S2Ep89: The Rise of Muse: Disrupting the Job Search and Breaking fundraising barriers with Kathryn Minshew

07/26/23 • 42 min

Kathryn Minshew is the CEO & Founder of The Muse, a career platform used by over 70 million people to find jobs at companies whose people, benefits, and values align with their unique professional needs. Under her leadership The Muse has pioneered the concept of values-based job search and was recently named one of Fast Company's 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World. In 2022, Kathryn led The Muse's acquisition of Fairygodboss.com, the largest online career community for women. Fairygodboss serves over 10 million women with a supportive community, tactical advice, live and virtual events, and over 50,000 employee reviews on gender equity and womens' experience inside thousands of companies. Kathryn is the host of The Muse’s podcast, The New Rules of Work, and her first book, “The New Rules of Work: The Muse Playbook for Navigating Your Career” (Crown Business, April 2017), was a Wall Street Journal national bestseller. She has spoken at MIT and Harvard, contributed to The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review, and appeared on TODAY and CNN. In addition, Kathryn & The Muse have been named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, Marie Claire’s The New Guard, SmartCEO's Future50 Visionary CEOs, New York on Tech’s Disruptors and Innovators, Inc.’s 30 Under 35 and Female Founders 100, One Young World’s Entrepreneur of the Year and many more. Before founding The Muse, Kathryn was previously at McKinsey & Company and also worked on vaccine introduction and healthcare infrastructure in Rwanda and Malawi with the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Here is what to expect on this week’s show: How female entrepreneurs face formidable challenges in Silicon Valley, navigating gender biases and stereotypes while establishing their businesses. Venture capitalists' emphasis on high-risk, high-reward investments pushes founders to grow rapidly, secure significant funding, and heavily invest in growth-related activities. Risk Tolerance and Investment Decisions: Founders should carefully consider their risk tolerance when making decisions about offers from investors. Some investors may push entrepreneurs to turn down offers with potentially high returns due to the risk involved. Learn the difference between Venture Capital vs. Private Equity and their pros and cons. Why founders must comprehend their company's potential outcomes in both favorable and challenging markets, guiding them to make well-informed decisions that match their risk tolerance. Why redefining personal definitions of success beyond financial milestones is important. Quotes: "The way people conceive of work and how it fits into their life has changed dramatically." – Kathryn Minshew "If you, as an employer, have this mindset that you're lucky just to be paid, you cannot get great people to do your job." – Kathryn Minshew "There's a lot of upside and a lot of downside to this approach [of venture capital]. The upside is they can take chances; they don't have to bet on a sure thing... The flip side... is that most investors would rather increase the chance of you being a billion-dollar company a little bit, even if it massively increases the chance of you going bankrupt." – Kathryn Minshew This episode is sponsored by Medjet. Medjet is the top-rated air medical transport and crisis response membership for travelers. If you’re hospitalized while traveling or your safety is threatened abroad, they get you home. Join Medjet before your next trip at Medjet.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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S2Ep88: The Rise of Caulipower: How Gail Becker Went From Agency President to Disrupting The Food Industry

Gail is best known as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the Founder of CAULIPOWER, the most disruptive company in the better-for-you frozen food space. The company experienced hyper-growth, reaching over $100m in revenue in five short years. She has received recognition for her achievements in business from Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., and Ernst & Young. Gail is a frequent media guest, sought out for her opinions on the rise of female-owned businesses, healthy food trends, and building great brands. As the mom of two boys with celiac disease, Gail grew tired of searching for healthier alternatives that were easy to make and tasted great. Knowing she couldn’t be alone, she left her corporate job and launched CAULIPOWER in 2017. Today, CAULIPOWER is America’s #1 Cauliflower Crust Pizza, #1 Gluten-Free Pizza, and a top 10 frozen pizza brand in the total market. CAULIPOWER is recognized as the true disruptor of what was one of grocery’s most stagnant categories and, in 2022, was named one of the Top 10 World’s Most Innovative Food Companies by Forbes. As the company continues to expand into various categories, including chicken tenders, pasta, riced cauliflower, and breakfast scrambles, it remains Gail’s mission to eliminate the need for consumers to ever have to choose between taste, health, and convenience. In this episode of Takin’ Care of Lady Business®, Jennifer Justice and Gail Becker discussed the importance of taking risks and believing in yourself. Jennifer shared her story of starting her own food business, CAULIPOWER. Despite facing difficulties raising money, Gail launched her product in thirty Whole Foods stores in February 2017. She took a risk and bet on herself, maxing out her credit cards and selling her clothes online, eventually raising her needed money. Gail also discussed the need to redefine success and the worst advice Gail ever received. Listen to this episode for a coupon for a free CAULIPOWER product! Here is what to expect on this week’s show: Careers are not always linear but more like a jungle gym, allowing for multiple pivots and exploration. Sometimes, following a calling or intuition is more important than focusing on guaranteed success when making career decisions. Learning and education can play a crucial role in starting a business, with the ability to hire consultants and learn from industry experts. Taking risks and betting on oneself is essential, even when faced with skepticism or lack of support. Knowing when to hire a CEO or delegate responsibilities is crucial for personal growth and preventing burnout. Redefining personal definitions of success beyond financial milestones is important, and recognizing the courage and determination it takes to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Quotes: “It's okay to pivot, and it's okay to pivot once, twice, and sometimes three or four times until you feel like you get it right.” – Gail Becker “You should always bet on yourself. You should always take that bet. I can't think of a better lesson for the kids that we raise and the women that we cheer on.” – Gail Becker “It was probably easier than I thought it would be. I think that's so true in life, right? So much about life is the anxiety that we sort of build-up and think, can I do this? It's going to be horrible, whatever it is in life. And then you go through it, and you're like, okay, well, that wasn't so bad.” – Gail Becker Social Media: https://eatcaulipower.com/en/ https://www.instagram.com/caulipower/ https://www.facebook.com/caulipower/ https://www.pinterest.com/caulipower/ https://twitter.com/caulipower This episode is sponsored by Medjet. Medjet is the top-rated air medical transport and crisis response membership for travelers. If you’re hospitalized while traveling or your safety is threatened abroad, they get you home. Join Medjet before your next trip at Medjet.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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S2Ep90: The Power of Accountability: How Tiffany Dufu & The Cru Are Empowering Women to Reach Their Potential

Tiffany Dufu is founder and CEO of The Cru. Their algorithm matches women in accountability circles to help them meet their life goals. She’s the author of the bestselling book Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less. According to foreword contributor Gloria Steinem, Drop the Ball is “important, path-breaking, intimate and brave.” Her writing has appeared in The Oprah Magazine, ESSENCE and the New York Times. Named to Entrepreneur's 100 Powerful Women and Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany has raised over $25 million toward the cause of women and girls. She was a launch team member to Lean In and was Chief Leadership Officer to Levo, the fastest growing millennial women's professional network. Prior to that, Tiffany served as President of The White House Project, which trained thousands of women across the nation to run for political office. Tiffany is a Trustee of Simmons University, a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc. and a Lifetime Girl Scout. She lives in New York City with her husband and two kids - but home is Seattle. In this episode of Takin’ Care of Lady Business®, Jennifer Justice interviews Tiffany Dufu, the founder and CEO of The Cru. They discuss the importance of community and sharing knowledge among women in business and in life. Tiffany explains her mission to advance women and girls and introduces The Cru, a platform that matches women in accountability circles to help them achieve their life goals. They also discuss the importance of seeking help and asking for support to achieve success. Tiffany shares insights from her book, "Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less," and discusses topics such as asking for help and managing household responsibilities. Here is what to expect on this week’s show: The importance of empowering women in the business world. Emphasizing the significance of dedicating time and effort to personal and professional growth. Creating a supportive network and seeking help from others, especially for mid-career women, proves crucial for career advancement and success in the business world. Prioritizing tasks and seeking help instead of striving for perfection in everything. Quotes: "It's very simple and it's focus. It's only radical because on a day-to-day basis woman in the middle spend most of our time focused on taking care of other people." – Tiffany Dufu "I feel like women should have bios not that are about all the things that we've done and accomplished but like all the things we haven't done." – Jennifer Justice “It's really important in today's world that we have clarity about why we're here.” – Tiffany Dufu “[The Cru is] basically a whisper in a woman's ear to say, you're loved, you're smart, you're beautiful, focus on yourself and the rest, you know, everything else will fall into place.” – Tiffany Dufu This episode is sponsored by Medjet. Medjet is the top-rated air medical transport and crisis response membership for travelers. If you’re hospitalized while traveling or your safety is threatened abroad, they get you home. Join Medjet before your next trip at Medjet.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices