Many, many businesses suffered during the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic; those who rely on face-to-face interactions probably more so than most. But in today’s episode, we’re joined by an entrepreneur who didn’t let the lockdown dull her spirits or her motivation. Annie Stancliffe creatively pivoted the focus of her nail salon business, High Five, during the lockdown, and she stayed true to her goal of creating a space and a brand that “feels like home” when things opened up again. Annie’s pattern-recognition and people skills, along with her fresh perspective on the beauty industry, have allowed her to break down some of the pervasive, harmful norms which exist. In today’s episode you’ll hear some examples of how Annie and her team have solved operational challenges, how they respond to the desires of their customers, why Annie chose not to raise venture capital, and how she lives out the concept of Ikigai. We always thought Annie was going to solve some of the world’s big problems, and after speaking with her today we know we were right! Key Points From This Episode:How the pandemic altered their plans, and how they made the most of the lockdown.The importance of being motivated about the direction you are taking your business.What excites Annie about her job.Why Annie decided not to raise any funding for High Five, and how this impacts the company’s growth.Pressure that people feel to raise venture funding.Annie’s experience of working in a venture backed start-up.What Annie learned about herself while doing her MBA.How Annie sees her future unfolding.The problem with tipping.Why Annie sees her lack of background in the beauty industry as an advantage. Learnings that Annie has had along her journey of running High Five.How Annie utilized the High Five space when nail salons were not allowed to operate, and how this benefited her business in the long term.Creativity prompts that Annie uses in her team meetings.The transferable nature of the skills that Annie utilizes in her business.An example of how High Five responds solves operational challenges in an on-brand way.How High Five promotes conversation in the salon and online.A trait that is common amongst women, and one of Annie’s key goals which relates to this.Advice from Annie for dealing with the stresses of being a founder and CEO.High Five’s approach to service and product options, and how they have evolved over time.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Annie Stancliffe Email AddressHigh FiveHigh Five on InstagramLaunchpad

As an African Studies major at Harvard, today’s guest studied abroad in Tanzania. In the markets of Arusha, she purchased a caterpillar from a street vendor. Tossing caution to the wind and eschewing her vegetarian diet, Laura D’Asaro bit into her future and Chirps, a revolutionary food company seeking to transform Americans’ dietary impact on the environment, was born! Laura D’Asaro is the Co-Founder of Chirps (as seen on Shark Tank), and the co-author of Project Startup #1: Eat Bugs. While at Chirps, Laura has collected a number of accolades, including Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur, Shark Tank entrepreneur, Cupid's Cup winner, Echoing Green climate fellow, and Mass Challenge winner. In this episode, she talks about redefining social entrepreneurship, attempting to break world records for cancer research and the early influences that shaped her as an entrepreneur. She also shares some of her tips and tricks for generating new start-up ideas on an almost-daily basis, including what she calls the add, subtract, multiply, divide method. Tune in today to learn more!Key Points From This Episode:Get to know Laura D’Asaro and how she ended up at Stanford Graduate School of Business.Hear about her early foray into social entrepreneurship at just 15 years old.Find out how Laura came to be the world record holder for the fastest time to crawl a mile.The genesis of Chirps and how Laura discovered the sustainable power of eating insects.Why she believes that success alone can’t make you happy; it’s all about the people.Laura shares why she is so passionate about redefining social entrepreneurship.What it might look like to build social enterprise into existing businesses.Why it is important to Laura to be proud of the person she is while she makes a difference.Laura’s tips for how she generates new start-up ideas, starting with finding the problem.Learn the add, subtract, divide, or multiply method for generating business ideas.How Laura knows when she has what Jeremy calls an idea problem.The power, beauty, magic, and confidence that Laura believes comes with making something of your own.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Laura D’Asaro on LinkedInLaura D’Asaro on InstagramChirpsProject Startup #1 (Eat Bugs)ThinkertoysPaint & Pipette PodcastJeremy Utley

Ana Leyva found her calling as an entrepreneur when, after having children, she became aware that there was a gap in the market for a bilingual language learning platform. From this realization, Lelu was born. As a female, Latina founder of a company, Ana is part of a very underrepresented demographic, and the courage she exudes, along with the support she offers to others who are on a similar journey, is inspiring. In today’s episode, you’ll hear about lessons that Ana has learned through the founding of Lelu, the approach that she and her team of three use to generate ideas for the business, and how she cultivates entrepreneurial qualities in her children; her son is only six years old and he is already eager to get his own ideas off the ground! Although Lelu is still in its beginning stages, it is already clear that the platform holds immense value for those who make use of it.Key Points From This Episode:What inspired us to bring today’s guest, Ana Leyva, onto the show.How having children altered Ana’s career trajectory.The asset that Ana’s children are to her work.Ways that Ana’s upbringing shaped her career decisions.Challenges that Ana experienced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.A lesson that gave Ana the courage to pursue her passion. Things that Ana does and doesn’t doubt about the path she has chosen with Lelu.How Ana cultivates entrepreneurial qualities in her children.Benefits that Ana experiences from explaining business-related things to her children.Support that Ana receives from her tribe and how she gives support in return. Important lessons that Ana has learned from her customer base along her journey with Lelu.A story that highlights the value that people are finding in Lelu’s offerings.Situations when being a female founder feels hard for Ana.The importance of sharing anecdotal stories and hard numbers when it comes to pitching Lelu to potential customers.Ana’s approach to coming up with, and choosing, ideas for Lelu.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Lelu WebsiteLelu on InstagramLelu on Facebook

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of remote work has had to advance spectacularly in a short space of time. One company that was uniquely positioned to help businesses during this dramatic transition was Via, an online platform that allows companies to seamlessly build remote teams across countries in 48 hours. Via was co-founded by Maite Diez-Canedo and Itziar Diez-Canedo during their time at Stanford and underwent a significant pivot prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While countless successful businesses have been founded by siblings, it’s rare for those siblings to be sisters rather than brothers. We unpack some of the societal prejudices that female founders encounter while fundraising - as demonstrated by some discouraging statistics - and how skepticism increases when investors are faced with female co-founders, especially sisters. We hear more about how Maite and Itziar address these biases when they encounter them, and how they have been able to overcome initial ignorance or prejudice through direct and honest communication. Later, we examine some of the practices, habits, and mindset adjustments that have helped Maite and Itziar in entrepreneurship and creativity. We also take a hopeful look at the importance of challenging assumptions and how bringing playfulness to a problem can open up new possibilities. Make sure you tune in to this informative and inspiring episode to hear it all!Key Points From This Episode:Get to know today’s guests Maite Diez-Canedo and Itziar Diez-Canedo, and the services of their company, Via.How they pivoted Via into the company from its original incarnation on Launchpad to what it is today.How their pivot to helping companies hire remotely subsequently aligned with some of the global changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.Why they hired an external consultant to help them structure their pivot.How they used sales experiments to bolster their conviction that their pivot allowed them scalability.How they managed their pre-seed money and their mentality around spending.The challenge of managing your team and keeping them excited and engaged while you are pivoting.The benefits of co-founding a business with your sister.The challenges and prejudices that are inherent to fundraising as a woman and how being sisters can exacerbate those prejudices.Why explicit prejudice or ignorance is easier to address when fundraising than implicit bias.How persevering through adversity and prejudice can strengthen your sense of conviction that the business you’re pursuing is exceptional.Some of the practices, habits, and mindset adjustments that have helped Maite and Itziar in entrepreneurship and creativity.The importance of identifying and challenging assumptions.How COVID-19 has accelerated their business and some of the things they are excited about, like democratizing access to talent.How they find a balance between different modes of thinking, acting, and collaborating in their day-to-day work.Why the framework of ‘leaning in’ as a woman in order to blend into a male-dominated work culture is limited and problematic.How to identify whether you have an ‘idea problem’.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Maite Diez-Canedo on LinkedinItziar Diez-Canedo on LinkedinViaVia on LinkedInVia on InstagramVia on FacebookLaunchpad

Sustainably produced, healthy food is inaccessible to many, but it does not have to be this way. The food system is wasteful, unjust, and unsustainable. Noemie Delfassy is a food entrepreneur and recipe creator. Her company, Frecious, works with local farms, using in-season produce to produce healthy, organic snacks. Through a combination of technology, supply chain innovation, and operational process transformation, Noemie has managed to carve a niche in the food sector. In today's episode, we hear more about what Frecious does, and Noemie shares the impetus for starting the company. She offers insights into why she left a stable career to go down this unpredictable, but ultimately rewarding, path. Noemie talks about fundraising and the reason she has not partnered with external investors. Despite the availability of venture capital, finding a backer that is as committed to true sustainability as she is, has proven to be challenging. Our conversation also touches on staying motivated on the path you have chosen to follow, dealing with a toxic work environment, and much more. Tune in to hear it all.  Key Points From This Episode:Get to know today's guest, Noemie Delfassy, and what her company, Frecious, does. The inspiration behind the recipes that Frecious produces. How Frecious goes about testing new recipes and flavor combinations. The two reasons Noemie switched from being B2B to B2C. Two of the challenges Frecious has faced moving into a product line. Noemie's thinking around fundraising and why she made the choice she did. What Noemie's hiring philosophy and approach is. How Noemie maintains so much conviction on the path she has chosen to walk. The moment when Noemie doubted she was able to get Frecious off the ground and how they recovered from this. How Noemie dealt with her former workplace, which was toxic.  Noeme's advice for women who are facing difficulties in their workplaces.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Noemie Delfassy on TwitterNoemie Delfassy on InstagramFrecious

In the notoriously unsustainable world of fashion, daring to do things differently is no easy feat. Yet, it is something today's guest, Diarra Bousso's conscious lifestyle brand, DIARRABLU, has managed to excel at. Divided between her home country of Senegal and the U.S., DIARRABLU draws on Senegalese artisanal skills and clothes-making principles. These are the clothes you will have for life. Along with being a serial entrepreneur, Diarra is also a creative mathematician and multidisciplinary artist. In this episode, Diarra shares her journey with us, from growing up in Dakar to working on Wall Street and everything in between. We hear about the accident that changed her life and how she had the confidence to step out and try something new even when she did not have a clear idea of what she wanted to do. Diarra talks about the instrumental role her family has played and still plays in her success, and she reflects on the benefits of having a constant and consistent hype team. Our conversation also touches on how DIARRABLU stays true to its ethos, why Diarra loves teaching, and what's on the horizon for the company.  Key Points From This Episode:Get to know today's guest, Diarra Bousso. What Diarra's upbringing in Senegal was like and the philosophy of excellence that was instilled in her. Diarra's winding career journey and how she came to combine her range of skills. Why Diarra decided to be an entrepreneur despite not knowing what she was going to do. The event that led Diarra to quit her job in finance and pursue a creative path. How Diarra started her business in Senegal. The challenge Diarra had teaching high school math and what she learned from it. Growth diarrablu has seen since it started and how it remains true to its roots How many people work at diarrablu currently. An example of how diarrablu has stayed true to its ethos while reaching a broader market. The community that diarrablu has built and the level of consciousness they have. Something Diarra has recently learned. The role that Diarra's parents played in instilling confidence in her. A recent time Diarra needed to be hyped up. What the future has in store for diarrablu's company structure. How teaching inspires Diarra and the role it has played in helping her be a better leader.Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:Diarra Bousso on InstagramDiarra Bousso on TwitterdiarrabluJeremy Utley