Episode 86: Leading with Purpose and Passion with Enygma Ventures’ Sarah Dusek

When was the last time you asked yourself: What do I really want?

Perhaps you’ve been so busy taking care of responsibilities and serving others that you haven’t stopped to check in with yourself. But when you pause and ask that question without fear or judgment, your answer will guide you towards your true north star. And when you lead with purpose and passion, you have the power to change the world.

In this episode, serial entrepreneur and investor Sarah Dusek, shares how asking this question shaped her journey and helped her leverage the power of business to impact our world for good.

 

Highlights:

[02:26] Sarah’s story

[04:30] Recovering from failure

[08:00] Seeing the opportunity in crisis

[10:00] Two biggest challenges facing today’s world

[12:54] Taking risks to achieve your dreams

[17:45] Lessons learned

[19:51] Turning a dream into reality

[22:25] 3 things to showing up as an entrepreneur

[25:11] Preparing to approach a venture capitalist

[29:25] Bigger business, bigger impact

[36:09] How can you help to make an impact

[39:14] How to become a lifelong learner

[41:33] The importance of networks

[44:38] Staying grounded

 

Quotes:

“Crises are moments of opportunity because they are absolutely transformative in terms of the direction with which we move forward.” – Sarah Dusek 

“The real essence of entrepreneurship and growing as a human being is the ability to tackle very challenging circumstances and leverage them to move us forward and propel us into what's next.” - Sarah Dusek

“When you start to ask yourself what it would take to achieve your goals, that’s when you start to find the pathway to making it happen.” – Sarah Dusek 

“When you build a bigger business, you have a potential to have a much bigger platform to make a difference.” – Sarah Dusek 

“If we want to change the world we live in, if we want the world to be a better place, we have to stop waiting for someone else to make that happen.” – Sarah Dusek 

“Coaching is an incredibly powerful tool for helping women see what they can't see.” – Sarah Dusek

“Voracious learning, openness, listening, and being prepared for different ways of thinking is going to be enormously valuable for our journey ahead.” – Sarah Dusek

“Understanding that uncertainty is the certainty and that the only way to navigate that is to live with a higher sense of purpose and mission and belief that we all have a calling and that we have the possibility of making the world better.” – Sarah Dusek

 

About Sarah Dusek:

In 2019 Sarah Dusek launched Enygma Ventures, a Venture Capital fund focused on investing in women-led businesses in Southern Africa. Sarah is passionate about empowering women to reach their full potential and enabling them to grow in grow scalable, sustainable businesses that have the power to transform communities, cities and nations.

A entrepreneur in her own right, Sarah Co-Founded Under Canvas; the US’s leading adventure-hospitality company offering luxurious glamping accommodations just minutes from America’s most popular and iconic national parks. Sarah sold Under Canvas in 2018 for over $100m achieving a record breaking EBIDTA multiple. In 2017, under Sarah’s leadership, Under Canvas received a spot on the coveted Inc. 5000 list and Sarah was named to the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women list from Ernst & Young.

 

Links:

Website: https://www.enygmaventures.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-dusek-0b630ab/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enygmaventuresfund

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EnygmaVentures