SheVentures

Amanda Lannert raised $20 million in venture capital for Jellyvision, a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform that helps employees make financially sound choices about their benefits. Lannert gives smart tips for other women trying to make headway. Lannert managed global brands for global advertising giant Leo Burnett before becoming CEO of Jellyvision. She completely changed the direction of Jell...

She's a former Brooklyn high school English and theater teacher who transitioned to founding a conflict resolution business. Who is this incredible woman? Sara Steinweiss takes center stage when she talks to SheVentures about how she coped with her father's death, her debilitating anxiety disorder, bullying — and the importance of getting help. Steinweiss provides wisdom for meeting one's teen whe...

What if you could receive a 0 percent small business loan from a group of SheEOs? It's called #radicalgenerosity, created to focus on time-sensitive world issues through entrepreneurship. That's what today's guest, Vicki Saunders, has dedicated her life to by founding the transgressive SheEO. With a society more focused on the financial return of an investment than on its environmental or social r...

This woman won more than $100 million in sales for Broadridge — a company that offers financial advisors a platform to connect with their clients — so when it comes to the industry, Linda Wittich knows a thing or two. With her pivot to industry giant IBM, Wittich embraced AI — and advised fintech startups that brought this technology to the forefront of financial services, a major pivot for the in...

Anyone who creates a product knows how important a supply chain is, especially if you lose control of it.  That's what happened to Flores in her first entrepreneurial venture. Starting with creating hair extensions — after a long stint in financial services — Flores and her partner found that importing hair first from China and later India provided challenges in quality and logistics. Her "come to...

Sally Outlaw created something remarkable. She took on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be able to create a bond that yields a 5 percent return, can be bought in $10 increments, and her company, Worthy Peer Capital , reinvests that money as a loan to small U.S. businesses. What happens if a company defaults? Outlaw invests only in asset-backed/inventory-based companies, so Worthy wo...

What would you do if divine intervention careened your career in a wildly different direction? In the midst of retirement after a 24-year stint in teaching, school administration, and graduate and doctorate studies, that's exactly what happened to Sara Thurman. Thurman never picked up a paintbrush or easel, or took an art class before her faith spoke to her and she became an artist. Since 2014, sh...

A pioneer in her field who started in her early 20s, Nicole Dahlstrom is leveling the playing field for female-health related startups across the U.S. and beyond.   Dahlstrom is the founder of FemTech Collective , a 500 female-founder strong network that connects innovators in female-focused health tech through events, media, and an online platform. It's a place for women to join forces and strive...

The U.S. cannabis industry is on fire — last year it grew to $11.3B. Genifer Murray has played a key role in the weed world since cannabis was legalized in Colorado, and now boasts more than nine years of experience in the business. She is also a staunch advocate for women in the hemp and cannabis industries.   As a lobbyist, scientist, speaker, entrepreneur, and influencer, Murray helped found on...

These two women hope to change the stigma at-home caregivers routinely face through their app and platform. Lifelong friends Aileen Kelly and Felicia Kashevaroff were able to stay home after their children were born. Like many stay-at-home caregivers, they felt their work was invisible, undervalued, and unappreciated.  Kelly and Kashevaroff created Persistiny , a web platform to address the inhere...

New York is the backdrop of Daniella Stromberg's tale, pushing her toward peace in a chaotic world. She saw beauty in the streets, admired the elegance of prostitutes and transvestites, seen through the eyes of a young girl through the window shades of her mother's Greenwich Village studio apartment. Stromberg sought out her own luxurious bubble in a city of grit. From working with the one percent...

Imagine losing a 9-year-old daughter to cancer, facing a divorce, and dealing with mounting financial struggles. Jen Thoden's world was gray — and in need of a transformation. A chance upload of an ebook for window dressing helped Thoden identify a gap in the market. Novices wanted instructions on how to create window dressings. She delved into her first successful ebook entrepreneurial venture fr...

Knowing firsthand what teachers are up against, Shayna Pond is taking her knowledge of teaching and applying it to helping educators in the classroom. She started with a side tutoring business, which was an unintentional pilot for the two nationwide businesses she runs today,  Model Teaching and Action Potential Learning .  In this episode of SheVentures, Pond delves into many issues entrepreneurs...

Kate Walling knew entrepreneurship was in her blood. At 24, she cooked up a digital recipe startup long before Nailed It became a family pastime. Then 2008 happened. Enough said. Originally from the deep South, Walling moved to rainy Seattle to build a boutique consulting agency, Scrappy Face. The company thrived, but her personal life got complicated as she faced divorce. And did we mention the r...

Find out how Reesy Floyd-Thompson handled the stigma and financial challenges that came with her husband's prison sentence. Today, she helps other prison spouses acclimate, provides tips on how to survive financial hardship, and reveals her top marketing tips for free. Find out how she balanced her life while building a superstar marketing career on this episode of SheVentures.

Growing up in Nigeria's male-dominated society was tough for a feminist with a strong ambition to further herself and her education, but Dr. Lola Adeyemi never stopped. She came to the U.S. to study public health at John Hopkins University and sustainability and environmental management at Harvard University. Now she seeks to revolutionize the health-care industry in her home country with Magna Ca...

Imagine commanding 83 soldiers and $35 million of intelligence equipment, vehicles, and weapons dispersed over six locations in a war zone — that's the experience Valerie Lavin stores in her professional arsenal. A retired Army sergeant who spent 21 years in the military, Lavin is drawing on her background and skills for her new venture Luminary Global , and is eager to share her tips and tricks....

Deepti Sharma, named on the esteemed Forbes' 30 under 30 list, embodies "the pivot," whether through volunteer work or her own startup. Community is her passion. She served on the board of directors for the Business Center for New Americans, a microlender that creates a pathway to self-sufficiency for immigrants, refugees, and women. Today, as founder and CEO of corporate catering concierge servic...

Imagine being diagnosed with a crippling digestive disorder in your early 20s, and as a result, identifying a gap in the market: healthy food made and delivered to busy professionals years before the food-delivery craze caught on. Bonnie Coberly created a recipe for success in the D.C. area out of her desire to help herself and others. Fast forward three years, and Coberly was stunned to discover...

A med-school dropout turned entrepreneur, author, angel investor, and venture capitalist, Renata George is doing her damnedest to pave the way for women in the VC industry. Born in Poland, George spent most of her life in Russia and studied in the U.K. She launched a media business in the former USSR and had a successful exit, making it possible for her to become an angel investor and venture capi...

From a cooking blog to the future of the gig economy and a contingent workforce, what Nikita Gupta has accomplished in 23 years is remarkable. She first realized her love for computer science when her dad fostered her entrepreneurial spirit by helping her set up her own cooking site. Now, with a bachelor's in computer science from Cornell University, and a coveted internship at Apple under her bel...

Data and analytics matter for a company to succeed, and Andrea Amaraggi is a ninja with data analytics. Her career pivots are based on where she has used them, from financial auditor to technical trainer, business consultant, kosher caterer, analytics consultant, and cannabis consultant. Amaraggi has done it all and has the wisdom to prove it. Now, with her consulting firm Cohere Insights, Amaragg...

After being diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome — a hormonal condition rendering her prediabetic and making it difficult to conceive, Charlene DiPaola hit a wall. Dissatisfied with her career in digital marketing, DiPaola knew she needed to pivot — both in her career and lifestyle.   The answer for DiPaola laid in the joy of dance, so she created Hip Shake Fitness : an online, on-demand dan...

How do you handle the demands of the real world while also coping with the tiny human you just birthed? From executive editor at Glamour magazine to author of The Fifth Trimester — all about the birth of the working mom — and mentor for working mothers everywhere, Lauren Brody has learned her worth, and can help you find yours. On this episode of SheVentures, learn how U.S. maternity leave sucks,...

After spending years as a financial advisor for Merrill, Shannon McLay grew tired of working solely with the wealthy — the majority of whom didn't need her help in the first place. Realizing that 78 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, McLay found her true calling: helping the everyday person get financially fit. And so the Financial Gym was born. McLay sought to provide a service...