Elizabeth Holmes and Villainizing Female Ambition

There’s a thin line between ambition and crime.

But, is that line the same for everyone?

Case in point: men get to be ambitious, driven, even criminal in their pursuit of success and get praised for it. Movies and books that criticize them still have a hint of hero worship (Wolf of Wall Street, anyone?)

But when women dare to do the same? They instantly become the villains of the story. 

And when their ambition crosses over to criminal territory, the fall from grace is much harder. 

In today’s episode, we discuss Elizabeth Holmes, Anna Sorokin, and The Bad Vegan, and break down how society views women who ‘flew too close to the sun’. 

While we don’t have all of the answers just yet, we try to make sense of the double standards in entrepreneurship, the complex relationship we have with women who just want to be successful, and if this kind of public humiliation is the reason we don’t see more openly ambitious female entrepreneurs. 

This isn’t a conversation that should be limited to just the two of us! Once you listen to the episode, find us on Instagram (@heymarvelous) and tell us what you think about women in business and why the world is obsessed with making spectacles of their downfalls!

Here’s what else you can expect in the episode: 

• Why we’re especially invested in the Elizabeth Holmes’ case
• The difference between WeWork and Holmes
• The connection between success and needing to feel loved and understood
• The relationship between beauty and success
• Men’s reaction to Elizabeth Holmes (and what it tells us)

And more!

RESOURCES:

• The Dropout (Podcast that covers the Elizabeth Holmes case from A to Z)
• The Bad Vegan
• Inventing Anna
• “Anna Sorokin Talks About Making Art”
• Hey Marvelous

This Week’s Joy:

Our joy for you is simple – go watch Inventing Anna and The Bad Vegan on Netflix and listen to The Dropout! Not only are they entertaining and easy to binge, they also give us invaluable insights into the minds of these interesting women. 

This Week’s Hustle:

Our hustle this week is to be unapologetically ambitious and audacious. We need more women to act on their ambition than be too scared to take a step forward. 

Oh, and read this New York Times article to get informed about Web3 and NFTs!

This podcast is brought to you by the Marvelous online teaching platform.

Marvelous is an easy-to-use platform that helps you build and sell your own courses memberships and live-streamed programs. Go from idea to open for business in just minutes. Unlike other startups, Marvelous was created by women for women. If you're looking for a simple, streamlined way to build and grow an online business. You can learn more at Marvelous.