Hey Sue

You should know that Margaret Miner's companies generate way more revenue than you think, and way more than many of the tech companies you read about daily in TechCrunch. A completely different angle for this week's episode.

Do you spend time and energy thinking about how to retain your top talent? How to give them growth opportunities in the business to keep them engaged? So does Margaret Miner, founder and CEO of Colorado-based Rags Consignments and ten20, a nail and waxing spa. Given how things have worked out in her decades of growing not one but two businesses founded to solve a need Margaret herself had, she's pretty much got this figured out.

Take the fact that Ten20 has had retained at least one waxing technician -- growing her to one of two managers -- since the first days the company opened its doors 12 years ago. How about the fact that parents of the college-aged kids that staff the multi-unit Rags business regard the job as "finishing school" for their children.

Margaret earned her chops as an entrepreneur the organic way -- by building not one but two successful businesses that have been self-supporting and growing since the start. In this Real Leaders episode, Sue and Margaret talk about the highs and the lows of this path. Now selling Ten20, Margaret shares the challenges of letting go of a business that has been so embraced by her customers.As always, this episode is real, raw, and revealing.

Nicole Glaros recently became Chief Innovation Officer of Techstars. In taking this role after serving as Managing Director of Techstars Boulder (the original Techstars accelerator) for years and the company's Chief Product Officer, she shed most of her direct reports because managing people wasn't her deepest passion. Nicole may be the most gifted mentor and coach for startup founders in the world. She's smart, funny, fast and fiercely committed to growing great founder leaders. 

In this Real Leaders podcast, Nicole also offers a real-time example of self-awareness, something she deems a critical feature of a founder worthy of investment. Nicole shares the backstory for her independent streak and discusses the downside of her extraordinary personal strength. This episode is a great example of a "real" leader, something Nicole lives and breathes daily.

Wendy Lea has had a lifetime of high-profile successes in building successful businesses. Leaving Get Satisfaction after years as CEO, Wendy was lured to Cincinnati to develop and grow an enduring business ecosystem that brings together startups, bigcos, government nonprofits, neighborhoods and even the clergy. The results already have been amazing.

But Wendy is not your garden-variety winner. What you'll hear in this Real Leaders podcast is deep and candid reflection on what has motivated Wendy in her career and what gaps she's looking to fill across her life.

I think company founders who are also world-class athletes bring a unique form of tenacity to their businesses. Nicole DeBoom founded Skirt Sports after wearing her own homemade running skirt in an Ironman World Championship that she won. 

Nicole has excelled at so many things. A Yale graduate who chose triathlon after realizing she wouldn't likely go to the Olympics in swimming. Nicole brings all of herself to the growth and evolution of Skirt Sports. 

Her commitment to showing up vulnerably gives Skirt Sports incredible loyalty and connection with its growing customer base and the company's important mission.

This episode of the Real Leaders podcast features Elizabeth Kraus and Sue Heilbronner, co-founders of MergeLane, the investment fund and accelerator targeting companies with at least one female in leadership.

Here Elizabeth turns the tables on Real Leaders Host Sue by asking her about her goals and motivations for building MergeLane as well as her approach to working closely with high-potential leaders.

This episode gives real insight on the ways in which MergeLane is different, starting with the relationship between its founders. An intimate, revealing conversation.

Bill Flagg has a contrarian suggestion for startups: build and hold your companies. Fund your firms with revenue. Build great, enduring companies. Bill is serious, and he came by his strong views on this topic honestly. He sold his first company in a very lucrative transaction that he came to regret. 

Now Bill buys a material interest in select companies that are customer-funded, and he takes active roles in those firms -- from SaaS businesses to summer camps.It’s almost incredible to think that Bill’s strong views on this are against the grain, as he essentially is just arguing for the definition of business that has been true before the burgeoning of venture funding. His views on this are terrific, and he’s taking a more visible stand on the topic, launching Sovereignty.com as a community, learning base, and support for founders who want to build customer-funded companies.

Listen to Bill Flagg share his thoughts on business sovereignty in a candid conversation with Sue Heilbronner on the Real Leaders Podcast.

Erin Carson has worked as a fitness professional at RallySport Health & Fitness in Boulder, Colorado, since the very start of her career. After decades of commitment to this community-centric fitness club -- located in the heart of one of the fittest cities in the world -- Erin had the opportunity to buy the club. Erin did this in partnership with an ownership group who had been acquainted with her through her work at Rally, her successful triathlon career, and her terrific years on the University of Colorado women's basketball team.

There are so many notable differences at Rally Sport, and Erin is at the forefront of all of them. Most importantly, Erin has always believed in cultivating personal trainers who are committed to the craft as a career. She grows both the training business at Rally (Rally Sport is at the top of health clubs globally in many business metrics associated with member engagement) and the trainers personally. She has set national benchmarks for retention of trainers and average salaries earned by her trainers. The sense of commitment to excellence comes through both in Rally's numbers and in the role the club plays in the community.

In this terrific conversation with Real Leaders' host Sue Heilbronner, Erin speaks openly about her wins and her (very few) misses. 

Lee Mayer, CEO of Havenly, joins Sue Heilbronner on the Real Leaders podcast to talk about the rapid growth of this cutting-edge design service.

Lee shares reflections on the last two years and the role luck and gratitude has played in getting Havenly to where it is today. What comes through is that Lee has almost no sense of entitlement, and she values diligence and hard work in her staff above all else. Lee says “the hard problems are the profitable problems.” 

Leaving a cushy, well-paid job in New York to begin a new life and career in Colorado, Lee says she has grown more personally and professionally while developing her company than ever before. Havenly's core value is to "deliver on the delight factor," and Lee is finding savvy ways to turn this esoteric notion into a model that can be used across multiple products and markets for Havenly. 

Listen in as this founder and CEO discusses her high bar for hiring, her views of looking at the competition, and her sense of what makes for a great day at Havenly.

Founder and CEO of Homie, Johnny Hanna defies the entrepreneurial stereotypes. He is father of six kids under nine, and when his wife calls to remind him to come home from work, he does. Even more contrarian, Johnny Hanna has never been focused on the big exit. Instead, he has created companies "built to run," building cohesive teams and turning away from big-ticket purchase offers.

When Johnny's first company, Entrata, reached $100M in recurring revenue, his gut told him it was time to move on in an amicable parting with his co-partners. He saw an opportunity to materially disrupt the real estate market at last. Unlike Zillow or Redfin, Homie is designed for the home seller who wants to cut out the real estate agent, save money and streamline the sale process with "pure automation." With 70% - 80% of home buyers finding their homes online without the assistance of an agent, the vision seems inevitable, and Johnny just may have the tools and tenacity to make that possibility a reality.

When it comes to leadership, Johnny's humble, down to earth attitude is a huge part of what makes him a success. He says,"I'm confident in what I don't know," and he isn't afraid to hire people who (according to him) are smarter than he is to fill in the gaps in his knowledge. Unlike many startups whose company culture is left to evolve organically, Johnny pays close attention to fit when hiring. He looks for loyal and positive-minded candidates. 

Johnny’s interview on the Real Leaders podcast with Sue Heilbronner offers a glimpse of the character of a founder who doesn't fit the standard mold. He prefers Utah to the Silicon Valley. He relishes the pressure from his board. He wants to solve the problem Homie addresses no matter who invests in it. 

Fran Dunaway, co-founder and CEO of TomboyX, is an atypical leader. A humble and curious activist at heart, she's grown her women's apparel and accessories company at an amazing pace by being inclusive and focusing on previously underrepresented groups. As sales grow, new markets are discovering TomboyX and Fran finds ways to incorporate the needs of these demographics into her products. 

"This brand is for the people...the brand that helps people express who they are," she says in this Real Leaders podcast. Nowhere was this more obvious than in their initial Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign which raised $76K in 30 days. Clearly people saw something different and special and wanted to be part of it. 

Starting out as a clothing line and targeting the LGBTQ community via Facebook, TomboyX has decided to increase its emphasis on underwear, focusing on the huge success of its line of women’s boxer brief. The timing was perfect as a tide of acceptance for gay and transgender rights began to sweep mainstream culture and media. The company's development has mirrored these cultural changes by listening to customers. Fran says, "We're evolving in tandem...I don't feel like we're necessarily leading the charge, we're just paying attention." 

A two-time cancer survivor, Fran is no stranger to the tenacity required to build an early-stage company like TomboyX. "Nothing is more terrifying than starting your own business." She finds fulfillment in celebrating differences - different bodies, different careers, and different lifestyles. 

Find out how adaptability, inclusion and simple kindness have poised TomboyX to revolutionize the women's undergarment industry.