SheVentures

This mom’s frustration with finding quality outdoor gear ⛷🧢 for her children drove her to start an Amazon business a decade ago. Annalisa DeMarta says her initial interest in Amazon was an experiment spurred by an unsuccessful shopping trip with her son. DeMarta learned how to find manufacturers, run quality checks, set up infrastructure to measure and maintain her supply chain — and learned the ins and outs of the Amazon marketplace. Her small children’s outdoor apparel business morphed...

Imagine locking eyes with a venture capitalist and saying, “I’m building a big, badass company. You would be so lucky to invest in me.” 🥊 Though this example may seem hyperbolic, it comes from this week’s guest, Madeline Pratt, who is on a mission to help underrepresented founders fund their businesses. Pratt outlines three core reasons why entrepreneurs who are women and people of color often struggle to raise money — and she provides solutions. We think you’ll want to listen in!...

How many Black women billionaires can you name besides Oprah and Rihanna? 👩🏾 💵 🤔 This week’s guest is dedicated to making businesses owned by women of color more visible, fundable, and scalable. Regina Gwynn, angel and limited partnership investor and co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, believes that businesses can be innovated, launched, led, and built by women of color. Gwynn is looking for the next tech unicorn — that is — a company that grows to a $1 billion valuation. Gwynn’s...

When you think of a truck driver does that memorable scene from Thelma and Louise come to mind? Ellen Voie wants to change that stereotype and amplify gender diversity in the trucking industry; so she started Women in Trucking, a nonprofit, whose mission is to mentor women with the information, education, opportunity, community, and support they need to succeed in a male-dominated business. Established in 2007, the organization now boasts more than 4,000 members. Voie’s pivot happened...

💡Have you ever helped friends and colleagues solve a workplace issue only to realize you’ve discovered a niche business opportunity? That’s what happened to Amy Spurling, so she created Compt, an HR tech management solution aimed at personalizing employee perks. After spending more than two decades in mergers and acquisitions as a financial executive, Spurling knows how companies are built. She successfully raised $1.5 million dollars in 2020 through venture capital firm Harlem Capital...

Erectile dysfunction products are widely accepted, but women’s sexual health and wellness are far less so. Christine Brown is helping to reclaim the female sexual health and hygiene market with The Kind Cup, an innovative, ergonomically designed silicone menstrual cup. Brown was first introduced to the menstrual cup at their all-women undergraduate college (where they obtained a degree in critical thought) — and it changed their views on feminine products forever. This American Sign...

When’s the last time you had the courage to take a major risk on faith? 🎯 Liziana Carter challenged herself to leave her home and family agriculture business in Romania to start a new life after watching a fitness video filmed more than 8,000 miles away. “Perseverance and hard work (got) me further than just being brilliant,” Carter reflects. Her dream took a few years of planning, but she found her way to Australia’s Gold Coast, newly divorced and a young daughter in tow. Carter is the...

Did you know that half of women don’t have personal retirement savings, according to the U.S. Census? If that’s you — whether you are 25 or 55 — it’s never too late to find your financial footing. Even if you are contributing to an individual or workplace retirement plan, you don’t want to miss this knowledge-packed episode for financial literacy month. Mary Beth Franklin, an award-winning and veteran financial journalist who specializes in retirement income, reminisces about her 40+ years...

Have you ever wondered why there is so much buzz around Big Data? Should it be exalted or feared? Retired Air Force Captain Kimberly Shenk believes data, used responsibly, is a force for good. She earned her master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Draper Fellow, served as a senior data scientist in the Air Force at Pearl Harbor, and worked a few stints exploring how data can be segmented and inform marketing with companies like Sports Authority and Eventbrite. How...

Have you ever felt afraid to find your voice and make some noise? Kristen Guillory, Ph.D, thrives on public speaking with a twist of dancing. She shares how to overcome fear, self-doubt, and show your authentic self. A professor turned self-care coach, and author of Look, Stop Hiding! How to Find Your Voice and Never Dim Your Light Again, recalls becoming a professor in social work by age 27, and learned “not to put herself in boxes that weren’t meant for her.” Guillory shares the mistakes...

Retired commander Majorie Eastman is not a career politician. Yet, this mom, Army intelligence officer, and award-winning author decided to run for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat. Why? Having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Eastman’s decade-long commitment to defending our country speaks for itself. How does she plan on shaking things up as a D.C. outsider if elected? And why is she running? Eastman reveals all in this SheVentures exclusive. P.S. Eastman is the only veteran in...

The odds are stark: Women of color in tech raised less than half of 1 percent of all venture capital in 2020, according to Project Diane. Can you imagine using a vision board to inspire you to raise $1.4 million in venture capital? Co-founders Angela Muhwezi-Hall and her sister Deborah Gladney did just that for their career discovery platform, QuickHire. Listen in as these siblings explain how they pivoted from careers in editorial public relations management and college placement and...

Don’t think social entrepreneurship can earn a profit? Think again. Rahama Wright discusses how she built Shea Yeleen, a skincare brand that focuses on high-quality shea butter, produced by women’s cooperatives in Ghana. Listen as Wright speaks about the decision to create living wage jobs (nearly five times the minimum wage) for women-owned shea butter cooperatives in Ghana, through Shea Yeleen. Wright offers some of the women the opportunity to travel to the United States to witness the...

What does it mean to be an organization that promotes equity? Listen as Kerry Mitchell Brown, Ph.D. (a diversity, inclusion, and equity strategist), shares her insights about how organizations can ensure they’re practicing workplace impartiality — as in walk the walk, not simply check the boxes and call it a day. Mitchell Brown discusses her pivot from a C-suite finance exec — at companies such as Disney and Prudential — to founding KMB, her namesake diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...

If you feel stuck in a career or personal rut, this guest will inspire you. If you’re a stay-at-home-mom reentering the workforce, she’s got you covered. Finally, if your marriage suddenly ends in divorce and you need to hustle to find your way back into the workforce — she’s been there done that. From civil engineer to Secret Service agent to stay-at-home mother of three to divorced mom reentering the workforce, Lucy Chang Evans inspires listeners through her pivots on this episode of...

No, we are not trivializing menopause, a life stage that can include as many as 34 symptoms, but we thought it was a clever wordplay. In truth, menopause is deeply personal and varies from woman to woman. Listen to Catherine Balsam-Schwaber speak about the importance of education and science-backed information to bring menopause to the forefront. After spending 20 years working in leadership positions in marketing for well-known brands (MTV, NBC Universal, and Mattel), Balsam-Schwaber...

Ever wonder how a person decides to go from a stable, well-paying job to risking it all as an entrepreneur? Discover how Natalie Palomino pivoted from a lawyer at the Department of Justice pursuing terrorist financing to a bottom-of-the-pit hair assistant (for a minute), where she learned her new trade from the ground up. An avid student, Palomino says she checks her ego at the door, and believes humility is one key to her success. Palomino tells listeners about her early life and how it...

🙌 New Season of Bold Women!! 🙌 Are you working in a toxic environment? Listen as Asha Tarry, a trauma-informed corporate consultant, life coach and psychotherapist, offers actionable tips that you can use in the workplace to make your job work for you–not the other way around. Tarry describes her overarching passion to help others as her catalyst to pivot from a mental health practitioner in private practice to becoming CEO of Behavioral Health Consulting Services. A 20-year veteran in...

Sharon Kan built and successfully exited four startups, acquired by names such as Microsoft, Barnes & Noble, and Oracle. Listen to her pragmatic approach to business and learn what she believes is the one quality all entrepreneurs should embrace. Raised in war-torn Israel, Kan reminisces: “You lived today because you weren’t sure what might happen tomorrow.” Nonetheless, Kan started her first business at 14, selling homemade cakes to local shops, served her mandatory two years in the...

Imagine what it’s like for any immigrant to embrace the culture and norms of a new nation. Then think about being a highly respected doctor, practicing for years in your native country. When you arrive in the United States, you learn that if you want to practice medicine, you’ll have to dust off your organic chemistry and anatomy books and pass a rigorous exam. That’s what happened to Noor Ali who skipped undergrad, going straight from the renowned Bronx High School of Science into six...