Inclusion Inc. | Diversity at Work

Jared Olsen, VP of People Experience at Motivosity and Wendy Evans, Founder of Chef Market, share their D&I journey with us today. Wendy, being a female entrepreneur talks about her diversity discovery moving to New York and how that has impacted her views and business decisions today. Jared shares insights about how he views employees and their uniquely valuable contributions. In the hiring process, both Jared and Wendy invite and respect the diversity that comes with each individual because variety in personal history adds color, vibrancy, and new perspectives to organizations.


2:08 Wendy's History and Move to NY
11:06 Creating a Diverse Team
17:46 Jared's Background
24:21 Incorporating The Unique Features of Employees


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

Today we talk with Daniel Ash, CEO and Co-Founder of Journeyfront, along with Greg Scott, CEO, and Karoline Pershell, COO, from Service Robotics & Technologies (SRT). As leaders of their companies, they know how difficult it can be to implement change in the workplace, especially the important changes necessary to shape an inclusive company culture. In our conversation, we discover the significance of having open conversations about diversity and inclusion at work. Although these topics can prove to be uncomfortable for some, it is the first step to promoting an educated and welcoming organization.

2:11 SRT's Background and D&I Views
11:26 The Value of Metrics
23:54 Journeyfront's Method to Inclusive Work Cultures
27:43 Diverse Teams Perform Better
38:40 Representation & Policy


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

Today we talk about embracing a less visible and less obvious community in the workplace, the LGBTQ+ community. Sexual orientations and gender perspectives impact a person's identity greatly and today we emphasize the fact that those who have differing experiences still deserve a workplace that they can contribute to and can feel safe in. We're joined today by Lucas Horns of Project Rainbow and Rob Moolman of the Utah Pride Center. They both discuss the importance of kindness, including those within the LGBTQ+ community, and how to create a place of safety and belonging for everybody.

2:51 Project Rainbow and Its Beginnings
7:33 South Africa's Rainbow Revolution
20:01 Wanting to Understand
33:01 Including the LGBTQ Members in a Company
42:14 Advice and Resources


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

In today’s episode, we talk about what it takes to create an inclusive company culture with Cameron Williams of Domo and Arian Lewis of Kiln. After tribulations and a change of plans in college, Cameron learned coding and programming languages which led to a job at Domo. Today, he is making a great impact on the diversity and inclusivity of the company as he passionately works to shape Domo’s culture. Our second guest, Arian, had a childhood and mother that greatly influenced him growing up; he learned about various religions and cultures and his mother also passed along her entrepreneurial spirit to Arian-- CEO and founder of Kiln. Kiln is a company that provides a coworking office space for people/companies from all walks of life. Join us as we get into the nitty-gritty of company culture and what it means to have a workforce centered around belonging, diversity, and inclusion.

2:53 Cameron's Journey to Domo
11:13 Arian's Draw to Diversity
19:25 Creating a Place of Belonging
27:22 What Mistakes Are We Making?
30:09 Domo's D&I Philosophies
45:39 Responsibilities for Members of the Diverse Community

"Belonging, in my mind, is creating a community and an environment where somebody feels the liberty . . . of being able to actually discover what it is about themselves that's truly unique." -Arian Lewis, Kiln.


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

In today’s episode of Inclusion Inc, we highlight two incredible women in their industries: Cyd Tetro, founder of the non-profit “Women Tech Council,” and Shauna Smith, CEO of Restaurant Savory Fund. Heading up the Tech Council, Cyd creates opportunities for women in tech and Shauna’s thriving company funds, develops, and advises promising restaurants. Throughout this episode, Cyd and Shauna share their experiences through the lens of successful women. They discuss how they became leaders and what it means to be a good leader, building up an inclusive workplace culture.


2:43 Cyd Tetro and Choosing Tech
13:04 Representing Women in the Workplace
23:04 What makes a culture inclusive?
31:30 Including Women

"Whatever you want to have as an outcome has to be built into who you are." -Cyd Tetro (Women Tech Council)


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

In this episode, we are joined by Stephan Jacob, Co-Founder of Cotopaxi, and Benjamin Dent, Co-Founder of Hallo. Both companies have excelled in maintaining and upholding company values which, in turn, has led to wholesome and inclusive environments. Because their values are deeply rooted and aren't just pretty words on an office wall, the impact they've had is far-reaching and impressive. Stephan tells us how the Cotopaxi Foundation was born and how it became the key to amplifying the original desire, which was to "Do Good." Ben tells us how his natural entrepreneurial spirit led him to create Hallo, a service that unites people of different cultures under one roof: English. Today we focus on values and how they drive success, inclusion, and equity.

2:26 The Initiation of Cotopaxi's Values
8:38 D&I at Cotopaxi
12:26 "Do Good"
20:03 Including Diverse Cultures/People
34:55 The Cotopaxi Foundation

"Our reason to exist is to have a measurable positive impact on the world." -Stephan Jacob


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

Today, Kim Crowder and Karen E Rodriguez La Paz join us in a conversation about race in the workplace. Growing up in Houston and living in Korea for some time, Kim was exposed to an array of cultures and with that, a passion for D&I was born. Because of this passion, she eventually ended up on the New York Times, Forbes list, and Hubspot’s podcast, “The Growth Show.” In our conversation, Kim addresses the challenges with inclusivity and she stresses the important role of transparency in having diversity and inclusion at work. Karen Rodriguez, CEO of Code in Color, is accomplishing her dream of providing black and brown individuals with tech education. She discusses reconciliation for those of color and the value of having a diverse workforce. They both address inclusivity in the workplace and their experiences with being a black woman in the workplace.

5:20 Inclusion: What it is, Challenges, How to
15:57 A Leader's Role in D&I
23:03 Code in Color's Story
28:14 Why is Representation an Important Topic?
34:38 "Innovate In Power"

"Inclusion is finding a way to get everybody to sit at the table and, even if people disagree with each other, they can still find a common ground." -Karen Rodriguez


Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

Today’s episode involves Donnaly Crull and Parker Gentry of Skill Struck, a company that uses education and software to create positive relationships between future generations and technology. Parker and Donnaly point out the lack of representation in the tech industry and they give advice about how companies can find a diverse workforce. We are also joined by Luke Mocke who is the founder of Fairstream, an organization that helps companies scale. Luke walks us through the importance of tapping into various talent pools and how inclusivity alone can increase company diversity and success.

9:30 Inclusivity in Tech
16:44 Finding a Diverse Workforce
21:52 Inclusive vs. Exclusive Company Cultures
26:58 Finding Underrepresented Talent
33:51 Being More Inclusive at Work & School

"To have a representative team is important because you're tapping [into] all talent pools that way." -Luke Mocke (Fairstream)

Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

In this episode of Inclusion Inc, we are joined by Sawyer Norman and Johnny Hannah to address mental health in the workplace. Sawyer is currently working with Internal Operations at Divi and he supports those struggling with their mental health through his clothing brand, “Keep On.” He shares his personal experience with depression and how his work associates buoyed him up during his difficult times. Johnny Hanna, Co-Founder and CEO of Homie, tells us about the values and lessons he introduces to his employees to support their “mental fitness.”

7:05 Sharing Mental Health Stories in the Workplace
13:53 Mental Health is the Foundation of D&I
19:22 Trainings and Values affecting Workplace Mental Health
29:03 Addressing Domestic Violence
37:45 Where Do We Begin?
42:53 “Keep On”

"In my head . . . these people didn't deal with depression, they didn't deal with any mental health issue... until I started doing research." -Sawyer Norman (Keep On)

Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com

In this episode of Inclusion Inc, we talk with Derrin Hill, CEO of Rev Road, and Reddit's Head of Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging, Christina Shareef. We dive deep into how they successfully lead D&I efforts within the workplace. We also highlight instances where Derrin has gone the extra mile to include those on the outskirts of the company. Derrin introduces the idea of being a "man-bassador" and talks about the need for women to be represented in various fields of work. Christina, an expert in the topic, talks about what it means to become fluent in the language of diversity and inclusion. As a leader, Christina focuses on investing in people and she shares how that's done through hiring, mentorship, and promoting her employees.

4:34 The Value of Diversity and Inclusion
13:39 Where Do We Begin?
22:36 Becoming "Fluent" in the Language of Diversity and Inclusion
31:50 What Does Investing in People Look Like?

"Don't be shy. True social change happens when it catches fire." -Derrin Hill (Rev Road)

Working with us to create this series is a company called RevRoad. RevRoad is a unique blend of accelerator, agency, and venture capital, known as venture services. They work with businesses at any stage of growth to help them scale their efforts. RevRoad provides value to its portfolio companies by giving them an in-house professional team, services, and networking opportunities. Learn more at http://revroad.com