Tiffany Dufu is the Founder and CEO of The Cru, an organization of women helping each other thrive. Listed among Entrepreneur’s 100 Powerful Women and Fast Company’s League of Extraordinary Women, Tiffany is fiercely committed to empowering women and girls. In addition to raising roughly $20 million for the advancement of women, she has helped found a girls’ middle school, headed a national womens’ leadership organization, and served as the Chief Leadership Officer at Levo, a social good tech startup that elevates women in the workforce. At The Cru, Tiffany helps a diverse group of mid-level and senior professionals find their inspiration, accountability partners, and community.

Tiffany joins us today to discuss how The Cru is empowering Entreprenistas by helping them find their support network. She explains how she and her team are harnessing the ingenuity and creativity of women and girls for the benefit of everyone. She divulges why she’s obsessed with understanding what matters most to women. Tiffany also highlights how the power of positive affirmation can fuel your life’s work and shares the lessons she learned from positioning herself as a thought leader.

“Your Entreprenista journey is never a solo journey; it’s a team sport.” - Tiffany Dufu

This week’s takeaways from Entreprenista:

Tiffany’s background and her journey to founding The CruHow to turn an idea and mission into a businessHow Tiffany’s personal experiences shaped her life’s purpose to empower women and childrenThe power of positive affirmations and naming the voices in our headsIdentifying the profile of someone who can guide you through the fundraising processHow Tiffany is building her team at The CruBest practices for remotely managing a teamHow Tiffany conducts Zoom interviews and the questions she asks job applicantsThe biggest challenges Tiffany met in launching The CruThe lessons she learned from going through the fundraising processThe role of storytelling in the fundraising processHow to evaluate a support group’s efficacy

Resources Mentioned:

Black Women Talk TechDonutPodcast: The PitchBook: Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson

Our Favorite Quotes:

“If you want something you’ve never had before, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done before.” - Tiffany Dufu“It’s the consistency of your message, the source of your message, and your commitment to your message that allow people to recognize your authenticity.” - Tiffany Dufu“Start with what matters to you. The source of your purpose and power is what will allow you to withstand all the challenges that come with entrepreneurship.” - Tiffany Dufu

Connect with Tiffany Dufu:

Tiffany Dufu WebsiteThe CruThe Cru on LinkedInThe Cru on InstagramThe Cru on FacebookThe Cru on TwitterTiffany Dufu on LinkedInTiffany Dufu on InstagramTiffany Dufu on FacebookTiffany Dufu on Twitter

Help More Female Entrepreneurs & Leaders Through the IFundWomen Campaign

We are thrilled to announce that our iFundWomen campaign is now live! We have supported so many women through Entreprenista, and we're excited to share this opportunity with you to support our campaign and continue to help women business owners and leaders. 

Our funding goal is $100,000 - which means that every dollar counts. The best part? We've created incredible rewards that will help you as part of our campaign! 

When you pledge to the iFundWomen Campaign, you’ll receive:

An exclusive Entreprenista League Membership rateDedicated Instagram and website features to promote you and your businessInt...