Getting Rich Together

I am joined this week by the incredible Stephanie Skryzowski, founder of 100 Degrees Consulting, which has been helping nonprofit leaders grow and expand into their fullest potential for years. Stephanie isn't just a successful business founder—she's passionate about increasing wealth while making a meaningful impact.

In this inspiring conversation, Stephanie shares her journey from childhood entrepreneurship to becoming a CFO at 28 and eventually launching her thriving consulting business. She opens up about her early career pivoting away from law, discovering her purpose in nonprofit finance, and how she built a successful company while prioritizing impact and financial abundance.

Stephanie challenges the common nonprofit mindset that you must sacrifice financial well-being to do meaningful work, arguing instead that we can "ditch the scarcity mindset" and thrive while serving causes we care about. She reveals how she's built her business to support nonprofits while creating financial freedom for herself and her team.

Don't miss her powerful insights on building a profitable business model, making strategic decisions like selling off a portion of her company, and embracing the limitless potential of entrepreneurship!

Key Topics:

1. Her childhood entrepreneurial spirit and creative money-making ventures

2. The career pivot that led her from law to nonprofit finance

3. Challenging the "martyr to the mission" mentality in nonprofit work

4. Building a profitable business model serving mission-driven organizations

5. Making the strategic decision to sell off a portion of her business

6. Embracing abundance and seeing no ceiling on wealth potential

7. Creating a legacy of financial empowerment, especially for women

Connect with Stephanie online:

Website: 100 Degrees Consulting

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieskryzowski/

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: www.wealthcatalystsummit.com

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

I am joined this week by the fearless and powerful Sherry Finkel Murphy. As the CEO and founder of Madina Molly, Sherry helps people navigate financial education and planning, empowering women to gain confidence in their financial decisions and build secure futures.

Today, we dive deep into Sherry's journey from her beginnings as a latchkey kid in suburban New York to becoming a trailblazer in wealth management. You'll hear about Sherry's early exposure to strong work ethics, watching her father work six days a week at his hardware store while her mother pursued her own business career after graduating from NYU.

Sherry shares her first entrepreneurial experiences, starting with a 4:30 AM shift at a bagel bakery, and how her early money mindset shaped her approach to financial independence. She reveals her mother's pivotal advice that led her to purchase her first condo at just 24 years old, and how an unexpected bet with a college friend redirected her career toward the emerging field of computing.

Listen as Sherry discusses breaking glass ceilings in technology sales, developing her concept of a "forget you fund" that enabled career pivots, and her transition into financial services. Sherry's story illustrates the power of financial independence and how she's using her experience to help women build parallel infrastructures in a system that wasn't designed for them.

This conversation is filled with wisdom on retirement planning for 100-year lives, building legacies through philanthropy, and creating financial confidence that allows women to sleep at night. Sherry's journey reminds us that financial education isn't just about money—it's about freedom, empowerment, and creating the life you want on your own terms.

Key Topics:

1. Growing up as a latchkey kid in suburban New York and how that shaped Sherry's work ethic and perception around money

2. Early financial independence with her first property purchase at age 24 following her mother's empowering advice

3. How a college bet led to an unexpected career pioneering in the early days of computing

4. Breaking glass ceilings in male-dominated technology sales and the importance of self-advocacy

5. The concept of a "forget you fund" and how it enabled career pivots and mid-career sabbaticals

6. Transitioning from technology executive to financial planner and launching Madina Molly

7. Building parallel financial infrastructures for women and creating an endowment to support caregiving across generations

Connect with Sherry online:

LinkedIn: Sherry Finkel Murphy

Join the Madrina Molly Community: A space to ask financial planning and longevity planning questions without anyone trying to sell financial products

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: www.wealthcatalystsummit.com

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

I am joined this week by the incredible Marcia Dawood, an accomplished angel investor who's changing the way we think about capital and investing. Marcia is a powerful voice for inclusive, values-driven investing and she is here today to support us in understanding and applying the value of investing to build capital.

In this enlightening conversation, Marcia shares how her father taught her budgeting at age nine, setting the foundation for her financial philosophy of "always live below your means." We explore her journey from retail buying to a 17-year career at Kaplan, discussing the champions who believed in her and how she navigated corporate America as a woman.

Marcia reveals her path to angel investing, how she created targeted "money buckets" for different investments, and the unique perspective she gained experiencing angel ecosystems across multiple U.S. cities. Her mission to democratize investing access, especially for women, is inspiring and practical.

Don't miss her vision for creating more "financial fluidity" that allows people to align their money with their values and support innovations they want to see in the world!

Key Topics:

1. Early money lessons from her father that shaped her financial foundation

2. Her 17-year career journey and the importance of having champions in the workplace

3. How she started angel investing and overcame initial misconceptions

4. Creating financial "buckets" for different purposes and risk levels

5. Her unique perspective from experiencing angel investing in different U.S. cities

6. Her mission to democratize access to angel investing, especially for women

7. Finding joy in generosity and the alignment of money with personal values

Connect with Marcia Dawood:

Websites: Angel Nextdoor Podcast Marcia's Website

Book: "Doing Good While Doing Well"

LinkedIn: Marcia Dawood

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

Join me as I sit down with the incredible Emma Tessler, the founder and CEO of Ninety Five Media, and host of the podcast Stop Scrolling, Start Scaling. In this episode, we discuss Emma's impressive and early rise to success as well as her life journey that encompasses values, money, and gratitude. Emma's story is filled with early examples of leadership and initiative, from self-organizing fundraisers as a child to managing part-time jobs in high school while maintaining stellar academic records.

She shares her early passion for interior design after taking a class in high school, which eventually led to her attending the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology. Despite knowing her career path pretty clearly, she opens up about how she navigated the challenge of following this passion to NYC, where she barely made enough to cover living expenses.

She reveals how this struggle opened up the doors for her to build Ninety Five Media, her social media marketing empire, while she commuted on the train to and from the city. Moving away from the interior design world wasn't always part of the plan, but the pandemic had other things in store for her.

Emma also opens up about the significance of financial planning as an entrepreneur, how she set herself up for success early on, and her approach to earning, spending, and investing her money, including celebrating milestones with meaningful purchases.

Key Topics:

1. Having a self-starting mentality from childhood
2. Getting eager to get into the workforce as early as possible
3. Emma's first lessons in taxes with her first paychecks as a young girl
4. Feeling like everyone else had everything figured out in high school and how she leveraged that into her passion for interior design
5. Getting offered a job at the firm she interned at before she even graduated college
6. Navigating life in NYC that didn't pay enough to cover living expenses
7. How she spent a 4-hour-per-day commute building her online marketing business
8. Embracing a "what's the worst that can happen?" mentality while building her business
9. How the pandemic shook the interior design and marketing industry to its core
10. Making the plan to leave her interior design job to go all in on her business
11. The support systems Emma leaned on to help get her business off the ground
12. Getting serious about saving, investing, and planning for retirement
13. Doing a lot of money mindset work to get rid of mental blocks
14. How her mom's entrepreneurial mindset impacted Emma as a kid
15. Rewarding yourself with milestone gifts to remind yourself of your accomplishments as an entrepreneur

Connect with Emma online:

Websites: https://ninetyfivemedia.co/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmatessler/

Instagram: @ninety.five.media

Podcast: Stop Scrolling, Start Scaling

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

Please join me in welcoming the brilliant Stephanie Kwong, an esteemed entrepreneur, founder, and self-healing extraordinaire. Stephanie shares her incredible journey of mastering her mind and life while also helping others discover their best selves.

Stephanie opens up about her challenging childhood, growing up with immigrant parents from China. She shares her journey of feeling abandoned and criticized due to her parents' intense work routines and the cultural pressure to succeed. However, these early experiences taught her resilience and shaped her deep desire to work on herself, inspired by her mother's dedication to personal development despite how uncommon this life path was back in the 80s.

Stephanie's story of navigating financial highs and lows, working multiple jobs, and learning about investment from a young age showcases her determination and work ethic rooted in her cultural upbringing. Despite initial dreams of entering the entertainment industry, Stephanie realized her true calling through unexpected life events and began paving her way as a life coach, leveraging her extensive background in personal development and psychology.

As we explore Stephanie's future goals and aspirations, she shares her vision of creating a global impact through her company, Rapid Rewire Method, aiming to soon make transformational tools accessible to underserved communities. Stephanie's journey is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-work and aligning with one's true purpose while showcasing the profound impact of personal growth on professional success and legacy building.

Key Topics:

1. The difficult stories Stephanie had about her childhood and what it taught her about money at a young age
2. The power of watching your parents heal from their own trauma and how it helped Stephanie begin her own personal healing journey
3. Stephanie's early steps to earn and save money at 15 years old, and how her mom helped her navigate it
4. The early college jobs that later set Stephanie up for success and a more serious career
5. What Stephanie's host family in a Spain study abroad program taught her about career decisions
6. Moving to LA to try a career in acting — and quickly pivoting to something else
7. Stephanie's motivation to start sorting through her conditioning and mentality around money
8. The incredible opportunity to move to Italy that changed Stephanie's career trajectory for good
9. Becoming a certified life coach and how she found ways to get paid experience early on
10. Getting hyper-focused on high-performing clients to make and receive the most impact from her work
11. How Stephanie handled the early finances in her business and the pivotal role her mom made in all of it
12. What shift occurred that finally motivated Stephanie away from being in the coaching business
13. Building the Rapid Rewire Method brand
14. Learning to grow and scale yourself alongside your business
15. Looking to give access to the Rapid Rewire Method to lower income clients so she can make an impact on a global scale

Connect with Stephanie online:

Websites: https://rapidrewiremethod.com/ https://www.stephaniekwong.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniekaikwong/

Instagram: @iamstephaniekwong

Podcast: https://www.stephaniekwong.com/podcast

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

Please join me in welcoming the brilliant Keri Finley, an esteemed investor, board director, and founder, as she shares her incredible life story and her impressive career in finance with us.

We start with the most impactful moments of Keri's early life in Los Angeles during a recession, where her family's financial struggles ignited a lifelong determination for stability and success. Influenced by her upbringing, Keri showcases how those formative experiences shaped her disciplined approach to money and savings later down the road.

We'll explore how Keri's educational journey set her up for her first job at Morgan Stanley and the pivotal moments that defined her career at Third Point. She discloses her personal investment strategies, where even early on, her bonuses were always earmarked for savings, providing a window into her meticulous financial planning.

Keri was also gracious enough to get vulnerable with us and shared about her early retirement, her move to California, and the challenging personal and professional setbacks she faced. Amidst the founding of Tacora Capital, she found herself in a "dark night of the soul" after facing some bad press, personal and professional betrayal, and the dissolution of her marriage.

Through the darkness, Keri emerged triumphant and learned the importance of aligning with ethical people and the value of genuine relationships as she navigated her new venture. Her remarkable story is not just about financial acumen but also about resilience, integrity, and finding joy and balance through life's trials.

Key Topics:

1. Keri's earliest money memories that shaped her perspective on spending and saving
2. Why Keri took every AP class possible in high school
3. Deciding to attend Columbia University and how she and her family managed to cover the costs of education
4. Prioritizing partying a little too much at the start of university
5. Earning her first job at Morgan Stanley after graduating from Columbia
6. Navigating finances in her early career in NYC
7. How Keri's early money memories came back to shape her spending and saving habits in adulthood
8. The unique path Keri's investment journey took as she started her career
9. How to get involved in closed-end funds
10. Keri's experience at Third Point managing nearly $4 billion in funds after 9 years
11. How Keri and her partner managed finances and money conversations in their early careers
12. Retiring early to move to California with her partner
13. Learning how to figure out who's real and who's fake in business in California
14. The "dark night of the soul" moments that changed Keri's perspective on loyalty, trust, and integrity in others
15. Navigating the different sets of standards placed on women in finance
16. Finding a new opportunity and a fresh start with Tacora Capital
17. What Keri's investing in today
18. Spending money on convenience and simplicity

Connect with Keri online:

Websites: https://www.tacoracap.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keri-findley-4a974a10a/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tacora-capital/

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

I am joined this week by the incredible Jen Risher, author of "We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth" and co-founder of Half My DAF. Jen is an advocate for open conversations about money and a trailblazer in philanthropy who's helping reshape how people think about giving and investing.

Today, we dive deep into Jen's journey from her middle-class upbringing in Seattle to becoming unexpectedly wealthy through her and her husband's early careers at Microsoft and Amazon. You'll hear about Jen's earliest money memories - from picking up leaves for pennies to opening her first bank account at age five - and how these formative experiences shaped her views on saving, investing, and what it means to have wealth.

Jen opens up about the emotional complexities of sudden wealth, including the silence and shame she felt when she couldn't discuss her new financial reality with friends. She shares the challenging conversations with family members about money, her fear of being judged for her wealth, and how writing her book helped her process these experiences.

Listen as Jen discusses her journey to aligning her investments with her values, her focus on supporting women fund managers of color, and her commitment to economic and racial equity. This conversation is filled with insights about breaking the taboo around money conversations, the importance of self-trust, and how we can all use our resources - whether financial or otherwise - to create positive change in the world.

Key Topics:

1. Growing up in Seattle and early money lessons about saving and investing

2. Teaching English in Japan and beginning her investment journey

3. Career path from advertising to Microsoft and meeting her husband

4. The emotional challenges of sudden wealth and the silence around money

5. Using money as a tool: Aligning investments with values and supporting women

6. Learning to say "no" and establishing healthy boundaries with wealth

7. Parenting through wealth and helping her daughters develop their own money stories

Connect with Jen online:

Websites: https://www.jenrisher.com/ https://halfmydaf.com/

Book: We Need to Talk: A Memoir About Wealth

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

I am joined this week by the remarkable Madeline Darcy. Madeline is not only an award-winning venture capitalist making waves in the industry but also a generous spirit devoted to empowering women to become financially independent.

Today, we dive deep into her journey from an adventurous and unique upbringing in Australia to becoming a top investor in the U.S. venture capital landscape. You'll hear about Madeline's early life growing up in an Indigenous community in Australia, her passion for saving from a young age, and how these formative experiences shaped her views on money and investing.

Madeline shares her first jobs, along with how she navigated a new and unfamiliar financial landscape when she moved to the US for university. The important lessons she learned from them ultimately helped set her up for a successful career in consulting and later, venture capital.

Listen as Madeline talks about her transition into launching Kaya Ventures, the risks and rewards involved, and her commitment to investing in areas that empower and uplift women and marginalized communities. Madeline's story is a testament to the power of perseverance and strategic risk-taking. It's a conversation brimming with insights on how to build wealth, seize opportunities, and make a meaningful impact on our communities and the world.

Key Topics:

1. Growing up in Indigenous communities and how that shaped Madeline's perception around money and resources
2. Beginning work as early as possible to get control of her financial future
3. Taking on a savings mindset from an early age
4. Moving to the US for part of her university education
5. How Madeline navigated finances and her financial education after moving to the US
6. Learning to leverage a lower cost of living to help set her up for more risk later in her career
7. Transitioning out of consulting into venture capital
8. What it was like going from working with $50 billion companies to companies that had no money
9. The mistakes Madeline made and how she navigated her first few years in venture capital
10. Learning patience through early angel investments
11. Launching Kaya Ventures and the investments the firm was interested in making
12. Managing a high-risk, high-reward phase of life
13. How her parents feel about her career path after seeing her success unfold
14. Motivating people to live better through financial education

Connect with Madeline online:

Websites: https://www.madelinedarcy.com/

https://www.kaya.ventures/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinedarcy/

Instagram: @madeline.f.darcy

@kaya.ventures

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

Please join me in welcoming the gorgeous and prolific Eva Yazzari, founder and CEO of the Beyond Capital Fund, to the show this week. Eva, who has spent the past 15 years driving transformative change through her investment fund, shares her remarkable journey from a precocious child in Staten Island to a powerful venture capitalist investing in emerging markets.

We explore her early money stories, her initial foray into finance, and the profound life experiences that shaped her entrepreneurial spirit and values-driven investment philosophy. Eva recounts her childhood entrepreneurial ventures, including selling bubble gum at a profit, and her ambitious pivot from pre-med to mathematics, which set the groundwork for her future in finance.

She discusses her unconventional path, starting a career in finance before she even graduated college, maneuvering through hedge fund work, and her decisive move to Switzerland during the financial crisis, which was pivotal in her founding the Beyond Capital Fund. Eva candidly reflects on her personal growth, the importance of aligning money with values, and the moment she fully realized her life's mission.

Eva's inspiring story illuminates the path of marrying profitability with purpose and highlights the significance of building a legacy that transcends mere financial success. Tune in for a deeply reflective and enlightening conversation on how money can serve as a force for good in the world.

Key Topics:

1. A childhood with one foot in the art world, and one foot in the NYC hustle culture
2. Deciding between medicine and mathematics as a degree path
3. Eva's first step into the finance and investment world at Merrill Lynch
4. Investing in the future, aesthetics, and herself with early career money
5. Finding her footing in the finance world
6. How Eva's perspectives on money changed as a high-earner
7. Learning to outsource money management — even if you work in finance
8. Moving to Switzerland and starting a new career chapter
9. Getting introspective about money and values
10. Starting a new fund centered around philanthropy and doing more with money
11. Leaving a legacy of building wealth while remaining true to values
12. There's a difference between enjoying spending money, and spending it to feel worthy

Connect with Eva online:

Websites: https://www.beyondcapitalfund.org/

https://www.beyondcapitalventures.com/

https://www.evayazhari.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/

Book: https://www.thegoodyourmoneycando.com/

Instagram: @consciousinvestor

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com

Today I have the immense pleasure of speaking with Jes Wolfe, the remarkable CEO of Rebel Girls, a company dedicated to inspire the next generation of girls to embrace their most confident selves. In this deep dive into Jess's life, Jes shares her inspiring story from a small-town Oregon upbringing filled with lots of outdoors time to becoming a powerhouse operator and entrepreneur who is making waves in the world of children's literature and female empowerment.

Jes takes us back to her childhood, recounting her early money stories that taught her the value of saving and investing from a young age and ultimately set the groundwork for her future in finance, consulting, and, eventually, entrepreneurship. We journey through her career transitions, from her first job picking blueberries, to impactful roles at Morgan Stanley, the International Finance Corporation, and BCG, to selling her first business and finding her true calling at Rebel Girls.

Throughout the episode, Jess eloquently discusses the importance of long-term thinking in personal finance, the grit required for entrepreneurial success, and her unwavering commitment to supporting women and girls in all her ventures. We also learn valuable lessons in planning out your pivots and taking time to really absorb life to figure out the best move for you and your future.

Key Topics:

1. Growing up in small-town Oregon and the first jobs Jess had as a kid
2. Learning to invest in high school to start saving for her future
3. Taking time to explore the world while decided on a life path
4. The career fair that had Jes dreaming of work in the private finance sector
5. The aha moment of learning how the world works and understanding how to play the game of life
6. Jes's start at Morgan Stanley out of university
7. How Jes planned her career moves to always be one step ahead
8. The long-term planning and saving that allowed her to graduate from business school debt-free
9. Moving to DC to work for BCG and all the places that job took her
10. Investing in her friends' success by investing in the companies they worked for
11. Following her desire to build companies through another career pivot
12. Soul-searching in Asia, looking for her new path in life
13. The move to SF that allowed Jes to finally start building things bigger than herself
14. Navigating finances on a smaller salary while building a startup
15. The lessons learned from selling her first business
16. The pivot that brought her to Rebel Girls as the CEO
17. Investing in the next generation to support female founders

Connect with Jes online:

Website: https://www.rebelgirls.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jes-wolfe-a58921/

Find more from Syama Bunten:

Instagram: @syama.co, @gettingrichpod

Website: https://syamabunten.com/

Download Syama's Guide to Getting Rich: www.syamabunten.com

Women & Wealth Catalyst Summit: https://women.win/

Big Delta Capital: www.bigdeltacapital.com