Building While Flying

Maggie Love is the founder of SheFi, a decentralized finance company and broader crypto educational initiative and community aimed at onboarding more women into the new financial economy enabled Web 3.0 and blockchain technology. Its goal is to empower more women into financial freedom.

In her conversation with Joe Quattrone, Maggie shares how she got inspired to help women learn about the new wave of financial literacy. Throughout the episode, she explains why she thinks this is important, what goes on in their boot camps, and how she's built her company in the midst of so much adversity in the world.

In-flight topics:

• Her background and inspiration
• Helping people left behind catch up on financial literacy
• How her boot camps take women from zero to crypto confident
• Stitching together the educational and experimental components
• Building in the midst of adversity
• …and more!

Connect with Maggie Love:

SheFi Website: https://www.shefi.org/

SheFi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shefi.crypto/

SheFi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/She__Fi

SheFi on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shefi/

Maggie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love.maggie_/

Sam Patil is the founder and CEO of Well Traveled Club, a members-only platform designed to reduce the pain of planning for travel and replace it with enjoyment. It is described as a home for a new generation of travelers, foodies, and adventure seekers. Well Traveled Club offers community perks and more to its growing membership.

In her conversation with Katie Hankinson, Sam shares how she got into the travel space, especially during the pandemic. Throughout the episode, she explains why travel should be about people not features, the core pillars of the membership, and how it's building a community.

In-flight topics:

• Her background and starting in the pandemic
• Lack of women leaders in the travel space
• Travel is about people, not features
• Creating a home for middle-level travelers
• People are spending more on experiences than physical goods
• …and more!

Connect with Sam Patil:

WTC Website: https://www.welltraveledclub.com/

WTC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welltraveledclub/

WTC on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/welltraveledclub/

WTC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@welltraveledclub

Victoria Kennedy and Isabelle Seale are the co-founders of Seed to Harvest Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage fund that invests in software companies that are founded by women of color. They are product and design professionals with 10+ years of experience scaling products and teams for early to mid-stage startups. Now they are supporting founders who are historically overlooked by providing them with education, resources, and connections to scale their businesses.

In their conversation with Katie Hankinson, Victoria and Isabelle share how they started partnering together and the goals of Seed to Harvest Ventures. Throughout the episode, they explain why they chose to focus on women of color, how to fundamentally change the tech ecosystem, and the future of investing.

In-flight topics:

• Their backgrounds and how they started partnering together
• The unprecedented financial opportunity of women of color
• Fundamentally changing the tech ecosystem
• Being a different VC and changing the landscape
• The future of investing
• …and more!

Connect with Seed to Harvest:

STH Website: https://www.seedtoharvestvs.com/

STH on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sthventures/

Victoria on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-kennedy-10/

Isabelle on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelleseale/

Yasmin Nouri and Kaya Purohit are co-founders of Beeya, a wellness company helping women overcome hormonal imbalances using natural, food-based solutions. Inspired by their own struggles and seed-cycling journeys, Beeya is a simple way to support hormones and help women revolutionize their own health.

In their conversation with Maribel Lara, Yasmin and Kaya share how Beeya was born and how their mission to support and educate women drives them each day. They discuss why education is such a huge pillar of their brand, and why it's important for them to not be "gatekeepers" of their knowledge. They also share a look ahead for Beeya and talk about what excites them as they continue to grow their business.

In-flight topics:

• Differentiating your business in a crowded landscape
• The value of education in your brand
• Strategies for a successful product launch
• "Showing up" in your business content
• Being open to pivoting in business

Connect with Beeya Wellness:

Beeya website: https://beeyawellness.com/

Beeya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeyawellness/

Beeya on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beeyawellness

Yasmin Nouri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasminnouri/

Bridget Hilton is founder of LSTN Sound, an eight-figure social impact business that creates social change through the power of sound through the purchase of audio products via their website and retailers like Nordstrom and Whole Foods. Since its founding in 2012, LSTN has funded 20 missions to help more than 50,000 people around the world receive hearing aids through their partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

In her conversation with Mickey Cloud, Bridget shares her journey from the mailroom at a record label to finding her purpose and founding LSTN with her co-founder. Throughout the episode, she emphasizes the cause behind her business and why she chose to pursue this path: her desire to help people hear music. Building a cause-based business isn't an easy path, and Bridget shares important lessons she's learned along the way.

In-flight topics:

• Breaking into the entertainment industry
• Building a cause-based business
• Choosing DTC and partnerships over retail
• Selecting the right non-profit partner
• Having a strong support system
• …and more!

Connect with Bridget Hilton:

LSTN Website: https://lstnsound.com/

LSTN on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSTN

LSTN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lstnsound/

Bridget on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetlhilton/

Bridget on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgethilton/

Danielle and Jelani Jackson are owners and operators of Richie's Chicken & Soul, a fast-casual soul-food restaurant based in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. Danielle's family originally started Richie's in 1986, and she and Jelani joined the business in 2015 to understand the ropes of owning and growing a restaurant.

In their conversation with Joe Quattrone, Jelani and Danielle share how they've evolved Richie's over the last seven years, and what "Richie's 2.0" looks like. They emphasize hospitality and authenticity both in-store and on their social media channels, and aim to create a memorable brand experience as well as delicious soul food. Above all, what makes Richie's stand out, Danielle says, is their focus on their people and building an environment where people feel safe, supported, inspired to work hard, and are happy to be there.

In-flight topics:

• Owning and operating a family business vs. a funded startup
• Learning curves from corporate to small business
• Supporting your team as humans
• Building hospitality in person and online
• Incorporating your values into your business
• …and more!

Connect with Jelani and Danielle:

Richie's Chicken & Soul website: https://www.richieschicken.com/

Jelani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jelani-jackson-6b534013/

Richie's Chicken & Soul Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richieschicken/

Simmone Taitt is the Founder and CEO of Poppy Seed Health, an on-demand telehealth platform offering support with doulas, midwives, and nurses for pregnant and postpartum birthing people. After cutting her teeth in retail and working for startups for over a decade, Simmone founded Poppy Seed Health in 2019 after her own experiences with pregnancy loss and lack of support afterward. In a year and a half, Poppy Seed Health has logged over 3 million minutes of chat time between doulas, midwives, nurses, and patients.

In her conversation with Maribel Lara, Simmone shares her own heartbreaking story of pregnancy loss, and how that experience led her to become a doula and start Poppy Seed Health. She describes their in-depth beta testing process and how she and her team developed Poppy Seed Health to fill the gaps in mental and emotional healthcare during and after pregnancy.

In-flight topics:

• Saying "yes" to opportunities
• How beta tests informed product development
• Leveraging technology to bring healthcare to rural areas
• Making accessibility a hallmark of your business
• What the future looks like for Poppy Seed Health

Connect with Simmone:

Poppy Seed Health website: https://www.poppyseedhealth.com/

Poppy Seed Heath Instagram: ​​https://www.instagram.com/poppyseedhealth/

Poppy Seed Health on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/poppy-seed-health/

Simmone Taitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simmonetaitt/

Simmone Taitt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simmone_taitt/

Michael Sharon and Kal Freese are co-founders of Taika, a new-wave beverage company that's creating better coffee drinks that are better for you. Their goal with Taika products is to fuel creativity and reinvent the experience of drinking coffee. They met four years ago after long careers in other industries, and Taika was born shortly thereafter.

In their conversation with Joe Quattrone, Michael and Kal share their stories of how they got connected and started building Taika together. Michael and Kal emphasize the importance of their community in building the brand, and how vital the feedback loop has been to Taika's development. They also discuss the immense opportunities that exist with coffee and the beverage space, and how Taika can make an impact by fueling creativity around the world.

In-flight topics:

• How Taika was born (1:10 - 5:00)
• What it means to be a "destination" company (5:35 - 6:50)
• Innovating through ingredients (7:00 - 9:55)
• Caffeine as a commodity (11:10 - 20:40)
• Pioneering a new category (20:45 - 21:57)
• Sourcing R&D through customers (25:55 - 27:55)
• Integrating Web3 and NFTs into the brand (29:22 - 33:32)

Connect with Taika:

Taika website: ​​https://taika.co/

Taika Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taika/

Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsharon/

Kal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalfreese/

Gesche Haas is the Founder and CEO of Dreamers & Doers, a community and agile PR team amplifying extraordinary entrepreneurial women. As of this episode's recording, Dreamers & Doers boasts a carefully curated membership of 35,000 entrepreneurial women globally.

In her conversation with Maribel Lara, Gesche shares how her childhood and upbringing shaped her into the human and entrepreneur she is today. She explains how Dreamers & Doers was born and why their human-first approach has helped them grow into a global community of extraordinary female entrepreneurs. Gesche also provides insight into how they've curated their community over the years, and how that curation translates into growth.

If you're a woman entrepreneur and feel you might be a good fit for Dreamers & Doers, you can learn more and apply on their website.

In-flight topics:

• Approaching "crossroads" in life and business
• Following your own path in business
• Choosing which business idea to pursue
• What growth looks like for Dreamers & Doers
• Strategically curating a community
• …and much more!

Connect with Gesche Haas:

Dreamers & Doers website: https://www.dreamersdoers.com/membership

Dreamers & Doers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamersdoers/

Dreamers & Doers LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreamersdoers/

Gesche Haas LinkedIn: ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/gesche/

Alison Cayne is the founder and CEO of Haven's Kitchen, a CPG brand that's making home cooking more accessible and enjoyable. Haven's Kitchen started as an in-person cooking school, and now includes a line of packaged sauces, tools, and apparel for home cooks. Over the last several years, Haven's Kitchen has evolved based on customers' needs and in response to the world at large.

In her conversation with Katie Hankinson, Alison shares how she combined her passion for food and cooking with her desire to make people's lives better into her career. She shares how Haven's Kitchen transitioned from a fully in-person kitchen classroom to a direct-to-consumer CPG brand, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, Alison and Katie dive deep into content and how a strong content strategy can build your brand and engage your audience.

In-flight topics:

• Shifting to DTC during the pandemic
• Knowing your customers and audience
• Using content to educate your audience
• Developing an effective content strategy
• Knowing when it's time to pivot in business
• …and more!

Connect with Ali:

Haven's Kitchen website: https://havenskitchen.com/

Haven's Kitchen YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HavensKitchen/featured

Haven's Kitchen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/havenskitchen/

Haven's Kitchen TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@havenskitchen

Alison Cayne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-cayne-223b0b14a/