Sheventures

Only 2 percent of women secure venture capital, but this mother of eight recently raised a cool $1.75 million. What gives? Larson takes a seat at the head of the table when pitching her business, knowing that no one knows it better than her. She is passionate, business-minded, and a great reminder that women do not have to ask for permission. Larson’s app, Momni — the Airbnb and Uber for child care — is empowering women all over the globe. For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com 

What better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than with an in-depth look at a woman who is tirelessly working to improve women’s lives globally? Pamela Nathanson and her dedication to helping women and girls across the globe is an inspiration. As executive director of World Connect, Nathanson and her team focus on issues ranging from sex trafficking to entrepreneurship. Each project has the goal of making these communities self-sustaining. One of World Connect’s projects in Rwanda  single-handedly reduced urinary tract infections (UTIs) in a group of women and girls by 100 percent. World Connect requires women’s involvement in all projects, and a whopping 51 percent of them are women-led. This episode highlights women's struggles outside of the United States.

What started as a personal, fun side blog for math and science teacher Erin Chase skyrocketed to a multifaceted digital brand that garnered 2 million users after it went viral. $5 Dinners, Chase’s brainchild, started in 2008 and stemmed from the overwhelming urge to coupon everything after she returned from living in the Dominican Republic for many years doing missionary work. The blog’s popularity took off in response to the world financial crisis at the time, and Chase has been working to help people save money and eat well ever since, all she balances raising four young sons to boot.   We’ve also got an exclusive reveal on what’s next for Chase’s product suite… Better get listening to find out more!

After immigrating to the U.S. from Morocco as a teenager, Iman Oubou had to learn not only a new language, but also a new culture. She quickly adapted and went on to earn degrees in biochemistry and biomedical engineering, as well as to become Miss New York. When a pageant judge asked her if she’d rather have beauty or brains, it spurred Oubou’s entrepreneurial spirit. Fast forward to today, and Oubou is cultivating an online community, Swaay, for women to celebrate prowess in business and beauty — however they define both — without having to compromise either. Want to find out more? You’ll get it all on this episode of SheVentures.

Running up the hills by her grandparents’ place in Alabama started an illustrious if almost unbelievable career for Renette Dallas, N.D. She’s a naturopath who has earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, competed in bodybuilding competitions, joined the U.S. Air Force, become a certified fitness trainer, earned a doctorate in naturopathy, studied raw food preparation, and become a motivational speaker and author. It’s hard to believe one woman managed to fit this all into one lifetime — and she’s still going! Not even a diagnosis of tuberculosis could keep her down. And no, we’re not making this up. Find out how she managed to do it all on this episode of SheVentures.

When her dad said “no” to buying her lip balm, 9-year-old Zandra Cunningham said “yes.” She decided to make her own lip balm instead, and eight years later at the age of 17, she was named 2017’s Small Business Award Young Entrepreneur of the Year for her company Zandra Beauty. Zandra is now 19, and her beauty brand is a leading plant-based social good company that inspires young women around the globe and earned over $1million in revenue in 2018. None of this would have been possible without Zandra’s mom, Tamara, the “driving force” behind Zandra’s success. Tamara has also started her own venture called “Raising a Mogul Society,” a mastermind group for those interested in raising entrepreneurial young adults. How do they do it? Find out on this episode of SheVentures.

In 2014, four-time Olympian Lauryn Williams became the first American woman to win medals in both the summer and the winter Olympics. While she began in track and field, an injury sidelined her, and a chance encounter led to a silver medal in bobsledding. As lucrative endorsements started racing in, the then 20-year-old realized that she lacked the knowledge to make informed financial decisions. Now she wields her experience to coach athletes as a kick-ass financial planner with an MBA and a financial planning certification (CFP) under her belt. Her book, The Oval Office: A Four-Time Olympian's Guide to Professional Track & Field, teaches young athletes how to make their sport into a career. Find out more on this episode of SheVentures.

After 16 years working for Congress in Washington as a communications director and lobbyist for small businesses, Becky MacDicken finally realized what she wanted to be when she grew up. A chance job offer based in Pennsylvania led to the discovery of her passion for teaching financial literacy to prison inmates and the disabled community. Now, having touched over 10,000 lives with her classes, MacDicken continues to spread the good financial word all across the state. For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com 

Across all branches of the U.S. military, only 14 percent of active service members are women. Veteran, mother, and entrepreneur, Marjorie K. Eastman is a marvel who wants to change that number. Her book, The Frontline Generation, was the first of its kind to define post-9/11 service and leadership and what it means for this country. After 10 years in the military, Eastman’s journey is far from over. She’s now involved with Bunker Labs, a nonprofit network for veteran entrepreneurs that has had immeasurable success. Her son was diagnosed with cancer when he was six months old, and he was given a 30 percent chance to live. However, Eastman focuses instead on how her army career helped her cope with the situation. Learn more about this amazing woman on our latest episode of SheVentures. For more information, visit https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-6-marjorie-k-eastman/

Former American Express marketing executive Yi-Hsian Godfrey yearned to create a business that would help ease the all too common struggle with work-life balance. Godfrey co-founded Apiari — a play on the word apiary, or beehive — an AI-driven home-care “colony” that offers vetted, experienced part-time housekeeping and childcare help for parents. Yi-Hsian and her co-founders built an online matching platform that eliminates the time and stress of interviewing countless candidates for essential part-time positions. How does she balance motherhood with the roller-coaster ride of startup life? For a transcription or link to resources mentioned, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-5-yi-hsian-godfrey/

Jen Groover’s been through it all and has the emotional growth to prove it. Rather than letting her troubled childhood with an abusive, alcoholic father defeat her, she used it to shape her view of life, business, and finances. A motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur, Groover is a strong advocate for human potential, as well as for the success of women. Complete organ failure at 26 from overexertion made her realize how negative patterns were harming her. Listen to the way she transformed herself and about her latest venture, Empowered Eyewear. For a transcript, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/episode-4-jen-groover/

Erica Meltzer has taken the of SAT and ACT tutoring sphere by storm. After scoring an improbable 800 on the verbal portion of the SATs, Meltzer realized that she had a unique perspective to share, which she now spreads on an international level. Her first book, The Critical Reader, which she originally self-published, has sold over 160,000 copies to date. How has her focus on the socioeconomic disparity of tutoring in the U.S. set her apart from the rest in her field? Find out on this episode of SheVentures. For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/ep-3-erica-meltzer/

Every entrepreneur faces a moment when they decide if they’re all in. For Belinda DiGiambattista, it was one weekend when she and her husband agonized over whether to take out a loan out against their home in order to fund a much-needed upgrade to her food business’ kitchen. They could have lost everything. Instead, DiGiambattista’s focus, drive, and unrelenting optimism catapulted her first company, Butter Beans — a business whose mission it is to provide healthy lunch menus for public, private, and charter schools — to a multi-million-dollar revenue business. After nine years, she successfully sold the company for an undisclosed amount. She says she is now “financially comfortable.” DiGiambattista, who earned her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business, decided the valuable lessons she learned as an entrepreneur could be sold as online classes on the platform Teachable. She is now an “infopreneur” who ran her first successful pilot this fall and plans to relaunch her full-blown course in the

I met Alexa Carlin last year in Washington, D.C. After hearing about her conference, WEX — short for Women Empower Expo — I wanted to see it for myself. I admit, having attended many conferences in the past, I was dubious about the value I would get as an entrepreneur. Damn, was I wrong. Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go: WEX is a conference for any woman who wants actionable, affordable advice on starting or improving her business or her mission. WEX’s tickets range from $30 to $99, priced by design to be inclusive, and I have never been to a one-day conference that represents such racial, socio-economic, and age diversity. I spoke with teenpreneurs, women in their 60s, and everyone in between. The panel topics I attended were immediately relevant to my business. My only critique is that I left fully charged, but I wanted more. Also, I’d love to see Carlin expand locations. Travel can be a big expense for entrepreneurs, especially those of us who are bootstrapping. I know she is aware of this and

Jana Lynne Sanchez Pivots from PR Maven to Political Hopeful Listen to the inspiring story of Jana Lynne Sanchez, a woman who ran a tight race as a Democrat in Texas’ 6th Congressional District and nearly won in a red state. She is now a political consultant for Blue Texas Strategies, where she’s putting her political prowess to work. Sheer determination, grit, savvy, and kindness are Sanchez’s hallmarks. From her early Texas roots, she became a political and business correspondent for Reuters in Europe. From there, she pivoted to building her first venture, a PR firm called City Savvy that had offices in Amsterdam, London, and New York, and then returned home to Texas where she ran for Congress. Get ready to be inspired by her tips on how to change direction and follow what you’re meant to do. For more information, visit the show notes at https://sheventures.centsai.com/podcast/bonus-episode-jana-lynne-sanchez/