Takin' Care of Lady Business Jennifer Justice

Jenny Just is a visionary powerhouse, and one of the few self-made female billionaires in the United States. From the days of cutting her teeth on the trading floor in Chicago to now running a fintech empire, she has started and/or turned around more than fifteen companies. She has also made hundreds of private investments, including in such companies as Webull, Stash, QuantumScape, and Thrasio. 

Jenny co-founded PEAK6 in 1997 with $1.5M in seed capital as a proprietary options trading firm and since then has grown it into a multibillion-dollar financial services and technology giant housing the next generation of products & service brands including PEAK6 Capital Management, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, Apex Fintech Solutions, Apex Crypto, PEAK6 InsurTech, Evil Geniuses, and Zogo. 

With a true knack for unearthing talent and opportunities, Jenny looks for underfunded and underappreciated sectors to transform into high-growth businesses. Her passion specifically lies in finding opportunities for women to succeed at every table — from the classroom, to the conference room, to the poker room, to the boardroom.
 
This passion led her to launch Poker Power in 2020, a woman-led company that teaches poker to all who identify as female, and by extension, teaches women strategic thinking, capital allocation, and decision-making skills. Additionally, Jenny has created programs to help women advance their careers in trading, fintech, and technology. She founded the Women’s Trading Experience and Women’s Technology Experience programs in order tocreate a path for more women in fintech.

Finally, Jenny created Fintech In Action (FIA), a coalition of action-oriented corporations to accelerate progress, innovation, and opportunity in fintech and finance for Black students and professionals. FIA seeks to tangibly increase the pipeline of Black professionals for careers in fintech and finance and affect long-term change through equitable hiring, promotion, and talent retention.
 
In this episode of Takin’ Care of Lady Business, Jenny Just discusses how poker skills can be applied to various business situations, including building strategies, fearlessness, negotiation skills, and adaptability
 
- Jenny Just’s journey from trading floor to fintech powerhouse.
- How PEAK6 launched Poker Power to teach women poker and help them excel in business.
- The power of poker skills in business to build strategies and fearlessness in finance.
- Learning negotiation skills and adaptability through poker can be applied to negotiating salaries and navigating unexpected situations.
- The importance of making money and acting on your opinions.
 
 Quotes:

"I think women you know, oftentimes you're the only one going into it. So, you don't have that opportunity for a partner but it's really critical to find those people that you could, you know, share that that journey with." – Jenny Just
 
"It also teaches you about adaptability and losing quickly and then getting back up." – Jenny Just
 
"You get 0% of what you don't ask for." – Jennifer Justice
 
"You have to have an opinion. And what I realized from playing poker, actually, it's not good enough just to have an opinion. You have to act on your opinion." – Jenny Just


Website
https://www.jennyjust.com
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Lisa Sun is Founder & CEO of GRAVITAS, a company whose origin story dates back to Lisa’s first professional review: that she “lacked gravitas” and “should go buy a new dress, big jewelry, and great shoes.” Realizing the transformative power that clothing can have, Lisa secured the patent on building shapewear into dresses and launched Gravitas as a Confidence Company that offers innovative apparel and styling solutions designed to makeover women from the inside-out. Prior to founding Gravitas, Lisa spent 11 years at McKinsey & Company where she advised leading luxury, fashion, and beauty brands globally on strategic and operational issues. Lisa graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with distinction in Biology and Political Science. Represented exclusively by Leading Authorities: https://www.leadingauthorities.com/speakers/lisa-sun
 
About GRAVITAS
Our mission is to Catalyze Confidence. GRAVITAS is intelligent function meets versatile fashion. Our patented innovations and styling solutions empower every woman to have a confident sense of self, inspired by our founder Lisa Sun’s own life story. The figure-flattering collections are designed for every woman, shape, and size, offered in Sizes 0-24W. Since its Q4 2013 launch, GRAVITAS has garnered a loyal customer following and received over 80 press features, including stories in Oprah Magazine, W Magazine, ELLE, New York Magazine, InStyle, Marie Claire (US, China), People, Cosmopolitan, WWD, Fast Company, Forbes, to name a few, and features on TODAY Show, CNN, and ABC News. 
 
Listen to this Takin’ Care of Lady Business Jennifer Justice speaks with Lisa Sun, CEO and founder of Gravitas. Lisa shares her inspiring story of being the daughter of immigrants who came to America with little money and how she became an entrepreneur. She also explains how she founded Gravitas to catalyze confidence and started out by making clothing with shapewear built in.
 
Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- Why believing in yourself is the foundation for achieving success.
- How self-worth is an internal process, not an external one.
- The importance of using experiences to inform your company.
- Why it is important to recognize our own strengths, be kind to ourselves, and find a support group to help us through difficult times.
 
 
Quotes:

"Dumbo did not need a feather to fly, but it reminded him that he could." - Lisa Sun

"Not every journey is just like a linear thing... it's not all roses. Everybody hears about the things that come out and make you an instant billionaire, but that's very rare, and it usually happens to men... you should know what you're getting into." – Jennifer Justice

"You don't get written about until you've succeeded, okay? And we never read about the 90% plus of women entrepreneurs who every single day feel alone, especially if you don't have a co-founder, and the burden is solely on you." - Lisa Sun

“I tied so much of myself worth to certain metrics…That the sales target, the number, all of these things, I really tied up my self-worth with these external benchmarks... I realized that I could tie my self-worth to the quality of my character... I had to take stock of these other metrics that are not public facing. There's no award documenting your success for yourself." – Lisa Sun


Lisa’s Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/731156/gravitas-by-lisa-sun/
Gravitas: https://gravitasnewyork.com

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Jamie Greenberg is a renowned celebrity makeup artist with extensive knowledge in the beauty industry. She has mastered her craft for over 15 years through her amazing work on celebrities such as Kaley Cuoco, Rashida Jones, Kristen Stewart, Chelsea Handler, Christina Applegate, Jessica Alba and many more. Founder of the beauty brand and digital platform, Jamie Makeup, Jamie is “Everyone’s Personal Makeup Artist”, supporting the beauty needs & personal growth of women everywhere. Jamie believes makeup should be fun, highlight your personality, and celebrate your uniqueness, and she is bringing her red-carpet knowledge to your bathroom one Blighlighter, Bloss, or beauty tip at a time!
 
On this episode of Takin’ Care of Lady Business, Jamie tells her story of how she moved to New York City to pursue entertainment-related jobs but ended up finding interest in makeup. She started by working at Ulta in retail and honed her makeup skills by doing makeup on 10,000 people. Now she has been in the industry for 20 years.

Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- How the Blighlighter line is perfect for busy people because it is easy to use, and it looks great.
- Why you should do your research and make sure you are getting the right kind of money and that it is coming from the right source.
- An important reminder for starting a business - nothing is built overnight. 
- The importance of supporting female-owned businesses so we can succeed together. 
- Why you should trust your instincts over the opinions of others.
 
Quotes:

"I think no matter what I did in my life, there'd always be a point where I kind of hit a ceiling and I was like, all right, what's next? How do I, they call it pivot. I call it evolve. How do I?" – Jamie Greenberg

"There's such an amazing transaction when a woman comes in and she's frazzled and she's like, I want this, I need a new look, I need the, you know, and you give them a look and they feel amazing and then they buy everything." – Jamie Greenberg

“We all go to college, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to go sit in an office. Like you can do something that is more creative from a creative endeavor… and what you're doing, but you're also a businesswoman.” – Jennifer Justice

“I think it says so much in such a testament to when somebody who's an expert in it goes, there's something missing in this area.” – Jennifer Justice

 
@JamieMakeup
https://jamiemakeup.com/
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Alice Kim is the Founder and CEO of PerfectDD, a brand created from her own need to find clothes that fit and flatter women with DD+ cups, small to mid-frame. As a size 32DD, Alice struggled her entire life to feel confident in clothes that are not too tight at her chest or oversized on the rest of her body. Learning that the average bra size in the U.S. is a 34DD and millions of women struggle with the same problem, Alice was inspired to create style solutions and to be the voice for these underserved women.
Alice believes that getting dressed should be easy so you can focus on being a boss. Born and raised in NYC, Alice is a graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in economics and began her career in investment banking at Bear Stearns. After three years in finance, she decided to follow her true calling and transitioned into fashion. Alice spent two decades working at renown fashion houses including Shopbop, Diane von Furstenberg, Prada, and Victoria’s Secret which taught her to be an expert in product, fit, and design. Alice is a Tory Burch Fellow 2022 and a member of the Female Founder Collective and Dreamers & Doers.
 
Listen to this Takin’ Care of Lady Business episode where Alice talks about how hard it is to find clothes that fit people of larger chest sizes, especially when they're teenagers. Alice, who has 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, wanted to change this and started her own company. 
 
Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- How Alice created products that fill a need for women with larger chests getting lost in the mix
- PerfectDD’s mission to make clothes tailored for all body types, not just bigger boobs
- The importance of getting properly measured and fitted for a bra to avoid a range of problems, from back pain to sagging breasts
- Why it is important to focus on the core customer base with a niche business
 
Quotes:
“After being in fashion for 20 years, I was like, F this, I have experience, I have the data now, so I'm gonna do it. And interestingly enough, I did pitch my idea a couple of times to other brands, and because people aren't used to it, it's a new category that I'm forging, they thought it was too “niche”, and I didn't get the yes. So, I said, you know what? I know in my heart of hearts, the data, the experience… If someone's gonna do it eventually, but why not me?” – Alice Kim

“I think getting dressed should be easy. So you can focus on being a boss.” – Jennifer Justice

“The market is there. I think what did well [on TikTok] is not only following the trends, but I talked about something that is “taboo”. You're not supposed to talk about boobs outside of bras, right or swimwear.” – Alice Kim

Website
http://www.perfectedd.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perfectdd/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@perfectdd
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In this episode, we talk with Sana Clegg and Fiona Simmonds, the co-founders of Pinkie, a company that fills an unmet need by making organic period pads custom-sized for tweens and teens. Sana and Fiona share their personal experiences with traditional period products and the lack of options available for young girls. They discuss how Pinkie pads are designed to be comfortable and provide confidence for young girls navigating their periods. 
SANA CLEGG is the co-founder of Pinkie, Inc., the only small-sized organic period pads designed to fit tweens, teens, and adults. Sana is a veteran marketing and public relations expert with over a decade of experience working with top luxury marketing and PR firms in the country, including Valentino and Ivanka Trump Jewelry. She is also the founder of the luxury children's sleepwear brand Sunny with an A. Sana also spent five years in investment banking and holds a degree from Georgia Tech. She is the mother of three daughters and one son and lives with her family in New York City. 
FIONA SIMMONDS is the co-founder of Pinkie, Inc., the only puberty company which offers small-sized organic period pads designed to fit tweens and teens. Prior to founding Pinkie, Fiona spent over a decade in Investment Banking and Mergers & Acquisitions at Citigroup Global Markets and American Express. She also has executive management and business operations experience from her time at a Blackstone portfolio company. Fiona holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. She is the mother of one son and two daughters and lives with her family in New York City.
 
Listen to this Takin’ Care of Lady Business episode with insight into the mission and values of Pinkie and the work that Sana and Fiona are doing to empower young girls during a scary time in their life.
 
Here is what to expect on this week’s show:

How Pinkie fills a need for young girls who are starting their periods at earlier ages by offering small-sized organic period pads for teens and tweens

Why open communication, no egos involved, and work towards what's best for the company, which has been crucial to their success

The importance of having a co-founder with complementary skills and personalities

Using bootstrapping and being frugal and thoughtful in spending can build a business long-term

How Pinkie has received investment from supportive investors who have an open mind and want to learn and understand the product and its mission, including men who were able to understand the product through financial analogies

 
 
Quotes:
“I went to the drugstore and looked around and I thought, wait a minute, like nothing's changed from what my mom gave me decades ago.” - Fiona Simmonds

“It's more just making sure when you partner with someone that they have all Yins to your Yangs and vice versa.” - Sana Clegg

“You have men who invested… I know that other people I've talked to, or female founders, who had tampons, et cetera. [and], it was a very difficult conversation with men in the room. [The woman] had to move it away from the icky topical topic of a period and literally just talk about the financial like aspect of it and how much money they would make.” – Jennifer Justice 

“[Explaining a female product], it's like that astronaut. [Sally Ride], one of the female astronauts who went to space. And they gave her, like, 100 tampons for like a four-day flight 100 tampons, and these are literally rocket scientists.” - Fiona Simmonds

“I was flabbergasted, I was one of our first meetings, we went have this pretty bro-y office of VC investors, but the best of the whole thing. After we gave the whole speech, they were like, “so, why don't you just get your husbands to invest in this?’” - Sana Clegg

 

Pinkiepads.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pinkiepads
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pinkiepads
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Pinkie-Or

After a successful 20-year career in technology, Alli founded The Forem to unlock opportunities for women across disruptive brands and Fortune 1000 organizations. As CEO, Alli oversees all aspects of The Forem, including corporate training and Executive Coaching.
In her last role, Alli led Americas at Turn, a tech company in the middle of a challenging transition and exit. In her most prominent role, Alli led various sales teams over an 11-year tenure at Google, where she focused on strategic partnerships and aligning customer goals with emerging tech solutions, including the development of a global programmatic strategy which drove several billion in revenue. Alli began her career at Yahoo! and went on to lead creative and marketing strategy at both Deutsch and Mediacom.
Throughout Alli’s career, she noticed a pattern — there are unwritten rules that men and corporations have been using for decades that women have not implemented due to lack of exposure and sponsorship, among other things.
Alli spent a year researching career advancement and launched a new curriculum that unlocks upward mobility for women, called the 5 Critical Skills. These skills are not gender specific, but they are often underutilized by women, and they are critical to navigating leadership within corporate culture. Alli’s unique curriculum is based on her experience at Google and can reach a wide audience via her platform at The Forem. These skills apply to young women starting their careers, all the way up to CEOs seeking board seats. Alli’s personal mission is to move 1M women into leadership by 2030. The Forem’s Five Critical Skills are taught through talks, live workshops, and a career advancement platform, which enhances ongoing learning. These skills can be leveraged at any stage of a career.
Listen to this Takin’ Care of Lady Business episode with Alli Young where they discuss It is essential for supervisors to demonstrate an aptitude for breaking the status quo. Developing a sense of unity among employees within an organization is critical, as is promoting psychological safety. For women working in the tech industry, it is wise to cultivate a support network of colleagues who will be there to provide guidance and encouragement.

Here is what to expect on this week’s show:

The importance of instilling psychological safety.

Managers need to be willing to be disruptors.

The importance of creating community within a company.

Have a tribe of people on your side.


Quotes:
“Teaching people why growth mindset is so important. And when you teach that, and they believe it, it does help with everything else that follows. People are more willing to be curious, and to be a little more introspective, and figure out different ways in which they can show up.” – Alli Young

“As an executive, I've always found [you're either making money or saving money for the company] one of the most difficult things to get across to more junior exec, employees, etc. because they want to join something that they want to be a part of they're not thinking necessarily, of the P&L and the bottom line.” – Jennifer Justice

“If these companies don't really look within at the employees that they have and look at them and say we're going to help you operate at a higher-level man they'd better sell more effectively understand the P&L, so you can make better business decisions like all of that. I don't know how they're going to be able to achieve their goals.” – Alli Young

“Have your tribe of people not inside, but out.” – Jennifer Justice

alliyoung@theforem.co
https://theforem.co
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