Female Founders: Lauren Cohen of e-Council On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
I have impacted entrepreneurs and investors around the world by giving them options, opening doors for them to invest, live, work and play globally and painlessly and taking their businesses across borders to improve their lives and those of their families. I love helping others and have been involved in a variety of philanthropic and charitable pursuits at many levels. Giving back is a part of my daily life, whether in kind or through actual donations, and I strive to teach my child to live by the same code.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Cohen.
Serial entrepreneur Lauren Cohen is an International Lawyer, Realtor and Cross-Border Expert. She is also a best-selling author and sought-after speaker. Real estate investors and entrepreneurs hire Lauren to help overcome obstacles and navigate business and investment across borders so that they are able to invest, live, work and play — anywhere. Find out more at https://ecouncilinc.com/realestate/
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?
As a Canadian immigrant, I received my US green card in 2007 and started my own business the following year. Two years later, I gave birth to my son, Zevi, at the age of 43. As a single working mom and entrepreneur, I initially struggled in my career, hitting many obstacles and dealing with many frustrations along my path. However, with the help and advice of trusted advisors along with my determined and gutsy approach to life, I managed to refocus my energy to become the successful business owner I am today. I have transformed my company, e-Council Inc., from a one-woman business to a small, but thriving organization focused on assisting entrepreneurs and business owners to expand and grow across borders and to utilize foreign investor capital, while helping investors achieve legal immigration status to ultimately achieve their version of the American Dream.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
There are so many stories, but I think the most interesting one is the one that brought me to creating my company — my ex-husband’s deportation on the return trip from our honeymoon! After slogging through the initial devastation, I felt compelled to find solutions so I turned to the crazy world of immigration and international law to help others avoid a similar fate. I found my silver lining and now I help others find theirs!
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?
Wow. I am not sure about a “funny” story, but perhaps the biggest mistake was in thinking that I knew a lot more about running a business then I knew, until I realized that I needed help — and sought out accountability partners, mentors and coaches to help me hone my skills and build my team!
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?
Interesting that this falls in line with my answer to #3. Yes. My dad’s best friend, who has since passed away, played an instrumental role in getting me on track and staying the course. He was a very successful entrepreneur and celebrity in his own right and I was privileged to learn from him and benefit from his guidance and mentorship.
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?
Ongoing pre-conceived notions about women being the “weaker sex”; not having the right to have a “seat at the table”; being “emotional” and less powerful than our male counterparts. Unfortunately these pervasive attitudes towards women continue to exist today, despite facts demonstrating their lack of truth. Women have to fight harder, be smarter, and generally go the extra mile to be included. I myself continue to experience it, working with the highest echelons of developers and business owners around the world and certainly this lack of empowerment is even more evident outside of North America. Shall I start a list?
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?
Treat PEOPLE as equals regardless of gender. Don’t include GENDER in the consideration, just take each person at face value. Eliminating stereotypes is going to take a lot of time, persistence and perseverance but eventually, the truth that we are all equal will shine through.
This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?
Women have an intuitive side that men simply lack.
They can see things that men often overlook. They look at each person as a person rather than as a man or a woman. They bring passion and compassion to their role as founders and more women are impact-driven than their male counterparts, which drives their success. Women are focused on much more than the bottom line — success for us is about much more than money!
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
That all founders are successful or money-driven. Being a founder really means that you need to think outside-of-the-box and be willing to pursue your dreams despite the odds, that you are willing to face obstacles and overcome them.
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?
In all honesty? No. Spearheading a company requires a certain fortitude that few people possess. You have to be a visionary, be able to roll with the punches, have a strong stomach for the ups and downs every business goes through, be a risk taker and a strong networker. A founder needs to make decisions and then stand behind them, come what may. Most people prefer stability, not walking on the razor’s edge, and would rather take a job where they know exactly how many hours they’ll be working each week and how much they’ll be receiving every paycheck. Quite simply, few have the head and stomach for starting a business.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- Balance — The need for work/life balance is real. When you’re working, be all in. When you’re not working and spending time with your family, friends or yourself, turn work off. Otherwise, you’re never really putting your full attention to anything you’re doing.
- A team/support — No one can go it alone.Build a strong support network and team. Hire for what you’re not good at so you can focus your energies on your sphere of genius.
- A massage therapist (and I am not kidding) — Book a standing massage every week or two and do your body some good. Not only does it feel great and you’ll have some time where you are completely disconnected from work, massage has various health benefits, such as lowering stress and improving your immune system as well as increasing mental alertness.
- An Amazon Prime account — Running all over town to purchase supplies for the home and office is not a good use of a Founder’s time. Amazon Prime saves me money and time, our most precious resource.
- Confidence and Chutzpah — Being a Founder means never being shy or unsure. As a wise Jedi Master once said, “Do, or do not — there is no try.” Confidence can get you into a lot of meetings and open a lot of doors.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I have impacted entrepreneurs and investors around the world by giving them options, opening doors for them to invest, live, work and play globally and painlessly and taking their businesses across borders to improve their lives and those of their families.
I love helping others and have been involved in a variety of philanthropic and charitable pursuits at many levels. Giving back is a part of my daily life, whether in kind or through actual donations, and I strive to teach my child to live by the same code.
I have big goals. I lost my beloved dad to the horrific disease known as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2013. My dream is to create a legacy in his name that will have a huge impact on finding a cure and treating this disease — it is all currently in process!
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.
It would be twofold: one, teaching people, especially single moms, that they CAN achieve their dreams and can even achieve them across borders. Helping them to stop thinking small and to start believing in themselves and having the confidence to take risks and pursue those dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem.
And two, turning my business success into ways to truly impact and help people struggling with ALS.
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 I might just see this if we tag them.
Mel Robbins (she endorsed my book but I want more) . She knows what it takes to persevere through hard times and speaks to people where they are presently.
Oprah — just wow!
Michelle Obama — I loved reading her book, My Story. I love that she was a First Lady and love how she shows up in the world — always gracious, always a lady, but with her priorities straight!
Elon Musk — I absolutely adore his ideas and creativity and the fact that he is an immigrant entrepreneur. I love how he built a movement around a vehicle!
Jeff Bezos — another immigrant entrepreneur who built what I consider to be one of the most amazing companies in history as AMAZON has revolutionized the way people shop (especially me)!
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this
Female Founders: Lauren Cohen of e-Council 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.