Women on the Move Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse
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Women on the Move Podcast
Women On The Move
Fréquence : 1 épisode/10j. Total Éps: 100

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Empowering Parenthood: How Bobbie CEO Laura Modi is Reducing Guilt and Expanding Choices for American Parents
Épisode 158
mardi 22 octobre 2024 • Durée 39:55
In this episode of the Women on the Move Podcast, host Sam Saperstein sits down with Laura Modi, CEO and co-founder of the organic infant formula brand, Bobbie. From her early days as a first-time mom navigating formula options in a drugstore to founding Bobbie, Laura's journey reflects her commitment to revolutionizing the infant formula industry.
Born from motherhood
Laura says her journey to founding Bobbie began in trauma: as a new mother excited to do everything possible for her baby, she suffered from mastitis and found herself unable to breastfeed. “Here I am doing something I wished and I hoped and I wanted to do so badly and I wasn't anatomically able to feed my child,” she tells Sam.
When she went to shop for formula, things got worse: “I'm in the middle aisle of a pharmacy, a place that you go for a medical solution, not food,” she says. “It didn't feel natural. Even worse, I had to ring a button to get someone to open up. So now you almost feel like you're asking for permission in a way that you felt shamed.“
She also remembers seeing ingredients she wouldn’t feed herself: corn syrup, palm oil, and “ingredients or words that I'd never even heard of.” She felt shame and guilt, but also she knew there should be a better option. She and her husband were astounded that the baby formula industry seemed to be stuck at least 40 years in the past. That’s when she started dreaming of disrupting the industry, and creating the formula she wanted.
An ounce of naivety
Before founding Bobbie, Laura was the director of host operations at Airbnb, and she drew on her experiences there when she created her own business. And when it came time to select a partner and co-founder, Laura turned not to a food scientist or a technologist, but someone who she had worked with at Airbnb, someone who she knew she wanted as her “work wife.”
As for actually formulating the baby formula they wanted to make, Laura says that she was nearly clueless. “An ounce of naivety is probably the secret sauce to succeeding,” she tells Sam. “You learn on the go and then you go, ‘Oh God, if I knew that I probably wouldn't have gotten this far.’"
With her partner Sarah, Laura started with a global standard review, looking for the best infant formulas in the world and researching breast milk and how they could get as close as possible to breast milk in the most natural way possible. “And by no means was I trying to find a world where I was replacing breast milk or creating something ‘better’ than breast milk,” she says. “I wanted to create something that I felt could get as close as possible in the most natural way, so that in absence of not being able to breastfeed, you don't feel guilty.”
Managing growth
In 2020, just as the pandemic unfolded, Bobbie got FDA approval, the green light to launch. At the time, two baby formula companies were producing 80 percent of the nation’s formula—and not long into the pandemic, there was a nationwide shortage of available formula. Bobbie’s customer count doubled overnight. As a start-up founder, Laura had to make the difficult decision to uphold their commitment to their existing subscribers and not take new orders. The company took some flak for the decision, but as a result, Laura says, Bobbie was the only baby formula company at the end of the shortage that was able to continue to feed its customers.
For the next two years, Bobbie had to manage a growing waitlist, balancing what they knew they could deliver with the fast-growing demand from new parents. Today, the formula is available in major retailers but still focuses on its subscription service. Laura says it’s a model that makes sense, since formula is an ongoing, measurable need. And it’s important to her that customers have an option to avoid the drug-store trips. She wants people to be “able to wear Bobbie loud and proud on a sweater, even if they've never been a parent, they've never used the product, but they are so connected to our mission and what we stand for that they're willing to wear it on their chest.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of October 22nd, 2024 and they may not materialize.
From Incarceration to Advocacy: Dr. Topeka K. Sam on leading Ladies of Hope Ministries for justice-impacted women and families
Épisode 157
mardi 15 octobre 2024 • Durée 30:16
In this episode of the Women on the Move Podcast, Dr. Topeka K. Sam sits down with host Sam Saperstein to discuss her journey from incarceration to nonprofit founder. Topeka is the founder and executive director for The Ladies of Hope Ministries and the co-founder of Hope House NYC, a safe housing space for women and girls. She's a pioneer in the fight for the decriminalization and decarceration of women and girls and works relentlessly to provide resources and support for those transitioning back to society.
A new start
After spending three and a half years in federal prison and seeing all of the disparities and harms that women and girls had faced, Topeka came home determined to be a voice for those still incarcerated. “I knew when I came home because of the support services, the family, community that I had, that I could do anything, but the sisters that I left behind would not,” she tells Sam. “And so as God would have it, I was really just moved to start my organization, The Ladies of Hope Ministries, while I was incarcerated. And when I was released in 2015, I hit the ground running.”
Topeka says two things drove her mission: to provide safe housing for women after incarcerations, and to create platforms for women to be able to use their voices. “I felt that if we saw the faces of women who were incarcerated and heard their voices, that there would be no woman or girl in prison or jail,” she says. “I'm a firm believer that you can hold people accountable by healing them, and prisons and jails don't do that.”
Expanding and looking to the future
85 percent of incarcerated women are mothers of dependent children and heads of households, and 95 percent have experienced some type of sexual trauma or violence. In addition, 90 percent have mental health challenges. “There are drivers that lead to incarceration,” she explains, citing some alarming statistics for incarcerated women who have experienced some form of abuse, violence, trauma or mental health challenges. “As we know, women often are the most marginalized, the most vulnerable population and have the least support and services, no matter what industry you're in. And so going into prison, it's the same harms and the same drivers, but yet we come home and there's not enough organizations [to support] or opportunities when we come home.”
Since starting her nonprofit in New York, Topeka has expanded to several additional states. Together with United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Rapid Re-housing program, they are now helping families get their own apartments in New York, in Prince George's County, Maryland, and in New Orleans, and helping them pay rent for a year. They also have a workforce development initiative, which includes certification programs in digital marketing, project management, IT, and AI.
Topeka is also a co-founder of a FinTech company, EPIC Financial that focuses on making sure that justice-impacted people have financial education on savings and banking. “It’s about building the community,” she stresses. “Because if our families are strong, then it also helps that person who is reentering to become strong.”
Being a role model in the community, and in particular demonstrating that a criminal record doesn’t have to define you, is extremely important to Topeka. “When you come from a limited resource community, you can't see that you can have more unless you see someone who's lived that experience,” she says. “So that for me is the greatest gift, to be able to show women that it doesn't matter where we come from or what we've experienced that we can be and do it whatever it is that we want.”
As far as inspiring other women, Topeka offers some simple advice. You have to believe in yourself and give yourself permission to follow your dreams and your ambition. “Know that many of us are incarcerated before we even go to a prison,” she says. “You can be living in a prison in your mind, in your community, before you've even gotten through what I've been through. You can change that today. Each day, God gives us grace. We can get up every morning and we can decide.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of October 15th, 2024 and they may not materialize.
Founder’s Feature: Paula Ilonze
Épisode 148
jeudi 26 octobre 2023 • Durée 12:53
In this Founder’s Feature of the Women on the Move podcast, host Sam Saperstein introduces Paula Ilonze, the founder of Chilon Industries
Paula discusses her journey with her own textured hair to founding Chilon Industries and her plans for 2024, which include launching new products like their Curl-eeze brush, a revolutionary hairbrush that dispenses products such as gels, creams, and conditioners while brushing. Learn more about Paula and Chilon Industries by following them on Instagram and visiting their website chilonindustries.com
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JP Morgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of October 26th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Transcript here
Unshakeable Founder Debbie Isaacs on her nonprofit’s mission to help women find stability and independence
Épisode 147
jeudi 19 octobre 2023 • Durée 27:30
In this episode of the Women on the Move Podcast, host Sam Saperstein talks with Debbie Isaacs, founder and president of Unshakeable, a nonprofit that serves women offenders by addressing their trauma and needs. Unshakeable’s mission is to guide women survivors in recovery from traumas that include domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, homelessness, and addiction. “Our goal is to set them on a career path to achieve financial independence and stability,” Debbie says. Originally motivated to help just one woman achieve financial stability, Unshakeable has since changed hundreds of lives.
Making change
Debbie shares that she was already over 50 when she was inspired to launch Unshakeable. Living in Las Vegas, she had been a video producer with a successful business making “sizzle reels” for people pitching reality TV shows. She heard about a municipal court program that was helping women in recovery change their lives—and it ended up changing her life. “I sat in the courtroom and listened to the women share their stories and it was one of those moments where I just felt, I'm not here to tell their story, I need to change it,” she recalls. “One of the women shared that she had gotten dressed for herself that day, meaning that for the first time in months, her pimp wasn't telling her what to wear.”
Listening to more women share their stories that day, Debbie was drawn in not only by their heartbreaking experiences but also by the realization that she could relate to many of their feelings. “My physical circumstances didn't match, but how they felt matched,” she tells Sam. “And it didn't match only me, it matched friends of mine.”
And so Unshakeable was born, and soon incorporated into 501(c)3 that partners with other nonprofit organizations that provide housing and therapy. Unshakeable brings their Empower to Employ program, at no charge, to clients of those organizations in order to support their return to the workforce and into a sustainable career. Unshakeable programming includes three phases. Phase 1 is the “I AM” series, which includes a two-day conference where clients hear from community leaders, c-suite executives, and other professionals, who teach them business acculturation and other skills to build self-esteem. Phase 2 is career coaching, which is at least a two-year commitment to all clients, starting with an individualized case assessment and then moving into Phase 3, the bigger picture where case workers evaluate needs and bring clients from immediate employment to a longer-term career plan.
Today, Debbie says, Unshakeable partners with about 20 nonprofits in Las Vegas. Her focus is what she calls the “Four Rs.” That includes Rescue, where the goal is to find shelter for clients and possibly treatment or court. Next is Residency, where they find stabilized, temporary housing. Then comes Recovery, which is the therapy component. Finally, there’s Ready: “I tell people we’re the Get Ready part or the Rest of It, which means we partner with organizations here like Safeness, Shade Tree, and WestCare. We become their workforce development and allow their case managers to help the clients get the therapy they need, or then we work together."
Eye to the future
This summer, Debbie says she’s been traveling and connecting with other nonprofits, learning more about the needs that exist. “Housing is the number one factor that people are ending up on the street or in a situation of staying with somebody that is abusing them,” she tells Sam. “I think the other thing that works [is] the specialty court approach where we're not jailing people for misdemeanors and we're looking at that system as, can we create reform as opposed to just putting somebody into jail.”
As for the future, the vision is to grow Unshakeable in Nevada with a dream of expanding to another state and cities. “And one of the biggest things on our heart is to launch a social enterprise by the end of second quarter next year,” she says. “So that is an ambitious undertaking, but that's really the heart of Unshakeable. We have enough history here that we know our impact matters and it works and it's sustainable and there's thousands of other cities that we think that we could grow into. So that's an undertaking of ours, and the social enterprise, that will be our big focus.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of October 19th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
Why women can and should succeed in leadership, with Something Major founder and CEO Randi Braun
Épisode 146
jeudi 12 octobre 2023 • Durée 35:34
During a special event for JPMorgan Chase managing directors in honor of Women's History Month, Women on the Move host Sam Saperstein talks with Randi Braun, author of Something Major: The New Playbook for Women at Work, and the CEO and founder of the women's leadership firm Something Major. Randi discusses her mission to empower women at work to chart their own course, and touches on longevity, loss aversion, and why she hates the term “Imposter Syndrome.”
Longevity and loss aversion
Randi, a certified executive coach and sought-after speaker, has worked with a variety of large organizations and coached dozens of senior women in high-powered, “male-driven” industries.
“I think that in the conversation that we have around burnout and around thriving, we're seeing women in senior levels of leadership face this low work libido situation,” she shares. “So that, for me, was the light bulb, where I was like, okay, we need to start talking to women about how they can play the game on their own rules and win, because there's just no little blue pill for that. So instead, I hope that we have a new playbook.”
Women’s longevity in senior positions is one of Randi’s top concerns. She tells Sam that she frequently hears of women who are leaving the workforce at senior levels of leadership because of burnout. “So if you want to leave because it's your goal to retire early, I celebrate you,” she says. “But if you feel like you need to leave because you can't sustain, then something is wrong. And we need to create a space where women cannot just lead and thrive, but have that longevity for years to come.”
The idea of “loss aversion” is another top concern of Randi’s. She describes this as a trend where successful women, as their careers advance, begin to focus on minimizing their failures instead of maximizing their successes. “And that's when self-doubt moves from being something that is a healthy catalyst for evaluating a situation and making smart choices, to being something that really hampers our ability to be creative, share an innovative idea, or just not feel so burnt out,” she explains.
The case against “Imposter Syndrome”
Randi says that she wants to help women know that it's okay to be both successful and stressed out. “I want to normalize that it's okay to feel overwhelmed and grateful for the career that you've built, and I think we need to have a more nuanced, open conversation where those things have permission to coexist,” she says.
One thing that can help that acceptance is to move past the idea of “Imposter Syndrome.” It’s a term, she says, that can imply that women are somehow at fault for not feeling up to the task of being successful. “There is nothing wrong with any of us,” she reminds the audience. “We all go to work in a world that was not designed for our success. And I want us to understand that it is normal to have self-doubt. Every single one of us has an inner critic, it's that voice of self-doubt or self-judgment. It doesn't make you deficient, it makes you human.”
That’s where women run into trouble, she says: “Our inner critic can be an incredibly helpful problem identifier, because all our inner critic cares about is keeping us safe from a few key things . . . failure, risk, humiliation, vulnerability. What I want us to understand is that the inner critic is healthy in evaluating that there might be some risk or some exposure, and it's also really important to not let that voice of self-doubt start to dictate all of your decisions.”
Stream the rest of this episode to hear Randi talk about how to rethink the way you process feedback, and how the change you're looking for within yourself can be a spark to others as well. Following her discussion with Sam, Randi takes questions from the JPMorgan Chase managing directors in attendance.
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of October 12th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
Bringing storytelling to corporate marketing—and Web3—with Warrior Love Productions’ Melissa Jun Rowley
Épisode 145
jeudi 28 septembre 2023 • Durée 30:43
In this Women on the Move Podcast episode, host Sam Saperstein sits down with Melissa Jun Rowley, founder and CEO of Warrior Love Productions. Melissa shares her journey as a storyteller and how she came to realize her power and start her company. Along the way, she’s had a big impact on the Web3 space and has helped drive change at the intersection of social impact and technology.
Telling the story for impact
Melissa started Warrior Love Productions, a social impact strategy studio and marketing consultancy, nearly three years ago after her career in journalism—including stints with CNN and the Associated Press—led her to recognize a business need for internal corporate storytelling. She describes herself as a kind of internal editorial director, weaving storytelling into content strategy, marketing, thought leadership and other areas. “Our sweet spot is the intersection of technology and social impact,” she tells Sam. “So either companies working at that convergence or companies specializing in tech or company culture [who] really want to bring more social impact or climate positivity into what they're doing.”
Melissa says Warrior Love Productions works with many start-ups, perhaps because they’re a start-up themselves. “My journey into social innovation started when I began meeting entrepreneurs and founders who were harnessing technology for social good,” she says. “I was a tech journalist for a number of years, but didn't really feel passionate about it until I started meeting those people [who are] harnessing or creating technology for social impact, a lot of them creating incredible products and services.”
To those companies, Warrior Love Productions offers support in both telling stories with clarity and confidence, as well as helping them learn to drive deeper impact. She notes that while many founders have compelling stories and focused purpose, they don’t always see the value of those in their branding. “They just don't necessarily have the capacity to put their storytelling at the forefront of what they're doing,” Melissa says. “They're busy having an impact, they're busy getting customers, they're busy making deals.”
Moving into Web3
Melissa says that while she wasn’t initially drawn to Web3 and the idea of blockchain transactions, she quickly changed her mind when she realized how essential the idea of community was to the Web3 space. She says she was writing about blockchain as a journalist as early as 2014 without fully understanding its impact, but then she started to see it from a social impact perspective. “That’s really what attracted me to Web3,” she explains. “Web3 is going to not only survive, but potentially be successful and thrive, if there is a very strong community that vouches for one another, that values one another's opinions, and moves together collectively and consciously in that way.”
When she first started reporting on Web3 and blockchain investment, Melissa says her sources were mainly white papers for investors. But she knew that in order to tell the story in a way that the general public could understand and resonate with, she needed to see firsthand a “real-life tangible blockchain-based solution.” She found one in 2018 at a refugee camp on the border of Jordan and Syria, which had a grocery store that ran on blockchain. She contacted the World Food Program, who ran the project, and arranged a visit. “Basically, the refugees go to their grocery store to shop for themselves or their families,” she explains. “They walk into the store and rather than having to show a card that does a cash transfer, the biometric system comes up, scans their digital identity, and then the money's transferred immediately. And the reason the World Food Program wanted to do that was because so much money was going to banks as the third party to facilitate this. But because this is done on blockchain, there's no third party involved.”
Flash forward a few years, and many of Warrior Love Production’s clients are heavily Web3 focused. And while she says she fully enjoys the work, she’s experienced her share of start-up challenges, including the Web3 market running hot and cold—and the ensuing stress that’s put on her business. But after several up and down years, Melissa says she learned to take a step back from the stress and prioritize. “I'm just being much more mindful and selective about the kinds of projects we're taking on,” she says. “Every year that I am in business, I feel like I'm very privileged because we do get approached by companies that are mission-aligned and values-aligned, but we can be even more aligned. You might be focused on social impacts or climate action, but if your company values seem like they're not really going to integrate with ours, I can't do business with you. The stress of it is not worth it.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of Sept 28th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
Building financial literacy in Latino youth, with the Latin GRAMMY’s Rocky Egusquiza and JPMorgan’s Silvana Montenegro
Épisode 144
vendredi 22 septembre 2023 • Durée 25:41
Women on the Move Podcast host Sam Saperstein talks with two leaders who support Latinos in building strong futures: Rocky Egusquiza, executive director of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, and Silvana Montenegro, global head of Advancing Hispanics and Latinos at JPMorgan Chase. Silvana and Rocky talk about the partnership they’ve created, which is focused on providing financial health education to students and their parents.
Career with a purpose
Rocky says her experience as the daughter of immigrants has inspired her career. She says she comes from a “typical immigrant family” with hard-working parents who sacrificed for their kids, saw education as an economic equalizer, and valued giving back. “So whether it was opening our home to other immigrant families or friends, lending a helping hand, my mom used to always say, just add more water to the soup and more people can join the meal,” she says. “They really led by example and showed us the value of paying it forward and helping others.”
She says that emphasis on giving back and mentoring has been the common denominator and purpose in her career, which has spanned government, corporate, nonprofits, media, sports, and the music industry. “It's been about paying it forward, working with purpose, giving back,” she says.
Rocky took on the executive director role at the GRAMMY Culture Foundation—the philanthropic arm of the Latin Recording Academy—in October 2022. The foundation’s mission is twofold: One part is focused on the next generation of Latin music creators, supporting them through education, scholarships, and mentoring. The second priority is on Latin music preservation. “We work globally to look at, how do we preserve Latin music and how do we tell those stories?” she explains.
Educación Financiera
From her role at JPMorgan Chase, Silvana says she was inspired by the work that Rocky does with the GRAMMY Foundation to not only help students with their music but also to help them thrive. It’s work that aligns well with her team’s mission to advance Hispanics and Latinos, partly by creating opportunities for students and individuals overall. In early 2023, JPMorgan Chase and the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation partnered to launch Educación Financiera – financial health education workshops as part of the Latin GRAMMY® Master Series. The workshops provide high school seniors and college students with access to money and credit management information and resources, as well as expert advice from financial leaders, music executives, and creators.
Silvana describes Latin music as a great connector for everyone. “One of the ways that we can really help the community is by making sure that Latin music is even more accessible and that we can support artists regardless where they come from,” she says. “The basis of continuing to grow as individuals is obviously through financial health because we want to make sure that these artists have the tools and resources they need, not only to have a thriving career in music, but also to build their families, build their journeys and so forth.”
The value of expert advice
Rocky talks about the importance of mentorship. It’s something she prioritizes in her career, in part due to her own experiences. “I remember my first job that offered me the opportunity to contribute to a 401k,” she says. “My parents didn't have 401k’s, so I didn't have anyone to talk to and to help me understand the importance of that and how important it was to contribute early so that I could really help build that long-term wealth. So find those allies, find those mentors, find those sponsors that'll help you and ask the questions.”
She says that kind of expert advice is one of the biggest benefits of the partnership with JPMorgan Chase. She shares a story of an event where a music industry executive took out his Chase credit that he first got in college and talked about the importance of that moment. “And I thought that was very interesting and kind of shows the impact that finances and this financial education and our financial journeys have on us,” Rocky explains. “And even later in life, regardless of the level of our success, we don't forget when we were given credit, when we were given those initial opportunities and learned how to navigate that ourselves.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of Sept 22nd, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
Founder’s Feature: April Holmes
Épisode 143
jeudi 14 septembre 2023 • Durée 23:58
In this Founder’s Feature of the Women on the Move podcast, host Sam Saperstein introduces April Holmes, co-founder and CEO of Hero Hangout, and a Paralympic gold medalist. April shares her inspiring journey of developing Hero Hangout, which was born out of her experiences as a professional track and field athlete.
During her athletic career, April noticed that parents often wished their kids could interact with athletes like her, seeking guidance on various topics. This sparked the idea of creating a platform where kids could connect with their favorite athletes, entertainers, musicians, and more to ask questions and gain valuable insights.
While April's entrepreneurial journey comes with its challenges, particularly navigating the tech space and creating a roadmap for the app's growth, her mental toughness, resilience, and experience as an athlete have equipped her to overcome obstacles.
Listeners are encouraged to support Hero Hangout in any way they can, as April believes that community support and help from others will be critical to achieving the platform's mission of making the world a better place for kids. To learn more, visit hero hangout.io
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JP Morgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of September 14th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Kramer and Leadout Capital’s Ali Rosenthal on their mission to get more funding to women and other diverse founders
Épisode 142
jeudi 7 septembre 2023 • Durée 33:43
In this episode of the Women on the Move Podcast, host Sam Saperstein is joined by Jamie Kramer, head of the Alternative Solutions Group for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Ali Rosenthal, founder and managing partner of Leadout Capital. Jamie and Ali connected after Jamie's team invested in Ali's Venture Capital fund. Here they discuss their career journeys and why they both believe asset management is a great career for women.
The story behind Project Spark
In more than 30 years at J.P. Morgan, Jamie’s career has spanned both Asset and Wealth Management, with roles across public and private investments. Five years ago, she was named head of Alternative Solutions at the firm, where she’s responsible for insights, analytics, and cross alternatives investment solutions. She’s also the CEO of Global Hedge Fund and Alternative Credit Solutions business.
Jamie recalls when she met a woman who was struggling to raise funds for her own venture fund in 2020. “I couldn't really understand why she wasn't as successful raising these assets,” she says. “And so I approached our CEO and asked on behalf of Asset Management if we could give her some capital.”
That initial investment led to the creation of Project Spark, an effort aimed at providing capital to funds managed by diverse, emerging alternative managers, including minority-led and women-led venture capital funds and other private funds. “I'm really excited that the 33 managers that we've invested in and the $140 million has helped accelerate well over a billion in fundraising,” Jamie says. “And Ali is one of those managers.”
Leadout Capital
After a stint as a professional women’s cyclist, Ali began her career in operating roles at consumer technology businesses (she was an early employee at Facebook) and in investment banking as both an angel investor and an institutional investor. “I got Leadout going because I saw a gap in the market with respect to who got access to capital,” she tells Sam and Jamie. “I believe today the numbers are still that fewer than 3 percent of companies are invested in by the venture capital community. And I thought that was really compelling.”
Leadout’s focus has been on women, underrepresented minorities, and people who according to data are less likely to receive venture capital funding. As Ali says, these are founders who “had great ideas, great momentum, but oftentimes were overlooked because they didn't fit pattern recognition. And so I wanted to use my platform, my network, my experience to back them and to connect them via bridge for them to other sources of capital, not only monetary capital but network capital and social capital and people and experts who could really help them go from zero to one.”
“We really pursue what we call a founder market fit–driven thesis,” Ali says. “So we look for founders who themselves are customer segment experts, people who have lived a problem in a market that they know well either because they care enough about that market to embed with the customer, become a customer themselves, really understand the pain point that a customer is having and solve it with software.”
“A great career for women”
Ali and Jamie agree that asset management can be a great career fit for women. Jamie notes that the field is both relationship-driven and problem-solving oriented, two skills that women tend to excel at. It affords good life balance, she says, with relatively predictable hours. And she cites research that shows that although there aren't enough women in asset management, they tend to be successful in the field. In addition, it offers an opportunity for women to do well financially which in turn allows them to give back, which research shows women gravitate toward.
“And something that Ali said, which is that asset management is not transactional,” she adds. “It's extremely relationship driven. No matter what aspect you're in, you are managing money as a fiduciary on behalf of someone helping corporations meet their goals. You're helping individuals retire.”
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of September 7th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
Full transcript here
Founder’s Feature: Jennie Nwokoye, Founder of Clafiya , Techstars DC 2022
Épisode 141
jeudi 24 août 2023 • Durée 13:58
In this Founder’s Feature, Women on the Move host Sam Saperstein interviews Jennie Nwokoye, founder of Clafiya, a company with a mission to increase access to primary healthcare for communities in Nigeria and beyond. Jenny shares her journey as an entrepreneur and how her personal experiences motivated her to create a community-based approach to healthcare in Africa.
Jenny reflects on her own upbringing, moving from the United States to Nigeria and experiencing the challenges of accessing healthcare firsthand. She explains how her father's entrepreneurial spirit inspired her to become an entrepreneur, emphasizing the resilience and persistence required to succeed in this field.
She also shares how through the Techstars Founder Catalyst program, she learned to refine her storytelling skills, leading to success in raising funds for Clafiya. She shares valuable tips for other entrepreneurs, focusing on maintaining good health and well-being, leveraging storytelling to connect with investors, and not hesitating to seek help and support from their network.
Her passion for her mission shines through, and our listeners are encouraged to visit clafiya.com to learn more about the company's impactful work.
Disclaimer: The speakers’ opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of August 24th, 2023 and they may not materialize.
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