And So, She Left: Wisdom from Women Beyond the Corporate World

This is a special bonus episode from our friends at the Amazon & JAR Audio podcast This Is Small Business.     This is Small Business explores the journey to success for small business owners by diving deep into the pivotal moments they have faced and conquered along the way. Brought to you by Amazon, this show is delivered through the unique perspective of a curious millennial trying to figure ou...

Back in 2006, Kiersten Hathcock was just trying to figure things out.  She had left her job at A and E Television Networks a few years before and was bouncing around from town to town with her husband and their two kids. As she was, Kiersten did the very last thing that anyone expected: she founded a children’s furniture company called Mod Mom Furniture. Then in 2024, after the brand received inte...

Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, Amanda Moncada-Perkins wanted power. Her family had few resources to make do with, so she became an attorney when she grew up to unlock a better future. And today, Amanda is the Founding Attorney of her own firm, Stoutegy Law. But stepping into her power as a lawyer wasn’t without some major caveats. Amanda was pulling brutal 70 to 80-hour weeks while she w...

When Janice Person was first talking about farm-to-table in the 90's, people thought she was crazy.   Even with a journalism and communications background, she found it tough to share the perspectives of a minority group that we don’t think about very often: the farmers who grow it.     When Janice started out, she was doing PR for the agrochemical juggernaut Monsanto. At Monsanto, she was given t...

**SPECIAL FOR OUR LISTENERS! Use code "SHELEFT20" for 20% off an order** Kaylin Marcotte’s early career wasn’t particularly fun. But when she was training as a management consultant at IBM in 2013, she met two promising, young female founders who wanted to start a media company...called theSkimm. So, she left to become their first employee. Kaylin’s days were pretty demanding, and she often played...

Lisa Lloyd will be the first to tell you that she’s not a genius...though she certainly seems like one.     She invented her first product at 23, a hair styling tool called The French Twister, which eventually grossed $20 million. And over the years, she went on to license seven other products; getting featured on Shark Tank, Good Morning America, USA Today, The Big Idea, and more before starting...

When Polina Ruvinsky stepped into a leadership role at Disney, she was told to not ask for permission.   In 2018, she formed a women and tech employee group at the company. What started as a kind of experiment turned into a tight-knit community, allowing women at the company to come together, brainstorm, and offer support. The ripple effect of Polina’s community can still be felt: the group is now...

Content Warning: This episode deals with sensitive topics like suicide, PTSD, divorce, and poor mental health.   On the surface, Tereson Dupuy has led a pretty good life.   She successfully ran her business FuzziBunz Diapers for almost two decades and kickstarted the modern cloth diapering movement. All in all, she sold $32 million dollars worth of product.   But beneath the surface, it’s a differ...

In her previous life as a corporate recruiter, Maisha Cannon put on what she describes as a kind of “mask.”  She wasn’t fully herself. Often, she’d fade into the background to try and get ahead as a black woman in corporate America. But for Maisha, getting into entrepreneurship meant putting aside those incidents where she experienced bias. It meant stepping into herself and building the confidenc...

At first glance, you probably couldn’t tell that Mallory Greene is in the funeral industry.   She’s not an older, stuffy man in a dark suit…she’s a young woman who got her start as a member of Wealthsimple’s founding team. Today, she’s the CEO and Co-Founder of Eirene , a funeral service provider that’s disrupting the industry with their affordable prices and tech-driven approach.   Much like Mall...

Alina Kravchenko has always loved inventing.    Alina defines her entrepreneurial success based on one simple factor: how much creativity she’s able to express as a founder. But being raised by a single mom in Ukraine and eventually becoming a single mom herself meant there was no shortage of people who looked down on them both.    When she drained her 401K and secured a patent for SwipenSnap , he...

Bisila Bokoko says that our purpose is not defined by what we do ...but by who we are. Growing up in Valencia, Spain with mixed Spanish-African heritage came with a heavy dose of discomfort. But these experiences drove her to learn more about her heritage…to become what she calls “culturally intelligent.” Cultural intelligence has been the key to Bisila’s success as a founder. By becoming cultural...

**Use code AndSoSheLeftPod to get $150 off your WNORTH Conference Pass !** In 2015, Heather Odendaal founded the WNORTH conference. The aim of WNORTH is simple: create more pathways for women to become business leaders through networking and collaboration. For the first 8 years, Heather worked as a solopreneur. Today, she's built a small but mighty team and together, they have grown WNORTH to seve...

Urbander CEO Samí Haiman-Marrero describes herself as an armadillo.   She’s got thick skin, she’s scrappy, and she can smell insincerity from a mile away.   Samí spent almost her entire life in Puerto Rico, but you can tell right away that she has roots in the Bronx. When she came back to New York to work in media and publishing, she soon found herself grappling with some harsh realities, dealing...

And So, She Left returns January 24.     New episodes every Wednesday.   We'd love to hear your feedback!  Here's a quick 5-question survey. Your answers will help us to make the show even better: https://forms.gle/5JnfCUWbgLRw1NTa8    Hosted by  Katherin Vasilopoulos . Made by  Cansulta  and  Ethan Lee . Music by ©  Chris Zabriskie , published by You've Been a Wonderful Laugh Track (ASCAP).  Song...

Entrepreneurs love to set lofty, ambitious goals for ourselves…after all, it’s in our nature. But what separates those of us who reach our goals from those who don’t are the skills we obtain and use to get there.   Leah Carr’s approach to entrepreneurship is a highly grounded one. She’s the CEO of a learning and development company called TILR (that’s T.I.L.R.). They help HR teams and people leade...

Every once in a while, we hear a story that floors us. Christelle Biiga’s story is one of them.   Today, she gets clients in front of the right podcast audiences to grow their businesses. Her company is called Exposure Maven.    As a young girl in Cameroon, she bought into the American Dream. She knew no one in the states. Had no family or friends stateside. And could barely speak English at the t...

If you asked your clients to describe you, what would they say? Today, customers want to know who you are.  We’re living in the age of personal branding.  Christina Minshull spent 15+ years in brand and social marketing for companies like SportCheck, WestJet, and LinkedIn. Today, Christina helps CEOs, Founders and brands unleash their LinkedIn potential through her company The Brand Audit .   Acro...

No one warns you about the loss of structure when you leave the corporate womb. Suddenly, it’s all up to you.     You’re the boss. You make the decisions. And you need to pin down the principles that create structure in your work life…or face the consequences.   Michelle Peters is the CEO of Supplino , a thriving supply chain marketplace. When she left corporate, she fell victim to hustle culture,...

Constriction and guidance are the two sides to the feedback coin. But sometimes, we have to squint to tell which is which. Can you? As a clinical psychologist, Cindy Wahler faced constant doubt. She was told that she’d never make it. But today, she uses her understanding of psychology to consult for organizations like Ralph Lauren, Exxon Mobile, and Toyota on effective leadership development.   Sh...

** A GIFT FOR "And So, She Left" listeners: until December 8, 2023, get 20% off all regular priced items at www.cheekbonebeauty.com with code ASSL20 ** With $500 in a basement in St. Catherines, Ontario, Jenn Harper started Cheekbone Beauty.   She had zero experience working in the beauty space, making the leap from a career in the food industry’s hospitality and sales sectors. Like all great entr...

Entrepreneurs are deep thinkers. We each have a million ideas zipping around in our heads, and if we’re lucky, a great one pops up every now and again.     But there’s a stark difference between the people who dream and the people who do.     Tiffany Jones-Lewis made that realization after serving 8 years in the navy. Before launching TJL Collection , a fashion brand aimed at tall women, she was a...

Do you think of yourself as “tough?” It’s actually a challenging question to answer. We’re certainly eager as entrepreneurs, always ready to tackle the next challenge ahead. But what does toughness actually look like?    Today’s conversation with Shara Ruffin reminds us that true resilience comes from hitting our lowest points. Today, she’s a bestselling author, LinkedIn influencer, and the Founde...

This episode is sponsored by The Diversity Agency.   A few weeks ago, we got to talk with Anita Grant ( Hello Hair ), Salem Berhane ( IncluSV Beauty Solutions ), Kristina Knox ( Arbre ), Monique Gallivan ( Gyallivant ), and Seyi Adaghe ( ROUN Beauty ) are the five winners of this year's Shea Moisture Dream Fund Grant.   From Unilever brand Shea Moisture, The Dream Fund was created to support Black...

Warning: this episode contains mild language and themes that some listeners may find upsetting.    It’s hard for us to talk about money. We often squirm a bit, glance at each other, and muddle through most discussions about personal finance. But we also don’t talk about it enough…especially as it relates to gender.     Kristine Beese is the founder of Untangle Money , which aims to teach financial...