*TW: Discussion Around Eating Disorders* Ali is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oat Haus, the first-ever spreadable granola. Think the texture of nut butter, but the warm, familiar taste of granola.She founded Oat Haus back in 2018 as it was part of her recovery journey from disordered eating.  She searched high and low for a nut-free spread that resonated with her, but couldn't find one. She came up with the idea to create one out of oats, and Granola Butter was born! Now, Oat Haus is sold at over 5000 retailers across the country, including Whole Foods Market, Publix, Amazon, and Target.  All of this earned her a much deserved 2024 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Prior to Oat Haus, she thought she would be a doctor. She studied pre-med at the University of California Berkeley, earning a bachelors degree in nutritional sciences. While she ultimately decided not to become a doctor, she did continue in digital health for a few years, working in marketing at Doximity - the largest medical network. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | YoutubeCheck out the She Leads website-----In Today's Episode with Ali Bonar We Discuss:1. Early Childhood Passions + A Love for Food 2. Forgoing A Medical Career at Berkeley3. Choosing a Career Path + Trusting Your Inner Voice 4. Struggling with Eating Disorders + Journey to Recovery5. Founding Story of Oat Haus 6. Choosing a Co-Founder7. The Power of Delusion and Grit in Entrepreneurship8. Early Mistakes: Pressed Juice Story 9. Branding + Naming Lessons10. Power of Content Creation + Building Community 11. Empathy and Intuition are Superpowers Please share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Camilla is the Chief Operating Officer of Brex, a financial technology company that provides a range of financial services tailored to startups and other businesses. Camilla started at Brex as the Head and VP of Finance before transitioning into the operations side as the SVP of Global Operations before becoming the COO. Prior to Brex, Camilla worked at the Kraft Heinz Company,  one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world - starting as a Finance Analyst to becoming the Director of Finance in just under 3 years and she also worked in private equity and portfolio management in Brazil. Camilla earned her Bachelors degree in Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica - ITA, one of the most respected and top universities based in Brazil specializing in aerospace science and engineering. She was one of only 6 women in her graduating class of 120 people. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----In Today's Episode with Camilla Matias We Discuss:1. Growing Up in Brazil + Studying Mechanical Engineering in a Male-Dominated, Military University2. Embracing Challenges Throughout Life 3. Optimizing for Financial Independence in Early Career4. Navigating Early Career: Focus on Learning + People + Cold-Emailing 5.  Transitioning from Finance to Management at Kraft Heinz6. Self-Advocacy in Career Growth - Rising Up the Ladder in 3 years7. Standing Out To Your Advantage8. The Value of Plan A, Plan B, Plan C in Operations 9. Operations at Brex10. Find Your Superpower and Invest In ItPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Lauren is is the Founder and CEO of Love and Chew Brands, a company that manufactures and distributes tasty protein cookies that are clean-label and guilt-free - with a mission to be the leader in the plant-based dessert category and to inspire ppl to enjoy healthier and more sustainable treats. Love + Chew products are on the shelves of over 2,000 stores including Sprouts, Costco, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon, reaching millions of consumers across the US.Before founding Love+Chew, Lauren worked in the sustainable energy technology space – in an energy storage startup called Stem and at Tesla, in business development, operations and sales roles. Lauren earned her Bachelors degree in Sociology, International Studies and Mandarin from the University of California San Diego. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes: 1. Intro of She Leads + Lauren Chew 2. Lauren's early influences + growing up 3. Navigating the Corporate World and Discovering Passion for Sustainability4. Transition from Side-Hustle to Full-Time Business5. Bootsrapping6. Running a Consumer-Packaged Goods Co Do's and Don't's7. The Process of Rebranding8. Balancing Work and Family Life9. Challenges of Entrepreneurship10. Overcoming Self-doubt as a Solo Female FounderPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Elena is the Chief Financial Officer of Toast, the cloud-based, end-to-end technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community - a public company now valued close to $15Bn. With more than 30 years of experience in leading large global organizations, Elena’s expertise ranges from scaling and building SaaS businesses into multi-billion organizations and building and leading large-scale operational teams. Before joining Toast, Elena has held senior roles in finance working as the VP of Finance at Charles Schwab, SVP of Finance and Strategy at Salesforce and the Chief Financial Officer at Zendesk, where she helped scale the company to over $1 billion in annual revenue.Beyond operating, Elena is an investor and sits on the board of PagerDuty. She is also the chair of the Berkeley Haas School Board, serving as the first woman to serve in this role; Berkeley is also where she earned her Bachelors degree in Accounting. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes: 1. Intro of Elena Gomez + She Leads2. Elena's Upbringing 3. The Value of Education and Work Ethic4. The Influence of Elena's Grandfather in Accounting5. Early Career at Charles Schwab + Navigating Imposter Syndrome6. Transition to Salesforce7. Authenticity and Self-Advocacy in the Workplace8. Becoming CFO + Building Trust in Relationships9. Top 3 Skills in a CFO: Storytelling, Communication, Customer Obsession10. Advocating for Diversity and Inclusion11. 'Work-Life Balance' as a Mother and CFOPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Jessica is the CEO and Founder of Ours, a virtual couples therapy and premarital counseling platform with a mission to make couples therapy more accessible, destigmatized and designed for young, modern couples. Beyond Ours, Jessica also founded Access Distributed to help students at non-target recruiting schools land internships in finance and she also founded BLAZE Skincare, a personalized skincare brand. However, Jessica’s career started in finance. She received her Bachelors in accounting and finance from Georgetown University, and then started her professional career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and The Carlyle Group before receiving her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of business. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----1. Welcome to She Leads 2. Growing Up & Jessica's Upbringing3. Odd Jobs4. Choosing a Major in Finance and Business + Lessons Learned5. Power of Mentorship and Selecting the Right Ones6. Going to Business School and Having No Regrets7. Starting Access Distributed8. Founding Ours 9. Breaking Down the Stigma of Couples Therapy 10. Choosing a Cofounder: Kindness + Communication + Trust11. Lessons in Fundraising: Fake Excitement

Audrey is the Founder and CEO of Curious Cardinals, an edtech company committed to empowering K-12 students to discover and pursue their passions with the guidance of college mentors.Audrey started Curious Cardinals as a freshman at Stanford University, where she was pursuing a Bachelors degree in History. Just one year later, the COVID pandemic hit and Audrey ultimately decided to take a leave of absence from Stanford to pursue Curious Cardinals full time. Today, Curious Cardinals is a global community of over 500 top college students mentoring kids across the globe.Audrey has spoken on CNN, the Today Show and in Forbes to share her vision to create a community of lifelong learners and doers. She was also recognized in the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Education and Youngest category.-----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Audrey's Upbringing in NY3. Audrey as a Child - being her own CEO4. Going to Stanford with a 10-year Plan5. The Impact of COVID6. Founding Story of Curious Cardinals 7. Power of Project-Based Learning and Mentorship in Education8. Fundraising for Curious Cardinals and Lessons Along the Way9. The Role of AI in Education Today10. The Power of Resilience and Continuous LearningPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Jenna is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Harper Wilde, the DTC brand disrupting the $16 billion dollar intimate apparel industry with its mission to take the B.S. out of Bra Shopping. Jenna and the brand have been recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. Top 100 Female Founders as well as has been featured in Vogue, the New York Times, The Today Show, Good Morning America and many more. Jenna received her B.A. in Biological Sciences and Economics from Cornell University and her MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her co-founder, Jane Fisher, and together began working on bringing Harper Wilde to life.Prior to Harper Wilde, as you will soon learn, Jenna worked as a consultant at Deloitte for 4 years as well as at digital health startups in a product management role. Her passion for healthcare and biology stemmed largely from her upbringing, coming from a family of physicians. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Jenna's upbringing in a family of physicians3. Choosing a career path 4. Transitioning from consulting to startups 5. Discovering the idea for Harper Wilde6. The Power of self-belief and taking risks 7. Navigating pushback from investors with Harper Wilde8. Building a strong company culture9. Lessons learned as an entrepreneur10. Defining success and personal growthPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Gracie is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a six-time Grand Prix medalist, and a two-time U.S. national champion - both in 2014 and 2016. In 2017, Gracie stepped away from the ice to seek help for her mental health around depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and an eating disorder. She recently returned to the ice and has become a passionate mental health advocate - leading her to be featured in Sports Illustrated, the Players Tribune, the NY Times, the HBO documentary, Weight of Gold, and countless other news sources. Given her experience, she’s led countless mental health initiatives and was recognized with the 2022 Bell of Hope Award. She recently released her memoir "Outofshapeworthlessloser: A Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out…" - a book in which she provides the most authentic and deep look into her journey from growing up to where she is today - navigating the world of being in the public eye as an elite figure skater. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Gracie's Childhood and Upbringing3. Gracie's Spirited Personality 4. Her introduction to Figure Skating 5. The Pressure and Subjectivity of Figure Skating 6. Finding Out She's an Olympian7. The Pressure of Body Image in Figure Skating 8. Promoting a Healthier Body Image in Sports 9. Creating a Safe Space for Athletes - Mental Health10. Quieting the Inner Critic Please share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Raegan is the Co-Founder and former CEO of Aden + Anais – the baby lifestyle brand globally recognized for its high-quality design-driven muslin swaddles and baby products.Her success with Aden + Anais earned her reputable awards, including being named as one of EY’s Entrepreneurs of the Year, considered one of the most prestigious business awards in the world. Aside from founding,  Raegan sits on the board of directors for Hopeland, a nonprofit created to help children who are separated from their family. Raegan is the author of "WHAT IT TAKES: How I Built a $100 Million Business Against the Odds", where she shares the story of her entrepreneurial journey from the kitchen table to a 100 million dollar global business. Perhaps even more impressive than all of this, Raegan is the mother to four beautiful daughters! -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Raegan's Childhood and Upbringing3. Moving to New York4. Founding Story of Aden + Anais 5. Challenges in Co-Founder Relationships7. Choosing the Right Co-Founder8. Scaling a Global Business9. Hiring and building a team based on core traits 10. Navigating the Challenges of Raising Capital11. The Power of Resilience and Hard Work12. Finding Happiness and Living in the MomentPlease share She Leads with a friend and Leave a Review!

Send us a Text Message.With over twenty years’ of experience, Charlene is one of the most renowned celebrity and editorial stylists of her generation. Her work has graced the Oscars, the Golden Globes and the Cannes Film Festival, earning her recognition in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Forbes and many more. She has become a recognized stylist and designer  for today’s icons including Sofia Vergara, Eva Longoria, and Vince Vaughn.Charlene’s styling endeavors span from high profile magazines to television, for clients such as Coca-Cola, Tissot, L’Oreal, Remy Martin, Nike, Guess and T-Mobile.Now, Charlene is also the founder of Stone Windsor. Largely inspired by her daughter, Stone – Charlene has created a childrenswear collection that offers premium, eco-conscious clothing for kids (even the picky ones) that is designed for an easy and seamless mix and match styling process.----- You can find Charlene's styling website here: https://charleneroxborough.com/You can follow Charlene's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/charroxstylist/?hl=enShop and explore Stone Windsor here: https://stonewindsor.com/-----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Please share She Leads with a friend and leave a review! 

This episode was first recorded and released in September, 2020. Angie Bastian, the visionary co-founder of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, ignited a global popcorn revolution from the confines of her Minnesota garage in 2001. She crafted a beloved brand of gluten-free, non-GMO popcorn that has taken the world by storm. In 2017, Conagra Brands recognized the exceptional appeal of Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP and acquired the company, propelling it to new heights of success.Angie's outstanding achievements have garnered her well-deserved recognition. She has been honored as a Pioneer in Food and proudly inducted into the esteemed MN Women's Business Hall of Fame. Beyond her role at Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Angie actively contributes to various ventures, serving on the boards of Prospera Foods and Opportunity International Nicaragua. A former Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, she made the bold decision to retire from her nursing career in 2011, fully dedicating herself to the world of entrepreneurship.With an enduring partnership spanning 28 years, Angie and her husband have built a legacy that extends beyond business success. Together, they have raised two remarkable children and remain an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere. Angie Bastian's extraordinary journey exemplifies the power of determination, innovation, and unwavering commitment to creating something truly extraordinary.-----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Aisha is the founder of Bossy Cosmetics, a hyper-growth independent beauty company that inspires, empowers, and champions ambitious working women. Under her leadership, the company has grown from a purely digitally native footprint to retailing in over 600 retail doors across the country, including JCPenney and Nordstrom, as well as on Amazon.com. The brand was selected (numerous times) as one of the coveted “Oprah’s Favorite Things”, and has won honorable mentions and awards from Fast Company in Innovation by Design and various product awards from Self and Ebony Magazines. In the 5 years since its founding, Aisha has redefined the way beauty companies “see” professional women and has been featured in NPR’s How I Built Resilience,, Forbes, W Magazine, InStyle, Refinery29, amongst others.Prior to founding Bossy Cosmetics, Aisha led a different life - as a 20-year global finance executive having worked over the course of her career at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Standard Chartered Bank, World Bank, and Rand Merchant Bank. Aishe has worked on over $130 billion in M&A, private equity financings, IPOs, and public capital market transactions. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and was a Fellow in the Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University. Perhaps even more impressive than all of this, Aisha is a wife and the mother of three sons! -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Aisha's Childhood and Values3. Emphasis and Importance of Education 4. Grappling with her Dual Identity as a Nigerian Growing Up in America5. The Value and Optimizing for Money and Finding Financial Security Growing Up6. Navigating Career Paths – Tackling Job Security Vs. Passion7. Optimizing for Wealth as a Woman8. Rising Up the Investment Banking and Finance Career Path Ladder 9. Choosing to go to Harvard Business School 10. Aisha's Mental Health During  the Pinnacle of Her Banking Career11. Quitting her Banking Job (and the Health Scare that Led to this)12. Balancing Work and Family 13. Taking off to Palo Alto and the Distinguished Careers Institute Fellowship at Stanford 14. Founding Bossy Cosmetics + Early Days 15. Venture Capital Responses + Rejections of Bossy Cosmetics16. Aisha Defining Success - Then and Now If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a r

My guest today is Wendy Weston.Wendy Weston started Perfect Picnic with a dream, a small blanket and endless drive and passion. She decided to hang up her figure skates, moving on from her career as a successful competitive skating coach. She has worked her way from the bottom literally - from the basements of Chinatown to her Perfect Picnic storefront across from Central Park. Wendy now delivers her vision of delicious food, and a luxury experience to New York City, The Hamptons and Cape Cod. Over the past 13 years Weston has transformed her vision into a successful business selling millions of dollars worth of picnics. She additionally has paved the way for others in the fast growing "Picnic Industry". The idea "if you can make it here you can make it anywhere" has kept her going as she balanced being a single mother determined to show her daughter what a strong woman could accomplish on her own. She has turned a quiet corner of the Upper West side to a destination for New Yorkers and travelers from around the world. She was recently awarded the Women in Business award from Chase Bank.-----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Wendy's Childhood + Figure Skating 3. The Impact and Challenges of Leaving Figure Skating on Her Identity4. The Importance of Freedom and Independence5. Lessons Learned Along the Way with Finding Independence6. Evaluating Opportunities and Navigating Life7. Dealing with Disappointment and Expectations 8. Inspiration for Perfect Picnic 9. Rewards and Challenges of Founding a Company10. Work-Life Balance and Putting Yourself First 11. Separating Success from Self-Worth 12. Learning Curve of Founding Perfect Picnic13. Passion for Women's Sexual Health 14. Contrary Opinion of Birth and Death 15. The Practice of Acceptanance Wendy's Passion? Women's Sexual Health and the Difference of Discourse Wendy's life-time craft she is honing? AcceptanceIf you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Holly is the Co-Founder of Kabam – a mobile gaming company that sold for approximately $1B to NetMarble in 2017. They grew Kabam to over 1500 employees with 6 offices worldwide. Prior to Kabam, Holly graduated from UCLA with a degree in Communications and East Asian studies and received her Masters from Berkeley in Information Management and Systems. She started her professional career in consulting and working as a User Interface Designer at AOL. Throughout her 10-year tenure as the Co-Founder of Kabam, Holly led efforts in a variety of roles: including User Experience, HR, Development and People. Her work has contributed to record revenue growth for Kabam year over year from $0 to $400MM annually, that led Kabam into the unicorn club in 2014. She led the design for Kabam’s award-winning "Kingdoms of Camelot" franchise, which has grossed over $250 million in less than four years and the extension game, which was the top grossing app on iOS in 2012. After Kabam, Holly transitioned to the other side of the table as an investor. She spent 2 years as a Visiting Partner at Y Combinator - the leading startup accelerator for entrepreneurs. She is a consummate entrepreneur, executive, and startup mentor. Naturally, Holly has been a leading woman in gaming and entrepreneurship, named by Fortune as the “10 Most Powerful Women in Gaming”. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Holly's Early Life and Influences 3. Navigating and Finding Peace with her Asian Identity 4. Meeting Co-Founders and Initial Brainstorming Ideas 5. Founding a Company Idea 1: Social Corporate Network6. Challenges in Building a B2B Business7. Pivoting to Community Apps on Facebook 8. Entering the Gaming Industry 9. Navigating the 2008 Recession 10. Scaling Culture 11. Balancing Diversity & Scaling in Hiring 12. Experience as a Woman in Gaming 13. Selling Kabam for Over $1 Billion Dollars 14. Book Recs & Lifetime Craft  Holly's book recommendation? The bible Holly's life-time craft she is honing? Being OpenIf you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Fran is a serial entrepreneur and Super Founder with over 25 years of experience pioneering category-disrupting B2C and B2B internet businesses. Fran is widely recognized for her leadership as Co-Founder and first General Manager of the online dating service Match.com, Founder of the privacy compliance tech company TRUSTe (now known as TrustArc), and Founder and CEO of her current venture, BabyQuip, the #1 global baby gear rental brand.  BabyQuip currently serves over 2k markets and maintains a network of independent gig economy entrepreneurs in the thousands.  As an award-winning business icon, trailblazer for women in tech, and advocate for female entrepreneurship, Fran has been named to the “150 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business” by the SF Business Times, “Top 25 Women in Tech to Watch in Silicon Valley” by AlwaysOn and she is the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Jerry I. Porras Latino Leadership Award from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she earned her Bachelors and MBA. Fran was also a featured expert on entrepreneurship in the acclaimed documentary film “She Started It” and appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank.-----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Tanya's Early Life + Entrepreneurial Spirit3. Her First Yogurt Shop at Stanford4. Transition Post-Stanford into Consulting and Clorox Co. 5. The Rise of the Internet6. Founding Story of Match.com 7. Reflections + the Impact of Match.com 8. Lessons Learned + Advice for Female Founders9. Living in the Future and Identifying Opportunities10. Career Trajectory: Transition to Women.com and Founding TrustArc11. Gaining Confidence in each Career Pivot12. Founding BabyQuip13. Navigating Challenges and Adapting to the Gig Economy14. Recognizing true PMF15. The Importance of Timing in Entrepreneurship16. Working with Family in Business17. Ever-Changing Perspectives on Success18. Addressing Gender Biases and Stereotypes19. Challenging Misrepresentation and Advocating for Women 20. Changing Perspectives on Marriage21. Honing Patience and Being Present Fran's changed perspective in the last decade? MarriageFran's life-time craft she is honing? Patience + Being PresentIf you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

My guest today is Emily Harburg.  Emily is the Cofounder and CEO of PairUp, a B2B SaaS platform that boosts workplace knowledge-sharing, increases connectivity, and helps you solve problems more efficiently at work Emily’s background spans industry, startups, and academia. She has worked at Walt Disney Imagineering where she designed technology for the Disney theme parks, at Facebook (Meta) where she worked as a UX researcher, and at EF Education First where she led the Emerging Tech and Innovation team designing tech to support millions of students around the world. In 2015, Emily co-founded Brave Initiatives, an organization dedicated to helping women build tech skills and confidence in coding for social impact. Emily’s academic research lies at the intersection of technology and social behavior, and the role that technology can play in building self-efficacy and confidence. Her research has been published and shared in global conferences, academic journals, case studies, and news publications -- including the Harvard Business Review, TEDx, CNN, and more.Emily graduated with a B.A. in Social Anthropology and Psychology from Harvard College, and with a Ph.D. in Technology and Social Behavior from Northwestern University. -----Past guests include Margaret Wishingrad, Kara Goldin, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Ann Miura Ko, Linda Avey, Sarah Leary, Becky Sauerbrunn, Miriam Haart and many more.Follow us on Instagram | LinkedIn | Youtube-----Show Notes:1. Welcome to She Leads2. Emily's Childhood and Early Interests3. Navigating College and her Career Path4. Designing Technology for Walt Disney 5. Imposter Syndrome and Confidence6. Pursuing a PhD 7. Taking Risks, Following Passion, Quieting the Inner Voices 8. Overcoming Self-Doubt and Taking the Founder Leap9. Founding Story of PairUp10. Fundraising and Hiring Challenges11. Building a Supportive Founder Community12. Lessons Learned and Advice for Founders13. Defining and Evolving Company Culture14. Importance of Mentors and Champions15. Passions + Book Recs + Lifetime Craft Emily's Rare Obsession? DJ-ing Emily's Book Recommendation? Viktor Frankl's 'Man Search for Meaning' Emily's life-time craft she is honing? Bravery▶️ Video interview available on Youtube.If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Fiona is the Chief Technology Officer at Wayfair, an American e-commerce company that is the destination for all things home  – a place to find the right furniture and home goods online. With 25+ years of experience leading technology teams, Fiona began her professional career working at top technical companies, including Oracle, TIBCO Software and Ariba. At TIBCO, she rose up to be the Vice President of Engineering in her 16-year tenure at this intelligence cloud data company. Prior to Wayfair, Fiona served in executive leadership roles at Walmart – first as the Senior VP of Engineering for Customer Technology at WalmartLabs and then as the Senior Vice President of U.S. Technology at Walmart.Fiona earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and her masters in computer science from Stanford University. In this episode, we cover the following topics:1. Fiona's childhood and the emphasis on education2. Studying Computer Science at MIT3. Gender disparity in Computer Science4. Transition from college into the professional workforce5. Her long tenure at TIBCO software6. Transition from Consumer to Enterprise Software companies 7. Impact and challenges working at Walmart8.  Hiring and building a team 9. Transitioning from coding into managerial role10. CTO role 11. Balancing perfection from good enough12. Reflecting and learning from previous mistakes13. Women in STEM Fiona's life-time craft she is honing? Cooking▶️ Video interview available on Youtube.If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Emily is an American former figure skater and Olympian.  She competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She then was the 2007 U.S. National silver medalist. After retiring from Figure Skating, Emily attended Harvard University and earned her Bachelors degree in Sociology. Her professional career began as a Consultant at Deloitte. After Deloitte, she worked at a handful of reputable companies, including Google, Johnson & Johnson – where she was the Director of Strategy and Operations in the Health Tech division, and Meta – where she spent time in sports-league partnerships and product marketing. Now, Emily works as a Business Lead at Grandstand– a sports tech startup that is connecting athletes and fans in a more meaningful way.  In this episode, we cover the following topics:1. Emily's childhood and early skating years 2. Sibling dynamics and Olympic Inspiration3. Balancing skating and high school 4. Qualifying for the Olympics 5. Competing at the Olympics + Reflecting on that Experience6. Post-Olympic transition and going to Harvard University7.  Navigating the Transition and Leaning on Support System8. Advocating for Yourself 9.  Challenges in the Workforce and Building Confidence10. Skills from Athletics in Leadership Roles + Startups11. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome12. Transitioning to Grandstand Emily's life-time craft she is honing? Fostering and building community▶️ Video interview available on Youtube.If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

Polly is the CEO and Co-Founder of Unbound, a rebellious sexual wellness company  with the goal to make sexual health accessible to all through elevated design, body safe products, affordable prices, and educational content.As you will soon discover, Unbound’s inspiration stemmed largely from Polly’s experience at 21 years old. She was diagnosed with cancer that resulted in early onset menopause. Polly found herself shopping for a vibrator at a seedy shop next to the highway in St. Louis, Missouri - and this entire experience ultimately led to her founding Unbound with her cofounder, Sarah - ten years later. Before Unbound, Polly earned her bachelors from Miami University in Business Economics and went on to work as a consultant at Deloitte before joining an early-stage YC-backed startup in the dating app space called Grouper. Perhaps, more than anything, she learned what it meant to work at a failed startup. After Grouper, Polly decided to take the final leap in founding Unbound largely through her own personal experience with sexual health and wellness. In this episode, we cover the following topics:1. Polly's upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri 2. Her cancer diagnosis at 21 years old and the impact it had on her life during college + the mentality she learned from it 3. The frustration with the medical system that inspired the founding of Unbound4. Societal norms and the stigma around women's sexual health5. Founding journey of Unbound, including the challenges and frustrations6. Reshaping mentality and prioritizing enjoyment7. Dealing with guilt and finding balance as a founder8. Goal-setting, practicing personal growth, and overcoming fear of judgement.  Polly's life-time craft she is honing? Storytelling▶️ Video interview available on Youtube.If you're enjoying the show, please share it with a friend and leave a review!

To put it most simply: Linda is a biologist and entrepreneur at heart . Perhaps most notably, she is the co-founder of 23andMe, a publicly held consumer genetic data company. She was the co-president of the company from 2006 to 2009. Linda is also the cofounder and former CEO of Precise.ly, an intelligent assistant for clinical care settings. Linda is currently a member on the board of directors of the Human Immunome Project, which is building the world’s largest immunological dataset at a population level, and she’s a Member of the Board of Fellows at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. Linda graduated with a bachelors degree in Biology from Augustana University. In this episode, we cover the following topics:1. Linda's Childhood and her initial interest in Biology at Augustana University2. Choosing a career path after beginning her career in research3. Linda's Transition to the Biotech Industry4. Linda's entrepreneurial journey in founding 23andMe and everything that led to this ultimate jump, including meeting Sergey Brin (Founder of Google) and the first time she saw at a trade show that you're able to get your genetic data from saliva. Immediate light bulb moment. 5. Her decision in *leaving* 23andMe in 2009. 6. The importance of choosing your cofounders and balance the different roles and dynamics that ensure at a startup, especially with 3 cofounders.7. Balancing ethics + speed in a biotech company 8. Importance of a science background as a founder of a biotech company (+ which skills you need to lean on others)9. Linda provides her perspective as an investor when she evaluates biotech companies. Linda's Book Recommendation? "The Sovereign Self" by Acharya Shunya.  Here it is on Amazon! Linda's changed opinion in the last decade? Psychadelics   Linda's life-time craft she is honing? Self-reflection ▶️ Video interview available on Youtube.If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and leave a review!