Startup Hacks

The Blueprint

Executive Coach and Blueprint founder, Debra Bednar-Clark is guiding people through turning points in their careers—instilling the clarity, confidence, and tools they need to plot bold moves and next chapters. Her practice is defined by one core belief: life is most interesting and fulfilling when we give ourselves permission to lead with our truest, fullest selves.

Community Is Everything

An accomplished CEO, entrepreneur and documentary film executive, Anne Devereux-Mills is the Founder of Parlay House, a global organization that gathers women both virtually and in person to spark authentic conversations and build meaningful, supportive relationships. Parlay House currently has over 10,000 participants that span countries, generations, races, sexual orientation, and more. Anne has been honored by a range of organizations including SHE-CAN, Advertising Women of New York, The All-Stars Foundation, Project Kesher and Worldwide Women.

The Fabric VC Fund: A Strategic Secret Weapon

Guest Laurel Mintz is the founder of both the award-winning Los-Angeles based marketing agency, Elevate My Brand, as well as Fabric Venture Capital, a firm whose ESG fund is on a mission to weave together diverse, underrepresented founders with the funding they deserve and the critical marketing strategy they need to ensure success. Laurel shares her founder journey, the strategic thinking behind her expansion, and key startup hacks that helped her bootstrap and grow. 

Future of Outsourcing

Brooke is the Founder & CEO of Allobee, a managed marketplace, a one-stop business solution for small business owners and startups. She is a technical founder that took her tech skills and experience as a freelancer and business owner and merged them into her idea for Allobee. Brooke went to grad school and got a Master of Science degree in computer information systems, which helped her land a job at Postmates and assist their Southeast region launch. When Brooke became a mother, she realized fast-paced big tech and motherhood did not play well together. She recognized the need for a single place where women who are experts but wanted flexible work, could be connected with small business owners that need their specific skills and could find each other. 

Just Enough Wine

Jessica Hershfield, an entrepreneur and the Founder of Just Enough Wines, is constantly growing and transforming her brand. She knows how important it is to stay competitive, regardless of the entrepreneur's industry. Before Just Enough Wines, Jess worked at some prominent tech companies - which has helped her through her entrepreneurial journey. The journey of building a successful brand requires commitment, self-drive, and the courage to go after your dreams despite all the obstacles you face. As a founder, Jessica mentions that you have to wear different hats and take on different responsibilities, especially as you start your business. 

The Talent Startup Union

Applauded by Forbes Magazine as "changing the influencer marketing platform between celebrities and startups," Denise & the LMS team build the most effective influencer marketing programs for companies looking to grow & scale. As founder of the LMS Agency,  Denise Lambertson pioneered the pairing of celebrities with venture-backed consumer startups by implementing sweat equity compensation for marketing services and capital investment. In 2018, Denise founded Constellation Capital - a natural evolution from the services agency. With a deep understanding of consumer behavior and an ability to "test" pipeline companies with services like influencer marketing. 

Your Bio-Tech Haircare

HairDays Founder & CEO Dr. Tiffany St. Bernard knew that there had to be a better way to care for her hair health. Leveraging her background as a Biomedical/Neural Engineer Researcher, she worked to craft a scientific method to analyze hair type, design personalized hair health strategies digitally, and take the trial and error out of hair and scalp care. In 2016 right before she planned to launch the HairDays diary, Tiffany was hospitalized in the ICU multiple times - initially triggered by Lemierre syndrome and followed by sepsis and pneumonia. After that experience, she went through several hair-related issues - including hair loss. Her journey has inspired her passion for helping others understand the holistic connection between health and hair. 
Website: https://myhairdays.com/

Creating Inclusive Workspaces

Daniel Dobson-Smith is the Founder and CEO of Soul Trained, an executive coaching and growth leadership training consultancy. He recently released his latest book, You Can Be Yourself Here: A Pocket Guide To Creating Inclusive Workspaces, using the psychology of belonging. Daniel takes us through the journey of writing his book and the importance of the power of belonging through the lens of psychology.   
Website: https://soultrained.com/

Fourth-Wave Feminism

Françoise Girard is the founder, and CEO of Feminism Makes Us Smarter. She is shining the light on incredible feminists around the world and making sure their work is lifted, elevated, and known. Françoise is an author, advocate, and expert on women’s health, human rights, sexuality, HIV and AIDS, and feminist movements. For over 20 years, she has advocated for women’s rights and gender justice in close partnership with feminist activists worldwide.
Website: https://www.fmus.org/

Funding Strategy Hacks - Deborah Benton

Deborah is the Founder & General Partner at Willow Growth Partners. Willow provides early growth capital to entrepreneurs building the next generation of transformative consumer brands and the disruptive technologies that power them. In 2014, Deborah launched a family office investment vehicle focused on seed-stage consumer brands and enabling tech companies. Website: WillowGrowth.com