Episode 38- Strengthening the European startup/investing ecosystem through community, knowledge sharing and connections with Ben Costantini of Startup Sesame

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Terri talks to Ben Costantini about how Startup Sesame events are designed to help founders identify the best events to build their businesses and ultimately strengthen the European startup/investing ecosystem through community, knowledge sharing and connections.

Who is Ben Costantini?

Ben Costantini runs Startup Sesame, the largest alliance of Tech events in Europe and Connectors, an innovation studio specialized in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ben is also the curator of Symposium Stockholm, the festival of ideas founded by Daniel Ek and Ash Pournouri. Ben has more than ten years of experience in conference organization, and has one of the most extensive and trusted networks of event founders in the world. He is an expert in the creative industries and advises entrepreneurs and investors in early and growth stages.  He was a Global Entertainment and Music Business instructor at the Valencia Campus of Berklee College of Music and the co-founder of the school’s student-run label, Disrupción Records.

 

Show Highlights

  • Ben talks about Startup Sesame; there are 30 partner events and right now they are accepting applications for the 2018 cohort of startups with applications due by 3/1 to participate in the one-year program.

  • Startup Sesame curates events to help startup founders identify the best events to attend to help build their businesses and to strengthen the European startup/investing ecosystem.

  • Terri’s favorite startup event is Slush in Helsinki because of the content and the events that encourage connecting.

  • What is Startup Sesame’s criteria for adding new event partners?   

  • Is it a startup event?  

  • Does it provide a strong startup offering?  

  • Is it happening at the same time as an existing partner event?

  • Is it happening in the same city where there is an existing partner event?  

  • Ben sees positive activity in startups, investing, and regulations in Europe to make innovation easier. There are now entrepreneurial and technical classes in school for kids.   Innovation doesn’t only happen in Silicon Valley.

Ben Costantini of Startup Sesame sees positive activity in startups, investing, and regulations in Europe to make innovation easier.  Innovation doesn’t only happen in Silicon Valley. @PilotingLife  Click to Tweet

  • One of the challenges in Europe is around funding.  There’s early stage money and later stage money but there’s a gap in the middle.   

  • Another challenge is around regulation and politics.  The European startup cities are competing rather than focusing on a pan-European market or a digital single market.   

  • Terri asked about whether GDPR is going to be helpful for European startups or a barrier to entry.  Per Ben, bigger companies are going to have an advantage because they can hire more people to comply with GDPR.  This will be harder for smaller companies and will have a negative impact on innovation.  This will provide opportunities for innovation in helping companies comply with GDPR.  There’s a great opportunity in copywriting in Europe for innovation.   

  • Terri talks about hoping to see a right-sizing of the need to meet the GDPR regulations.  

  • Anyone who wants to meet up with Startup Sesame or Ben at 4YFN in Barcelona, they will be there Feb 26th through March 1st 2018.   

  • Startup Sesame will be reviewing applications and narrowing down to 30 candidates to identify the final startups for the 2018 program. The winners will be attending a retreat in Valencia, Spain at the end of March to meet each other and the Startup Sesame community.   

  • Valencia, Spain has a robust startup scene with over 100 startups, there are 30 investment funds and 40 co-working spaces.   

  • If Ben could wave a magic wand, he would make information and knowledge available to everyone, everywhere because a lot of struggles and wars occur because information is not readily available.   

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway

Innovation happens at the fringe; not at the center

 

References in the Podcast

  • Startup Sesame: https://www.startupsesame.com/

  • GDPR:  https://www.eugdpr.org/

  • 4YFN: https://www.4yfn.com/

  • Slush: http://www.slush.org/

  • Mobile World Congress: https://www.mobileworldcongress.com/

  • Station F: https://stationf.co/

  • theCamp:  https://thecamp.fr/

 

Contact

Ben can be reached at ben@startupsesame.com.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Information about Startup Sesame's latest application process for European Startups/

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Terri talks about how she forgot to press Record for the interview of Ben Costantini of Startup Sesame but wanted to share the info about the new Startup Sesame cohort with applications due on March 1 for startups wishing to apply for the Startup Sesame 2018 program. www.startupsesame.com. 

What is Startup Sesame? 

Startup Sesame is the largest alliance of tech events in Europe, helping startups grow with conferences, education and networking.  Startup Sesame is based in Paris, France and is led by Ben Costantini.   

click to tweet: When you are a Sesamer, you are part of a community that shares knowledge and experiences around tech events and benefit from its members. 

You can be a Sesamer if you are a startup, a company or an event.   Applications are due March 1, 2018

 

References in the Podcast 

 

Contact 

Ben can be reached at ben@startupsesame.com. 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 37 -Leaving the world a better place through job creation with Jillian Manus

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Terri talks to Jillian Manus about how she went from having her own businesses to leveraging her vast network to help build brands and companies and ultimately invest.  Jillian shares her passion for creating jobs that people can be proud of and the importance of being life-long learners.   

Who is Jillian Manus?

Jillian Manus is an experienced banking and media executive, a technology investor and entrepreneur.  She is the Managing Partner of Structure Capital.  In her role with Structure Capital, Jillian provides strategic support to founding teams.  Prior to Structure Capital, Jillian was founder of Broad Strategy, Manus Media and Global Goal Sports Management.  Jillian is a co-host on the podcast The Pitch, which has been called a ‘better, more realistic version of Shark Tank.’

 

Show Highlights

  • Terri asked Jillian about how she transitioned from starting her businesses to investing in startups

  • Jillian talks about how she used the Ginsu knife method to slice and dice to optimize and amplify the message for her clients

  • When she heard people wanted to venture into other areas, she would coach them through the path and use her vast network to bring the best people in

  • Jillian attributes her vast network to the fact that she talks to everyone she meets regardless of where she is and who they are

  • Jillian’s’ first question to people is ‘what can I do for you?’ which helps to build the relationship and build trust which makes it easier to ask for something later.  

  • Jillian uses the principle outlined in "the one thing" to focus on the most important because it makes everything behind it easier and helps to set boundaries for her time.   

  • Terri asked Jillian whether Jillian is bad at receiving and she responded with a story about Southern women who taught her the importance of graciously receiving a compliment with ‘thank you for being so kind.’

  • Jillian doesn’t see herself as successful yet and that she is not yet the best person she can be.  This fuels her and motivates her. She is fearless and gets out of her own way.   

  • Jillian and Terri talk about how women can be very mean to themselves and need to speak to themselves like they would to their friends and their seven year-old selves.

  • Jillian is the eternal optimist.  Jillian strong believes that you cannot waste time on worrying and other people’s bad behavior.   

  • To Jillian, 50 is fabulous.  You know your voice, you know who you are, you know what you don’t want.   

  • Terri talks about how she was demoralized for about 24-48 hours after reading Ellen Pau’s book Reset and the lack for accountability for the VCs because of the amount of money they have had and the resulting power associated with it.   

  • Terri and Jillian discuss whether we can shift the existing VCs to increase diversity in investing or if we need to create a separate funding ecosystem.  Jillian thinks the answer is a hybrid.  The existing investors are getting educated.   

  • Jillian says the problem is that men invest in people who look like them.  They can connect to the founder and their philosophies and character traits.  It’s a place of comfort to invest in other men.  Once they shift, there is a better outcome.  We aren’t going to be able to change all of them to step outside of their comfort zone.   

  • Jillian said that we need to create more onramps for other investors and provide women with the ability to invest in small amounts into the Seed round.  Before doing this, develop the top 10 questions to ask an entrepreneur and get educated on how to run a business.  This will give the comfort to be able to put money into startups.  

  • Jillian talks about the importance of being a life-long learner.   

  • Jillian never invests in a woman because she is a woman, but she does give women more opportunity to pitch to her.  Once there, they need to prove themselves at the same level.   

  • Women have an insight into men that men don’t have, having raised children.  Women are more easily able to see a person’s strengths and weaknesses.

  • Jillian is living the life she wants to live more than she has at any time in her life. 

  • If Jillian could wave a magic wand, she would make sure that every single person in this world had a job that they were proud of. The path to self-sufficiency paves the path to happiness and peace.  

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Jillian Manus would use her magic wand to give everyone a job they were proud of. The path to self-sufficiency paves the path to happiness and peace.

Click to Tweet

 

  • Jillian did not become a VC to make money, her mission is to create jobs for people and invest in founders for that reason.  She gives away 90% of income every year.   

  • She is passionate about supporting veterans and has invested in a startup (The Shift) to help veterans translate their military skills into the private sector.   

  • Jillian wants to leave the world a better place and she is doing it through creating jobs.   

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway

You cannot waste time on worrying and other people’s bad behavior.

 

References in the Podcast

  • The Pitch Episode #17:  Jillian’s backstory:  https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-pitch/17-investor-spotlight-jillian-manus

  • Structure Capital: http://structure.vc/

  • The One Thing:  The Surprisingly Simple Thing Behind Extraordinary Results: http://bit.ly/BookTheOneThing

  • Reset by Ellen Pau:  http://bit.ly/BookReset

  • The Shift: https://www.shift.org/

  • The Pitch:  The Shift:  https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-pitch/15-shift

  • Skillmil: https://www.skillmil.com/

 

Contact

Listen to Jillian on The Pitch: https://www.gimletmedia.com/the-pitch.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 36: Irrelevant after 40

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Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down on MLK Day over an Aviation cocktail to talk about how women over the age of 40 are so often perceived as irrelevant and yet based on their life experience, emotional connectedness, and the shifting needs of their kids (they are needed less), that this is the perfect time to stand more in who they are to become their best possible selves.   

Show Highlights 

  • Terri loves to participate and attend events organized by women because they tend to send home goodies as parting gifts. 

  • Terri and Jacqueline talk about how their kids are being more difficult and angsty; Jacqueline’s daughter Julia is stepping into her own and is encountering resistance with Jacqueline and her other daughter Naomi.  Terri is experiencing something similar with her daughter Rachel and they are both struggling with the shift.   

  • Jacqueline talk about the importance of recognizing when others are disrupting the pattern and shifting with the pattern disruption. 

  • Terri talks about how hard she works to have a better relationship with her children as they go through their teenage years and her need to have a more harmonious situation than she had with her parents.  

  • Terri talks about how hard it is to redefine who she is as her kids need her less and as she ages and is often overlooked or dismissed because of her age and appearance 

  • They talk about an article that came out citing that women over the age of 50 have so much to offer when starting up a company 

  • Jacqueline talks about having known some women over the age of 40 who knew what they wanted and stood tall with who they were; she had good role models for aging 

  • Jacqueline talks about how scary it is as a parent to let go of managing your kids and letting them figure it out on their own.   

  • As their kids are getting older, and are pulling away, it is acting as a great reminder to let go and focus more on themselves.   

  • Jacqueline talks about being a fangirl to marketing consultants instead of popstars 

  • Terri talks about her mentoring at the CSU Biotechnology Symposium students in Santa Clara, CA 

  • Terri talks about how often she gets dismissed in her investing work when people find out her degrees are from a Cal State school and expressed thanks to Neil Stanley for commenting that he wonders how anyone could ever dismiss her.  

  • Terri talks about how she is proud of being a helicopter pilot, being a Tesla early adopter and how she often uses these things when she isn’t grabbing the attention of others in her work and investing.  The men perk up when they otherwise dismiss her.   

  • Terri shares her conversation with her friend Eva who is a new mom and who is concerned about being able to contribute to the women’s movement at the same level and Terri reminded her that her focus needs to be on raising her child and eventually she will have time to give back at the level that she wants. She reminded Eva that there are ebbs and flows to the time that is available to contribute at more extensive levels. And that creating good members of society is an important role in society. 

  • Jacqueline talks about how being a parent is a boot camp for other things in life.  

  • Terri talks about how as parents we have to get outside of ourselves to learn how to coach, mentor and guide our children so that they know how to think and act independently when they leave the house college.  

  • Terri talks about how she was drunk the first semester of college as a result of her parents having been incredibly strict.  She sobered up her second semester and ended up engaged but not focused on school.  The drug/alcohol options were so limited at that time versus what is available now both in high school and college.   Terri is using the show Grown-ish to feed her information to have conversations with her son Adam.   

  • Terri talks about how we are in this fabulous place of change and we have huge opportunities to make a significant shift.  Jacqueline responded with how we have been focused externally and now we have an opportunity to focus internally.   

  • Jacqueline talks to how important it is to practice compassion as we make this shift    

  • Words of wisdom 

  • Practice radical compassion for yourself 

  • Continue to grow and develop 

  • You are an individual with needs, desires, and dreams and there is going to be an ebb and flow to available time and energy.  Remain in tune with who you are…remain the pilot in your own life regardless of who is in your aircraft.   

  • Terri talks how important it was to her to share her vulnerability over the loss of her friend’s husband over the weekend and how importance it is for her to have her kids see her being vulnerability. Terri continues to strip away the adaptations that no longer serve her and continue to redefine who she is and her own definition of success.  

  • Jacqueline talks about how women are able to process both the emotional and the rational and yet men are not able to do both at the same time.  And men are not able to recognize that women can do both.   

  • Feel free to reach out to Terri and Jacqueline if you need help feeling empowered.   

  • They both send out a little extra love and compassion.  

 

Call to Action 

If you want to come and co-work with Terri and Jacqueline at Terri’s house in Redwood City. send an email to PilotingYourLife@gmail.com and we will figure out how to make it happen.   

 

References in the Podcast 

  • Aviation cocktail:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_(cocktail) 

  • Helsin Gin:  https://www.macwellcreative.fi/helsingin 

  • OP Financial: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OP_Financial_Group 

  • TheVault:  https://www.thevault.co/ 

  • NAWBO: https://www.nawbo.org/san-francisco-bay-area 

  • Neil Stanley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neiljstanley/ 

  • Black-ish:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-ish 

  • Grown-ish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grown-ish 

 

Contact 

You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jacquelineStee or find her on her website at www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com. 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 35 -Micah Brown on the definition of success and providing greater opportunities for people of color in business

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Terri talks with Micah Brown about now being the perfect time to redefine the definition of success and provide greater opportunities to a more diverse group of people. 

Terri talks to Micah Brown about his experience as a founder of color in New York City and how we can change the funding dynamics for founders of color and female founders and ultimately the definition of success.  This is the second part of the interview that we abruptly cut off last week leaving you, hopefully, hanging on the edge of your seat for Micah’s experience with the diversity investor. Wait no more.     

 

Who is Micah Brown? 

Micah is a self-proclaimed visionary technologist with an intersection of skills consisting of data and algorithm understanding, HCI-centric digital technologies, financial services, financial engineering and media services. He has over 10 years of experience (up to the SVP level) across companies like Aon, Barclays, NBC and Viacom. Micah has a deep technological understanding and a strong commitment to social causes; at the center of Centiment and FilmFundr is the need to level the playing field in media for minorities. 

 

Show Highlights 

  • Micah talks about an experience with an investor with a diversity lens who led him to take a hard, corrective action.  The investor said that Micah was example of a POC founder that should be invested in although he doesn’t actually invest in diversity.   

  • Micah points out some logic to the investor about his portfolio, the data around the startups in his portfolio, and then the data about the POC company in his portfolio which was beating out all the other companies in the portfolio.  

  • Micah points out the importance of deploying raw intellect with these investors to point out the flaws in the investors’ hypotheses to ultimately shift.   

  • Terri talks about how difficult for people to shift off their value sets to  

  • Terri poses the question as to whether we are going to be able to get these primarily white male investors to shift in their investing or do we need to create a new ecosystem of funding.  

  • Micah talks about how difficult it is starting up a company and raising money and the difficulty for the investors to empathize with struggling founders of color.   

  • Micah talks about the difficulty in getting funding if you are a person of color because of the makeup of the current VCs.   

  • Micah talks about the importance of getting LPs to invest in funds that can create a new ecosystem of funding to invest in startups because right now saying that you invest with a diversity lens is PR and there is no substance behind it.  

  • Micah talked about the H&M and Pepsi advertisement debacle where they had badly sourced focus groups.  This was a perfect example of why having people who could potentially be offended in the decision-making process 

  • Last year in NYC, there were 780 non-POC companies that got funding in 2017 and only 15.   

  • He talked about the importance of naming and shaming to raise awareness and begin to affect change.   

  • Terri talked about how Trump’s election triggered many people, including her, to no longer be complacent, and emphasized the need to speak up and take action.  She was cautiously optimistic after the Justin Caldbeck scandal but then more optimistic after Harvey Weinstein and then the politicians in terms of we might be able to move the needle and move more quickly in leveling the playing field.    

  • Terri talks about the importance of getting LPs to invest not because it’s a diversity play, but because it’s a good business play.  Terri is concerned about the funding gap in later stages for these startups.   

  • Centiment is brain-powered advertising.  Micah said that big companies are able to get away with what they are doing because their processes and perspectives are narrow.  Centiment.io is scalable neurocomputing delivered by SaaS that can be used to provide responses as one would get in focus groups.  They have an emotional search that takes the ideas and provides feedback as to what the emotional response will be.   

  • If Micah could wave a magic wand, he would change the definition of success.  Once you change the definition of success, you can affect so much including how women perceive themselves and promoting opportunities for the American Dream for a larger group of people.  

  • Micah and Terri talk about what they have sacrificed, and the cost associated with pursuing ‘success’ as it is currently defined.   

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway 

References in the Podcast 

  • Centiment: https://centiment.io/beta/ 

  • Film Fundr:  https://filmfundr.com/ 

  • Harlem Capital Partners:  http://harlem.capital/ 

  • Kapor Capital: http://www.kaporcapital.com/ 

  • Backstage Capital: http://backstagecapital.com/ 

  • StitchFix: https://www.stitchfix.com/ 

  • Neuromarketing: Neuromarketing is a field that applies the principles of neuroscience to marketing research, studying consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective response to marketing stimuli (Wikipedia). 

  • How Centiment could have helped H&M avoid the PR issue:  https://brandthropologie.com/hm 

  • Founders Privilege:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/founders-privilege-doing-everything-nothing-ainsley-patrick-brown/?trackingId=CuoGabO7WC4wrR8OXAEyMg%3D%3D 

  • Girl Boss Radio:  https://www.girlboss.com/podcast/ 

 

Contact 

Micah can be reached via Twitter @MicahAPBrown 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

 

 

 

References in the Podcast

 

Contact

Micah can be reached via Twitter @MicahAPBrown

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 34 -Micah Brown and how he hacked the system to get ahead in business.

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Terri talks with Micah Brown about his early days in South London where he learned how to hack the processes that screened out people like him.

Terri talks to Micah Brown about his early days growing up in South London, becoming Mr. Banker Man while working at Barclay’s starting at age 16, and how learned to hack the processes that screened out people like him. This is the first of a two-part interview where he gives us the background that eventually led to starting Film Fundr and Centiment.io.

Who is Micah Brown?

Micah is a self-proclaimed visionary technologist with an intersection of skills consisting of data and algorithm understanding, HCI-centric digital technologies, financial services, financial engineering and media services. He has over 10 years of experience (up to the SVP level) across companies like Aon, Barclays, NBC and Viacom. Micah has a deep technological understanding and a strong commitment to social causes; at the center of Centiment and FilmFundr is the need to level the playing field in media for minorities.

Show Highlights

  • Micah talks about growing up in South London in a very Christian, strict and sheltered household with his dad who was a pharmacy technician and his mom who was a hairdresser
  • Micah’s dad was a trained pharmacist in Jamaica and had his own pharmacy when he met Micah’s mom and proposed when they first met. Eventually she said yes and because his mom had dual citizenship, after they married, they moved to the UK.
  • Terri tells the story of her dating and dumping her husband three times starting in 8th grade and how they eventually got married when they were 26 and are still married 21 years later. They met when they were 10 in the 5th grade (or so her husband remembers as he met both Terri and her identical twin sister Sherry on the same day).
  • Micah talks about his early work days and earning money to learn how to code that eventually led to working at Barclay’s Bank as a cashier at 16, being called Mr. Banker Man and how he ended up in credit risk at 17.
  • He kept getting turned down for a Barclay’s job because he didn’t have a degree and found a different way to be seen as a person, and not just a number, to get the credit risk job.
click to tweet Click to Tweet: In business and Technology the incumbents have created mental moats that make simple things seem impossible -@MicahAPBrown on #PilotingYourLife @PilotingLife bit.ly/PYL034-2018

In business and Technology the incumbents have created mental moats that make simple things seem impossible -Micah Brown on Piloting Your Life bit.ly/PYL034-2018

 

  • Micah talks about how the tech incumbents create mental moats around fairly simple things seem impossible for women and people of color. There is mythology around these things that makes these people think that it’s too hard and impossible, and not for them and this needs to stop.
  • Terri talks about how the check-the-box criteria perpetuates the problem associated with screening out a diverse candidate set because the checkboxes tend to only allow in one set of candidates that all fit the same mold. It’s not about lowering the standards; it’s about changing the requirements to introduce a new and more powerful dynamic.
  • Micah talks about the cognitive dissonance associated with how the hierarchical society is supposed to work versus how it actually works here in the US.
  • We end abruptly with Micah talking about how he counters some of this with raw intellect and data which he explains in detail in the second part of the interview.

 

 

 

 

References in the Podcast

 

 

Contact

Micah can be reached via Twitter @MicahAPBrown

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 33 - Angel Investments

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Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over some champagne to talk about how she made her first angel investment in MyHealthTeams and realized after her second, third and fourth investments (Sandstone Diagnostics, Zum and TomboyX) that her investment thesis was to invest in companies with products or services that improve people’s lives. Now she is focused exclusively on digital health which is a narrowing of her original thesis. 

Show Highlights

  • Terri makes the intro as to the topic and why this week she is talking about her angel investments
  • Terri is going to be on a medtech angels panel at RESI in San Francisco this week and will be focused on her investment interest area of digital health while the other panelists will most likely be focused on
  • Terri talks about the need to leverage data and technology to flip healthcare on its head and put information in the hands of patients
  • Terri talks about how optimistic she is about Apple’s approach to changing healthcare versus how disappointed she is with Google and Verily and her experience with Project Baseline
  • Terri’s first angel investment was in: MyHealthTeams: social networks for millions of people living with chronic illnesses. They currently have 28 conditions including MS, Lupus, HIV, diabetes, Parkinsons. Female co-founder based in San Francisco. Terri has doubled down on this company in their Series B and Series C raises.
  • Jacqueline asked what an investment thesis is and Terri responded that she sees it as the criteria under which she chooses in her investments. Her investment thesis is to invest in companies that have products or services that improve people’s lives.
  • Terri talks about not actively looking for diverse founding teams but gravitating towards
  • Sandstone Diagnostics: home sperm count device and kit with an application for men to monitor their sperm count from home with guidance for improving the count from the application. The product is Trak and is FDA cleared. Founder was male but they brought in a new CEO, Karen Drexler shortly after Terri’s first investment (she’s tripled down on this one). They are based Livermore, CA.
  • Zum: on demand and scheduled rides and care for kids ages 5 and up. Terri has tripled down on her investment with them. Female CEO and co-founder. If this had existed when her kids were little, her husband could have continued to work. Sequoia led a $5M Series A in early 2017 which is a good signal.
  • Jacqueline asks Terri how she decides to invest in a company. Her response:
    • She listens to her gut
    • It has to be something that the world needs
    • She has to believe the management team is going to take the company far
    • There has to be a big enough market opportunity
    • The company needs to have a big enough opportunity that a VC will invest to help the startup grow
    • It has to make sense and be reasonable and rational
    • She looks for revenue opportunities and the possibility of getting profitable
  • Terri is an EIR (advisor) with Tech Futures Group and sees a lot of people looking for angel investors to invest in their research projects. This doesn’t resonate well with Terri; she needs to be able to see a path to revenue.
  • TomboyX: underwear, swimwear, socks and hats designed for people regardless of where they fit into the size or gender spectrum. Terri knows many women who have been buying men’s underwear that doesn’t quite fit them. The female co-founders saw this as an opportunity and have created a fabulous brand and product. Terri’s daughter and one of Jacqueline’s daughters loves their underwear. Terri has tripled down on this one. They are based in Seattle, WA. Terri loves the brand play and sees them as an early exit to a company like Calvin Klein, Nordstrom, Fruit of the Loom, or Hanes.
  • Terri talks about the shift in demographics and how women would much rather buy, and pay a premium, for products made for them.
  • Jacqueline asked why Terri invested in TomboyX again. Terri continued to believe in what they were doing, was impressed with their growth, and she wanted to continue to support them as they encountered cash crunches due to their growth. Terri is frustrated by the lack of funding opportunities for some of these companies.
  • Terri was asked to contribute an essay for a book that Jenn LeBlanc is writing about supporting female founders. Terri is determined to work with other like-minded women looking to invest in some of the overlooked opportunities by creating a mesh network of investors across the country and around the world.
  • Tactical Haptics: tactical feedback controller, initially for VR. Long term, medical training. All male team based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Terri believes that women need to take bigger financial risks to achieve the rewards that men are able to achieve.
  • Terri was looking at between 250-500 deals a month between January and August 2017 and didn’t feel the need to invest in any of them.
  • Tueo Health: digital health solution to improve the monitoring and management of children’s’ asthma. Female CEO/Co-Founder: Bronwyn Harris…she is totally kick ass. They are based in San Francisco.
  • Terri talked about the importance of having healthcare solutions for kids that make the lives of parents better as most of the impact is on the mom. It’s also important to get ahead of the diseases because they turn into more significant issues when the kids become adults.
  • Magnetic Insight: they are bringing clinical imaging into the 21st century. They do magnetic particle imagining which is a new ultrasensitive high resolution molecular imaging approach that detects nanoparticles in the body over a great length of time. Female CEO and Co-Founder; based in Alameda, CA.

 

Call to Action

Get outside of your comfort zone. Take a risk. And share with me your mini-adventure at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

 

References in the Podcast

 

Contact

You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jacquelineStee or find her on her website at www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 32 Happy New Year 2018

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Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over a cup of coffee to reflect on how they plan to start 2018. For them it’s not about the resolutions. They discuss letting go of what no longer serves them, living in alignment with core values or noble goals, planning and productivity tools, and being the pilots in their own lives.

 

 

Show Highlights

  • Terri talks about starting new behaviors or habits on any day of the year and not setting New Year’s resolutions
  • Terri and Jacqueline talk about calendars, planners, and their love of paper planners throughout the podcast
  • Terri’s core values are freedom, belonging and self-respect and the importance of making decisions in alignment with her core values
  • Jacqueline’s life purpose/noble goal is posted at her desk to remind daily and is to help herself and others find the self-compassion and self-respect so that they have the courage to be their best selves in the world and make the biggest difference in the world
  • Arian Simon recommends looking for fulfillment instead of balance which Terri is adopting for 2018
  • Terri and Jacqueline talk about being the pilots in your own lives by
    • Living authentically without apology
    • Having courage instead of being fearless
    • Asking for what you want
    • Saying yes or saying no to support your own goals, objectives and sanity
    • Being defiant: standing up for your own truth
    • Giving yourself permission to change your mind
    • Taking the steps and trust that the path will present itself
    • Lean into the discomfort
    • Having patience
  • Terri writes down the following reminders every day as intentions every day
    • Set boundaries
    • Stop avoiding (or take action)
  • Jacqueline tells the story of the starfish on the beach and the woman who is throwing the starfish back into the ocean one at a time, making a difference for each of the starfish that she throws back into the ocean
  • Letting go of what no longer serves you: expectations, resentment, people, behaviors, thoughts
  • Living in integrity means that there is no friction and its effortless. The definition of integrity is when your words and actions match, and are in alignment with your commitments, values, beliefs and life vision.
  • Terri talks about how she has been changing over the last few years and how other people in her life have not reacted well to the changes
  • Jaqueline talks about the importance of reflecting on the year and how the holidays can be the perfect time to do this
  • A ship in harbor is safe but that’s not what ships are built for.
  • Happy New Year!

Call to Action

Be your best self. Define your core values or noble goal/life purpose. Make your decisions consistent with these values/purposes. Let go of what no longer serves you. Stay focused on the bigger picture. Take one step at a time and path will present itself. Have faith and trust.

 

References in the Podcast

 

 

Contact

You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jacquelineStee or find her on her website at www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 31 - Theresa Piasta's experience as a woman in the army and getting a job on wall street

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Terri talks with Theresa Piasta, CEO and Founder of Puppy Mama about her experience in the Army, her deployment in Iraq, finding a civilian job and how playing competitive soccer helped her professionally.  

Terri talks to Theresa Piasta, CEO and Founder of Puppy Mama about her experience in the US Army and her 14-month deployment in Iraq. Theresa shares her journey in choosing to go into the military, touches on some of the challenges in being a woman in the military, and how she leveraged LinkedIn and informal veteran network to land a civilian job on Wall Street after she got out of the military.

Who is Theresa Piasta?

Theresa Piasta is the Founder of Puppy Mama - a pet-tech company leveraging technology to enhance the lives of dog moms around the world. The Puppy Mama online store is bringing style to dog moms everywhere! And, the Puppy Mama web application gives dog moms a safe place to share, connect with one another, effortlessly schedule fun meet ups with their friends, and rate businesses, travel services, and hotels to advocate for a more dog-friendly world.

Before Puppy Mama, Theresa was a Vice President at JPMorgan, and served as an Army Captain in a Field Artillery Brigade. During her 14-month Iraq deployment in 2008, Theresa led a large team to defend thousands on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delta near the Iranian border.  She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her service.

 Theresa attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business Ignite program and received a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College.  She also studied military science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a ROTC scholarship recipient and was a collegiate soccer player for two seasons during her time at Wellesley College.

Show Highlights

  • Theresa talks about her experience in the US Army and her deployment in Iraq
  • She expands on why military veterans would make good founders and employees in the civilian world and the difficulties in getting jobs after being in the military
  • Theresa talked about leveraging LinkedIn when she came back from Iraq to get her job on Wall Street and how she leveraged the veterans network
  • Terri asks Theresa if her time playing competitive soccer helped her achieve her professional and entrepreneurial goals
  • Terri talks about one of her favorite soccer tournaments in Petaluma over Halloween when she was a kid
  • Terri asks Theresa about whether she’s had trouble being taken seriously because she is beautiful or if this has helped her
  • Theresa talks about how she had two choices in the type of woman she was going to be in the military and suffered retaliation as a result of her choice to not date men in the military
  • Theresa came from a military family and chose to go into the military after she graduated from Wellesley College after participating in the ROTC program at MIT
  • Theresa is very proud to have been in the military and to have served her country, but she didn’t sign up for the extreme sexual harassment she experienced while in the military

Terri’s Key Takeaway

It is important for girls to play competitive sports to learn valuable life skills that apply beyond the field or court.

 

References in the Podcast

 

Contact

Theresa can be reached at woof@puppymama.com

Waffles can be reached at waffles@puppymama.com

Instagram: @puppy.mama

Puppy Mama application; https://app.puppymama.com/auth

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 30 - Panel on Shifting Demographics at Slush Helsinki

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Terri moderated a panel on shifting demographics and the need to shift investing along with it while in Helsinki for Slush recently. On the panel were Monique Woodard of 500 Startups and Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures. 

Terri had the pleasure of moderating a panel at Slush in Helsinki on November 30th and the video was released which allowed Jacqueline to strip the audio for your listening pleasure. The topic was shifting demographics and the need to shift investment along with it. Terri was joined by Monique Woodard of 500 Startups and Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures.

 

Who is Terri Mead?

Terri Hanson Mead is President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, a consulting company that provides IT strategy and IT compliance services in the life sciences space in addition to expert witness consulting services.  She is also an active angel investor and former Vice President of Sand Hill Angels, regularly advises startups and in her spare time, flies helicopters.  She is passionate about supporting, and advocating for, female founders and investors and has created Class Bravo Ventures to more formally do so. 

Show Highlights

  1. Setting the stage for the panel discussion with Monique Woodard of 500 Startups and Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures (USV): this is not a diversity panel; it is a panel on investing
  2. Why don’t we see more venture capital going to startups focused on building and providing products and services for these underserved markets?
  3. What is the market shift that you see so clearly and how can VCs capitalize on the opportunities for significant and real returns?
  4. Should we see the recent IPO of Stitch Fix as something that will ignite the interest of investors in startups targeting the female consumer?
  5. Should we see the shift of digital health, specifically in FemTech, from B2C to B2B as being potentially more attractive to the primarily male VCs or will the startups still be overlooked due to lack relatability or the ‘Ick’ factor so commonly associated with female-focused companies?
  6. Where are you seeing progress in getting more money into the hands of the startups focused on the black and LatinX markets? Or are you?
  7. Do you think we are going to be able to get VCs to shift along with the demographics and demand or do you think we are better off creating new investors to focus on investing in startups that more closely align with their values?
  8. Do you think that the political climate in the US will have any impact on startups targeting these under-represented markets?
  9. How do we convince our primarily male, white VCs that if they don’t shift their investing lens and strategies that they will be missing out on huge opportunities?

 

References:

 

Contacts

You can follow Monique on Twitter @moniquewoodard or on her website at http://www.moniquewoodard.com/

You can follow Albert on Twitter @albertwenger or on their website at https://www.usv.com/about/albert-wenger

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead

Feel free to email her at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 29 - How Theresa Piasta helps women live life more fully with their pup

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Terri talks with Theresa Piasta, CEO and Founder of Puppy Mama about how she decided to take her experience improving her health through canine therapy to build a business around finding ways for women to live their lives more fully with their pups.

Terri talks to Theresa Piasta, CEO and Founder of Puppy Mama about how she decided to take her experience improving her health through canine therapy to build a business around finding ways for women to live their lives more fully with their pups. This includes both through accessories and apparel for their dogs and finding pet-friendly places for them to take their dogs with them whether it be for travel, dining, or other daily activities.

Who is Theresa Piasta?

Theresa Piasta is the Founder of Puppy Mama - a pet-tech company leveraging technology to enhance the lives of dog moms around the world. The Puppy Mama online store is bringing style to dog moms everywhere! And, the Puppy Mama web application gives dog moms a safe place to share, connect with one another, effortlessly schedule fun meet ups with their friends, and rate businesses, travel services, and hotels to advocate for a more dog-friendly world.

Before Puppy Mama, Theresa was a Vice President at JPMorgan, and served as an Army Captain in a Field Artillery Brigade. During her 14-month Iraq deployment in 2008, Theresa led a large team to defend thousands on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delta near the Iranian border.  She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her service.

 Theresa attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business Ignite program and received a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College.  She also studied military science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a ROTC scholarship recipient and was a collegiate soccer player for two seasons during her time at Wellesley College.

Show Highlights

  • Terri and Theresa talk about meeting at The Guild’s Serendipity event this past fall
  • Theresa talks about what Puppy Mama, her dog Waffles, and how she came up with the idea for Puppy Mama
  • Terri asks about the size of the market for pet care and more specifically about how big the market is for Puppy Mama with the two different focus areas for Puppy Mama
  • Big businesses like Disney are recognizing the needs of their customers and have opened up some of their facilities to pets and pet owners in order to attract them to their businesses.
  • Theresa talks about the difficulties associated with being a female founder with a startup targeting the female consumer market
  • If Theresa could wave a magic wand, she would make it so that people would treat each other like dogs treat each other and create positive human interactions

Terri’s Key Takeaway

Female founders with startups targeting a female audience continue to find challenges in raising capital from male investors who often need to be educated on the size of the market opportunity and that the opportunity actually exists.

References in the Podcast

 

https://app.puppymama.com As canine therapy and building positive community were essential for me to find healing along my own personal recovery journey from PTSD, my goal for this PTSD Awareness Day was to share a video interview with a clinical psychologist.

Contact

Theresa can be reached at woof@puppymama.com

Waffles can be reached at waffles@puppymama.com

Instagram: @puppy.mama

Puppy Mama application; https://app.puppymama.com/auth

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 28 - Terri's 16 year old son, Adam Mead on overcoming fear and anxiety

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Terri talks to her son Adam about how he struggled with being bullied in middle school and how this experience has shaped him.  He still suffers from anxiety and is afraid of the unknown but he is using his newly found empathy to help others who he sees struggling as well.  They talk about everything from what to expect from college, how you don’t have to have it all figured out, and that it’s ok to change your mind.      

Who is Adam Mead? 

Adam is Terri’s 16-year old son who is a junior at Woodside High in Redwood City.  He was born in San Francisco and moved to Redwood City when he was one.  He loves performing in plays and musicals and regrets not having played water polo his freshman year.  He is a reluctant academic achiever and is taking three AP classes this year along with drama, Latin and regular history.  He has a girlfriend, Alyssa, who is also in drama with him.  They enjoy hanging out playing video games and watching movies together.  All in all, he’s a good kid.   

 

Show Highlights 

  • Adam talks about how his terrible experience in middle school has shaped him to be cynical, resilient and empathetic 

  • Adam and Terri talk about the importance of lightening up and not being afraid of looking at colleges or life in general 

  • Adam turned the table and asked Terri if having a stable job has made it easier to figure out what she wants in life 

  • They talk about the fear of unknown and not being afraid of taking chances 

  • Adam talks about how he’s dealt with some of his lowest points including having suicidal thoughts 

  • Terri talks about how she continues to develop the tools to deal with new situations and how she doesn’t expect Adam to have it all figured out either  

  • Adam talks about anxiety and fear of failure and how he is trying to cope with both 

  • They talk about college in terms of what to look for in searching for one and what to expect from the experience 

  • Terri talks about how you don’t have to have it all figured out when you go to college, get out of college and after and how she didn’t and used being an opportunist to get to where she is today 

  • Adam would wave a magic wand to make food free and have economic freedom 

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway 

Having conversations like this with her son fills her heart and her soul.   

 

References in the Podcast 

 

 

Contact 

You can reach Adam through Terri at terrihansonmead@gmail.com.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 27 - Attending the Startup conference Slush in Helsinki in 2016

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Terri talks about traveling to the startup conference Slush in Helsinki last year via the specially charted flight and how it is like no other startup conference.  She learned about digital health in the Nordics, operated on very little sleep, and was impressed by how well run the event is.  Terri is looking forward tosome new experiences at the event this year including moderating a panel on shifting demographics and the need to adapt to the shift in terms of investing.   

   

Who is Terri Mead? 

Terri Hanson Mead is President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, a consulting company that provides IT strategy and IT compliance services in the life sciences space in addition to expert witness consulting services.  She is also an active angel investor and former Vice President of Sand Hill Angels, regularly advises startups and in her spare time, flies helicopters.  She is passionate about supporting, and advocating for, female founders and investors and has created Class Bravo Ventures to more formally do so.  

Show Highlights 

  • Terri talks about the chartered flight from SFO to Helsinki, Santa Claus visiting the flight,  the mannequin challenge and collecting her posse as she leaves the plane 

  • Terri takes you through the various events including visiting the Swedish and US embassies in Helsinki  

  • Terri hits a wall on day three of the event, gets a power nap and attends another US embassy event followed by dinner at the hotel to thank her concierge and driver 

  • Terri talks about what she’s afraid on this trip including being in a bathing suit in a sauna in the winter and being disappointed  

  • Terri, Stu and others get to the airport for the flight home in a sleep-deprived state 

References: 

 

Contacts 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead 

Feel free to email her at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 26 - Interview with Chris Brown on startups in Estonia, fighting against our own biology, and the importance of connecting as humans.

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Terri talks to Chris Brown about his time in Estonia working with startups and how VCs invest in the same things because they are afraid of being wrong.   She also talks to him about how we must fight against our human biology in the way we make decisions and actively break down the walls that keep us from connecting as humans.   

 

 

Who is Chris Brown?

Chris has worked in multiple roles around the startup scene for past several years both in Europe and in the US. He's a passionate and driven connector and advisor, and over the last several years has worked in acceleration, VC, and startup/corporate collaboration. He believes unwaveringly in the power of technology to break down ancient barriers of business, politics, and culture, while in the process bringing the world closer together. 

 

Show Highlights

  • Chris discusses how he ended up in Estonia, gives us a little history lesson on Estonia and describes how it has become a hotbed for startups and technology
  • Terri and Chris talk about shifting demographics and demands and the opportunities in changing investment focus as a result
  • Chris talks about how VCs invest in the same things because they are afraid of being wrong
  • Terri talks about how more and more women are becoming investors and are looking at the investment opportunities through a different lens that are in alignment with their values
  • Chris talks about how we need to fight against our human biology to shift our attention from outliers and waxes philosophical about how we make decisions as humans
  • Chris would wave a magic wand to change our need for tribes that separate us as humans and break down the walls that keep us from connecting as humans

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway

While we need some of our delusions to survive, we need to challenge our beliefs to thrive.  

 

References in the Podcast

 

Contact

Chris an be reached via LinkedIn with a message about why you want to connect:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjbcreighton/

And on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cjbcreighton

And on Twitter:  @cjbcreighton

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. 

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com.

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Episode 25 Bubbly Bonus - Giving Thanks and Celebrating Accomplishments

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Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over a glass of champagne to celebrate the accomplishments of the last year that are so clearly detailed in the new business cards Jacqueline designed for Terri. 

Show Highlights 

  • Terri and Jacqueline celebrated their first discussion a year ago that prompted the work that is perfectly illustrated in Terri’s new business cards designed by Jacqueline 

  • Jacqueline talks about personal branding and how she worked with Terri to define her brand that led to the creation of the website www.terrihansonmead.com released in Q1/2017. 

  • Terri and Jacqueline started working on the podcast in April with the goal to release in June after Necker Island but missed that goal and ultimately released late September 

  • They talk about how the podcast came together and the learnings from the podcast; Terri and Jacqueline continue to iterate on the podcast and weekly email as they receive great feedback and emails from listeners  

  • Terri talks about the other changes in her professional life and the expansion of her services and experiences including expert witness work, speaking engagements, shifts in her investing, and international expansion in addition to the podcast 

  • Jacqueline and Terri conducted a strategy session (with the help of wine or Dutch courage) to define their ambitions and goals for 2018 

  • 2017 has been a rough year politically and Jacqueline introduced the concept of stubborn gladness that she heard about on a podcast and how we need to be stubbornly optimistic 

  • Happy Thanksgiving! 

Call to Action 

Take a few hours with a friend who loves and supports you  (maybe with a glass of wine or champagne) to map out some goals (big or small) for 2018 and begin to define the tasks that will help you achieve them.  Think big.  Think positively.  Practice gratitude.  And be stubbornly glad and optimistic.   

 

References in the Podcast 

 

 

Contact 

You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jacquelineStee or find her on her website at www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com. 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 24 - Learning not to be afraid of the darkness with Svetlana Saitsky

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Terri talks to life coach and artist Svetlana Saitsky about learning to not be afraid of the darkness, the importance of acknowledging your inner saboteur and how asking for help is a sign of strength and not weakness.     

 

Who is Svetlana Saitsky? 

Throughout the last decade, Svetlana has worked with many corporations including Google, Apple, Lululemon, Great Place To Work Institute and YouCaring. Her expertise in culture building, coaching, and mindfulness are brought to life through interactive workshops, and speaking engagements targeting individuals and companies looking for transformation. She is also an artist whose work focuses on mental health awareness. Svetlana's work best supports creatives, entrepreneurs needing an extra push to achieve, and those going through massive career and life changes.  

Show Highlights 

  • Svetlana talks about saying yes to an opportunity without knowing how she was going to make it work 

  • Svetlana and Terri met over shoes at a Guild event (https://theguilded.org) 

  • Svetlana talks about how it took her ten years to really decide to become a life coach 

  • She reached her goal and realized it didn’t feel good and fell into a severe depression 

  • She describes the importance of having a support team in place and the first step in getting help is recognizing you need help 

  • She realized that it wasn’t all about inspiration and following your bliss and that you need to embrace the darkness 

  • Terri and Svet talk about tall poppy syndrome in Australia and the imposter syndrome and embracing the saboteurs in our heads; stop resisting the resistance 

  • We are more powerful than we can imagine 

  • Svet would wave a magic wand to give everyone the courage to tap into their own creativity 

 

Terri’s Key Takeaway 

We need to continue to redefine our definition of success as we learn and grow and to appreciate the journey and not just the destination.   

 

References in the Podcast 

Beverly Ryle: http://www.beverlyryle.com/ 

The Geography of Bliss:  https://www.ericweinerbooks.com/books/the-geography-of-bliss/description/ 

InTeaHouse:  https://inteahouse.com/ 

Startup Catalyst: http://www.startupcatalyst.com.au/ 

TiE Global: http://tie.org/ 

Inside Out:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/ 

 

 

Contact 

Svetlana can be reached via her website www.svetlandasaitsky.com or on Instagram and Twitter @jetsvetter.    

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Episode 23 -Finding equilibrium in Motherhood, Working and Expectations from ourselves, and society

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Terri talks about the importance of being vulnerable, to ask for help, and to trust others to build your tribe and that she doesn’t have it all figured out.   

Who is Terri Mead? 

Terri Hanson Mead is President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, a consulting company that provides IT strategy and IT compliance services in the life sciences space in addition to expert witness consulting services.  She is also an active angel investor and former Vice President of Sand Hill Angels, regularly advises startups and in her spare time, flies helicopters.  She is passionate about supporting, and advocating for, female founders and investors and has created Class Bravo Ventures to more formally do so.  

Show Highlights

Looking for equilibrium instead of balance

Women need to do a better job of supporting each other and not judging 

She kisses her hugs her kids as much as possible and makes sure they know she loves them 

Each day is a new day to do better 

Watching Deadpool with her 15 year old son was awkward 

Combatting unreasonable societal expectations  

Saving for therapy for her kids 

How the reality of becoming a mom didn’t align with expectations 

Contacts

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead 

Feel free to email her at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

 

Kristina Jones continues the conversation about the power in knowing you can do whatever you set your mind to.

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Terri and Kristina Jones of Court Buddy continue their conversations and talk about no longer needing permission, hearing no to get to yes, and the power in knowing you can do whatever you set your mind to.   

Terri continues her conversation with Kristina Jones of Court Buddy about coming out to California to be a part of 500 Startups, raising their round, how excited they are about growing the business, learning she doesn’t need to get permission to do what she needs to do, and how this is all impacting the way she is raising her daughter.   

  

Who is Kristina Jones? 

Court Buddy President and Co-founder Kristina Jones is a Los Angeles native and a Florida International graduate for both her Undergraduate and Master’s degree from The School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Kristina’s Master’s Degree from FIU was in tandem with Miami Ad School’s Art Direction Portfolio Program.  

 

As an Art Director, Kristina went on to work for Advertising Agencies in both California and Florida and had the honor of creating campaigns for San Diego Tourism, Disney, Greater Fort Lauderdale Tourism, SeaWorld, Walmart, Silver Airways, and Kaplan University to name a few. Kristina’s experience with these brands has allowed her to see how media and advertising effect the sales and growth of major corporations.  

 

Kristina was able to take the experience creating content for other brands to help her create her own brand Court Buddy with her husband James Jones Jr. Esq. Court Buddy’s website, courtbuddy.com, matches people with attorneys based on their budget. Court Buddy is helping to bring the legal system to people who previously did not have access to it. Kristina handles the company’s advertising, marketing and social media.  

 

Show Highlights 

  • They had a great experience with 500 Startups and learned to split their time and how to successfully fundraise including introductions to investors 

  • There is a lot to be learned by going through the process even if it gets you to a ‘no’ 

  • Terri asks about whether they had trouble fundraising because they were a husband and wife team 

  • They got validation from investors writing the first checks which helped get them complete their fundraising; some investors needed to see others say ‘yes’ for 

  • Kristina talks about some of their biggest challenges in growing the company and supporting the clients 

  • Kristina talks about what she is excited about in hiring people, growing into all 50 states and expanding opportunities within their customer base 

  • She felt like she needed permission when they started the business and she has learned to just do it 

  • Starting and growing Court Buddy has impacted the way she is raising her daughter and she is making sure that her daughter knows that she can set her own path and do whatever she sets her mind to 

  • If Kristina could wave a magic wand, she would make it so that people don’t see color and make it so that people aren’t judged based on the color of their skin 

 
Terri’s Key Takeaway 

Asking for what we want and need means we will hear no and we need to get comfortable with this to get to the yeses.   

     

Contact 

Kristina can be reached at Kjones@courtbuddy.com.  Check out Court Buddy at https://www.courtbuddy.com/.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Bubbly Bonus - a conversation about vulnerability and finding your tribe

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Terri and Jacqueline address some of the responses they received from listeners regarding the Finding Your Tribe solocast and the importance of vulnerability and trust in friendship and asking for what you want or need.   

Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over a cup of coffee and not bubbly, to talk about the responses Terri received from the Finding Your Tribe solocast and discuss friendship, vulnerability, trust and the importance of asking for what you want or need.     

 

Show Highlights 

  • Jacqueline comments on how important it is for us to be able to call the friend who holds that space for you without trying to fix you 

  • Terri talks about being at events where everyone wants something from her and how draining that can be for her despite how much she enjoys them 

  • It is important that we trust each other and not self-select out of conversations and relationships that we could benefit from and that we trust that we can handle whatever the responses will be 

  • They talk about asking for something as simple as a discount or a meal customization without qualification.   

  • Terri has raised her daughter Rachel to ask for help and often uses her to ask for what she wants.  

  • Asking for something special is a something we all need to get more comfortable with.  

  • If you get a no, it isn’t a personal rejection.   

Call to Action 

Ask for something special every day (outside of your comfort zone) and share how you asked for help or for something at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

Contact 

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife. 

Kristina Jones describes how being a creative problem solver led to founding Court Buddy with co-founder and husband, James.

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 Terri talks to Kristina Jones about how being a creative problem solver and listening to her husband James talk about his experience in the court system led to the birth of Court Buddy, a software solution that provides people and businesses with access to an attorney when needed, regardless of their financial status.  This is part one of a two part interview.  

Who is Kristina Jones? 

Court Buddy President and Co-founder Kristina Jones is a Los Angeles native and a Florida International graduate for both her Undergraduate and Master’s degree from The School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Kristina’s Master’s Degree from FIU was in tandem with Miami Ad School’s Art Direction Portfolio Program.  

As an Art Director, Kristina went on to work for Advertising Agencies in both California and Florida and had the honor of creating campaigns for San Diego Tourism, Disney, Greater Fort Lauderdale Tourism, SeaWorld, Walmart, Silver Airways, and Kaplan University to name a few. Kristina’s experience with these brands has allowed her to see how media and advertising effect the sales and growth of major corporations.  

Kristina was able to take the experience creating content for other brands to help her create her own brand Court Buddy with her husband James Jones Jr. Esq. Court Buddy’s website, courtbuddy.com, matches people with attorneys based on their budget. Court Buddy is helping to bring the legal system to people who previously did not have access to it. Kristina handles the company’s advertising, marketing and social media.  

 

Show Highlights 

  • Kristina grew up in Los Angeles and was a creative kid who left for Miami as soon as she graduated from high school 

  • She started in marine biology in Miami but ended up in advertising after she did some soul searching in college and seeing what her aunt was doing in the advertising space; she wanted to provide creative solutions to problems and wasn’t doing well in her sciences classes 

  • Once she realized that she could take inspiration from what has been done before to apply it to advertising and problem solving, and she credits her aunt for the advice that gave her freedom 

  • Kristina was a Miami Heat dancer when she met her husband, James, at a party 

  • James started his own law firm right after they got married and she had just started a new job 

  • Kristina talks about how the idea for Court Buddy came from James noticing the number of people asking him for help before they went into court because they didn’t have representation; they didn’t think they could afford attorneys 

  • They saw solo-practitioner attorneys looking for clients, too, which led them to research how attorneys could operate to provide services to people who needed representation and Court Buddy was born 

  • They applied for 500 Startups in San Francisco and it took two tries to get in 

  • Getting to their 500 Startups interview was a series of misadventures including a rainstorm, a mis-scheduled flight, a car that wouldn’t start, being stuck in an elevator, and a locked door 

 
Terri’s Key Takeaway 

Having an outside perspective combined with a deep understanding of a problem can lead to creative and disruptive solutions.  

     

Contact 

Kristina can be reached at Kjones@courtbuddy.com.  Check out Court Buddy at https://www.courtbuddy.com/.   

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium:  https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.  

Feel free to email Terri at PilotingYourLife@gmail.com. 

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.