Women who Build Shreya Bakliwal

Few of us are lucky enough to recognize very early on what we want to become.



Shellye Archambeau decided as a teenager that she wanted to be a Tech CEO and went on to become the CEO of MetricStream, a recognized global leader in governance, risk, and compliance software solutions. She currently serves as a Fortune 500 board member and holds board seats at Verizon, Roper Technologies, Okta and Lineage. 



Her Mantra? DON’T OPTIMIZE THE JOB, OPTIMIZE YOUR CAREER! 



Key takeaways from the episode include:


How to fulfil your ambition? Start with a goal -> identify what has to be true for you to do it (research) -> plan 
Be intentional and run to something. When you are running away from something, like a job, everything looks good
Learning from MetricStream: Fall in love with the market to anticipate and meet its needs better, rather than being solely product-centric
What do investors such as Vinod Khosla and Marc Andreessen have in common? They all WANT TO WIN!



Follow Shellye on Twitter @ShelArchambeau

Follow Women Who Build on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZUOxEJN-w22okIcEYB_2w


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Everyone wants to achieve their highest potential. And resilience is one of the most important ingredients to achieve that. 



Many of us know Sylvia Acevedo as the CEO of The Girl Scouts of the USA, a Board Member of Qualcomm, and the Presidential Commissioner who drove President Obama’s initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics in early childhood leadership. However, what makes her special is her trait of never taking NO for an answer! At every point in her career, she did not see many people who looked like her. So, she identified her superpowers and how they fit into the larger company goals, to make a career that many of us dream of! 



Oh, and she is also the first male or female Hispanic to get a graduate engineering degree at Stanford!



Key takeaways from Episode 1, Season 4 of Women Who Build are:


Never walk away from a sale until you hear a NO at least thrice
To progress in your professional life, identify opportunities/niches for yourself and pitch to the person who cares 
Building focus while pursuing diverse interests: Don’t major in the minors!
Board Memberships (Private and Public):


How to become a board member? First, think about the why, then redo your CV by fleshing out your value-add, network, get in touch with executive search teams, and make BOLD moves!
Being on boards of private (Early-stage) companies means heavily focusing on the product and helping founders with introductions. With public companies, a board member should have some expertise

Follow:

Women Who Build on Instagram at women.who.build.wwb

Sylvia Acevedo at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviaacevedo/


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In a world where we are bombarded by stories of wars and recessions, if we practice an abundance mindset, we can still grow! This practice helps us to focus on the future rather than the past. Kate Henningsen is one of the few leaders I have met who swear by this practice, and I am excited to share the latest episode of Women Who Build with her. 


Kate is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Arcadia and has seen the company grow from a start-up that sold renewable energy certificates to a $1.5bn climate tech company that empowers any business in the world to make an impact. 


Most of Kate’s 20s were spent in school. She was a corporate litigator before joining the clean energy industry. Kate leveraged her legal understanding to cold-email Kiran Bhatraju and got the job! Kate studied History, Politics, Economics, Philosophy, and Law at Georgetown and Oxford universities. 


Key takeaways from the episode:


Community solar is the fastest way to gain access to clean energy and is especially viable for communities with limited rooftop installation space
How to work with 10k utilities? Tech and automation, while also having a strong team coordinating with utilities 
As you scale, your metrics, systems, and leadership change. Leadership transition at Arcadia: Generalists to specialists to managers who activate specialists to do amazing things
The best people to hire are impact-first, curious, and motivated. They should have the SPARK!
Climate tech, so far, is shielded from the macro/geopolitical issues that have been plaguing other markets. But you still need to have a solid business model and growth
When making acquisitions, identify opportunities that accelerate where you want to go; assess internally for culture, focus, and capital risk


Follow Kate Henningsen at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-henningsen/

Follow Women Who Build at -

Twitter: @TheWomenWhoBui1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-who-build-podcast/


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This is one of the most insightful episodes of Women Who Build thus far, and also timely, in the wake of the SVB crisis. Small businesses run our economies. And to help these businesses innovate and grow, Lara Hodgson is building Now along with her co-founder, the one and only, Stacey Abrams. NowAccount® is an invoice payment solution that redefines how and when businesses get paid.

In addition to building Now, Lara serves as an EIR at HBS. Prior to Now, Lara co-founded Nourish (the manufacturing company), and Insomnia, LLC, a firm specializing in investment, development, and management of complex and innovative “world-changing” projects. Her background also includes 5 years with Dewberry Capital Corporation, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate development and investment firm, where she served as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Her product experience includes Dunk, a performance footwear and apparel manufacturing/retail company built on the concept of mass customization and founded with Shaquille O’Neal & Mike Piazza, where she served as Executive Vice President.

Lara received an MBA from the HBS, and a BS in Aerospace Engineering with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Today, she serves as a Trustee of the Georgia Tech Foundation in addition to other Boards. E&Y recognized Lara as a 2018 Finalist for the Southeast Entrepreneur of the Year.



Key insights from this episode:

- Business partners should be different. Otherwise, innovation will die. An individual does not have a 365-degree view of anything. Mindset alignment>skillset alignment

- Payment acceleration>financing for small businesses, as financing own accounts receivables increases the cost of capital

- Most important metrics for businesses to track: Days Sales Outstanding, and Cash "Flow" (Lara believes that while Cash is King, Flow is Queen! ;))

- Being an entrepreneur and a mom at the same time, makes you efficient!

- CXOs at large companies may not have the DNA to understand small businesses, but they want to help!



Follow Lara at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larahodgson/

Follow Women who Build on -

Twitter: @TheWomenWhoBui1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-who-build-podcast/


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It is often said that the most successful businesspeople follow their curiosity. Blending that with personal experience or association with the problem is a bonus! What is even better is to fight through every logistical hurdle to build towards your dream.I am so inspired by Natalie Rens’ life and her vision to build human settlements on Mars through Astrea! Astrea is currently building self-sufficient smart homes for human peak performance on Earth first, and will later ship them to Mars. What intrigued her about space? SpaceX’s Starman!Natalie is the CEO and Founder of Astrea. She is a neuroscientist and an AI buff who has worked extensively in the space, including launching a community of 2,500, dedicated to AI public engagement and education. Later, she worked as an AI specialist with the government of Australia at the Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur. She is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council, an advisor to Proudly Human, and a Founding Board Member at Open Data Australia!Natalie studied Biomedical Sciences at Newcastle University and pursued her PhD at The University of Queensland.Above all, Natalie is such an evolved and persistent founder, all of us have so much to learn from her!

Follow Natalie at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-natalie-rens/

Follow Women who Build on -
Twitter: @TheWomenWhoBui1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-who-build-podcast/


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As investors, we are constantly looking for how we can add value to portfolio companies. While focus is important in company building, thinking systemically about your company can unlock opportunities like never before. And this practice has become increasingly relevant in today's world where different stakeholder types have the potential to influence your company's trajectory. Joanna Lichter at Emerson Collective helps founders with systemic thinking!

Joanna is an Associate Director on Emerson Collective’s early-stage venture investing team where she focuses on impact-driven companies across Sustainability, Healthcare, and Financial Inclusion. Prior to Emerson, Joanna was an investor at Founder Collective. Before venture, Joanna worked at Via Transportation, a global mobility and transit startup, where she led operations and strategy in Chicago. Joanna graduated with her MBA from MIT Sloan and received her BA from Duke University.

Follow

Joanna on Twitter @joannalichter, LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannalichter/
Women who Build on Twitter @TheWomenWhoBui1, LinkedIn at https://bit.ly/3Kx0xY4


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