Smart Women Smart Solutions

Jesse Draper Unplugged – Getting Real About What it Takes to Succeed With The CEO & Founder of Halogen Ventures

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Jesse Draper is back for an encore! She was on the podcast back in 2018 and this time I had the pleasure of sharing her wisdom with the members of my private, online membership community, ALIGN online. It was SO good. I’m calling it, “Jesse Draper Unplugged.” She’s just raised $21M to invest in the next generation of female-founded businesses and on this episode, she takes a deep dive with us!

Jesse started her career in the entertainment industry and along the way discovered she had a “superpower” or maybe it was “x-ray vision” when it comes to knowing what it takes to be a winning idea in business. She started focusing on building an early stage venture capital fund focused on female-founded consumer technologies, which led to the creation of Halogen Ventures.

Jesse talks how she found her footing in the venture capital world, her best tips on pitching ideas to investors, the importance of insane optimism, and why you should always ask for feedback.

If you’re looking for investors or bootstrapping, this episode is for you.

You can be what you can see.” – Jesse Draper

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

For women, we are taught to give away money before we are taught to take risk with our money and that’s a problem.” – Jesse Draper

Show Notes:

  • How Jesse went from the entertainment industry to the venture capital world
  • Everyone suffers from Imposter Syndrome and why you need to just keep going
  • Her Insider “SECRETS” on pitching investors – PURE GOLD!
  • Why Jesse decided to focus on female-founders and her perspective on female-founder disruptors
  • 3 Must-Haves she looks for before giving the Green Light
  • The BIGGEST challenge for female founders (and her expert advice on how to overcome it)
  • Why asking for FEEDBACK is key
  • The Type of LEADER you have to become to succeed – BRILLIANT
  • The Essential ingredient to every business (you may be surprised!)

Bootstrap as long as you can.” – Jesse Draper

Connect with Jesse Draper:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Halogen Ventures

You can’t do anything alone.” – Jesse Draper

Christina Stembel, Founder/CEO, Farmgirl Flowers – A $30 Million Business Started with $49,000 in Savings

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Christina Stembel on She's Got Moxie with Joy ChudacoffYou do not want to miss this interview.

Originally from Indiana, Christina Stembel found herself in Silicon Valley where it seemed everyone was an entrepreneur. It was while investigating why flowers are so expensive for her employer at the time, Christina started to see potential big bucks in the flower industry. No college degree but she did have 49K in savings and that’s how Farmgirl Flowers was planted firmly in the ground.

Christina shares all of her tips and transparent insights on how she grew Farmgirl Flowers from nothing to an estimated projected 30M this year. She talks about her grassroots marketing that has grown the company, why and how to get started without investor money, and much more.

 

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

I wanted to take an industry and be either the first innovator or the first one doing it a completely different way.” – Christina Stembel

Show Notes:

  • CURIOSITY does not kill the cat; This is how Christina started out
  • The SURPRISING thing that happened when she was down to her last $411
  • Smart, Simple, Effective Tips for Grass Roots MARKETING – Truly Brilliant
  • The Two Most ESSENTIAL Skills You Must Develop if You Want to Grow and Scale
  • Bank and credit card tips for FUNDING your business
  • Why women should STOP waiting for investor money in most cases
  • How she reacted when someone told her to STUNT her Growth and “wait for the industry to catch up to her”

I wanted to test the market. I did not want to give up a decade of my life for something that was never going to work.” – Christina Stembel

Connect with Christina Stembel:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Farmgirl Flowers

I pivot all the time. We listen to our customers.” – Christina Stembel

Edith Dorsen – Founder of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund – Getting Funding Into The Hands of More Women Entrepreneurs

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Edith Dorsen on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

FACT: 95% of venture capital is granted to companies where senior leadership does not include any women.

My guest today, Edith Dorsen, along with her partner, got mad and then they got busy taking action to change this statistic.

On today’s show, Edith talks about how she started this business, tips for the best pitch, the most challenging moment in her career so far, and more. 

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

The singular most important thing to execute on a good idea is having a core team around you because no successful company is built on the back of a single individual.” – Edith Dorsen

Show Notes:

  • How many “pitches” VC’s hear before choosing ONE
  • HOW to make your entrepreneurial idea more “Venture Worth”
  • The MOST important ingredient for a successful pitch (HINT: it’s not the Big Idea)
  • The UPS & DOWNS of dealing with partnerships and GREAT advice for those seeking partners
  • The most CHALLENGING MOMENT in her career thus far
  • Typical advice that a lot of startups are given that she doesn’t agree with
  • What type of entrepreneurs work with the Women’s Venture Capital Fund
  • Her BEST Book Recommendation
  • And much, much more

When you build companies that include a diverse senior leadership, you’re building stronger companies that perform better.” – Edith Dorsen

Connect with Edith Dorsen:

LinkedIn | WomensVCFund II

The decisions need to be weighed properly and probably made more slowly before you make a commitment that takes a long time to unwind if it’s not the right one.” – Edith Dorsen

Ashley Merrill – How Her Husband’s Oversized T-Shirt Led Her to Start Her Own Sleepwear Brand

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Ashley Merrill on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

Ashley Merrill is revolutionizing women’s sleep. She is the founder and CEO of Lunya, a sleepwear company that uses the latest designs and technology to create functional, comfortable, and fashionable sleepwear for women.

On today’s show, Ashley gives some amazing tips on hiring and how to build a great team. She also gives some incredible insights for women who are pitching to mostly male investors.

I’m so excited for you to hear her gold nuggets.

Enjoy the show!

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

You can look at problems as problems, or you can look at them as opportunities.” – Ashley Merrill

Show Notes:

  • How Ashley’s EYE OF CURIOSITY influenced her business
  • What’s it like to BIRTH a child and a business at the same time
  • Why she’s NOT a risk-taker
  • Her BEST Productivity Tips – Ashley drills down into the REAL Issue for Women in Business Today
  • Ashley’s HIRING TIPS – pure Gold!
  • The real, raw truth about owning a business
  • Her personal insights on women making pitches for funding
  • The advice she wished someone would have shared with her in the early days
  • And so much more!

I hire a lot around attitude. I find that it is the one thing that is very hard to change.” – Ashley Merrill

Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | Website

When we design, it goes a lot further than just a pretty piece of clothing.” – Ashley Merrill

Ariel Kaye – The Nitty-Gritty of Parachute Home’s Business Success

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

Ariel Kaye on She's Got Moxie with Joy Chudacoff

If you think about it, we spend so much of our lives in bed cozied into our bed sheets.

My guest today, Ariel Kaye, became the founder and CEO of Parachute Home by being obsessed with learning about sheets. Now, Parachute Home is an extremely profitable company that sells bed sheets and towels worldwide.

On the show today, Ariel shares the nitty-gritty about her business success. She also talks about several very creative projects that Parachute Home has taken on to create a holistic and profitable experience for their customers, staff, and the world as a whole.

I’m so excited for you to hear from Ariel. Enjoy the show!

You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And be sure to leave me a Rating and Review!

When you’re building a business, you want to go-go-go and go really fast and grow really fast. And I think for me, it’s being about to shift that a bit and focus on, not perfection, but progress.” – Ariel Kaye

Show Notes:

  • How to create an online buying frenzy – Ariel SOLD out her sheets in 2 days online!
  • How to get investors for your company – a most “humbling” experience for Ariel
  • Successful Tips for Fundraising
  • One of the most important ingredients you must have to build a business
  • Her process for acquiring new clients
  • Why company culture is the key to success
  • Tips on how to create a team that is devoted to your vision

Being an entrepreneur is like riding a rollercoaster. You’ve got these super high highs and these super low lows and sometimes they happen within 10 minutes.” – Ariel Kaye

Links Mentioned:

  • Connect with Ariel Kaye:

Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | ParachuteHome

Really creating a supportive space that is collaborative and positive and where people can have fun is super important to me.” – Ariel Kaye

Show Me the Money…

| By Joy Chudacoff Leave a Comment

The number #1 barrier to getting a business off the ground is fear and I’ve shared tips and solutions on fear of failure and how to overcome this barrier for years. Today, I want to focus on the second biggest barrier to getting a business off the ground. What do you think it is? Money. Entrepreneurs struggle with access to enough money to stay in business until it becomes profitable. According to the US Small Business Administration, at any given time, there are roughly 27 million US businesses in need of capital.

In the past, access to money to build a business has been limited by a very small pool of people that we know or come in contact with. Reaching out to friends and family is how most entrepreneurs get started or maybe you bankrolled yourself initially by using a credit card (like me!). These tactics present a very narrow path to securing the much needed capital entrepreneurs need for expansion.

Enter Crowdfunding.

Read More

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