Stefanie Diaz on Her Journey to Venture Capital and Empowering Others | Ep. 15

04/05/21 • 32 min

“My words are specifically to the Latinas of the South: Your voice is so important, needed, of value, beautiful. You have a style and an energy that this world needs more of.” – Stefanie Diaz

Stefanie talks about her personal and family journey to claiming her Latina identity, growing up in Georgia and feeling between two worlds. She describes going back to Puerto Rico and feeling as if she’s leaving a part of her heart behind when she leaves the island. She also talks about finding her tribe later in life.

Stefanie tells us what led to her work with Zane Venture Fund and her podcast, She Conquers Capital. Letting go of fear and going after her dreams with intention was an approach inspired by her son.

One thing we can do to overcome the fears of ‘not being ready’ or imposter syndrome is to flip the script and instead congratulate ourselves for being in a place where we are about to grow and develop.

Adela and Stefanie talk about how she is helping to make the venture capital world more welcoming. One way is how she uses her podcast platform, She Conquers Capital, to educate all about the world of capital while elevating the voices of underrepresented founders. Her advice: go to where you are celebrated and know your own value all while challenging yourself to come out of your safe zone.

Stephanie talks more about the inspiration behind creating the WOE (The Women Only Experience) for female founders. She leaves some words of wisdom for the Latinas of the South – our voices are both important and needed.

Thank you for listening to Latina South! If you like the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or drop us a note at [email protected]. For more episodes, please visit our website: www.latinasouth.com. Or follow us on social media @LatinaSouth.

Podcast Music: “The OGS Present Higher” Written by Divinity Roxx, Marcie Chapa, Katty Rodriguez, Nikki Glaspie, Tia Fuller Published by Hot Tottie Music (ASCAP), Wambui Publishing Company, I M A Funkateer (BMI) Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“My words are specifically to the Latinas of the South: Your voice is so important, needed, of value, beautiful. You have a style and an energy that this world needs more of.” – Stefanie Diaz

Stefanie tells us what led to her work with Zane Venture Fund and her podcast, She Conquers Capital. Letting go of fear and going after her dreams with intention was an approach inspired by her son.

Previous Episode

Marcie Chapa, World Percussionist and Tejana on Sharing Her Gift and Finding Happiness | Ep. 14

“There’s nothing more [important] to life than just being happy and being your true self and who you are supposed to be and who you are supposed to be with. If other people are not allowing you to have that, shame on them. Only you are responsible for your happiness.” – Marcie Chapa

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, world percussionist Marcie Chapa now finds herself in California as an arts educator, sharing her gift of percussion with her students.

Adela asks Marcie how she felt being surrounded by so many female percussionists back when she auditioned for Beyonce’s all-female touring band. She admits she wanted to say to everyone, “Where have y’all been all my life?” She cherishes the relationships she made during that time on tour.

Marcie talks about her Latina identity and being Tejana - at times feeling not Mexican enough and not American enough. Marcie also reveals about how love and happiness happened for her later in life with the support of family and friends.

Marcie asks us to consider supporting the Arts Council of Monterey County where she serves as a Board member and also the North Monterey County High School music program.

The song “Higher” by the OGs used with Marcie Chapa's permission. You can find out more about them here https://theogsofficial.bandcamp.com/releases.

Thank you for listening to Latina South & please leave a review!

Next Episode

Elaine Utin, LatinxEd Co-founder on Being Latina and a Learner in the South | Ep. 16

"Being from the South and being Latina, at least my experience and in my journey...I felt like they were working against each other. And back to that feeling of 'Ni de Aquí o Ni de Alla,' as I look back I see so much complexity in that story." - Elaine Utin

Elaine talks about growing up in the South between a pecan and peach orchard. Born in Peru, she describes spending her formative years in faith-based communities influenced by her father while also visiting Peru and experiencing food, music, and language from her mother and grandmother. She talks about using the two sides of her brain when describing the two sides of her identity.

She eventually realizes the complexity of her identity in her experience as a first-generation college student and in her college years. She begins to unpack the many layers of her experiences in the development of her work with the Latinx community.

Elaine talks about LatinxEd and how her lived experience of being a learner in the South influenced her approach to creating the South Carolina nonprofit organization which serves youth in the Latinx community.

Adela asks Elaine, “What does your support structure look like?” Elaine talks about the challenges of being an entrepreneur while being a Mom and using coaching as a tool to help her with mindset and personal growth. She also talks about democratizing coaching for Latinx youth through the program Somos Carolina.

We can support Elaine and her work by visiting LatinxEd.org and learn more about impactful programs like College y Consejos and Somos Carolina.

Words of wisdom from Elaine: She encourages us all to allow ourselves to experience the complexity and nuance that is our own humanity and Latinx identity.