This is a highlights miniseries drawing together the wisdom and experiences of past guests. We've picked a few of the most inspirational, powerful, and hilarious moments to remind us all of these women's stories and how they can translate to our own lives, especially now.
Today, we’re looking at how those around us can be equally as influential in our lives as we are, whether we realize it or not.
From mentors to parents, teachers to peers, the people we surround ourselves with can lift us up, provide opportunities and connections, and inspire us to do better.
Our guests in this episode share stories of the influential figures in their lives, and how they in turn are sharing their knowledge and resources with the next generation.
Featuring:
- Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD, a company helping to reverse climate change by making craveable snacks from regenerative ingredients.
- Karla Gallardo, Co-Founder and CEO of of clothing and lifestyle brand, Cuyana.
- Glo Harris, an executive and leadership coach who has worked with many Fortune 100 companies.
- Michelle Phan, Founder of EM Cosmetics and YouTube makeup artist.
- Gail Maderis, President and CEO of Antiva, a company developing novel therapeutics for HPV-related diseases (a set of diseases that is not only stigmatized and underserved by therapeutics, but disproportionately affects women).
- Amy DuRoss, Co-Founder and CEO of Vineti, a company that’s defining a whole new software category for precision medicine therapy management by enabling vein to vein supply chain documentation and analytics for these breakthrough new therapies.
- Dr. Odette Harris, MD MPH, professor of neurosurgery at Stanford -- America’s first black female tenured neurosurgery professor ever.
Want more WoVen? Check out all our episodes here and wherever you get your podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
LAURA: You're listening to Woven, a podcast from Canaan. WoVen stands for Women Who Venture, and represents a platform, a community and really a celebration of venturesome and adventurous women in healthcare, tech and business.
This is a highlights miniseries drawing together the wisdom and experiences of past guests. We've picked a few of the most inspirational, powerful, and hilarious moments to remind us all of these women's stories and how they can translate to our own lives, especially now.
Today, we’re looking at how those around us can be equally as influential in our lives as we are, whether we realize it or not.
From mentors to parents, teachers to peers, the people we surround ourselves with can lift us up, provide opportunities and connections, and inspire us to do better.
Our guests in this episode share stories of the influential figures in their lives, and how they in turn are sharing their knowledge and resources with the next generation.
First we’re hearing from Julia Collins, a woman who has dedicated her career to food. Today, she is Founder and CEO of Planet FWD, a company helping to reverse climate change by making craveable snacks from regenerative ingredients. She previously was a restaurateur working alongside Danny Meyer to open some of New York City's hottest restaurants, and then co-founded Zume, a robotic pizza delivery company based in the Bay Area.
Julia talks about what makes a good mentor, and how a network with diverse skills can be your strongest resource.
***
JULIA: I think that you can get pretty far in your career just with having the right amount of talent and the right work ethic, but at the inflection points, that's where you really need the benefit of having a mentor - when you're pivoting maybe from one industry to another, when you're moving from one city to another, when you're thinking about maybe going back to school - those inflection points are the time when it really benefits you to have somebody in your life who has known you along the way. And I think the importance of a mentor is not necessarily that they have the most impressive credentials on the planet. The importance is that they care about you and they know you and are in a position to give you real feedback and real guidance.
LAURA: When you were launching Mexicue, did you have that kind of mentorship to take that next step?
I did. And it really came from a combination of some of the early professional relationships that I built at Union Square Hospitality Group. And interestingly enough, friends that I had made in Business School. Because you need different types of advice, and so although not many of my friends were working in the food sector, a lot of them had founded companies or found co founders or raised capital. And so there are lots of ways that network was hugely beneficial to me.
***
LAURA: When it came to her own management style, Julia found herself trying to fit into a male template, until a colleague gave her a new perspective.
You’ll hear how she learned to be comfortable in her own skin, and then you’ll hear from Karla Gallardo, co-founder and CEO of clothing and lifestyle brand, Cuyana. She takes a moment to honor an important person in her life that taught her to see being a woman as a strength, not something to ignore or erase in the workplace.
***
JULIA: I really struggled. I struggled to develop my authentic leadership style. I thought that I needed to be more masculine, I thought that I needed to be tough in a way that I saw other people being. And what happened is nobody wanted that, because it wasn't authentic. It just wasn't real. And I was so lucky to get feedback from one of my early mentors during that time that said, ‘you know what, JC’ - that was my nickname - ‘you know what, JC Why don't you come in tomorrow and just do the job as yourself. Let's just give it a try. Let's see what that would look like.’ And that was incredible for me. So I've always known that you can be a strong leader, as the person that you are. You don't have to put on some cloak that doesn't belong to you. That doesn't mean you're not always trying to get better - right - being your authentic self doesn't mean that you accept less of yourself or demand less of yourself or that you're not evolving or improving. It just means that you can be honest, and you can actually live in your own skin. And that's going to be the thing that allows people to connect to you, more than anything else.
***
LAURA: I've heard you talk before about your dad being a really big influence on you. Can you talk about that a little bit?
KARLA: Oh yes! It's so funny because he doesn't want to take any credit, in fact he heard me talk about him for the first time and was like 'why would you say that' and I'm like 'because it's true!' he is, he believes in the strength of women in a way that I didn't appreciate until the last few years when I've looked back and realized all of those small things that he did when he raised me were so important. And I think the no.1 thing that I have thanks to him is the confidence and the fact that I don't, you know he never made me think that women are different, in fact he always made me think that women are way more powerful than men in many ways and so I never have walked into a room feeling like I had to make up for something. In fact I've always felt like I actually have an advantage. And that was a very powerful weapon along the way. You know I studied math and then I was one of two women in the classroom and I actually felt that that was the coolest thing and I sat in the first row, I've always felt that I've had an advantage.
***
LAURA: Not only have Julia and Karla learned to recognize the strength in being women, but over time, institutions and industries are (finally) coming to appreciate the broader range of perspectives and management styles that women bring to business. Executive and leadership coach Glo Harris shares how she’s witnessed a workplace culture shift over her long career.
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GLO: Something that is true now, that wasn't true when I first started coaching in ‘95, 25 years ago was that people that had coaches them were seen as remedial. It was not seen as the company believing in you - as excellence and high performance - Exactly. Now it is. So something's happened in the water in the culture about developing people that lead with heart as much as head, which is music to women's ears because in general, we're better at leading with our hearts. It's not that we don't have heads, we do. But we also and I'm generalizing are raised to have a little bit more emotional intelligence. So access to resources like me are de rigor these days.
The best managers, when they have one-on-ones are spending at least 25% of those one on ones being curious about the person who's reporting to them? How is it going for you? Tell me the best thing that's happened to you this month? You know, developing a trust based caring relationship rather than just an instrumental relationship - or a transactional relationship - Yeah, let's cross stuff off our list.
When you have an employee who's happy to go to work, who feels valued and appreciated, they will work harder and increase shareholder value. You know, it's not that businesses have changed in terms of wanting to make money, what has changed that there's no recognition that investing in your people is your greatest asset.
***
LAURA: As Glo says, the best managers work on the relationships with their teams and are invested in them, but what about when you’re not so lucky, and your network starts to drain you rather than lift you up? How do you make the decision to cut out those negative forces, especially when, as women we are expected to be constantly delightful and grateful? Digital entrepreneur and OG-influencer Michelle Phan shares her experience.
***
MICHELLE: If you surround yourself with garbage, you become trash. You surround yourself with light, you become illuminated, you become more aware of the world. Because before I wanted to save everyone, even the people who were pulling me down, and if their energy is no longer serving me I have to leave those energies behind. So I had to understand, sometimes it's healthy to burn bridges, cos we're told like ‘don't burn bridges’, and it's like no actually, some people are not meant to be in your life, and if you continue to talk to them and to stay connected to them - you give an inch and they take a mile, and so you have to learn how to like just protect yourself, protect your energy.
LAURA: It's a really hard lesson to learn and accept.
MICHELLE: It is, so, I just had to learn a lot about understanding how to balance out my emotional intelligence but also, don't be too much of a pushover either, people will take advantage of that too. Just finding a balance between the two worlds.
LAURA: And I think that can be particularly difficult for women.
MICHELLE: Yeah. And I wouldn't say just women, just people with a high emotional intelligence.
***
LAURA: So what do we want and need from our mentors, and how can we pass on support and knowledge to the next generation? Gail Medaris, and Amy DuRoss, healthcare CEOs of Antiva and Vineti respectively, say it’s about asking the right questions, actively listening and understanding the person, not the role they’re in.
***
GAIL: I think good mentors are those that share their advice in a way that their mentees are able to really learn. So part of that is just asking questions and getting CEOs to think critically.
***
AMY: For me mentorship, particularly within the Vineti team is all about active listening and really understanding the human being that we're supporting. I think there's a level of humility around you're playing a role in a certain chapter more directly, but I intend to know these teammates for the rest of our lives, I hope And so trying to look ahead to where there are hopes and dreams, and also what we can do in the here and now to set those hopes and dreams in motion is a constant conversation.
We're still fortunately at the size where I can meet with everybody individually. And so in those meetings, we really do talk through where that individual is… where they want to be or what they want to learn or how they want to grow. And that really was a reflection of how I've been mentored.
***
LAURA: As in life more broadly, DuRoss says it’s not all plain sailing, especially when you’re at the top of the company. Here she discusses one of the hidden downsides to her job, and how she’s learned to share experiences with similarly senior colleagues in order to create a supportive network.
***
AMY: You know, I think the difference about being a CEO versus other roles I've played in my career is there is a level of loneliness and no one really talks about that, it's kind of the way not everyone talks about the full spectrum of childbirth. But there's all these beautiful moments but at the end of the day, it is really you and you alone making some very significant decisions with lots of helpful input. And so as a mentee, and even as a mentor, I have an added appreciation.
Many of my mentors were CEOs or in significant leadership positions, but didn't really emphasize this part for me. And so I do because I know there are very specific members of our team who seek to be CEOs, and it's a burden and the privilege of leadership… But it's also gratifying in its strengthening. So I think yes, being a CEO is incredibly inherently lonely, but there's also this remarkable kind of supercharged growth that happens as a result because...so many others are relying on you in a very specific way, but then you in turn, are relying on yourself and that really is this incredibly like fundamental cycle that is very enriching. That's the positive side of it. But it is a different everyday outlook and state of being - It's really through challenge that we grow.
NINA: Absolutely - describing it that way. It's truthful.
AMY: But it's not talked about in both the bad and the good together, at least not in a more widespread way. I think CEO to CEO, there's more conversation around like ‘how do you manage the loneliness and the fear of burnout that is specific to your role?’ - That's so important that that peer to peer network exists, even if it's small and ad hoc?
NINA: Yes, yes. I'm glad that you seek that out.
AMY: Absolutely. I really do.
***
LAURA: Not all mentors are so clearly defined as such. Some are just extremely influential characters in our lives, that enrich our learning and propel us forward, without either of us truly realizing it. Finally, Dr. Odette Harris, Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford, shares her memories of one of these figures, whose abounding passion infused her own life and career.
***
ODETTE: We had this teacher, she inspired us in science. Like, at that time, my high school, all the teachers were women… And she made science very accessible, and very fun and very interesting. And then that was coupled with a math teacher who was a nun whose passion was all about math. And I think seeing people, these subjects that they're teaching are almost ingrained in their DNA, was incredibly inspiring...I've never seen since like people who, well, I should say, my husband does this, I have daughters who do this, but people who truly light up, get very excited, their eyes get kind of weird when they're talking about science and math. And you could imagine in a class of girls like having a woman do that and teach you that and just have that passion, I think is unparalleled.
***
LAURA:
Often we think about success as being a personal achievement, but these incredible women have shown the power of being an active part of a community. Whether it’s hearing advice from a leader, or sharing concerns with associates, working in collaboration with and seeking support from others can shape the way we think and act, ultimately compelling us to become better versions of ourselves and better managers of our teams.
Were you inspired by these women? Be sure to listen to the full interviews on any podcast app and find out more at canaan.com/woven