Create Your Life Series

CYLS 139: Sex, Life & Mentoring: A Startups Success Connecting Experts and Clients From the Comfort of Their Living Rooms with Elise Schuster

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Episode Summary

Elise Schuster’s company, Okayso, provides clients with confidential access to experts who cover topics from sexual health to self-image. Using a non-traditional path for a startup, Elise and her co-founder were able to create an innovative app that not only supports positive mental health, but also is funded by a federal grant. The distinct way in which she has achieved success is an inspiring account for any CEO looking for new methods for establishing and operating their business.

 

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin Y. Brown is a National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Center For Public Trust (CPT) “Being A Difference” award recipient, international speaker, entrepreneur, and author.  The former MTV Networks host and NYC fashion marketer has created an international following as a speaker on personal excellence, effective communication, and leadership. Kevin has been featured by Black Enterprise magazine as a “Modern Man of Distinction” and highlighted in various publications for his self-help speaking work and helping students graduate college debt-free.  Recognized for his commitment to empowering foster care youth and as a foster care system alumnus, he has also delivered the keynote address at the International Foster Care Organizations Conference in Sydney, Australia and Osaka, Japan.  Kevin is currently the creator/host of Sirius XM’s “Create Your Life” series, a fellow in the New York Chapter of the Startup Leadership Program, and an active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. 

 

Elise Schuster

Elise Schuster is the Co-Founder of okayso, an app that provides quick, personalized answers from experts concerning life’s most intimate questions. Her experience working in the field of sex education spans over 15 years, beginning as a sex educator at Babeland. During her time at the company, Elise taught hundreds of workshops and answered thousands of questions. She previously worked on youth development at The Door, the country’s largest development agency serving over 10,000 marginalized youth each year. With a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University, Elise has extensive training and consulting experience in LGBTQ issues, pleasure, sexual health, and adolescent development.

 

Insights From the Episode

  • Secrets to enhancing your business by analyzing other industries.
  • Strategies for building a productive relationship with your co-founder.
  • How to find and embrace your company’s unique path to success.
  • Elise explains how she used skills learned in graduate school when she started her company.
  • Strategies for evaluating the goals of your business using Elise’s “Fantasy Island” technique.
  • How to embrace self-compassion and use it in your life.
  • Why CEOs who are just starting out should seek out the company of other new CEOs.

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    Quotes From the Show

    • “It’s really always helpful to have kind of those touchstones. I think you can get so in it, that you, kind of pulling back and seeing that bigger picture, every little bit is incredibly helpful.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “I think that, often when you read things about startups or you read about successful businesses, you don’t see the messiness behind them. You also often see only a couple of paths.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “There’s not one way of helping people. You have got to figure out what is going to work right for you.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “Everybody deserves to lead happy and healthy lives. And that includes sexuality. It’s just as much a part of our lives.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “I think that we get so many messages in the world about what it means to be a woman and how you’re supposed to behave and act. So I think most of it, for me, is really just to realize you have everything that you need within yourself to do this.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “Even in those moments that it feels like you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s okay to not know what you’re doing, you don’t have to have every single thing figured out, but you probably have it a lot more figured out than you realize. So keep pushing.”  - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “Self forgiveness is the biggest thing. That’s the only way you can really move forward.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “It’s okay to take shortcuts. Because everyone takes shortcuts.” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139
    • “The things that I thought made us unappealing are the things that made us appealing, Sometimes the things that you think are your weaknesses are actually your strengths” - Elise Schuster, Create Your Life Series, #139

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      Resources Mentioned

      • Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs by Nathalie Molina Niño
      • React Native

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        Favorite Book

        • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

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          Favorite Quote

          • Motto by Brene Brown that everyone is doing the best that they can with what they have.

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            Keys to Create Your Best Life

            • Self-compassion
            • Determination
            • Love

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              Stay Connected

              Create Your Life Series

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              Kevin Y Brown

              www.kevinybrown.com

              www.instagram.com/kevinybrown

              www.twitter.com/kevinybrown

              www.facebook.com/kevbrown001

               

              Elise Schuster

              www.okayso.co/

              www.eliseschuster.com/

              www.instagram.com/heyokayso

              twitter.com/akadallas

              twitter.com/heyokayso

              www.facebook.com/akadallas

              www.facebook.com/heyokayso

              www.linkedin.com/in/eliseschuster

              www.linkedin.com/company/okayso

              [email protected]


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              This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

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              Create Your Life SeriesBy Kevin Y. Brown
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