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Welcome to the Women 2.0
In Conversation series. I'm Jazmin Hupp. |
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Today we're speaking with Wendy Lea,
who is an accomplished entrepreneur, |
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corporate executive, and angel investor. |
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She recently joined
Get Satisfaction, as their CEO. |
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What's a mistake that you
made earlier in your career, |
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that you don't want others to repeat? |
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I think the biggest mistake I've
made, in leading and CEOing, |
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many different startups,
was just making assumptions, |
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that you understand something about the
product, or the market, or the customer. |
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So the biggest, 'Aha' for me is
'Just don't make assumptions. |
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Ask, seek clarification,
confirm that you understand.' |
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So it's a series of mistakes
that catch up with you, right? |
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And there's something about the human
nature, relative to professional efforts, |
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that sometimes prevents young, or
experienced professional, from just saying: |
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'I don't know what you're talking about.
Help me'. Right? 'Go back over that'. |
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'That language, or that technical
attribute, or that customer reference, |
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is not clear to me'. And if we would all
get more comfortable doing that early, |
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and do it often, I think mistakes
are prevented all over the place. |
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It's easy for me to
jump to a conclusion, right? |
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And, what keeps me now from jumping
to conclusions, is being very vulnerable, |
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and saying 'I don't really understand.
Talk to me about what happened, |
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why it happened. What that word is
you're using, I've never heard before, |
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how that fits with this?'. So, just
taking the time to seek for clarification, |
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will serve all entrepreneurs well. |
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As an Angel Investor, what
advice do you have for founders, |
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who are looking for startup capital? |
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A person with an idea,
a professional with an idea, |
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the most important thing that they
should do first, is research the idea. |
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Completely, comprehensively, make
sure that they have talked to people |
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that would actually use or, and
consume the product or service, |
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and if that's sound, and then thought
through, not in a formal market research way, |
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but if there's thinking behind that,
and research behind that, |
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then, you know, it's not that hard.
It takes time, right? |
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And you have to have some connections,
but that strategy can be put together, |
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as long as the idea is well thought,
well thought through, and innovative. |
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I just believe that. And especially here. |
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Because it's the nature of
what goes on here, right? |
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But if you've never raised money before,
I haven't raised a lot of money, right? |
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I mean, I've helped people raise money, but
I haven't, like, done that on my own a lot, |
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it can seem intimidating,
right? Because, the vision... |
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because they all, you know, they're all
sitting there, smiling at you, but, like, |
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you know, 'Do you really like it? Do you
want it? How are you gonna make that?' |
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It's a little overwhelming.
But not impossible. |
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So someone, who's gonna have the courage,
and creativity, and the commitment, |
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to come up with a well thought through idea,
they're gonna get some money. Right? |
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They are. It just might take a
little longer than they think. |
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And they should be as planful
about that, as they are, |
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about researching and
developing the product, right? |
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And then, that's what happens.
They treat it tacticly. |
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And then they get their knickers
in twist, and all anxious about it - |
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'Oh... I can't find money.' Well,
did you put as much thought, |
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into finding money, as
you did in creating the idea? |
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What are your influences? |
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My greatest influence is
fresh air, and nature. Right? |
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That's where I'll find
the most peace, I think. |
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If it's just a walk to the
train, or I'm a cyclist, |
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I'm not a great cyclist,
but just a nice bike ride. |
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You know, watching the ocean do what it does, |
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and the weather patterns, that,
you know, that's a big influence on me. |
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Because it represents things
out of your control, right? |
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And it represents, kind of,
the beauty of all things alive... |
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So, I'm very influenced by that,
so when I get in a mood or a snit, |
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you know, I'm, like, 'OK, where can I go
get some different kind of influence?' Right? |
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By watching, you know, nature do its work. |
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Because it's just so
sublime, how that happens. |
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So, that is on the esoteric side.
Other influences, for me, |
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are, you know, just like everyone
else, there have been, you know, |
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two or three people in my life,
personally and professionally, |
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that had huge impacts on me. Huge. |
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And because I either worked
for them, or worked with them, |
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and there's hardly a day,
interestingly enough, hardly a day, |
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that those two or three people
don't come up in my mind. |
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I either think, 'How would they react?' or
'How would they pass on their knowledge? |
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How would they take a break from
this? How would they learn more? |
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I mean, it's nice, to be at this stage
in life, to really have these people, |
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you know, clearly in your
mind, as your guide post. |
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What's your advice for women in business? |
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I, I've never been one, frankly,
in the past, to say, you know, |
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women, should think about this,
and men should think about that. |
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It's only recently, honestly,
that I've become aware of that. |
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And maybe it's generational thing, because in
doing my work I was always mainly with men, |
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and not women, so you
just block out the difference, |
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because that's the way to
survive. It's interesting. |
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So, now, I'm learning that indeed,
that there are certain strategies, |
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and approaches that can be naturally
delivered by women, that help a lot. |
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One is, to be, to recognize that the
female part of you is a good part, right? |
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That is the sensitive part, that is
the part that wants to know, |
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that cares, that expresses that
care. Don't mask that. Right? |
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If indeed that is a part of natural,
you know, naturally a part of you, |
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don't mask that, so be that. Right?
Accept that, respond to it, honor it. |
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Not in a 'airy-fairy' way, but, I think,
when you mask it, is when you, |
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kinda, lose yourself, right? |
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Perhaps I did that, along the way,
because I felt like I needed to, but, |
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the older and wiser I get,
the more I say 'That is it.' Right? |
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So, you can expect that
from me, because I am sensitive, |
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and business is not just business,
it is a lot of personal stuff too. |
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Don't let anyone tell you it's not. Right? |
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Because we don't come in the door,
and just decide, 'OK, now we're in business.' |
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We are first human, which is filled
with all these personal dimensions, |
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and then we come in, and we apply
that humanness to our work, right? |
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And so, I think, all of us that are
women, that have that good fortune, |
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to be that gender, in a
workplace, have to recognize, |
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that there are real advantages
to that. Real advantages. |
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And, that you don't have to
exploit them, or tart them up. |
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You just have to be with them,
and notice how they impact work, |
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how they impact culture,
how they impact success. |
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And once you get in the flow of that, it's
amazing how much more natural it becomes. |
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Right? That you application
of your gender becomes, |
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it doesn't feel like it's a formula. |
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And, so that's a long winded way of saying,
that I do think there's some things, now, |
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that I've learned, about the application
of that, a little bit more consciously, |
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but equally authentically, and I think I have
been able to garner some advantage from that, |
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and I'm just OK with that advantage. |
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What did you think you were
gonna be when you grew up? |
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Do you know what I thought I
was gonna be? Honestly, is a... |
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just somehting like a fashion designer.
Now, I'm from the South, Mississippi, |
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so we don't have many fashion
designers out there, right? |
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And I went to a very
public, you know, college, |
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and that seemed, you know, the choices
for me were, the obvious ones were, OK? |
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Be a really good mom, full time, be a good
secretary, or good nurse, or a good teacher. |
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And it's interesting, and, business was
kinda, I loved business always, you know, |
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I loved it, but I wasn't sure why I did,
but that seemed too boring to say. |
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It seemed as boring as be a mom,
at the time, because I'm, you know, |
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that just didn't interest me so as
when I was a fashion designer, |
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then I could do business
around that craft, right? |
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Then I can design stuff, and I
can have a business around it. |
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But that sounded better
than just be in business. |
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So, didn't work out that way, but,
you know, I do like fashion stuff, |
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I step out from time to time. |
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Thanks for listening for
In Conversation Podcast series. |
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For more episodes, please visit women2.org. |
