beginning of our journey, we could only find one company that would allow us to process payments, but their fees were taking a toll on our bottom line. Luckily, I was able to meet one of the partners of Primo Payments at a networking event. They gave us an analysis of how much money we would be able to save since they are a company that specializes in high-risk accounts in the cannabis industry. Working with them has and will continue to save us money, which is why I’m giving them this shoutout. So, if you are a company in the same situation, contact Primo Payments and tell them that Justin sent you. I am very grateful that I started a conversation with a guy standing by himself that ended in a mutually beneficial partnership.

2. Even when you do things you love, you must still do things that you don’t.

When I first started my business, I was so excited to finally be doing something that I am truly passionate about. What I didn’t fully realize was that even though I’m passionate about my product, I still had to complete tasks that were tedious and uninteresting to me. As time went on, I started to understand that these tasks were prerequisites for me to realize my goals. For example, accounting, administrative tasks, supply chain management, and budgeting among other things are extremely necessary but do not excite me. It’s just work that needs to be done for us to reach our goals as a company.

3. The amount of money that you think it will take to launch or scale your business, you should double and, in some cases, triple that number.

When starting or scaling a business, the first thing that you should do is try to lay out all the expenses that it will take to start or scale it. Once that is complete, you should have a large reserve of money for unexpected expenses. Always hope for the best but be prepared financially for the worst possible outcome.

4. Leverage your friendships and connections within your network before outsourcing.

In college, I met and cultivated friendships with so many talented people. One thing that has helped our company immensely is that my talented friends have offered to help me within their specialized fields at a friends and family discount or for free. I have no doubt in my mind that the company would not be as developed as we are now if I did not solicit my friends’ services. It is also important to reciprocate the love that is being shown to you and to never take your friends’ sacrifices for granted.

5. If you’re under 30 years old, be prepared for people to underestimate your intelligence and try to finesse you and your business.

There have been so many situations where I’ve gone into a meeting or a conversation with a person or business who has been in the industry longer than me and they think that because of my age I don’t really know what’s going on. I think people see that I’m young, black, and like to smoke weed and automatically think that I am naive and will submit to whatever their alternative motive is. Personally, I enjoy when people underestimate my abilities because it gives me an opportunity to show them that I’m not someone to be played with. I’m humble but I also know that I’m an extremely educated and intelligent young man — emotionally, interpersonally, creatively, and logically. I also have any shortcomings covered by the people on my team and that I hire for specific projects, so that I am never vulnerable to being taken advantage of.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

Give them a reason to care and make sure you know what they want out of their time working with you. For example, I do not have any employees because everyone that is on my team is an owner of the company. They know that the company’s success is ultimately their success and I believe that drives them to do great work and persevere when things get difficult. In addition, I also have made sure that I understand their professional goals and what they want out of working with the company. Do your employees want to gain experience for a year or two then leave or do they want to stay with the company and become a part of the C-Suite? Whatever their goals are, as an employer, you need to understand them and then actively assist them in achieving whatever it is they want to gain from this experience. You work for your employees, not the other way around. I disagree with the notion that people are replaceable within the workplace because each individual will provide something different even within the same job description.

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. 🙂

It would be cannabis equity among black people. Before anything, I am a black person and I understand the impact the war on drugs and racism has played on my people’s lives, families, and overall well-being. I want to use my master’s degree and network to work towards creating something that will accelerate the number of black entrepreneurs in the cannabis and ancillary cannabis spaces. This is the most important work that I will be doing, and I hope to change the trajectory of many black lives and families.

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

Our company’s Instagram is @pearlrollingco, but you can also follow my personal Instagram @jbuck13.

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

Justin Buck of Pearl Rolling Papers: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Sumana Jayanth of Damn Gina On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Sumana Jayanth of Damn Gina On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I also learned to focus on distribution. We focused a lot on B2C and did not build a distribution plan and a robust B2B. With the rising ad costs and iOS updates, it has been harder than ever to reach the target market. So build your wholesale network from the get-go.

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

Sumana Jayanth loves bold moves, business strategy, and being her own boss.

Growing up in India, Sumana flat ironed her naturally curly hair from ages 15 to 30, believing that straight hair was the standard of beauty. In her role as the marketing coordinator for a fashion label in Australia, Sumana discovered her love for designing accessories and working with silk fabrics. It was not long before the self-taught, self-starter turned her hobby into a full-fledged business.

Sumana realized that her perception of beauty had been warped by long-held, childhood beliefs. Recognizing the damage straightening her hair had caused, Sumana took it upon herself to learn more about curly hair methods and started to redefine what beauty meant to her.

Her experience working with luxurious silk fabrics led to the creation of Damn Gina, a trendy silk hair care accessories brand inspired by the catchphrase from the popular 90s sitcom Martin. As founder of Damn Gina, Sumana hopes to encourage people from around the world to celebrate and embrace their beautiful curls, coils, and waves.

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

I grew up in the village side of India and had no access to Western media until I was a teenager. I have always been one of those people who didn’t know what to do with my life. I graduated with an engineering degree and worked at a tabloid newspaper before moving out of India. After living in Singapore and Hong Kong, I moved to Melbourne, Australia with my husband. While living in Melbourne, I saw many women run their own small businesses and it inspired me to start something of my own. It was also here that I had finally started embracing my naturally curly hair after chemically straightening it for decades. While looking at ways to preserve my newfound curls, I stumbled upon the idea of silk hair accessories and soon realized there was a product market fit.

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

While starting my business I realized how willing people are to help when you seek it. I have always been bad at asking for help, but after starting Damn Gina, I have learned to ask when I need something, and most of the time I have had people go out of their way and help.

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 isn’t much of a mistake, but a gaffe. When we launched, a well-known influencer in Australia gave us a shout-out and we were flooded with orders. This was literally 15 days after the store went live and I wasn’t ready for the rush. I hand-wrote addresses for 100s of orders for 2 nights continuously and shipped them out. This was the end of November and most orders were Christmas gifts and I didn’t want to delay them. The first thing I did afterward was buy a label printer. The lesson learned is never to underestimate the power of social media.

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?

A huge shoutout to my manufacturer, Dinesh in India. He has been more like family than a manufacturer. Dinesh actually sent the first batch of products without taking a single cent as this was a new product and we wanted to test out if it would work. He just said — “try and sell it and if you do, then pay me.” He always said he believed in me, but he has never worked on a product like this and wasn’t sure if there would be a demand.

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 my opinion, I would say there’s not enough precedence to get inspired. This is also one of the key reasons we need racial representation — so it inspires the future generations of young women to dream big and chase those dreams.

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 that as women entrepreneurs we need to invest in each other and our visions. When we see other people succeed that inspire us and connect with messages that resonate with us, it can change the way we go about the journey of founding our own businesses. We need to share our stories and continue to uplift other women as we grow.

Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

The same reason why men should. To be financially independent, to lead, to set precedence, to inspire, and to build a better society and a better world.

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

That a founder knows it all. The journey of a founder is one of constant learning. Every day we learn and unlearn something new. Another myth is the job is always exciting and involves innovation and new projects. However, 80% of the work is boring, repetitive tasks doing them consistently day in and day out.

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 think it depends on where your passion lies. As a founder, most of the time (at least initially), you need to wear multiple hats and be ready to work the most exciting and boring parts of the business equally, but also at the end of the day look at the big picture. It can be hard for someone who likes to master one thing and work just on that one thing.

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

5 things I wish I knew were running a business doesn’t have set hours. I am currently writing these answers at 5:45 am, waiting for the baby to wake up. There have been times when I have attended meetings at 4 am and replied to customer queries at 1 am when I first started. As a business founder, it is good to have the knowledge of every aspect of the business but don’t try to do it all by yourself. Take the time and hire people for jobs that don’t move the needle, so you can focus on growing it. I spent way too much time doing small little things that had no impact on growing the business.

I also learned to focus on distribution. We focused a lot on B2C and did not build a distribution plan and a robust B2B. With the rising ad costs and iOS updates, it has been harder than ever to reach the target market. So build your wholesale network from the get-go.

Another thing I learned is that people will talk down. I always have rose-tinted glasses on and am forever optimistic, but it was a shock to the system when I heard the naysayers. You just have to wear your big girl pants and believe in yourself. For every naysayer, there is someone amazing who is willing to help you — only if you reach out. So I wish I knew early on, that it is okay to reach out for help, questions or just to say you admire someone’s work. The worst that can happen is they say no or they don’t reply, but the best thing that can happen is they actually reply! I wish I had reached out and grown my network more and it would have definitely helped with the 2-year lockdown. Then perhaps the most important thing I wish I knew was, not to ignore the physical and mental health while building a brand. Rest is important.

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

We are working towards making Damn Gina a zero plastic brand. I strongly advocate against single-use plastic as the plastic pollution will be the end of us. With the rise in e-commerce brands across the globe, we need to consciously make an effort to minimize the packaging. Great packaging looks cool in those unboxing videos — but at what cost?

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.

Without a doubt equal rights — especially in my home country, India. I think historically women have received the short end of the stick.

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.

Jen Atkin. I think her rise is very inspirational and from her social media presence, she seems to have built a great work culture at Ouai and Mane Addicts. She also seems to have a great work ethic and most importantly she seems like a really nice person.

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

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

Female Founders: Nicole Eckels of Glasshouse Fragrances On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and…

Female Founders: Nicole Eckels of Glasshouse Fragrances On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The people you work with are critical to your company’s success. Yet, like any leader, I have gotten this wrong from time to time. When I was starting out, I didn’t have the experience to understand what skills, knowledge, and attributes a person should possess, yet, if you get it wrong its often incredibly time-wasting as well as expensive.

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

Glasshouse Fragrances was founded in 2005 by Nicole Eckels, a New York firebrand far from home. Having ventured to Sydney in search of adventure, Nicole found the native scents of New South Wales to be exotic and enchanting. The products that brought them to life? Not so much. So, she created Glasshouse Fragrances to fill the fragrant void in the market.

I don’t think there was any one thing that led me to create Glasshouse Fragrances. There were many, many little steps that in hindsight lead me to where I am now. I had a mother who loved beauty and the transformative nature of makeup and fragrance. Her love of it led me to believe that your sense of smell is the most powerful one of all. Over time, took me to my first role in beauty where I was a resident make-up artist for CHANEL at Saks Fifth Avenue. The thing is, with that role, I not only developed my skills as an artist, but I was also honing my skills in understanding what women want. I was also understanding the idiosyncrasies of clients and building upon my emotional intelligence, to create a successful sales career. From there I moved into a more corporate B2B role, which taught me the more organizational and corporate skills that I would use throughout my time at Glasshouse Fragrances.

The company itself came about after relocating to Australia as a single mother. I went to replace a much-loved candle and realized there was nothing in Australia that offered high-quality fragrance. It was at that moment, that I set out to create my own brand, but with the highest possible standards. The first fragrances were made in my kitchen and tested with my friends and family.

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

There are many stories. After running a business for 17 years the stories all merge and help to create the business that it is. A broad story, that impacted me, in the beginning, was how few people believed in the concept of Glasshouse Fragrances. They didn’t believe that Australians would want to buy candles for their homes on a regular basis, or that they would spend $50 on them. So, my challenge was to get them to fall in love with the scent. I gave retailers a candle to light on their store counters, for free, and within minutes customers would be asking what the fragrance was. The sales started coming in quickly.

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 thing was when I was attempting to make our first candles. I had no idea what I was doing, and our first products smelled amazing but burned terribly! Trial and error and years and years later, I am now happy to announce that our candles are some of the best in the world.

I have had the support of people over the years that have helped me along the way. Without the advice and support of others, I think it’s hard to achieve your goals. The people that have been the most helpful and that I have learned the most from are my business partners, I am very lucky to have met them. For those in business who have had so-so partners, we know how lucky I am.

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?

That’s a complex question. And I’m not sure I can speak on behalf of other women. What I can speak to is why I started my business, and often, I know that it will resonate with a woman reading the interview. I started Glasshouse Fragrances because I believed in my vision and believed there was a demand for what I would go on to create. I believed I could create a future for my son and me in which I was able to enjoy financial independence. I love the creative process and the challenges that running a business brings, and I knew that by following my passion, we would be successful.

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?

Women should be more visible about their success so other women and children see this as normal and more possible for them. I think, as often as possible, we should be highlighting and celebrating female leaders — across all sectors — and the language used by media particularly should be positive. I also believe that this shouldn’t just be applied to women, it should be for any person that has had to overcome adversity to realize their business success whether they are female or not.

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?

Having a woman in business is essential to good commercial outcomes. Women and men together make better and more balanced decisions for everyone. We add a different perspective to situations because after all, 50% of our population are women and we are often more in tune with what they want and how they feel at an emotional level. Women make many of the purchasing decisions or influence the decision-maker. It just makes sense.

In my opinion, not everyone is cut out to be a founder. In the same way, not everyone is cut out to run a marathon, or swim the English Channel. Some people are born to be leaders, and some are born to be the worker bees, and both are equally important. I don’t think you can pigeonhole traits because someone will always prove you wrong. For me strong leaders are dynamic, resilient pragmatic, and curious, they are willing to take risks and will shoulder the responsibility of them. They share the success with the team, and they lead in times of crisis. They also have very little time left over for others so it can be a challenge.

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

1. The people you work with are critical to your company’s success. Yet, like any leader, I have gotten this wrong from time to time. When I was starting out, I didn’t have the experience to understand what skills, knowledge, and attributes a person should possess, yet, if you get it wrong its often incredibly time-wasting as well as expensive.

2. Buckle Up: this is going to be a long ride. Take care of yourself, spend time with your family, and don’t stress all the time. When I started out, I worried all the time about everything…and occasionally I still catch myself still doing it. I have learned this… worrying is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do but it won’t get you anywhere. It’s also incredibly bad for your mental health so I try to stay calm and relaxed most of the time. Everything always works out.

3. You will make mistakes and that is just the way it is, learn from them and move on.

4. Not everyone will like you, some people will even hate you. I have thick skin and I stay resilient which luckily for me, is in my nature.

5. Your gut is where your talent and vision live, and it’s a unique point of view. This has served me in my life and in business. I wish I knew that from the start, I would have trusted it more and believed in myself when others didn’t.

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

I believe so. Or hope so. I spend a lot of time mentoring young people, aspiring entrepreneurs, and women in business. I invest in empowering the team at Glasshouse Fragrances, so they too grow into strong leaders. We donate resources to people and organizations who are in need or that we believe in. When I have more free time I will do a lot more of this.

For my next venture, I have an idea that I am really excited about that I can’t wait to tackle soon. I am not sure how quickly I can scale that idea, but the impact it will have on the lives of the individuals who we touch will be profound. I haven’t fully developed the idea so am not going to share it but stay tuned!

I would love to meet Alessandro Michele, the Creative Director at Gucci. He is brilliant. While I know he may not be based in the USA, you never know, he might be a reader!

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

Female Founders: Nicole Eckels of Glasshouse Fragrances 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: Staci Wanichek of Wine Away On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a…

Female Founders: Staci Wanichek of Wine Away On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You are the face of your company. I remember being in a store with my family, and this delightful woman ran across the store and said, “you’re the Wine Away lady, right?” Then she proceeded to share all sorts of fun Wine Away stories with me and how it truly saved the day for her. I love being called the Wine Away lady, and moments like this remind me of why I started my company.

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

Staci Wanichek is the President and CEO of Wine Away, a remarkable red wine stain remover that she founded in 1997. For 25 years, Staci has led the company in developing their domestic and global strategies. Today, Wine Away remains family-owned and operated and continues to be the leading red wine stain remover on the market.”

When you grow up in an entrepreneurial family, you have an example of what it’s like to own your business. I learned a lot watching and listening to stories my father would tell about his business and even had the opportunity to go on business trips with him when I was younger. His influence has been part of what led me to where I am today. Many people have asked if I am a chemist, but I am not. My background is in public relations and advertising. After graduating college, I worked in public relations for the hospitality and retail industries in the Seattle area for several years. I decided the big city wasn’t for me and moved back home to Walla Walla and began working for my dad as his national sales and marketing director — I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from him.

As for Wine Away, it truly is one of those accidental discoveries — a product that was designed to be an all-purpose cleaner and degreaser ended up being this amazing red wine stain remover (after some tweaking). And now, 25 years later, we still use the same formula and original label design.

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

It’s always fun getting emails and calls from customers telling us how Wine Away saved the day. One of my favorite stories was from a Seattle bride. She was getting ready for the Father-Daughter dance at her wedding when someone bumped into her with a glass of red wine. Thankfully, the photographer had Wine Away with him and spritzed her dress … 10 minutes later, she was stain-free for her dance with her dad!

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?

Thanking customers! I am a firm believer in writing thank you notes. When we first started our company, I was really into hot-stamping cards; it was just something that brought me joy. So, whenever we received an order, I would make each customer a card and write them a thank you note. While I don’t make the cards anymore, I still personally send handwritten thank you notes to many of our customers throughout the year. There’s nothing better than getting a card in the mail and saying thank you for being part of our Wine Away family. After all, if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. The biggest lesson here is to always remember to thank the people who have walked with you on the journey and helped you get where you are today. Expressing gratitude to your customers is key to building brand loyalty and sustaining good business relationships.

There is a saying, “it takes a village,” — and I genuinely believe in that quote. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my wonderful family — they have always been my biggest cheerleaders. And of course, my wonderful mom, Cheryl Corn, with whom I founded the company. When we started the company, she had just retired from her previous job, where she worked in the marketing department and enjoyed her newfound freedom and golf. However, after we received a write-up in a nationally recognized magazine, I asked her if she would be willing to come to the office for a couple of days a week and just work a few hours. She agreed — and those few days turned into a fulltime job. She became our international sales and marketing director for many years. While my mom officially retired several years ago, she continues to be my guiding light and provides valuable perspective when I ask for help to this day.

I think it’s the hesitancy to believe in themselves. As women, who are often under-represented in business, you must be willing to take the leap, even if it’s scary. Do the research, put in the time, and ask others for guidance. Remember, your success depends on you! You’re going to have to hustle for your dreams and not be afraid to fail.

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?

If you have a good product and good service that you believe in, you can overcome any obstacles — man or woman. It takes persistence.

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?

BECAUSE WE CAN! One of my favorite quotes is from Oprah Winfrey “listen to the rhythm of your own calling and follow that.”

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

Just because you are a woman doesn’t mean it will necessarily be any harder or easier. Your path depends on you. If you surround yourself with people who have the skills you don’t have, believe in yourself (and in your team), and find a way to get to “yes” when you hit a wall — you have all the ingredients needed to succeed.

Walt Disney says, “if you can dream it, you can do it!” Success looks different for everyone, and perhaps owning your own company doesn’t feel right for you — but that doesn’t mean you’re not successful; it just means YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO! As for me, determination is what drives me. I like challenges and setting goals. My go-to phrase in life and work is ‘if you don’t ask, you won’t know.’

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

You are the face of your company. I remember being in a store with my family, and this delightful woman ran across the store and said, “you’re the Wine Away lady, right?” Then she proceeded to share all sorts of fun Wine Away stories with me and how it truly saved the day for her. I love being called the Wine Away lady, and moments like this remind me of why I started my company.
Owning a business is a 24/7 job! Owners don’t truly get vacations because you are always thinking about your business.
Sometimes you will fail! My biggest failure occurred when we launched a new Wine Away packaging design. I was so excited to have something new to sell that I forgot to do all stability tests before we started shipping it, and the packaging failed. This was an expensive learning lesson.
Learn the right communication style: I tend to be fairly blunt, which is oftentimes not received well, so I have had to learn how to communicate differently and slow down a bit…not everyone is on the same timeline as me.
Always be prepared: The pandemic was tough. I remember sitting at my desk and staring at the blinking cursor from one of my national accounts. The email read: “Due to Covid, we are canceling all of our orders for the remainder of the year.” One-by-one, all of my orders were canceled…they just stopped. It was the first time in my career that I didn’t know what I was going to do. Thankfully, with the urging of our customers and our community, we pivoted and made hand sanitizer for local businesses and schools. One of the many things the pandemic taught me was that you always have to have a backup plan.

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

I have always had a soft spot for animals — our company partners with our local humane society throughout the year to help with a program called ‘Clear the Shelter’ and making charitable donations.

That is a tough one — there are so many things going on in our world that picking just one is too difficult. So, I will pick THREE.

World Peace — this probably sounds cliché, but honestly, World Peace — we all just need some peace and calm.
Support Animal Rescue Efforts & End Animal Abuse — no animals should ever be subjected to abuse; if I could I would find loving homes for all abandoned or unwanted animals in shelters and on the streets.
Raise awareness and education to put an end to Human Trafficking.

I would love to sit down and have a cocktail or lunch with Laurie Greiner. I am in awe of this powerhouse lady and all that she has done (and continues to do). Having the opportunity to sit down with her and talk about Wine Away, would be incredible.

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

Female Founders: Staci Wanichek of Wine Away 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: Lisa Chau of Ownet On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Stephen Bates suggested that I create a 30–60–90 day plan for every new job I accept so there is a clear roadmap of performance goals and tasks. This tactic introduces and fosters an environment that supports regular growth conversations for advancement.

As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Chau.

Lisa Chau is Co-Founder and President of Ownet.com. She is the author of Small Talk Techniques: Smart Strategies for Personal and Professional Success, and essayist in Fast Fierce Women edited by bestselling writer Dr. Gina Barreca. Lisa’s writing has been published over 130 times in Forbes, Buzzfeed, Thrive Global, US News & World Report, as well as Huffington Post on TABLES: Technology — Academia — Business — Leadership — Entrepreneurship — Strategy.

In addition to speaking at multiple Ivy League campuses, including Yale, Princeton, and her alma mater, Dartmouth College, Lisa has been a Ted-Ed lesson creator, South by Southwest® mentor, and featured guest on NPR.

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” and what led you to this particular career path?

In the past decade, my career trajectory has been more oriented towards entrepreneurship. As told to Women’s Activism NYC, I pivoted into entrepreneurship in 2009 when I joined the Public Relations team at the Tuck School of Business at my alma mater Dartmouth College. I co-hosted and co-organized the How to Build a Strong Start-Up Conference at Columbia University alongside alumnus Canberk Dayan. Since then, I have built a strong network of entrepreneurs, investors, and executives across a myriad of industries; judged pitch competitions; and served as a mentor for SXSW (2018), the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (2018), and MIT Hacking Medicine NYC Grand Hack (2019). The next logical step was to state my own venture: Ownet.com.

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

Ownet.com is a new social network. Its user-centric model disrupts convention and makes profit sharing possible by offering stock to all registered user-owners. Users will be able to profit off their own social media activity.

My team realizes that the real value of a social network is its users. Rather than buy all of the stock of a network operator like Facebook (NYSE:FB), we came up with a value proposition to acquire all of the users by offering ownership in the social network and a voice in the network’s operation. Our minority-led company seeks to fix the economic injustice of social networks, and lead a mass exodus from current, major social networks, like Facebook, resulting in a historic transfer of wealth!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting?

My Co-Founder likes to spend his daily 15+ work hours 7 days a week in the office starting at 7am, whereas I prefer a daily hybrid model for my 12+ work hours 7 days a week by choosing to be in the office only during the pm hours. We once had a meeting at 10am the next, and as I was leaving for home at 11:30pm, I said to him, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” perkily adding, “Bright and early!” He turned to me with palpable disgust in his voice, “10am is NOT bright and early.” This is still our biggest disagreement since working together. Honestly, we almost never disagree on anything else.

Others on my team call my pm schedule, “The Lisa Hours”.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors?

He asked not to be named, but my current mentor is the epitome of a Superboss, as defined by Tuck School of Business’ Professor Sydney Finkelstein. In our Master-Apprentice relationship, my mentor customizes his coaching to what I need for professional success. Like advertising legend Jay Chiat, my mentor works extremely closely with me and our business discussions extend late into the evenings. I would not be the President of Ownet.com if not for the respect and deep support I have had, and continue to receive from my extremely humble mentor.

According to Professor Finkelstein, “Superbosses can be fierce or gentle, belligerent or self-deprecating, but whatever their style, they do a much better job inspiring and teaching because they get in the trenches with protégés, leading by example and giving them the personalized attention they require to move up quickly.”

My mentor teaches me to address every minutia of leading an organization, empowers me to think independently (in my case, by using the Socratic Method), and disciplines me in how to deal with media.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. 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’?

Facebook was disruptive when it first launched over a decade ago, but it has not withstood the test of time. In Mark Zuckerberg’s business model, he and a relatively small group of investors monetize the data of hundreds of millions of people. The network operator takes up all the economic value of activity on their site while users get nothing in return. This was definitely not a positive disruption.

Ownet.com’s mission is to bring justice to the social media landscape. Our disruption is positive because it leads a paradigm shift where empower users by making them owners of the network. To achieve that goal, OWN Inc, the parent of Ownet.com, is offering users at least 100 shares of stock in OWN just for registering and setting up a profile on Ownet.com. Users pay nothing to receive stock in OWN, and the first one million to register get extra shares of stock. Users also join in governance through a user committee that elects a member to a seat on the Ownet.com board.

In theory, if all users of Facebook moved to a new social network, the value of Facebook would move as well because all of the advertisers would still pay to reach that group of users. Ownet.com wants to be the catalyst for this massive transfer of value to users who, in my opinion, are the rightful owners of that one trillion dollar value.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey?

Dorie Clark is an exemplary model of being a recognized expert by capitalizing on one’s unique perspective and knowledge. I should strive to stand out while inspiring others to listen and take action.

Ted Rubin has ingrained his core marketing philosophy, Return on Relationship (#RonR) into my community building habits on social media. It has been transformational for me in embracing the opportunity to cultivate meaningful, long-term relationships with others.

Stephen Bates suggested that I create a 30–60–90 day plan for every new job I accept so there is a clear roadmap of performance goals and tasks. This tactic introduces and fosters an environment that supports regular growth conversations for advancement.

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

Currently, I am wholly focused on building Ownet.com so we have meaningful traction. At that point, I will leverage our network to cultivate communities focused on adding value to our members’ personal and professional lives.

I recently had a call with Emmaline R. Smyth, the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Giving for the Dartmouth Founders Project. Not only have I begun the process to donate stock to the project as soon as possible, I aim to bolster my future participation by volunteering my time and knowledge.

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

One of the biggest challenges for women disruptors is getting funded. Despite statistics that prove startups with female founders outperform those founded by men, female founders often raise much less money but generate greater profits and quickly exit with higher valuations. Global VC funding to female founders dropped dramatically in 2020. Recent findings by Crunchbase found that technology startups with founding teams that included at least one woman only received 9% of all funds deployed within that industry, while only 2% of VC dollars went to teams with all-women teams or solo woman founders. Somehow, these numbers have declined over the past decade.

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

I am fascinated by human psychology, so I loved reading Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by MIT’s Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics Dr. Dan Ariely. The research and relatable examples in his book made me reconsider how we make illogical decisions based on un/conscious emotions, expectations, social norms, and other invisible forces that skew our reasoning abilities. Moreover, we often repeat the same type of mistakes! We’ll procrastinate, underestimate, and overpay because we fail to reign the systematic patterns of thought and emotions that misguide our choices.

I often find myself falling prey to anchoring impressions. For instance, any time I start a day of shopping at Hermes, almost every other store outside of that same neighborhood demographic will seem like a *relative* bargain. My brain has used the ultra luxury brand’s prices as baseline, so anything less than half their retail tag will suddenly become more attractive to me. I love the game of Scrabble, but I don’t foresee ever spending $15,050 for Asprey’s Hanover set in a black bullskin case. Yet, if I saw another store three blocks away offering a similar product for $8,000 I might have a knee-jerk reaction that the lesser priced item is a great deal even though I’m very aware most families happily play with a $20 game set.

Reminder to self: An 80% discount on an item that has had its price marked up 600% is neither a bargain nor a savings. Especially if you never would have even considered it at wholesale price.

My team and I are already working to lead a mass exodus from Facebook and other social networking platforms to Ownet.com On our shared network, user-owners would get a voice in governance as well as a stake in the transfer of monumental advertising dollars. Using technology to communicate is too ingrained in our everyday, personal and professional lives to abandon completely. Instead of daydreaming about unrealistic solutions, Ownet.com is providing a real alternative in the form of a paradigm shift. This movement can impact billions of people and put real money into their hands. A power user can make thousands of dollars.

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

Always add value without the need for instant, or any, reciprocation. If you add value, your offer to help will rarely be declined. Don’t make money the only form of payment you accept — Access and experience can be much more valuable, and indirectly lead to money in the long-term. Adding value garners trust, presents new opportunities and deepens any relationship. It’s how I got to where I am today.

How can our readers follow you online?

I’m on Twitter as @LisaOwnet, and my company is @Ownet_com

I’m on Instagram as @LisaOwnetIG, and my company is @Ownet.Social

I’m on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/LisaChau

Ownet.com is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/Ownet-com

On Facebook, we are https://www.facebook.com/OwnetSocial

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

Thank you.

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

Kim Coombs of KBCO Design: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Cozy blankets on the sofa. I love them and they always give me so much comfort. But now my standard poodles take them from me, so it gives me a laugh, now I need more!

As part of my series on the “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Coombs.

KBCO Design is an Orlando-based hospitality, commercial, and luxury residential interior design firm. Their heart and soul (and expertise) lies in creating beautiful and functional environments in the luxury residential, hospitality, and commercial markets. Their company was founded in 2002 by Kimberly Bewley Coombs (the ‘KB’ in KBCO) and they’ve spent the last 14+ years approaching both large and small projects with a creative, driven, detail-obsessed fervor.

From big picture strategy to finishing finesses, their team offers the expertise of a large firm with the personal attention of a boutique firm. Their ethos is the care of intuitive, inventive design and some noteworthy clients include Loews Hotels, BMW, Tishman Hotel Corporation, and Universal Studios, just to name a few.

Thank you so much for joining us in this series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

In high school, I took a drafting class and I loved it. Because I enjoyed the process so much, my teacher allowed me to take it three more times! He created an additional curriculum so I could do more advanced projects, which helped me in college.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

The Versailles project is 90,000 square feet and is the largest house in America. The construction of the house started 16 years ago and was never completed. It is now being completed and the home is under renovation and construction at the same time. The house has been the focus of a documentary called: The Queen of Versailles, and most recently, HGTV created a TV show documenting the completion of the home. Our firm, KBCO, designed the rooms in season one and continue to work on completion of the home.

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 made a mistake on an Excel document and when presenting the budget to the client, it was triple what is should have been. So embarrassing! I prefer design programs and applications!

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Versailles. Because this project is being aired on TV, it gives viewers full exposure to the complicated process of interior design. They not only see extremely luxurious materials and exquisite period antiques being used, but other modern materials designed within the challenges posed by the pre-existing conditions of the house. The public gets to go on the ride of highs and lows of a project of this scope.

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

When something goes wrong in your life, just yell “plot twist!” and move on. I have this quote saved, and it has become more relevant than ever as we film the show.

My mom. When I was a child, she always encouraged us to do art. As an artist herself, she continued to help and support me with projects throughout my life and contributed to my development as a designer. She even helped me get my first job and continues to be a huge support to me.

Thank you for that. Here is the main question of our discussion. What are your “5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Cozy blankets on the sofa. I love them and they always give me so much comfort. But now my standard poodles take them from me, so it gives me a laugh, now I need more!
Artwork. A room is not finished without art. Art adds customization and personality to a room.
A clean house. I love coming home to a clean home. When everything in its place, and the house is in order, I feel truly peaceful.
Artificial Turf. I recently had my outdoor living space redone, and I have to say the artificial turf brings me so much joy. It is always perfect, always green, always clean. I never thought something so simple could spark so much joy!
Antique wooden filing cabinet that my dad gave me. I love that he used it in his office and passed it on to me. It means so much to have something he used in his office, and now I use it too.

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

Definitely a health-focused movement. The type of movement that stresses the importance of diet and taking care of your body through exercise, supplements, and other wellness methods.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

Elon Musk. He stands up for himself and what he believes in. He is super smart, and he gets things done, nothing holds him back.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

www.kbcodesign.com
Instagram: @kbcodesign
Facebook: @kbcodesigninteriors
Pinterest: @kbcodesign

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

Kim Coombs of KBCO Design: 5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Living Space Spark More Joy was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr Sarah Rahal of ARMRA Colostrum On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Dr Sarah Rahal of ARMRA Colostrum On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It’s a lonely job: Having built my business as a solo founder, it’s very survival in every responsibility and decision falls to my shoulders. It’s a heavy and lonely load to carry. I spent the first year and a half of the business physically solo, researching and developing our IP, but even as I built my business and hired people around me, ultimately nobody will every be as invested or bear the burden as you did. Curate your support system early on.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Sarah Rahal, MD.

Sarah Rahal, MD is the CEO and Founder of ARMRA Colostrum. She is a double board-certified pediatric neurologist with expertise in environmental and functional medicine. Dr. Rahal founded ARMRA with a mission to minimize the modern environmental impact on human health and empower others with a simple, accessible tool that anyone can use to meaningfully transform their foundational health.

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

I am a physician with an expertise in functional medicine and environmental health. Prior to founding ARMRA, I spent most of my career as a pediatric neurologist specializing in headache and facial pain in children running a busy practice in NY. It was during this time, witnessing the boom in chronic disease in young kids and also struggling with my own gut health issues, that I uncovered the troubling role the modern environment played.

Our genes didn’t suddenly mutate; the surge in health issues we’re seeing can be traced back to an environment that rapidly changed over the past few decades with unprecedented pollutants in the air we breathe, pesticides and anti-nutrient ingredients in our food system, and unregulated chemicals in our body and home care products. They drive inflammation and we see a surge of autoimmune problems, allergies, digestive complaints, mental fog, bloating, sleep problems, and skin issues because of it.

While researching colostrum, I discovered a natural, whole food powered by over 200+ exclusive peptides, antibodies, growth factors, and bioactive molecules that had the power to strengthen the body’s defense against these modern exposures and restore foundational health. Over 5,000 research publications attested to its health benefits. And I wondered — why didn’t everybody know about it already?

ARMRA is a brand I founded with a mission to empower any person with a simple, accessible tool that can meaningfully improve her foundational health and free her to live her fullest life. My goal was not only to introduce colostrum to the mass market, but to create the best version for human health. ARMRA utilizes proprietary low-temperature technology to protect all of these bioactive nutrients in their most natural and bioavailable form and removes the dairy compounds that humans don’t need. What’s created is the most pure and potent colostrum concentrate available and one that you can easily incorporate into your own daily routine. Our innovation is entirely around preserving and protecting the integrity of colostrum, which mother nature has already spent millions of years honing for health. Rather than overengineer, as so much tech in the industry is now focused on doing, we respect the wisdom inherent in the raw, natural product.

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

In starting a business, you usually have an idea of who your target audience is going to be, and how your product is going to be used, but you have to be open minded. I initially thought that our product was going to be a one-stop shop for the whole family; an immunity supplement that mom’s would purchase and feel good about, to protect the health of their loved ones. Because it addresses such a foundational pathway in the body, the mucosal barriers, the benefits of ARMRA Colostrum extend well beyond just immune health. But after we launched Immune Revival, our first product, we were surprised how many people were writing in to share other benefits they were experiencing. We had a host of testimonials around allergy benefits and many customers were leveraging it for longstanding gut issues, to improve their energy and focus, hair growth, and for fitness and performance enhancement, as the growth factors support lean muscle building and workout recovery. I learn so much from my customers — many even used ARMRA topically for anti-aging skin benefits. It shifted my entire perspective on who the brand could serve. We could meet customers where they were to address very common health pain points. When starting a business it’s important to be very decisive — but not tie your ego to the decisions. Assume every decision you make is wrong so make it your goal to discover you’re wrong as quickly as possible.

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

Bovine colostrum evolved 300 million years ago and has been harnessed for its health benefits for thousands of years dating back to Ayurvedic medicine. It was used to treat infections before the advent of antibiotics and is clinically backed by thousands of peer-reviewed research publications. It addresses a foundational pathway in the body and is safe for all ages, effective with a long track record of use. However, it remains largely unknown to the mass consumer.

With ARMRA, I aimed to change that. We developed a proprietary, pure bovine colostrum concentrate rich in over 200+ functional, bioactive nutrients that acts as a blueprint for the body’s optimal functioning. Our innovation utilizes low temperature technology to protect the integrity of all of the fragile bioactive molecules, while also removing unnecessary dairy compounds, like casein. This ensures the most potent and bioavailable product on the market and the only one optimized for human health. Because of our process, independent research showed that ARMRA Colostrum conferred 32% stronger antibacterial immune protection than other colostrums. We source exclusively from grass fed cows on family-owned dairy farms throughout the US using by upcycling excess colostrum — to ensure that baby calves get fed all they need before any colostrum is collected.

The body has the powerful ability to heal itself when equipped with the right nutrients to do so. I saw an opportunity to address the health challenges posed by the modern environment with an ancient superfood that was uniquely suited for the task. A safe, effective, and accessible tool that could meaningfully improve the health of anyone who took it — infant, child, or adult — for around $1 a day. At scale, the societal impact could be massive.

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

Commit to a small change. And look to yourself, not others, for guidance — People often set lofty goals for what they want their health routine to look like. And they often base it on what they’ve seen work for other people. But behavior change is personal. Incorporating a small change into your already-established daily routine is more likely to stick, and small changes stack up over time.
But first — subtract — I think the focus is often around what things can you add to your life to contribute to your wellness, but for me I find it far more impactful when I find things to take away. It’s “via negativa” or wisdom through subtraction. I consider my attention my most critical resource and putting tighter guardrails around what I allow to grab my attention has made the biggest difference in my overall wellness. That may mean: getting much more comfortable saying “no” to bids for my time so that I have breathing room in my daily calendar or a complete digital detox.
The sun is your friend — We’ve been bombarded by messaging that demonizes the sun as something we need protection from. While sunburn is problematic and dangerous, daily unprotected exposure to the sun is essential for optimal health. Not only does it trigger synthesis of Vitamin D (which >80% of the population suffers from with catastrophic health consequences), but sunshine also promotes the release of serotonin, melatonin, endorphins, and sex hormones which means better mood, better sleep, and better sex.
Be aware of what goes in and on your body: If you don’t know, the Environmental Working Group just released their 2022 Dirty Dozen that is a great place to start. https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php. They are also an essential resource for identifying potentially toxic ingredients in common bath and home cleaning products.
Trust your body — There is no greater chemist than mother nature. At ARMRA our goal is to empower people to live with vitality. The body has the powerful ability to heal itself when equipped with the right nutrients to do so.

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

I have, it’s called ARMRA Colostrum. I saw an opportunity to address the health challenges posed by the modern environment with an ancient superfood that was uniquely suited for the task. A safe, effective, and accessible tool that could meaningfully improve the health of anyone who took it — infant, child, or adult — for around $1 a day. At scale, the societal impact could be massive.

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

It’s a lonely job: Having built my business as a solo founder, it’s very survival in every responsibility and decision falls to my shoulders. It’s a heavy and lonely load to carry. I spent the first year and a half of the business physically solo, researching and developing our IP, but even as I built my business and hired people around me, ultimately nobody will every be as invested or bear the burden as you did. Curate your support system early on.
Whatever you think about yourself, be ready to dispose of it: Until I started my business I didn’t realize how important it was to not believe everything you think about yourself. I’d always considered myself a risk-averse person. But then here I was, leaving a stable job as a physician to take a leap building a highly risky business in the hopes that I could serve more people than I ever could 1 on 1 in my practice. I had no “formal” training, and yet here I was figuring it out, flexing creative muscles, teaching myself to code, and navigate a supply chain, and tell better stories. It was a forcing mechanism to manifest different versions of myself and then see who I was in a new light.
People will think you’re delusional, it means you’re on the right track: When you do something category-building there isn’t necessarily an analog to point to in the market. Frankly, I was staking my professional and personal reputation on an ingredient and claims that most people (including my medical colleagues) were not familiar with and so, considered “snake oil.” But if you stay in your lane, conform, and see things like everybody else does there is no path to innovate and progress. You have to be bold and irreverent to the convention, and that means people are going to think you’re crazy — seeing an opportunity that others don’t see and having a maniacal focus on something that doesn’t yet exist. Keep going.
Being busy doesn’t mean you’re getting things done: The more demanding the business became the more I had to learn to build boundaries around my attention, which is any founder’s most prized and non-renewable asset. Everyone will vie for your time, but I don’t view openings on my calendar as invitations to be scheduled. My mind works best uncluttered and I’ve gotten a lot more bold with “no” as my default response so that I can better curate my attention towards things that are value-add, which sometimes means empty space to think.
You can write your own playbook: I built my business with a groundbreaking product, spurred by a paradigm-shiting health approach, leveraging out-of-the-box fundraising and an unconventional team structure. We forged our own path to success and it was by opting out of conventional wisdom on many of these fronts. There is no “right way” to get things done. Unless most things in life, I think this is an area where you commit to the outcome not the process, and just keep problem-solving until you get there.

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

Environmental changes most certainly. But while most focus has largely centered around ways to clean up the environment, the sad reality is that we also need protection from the environment in the meantime. Today 54% of children have a chronic disease diagnosis. In the 1960’s it was 1.6%. Our genes didn’t suddenly mutate; all these health issues are being driven by an environment that rapidly changed over the past few decades with unprecedented pollutants in the air we breathe, pesticides and anti-nutrient ingredients in our food system and unregulated chemicals in our body and home care products. They drive inflammation and we see a surge of autoimmune problems, allergies, digestive complaints, mental fog, bloating, sleep problems and skin issues because of it. My own experience suffering severe gut health issues as a consequence of these modern conditions was itself a driving force for the genesis of ARMRA.

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

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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

Female Disruptors: Dr Zeenia Kaul of ReHeva Biosciences On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Dr Zeenia Kaul of ReHeva Biosciences On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You can’t be successful without failure. In science, nine out of 10 lab experiments may fail, but that one successful experiment propels you forward — and keeps you going.

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

Zeenia Kaul, Ph.D., M.B.A., is the Co-founder, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of ReHeva Biosciences. A molecular and cell biologist with 11 years of experience in oncology, Zeenia is paving the way for 100 percent naturally-derived drugs to help people live longer and healthier with cancer. Born in India, raised in Japan, educated in Australia, and fluent in multiple languages, Zeenia founded ReHeva in 2016, and today the biopharmaceutical startup’s cancer-fighting drug, RH324, is in FDA Phase 1 Trial.

My company, ReHeva Biosciences, is based on more than 20 years of research conducted by my parents, Dr. Renu Wadhwa and Dr. Sunil Kaul. They’re both acclaimed molecular biologists. Growing up, I saw my parents’ devotion to their research — over time, a small discovery led to 15 years of study, which resulted in the identification of a unique seed line from a common plant that would be selective in killing cancer cells while leaving the normal cells alone.

I remember being dragged to lab after school and helping my parents with chores — like washing glassware, photocopying research articles, and cataloging reagents — and accompanying them to research conferences during school breaks. At the time, I never understood why my parents took a school-going girl to aging and cancer conferences.

Then, my parents had an opportunity to do a year-long sabbatical in Sydney, Australia. I was being exposed to yet another education system, making new friends, and learning the Aussie accent. Little did I know I would later return to the same lab to pursue my graduate studies.

All this time, I was able to watch my parents’ friends solve big problems with such humility. Witnessing this had a huge impact on my life.

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

Our goal at ReHeva is to transform cancer treatment into disease management, much like asthma and heart disease today. We do not accept the current narrative that harmful side effects and brief remission periods are an inevitable part of cancer treatments.

Since 2016, our team of clinicians and scientists has been working to uncover and develop naturally-occurring botanical agents to treat and manage major diseases. I’ll try not to get too technical, but our transformative approach targets multiple tissues and mechanisms of action through a multi-target and multi-component, complex, botanically-derived agents. Cancer patients currently don’t have access to naturally derived drugs that are safe, effective, and affordable — and we are incredibly proud to address this unmet need.

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 started ReHeva with my co-founder Bill Diffenderffer based on 15 years of peer-reviewed research on natural cancer treatment by my parents. Intrigued by the possibilities of that research, we decided: “Let’s find out if this works on people.”

Having just finished my MBA and a cancer research fellowship, I was waiting to start a consulting job, and Bill was teaching entrepreneurship at The Ohio State University.

Neither one of us had any idea what that eight-word sentence actually involved. Since so much research had already been done, we thought the process of bringing to market a human cancer treatment would be relatively simple. Four million dollars and five years later, Bill and I anticipate needing $25 million and five more years just to “find out if it works on people.”

When we tell professionals about what we thought when we first started, they laugh at how naïve we were.

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

I’ve been fortunate to have many mentors who have helped me along my journey.

First and foremost is my mother, Dr. Renu Wadhwa. When I was a young girl, my parents moved from India to Japan, and my mother had to start over in Japanese society, which is male-dominated. She paved her own way, earning a second Ph.D., and never gave up on establishing herself as a leader in the field. Her relentless positivity, and the ability to “pick up crumbs and make something of them,” has had a huge impact on my life.

My Ph.D. supervisor, Dr. Roger Reddel, has also been a significant influence. He was a family friend before becoming my mentor, so I had the pleasure of seeing his serious side in the lab, but also witnessing him at home and 100 percent dedicated to being a husband and father. Roger showed me that you can be on the cutting edge and an expert, but also have a healthy balance between work and family life. He runs a leading research center with passion, humility, a drive to serve, and always a huge smile on his face.

Finally, my business partner Bill Diffenderffer has taught me so much about entrepreneurship and recognizing the possibilities. I met Bill during my fellowship and while working on my MBA at The Ohio State University. I took Bill’s class on entrepreneurship, and we connected on my cancer research as his wife’s Stage 3C ovarian cancer was recurring. Bill’s entrepreneurial experience and mentorship has helped propel ReHeva forward in ways I could not have imagined. His Zen mindset and “bring-your-best-self-every-day” attitude is something I strive for in my day-to-day.

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?

Disruption of an industry is great if you are the entrepreneur doing the disruption, but not so great if you are being disrupted. Disruption is, by its nature, a double-edged sword. The key question is whether there is a net gain for the community being served.

Cancer treatment has recently been disrupted by the advancement and discoveries made in targeted- and immuno-therapies. A huge amount of the R&D resources devoted to cancer are now focused in this direction. However, these amazing drugs are only available to a subset of cancer patients, and their response to these treatments is still variable. Further, resistance to this therapy, along with its short-term efficacy and cost, are huge burdens to the patients and the healthcare industry. Given the devastating realities of cancer, there is a need for disruptive improvements. Yet, the burdens that result from these disruptions make it a two-edged sword.

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

You can’t be successful without failure. In science, nine out of 10 lab experiments may fail, but that one successful experiment propels you forward — and keeps you going.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The journey of being an entrepreneur is very similar to that of a scientist — there is no “rule book,” there aren’t always clear answers, and you figure it out as you go. I am not the most connected person out there, but I’m not afraid to find capable people to help with various parts of my journey.
Put your trust in others from the get-go. Some people say you have to earn their trust, but I operate from a different perspective: “I am working with you because I believe you are the best. You have my utmost trust until you prove me otherwise.”

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

It’s a really exciting time as our lead compound, RH324, just started enrolling and dosing patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer in our Phase 1 Safety Trial at University Hospitals in Cleveland.

In addition to the pharmaceutical side of things, we are working on some big innovations in controlled environment agriculture. With botanical-based drugs, there is a huge opportunity to leverage the science of agriculture. We can control how plants are grown and deliver optimum plants for future clinical use on a much larger scale. ReHeva is based in Ohio, which has a big agriculture focus, so I see enormous potential to develop botanical-based drugs through controlled environment agriculture — and bring them to market.

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

Even though my journey as an entrepreneur has been relatively short, I am fortunate to have a supportive group of mentors and collaborators and an audience that has allowed me to voice my opinions and make decisions. Still, we find it hard to attract healthcare investors’ attention. We believe that is because we are developing something they haven’t seen before — a 100 percent natural treatment for cancer. Yet, some of our “invisibility” may be because I’m a woman disruptor. I have also been helped by some successful women because I am a woman. At the end of the day, I choose to see the positive and not the negative.

Starting a company and working your way through a highly-regulated industry like pharmaceuticals is not easy. You have to be both persistent and delusional! When setbacks happen, you take 30 seconds to mourn, cry, and crawl under the bed — then come back up to solve the problem and move on. This is the truth of a disruptor’s life, and I experience it routinely.

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

During an internship at Novartis in Japan, I was given the book “Magic Cancer Bullet: How a Tiny Orange Pill May Rewrite Medical History,” by Dr. Daniel Vasella. It described the journey of Dr. Vasella and the team at Novartis discovering and developing the revolutionary cancer drug Gleevec.

After reading this book, I knew I wanted to be the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. I was fascinated by the journey of drug development and the passion those working in pharmaceuticals have for discovery, research, and creating innovative drugs that can impact the lives of thousands of patients.

I truly feel very passionate about education. Not necessarily how people are educated, but more about ensuring students have diverse experiences. I never sufficiently appreciated meeting so many brilliant minds, and having the opportunity to travel to different countries across the globe with my parents to attend workshops, experiencing the courses they taught, and hearing about world-changing research. I was also fortunate to have this simple and minimalist way of life at a young and very impressionable age. I would love to find a way for more children to have this diverse set of experiences, as they have been instrumental to the way I approach leading ReHeva.

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

“Curiosity to learn and keep discovering is the new way of life. Failure is the new success.”

One thing I have learned through my own experience — and constantly share with my four-year-old-son — is to be curious. We would not be here if Bill and I weren’t curious, and determined, to find out whether the drug my parents accidently discovered 15 years ago would be efficacious as a cancer treatment. I honestly didn’t know what I was signing up for, but the drive to figure it out has played a huge role in keeping us going.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can learn more about ReHeva Biosciences on our website, rehevabiosciences.com. We can also connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/zeeniakaul.

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

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

Women In Wellness: Kelley Wolf of FLOW-Finding Love Over Worry On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That…

Women In Wellness: Kelley Wolf of FLOW-Finding Love Over Worry On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be a good friend: Schedule this into your life. Reach out to people. Be the planner. Make effort. Remember a birthday. Send a text. We need connection more than ever and it doesn’t happen without your help.

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

Kelley Wolf is a life and personal development coach. She is the author of FLOW-Finding Love Over Worry and is the host of the FLOW podcast. Kelley lives in Vancouver with her husband, actor Scott Wolf and their three kids.

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

Just a girl from Arkansas…no…there is no “just” in my backstory or any woman’s story for that matter. I am a life and personal development coach with a background in Clinical Psychology. I did grow up in Arkansas, I went to high school in Cambridge, England and have since moved over 20 times. I am currently living in Vancouver, Canada where my husband is filming his television series. I recently wrote my first book to answer the biggest issue we seem to be facing, worry. We are as worried as we have ever been, and my life’s work is how to tackle worry so worry doesn’t tackle you.

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

I don’t really have one lightening story from the past 12 years, but I have a collection of stories that come from the people I have met and worked with. I met my best friend in a Marie Calendar’s parking lot while waiting for a work meeting to begin. Her name is Libby Moore, and she wrote the forward for my book. The wild thing about that meeting is Libby was Chief of Staff to Oprah Winfrey for 11 years. Libby is so special and so important to me and the only reason we crossed paths was because we decided to be open and inclusive. The main takeaway I have is to leave the door open. Smile at people. Ask people to join your table. I have worked with hundreds of people in very intimate setting and the one overriding truth is we all want to fit in, to be included and to have a seat at the table. If you have a seat to offer, offer it.

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

Pacing. Pacing is the biggest mistake I made. When you start a career that you love, you think you have to work harder than everyone else. You can fall into a scarcity mentality. In my case, I worked so hard and said yes so often that I began to burn out after a couple of years. In my industry, we are the asset. As a coach, if I can’t get on the call, I don’t get paid. Over time, I learned how to work smarter, not harder. Writing my book, which took focus and time, was how I answered the question of time scarcity. If I cannot take the call or take the job, I can offer you my book. My book has all the tips and tricks I have learned and taught over the last 12 years.

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

I believe we are more worried than we have ever been. The research supports this, and I didn’t even need the research to see how much fear people are experiencing. Clients, friends and family have all talked to me about the toll the last two years has taken on them. We have lived through a collective trauma and there is no map for how to navigate the world moving forward. As much as I hate to say this, I believe we are going to face more hardships. The world is changing, and we need tools to navigate so we don’t lose our way. My work is all about simple and easy tools that every human can use to avoid falling into a worry trap. Worry is a trap. It is a place we can stay for far too long and often we do not realize we have been lost in worry. Worry is invasive and corrosive to our happiness. FLOW -Finding Love Over Worry is the technique I created to offer an alternative to fear and worry. It is a recipe for joyful living, and it works.

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

1. Observe: Sounds simple but man do we resist this. Start the practice of observing your thoughts. Are your thoughts riddled with worry, judgment and fear? They are thoughts. You can challenge your thoughts.

2. Move: Moving your body is more important than ever. I have a disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and I live in chronic pain. I am the first person to understand how hard it is to move. I do not move for vanity; I move for sanity. Movement is the fastest way to release dopamine and get your mind back to a place of joy.

3. Munch: This seems obvious, but you would be amazed at how many people will call me in distress and I ask if they have eaten and they say, “Yes, a banana and a coffee!” and it is 5pm! We need nourishment. We need good food to fuel our body. Again, this isn’t vanity, this is sanity.

4. Meditation: Not your momma’s mediation! My meditation offerings take into account the way we live today. My suggestion is to simply say the tasks you are doing while you are doing them. For instance, “Wash the hair” while you are washing your hair or to observe things while you move through the day, a pen, a book, a table. The reason this works is it gives your mind a clean slate to not go into future tripping or nostalgia.

5. Be a good friend: Schedule this into your life. Reach out to people. Be the planner. Make effort. Remember a birthday. Send a text. We need connection more than ever and it doesn’t happen without your help.

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

I would require schools to do meditation in the morning and at the end of the day. Learning how to master your mind may be the most crucial gift on earth. If you can get a handle on the clutter that swirls through your mind, you can handle hardships much better. We are all suffering in different ways, but I believe the children are getting the brunt of the world’s chaos. They are looking to us for tools and I believe meditation is a tool that is free, easy and can happen for anyone at any time.

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

Go slow: When we slow down, we can see more of the process. When we slow down, problems seem manageable. Slowness is mastery, not stupidity.
Find a Mentor: I stumbled a lot through my early career, and I would have benefited immensely from a mentor. Most of my colleagues are happy to mentor someone who is eager and willing to do the work. Just ask.
You may change your mind: You may want to pivot and shift in your career. This is not a sign of failure; it is a sign of growth. It is okay to shift, especially when something is not working for you.
Pay yourself first: We have all heard this before and boy is it true. Understanding finances is crucial, especially for women in my field. We do not take business classes in the helping fields and that is to our detriment. Take a basic finance class and ask for help.
You deserve to be here: I am sure I am not alone in suffering through imposter syndrome. Please remember that you belong at the table. Be assertive. Be bold. Be willing to get it wrong. Take your place and do not apologize.

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

Gosh, all of them. I would have said the environment because let’s face it, if the planet dies, so do we. However, at this moment, I will say mental health, especially children and teens. I have encountered shocking rises in suicide attempts and my own children have been suffering mental health issues through the last two years. I believe we need to put an enormous amount of focus on the younger generations so they can have the strength to show up for the planet.

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

I am most active on Instagram @kelleywolf

My website is www.flowbykelleywolf.com

You can email me at kelley@flowbykelleywolf

My Book is available on Amazon- FLOW-Finding Love Over Worry- A recipe for Living Joyfully

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Women In Wellness: Kelley Wolf of FLOW-Finding Love Over Worry On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Amy Wong On How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Recognize when it’s happening and name it. Consider the feeling of Imposter Syndrome as valuable information. It’s telling you that you’re actively believing you’re inadequate at that moment.

As a part of our series about how very accomplished leaders were able to succeed despite experiencing Imposter Syndrome, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Wong.

Amy Eliza Wong is a certified executive coach who has devoted more than 20 years to the study and practice of helping others live and lead on purpose. She works with some of the biggest names in tech and offers transformational leadership development and internal communication strategies to executives and teams around the world. Her new book is Living on Purpose: Five Deliberate Choices to Realize Fulfillment and Joy (BrainTrust Ink, May 24, 2022). Learn more at alwaysonpurpose.com.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?

Yes, thank you. As a child I was obsessed with math and piano. I studied (and taught) both through high school and college, got my degree in mathematics at UC Berkeley, and ended up in the tech industry for 10 years at Sun Microsystems. Throughout all my roles at Sun, I recognized the common denominator that thread throughout my life in my passions, my studies, and all my different positions — whether as a program manager or UI architect — was my fascination for how people perceived and interpreted information at hand.

I recognized that I had a gift for being able to identify what others didn’t know about what they didn’t know that kept them stuck and unable to move forward. I was able to reflect those unknowns back to them in a way so that they could derive truths for themselves and catalyzing real learning for transformation.

When my first child was born in 2008 I had a massive breakthrough moment and I committed to embodying my true gifts, not just to achieving goals. I went to graduate school and got my Masters in transpersonal psychology simply because it was fascinating and my heart knew I needed to study it. That’s when coaching “found me.” Every day since that discovery has been nothing short of a miracle. No part of what I do is “work,” but instead is a way of being and a gift I get to experience every day.

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take-aways’ you learned from that?

In 2013, a drug and rehab center in Sacramento inquired into my coaching and asked if I did group coaching. At the time I didn’t but I very much wanted to. I was brutally honest and said, “No, but I’d love to!” They decided to take a chance on letting me run their group coaching sessions once a week for 2 hours with 30 clients in a room at a time. When I learned that each week I’d have some new faces, while others would have graduated, I knew I was in for a challenge. That meant that I could never rely on a regular program or “schtick” — it would always have to be fresh and new. Despite the imposter syndrome I felt with doubts that I’d be up for this task, I pushed through the discomfort. It was so uncomfortably exciting that I knew I was meant to do this work.

I coached for that drug and rehab center and their other locations for over a year and it has been the best part of my coaching career. I learned so much about the human spirit, connection, and resiliency, and I learned a ton about myself and my facilitation abilities. The big aha for me was that the most growth happens alongside the scariest and most uncomfortable opportunities, and I’m not the only one who benefits!

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

I’m typically known for leadership communication coaching, executive presence and public speaking coaching, and for anything pertaining to Conversational Intelligence. But what clients don’t immediately realize is that communication is an effect — or a symptom — of the relationship we have with ourselves. I’ve been told by a few leaders that I coach in three dimensions and that my approach is multifaceted, providing the space to make sense of the totality of one’s experience.

For example, I had a startup founder come to me to improve his executive presence and improve his pitches. The journey to get to that improved state of authentic confidence and compelling delivery involved transforming aspects of his relationship with himself. We reworked the scaffolding of his mental models and beliefs, and strengthened his relationships through improved conversational intelligence. After a short and very successful engagement he said that it felt like “coaching on steroids” and “therapy for his soul.” His transformation was a real shift, not just a quick fix.

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?

Hands down that’s my husband, Arnold. When I told him I wanted to quit my amazing job in tech and go to grad school and get my Masters in transpersonal psychology with no plan with what I was going to do with it, he lovingly backed me up, no questions asked. His unconditional love and support have made it possible for me to take the big risks to create the successful company that I have today. I couldn’t have done it without his love and commitment to me and to us.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the experience of Impostor Syndrome. How would you define Impostor Syndrome? What do people with Imposter Syndrome feel?

An “imposter” is defined as a person who practices deception under an assumed name or character. As a syndrome it’s an experience that some people feel within certain contexts or situations in which they believe they don’t measure up — that they’re actually not good enough to do the job — and that they have everyone fooled. It’s an awful feeling because at the core of it is a consuming feeling of self-doubt.

What are the downsides of Impostor Syndrome? How can it limit people?

A belief that you’re inadequate, not good enough, or not competent is a terrible feeling to entertain, which in itself is a downside. But the weight of that belief is what causes the destruction. The fear, self-doubt, and the consequential inner dialogue take up a lot of inner resources that could be used to navigate accurately, connect authentically, and innovate creatively. With those resources channeled in the direction of self-centered fear we’re not only unable to thrive, but to feel present, grounded and impactful. It’s like trying to run a race with a pair of ankle weights on strapped on. It just weighs you down and keeps you from being ineffective.

How can the experience of Impostor Syndrome impact how one treats others?

I’ve found that there is a range of responses depending on how one reacts to fear itself. On one end of the spectrum, Imposter Syndrome can leave someone riddled with insecurity and afraid of being “found out.” This person will recede and remain quiet. In cases like this, people tend not to share opinions, assert themselves or contribute to the conversation, which is unfortunate because others lose out on a perspective that will add to the job at hand. On the other end, that fear can result in someone over-compensating and desperately attempting to prove themselves worthy. They come off as arrogant and step on others’ toes in the process, stealing credit, bull dozing others in conversation, and so on.

The common thread that runs through the spectrum of responses is that all acts are based out of fear. When fear is running the show, it’s easy to lose awareness of our impact on others. When we’re not mindful of our impact, we can cause unintended consequences, drive others away, or cause others to lose trust in our abilities.

We would love to hear your story about your experience with Impostor Syndrome. Would you be able to share that with us?

When I first joined IDEO in 2011, I had to be mindful of the difference between self-doubt and doubt. I’d been in the technology industry for 10 years and entering into the design industry was a whole new ball game. While I knew I was hired for my coaching and facilitation ability, I still felt like I was a fish out of water not having had any experience in design. I had to actively orient my mindset out of self-doubt and objectively look at the knowledge gaps I could close. Forcing myself to look objectively at what I knew and what I didn’t know, and also recognizing that it was going to be a process to identify what I didn’t know that I didn’t know, was a process that kept Imposter Syndrome as an option to entertain, not a way of being. I had to actively work not to choose it.

Did you ever shake the feeling off? If yes, what have you done to mitigate it or eliminate it?

Yes, fortunately. It took me reminding myself that there is a difference between self-doubt (doubt in my inherent capability or capacity) and doubt (question about what I objectively know and don’t know). It took reminding myself that doubt is healthy and my job was to close knowledge gaps and skill gaps. I had to remind myself that there was no room to doubt my self, and I would often recall the image of adding weights to my body while running a race just to remind myself how futile self-doubt is.

In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone who is experiencing Impostor Syndrome can take to move forward despite feeling like an impostor? Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Recognize when it’s happening and name it. Consider the feeling of Imposter Syndrome as valuable information. It’s telling you that you’re actively believing you’re inadequate at that moment.

2. Make the distinction between self-doubt and doubt. Ask yourself if it’s worth entertaining a belief that you’re not good enough — doubting yourself — or if it would be more constructive to objectively look at what you know and what you don’t know. (When asking yourself this intentionally, you’ll always opt for doubt over self-doubt!)

3. Remind yourself that as a human, there’s no way to be perfect and no way to know it all. Your job is to remove the unnecessary weight of limiting beliefs and show up and do the best you can. Also, decide that your best is enough.

4. Affirm that you’re already whole and complete. Not perfect, but capable, resourceful, and resilient.

5. Actively practice a growth mindset. Seek feedback and honor it as information that you’re on track, not evidence of your worth! Use feedback as a way to continually improve and create positive impact.

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

I want everyone on the planet to know that they’re whole, complete, worthy, deserving, and enough. My life’s mission is to help heal the planet by minding the relationship each person has with themselves. The moment one knows themselves as worthy, whole, and complete and practices true unconditional self-love, they see others and the world with true, real, eyes. Compassion, care, and understanding emerge. That’s when the world starts to heal.

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

I’m really inspired by Carla Harris. She’s an incredible force in the world, a positive influence, and a role model for what’s possible for women. She exudes wisdom, kindness, and compassion and has a lovely presence of warm authority. Not only am I certain I would learn a ton from her, she feels like she would be a really good friend. 🙂

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Linkedin: @amyelizawong

Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!

Amy Wong On How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.