Women in Business Podcast

Greta Bajrami is the CEO and Founder of Golden Group Roofing. Greta Bajrami migrated to the United States at 10 years old from Tirana, Albania. Greta grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts where she attended Worcester State University. Greta Bajrami had no roots or prior connections to the world of exterior remodeling, when she recognized a need for quality, and implementing technology to expand the customer experience. Greta innovated the construction process and elevated the customer experience. Greta Bajrami’s excellence and success within the construction industry has gained her local and national attention throughout the USA. Worcester Business Journal named Greta as 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. Remodelers Magazine recognized her innovation by awarding her the Big 50 award 2019. Greta Bajrami serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for New England Roofing Contractor Association, Board of Directors and Scholarship Committee for Worcester State University and President of Massachusetts National Women in Roofing Council.

Bridget is the Founder and CEO of The Global 51. She is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities. Bridget is a second-generation family office professional. She has spent her career serving the family office ecosystem globally. Her experience includes working with them from an investment opportunity level to back-office solutions, and on the governance side with both family businesses and family offices. Bridget’s greatest strength is her passion for learning about what a company’s or family’s needs are in order to develop a strategy around it so that she could effectively help a particular family or business. For over 10 years, Bridget has developed a world-class reputation for curating bespoke events and introductions for cross-sector people and companies. She has cultivated deep connections within the family office, corporate company, and the institutional space. Through her industry-wide happy hours she is able to curate a safe space for everyone that participates in order to create a cross pollination of ideas, personalities, and opportunities between a broad combination of families, industries, and cultures. This led to Bridget founding the NextGen Leaders Network in the fall of 2014. Bridget has successfully grown networks of next generation family members, political leaders, and other successful leaders in 5 cities.

Sarah Benken, the CEO and Founder of The KNOW Women. Sarah is passionate about supporting women, specifically high-achieving businesswomen that are overworked and lacking community with like-minded women. Why? Because she has been there – in the wrong rooms, stretched thin, and feeling like she was alone on the journey. As an accomplished CEO of 12 years, Sarah has built and scaled her own brands internationally. She is an award-winning entrepreneur that knows firsthand what it is like to feel the need to connect with ‘her people’ and have trouble finding them. She is on a mission to provide space for dynamic female leaders to gather, collaborate, and be celebrated for their successes and hard work. Sarah just launched a non-profit called KNOW Cares to empower and educate female leaders and dreamers around the world.

Kate Carney is an experienced lawyer, strategic advisor and senior executive. She has 11+ years advising public and private companies, C-suite executives, and investors on corporate legal matters, business development strategies, relationship-building best practices, reputation/crisis management, and building your tribe (boards, leadership and team dynamics). She brings a unique mix of busy-savvy legal, finance and communications experience to the opportunities and challenges that entrepreneurs faces daily. The struggle is real! She is a creative thinker, value-driven problem-solver, and nimble “get it done” business partner. Not to mention, a yogi, former ice hockey player, jewelry enthusiast and the momma of a little Maltipoo named Finnegan.

Niyanta Spelman, founder and CEO of Rainforest Partnership, knew from an early age that she wanted her life’s work to focus on protecting tropical rainforests. A winding path took her from childhood in Tanzania and boarding school in India, to work at the first lobbying firm in London. After moving to Texas, she ran a management consultancy and worked with Texas environmental agencies as part of a legislative agency. She chaired a chamber of commerce, served on the Austin planning commission, and sat on a national health advocacy board. Along the way, she gathered critical knowledge, experiences and education. Then in 2007, she began conducting extensive research and holding in-depth conversations with about 200 people. The idea for Rainforest Partnership crystallized, followed by a business plan – a rarity for a nonprofit. The inspiration became a collective vision with the selection of a founding board, and RP was born on December 17, 2007. Niyanta now leads a dedicated team in Peru, Texas, and elsewhere in fulfilling RP’s mission to protect tropical rainforests.

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Co-founder & CEO of Creative Startups, Dr. Loy has 25 years experience working with entrepreneurs in the creative industries. In 2013 Dr. Loy launched the world’s first accelerator for creative entrepreneurs with a vision for catalyzing high growth company formation in the creative economy; today Creative Startups operates a suite of acceleration programs on four continents serving 150+ creative companies each year. With over 100 global mentors, an international network of investors, and 260+ alumni companies, Creative Startups is the leading creative industries accelerator. As an angel investor and via the Accelerator, Alice has invested in over 40 creative businesses. Alice is currently founding DaVinci Ventures, a venture capital firm dedicated to creative entrepreneurs building story-driven immersive experiences and technologies. In 2018 Alice co-authored the ground-breaking book, Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success which makes the case for impact investment in creative economy entrepreneurs and provides economic catalysts and leaders practical advice on building creative economy ecosystems through entrepreneurship. Alice consults with universities to develop courses and degree programs. At the University of Colorado she is co-founder of the Design Horizons Fellowship, a ground-breaking year-long program providing students a challenging interdisciplinary exploration of design innovation, entrepreneurship, engineering, and arts and media. A sought-after speaker on topics ranging from developing entrepreneur ecosystems to investing in creative growth companies, Alice frequently travels to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America to work with entrepreneurs, venture investors, and ecosystem leaders. Alice holds an M.B.A. and a PhD in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her family.

How To Find Courage When Capital Raising in a Room Full of Men Louise (Yochee) Klein, PsyD brings you 20+ years of experience as a Business Psychologist, executive coach and facilitator — empowering clients to champion innovation, woo sponsors and expand their influence and clout. Louise Yochee is particularly effective with engineering and scientific leaders in C-suite roles and with women in key innovation leadership positions. As a Canadian in Israel and the US, she understands the value of cross-cultural perspectives. Louise Yochee serves as COO of Courage Growth Partners.

Christy Whitman is the channel for The Council, spiritual mentors here to spread the message of Quantum Energy Mastery. Christy & The Council teach classes, meditations and provide private sessions to help clients feel more aligned with their Divine Design of well-being, abundance, success and loving and supportive relationships. Christy has appeared on the news, The Today Show, The Morning Show, Ted X, and The Hallmark Channel and her work has been featured in the media in various publications. She’s been featured in Goalcast, People Magazine, Seventeen, Woman’s Day, Hollywood Life, and Teen Vogue, to name a few.  

Shona Elliott is an experienced senior leader who is passionate about helping other senior leaders connect and engage with their greatest assets – their employees – for the purposes of building trust, increasing employee engagement, and achieving an organization’s strategic goals. As a previous CEO, with fifteen years of senior leadership experience, Shona understands the many challenges and competing priorities of busy executives. Having been in their shoes, Shona recognized and harnessed the power of a positive, anything is possible mindset. This mindset coupled with her leadership philosophy of alignment with employees helped Shona achieve her organizations’ goals all while increasing employee engagement. In March, 2020 Shona’s first book: Create Value as a Senior Leader achieved best-selling status on Amazon. It is scheduled for print and audio publication in the fall and will be in bookstores in April, 2021. Shona has been a guest on many podcasts and is scheduled to be interviewed by Marianne Williamson, NY Times bestselling author as an endorsement in December. Website: www.shonaelliott.org Email: shona@shonaelliott.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shona-ell... Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShonaElliott4 Create Value as a Senior Leader: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083N4W883

Robert Charles "Bob" Dotson is a New York Times best selling American author, teacher and television journalist. His long-running series, "The American Story with Bob Dotson," was a regular feature on the NBC "Today" Show for 40 years. 

Beth co-founded Socium Fund Services to bring the alternative asset community a private fund focused administrator that combines advanced technology with high-touch consultative client service. Beth has over 25 years of financial services experience in institutional fixed income portfolio management and fund administration. Beth’s passion for providing superior client service has fueled her desire to offer boutique fund services to the private fund industry.

Jennifer has been involved with Hungry Howie’s Pizza since age 10 and officially started as a Hungry Howie’s employee in 1998 as Fundraising Coordinator. In 2000, she was promoted to Director of Marketing and in 2005, Jennifer was named Director of Marketing & Franchise Development. After taking a brief hiatus to work in various other marketing and franchise positions, Jennifer returned to Hungry Howie’s in 2012 as Director of Franchise Development, restructuring the department and qualification process. Today, executive mom Jennifer is Vice President of Development and has helped the company open nearly 550 locations in 21 states! The concept has emerged as a major player within the pizza marketplace, consistently ranking in the top 10 of the nation’s largest pizza franchises. Tell us about Hungry Howie’s and how the business has been during these past few months? Please tell share your career journey and lessons you’ve learned along the way. How did you manage work-life balance? Why do you believe franchising a good business venture for women? How can women get into franchising and what advice do you have for those wanting to pursue this as an income stream and business? Know the franchise process is different for every company. What does Hungry Howie’s look for in their potential candidates?

Female Founder Who's Creating a Game Changing Influencer Gaming Platform GGWP Academy

HR is broken, How This Company is Fixing It! Guest Jennifer Sethre Former CEO & President of two public companies and founder of two companies with successful exits with a focus on technology, software, CPG, manufacturing, & operations. First company acquired by the Carlyle Group. Founder, CEO and President of two public companies LSG and Neo Neon. Launched two start ups with successful exits. Her successful career has been built on building disruptive product and software. When others turn left, she turns right.

Discover The #1 Secret Business Strategy That Will 10x Your Profits Even During The Most Challenging

How One Woman Took Control of Her Diabetes and Created a Business Guest Kristi Jacques femalefounderspitchsummit.com femalefoundersnetwork.com

An entrepreneur at the core, technically savvy and financially astute business leader and operator with a record of creating new & innovative opportunities. Creative thinker with 20+ years of finding & owning the "white space" and building new platforms, pivoting businesses, and developing new markets. Dynamic team builder and leader with exceptional relationship management, and operational skills, adept at bringing people together, instilling shared vision, fostering collaboration, and "getting things done!" After spending 10 years building the first true 360˚ model for branded entertainment in the parenting sector, Todobebé, raising $15M in private equity and then successfully selling the company to Entravision in 2012, Cynthia has been advising some of the top brands, VC’s, Family Offices and Startups across entertainment, media, technology and v-commerce sectors helping to develop new opportunities that drive deeper integration of content and brands, create monetizable short and long form content and IP, developing strategic partnerships for licensing & product distribution, and working with a cross-section of brands as an advisor and investment liaison.

AYU SUDANA MANAGING PARTNER, BALI BEANS Surely it’s no coincidence that the Managing Partner of Bali Beans was born the same year the plantation got its first coffee harvest! As a child, Ayu’s world revolved around coffee. Along with books, each morning Ayu packed in a change of clothes, only so she can get to the plantation directly after school to help her parents pick ripe coffee cherries. On weekends, Ayu was there in the plantations right before anyone else, so she can get her hands on fresh wild Luwak droppings (Read More – Luwak Coffee). The earlier she’s there – sometimes with a friend to lend a helping hand – the more beans she can gather, and the more pocket money she gains to make!

How One Female Investor Took Her Seat at the Investment Table Guest Elizabeth D. Sigety Elizabeth D. Sigety co-founded Delaware Crossing Investor Group, an angel network which invests in companies located in PA, NJ, NY, CT or DE. She has personally invested in over 40 companies. By day she is a Partner of Fox Rothschild with over 950 lawyers with 27 offices across the USA. She is an active member of the Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs. She also speaks at least two events a year focusing on female founders and funders. https://womeninbusinesspodcast.com/how-one-female-investor-took-her-seat-at-the-investment-table-guest-elizabeth-d-sigety/

Brianna McDonald is the currently the President of Keiretsu Forum Northwest. Keiretsu Forum is the largest, most active investment group in the world and the Northwest leader in the organization facilitating over 100 million in investment in 160 companies in the last two years. She joined the organization in 2005 when her now Husband started it. He invited her to the table and it took her over a year to build up the confidence to speak in a room filled with so many men. She finally did raised her hand one day and asked a question. She has seen hundreds if not thousands of pitches. She coachs entrepreneurs through the investing process and support excellent entrepreneurs to get out of their own way and go achieve their dreams. In addition to supporting entrepreneurs, She have a deep passion for helping to create more female investors and supporting them through the process

Danielle Moore is a dedicated and driven professional with 23 years’ experience. Proven track record of multi-million dollar growth and company expansion. Respected teammate and leader in multiple industries, expert relationship builder and market developer. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-moore-25231344/ 1. Tell us How You Got Started in the Wireless Industry? 2. You Dominated a very competitive wireless market to become #1 in over 250 markets How did you do it? 3. What is your secret to achieving high level sales? 4. What Do you mean you lead with your heart? 5. How would you deal with problems from dealers? 6. How Did you win the trust of so many dealers? 7. You were very hands on with all your dealer partners how were you able to do that? 8. How did you deal with difficult situations from corporate & dealer needs? 9. What is something our listeners would find surprising about you? 10. What is your goals over the next 12 months?

Laura Kinser is the owner and lead photographer at Kinser Studios. She has been a professional photographer for over 10 years and have been able to work with incredible clients across the United States. The corporations that her team have photographed work hard and play hard and have relied on us to convey their corporate culture through our pictures. They have repeatedly invited us into their world… and we’ve had the BEST time being there. Have you lost your job due to Covid-19? Kinser Studios with The Headshot Booker will be shooting 10,000 free headshots for those affected. Book your free Session for July 22nd today. Register at www.headshotbooker.com today! In Salt Lake we will do over 200 headshots at Fashion Place Mall. Please share my post and get the word out nationwide. Over 200 headshot photographers are involved to share some hope across our country! kinserstudios.com

Chelsea is the president of Keep Families Giving Foundation community which currently works with a portfolio of 50 next generation philanthropists and 50 mentors on various social good initiatives and projects. In collaboration with the KFG Foundation Board and the Next-Gen Advisory Board, Chelsea makes the investment and giving decisions of the foundation while also helping provide insights and learning opportunities for next-gen leaders championing various social good causes. 1. Tell Us About Yourself & Background? 2. Why did you start your Family Foundation? 3. Why is it important to you to create the next gen of women investors? 4. What is your Mission, Vision & Goals For Your Foundation? 5. You where quoted saying “You’re never too young to become a philanthropist” Tell me what you mean by this? 6. How Can Family Foundations get involved as women? 7. Why are you passionate about women causes? 8. You severed on a broad called “ I Live Here I Give Here” Tell me about this? 9. Why is Austin so important to you? 10. Tell Our Listeners something they would find unique about you?

Evan Katz is CEO of Crawford Ventures, Inc., a graduate of Wharton and Harvard Law School, and a twice-elected director on the Hedge Fund Association (HFA) Board of Directors (2014-2019).  He has received numerous finance and Wall Street awards and honors, and frequently speaks and is interviewed as an expert regarding hedge funds and investing in general, and also successful fundraising in particular. Mr. Katz’s investor relationships include some 1,000 endowments, foundations, funds of funds, insurance companies, multifamily offices, pensions, and single-family offices, which collectively have several trillion dollars of investable capital, and allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to hedge funds (typically $10-$100+ million per investor per fund). He and Crawford may be reached at (212) 904-0909, EKatz@CrawfordVentures.com. “Best Practices from A to Z for Successful Hedge Fund Fundraising from Family Offices and Institutional Investors – 26 Top Fundraiser Secrets and Tips of the Trade”  Tell us about yourself? – Grew up in Long Island, New York, was a finance major at Wharton, and then Harvard Law School (same class as Michelle Obama, then Michelle Robinson).First practiced intellectual propertylaw (patent, trademark, copyright and computer/Internet law). Tell us about what you mean to be an Alpha Female in the investment community? – Play on words, because of the meanings of “Alpha Male” (aggressive) and hedge fund “alpha” (explain). What type of funds do you raise investor capital for? – Mostly hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and real estate funds.  I also raise investor capital for operating companies (mostly technology and medical life sciences companies). What do investors look for when they invest in a fund? – The “Three P’s” – Performance (track record), pedigree (at or came from top firms), and process (e.g., infrastructure, repeatable edge). How did you get into this business? – I was a practicing attorney, had a great career in intellectual property law, but discovered that I was even better at fundraising for my clients. You support women in the investment world tell me a little bit about your experience? – We try to (a) hire women, and (b) raise capital for funds that are owned or managed by women.  And out of the 1,000 institutional and family office investors that we work with, many take that into account. How is raising capital for a PE or VC Fund vs Hedge Fund Different? – Similar, but different professionals at the investors.  That is, different investor professionals cover HF, PE, VC, RE. Tell us something that our listeners would find interesting about you? – Love to cycle, and had a wine-themed wedding.Also, very proud to have gotten 15 people jobs and 8 people married! I saw you wrote 44 (previously 26 A-Z) Top Fundraiser Secrets and Tips of the Trade (Please share some of those secrets with our listeners) – PPT is on our website.  I will review several tips. How can someone get a hold of you? – EKatz@CrawfordVentures.com.  And our website. When you went to Wharton, what percentage of your class was women?  How did you feel about that?  And what do you think that it was like for the women? – About 15%.  Challenging. How do those percentages compare to the HF and alternatives industry now? – Very similar. You once mentioned that you have attended “100 Women in Hedge Fund” events, now “100 Women in Finance”.  What was that like being one of the only men in a room with 100-200 women? – Initially, awkward, then fine.  I also first met my wife at a 100 WIHF event. How do you try to recruit and hire more women? – By every year attending dozens of finance, hedge fund and other Wall Street events.  And we used to attend women’s finance events, but now must do not let us do so.  So, we no longer can use that as a recruitment method. How do you and the industry try to get more women and girls interested in finance and Wall Street? – It has to start when they are young, with math, science and the math/chess teams!  We recently did a CFO search, got 100 resumes and there was not one single female applicant.  Perhaps about half of hedge fund IR is female, but less than 10% of PM’s are. How do the returns of woman-run funds compare to men-run funds? – Similar, but less tail risk! And how do many women-run funds and global leaders tend to handle risk differently than most men? – I will discuss differences in both hedge funds and also in the response to Coronavirus. Investors get hundreds of thousands of pitches a year.  And they often will not even open or read pitches from people they do not know.  So, hire someone who already knows investors and has longstanding relationships with them.  He or she will close orders of magnitude more investments then you cold calling.  Give the example of two people walking down the street. Have the right fundraiser at your firm and fund.  For example, someone who knows investors that allocate to your fund type and strategy, and has raised money for such funds. Similarly, a fundraiser who has raised money for a fund of your size and stage. Pitch investors that are suitable for funds with your type of strategy, size and stage.  For example, if you are a higher volatility emerging manager, more family offices will allocate to you then most endowments and foundations, which tend to look for older and less volatility funds. Nobody invests anymore in a one- or two-man or -woman band.  You need some infrastructure and people.  If you cannot afford great infrastructure, top service providers and a dedicated CFO, sell a piece of your management company in order to get operating capital.  Getting diluted a little will be more than made up for putting yourself in a position to make your fund 50-100x larger.  Would you rather own 100% of a $10 million fund, or 80% of a $500 million fund? Stick with standard fund structures, places of incorporation (e.g., Delaware and Cayman) and also industry standard fee structures.  Give examples of HF and PE funds that had “better fee structures for the investors”. Be nice to the administrative assistants and treat them with respect.  They deserve it and also are the ones who can help set up your investor calls and meetings. “Polite Persistence” – Tick tock between e-mails and calls.  A non-response is not a no! Make a fund video!  We live in a YouTube and video age.  It gives investors a “free look” at your fund and firm, without making them commit to a 30-minute call. Make certain that your e-mails and PPT are mobile friendly.  Not minute font! Never e-mail investors at night or over a weekend!  I work lots of nights and weekends, and schedule the e-mails to go out the next business morning.  All major e-mail apps support. Highlight your fund’s strong points in your e-mail header Always give some details in your e-mail.  Use bullet points.  But not too long.  And never just say “see the attached”!  Why they should bother to look. Always attach your documents as PDF’s.  Do not use Dropbox links.  Investors cannot access them!  Explain why.  And they definitely cannot if they are on an airplane! Don’t repeatedly call investors until they pick up.  They have Caller ID too!  

3 Secrets Of An Optimal Timing Exit Wealth Plan Guest Brett Swarts

What is the Picture Your Company is Painting During Covid-19 To Their Employees

Sarah Ginand has more than 20 years of experience providing marketing and growth advice and strategy, both in a corporate marketing setting as well as in a consulting capacity with small businesses. She is recognized as a versatile leader with practical experience in driving marketing strategy, execution, and brand development. She has expertise finding innovative ways to present implementable solutions to clients in the areas of growth strategies, strategic marketing, thought leadership, and marketing strategies. Strategic Marketing Consulting, LLC was founded by Sarah Ginand in 2015 to help businesses navigate growth and the world of marketing. It’s hard to do everything yourself as a business leader, so why not rely on people who know their stuff? From Sarah Ginand: “I work with small businesses in all markets – my sweet spot is organizations that have been in business for several years and want to take the next step to grow and gain market share. I love working with committed business owners who know their stuff, but need some help figuring out how to reach their target market.” Get in Touch: Web: www.smcboston.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgina... Mobile: 617-803-4532 Email: sginand@smcboston.com Tell me about yourself and your work. Who are your clients? Tell me about the work you do with the City of Boston. What sets you apart in the crowded field of marketing? What do you love about what you do? What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced? Would you be able to share some work you’ve done with your clients? How does social impact fit into your work? What is something that people wouldn’t know about you? Where can our listeners connect with you online?

Why women are unique as entrepreneurs What makes an investable business How to sustain your business and win today How to look forward and think different to enhance your business opportunities How to achieve disruptive growth How to gain high end independence Book and course offerings

Forward Thinking Entrepreneur and Investor Court Westcott of Family Office Westcott LLC Court Westcott holds a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Vanderbilt University. He also holds an MBA from SMU's Cox School of Business. Court identifies investments with a strong focus on emerging technologies. He also participates in the management of Westcott LLC.

Finish Line Features, LLC produces cause-based documentary films. Our films tell stories that raise awareness of pressing societal issues. Our goal is to educate and motivate our audience to take action. Robin Hauser Robin is the director and producer of cause-based documentary films at Finish Line Features and President of Unleashed Productions.  Robin’s award-winning film, CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2015, and has caught the attention of the international tech industry and of policy makers and educators in Washington, DC and abroad.  Robin’s most recent documentary, bias, explores unconscious bias and how it affects us socially and in the workplace.  She delivered a TED talk about the impact of unconscious bias on artificial intelligence, and is a frequent speaker at major conferences on topics including diversity and inclusion, the importance of ethical AI and gender equality.  Robin has been featured in international publications: Forbes, Fortune, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, USA Today, Wired, Marie Claire, San Francisco Business Times and has appeared on Bloomberg TV, CNN, NPR, CNBC.  

Amira Alvarez is the founder and CEO of The Unstoppable Woman, a global coaching company helping entrepreneurs, empire builders, athletes, creatives, and rising stars in all fields achieve their dreams and goals in record time. As someone who has made a quantum leap (going from barely making 6-figures to making $700k in one year, then onto 7-figures) and has lived to tell about it, she knows exactly what tactical strategies and mindset shifts are required to get out of your own way, live life on your own terms, and master the art of achieving any goal you set your mind to. She uses these strategies to help her high-achieving clients, go for their "i'm-possible" dreams and achieve them in record time, whether that be reaching that million dollar mark, building a business empire, or making an impact in the arts, entertainment, or sports. Amira is proud to have helped thousands of women (and a goodly number of men too) confidently break free of limitations and be unstoppable in pursuit of a life they are proud to have lived. When she's not helping others, she's continuing to say "yes" to her own growth and stays 100% committed to being unstoppable in her own life and business. Learn more at: https://www.TheUnstoppableWoman.com Free Resources: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/frees... The Unstoppable Woman Podcast: https://theunstoppablewoman.com/listen/

Ms. Kaspar is a Managing Director and co-founder of blockchain and crypto investment and incubation firm, Magnetic.  Since the start of her career in 2012, Ms Kaspar has been investing in and building blockchain companies.  She was an early investor in various digital assets and companies including: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot and EOS.  In 2017, Ms. Kaspar co-led $172M of early stage token investments in 46 different companies.   Megan and her partners are students of history when it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, with the ability to navigate cycles in the crypto market. The Magnetic team began mining Bitcoin in 2010.  They were the second largest investors in the Ethereum crowdsale and co-founders of the first and most traded stablecoin, Tether.  Among several projects, Magnetic incubated the world’s first purpose built blockchain for digital items, WAX.  They have made several early stage investments in predominant blockchain companies such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitfury, Wyre and Blockstream.  Magnetic Capital is the team’s crypto fund focused on both digital assets and equity in blockchain companies.  What is blockchain? What is cryptocurrency?  How are they different? There are 2 key properties of blockchain The first property you are all familiar with:  as investment / asset that can be bought and traded.   The other property of a blockchain is as a technology. It’s a tool that can be used to build valuable things you couldn’t build before. Things that can’t be done without a blockchain. This is the side of blockchain that is not well presented to the general public. Let’s discuss blockchain as a tool since that doesn’t get enough attention So when I say tool, what does this tool do?   What industries are going to adopt it? Some tangible examples to drive the point home: Entertainment or Retail/Ecommerce)  –  NTFs Healthcare – vaccine data  Finance – raising capital Wrap up topics: How women are taking advantage of the blockchain revolution in finance.  Why blockchain is great for women No gatekeepers to block you from raising capital Permissionless  Women developed projects: Tzeos, Bancor, etc. Why I decided to start a fund What I love most about being in blockchain

Cherilyn Murerhas spent a lifetime cracking glass ceilings. In the mid 80s, she received a law degree (one of the few women to attend law school at the time). She then launched a consulting firm which became recognized as one first, legal-based healthcare consulting firms in the country. When Cherilyn sold Murer Consultants in 2017, the firm had more than 500 clients in 42 states, Europe and the Middle East, employing 40 people, 28 of whom were lawyers. But retirement wasn’t in the cards: she started CGM Advisory Group a few months later. The pursuit of intellectual stimulation and the desire to solve problems and affect changewas has always beenher driving force. Today, Cherilyn’s life portfolio still includes healthcare but also higher education and the arts. In addition to a board membership of private equity-owned company Surgical Solutions, she is on the boards of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Union League Club of Chicago, Northern Illinois University Foundation and Luminarts Cultural Foundation where she was just reelected for a second term as President.She cracked the ceiling once again when inshe becamethe first female officer of the 24-member board of directors at Lebanese American University. Subsequently, she was elected Vice Chairman of the board, a position she presently holds. Cherilyn has written seven healthcare text books and over 200 articles and is a frequent speaker on healthcare, higher education, the arts, and women’s leadership. She has won over a dozen awards for her business success and philanthropic accomplishments, including the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, the “Top Women in Healthcare Legacy Award” from PR News, and the 2018 “Women of Influence” award from Chicago Business Journal. In addition to empowering nonprofits, supporting women in business isher key focus. Gender equality, she says,is reachable only when both men and women, and society believe that everyone deserves an equal chance at success. Q. You launched your first company shortly after graduating from  school when your children were still pre-schoolers. With so few women entrepreneurs at the time, you lacked role models to serve as an inspiration.And,you realized there were also biases against women in leadership positions. In this environment, what made you feel you could succeed? Q: A recent study published in the Harvard Business Review revealed that women are reluctant to advocate for career advancement, raises or other perks out of fear the requests might end poorly. How important IS self-advocacy to get ahead, and is it a skill that can be learned? Q.You’ve been quoted saying you believe that women have an obligation to help other women.Do you feel this is true, and if so, how does that manifest itself in the real world? Q. In Illinois (where you live) and my home state of California, state legislatures recently enacted laws mandating that the boards of publicly traded companies elect at least one femaleboard member.How necessary are laws as a ways to get more women on corporate boards? Q. Over the years, you’ve served on many nonprofit boards, usually in leadership positions. Why is this service and experience so important? Q. Our country is in the midst of a pandemic which has cost thousands of lives and countless jobs. As our nation slowly edges towards what has been called a “new normal,” what advice do you have for women in business to help their companies and communities recover? Q. On a somewhat lighter note, this is a decades-old question: Can women really have it all? Q: Will you share a fact about you that would surprise the people you know?  

Angelo Robles, Founder & Chairman, Family Office Association, serves as the Chairman of the Family Office Association Institute. Robles is regarded as leader in the single family office industry, whose expertise is regularly sought by media outlets such as Bloomberg Television, the Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, Opalesque, HFM Week, Investment News, Eureka Hedge and Private Asset Management, among others. He has authored two books and multiple articles on topics relevant to Single Family Office’s.  What does your Family Office Association Do? Tell us about your background and why you created the FOA? What is a family office? Why would someone create a family office? What types of investments do family office invest in? Do Family Offices invest in startups? What is the #1 most important aspect of a Family Office? Can creating a family office grow the families wealth? How can a family office protect the families wealth? Someone would like to get a hold of you what services do you provide?

Stormi Scott is the Business Development Manager for Leverage, a software and education platform designed to help small business owners and property investors make more informed and empowered financing decisions. Stormi began her career at Wells Fargo in 2016 and through hard work and determination, she advanced herself within the banking system and became a Branch Manager at People’s United Bank. During her time in the banking industry, Stormi saw firsthand some of the struggles business owners face when seeking financing and her experiences inspired her to want to help create a system to empower better outcomes for all small businesses seeking financing going forward. With Leverage, Stormi hopes to provide small business owners, entrepreneurs, and property investors an advantage in the financing process – and empower them to start their funding conversation like never before.   Leverage software sounds great for capital raisers. How do you use it? Tell me how your career path went from Banker to software Business Development Manager? Why do you think it’s difficult for people to get approved for a bank loan? For equity raising – how can your software help in this crisis? What are your thoughts on the PPP loan? Can you share a customer story? Where can we find Leverage?

Entrepreneur | Management Consultant | Engineer Attorney. Over the past 25 years, Brenda has been at the helm of many high performing teams creating a company culture that inspires employees to bring their best and embrace their leadership prowess.Brenda Batista is an accomplished entrepreneur, leader, a management consultant, and the President of Inspiring Company. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Project Management Professional, and 5 Voices System certified trainer. Over the past 25 years, she has been at the helm of many high performing teams dedicated to performance improvement. Brenda believes in"Optimizing Organizational Performance Through Company Culture. There are 5 different voices in every company, all of which come with pros and cons. Brenda explains what they are, and why you need to have a little of each to be successful as a team. This ultimately creates a company culture where every voice is heard and valued so turnover decreases, and team performance skyrockets.

Sandra Yancey is on a mission to help one million women entrepreneurs each achieve one million dollars in annual revenue! She is an award-winning entrepreneur, life and business transformation specialist for the Emmy award-winning TV show “The DOCTORS,” multi #1 bestselling author, movie producer and philanthropist. She is the Founder and CEO of eWomenNetwork the premier women’s entrepreneur business community with over 500,000 women connected through 118 chapters across North America. Sandra is recognized by the International Alliance for Women as one of the world’s 100 Top Difference Makers and by CNN as an American Hero