Podcast appearances and mentions of genevieve thiers

Coming back for its 28th year, the Fantasia International Film Festival (18th July - 4th August 2024) has once again taken over Montreal and the hearts of film fans!!! We're starting off our @EchoChamberFP https://www.instagram.com/echochamberfp/ coverage with a horror, mystery from One Manner Productions & Dark Star Pictures. There's a documentary looking at love, grief, and the power of art thanks to Intuitive Pictures, AND Grindhouse Releasing has restored a renowned tale of sleazy Hollywood from 1973!!! Today we have: Carnage for Christmas Watch Review: Here. https://youtu.be/h6DkOGTuD9o Fantasia International Film Festival Friday, 19th July 2024 at 19:30pm, World Premiere, Salle J.A. De Sève Wednesday, 24th July 2024 at 17:00pm Salle J.A. De Sève Buy Tickets: Here. https://fantasiafestival.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/Fantasia2024/performances/FF24S028 Salem Horror Festival: 4th May 2024 Director: Alice Maio Mackay Cast: Chris Asimos, Dominique Booth, Betsey Brown, Lewi Dawson, Olivia Deeble, Lisa Fanto, Molly Ferguson, Patty Glavieux, Toshiro Glenn, Cassie Hamilton, Iris Mcerlean, Jeremy Moineau, Tumelo Nthupi, Joe Romeo, Yassica Switakowski, Zarif Credit: One Manner Productions, Dark Star Pictures Genre: Drama, Horror Running Time: 70 min Cert: 15 ---------------- Adrianne & The Castle Watch Review: Here. https://youtu.be/yv-jHOy_xdc Fantasia International Film Festival Saturday, 20th July 2024 at 18:45pm Cinéma du Musée South by Southwest Film Festival: 9th March 2024 Hot Docs International Documentary Festival: 26th April 2024 Director: Shannon Walsh Cast: Alan St-George, Nathan McDonald, SLee, Tamsen Glaser, Heather Houzenga, Amy Malcom, Genevieve Thiers, Natalie Younger Credit: Intuitive Pictures Genre: Documentary Running Time: 86 min Cert: 15 Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/9UUnjIo2sXA?si=-h3W838LgzC3eNUF Instagram: @adrianneandthecastle https://www.instagram.com/adrianneandthecastle/ ---------------- Hollywood 90028 Watch Review: Here. https://youtu.be/MEooGVfUx38 Fantasia International Film Festival Saturday, 26th July 2023 at 17:15pm Salle J.A. De Sève Buy Tickets: Here. https://fantasiafestival.ticketpro.ca/en/pages/Fantasia2024/performances/FF24S038 Theatrical Release Date: 1st July 1973 Director: Christina Hornisher Cast: Christopher Augustine, Jeannette Dilger, Dick Glass, Gayle Davis, Ralph Campbell, Kia Cameron, Dianna Huntress, Beverly Walker, Melonie Haller Credit: US3, American Films Ltd, Parker National Distributing, Go Video, Grindhouse Releasing Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller Running Time: 74 min Cert: 15 Trailer: Here. https://youtu.be/l0V6h39gGJo?si=NFBpeHDbIzUlZ3xQ Website: Here. https://grindhousereleasing.com/ ---------------- *(Music) 'Give The People' (Instrumental) by EPMD - 2020

Co-creation is the name of the game in Web3, and Entertainmint is one of the most vigorous players out there that are revolutionizing the cocreation process in the creator economy. Entertainmint is leading the way in the world of Web3 for independent creators through collaborative storytelling. Its unique vision is to revolutionize the traditional streaming model by fostering a collaborative community around indie content. This innovative marketplace empowers creators to connect directly with fans enabling collective world building and the co-creation of new, exciting projects. In this episode of Edge of NFT, CEO Genevieve Thiers explains how Entertainmint is positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for creating and fostering community around indie content and what projects they have in store for the near future. Speaking of co-creation, we're also joined by Linus Chee of Netvrk on our special topics section to talk about the hot projects they have coming up. Tune in for all of these exciting developments right on the outer edge of innovation! More from Edge of NFT:

Co-creation is the name of the game in Web3, and Entertainmint is one of the most vigorous players out there that are revolutionizing the cocreation process in the creator economy. Entertainmint is leading the way in the world of Web3 for independent creators through collaborative storytelling. Its unique vision is to revolutionize the traditional streaming model by fostering a collaborative community around indie content. This innovative marketplace empowers creators to connect directly with fans enabling collective world building and the co-creation of new, exciting projects. In this episode of Edge of NFT, CEO Genevieve Thiers explains how Entertainmint is positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for creating and fostering community around indie content and what projects they have in store for the near future. Speaking of co-creation, we're also joined by Linus Chee of Netvrk on our special topics section to talk about the hot projects they have coming up. Tune in for all of these exciting developments right on the outer edge of innovation! 

In this episode, Aalia invites Genevieve Thiers, a true disrupter and advocate for women in the tech industry to share her journey of growing female power in workplace, and how she was inspired by her own experiences to make a firm commitment to help women working in the tech industry to find their rightful voices. Stay tuned with Aalia to learn more about the crucial role of emotional intelligence in empowering women to represent themselves in leadership positions across diverse industries! Like, comment, and subscribe! Stay connected with your host on IG: @aalia_unsugarcoated Stay connected to our guest: @genthiers

Josh Kriger and Benjamin Noble of Howl Labs lead this Twitter Space conversation leading to the Outer Edge 2023. He is joined by Nytmare and Decryptolorian (WHALE Members), Daniel Killeen and Dominic Carbonaro (Ava Labs), Ken DiCross (Wire Network), Genevieve Thiers (Entertainmint), Tony Bravado (NFTCLT), and Bdice (Bdice Arts). They share what each of them has to bring to this incredible event that brings together the industry's leading experts, builders, creators, and founders. Tune in now and find out what to expect at the Outer Edge.

Disrupting streaming services via crowd funding and digital ownership of magical moments via NFTs. Today's guest is Genevieve Thiers, CEO and co-founder of Entertainmint, a web3 one-stop-shop for creating and fostering community around indie content. Entertainmint is  challenging the traditional streamer model with a collaborative world-building marketplace that allows creators to pair directly with fans to bring something to life.  EXTRAS Go to entertainmint.com to sign-up in the next few days. Follow two of the platform's projects to get a FREE Neon streamer pass. All you need is an email. If you buy an NFT ticket, Entertainmint will match the ticket with another prize ticket of equal or greater value. Do it NOW! Full Show Notes: Nifty.Show/200 SUBSCRIBE, RATE, & REVIEW: Podcasts: http://nifty.show/itunes Spotify: http://nifty.show/spotify Stitcher: http://nifty.show/stitcher Google Play: http://nifty.show/play iHeart: https://nifty.show/iheart YouTube: http://badco.in/youtube FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: @BadCrypto - @joelcomm - @finallyaligned Facebook: /TheNiftyShow /BadCryptoPod /JoelComm LinkedIn: /in/joelcomm Instagram: @BadCryptoPodcast WANT TO BE A FEATURED GUEST? APPLY HERE: http://nifty.show/apply DISCLAIMER: Do your own due diligence and research. Neither Joel Comm nor Zach Comm are FINANCIAL ADVISORS. We are sharing our journey with you as we learn more about this crazy little thing called cryptocurrency. We make NO RECOMMENDATIONS. Don't take anything we say as gospel. Do not come to our homes with pitchforks because you lost money by listening to us. We only share with you what we are learning and what we are investing it. We will never "pump or dump" any cryptocurrencies. Take what we say with a grain of salt. You must research this stuff on your own! Just know that we will always strive for RADICAL TRANSPARENCY with any show associations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The program all about TV, wrapping up the first week of its 16th year. Our guests: Christopher McDonald, 2022 Primetime Emmy Award nominee for guest actor in a comedy series (Hacks on HBO Max), and Genevieve Thiers, chief executive officer of Entertainmint, a new venture generating TV series through Web3, NFTs and other advanced technologies.

If you are the first in an industry, there's a good chance you won't succeed. But if you are really passionate about your idea and willing to put in the work, success will come. Today's guest on Coffee with Closers is a great example of it. Meet Genevieve Thiers - a disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker, investor, activist, and mother. Her company Sittercity.com is the first company in America to provide caregiver services online. Genevieve is a founder in tech and has invested in over 10 women-in-tech companies. She is dedicated to fixing the imbalance of women in tech. Stay tuned for our conversation with Genevieve where she shares some of her experience building her first company as well as investing in other women-founded tech-enabled businesses. • How to find a balance when building a two-sided marketplace? • What are the challenges of inventing the new service category in the market? • How to find motivation as an entrepreneur to go after your dream? • What are the commonalities between women entrepreneurs whose businesses take off? • Why balance may be a sensitive point for women and what we can do as a society to help? Enjoy the episode! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ►Find Genevieve Thiers on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievethiers/ ►Visit Sittercity at https://www.sittercity.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This series is brought to you by OneIMS - a leading digital marketing agency helping businesses win new customers. ►Request your FREE marketing ROI audit at https://www.oneims.com/ ►Subscribe to our channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/oneims ►Listen to our podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/0rq9sO5hIdnMlsY3M7jqYf?si=fLmIEu88QMi6QFU8p6h_Gw ►Visit our website here: https://www.oneims.com/ ►Follow OneIMS online: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OneIMS/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneims/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneims/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneims?lang=en

If you are the first in an industry, there's a good chance you won't succeed. But if you are really passionate about your idea and willing to put in the work, success will come. Today's guest on Coffee with Closers is a great example of it. Meet Genevieve Thiers - a disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker, investor, activist, and mother. Her company Sittercity.com is the first company in America to provide caregiver services online. Genevieve is a founder in tech and has invested in over 10 women-in-tech companies. She is dedicated to fixing the imbalance of women in tech. Stay tuned for our conversation with Genevieve where she shares some of her experience building her first company as well as investing in other women-founded tech-enabled businesses. • How to find a balance when building a two-sided marketplace? • What are the challenges of inventing the new service category in the market? • How to find motivation as an entrepreneur to go after your dream? • What are the commonalities between women entrepreneurs whose businesses take off? • Why balance may be a sensitive point for women and what we can do as a society to help? Enjoy the episode! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ►Find Genevieve Thiers on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevievethiers/ ►Visit Sittercity at https://www.sittercity.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This series is brought to you by OneIMS - a leading digital marketing agency helping businesses win new customers. ►Request your FREE marketing ROI audit at https://www.oneims.com/ ►Subscribe to our channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/oneims ►Listen to our podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/0rq9sO5hIdnMlsY3M7jqYf?si=fLmIEu88QMi6QFU8p6h_Gw ►Visit our website here: https://www.oneims.com/ ►Follow OneIMS online: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OneIMS/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneims/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneims/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneims?lang=en

Lake Street Dive's singer, Rachael Price, and drummer, Mike Calabrese, have been buddies since college, when they formed their first band together at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music. Years and years of touring, and eating every meal together on the road, means they know each other's eating habits inside out. But there was one thing they didn't know about each other: their last meals! Through Rachael's last meal we'll learn the history of America's favorite snack food and then, inspired by Mike's last meal, we'll hop down a babysitting rabbit hole. Sittercity.com founder, Genevieve Thiers, answers every babysitter's question: can you really help yourself to anything you want in your charge's fridge and pantry?! And we discuss the role of food in The Baby-Sitters Club books with Marisa Crawford, co-editor of a new book of essays and art, We Are the Baby-Sitters Club, and writer Jennifer Epperson who wrote a critical essay about Claudia Kishi, the series' beloved junk food junky. Follow 'Your Last Meal' and host Rachel Belle on Instagram! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're speaking with Genevieve Thiers, a disruptor, entrepreneur, speaker and investor who lives in Chicago. Genevieve is the author of #TechYourself, the first-ever political tech playbook for candidates running for office; a Co Executive Producer and the political tech trainer on RUN; and founder of the NewFounders Conference.

In the sixty-fourth episode of The Latest, we enjoy stale popcorn as we watch movie theaters get replaced by streaming services like HBO Max. Genevieve Thiers, an entrepreneur, political tech trainer, and the producer of “RUN” (www.runtheseries.com), an unscripted social impact series streaming on Amazon Prime Video, joins the program for this week's O.J. Simpson Twitter Update.  TRANSCRIPT https://www.latestpod.com/podcast/episode-64-now-complaining/ SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Apple: https://apple.co/2QKEEYJ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2UgFPBl Google: https://bit.ly/googlelatestpod Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/jT09 Castro: https://bit.ly/latestcastro Stitcher: https://bit.ly/lateststitcher VISIT https://www.latestpod.com https://twitter.com/_gregott https://instagram.com/gregott

On this Episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber and John Guidos talk about enjoying the splendors of Fall during the COVID-19 pandemic.  They also take a virtual moment of silence for the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who recently passed away and was a force who fought for freedom and equality in America.    Frank also celebrates the following people in his network:   Tamar Weinberg survived COVID-19 and wrote about it a few times on medium (http://medium.com/@tamar) - She also started a fragrance https://medium.com/@tamar/my-journey-into-wellness-2bb18686548d Genevieve Thiers founder of SitterCity has had it acquired - https://www.americaninno.com/chicago/inno-news-chicago/sittercity-acquired-by-child-care-firm-bright-horizons/ Kara Goldin on raising $25M for Hint and her new book Undaunted - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200818005305/en/Hint-Closes-25-Million-Investment-Led-Springboard#.Xzw3ekQdbhc.twitter Ben Parr on his up and down startup journey with Octane AI - https://www.forbes.com/sites/martyswant/2020/08/21/from-celebrity-chatbots-to-new-life-in-e-commerce-octane-ai-raises-425-million/#60f66f1b4795 Neal Sales Griffin on joining MATH Ventures as a Venture Partner- https://www.mathventurepartners.com/in-the-news/2020/9/21/math-venture-partners-brings-on-neal-sales-griffin-as-venture-partner?fbclid=IwAR3ePYMi52kW5JuoOtTCnGNijD-5ZuQLNKVl7zblVwvIi-ffSnYIXzySgvY The guys also talk about the following books/article they’ve read recently:   The greatest software IPO of all time just happened with Snowflake. Warren Buffett backed Snowflake's value doubles in stock market's largest software debut - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-snowflake-ipo/buffett-backed-snowflakes-value-doubles-in-stock-markets-largest-software-debut-idUSKBN2672VA Would you want to live forever? - Frozen in time: Inside the facility preserving the dead through cryonics. https://flip.it/kNOAjZ How do they live so long in blue zones? - Longevity nutrition tips from Blue Zones communities. https://flip.it/GQxMbn Maybe you should try cold showers instead.- Here’s What Taking a Cold Shower Does to Your Body, According to Experts. https://flip.it/ViG39W If you could live anywhere would you stay in Silicon Valley? - How Remote Work Could Destroy Silicon Valley. https://marker.medium.com/amp/p/761b398dc9fb Some think cities like NYC will bounce back, while others do not. - NYC is Dead Forever … Here’s Why. https://jamesaltucher.com/blog/nyc-is-dead-forever-heres-why/ Digital nomads your time to shine is now! - https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2020/07/18/digital-nomads-are-new-travel-winners-as-entire-countries-open-doors-to-work-tourism/ Want to work remotely from a Caribbean Island for a year? - Barbados offering 12-month remote-work stay incentive to attract visitors. https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/barbados-offering-12-month-remote-work-incentive-to-attract-visitors/ Get ready. - Pentagon Has ‘Off-World Vehicles Not Made on This Earth.’ https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/amp33413777/pentagon-ufo-program-materials-vehicles/ This blows my mind! - Elon Musk to show off working a brain-hacking device. https://flip.it/Xw2pkB Plastic pushed on us by big oil? - How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled?utm_source=davidhauser.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter Quibi - After 6 months and $1.8 billion, Quibi wants a new owner. That will be a hard sell. https://flip.it/LFi86q LinkedIn lists the 50 top U.S. startups on the rise in 2020: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2020-50-us-companies-rise-jessi-hempel/   Frank and John chat about watching the Apple TV show “Ted Lasso” and the HBO Max series “Love Life” with Anna Kendrick.  Frank also gives a brief summary of the new Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma," which lays out a case against the primacy of big technology companies. The film highlights the concerns of former tech employees who say social media is undermining the shared sense of reality that underpins society.   Lastly, please join Established for our upcoming 8th Annual Startup of the Year Summit which will be held online on November 16-18. The Summit is a curated experience for emerging founders, seasoned entrepreneurs, corporate innovation leads, accelerators, and investors to build relationships that fuel success. Summit is also the culmination of the 2020 Startup of the Year competition, and attendees can expect to hear from various keynote speakers, such as Tim Draper (Draper VC), Kara Goldin (Hint Water), and Mike Evans (GrubHub), and more. You can learn more about the Summit and register for the event at the following link: https://summit.startupofyear.com/ Get updates like this in your inbox before they hit the web by subscribing to the newsletter here.

Listeners voicemails and music from Sing Out Louse, Andre Washington, and Genevieve Thiers and John Vincent to ring in 2020!

Listeners voicemails and music from Sing Out Louse, Andre Washington, and Genevieve Thiers and John Vincent to ring in 2020!

Kelly speaks first with Genevieve Thiers, one of the producers of RUN, a new reality show that helps women run for office, and then with Bushra Amiwala, the candidate the Boss Squad helped in the pilot episode of RUN.

Kelly speaks first with Genevieve Thiers, one of the producers of RUN, a new reality show that helps women run for office, and then with Bushra Amiwala, the candidate the Boss Squad helped in the pilot episode of RUN.

Genevieve Thiers returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her new #Techyourself Guide, written by the top digital campaign managers and her new TV series "Run" which transforms womens campaigns in the style of "Queer Eye".

Genevieve Thiers and Dan Ratner of the New Founders Conference join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about how to shape the future of politics through innovation and the convening of new progressive leaders.

All moms are working moms, but there’s undoubtedly another level of juggling and chaos when you need to report to an employer. In Episode 42, Christine interviews Genevieve Thiers, founder of Sittercity.com (and Sittercity’s latest venture Chime), mom of twins, and opera singer (for real!). Christine and Genevieve discover some bizarre life parallels before diving into some of Genevieve’s favorite working mom hacks, spanning school events, appointments, commuting, schedules, single parenthood, guilt, judgement at work, and self-care. She also talks with candor about spectrum disorders. + + + + + And friends, if you’re looking for a great sitter in Boston, Chicago, New York or Washington DC, visit hellochime.com and use promo code LIFEHACK to receive your first sitting for free (covers 3 hours). If you live anywhere else, you can always rely upon Sittercity to find a great caregiver in your area too! Your first month of premium access to Sittercity is always free. Thanks for sponsoring today’s episode, Chime! + + + + + Do you have a question, comment, or show topic idea for us? Would you like to sponsor an upcoming episode? We’d love to hear from you via facebook.com/edityourlifeshow, by tagging your Instagram or Twitter posts with #edityourlifeshow, or via edityourlifeshow@gmail.com. You’ll find show notes for this episode, including links to resources we’ve mentioned, at edityourlifeshow.com.

Great podcast with Genevieve talking about Sittercity.com and why opera singers are great entrepreneurs.

Genevieve Thiers is the founder of Sittercity.com and a co-founder of Contactkarma.com and OperaModa.com. Genevieve and her companies have won over 15 awards. She talks about why women businesses are growing rapidly and what small businesses can do to take advantage of the trend.Jody Thompson, along with her partner Cali Ressler, is the Founder of CultureRx and co-creator of the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE). She is the author of two books on managing work and work-life balance. Jody explains why most people don't enjoy work and what can be done to fix it.Gary Shinner and Jill Portman are the founders of Mighty Leaf Tea. Gary and Jill discuss how they started and grew their tea business, which is now partnering with Peet's Coffee. They give advice for choosing the right partner and getting your first big break.Matt Wilson is co-founder of Under30CEO and Adventurer in Residence at Under30Experiences. Matt provides insight into how to gain entrepreneurial experiences before leaving college, and how he has been able to live and work wherever and whenever while growing his company.Carmen Sognonvi is owner and general manager of Urban Martial Arts, a martial arts school in Brooklyn, New York. Carmen's views on local business and local marketing have been featured in numerous media outlets, including Inc and Entrepreneur. Carmen discusses how small businesses can use offline, old-school marketing techniques to grow their business.Sponsored by Sage One and Nextiva.

Audio File:  Download MP3Transcript:  An Interview with Genevieve Thiers Founder, ContactKarma and SitterCity.com Date: May 7, 2012 [intro music] Lucy Sanders:     Hi, this is Lucy Sanders, the CEO of NCWIT, the National Center for Women in Information Technology. This is another in our series of interviews with women who have started tech companies and we've got a great serial entrepreneur to talk to you today. With me is Larry Nelson W3W3.com. Hi, Larry. Larry Nelson:     It's a pleasure to be here and I'm looking forward to this very, very much. Lucy:             Well, we've got with us today Genevieve Thiers who is a serial entrepreneur in many spaces. In preparing for this interview, I learned quite a bit about a couple of marketplaces. For example, the need for childcare services. It's an 18 billion dollar market and projected to grow 39 billion by 2015. Genevieve, who was the founder of Sitter City recognized the importance of this marketplace and perhaps she will tell us more about it in this interview when she really set out to tap into it. Long story short, Sitter City, very successful. She has moved on to start another company called Contact Karma, which is really a B to B, business to business matchmaker of sorts, which really uses a combination of deals and recommendations and trusted contacts to match business users with service providers. Genevieve has been recognized nationally. We are very happy to have you here today, Genevieve, to be talking to us. Welcome. Genevieve Thiers: Well, thanks for having me. Lucy:             So why don't you tell us just a little bit about what's going on at Contact Karma and if you want to throw any other stories about Sitter City, we'd love to hear them, too. Genevieve:    Sure. Well, one of the great things going on right now is that Chicago is undergoing a tech renaissance really. It's very exciting. I don't know if you guys have been keeping tabs on Chicago's tech entrepreneur scene but we have a number of groups here who have been very staunch advocates of the space. Particularly the CEC. It's just been really exciting. They've recently launched this wonderful new co-working space in Chicago called 1871. It's something like 300, 400 companies all in one spot. All tech companies, all in that early disruptive phase. So as you can imagine I'm in heaven.  I actually have a couple of things I'm co-founding right now, mostly with new, emergent women entrepreneurs. So, it's been a real unique thing to springboard into from my Sitter City experience. Lucy:             We've heard Chicago is quite the hotbed and we have had several interviews now with women tech entrepreneurs from Chicago. Genevieve, can you tell us a little bit about how you first got into technology. You are a serial entrepreneur. It sounds like that's continuing. How did you first get interested and what do you think are the particularly interesting technologies today? Genevieve:        Well, frankly, how I got involved in technology is a pretty funny story. It was a complete and total accident. I was an English and Music major in college and trained primarily most of my life in opera since the age of 11. I'm primarily a performer which is very interesting. I fell into tech. I was sitting in my college dorm room my senior year of college in the year 2000. I remember I saw this nine months pregnant mother climbing up 200 steps, posting fliers for babysitters. It was too early for me to go to opera school, my voice wasn't quite ready. Your voice usually matures around the age of 30 and I was in my early 20's. I thought, "Oh gosh, here is something else I could do. I could create a solution to this problem. Why isn't someone taking all the caregivers in the city or the nation and put them all in one place where you can easily find them? But more importantly, just quickly screen them?" So that is what sittercity.com became. It's America's first and largest network to connect parents with caregivers nationwide. We have millions of caregivers in five different divisions: child care, pet care, senior care, home care and tutoring. Lucy:             It's been quite the success and everybody has been checked out, credentials and so on and so forth. Genevieve:        We believe that if you are a mom bringing a caregiver into your home, you should be the one to screen them. That's a common sense thing I think a lot of people miss but I am the oldest of seven kids so I was a baby sitter and nanny my whole life. It's really quick to check a caregiver. There is a four step process. You quickly check their references. You do a quick interview. There is usually a background check process, and parents might leave a review. It's a very simple process. It doesn't have to be complicated. Sitter City is quite neat because it allows the sitters to actually run the background check on themselves and it gets posted in their profile for you to see. It's all right there. There's no waiting. There's no 24 hour turnaround time. It's instant access to what you need. Lucy:             OK. Cool. Larry:            Yeah, very cool. What technologies do you think are cool today? Genevieve:        Oh gosh, what technologies do I think are not cool? Basically, anything that has to do with women in tech. Personally, I like technologies that solve women's problems, particularly problems for moms. Four months ago, I had identical twins, Ari and Leo Ratner, with my husband, Dan Ratner, and they are just adorable. It's amazing how much my own product has just saved my life. I hired this absolutely amazing baby nurse through Sitter City, and she is [laughs] the reason that I'm standing. I'd be on the floor without her. I like solutions that women entrepreneurs tackle to solve issues for other women or other moms. Lucy:             Let's sing an NCWIT song. Larry:            Boy, I'll say. Lucy:             Absolutely. Genevieve, tell us why you're an entrepreneur. You gave us a little bit of the history of the story about how you first started to think about Sitter City. Why, in general, are you an entrepreneur? What do you like about being an entrepreneur? Genevieve:        First of all, there's nothing not to like. It's a crazy roller coaster ride. You're constantly challenging yourself to the utmost. Yeah, it's got real down moments, but it's got some absolutely amazing highs. I think I became an entrepreneur by accident, but then later I began to realize, really, it's the perfect role for me. Did you know that the root of the word entrepreneur actually used to mean an opera impresario? Lucy:             Is that right? Is that...  [crosstalk] Genevieve:        It used to refer to an opera producer. Lucy:             My goodness. Larry:            Why would you know that? [laughter] Genevieve:        I know that because I'm an opera singer. I just thought, initially, that I would create a company so that I'd have more money for singing, frankly. I didn't want to wait tables, that sort of thing. It turned out to be much, much bigger than that. I'm an accidental entrepreneur, really. I thought, hey, I'll just build this thing. It's just a solution to a problem, and it turned out to just be gigantic, because it was a solution to an enormous problem that women had all over the world. Yeah, it's been a fun ride. Larry:            That's fantastic. Now, along the way, who are some of the people who supported you, really helped you get on your way, and your role models or your mentors? Genevieve:        My main mentor has been my husband, Dan Ratner, who has created a number of companies before he even met me. It's a funny story, too, because I was actually online on match.com researching it, because Sitter City is very similar to the online dating service model. I needed to study the model, and that's where we met. [laughter] Genevieve:        He's so cute. He's had several other companies before he even met me. Then he joined forces with me in 2005 to run Sitter City, which was awesome. He was helping from the beginning. I had a very small site in the beginning that I paid a couple of college friends to build. It started breaking right away, and Dan was right there to fix it every time, so he's been there from the very beginning, working alongside me. That's been wonderful. There's so many organizations in Chicago that are immensely helpful. Like I mentioned, the CEC is just incredible, and I can't wait to be in 1871. I'm actually going to be there with a desk, alongside founding entrepreneurs and other established ones, like myself. Also, the Women's Business Development Center here is great, the I2A Fund. Sitter City just stumbled across these really wonderful organizations as we've moved along. Particularly, what I'm proud of, too, is that we have some wonderful investors, all of whom are dead, I might mention. [laughs] [laughter] Genevieve:        [inaudible 08:35] Capital, Latex Capital, New World, and Baird. You get venture partners, all very wonderful firms, and great, great guys. It's really good to have them on the board. Lucy:             Along the way, as you started Sitter City and also Contact Karma, you said there had been highs, and there had been lows. Tell us about one of the toughest things you've had to do in your career. Genevieve:        Mainly the toughest period I faced with Sitter City was that, in the beginning, I was launching it in the middle of the dot-com crash, and I was literally left out of rooms. I couldn't get the investors to understand it, because they'd never babysat, so I kept hearing, "My wife handles that." I kept thinking, "Gosh, get her in here." [laughs] "She'd understand." This is big. I just, at that point, kept going and built it myself because I was in the middle of the dot-com crash and not even really realizing. I just went ahead and built it myself because I realized that there was an incredible need. The moms I was talking loved it, it was just the investors I had the challenge with. It's funny, companies that built out of challenges, I find, Contact Karma, which is my latest company, is this really neat fusion of the Yelp business model, the review model, and a deal site. What we've done is, we've applied review the deals to the phase. If you're looking for a lawyer, or an accountant, or a bookkeeper, or any kind of vendor, you can go to the Contact Karma website, and you can put that in. We'll send you, within 24 hours, recommendations for our top three recommended vendors. It's not based on what we think, it's based on who else in the Chicago entrepreneurial field has used them and liked them. Then we'll give you a deal as well, so you're saving money, but you know you can trust the vendor. That company came out of an intense need to really just find vendors that weren't going to tank the business situation you're in. That came out of an intense need to basically make sure that vendors, that companies you're using when they're just getting started, don't essentially tank the company. Start-up costs for new companies are very high and we've been able to prove so far, you we can get those down to at least 70 percent of what they used to be, probably 60 percent, by the time we're done. That's exciting to me in addition to the fact that less start-ups will be having wipe-outs because they hired the wrong vendor, and blew a whole bunch of money and don't have any left to try again. Lucy:             That's a great point and I want to return a moment to the point about Sitter City being bootstrapped. I think it's, again, a good reminder that companies are started in all different ways, and bootstrap is a great alternative in some situations. Larry:            Yeah, in many situations. Lucy:             In many situations. Larry:            Yeah, you bet. Now, Genevieve, if you were, right now, sitting at a table, or a desk, and there was a young person who was looking into entrepreneurship, what advice would you give them? Genevieve:        I've got a number of things that I think are really important. The first, most important thing, that I would say to an entrepreneur just getting started is, "There are no problems. There are just sticky situations, waiting for resolutions." [laughter] Genevieve:        Problems can't exist for you if you're an entrepreneur, insurmountable ones. You have to see them as opportunities to solve something. It's just interesting. I see a lot of entrepreneurs who think, "I have to solve this problem." They go out and they get all fired up, and then two days later, they give up because somebody poked some holes in it. You can't see holes. You just have to keep rolling right over them and stay focused on your vision, because there's very little out there that people will actually pay for. Once you find something that they will pay for, and you've got a narrow enough niche that you are extrapolating that from, you really can't lose. I have a couple other things I'm always saying. "Keep it simple and stupid. Don't make it complicated at all. Do something that you're familiar with." Those are more traditional pieces of advice, however. Lucy:             Keeping it simple is important. People over-complicate things all the time. Genevieve:        Oh my goodness, all you have to do is make sure that it's OK and out the door. [laughter] Larry:            Yeah. Genevieve:        You don't need anything in a start-up to ever be perfect. Lucy:             Absolutely. Well, along the same lines as the previous question, what personal characteristics do you have that you think give you an advantage as an entrepreneur? Genevieve:        To be honest, you have to have blinders on. [laughs] You have to be that person who's willing to just go running into the field, charging with a flag above your head, with a battle cry. That's not usually the smartest person in the pack, I'll tell you that right now. [laughs] It's usually the dumbest, but, dumb but brave is a good thing. Not really thinking too much about stuff, just hurling yourself into it, is good. I think I had a particularly interesting situation, in that I've never taken a business class in my life. I came out in the middle of the worst dot-com crash, the worst recession really, since the latest one that we've had. I didn't even know we were in a recession. I didn't really know what a recession was. I was [inaudible 13:49] . [laughter] Genevieve:        It was funny. I was just an idiot savant. I [inaudible 13:56] and I just kept going off and building it, and it worked, but stress on the idiot part, because it was just something I thought I would do. It was a hobby. That's a good characteristic, the ability to just run with blinders on and not get knocked over by problems coming at you from every side. Also, in my case, I found that being a performer really helped. The more that you get in front of people and perform and evangelize, whether it be yourself, or a song you're singing, or a product, the better you get at it. It's kind of an art. You really do have a challenge when you create a new web tech company because I tend to create things that haven't been done before. Fusions that haven't been done. You have a real challenge getting people to actually do it. It's really hard. You've got to chase them down in supermarkets. [laughter] Genevieve:        You've got to do crazy guerilla tactics just to get their attention. I like that. I get a kick out of that, maybe because of the opera training. You can't be afraid to be in front of people and get right in front of them and tell them about what you're doing and talk them into doing it. Larry:            Yeah. Lucy:             That's interesting. The person who has the flag, running out ahead, charge. I think sometimes we call that courage. [laughter] Genevieve:        Well, yes. Larry:            It's been called other things, too. Genevieve:        Or stupidity. Lucy:             Yeah. I think it's really, really true. The thing you're talking about. You can't get the whole, you just have to keep going. Larry:            Yep, you betcha. Wow. Now with all of the things that you've been through, I think it's really interesting and neat that you're starting this other company and everything else. How do you bring balance into your personal and your professional lives? Genevieve:        One of the interesting things I'm finding, and this was not really deliberate, but it has definitely occurred and it's exciting, is that what I'm building is helping me save time in my life. If you talk to any new mom, the one thing she wants more than anything in the world is time. It's a pretty desperate commodity for most of us. Through Sitter City I found this amazing baby nurse and suddenly I have lots of time. So much time that I'm actually co-founding multiple companies now with new, emerging women tech entrepreneurs in Chicago. That's really exciting. Conjit Cuervo, which is one of the new companies I'm working on, also saves time. One of the things that we do is we have a top ten list of vendors for starting your business, for example. Across these top 10 vendors that we've found, in everything from website design to incorporation to logo creation to your opening document suite that you need for a new company, we've been able to bring the cost of creating a new company down to 70 percent of what it once was. We're also able to save you time. Imagine how much time it takes the average entrepreneur pounding the phones, talking to people. It can take them days or weeks to find a vendor and suddenly they go to event and stumble across a friend and that friend knows somebody, but it's pure serendipity. I like imposing order on those processes so that I can save time. [laughter] Genevieve:        More time means more time with my husband and my kids. Larry:            There you go. Lucy:             It's great that you can have businesses that integrate so nicely between your personal and your professional life. Genevieve:        Absolutely and the next two that I've got integrate as well. It's very exciting. There's a mentality I find, particularly among the women tech entrepreneurs that I work with, pure organization. That's really refreshed. It's the ability to not only run a company, but in some cases I've seen them running multiple departments, families, personal lives, artistic lives all alongside each other. It's neat. We're very good at organizing. We might as well try to put that into companies. It's a great skill. Lucy:             It reinforces something that we really believe at Nancy Witt, that women's creativity really does inform technology products and services. Genevieve:        Absolutely. Lucy:             I think that it's important to see that instantiated in what's out there. It's very, very inspiring. Genevieve, what's next for you? You've achieved so much and it sounds like you've got more tricks up your sleeve. Genevieve:        To be honest, I'm just playing. I really came straight out of college into what became Sitter City. Sitter City, today, is just amazing. Not only do we have our subscription service, but we have a corporate program, which is absolutely wonderful in companies like Avon and Mastercard and Monsurowide and the whole U.S. Department of Defense, for example, use Sitter City's corporate programs to, basically, connect their employees with care. That's been incredible. The next phase is international expansion. All of that is just amazing. I never really had a lot of downtime to play around and figure out who I was. I have sung opera professionally, or semi-professionally, in Chicago here and there and kept that up. I'm in this interesting spot where I'm just having a lot of fun. The twins are wonderful. [laughter] Genevieve:        That was just an amazing thing to meet them and go through that. Now I'm co-founding a couple of things that help promote new emerging women in tech and I'm auditioning and I'm singing in concerts. I'm just having a blast. Lucy:             [laughs] Sounds that way. Larry:            Yeah. Genevieve:        I love this time with my family and with myself. Lucy:             Well, that's just really awesome and very inspiring to talk to you. Larry:            It sure is. Lucy:             To know that you're there in Chicago, and elsewhere, and making such a big difference. Thank you so much, Genevieve. I want to remind listeners that they can find this interview at w3w3.com and also ncwit.org. Larry:            Yeah. Lucy:             Thank you, Larry. Larry:            Thank you, Genevieve. Genevieve:        Thank you. [outro music]     Series: Entrepreneurial HeroesInterviewee: Genevieve Thiers Interview Summary: Genevieve created her first company, Sittercity.com, because she recognized a need for an online space where working mothers could go to find reliable caregivers for their children. A similar concept helped her to develop her newest company, Contact Karma, an online company that strives to match the consumer with a vendor that meets their specific needs. The advice that Genevieve has for aspiring entrepreneurs is that it is important to remember "There are no problems, there are just sticky situations waiting for solutions." Release Date: May 7, 2012Interview Subject: Genevieve ThiersInterviewer(s): Lucy Sanders, Larry NelsonDuration: 19:17