Female Founders: Vanessa Wruble of March On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
You will never not be working: being a founder in the non-profit space means always being on the clock and being available at any time to help the team and your partners, and, as we say, Get Shit Done.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vanessa Wruble.
Vanessa is a co-founder of March On — an organization that mobilizes the masses to build political power. March On supports and provides resources for hundreds of local affiliates and organizers nationwide, and partners with other progressive organizations on joint initiatives that work to shift the balance of power toward progressive, people-centered ideas.
Over multiple state and federal election cycles, March On has harnessed the national groundswell of grassroots energy and helped organizers channel that energy into sustainable change. Their initiatives increase civic engagement and amplify the voices of the marginalized to advance justice, fairness and equity.
In August 2021, they organized the March On for Voting Rights, a nationwide march where thousands of people joined together to demand that elected officials stop hijacking democracy, denounce voter suppression and ensure fair, easy access to the vote for all. The event was in partnership with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s the Drum Major Institute, SEIU, National Action Network, Future Coalition and a network of other partners to organize events in cities across America to mark the 58th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington and demand that his vision be deferred no longer.
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’ve always felt the innate responsibility to make the world a better place and relieve suffering in general. I grew up in a household and went to a school that valued the importance of giving back, service, diversity, and ever since, everything I’ve done has been about helping others.
When I started, I wasn’t out there to become a huge activist, I was doing work in smaller ways and then it culminated in 2016 during the presidential election, which cemented the need to answer the call of making a much larger impact on our country’s political situation and systemic issues such as racism and sexism. This led to the creation of the Women’s March on Washington and eventually March On as an organization.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
For the midterm elections in 2018, a group of activists decided to hang a giant banner off of the Manhattan Bridge that said VOTE, however, the banner ended up being so big that it took hours to hang, which eventually led to the stunt being reported and broken up by the police with only half of the banner hanging on the bridge. Even though we didn’t get to hang the banner, we still earned press coverage in every major New York media outlet promoting our mission. Was it a failure? Not sure, but I still chuckle to myself every time I think about it.
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?
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always felt the call to help others and a big part of that is from my father. He was a major influence on me and he put the idea into my head when I was young that I needed to do something very big to help the world — since then, he’s provided me with plenty of advice (some pieces better than others) for how I should and should not go about my career in activism.
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?
Largely, men and the patriarchy.
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?
This is why I fight for systemic change. We need to rethink the entire way we behave as a people, so that we aren’t wired to think that men are more capable in any way than women. Right now, even if funders say they want to fund women, men still have an easier time getting money — there’s still a lot of work today as a society to try and shift this narrative.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?
One myth is that being a founder means working alone and making all of the decisions yourself. While this may reflect certain aspects of leadership, at March On we work in a nonhierarchical, collaborative way. I like to think of it as a collection of people who all contribute to our initiatives and larger mission.
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?
The most important trait a founder needs to have is sheer determination. Being a founder means there will be roadblocks at every turn, and although it will be dispiriting, as long as you’re driven by some kind of passion that keeps you going, you can make it through anything.
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 will never not be working: being a founder in the non-profit space means always being on the clock and being available at any time to help the team and your partners, and, as we say, Get Shit Done.
You need to have thick skin: While sometimes this role can feel like a thankless job, it’s important to keep your eye on your goal and always know that you’re working towards making the world a better place
A lot of the work is managing interpersonal relationships: 99% of the job is dealing with people and different personalities, whether they’re part of your organization, partners, vendors and more — having good communications skills is essential
Consider the competitive landscape: Before you even begin, you need to consider other organizations or companies in the space to ensure that you will be filling a need that isn’t already filled
You have to accept reality: Something I say a lot is that you have to accept the world we live in vs. the world we wish we lived in — you have to accept reality, which sometimes means stepping outside of your comfort zone in order to grow and support your organization’s mission
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
The first company I started (with Questlove of The Roots), Okayafrica, is now the largest media company focusing on a forward-thinking, nuanced view of Africa today.
After Okayafrica, I co-founded the Women’s March on Washington, and served as the Head of Campaign Operations, working with the team to right the imbalance of power, fight on behalf of all marginalized people, and ensure the end of structural patriarchy.
From there, I co-founded March On — an organization that mobilizes the masses to build political power. We support and provide resources for hundreds of local affiliates and organizers nationwide, and partner with other progressive organizations on joint initiatives that work to shift the balance of power toward progressive, people-centered ideas.
Over multiple state and federal election cycles, March On has harnessed the national groundswell of grassroots energy and helped organizers channel that energy into sustainable change. Our initiatives increase civic engagement and amplify the voices of the marginalized to advance justice, fairness and equity.
In August 2021, we organized the March On for Voting Rights, a nationwide march where thousands of people joined together to demand that elected officials stop hijacking democracy, denounce voter suppression and ensure fair, easy access to the vote for all. This event was in partnership with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s the Drum Major Institute, SEIU, National Action Network, Future Coalition and a network of other partners to organize events in cities across America to mark the 58th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic March on Washington and demand that his vision be deferred no longer.
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?
If anyone out there reading this has resources to offer — money, a big megaphone, a strong network — I am happy to walk you through how we can truly make a difference together in this absolutely critical stage of our country. It should be clear — right now our democracy is at stake. I can’t stress that enough.
Also, I would love to chat with Obama 😉
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Female Founders: Vanessa Wruble of March 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.