Podcasts about sherisse

You can't sacrifice who you are to please othersIn this episode of the Honest Property Podcast, Becky and Ruth sit down with Sherisse Bisram to explore her powerful journey of resilience, healing, and self-discovery. From growing up in a volatile home to building a life rooted in authenticity and energy work, Sherisse shares how pain became her catalyst for transformation.We talk about the impact of generational trauma, the awakening that came during the pandemic, and the tools she now uses—from dance and writing to spiritual practices—to help others reconnect with themselves.This one's for anyone feeling called to slow down, tune in, and honour the path back to their truth.You can also watch the video on Youtube hereWays to connect with Sherisse:Socials: @Sherisse_bisram Podcast Permission to Shine https://open.spotify.com/show/6wieY1qeXjz81jzF4cmleH?si=50a84b9f29044c71Become The Iconic Leader Free workshop: https://sherissebisram.com/become-the-iconic-leaderTo create lasting transformation in your life get lifetime access to her program Permission to Shine Self Study here: https://sherissebisram.com/selfstudyChapters00:00 Introduction to Sherisse's Journey01:43 From Pain to Power: Sherisse's Early Life06:34 The Dance of Resilience: Sherisse's Artistic Path10:47 The Awakening: Facing the Real Self16:10 Navigating the Dark Night of the Soul21:27 Healing Through Energy Work and Writing26:53 Embracing Authenticity and Purpose28:22 The Journey to Self-Discovery35:44 Embracing Feminine Energy39:10 The Impact of Motherhood on Identity43:04 Setting Boundaries and Prioritising Self-Care46:01 Lessons in Authenticity and Self-Love

ARTS R US SHERISSE McGUEY AND KASEY STEPHAN CHARLEBOIS MARCH 23 2025

Welcome back to our first episode of Girls in Property for 2025. In this episode of Girls in Property, host Athena Dobson sits down with Sherisse Bisram, an Inner Power Activation Leader, to explore her transformative journey from a turbulent past to a life grounded in inner peace and authenticity. Together, they dive into: The impact of mental health struggles and the importance of vulnerability in personal growth.Challenges faced by introverts in competitive spaces and how to thrive despite them.Sherisse's inspiring work empowering young girls to embrace their true selves and navigate the complexities of growing up.The conversation expands to cover broader themes of empowerment, healing, and the vital role of creating safe spaces for emotional expression. Athena and Sherisse also explore the relationship between trauma and entrepreneurship, asking the question “Are entrepreneurs created through trauma?” and understanding the balance of masculine and feminine energies, and the importance of setting clear intentions to build a meaningful legacy.This episode offers valuable insights for anyone on a journey of self-discovery, leadership, or community building. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a leader, or simply someone seeking inspiration, Sherisse's story and wisdom are sure to resonate.Join us for this empowering conversation and be inspired to take the next step on your personal journey!How to get involved with the Girls in Property Community

Sherisse Hawkins' is an engineer, entrepreneur and amateur aerialist. She coined the phrase corporate escapee after abruptly quitting her job for startup life. Now, she's determined to use AI for good. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. The road to success doesn't have to be as painful and as treacherous and it is possible to achieve an effortless and magical moments and milestones. 2. True entrepreneurship is being of service. It comes from a place of helping others and making something easier and better and not just for ego. 3. You can accomplish more through servant-leadership by asking how you can be of help to someone. Check out Sherisse on LinkedIn - Sherisse Hawkins Sponsors HubSpot Breeze is HubSpot's collection of AI tools that helps you turn one piece of content into a whole suite of assets. Visit HubSpot.com/marketers to learn more LastPass The most accessible and easy-to-use password manager on the planet. Visit LastPass.com/fire for a free trial and get started today

Sherisse Hawkins' is an engineer, entrepreneur and amateur aerialist. She coined the phrase corporate escapee after abruptly quitting her job for startup life. Now, she's determined to use AI for good. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. The road to success doesn't have to be as painful and as treacherous and it is possible to achieve an effortless and magical moments and milestones. 2. True entrepreneurship is being of service. It comes from a place of helping others and making something easier and better and not just for ego. 3. You can accomplish more through servant-leadership by asking how you can be of help to someone. Check out Sherisse on LinkedIn - Sherisse Hawkins Sponsors HubSpot Breeze is HubSpot's collection of AI tools that helps you turn one piece of content into a whole suite of assets. Visit HubSpot.com/marketers to learn more LastPass The most accessible and easy-to-use password manager on the planet. Visit LastPass.com/fire for a free trial and get started today

Can introverts truly excel in leadership and negotiation roles typically dominated by extroverts? My dear friend, Sherisse Hawkins, an extreme introvert, joins me today to uncover surprising truths about how introverts and ambiverts often outperform extroverts in these high-stakes arenas. Through our contrasting experiences—Sharice's mindful approach and my high-energy style—we reveal the power of authenticity and the unique strengths that introverts bring to leadership positions. You'll hear personal stories and eye-opening research that challenge traditional business norms, demonstrating that introverts are more than capable of thriving in environments that seem built for extroverts.In this episode, we talk about the following:1. Differences between introverts and extroverts in business settings. 2. The success of ambiverts in sales and negotiations. 3. Challenging personality stereotypes and adapting communication styles. Connect with Sherisse:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherissehawkins/https://pagedip.com/_____________________________________________________Ready to continue your professional growth? Here are a few resources for you: Get my Book: The Art of Everyday Negotiation without Manipulationhttps://susietomenchok.com/buy-the-art-of-everyday-negotiation Join my Newsletter: The Monday Minutehttps://susietomenchok.com/email-list-opt-in Hire me: Learn More About my Serviceshttps://susietomenchok.com/servicespage Connect with Me: Find me on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/susietomenchok/

In this powerful episode of the Soulful Leaders in Business podcast, host Laura Beddoe-Collins interviews Sharice Bishram, an Inner Power Activation Leader for women. Sharice shares her inspiring journey from childhood trauma and adversity to becoming a dynamic force in women's empowerment.Key highlights:- Overcoming racism, family addiction, and loss to build resilience- Transforming survival mode into thriving leadership- The importance of healing your inner child to unlock true success- Why feeling your emotions is crucial for personal growth- Practical tools for connecting with your authentic selfSharice's message is clear: true fulfillment comes from within, not from external achievements. By healing our inner wounds, we can tap into limitless potential and lead from a place of wholeness.Don't miss this transformative conversation that will inspire you to embrace your power and lead with authenticity.Ready to take your leadership to the next level? Join us at the Soul Speaks event on October 18-19, featuring Sharice Bishram and other world-class speakers. Learn how to maximize profit while embracing your divine feminine energy in business.Secure your ticket now: SOUL SPEAKS - BRIGHTON The podcast for innovative and progressive thought leaders anchored into their authority unapologetically. Creating Leaders, Building Legacies, Maximising Profit. You no longer have to apologise for wanting to stand out as a female leader here.00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest02:44 Sharice's Journey and Overcoming Adversity06:10 The Healing Journey and Self-Discovery11:54 Embracing Feminine Energy and Self-Love17:10 Upcoming Events and Final Thoughts

This week I have the pleasure of sharing with you the story of Sherisse Bisram.Sherisse is a professional dancer, dance teacher, now an empowerment mentor, public speaker and Someone that has never fit into a box or conformed to societal expectations. Growing up in a volatile household and as a woman of color in a predominantly white area added understandable hardships and like all young women, Sherisse faced unwanted attention. In addition, she was undermined by society for being outspoken in her opinion rather than playing to the expected norm of being “seen and not heard”. Understandably she was forced to build resilience, and as a result, at 23 she noticed that she had difficulty showing vulnerability and emotions. Sherisse realized that this was not a healthy way to live, with this in mind, she decided to embark upon her own journey of self discovery. Sherisse has taken the pain and hardships she has faced and used them to become the authentically empowered version of herself that she has always wanted to be. If anyone wants to continue to follow Sherisse on her journey I will have links to her website, her social media AND her new podcast “Permission to Shine” which is out now! I started this podcast because I believe that the foundation of hate and discrimination in our world comes from a lack of understanding of those who are different from ourselves. We plan to combat that by hearing everyone's stories, so that we can better understand them, be a part of creating real positive change.

Sherisse is the embodiment of everything she stands for authentic strength, loyalty and empowerment. Although, the journey to get to there did not come easy. Growing up in a volatile household and as a woman of colour in a predominantly white area added understandable hardships and like all young women, Sherisse faced unwanted attention. In addition, she was undermined by society for being outspoken in her opinion rather than playing to the expected norm of being “seen and not heard”. Understandably she was forced to build resilience, and as a result, at 23 she noticed that she had difficulty showing vulnerability and emotions. Sherisse realised that this was not a healthy way to live, with this in mind, she decided to embark upon her own journey of self discovery.Combining her self evolution, education and life experiences, Sherisse has gained tools that have helped her to release the pain of her past, understand and conceptualise her emotions and regain true authentic strength. These tools, which consist of meditation and mindset work, journaling and mindful movement have shaped her into the empowered confident woman she is today. These practices have had a tremendous impact in her life. Sherisse believes by sharing these tools with others with the incorporation of dance, that she will in turn, help them become the best versions of themselves.@sherisse_bisram (IG + Tiktok) www.sherissebisram.com Support the show

Happy Monday, Alchemist! Today you will meet a phenomenal performer who uses meditation, journaling, mindful movement, and the power of mantra to face and heal her childhood wounds. Interestingly, you'll also learn how her wounding supported some aspects of what motivated her path forward. For the past ten years, Sherisse Bisram has followed her passion as a professional dancer: travelling the world, performing on stage, corporate events and in music videos. Her most recent and biggest credit to date is her role as a dancer in the latest Marvel film, Eternals, and the Queens Jubilee Celebrations on ITV. Parallel to performing, Sherisse has had the pleasure of passing on her passion and experiences through teaching for various companies and institutions such as schools, colleges and community groups. Sherisse works with a women's charity, AWA Dance (advancing women's aspirations with dance), as their Dance and Leadership Facilitator. She is also a part of DCD (Dancers Career Development) EDI working group, assisting in creating meaningful and needed change. Learm more about Sherisse's work, and sign up for Permission to Shine, at https://sherissebisram.com/ If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to this channel and share with your community. Then download The Energetic Alchemist app! Learn more at http://theenergeticalchemist.com, and get your limited-edition of The Energetic Alchemist Oracle while you're there! Xo

-SHERISSE HAWKINS: CREATIVITY & THE UNEXPECTED- Edgar and Ken extend a warm welcome to today's guest Sherisse Hawkins. Sherisse is an entrepreneur, the founder of Pagedip, and former Shark Tank contestant, which leads today's discussion to creativity, thinking outside the box, and even cooperate escape. Sherisse is a wonderful example of how to find a problem and gather a team and develop a more mindful solution.  The purpose of this podcast is to start the conversation around alignment, both in business and personal life, it is up to you to see that conversation through. As always, if you have any questions, possible topics, or are looking to take your alignment further, please reach out to us at info@truealignment.com.   Alignment Survey   Executive Education For more about Anderson College's Executive Education programs go to https://anderson-executive-education.pagedip.app/ . Here you will find the Learning to Lead Course taught by Edgar Papke.   Links More about Sherisse Hawkins More about Pagedip Learn more about True Alignment® at https://truealignment.com/ Edgar Papke Ken Sagendorf  Anderson College's Executive Education   Music Music by, local Colorado band, The Skinny

In this episode, we meet Sherisse Hawkins and Shayla Griggs.

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Sherisse Hawkins CEO/Founder Pagedip She's a builder, learner, risk-taker, motivator, rainmaker, speaker, and corporate escapee. Creative-minded CEO with a strong engineering background. Proven record in meeting impossible deadlines, delighting customers, and re-imagining how things can be done. Believes anything is possible in the digital world. Sherisse, an engineer and technologist, has a passion for driving the evolution of digital narrative content and believes she has the best job ever as founder and CEO of Pagedip. As an award-winning business owner and accomplished international speaker, Sherisse loves helping others on their life journey. She has appeared in Vanity Fair and on ABC's Shark Tank. Sherisse's background includes working as a Walt Disney Imagineer building theme parks around the globe as well as joining Time Warner Cable, where she served as the vice president of software development. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherissehawkins/ Learn more about her business and company link here: http://pagedip.com/ Resources mentioned: (Books) The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson Never Split the Difference by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz The Art Of Impossible by Steven Kotler (Audiobooks) Audible OverDrive

In any given second, tech Founders have several decisions they could be making.  Building everything from scratch multiplies the complexity of our daily activity, so solutions that simplify what we need to learn and produce are a godsend.  For that reason, our guest Sherisse Hawkins (Founder and CEO of Pagedip) advocates for no-code solutions – even as a technical founder with experience managing complex software development project.    Founder Bio: Sherisse Hawkins is the Founder and CEO of Pagedip.  She is a creative minded CEO with a strong engineering background.  She thrives on meeting impossible deadlines, delighting customers, and re-imagining how things can be done.  Sherisse believes that anything is possible in the digital world.   As an engineer and technologist, she has a passion for driving the evolution of digital narrative content, which is why she believes she has the best job ever as the Founder of Pagedip.   Sherisse is an award-winning business wonder and accomplished speaker, internationally.  She has appeared in Vanity Fair as well as ABC's Shark Tank.  Sherisse's background includes working as a Walt Disney Imagineer building theme parks around the globe.  She also served as Vice President of Software Development at Time Warner Cable.   Timestamps: 2:57  How Sherisse's love for STEM led to a career as a Walt Disney Imagineer building theme parks 5:00  How family and children influenced a career change 7:15  Making the jump into entrepreneurship | When is the right time? 10:00  How Sherisse planned her entrepreneurial leap as a Mother and Wife 13:00  The evolution of Pagedip | What is it and how has it evolved? 15:44 Leveraging no-code solutions to scale faster and more efficiently 18:04  Will no-code solutions replace developers? 22:24  Building the first version/MVP of Pagedip 24:19  Making decision on tech stack  26:06  How Pagedip allows customers to re-imagine content for better engagement 31:33  Strategy for taking a new product to market 37:05  Fundraising 39:40  Determining which new product features to prioritize 41:33  The importance of access to a community

In this episode I have a chat with sisters, Sherisse and Krista of Two Sistah's Beauty Inc. We talk about their journey to starting a beauty business that provides products that are minimalistic, convenient and practical for the every day use. They share some of their favorite products and the inspiration behind them. Website: https://www.twosistahsbeauty.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twosistahsbeautyinc IG: @twosistahsbeautyinc Top Artists: 1) Burna Boy 2) Wizkid 3) Machel Montano 4) Lil Rick 5) Holla Bak Top 5 Songs: 1) Talk To Me - 2 Mile Hill 2) 7 Years - Lukas Graham 3) Mount Everest - Labrinth 4) Change Will Come - Miss Me 5) Shake The Room - Pop Smoke feat. Quavo To Donate to Nisa Homes: https://www.launchgood.com/campaign/edmonton_nisa_homes_1?src=internal_comm_page#!/

Paranormal Hauntings on Portage Ave.It seems like Lockdown even has the spirits a little agitated. Nothing like walking through black mist, hearing your flip flop slippers taking a walk and watching a disembodied hand press the elevator buttons. This week Jas and Sher, Your Audio Curators, have the pleasure to speak with Sherisse. Sherisse has an interest in the paranormal as she has been surrounded by it all her life. And most recently, in the last 2 years, Sherisse and her family has been living in a local Haunted apartment. She shares her experiences with the Ladies on this week’s episode. As well, Sherisee has a local Facebook Page for other of like-mindedness to share their experiences and ask questions if they are having ‘Issues’. Please visit her group called PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS IN WPG MANITOBA AND CANADA. As well we start the New Year with NEW copyright free Intro and Outro Music by Ruesche-Soundshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqXS...Stay safe & Stay at homeFor more information on our podcast, or if you have a story to share or would like to just get in touch with us, shoot us an email at givinguptheghostpodcast@gmail.comPlease check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and TikTok! Show us the Ghost Love & Tell a friend and follow/like/share our pages with the cool kids – there’s no pressure like peer pressure. Winnipeg’s FIRST and ONLY Paranormal Podcast.

Sherisse Hawkins is the creative minded CEO & founder of Pagedip. She has a strong engineering background and a proven record of re-imagining how things can be done. She's appeared in Vanity Fair and Shark Tank. Listen in to learn more about -- Early Deal-Making Experiences Becoming an Entrepreneur Seeking a Co-Founder Notes on Capital Raising Capital Raising as a Woman, a Person of Color, and Engineer Personal Growth and the Internal Journey Listen to the DealQuest podcast today! Website: https://www.coreykupfer.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreyKupfer Twitter: https://twitter.com/coreykupfer

Sherisse Hawkins is the creative minded CEO & founder of Pagedip. She has a strong engineering background and a proven record of re-imagining how things can be done. She’s appeared in Vanity Fair and Shark Tank. Listen in to learn more about --Early Deal-Making ExperiencesBecoming an Entrepreneur Seeking a Co-Founder Notes on Capital RaisingCapital Raising as a Woman, a Person of Color, and EngineerPersonal Growth and the Internal JourneyListen to the DealQuest podcast today!Website: https://www.coreykupfer.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreyKupferTwitter: https://twitter.com/coreykupfer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Discover why Pinterest is the best new (old) platform you never thought to use to market your business. Sherisse is gonna show how you can drive targeted traffic to your business by getting the most out of this underdog in the digital space! This was eye-opening from the very 1st question answered! Connect with Sherisse: Goto--> Sherissemarie.com/successguide Get her--> Pinterest Quick Start Success Guide ________________________________ If you enjoyed this episode, would you mind giving a quick rating, a review, and subscribe so others can benefit as well? Thanks so much in advance. It means a lot. Celebrate with us as Kickoff this podcast! Subscribe to the AuthorityLetter.com to enter the 8 Week/One Prize a Week Giveaway!! Jump in & Win! Are you an authority in your field and want to be featured on an episode? DM Me to discuss getting you on the show. Say Hello on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram.

Sherisse, an engineer and technologist, has a passion for driving the evolution of digital narrative content, and believes she has the best job ever as founder and CEO of Pagedip. As an award-winning business owner and accomplished international speaker, Sherisse loves helping others on their life journey. She has appeared in Vanity Fair and on ABC’s Shark Tank. Sherisse’s background includes working as a Walt Disney Imagineer building theme parks around the globe as well as joining Time Warner Cable where she served as the vice president of software development  For more information on Pagedip: Click Here  Find Dr. Cortney Baker Online Follow Dr. Cortney Baker on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn Join From Side Hustle to CEO on Facebook Subscribe to Women in Business on Apple Podcasts    

Eddie's in Real Estate. Sherisse is a performer. They're honest and funny and they don't hold anything back. Listen as they take you through the story of their unique engagement.

Rev. Sherisse M Butler opens up about her journey in faith, commitment to the community, and engaging youth. This was a live podcast at Detroit is Different Festival. Sherisse shares her vision of community and how engaging Youth today is different. She also discusses how Detroit has changed since her time in NYC. Black Coffee is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier and Freda Sampson live at Pause weekly. Every Monday Freda and Khary will welcome guests to discuss the rich history of Black leadership, entrepreneurship, artistry, and social justice. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com for more information and updates on the Black Coffee Podcast. Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/black-coffee-detroit-history/bac9752b-6b70-462e-82ed-7867225e339a

The Story: Eva Moskowitz wants to fix a really big problem. There are over a million kids in New York City’s public schools. Most can’t read or do math at grade level. Many won’t graduate on time. And it’s largely poor, black and brown kids who are stuck in the lowest performing schools. Eva’s the founder and CEO of Success Academy, the subject of this season of StartUp. And she’s actually making progress. Her school network is growing at lightning speed, and her students get among the highest standardized-test scores in the city, beating out schools in some of the wealthiest districts. And the education world is watching. But not everyone likes what they see. In this season, we ask how exactly Success is doing what it’s doing, and why does it have so many critics? Today, on the first of our six-part series about Success, we meet a mother, Sherisse, who desperately wants her son to get into Success, so that he can have opportunities she never had herself. And we go inside a Success classroom on the first day of school, to see what parents like Sherisse are clamoring for. The Facts: Peter Leonard mixed the episode. Our theme song is by Mark Philips, remixed by Bobby Lord. Build Buildings wrote and performed our special ad music. Additional music by Peter Leonard, Bobby Lord, Hot Moms Dot Gov, Jupyter, Mothica,Golden Gram and BlueDot. For a list of our sponsors and show related offer codes, go to gimlet.media/OurAdvertisers 

Focusing in digital platforms in particular value-added marketing platform where education meets marketing

Sherisse is the CEO and Co-founder of Beneath the Ink - a radically different platform for adding extras to eBooks of all genres. As an ex-Walt Disney Imagineer, Sherisse knows the magic of creating the perfect blend of technology AND creativity. Below are two free resources to IGNITE your Entrepreneurial journey!FreePodcastCourse.com: A free 15-day course that will teach you how to create, grow, and monetize YOUR Podcast!TheWebinarCourse.com: A free 10-day course that will teach you how to create and present Webinars that convert!

Click for Shownotes Sherisse Hawkins is a true geek at heart. She holds two engineering degrees, has worked as a Walt Disney Imagineer, building theme park attractions around the globe, and a system architect specializing in digital video delivery. Prior to starting Beneath the Ink, Sherisse held a VP engineering position at Time Warner Cable. Sherisse has always loved working on projects that come to fruition at the intersection of creativity and technology and this mindset served as the basis for founding Beneath the Ink. Inside This Episode Motivational Quote “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Must Read Book Productivity Tool/Tip Assistant.to Other Resources BizChix Episodes mentioned in this episode Connect with Sherisse beneaththeink.com Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Thank you so much for listening.  If you enjoyed the episode, please consider subscribing in iTunes  and Stitcher and leaving a rating and or review.  This helps us continue to be featured in New & Noteworthy so that more people can find us. Click here to join the Biz Chix community Thank you to our Sponsors:     

Sherisse is the CEO and Co-founder of Beneath the Ink - a radically different platform for adding extras to eBooks of all genres. As an ex-Walt Disney Imagineer, Sherisse knows the magic of creating the perfect blend of technology AND creativity.

Audio File:  Download MP3Transcript: Lucy Sanders:  Hi. This is Lucy Sanders, NCWIT, the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Today we have another interview with a woman who started an IT company ‑‑ a very innovative company, very technical ‑‑ I'll be talking with her. With me, Larry Nelson, w3w3. Larry. what's going on? Larry Nelson:  We are really interested, in particular, working with entrepreneurs. We love working with women ‑‑ I have four daughters, so I have that leaning. In the mean time at w3w3.com, we have thousands of actual interviews up on our website right now and the better ones, of course, are NCWIT Heroes. Lucy:  Like the one we're talking to today... Larry:  Exactly. Lucy:  ...who happens to be a former Disney Imagineer/Engineer, I have to say, which is pretty cool. I'm sure that she had that little Mickey Mouse on her business card from when she was working there. She has a great passion for large‑scale projects especially, were she can lend her creativity and technology skills together. Being an engineer by training ‑‑ she did go on to become vice president of product development and also software development at Time Warner Cable. Today, we're interviewing Sherisse Hawkins, the co‑founder and CEO of Beneath the Ink. Just a really awesome company that I know she's going to want to tell us a little bit about. But it provides Apples enhancements for E‑Books. It's like you get to provide additional content and not disrupt the flow of your story or the flow of your book. The way authors do that is, they embed these enhancements called Binks which, I think, is so awesome, like beneath the inks. Anyway, they give readers more insight into the characters and data, places and things like that. Just so you can do that if you want to and not disrupt the story either. Before we start, Sherisse, tell us a little bit about what's going on at Beneath the Ink. Sherisse Hawkins:  Beneath the Ink is at a very interesting phase in our life cycle. I think every day is an interesting phase in the life cycle and I was joking with the co‑founder of Loyalty about how we're in what I referred to as engineer or entrepreneur hours. That is every hour of physical work to a week in real world, every week of mine is once a year. It is an incredible fast paced. We're looking at bringing on new authors to the office portal and they are releasing our fifth book this week into world. There's no shortage of excitement and not a lot of sleep. Lucy:  I remember when you were just kind of hatching this idea. How long ago was that? That was, couple of years ago, right? Sherisse:  It was. I actually left my corporate position with a great role. I really enjoyed that phase of my career. It was on Friday, April the 13th. I left my corporate position back in 2012. Lucy:  It's exciting to see you bring this concept forward! I know it's something you are really passionate about. Sherisse, tell us a little bit about how you first got into technology. You have an awesome technical background. How'd you get there? Sherisse:  I really credit my interest in technology and pursuing my education as well as my career, with one person. That was my high school geometry teacher. His name is Mr. Worth. He knows that I speak about him whenever I have an opportunity. He turned math into a very exciting experience. I believed I could conquer anything in his class. I excelled in that particular class. It was through that experience of really loving math and science in his class that made me pursue and even think about taking on an engineering degree. I knew as soon as I left high school that I wanted to be an engineer. It was just a matter of what type. Lucy:  That was a real gift. Excellent teachers. I had a high school math teacher in [inaudible 03:53] that piqued my interest, also. Just that subtle form of encouragement of having a great teacher. It's awesome! Sherisse:  Literally, he put on a cape with a Pi symbol on back and come into class with this enthusiasm and tongue‑in‑cheek. He made the entire class so much fun. He wasn't afraid to take risks and just really be...Bring some life into a subject that can often be taught in a way that's not as engaging. Lucy:  As you look out at the technology spaces today, and you're a technologist, what technologies do you think are particularly interesting? Sherisse:  I'm absolutely biased because I love content. It wasn't until I started this company that I realized that my career has pretty much been associated with entertainment, leisure activity and content for the past...over 20 years. At each job I've thought, "Oh this is different. I'm doing video now. I'm doing invented software for..." In that case, it was that [inaudible 04:49] . When I really sat back, I realized that in every case it was the wrong story. It was the wrong content. It was the wrong entertainment and learning. I have a very strong bias around those things. How we learn. It's the stories that impact our lives. It's the analogy that helps us learn. I'm very interested in things that allow us to unlock the story behind the story and learn to go through that process and connect with other people through that process. Nelson:  That was all the different things you've done! You were with some very big and important companies. Why are you now an entrepreneur? What is it about entrepreneurship that makes you tick? Sherisse:  My boss at my last job, he would ask me every year, "Where do you want go? What do you want to do?" Each time, I would say, "I can't wait until we get this product out." We had a goal of having it reach every subscriber at Time Warner Cable so we could literally send it right to the people. We designed the system. We hired the team. When we started out, I was employee six starting out of this large company. It just grew to the point of across the United States and every Time Warner Cable subscriber. I found out near the end of that journey, and my boss asking me, "What do you want to do next?" I didn't have good answers for him, because it was that part of starting from nothing and taking it to something really large, that's the part that I really enjoyed. For some people, once you get to that place, it's, "OK, we can enhance that or we can move a little bit further." It's that really steep learning curve, that fear of whether or not it's going to work at all that I realized it really made me tick. The same thing is that when I was at Disney and building their theme park in Paris and wondering whether it was going to open on time. It's that really steep learning curve, the pressure of getting it done, the pressure of bringing it to scale, that I love. Once it's out there and in that scale, honestly, that's when my enthusiasm wanes and I knew it was time to move on to the next project. Lucy:  You've got your hands on something you're bringing to scale right now, huh? Sherisse:  That's true, yes. [laughs] Lucy:  It's so interesting. Along this career path of yours, and you mentioned your high school math teacher, who else has influenced you to take the career path that you've taken? Sherisse:  There have been wonderful mentors. There was a guy named Ron Howell that I worked for at something called [inaudible 07:14] and I had just had my daughter. He said, "I think you'd be great in management. I think you'd be a great project leader and I think you should try it." I remember thinking, "I wonder if that's true. I don't know. It sounds like it could be interesting." But I made him promise that he would hold my system architecture job open for a few months, because I really wasn't sure I wanted to leave technology behind and lead others and go into a different role. It turns out, I loved it. I loved working on new projects. I love seeing people excited about things and we can have such a broader region impact when you're helping others move through a process, whether you're leading them through the project or leading them through a successful new design process that's much, much than working as an individual contributor. I credit people, like Ron, who were giving me the chance and encouraging me to take more of a leadership role, that really shifted my career into a completely different space of leading larger projects, having larger teams and impacting people in a broader way. Nelson:  That's super. Lucy:  Sounds like a real sponsor. Nelson:  Yeah, you bet you. Now, with all the different things that you've been through and that you've done and accomplished, what's the toughest thing that you've had to do in your career? Sherisse:  Without question, it is when projects do not go well and when you are in that leadership space and you have to either cancel, downsize or change the dynamics of the team. People don't talk about that very often, but in the lead positions that I've had, there are situations where we had to lay off people or make major changes or cancel projects. That's true whether you're [inaudible 08:53] or not, but it is definitely the hardest thing to do when you're dealing with people, projects getting lost in their livelihood. That's definitely the hardest thing on an overall standpoint. The hardest technical problems we've had to solve are absolutely the ones we ran across with Disney. There was a project where they said, "Well, assume the fault," every two minutes and then, reform. [laughter] Sherisse:  That was the hardest technical problem that we've ever had to solve and we did solve it, but I just can't tell you how. [laughter] Lucy:  A secret, a Disney secret. Nelson:  I lived in Tokyo when they opened up Disney in Japan. Sherisse:  Oh awesome. Lucy:  Do you know any Disney secrets? Nelson:  Nothing that I can talk about right now. Sherisse:  That shows you that whatever you can imagine, there is a solution. It took us a lot of trial and error, but I truly believe that anything is possible if you apply yourself. Lucy:  Yeah, it's the power of invention, right? Nelson:  You've got it. Sherisse:  Yes, absolutely. Lucy:  If you were sitting here with a young person and giving them advice about entrepreneurship, what would you tell them? Sherisse:  I've thought about this question and the thing that struck me the most was that the description was a "young" person. I am not a young person and I started to be an entrepreneur. There are advantages to realizing that you can be an entrepreneur at any age. I think that we focus very much on working right out of school and taking advantage of when you're in your 20s you should be an entrepreneur. One of the things that's most powerful about our team is our collective ages. Our ages range from 21 to mid‑50s. We're all doing this for the first time. There's just something wonderful about creating a new experience and a new product, no matter what your age is. Even to a young person I would say, "Don't feel like if you don't do this before you get married or before you're 30, that you can't do it." When you have a good idea and the market lends itself and you have the chance, I say you should go for it. Lucy:  That's an excellent point. I think the research bears out the fact that a very high percentage of first time entrepreneurs that are successful are not young. They are not in their 20s. Nelson:  That's right, absolutely right. What do you think has given you the advantages of being an entrepreneur, especially with all the things you've been through? Sherisse:  My husband would answer this question for me. He would say tenacity. Tenacity taken to an extreme can maybe not be as positive of a personality trait, but I'm one of those people that just won't quit. If I want to understand something or learn something or I'm curious about something, I will continue to work at it until I figure it out. I think that's what got me through engineering school. It wasn't like I was some brilliant Einstein kind of brain going to college, but it was working hard and realizing that you take small steps to get to big goals. It's that tenacity that has really helped carry us. I'll tell you a story about Beneath the Ink specifically. When Alex and I went to a book conference earlier this year, we had a particular piece of technology working. We had multiple people come up to us and say, "That's not possible." We just sort of smirked, because literally in his back pocket was iPad running a prototype of Beneath the Ink where we had gotten this specific feature to work. It was almost a sense of we didn't know that you shouldn't be able to do it that allowed us to keep working at it months ‑‑ week after week ‑‑ until we had it to a point where it was commercially viable. Lucy:  There's no question about it. You all are really inventing some new technology with what you're doing, which makes it even more exciting for an engineer, huh? [laughter] Sherisse:  Definitely. Lucy:  Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about how you bring balance between your personal and your professional lives? Sherisse:  That's another one that's hard. I think having done this for over 20 years have helped. I won't say that it's perfect yet, but I think making sure that there are certain priorities. I go home every night, and I have dinner with my family. It doesn't mean that I don't have a second shift after everyone's asleep, but it does mean that I make it a rule to be home at certain times of the day ‑‑ help my daughter with homework, be available on the weekends, and have some balancing time for myself. I'm a big believer in yoga. I like to do triathlons. There's carving out time each week to do those physical activities. They keep you healthier. They keep your mind sharp. There's always studies about if you go out and have a walk in the middle of the day, how much more productive you will be than if you skip lunch and you don't ‑‑ kind of change your perspective. I hold those things very, very dear. I won't give you that it's not hard. In the one sense of starting an entrepreneurial business when you're younger, not having as many roles, I can see it being somewhat easier. But there's still a juggle to keep balance and to keep your health. Even if you don't have a family to go to every night, there are still responsibilities that you have to meet. Nelson:  You've done so much. You've achieved a great deal already. What's next for you? Sherisse:  We have a goal of having a billion books with Beneath the Ink content in them. We're very serious about being able to see this technology in places that we haven't even imagined yet and work this project goes beyond its initial commercial launch. I believe strongly in giving back to the community. I want to see our Beneath the Ink core available at every school so that students can utilize the tools to enhance their projects, their research papers, and have ways for kids to compete, get awards, get recognition for their creative writing and their research. I see the next phase of the project being a great product, revenues, sustainability, growth in all of the commercial sense, but also success for us being able to give back and seeing this used in the educational system across the US and maybe abroad. Nelson:  Wow. Lucy:  There's no reason why it's not a global product, right? Nelson:  You bet. Sherisse:  Right. Lucy:  Absolutely no reason. I'm sitting here. I wrote this down. It's a billion books with Binks. Sherisse:  A billion books with Binks. Lucy:  B cubed. Nelson:  I like that. [laughter] Lucy:  I love that. I'm so in love with this Binks. [laughter] Nelson:  I know. You talked about it before we called her. Lucy:  I love it. Sherisse:  We've been shocked at...Without any promotions, we've done several books as promotional titles without any advertising. We've gone from having 100 downloads a week to over 100 downloads a day ‑‑ not just in the US ‑‑ but I think we're up to 9 or 12 countries. There's clearly an interest and the desire to explore different content. I wish we could talk to each of those people and figure out how they did hear about us, but it continues. The momentum is building, and we see a bit of a snowball effect. When we looked at the numbers last week and saw over 100 downloads in a single day, we were thrilled. I hope that trajectory continues. Lucy:  Best of luck. I'm sure it will. You've got a great concept, and we know you're a great leader and entrepreneur. Thanks for talking to us. Nelson:  Yes! Sherisse:  Thanks for having me. Lucy:  I want to remind listeners that they can find these podcasts on W3W3.com and ncwit.org. Nelson:  You bet. We'll make sure we'll have it on our podcast directory and the blog. Lucy:  Sherisse, thank you very much. Sherisse:  Thank you. Lucy:  All right, bye. Nelson:  Bye‑bye. Series: Entrepreneurial HeroesInterviewee: Sherisse HawkinsInterview Summary: Sherisse Hawkins is the co-founder of Beneath the Ink, a company that provides app-less enhancements for ebooks. "There are advantages to realizing that you can be an entrepreneur at any age," said Sherisse about when she became an entrepreneur. " I think that we focus very much on working right out of school and taking advantage of your youth when you're in your 20s, but one of the most powerful things about our team is our collective ages. Our ages range from 21 to mid‑50s. We're all doing this for the first time. There's just something wonderful about creating a new experience and a new product, no matter what your age is." Release Date: February 19, 2014Interview Subject: Sherisse Hawkins, co-founder and CEO of Beneath the InkInterviewer(s): Lucy Sanders and Larry NelsonDuration: 16:49