Piloting your Life

Terri talks to Theresa Piasta, CEO and Founder of Puppy Mama about how she decided to take her experience improving her health through canine therapy to build a business around finding ways for women to live their lives more fully with their pups. This includes both through accessories and apparel for their dogs and finding pet-friendly places for them to take their dogs with them whether it be for travel, dining, or other daily activities. Who is Theresa Piasta? Theresa Piasta is the Founder of Puppy Mama - a pet-tech company leveraging technology to enhance the lives of dog moms around the world. The Puppy Mama online store is bringing style to dog moms everywhere! And, the Puppy Mama web application gives dog moms a safe place to share, connect with one another, effortlessly schedule fun meet ups with their friends, and rate businesses, travel services, and hotels to advocate for a more dog-friendly world. Before Puppy Mama, Theresa was a Vice President at JPMorgan, and served as an Army Captain in a Field Artillery Brigade. During her 14-month Iraq deployment in 2008, Theresa led a large team to defend thousands on Forward Operating Base (FOB) Delta near the Iranian border. She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for her service. Theresa attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business Ignite program and received a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College. She also studied military science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a ROTC scholarship recipient and was a collegiate soccer player for two seasons during her time at Wellesley College. Show Highlights

• Terri and Theresa talk about meeting at The Guild's Serendipity event this past fall
• Theresa talks about what Puppy Mama, her dog Waffles, and how she came up with the idea for Puppy Mama
• Terri asks about the size of the market for pet care and more specifically about how big the market is for Puppy Mama with the two different focus areas for Puppy Mama
• Big businesses like Disney are recognizing the needs of their customers and have opened up their facilities to pets and pet owners in order to attract them to their businesses.
• Theresa talks about the difficulties associated with being a female founder with a startup targeting the female consumer market
• If Theresa could wave a magic wand, she would make it so that people would treat each other like dogs treat each other and create positive human interactions

Terri's Key Takeaway Female founders with startups targeting a female audience continue to find challenges in raising capital from male investors who often need to be educated on the size of the market opportunity and that the opportunity actually exists. References in the Podcast

• The Guild's Serendipity un-conference: https://www.guildserendipity.com/
• Puppy Mama: https://www.puppymama.com/
• Slush: http://www.slush.org/
• YouTube video of Terri's panel at Slush on shifting demographics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-1LQ3838s&t=27s

Contact Theresa can be reached at [email protected] Waffles can be reached at [email protected] Instagram: @puppy.mama Puppy Mama application; https://app.puppymama.com/auth You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead. Feel free to email Terri at [email protected]. To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks to her son Adam about how he struggled with being bullied in middle school and how this experience has shaped him. He still suffers from anxiety and is afraid of the unknown but he is using his newly found empathy to help others who he sees struggling as well. They talk about everything from what to expect from college, how you don't have to have it all figured out, and that it's ok to change your mind.

Who is Adam Mead?

Adam is Terri's 16-year old son who is a junior at Woodside High in Redwood City. He was born in San Francisco and moved to Redwood City when he was one. He loves performing in plays and musicals and regrets not having played water polo his freshman year. He is a reluctant academic achiever and is taking three AP classes this year along with drama, Latin and regular history. He has a girlfriend, Alyssa, who is also in drama with him. They enjoy hanging out playing video games and watching movies together. All in all, he's a good kid.

Show Highlights

• Adam talks about how his terrible experience in middle school has shaped him to be cynical, resilient and empathetic
• Adam and Terri talk about the importance of lightening up and not being afraid of looking at colleges or life in general
• Adam turned the table and asked Terri if having a stable job has made it easier to figure out what she wants in life
• They talk about the fear of unknown and not being afraid of taking chances
• Adam talks about how he's dealt with some of his lowest points including having suicidal thoughts
• Terri talks about how she continues to develop the tools to deal with new situations and how she doesn't expect Adam to have it all figured out either
• Adam talks about anxiety and fear of failure and how he is trying to cope with both
• They talk about college in terms of what to look for in searching for one and what to expect from the experience
• Terri talks about how you don't have to have it all figured out when you go to college, get out of college and after and how she didn't and used being an opportunist to get to where she is today
• Adam would wave a magic wand to make food free and have economic freedom

Terri's Key Takeaway

Having conversations like this with her son fills her heart and her soul.

References in the Podcast

• California State University, Fresno: http://www.csufresno.edu/
• California State University, Chico: http://www.csuchico.edu/
• California State University, Hayward (now East Bay): http://www.csueastbay.edu/
• University California, Santa Cruz: https://www.ucsc.edu/

Contact

You can reach Adam through Terri at [email protected].

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks about traveling to the startup conference Slush in Helsinki last year via the specially charted flight and how it is like no other startup conference. She learned about digital health in the Nordics, operated on very little sleep, and was impressed by how well run the event is. Terri is looking forward tosome new experiences at the event this year including moderating a panel on shifting demographics and the need to adapt to the shift in terms of investing.

Who is Terri Mead?

Terri Hanson Mead is President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, a consulting company that provides IT strategy and IT compliance services in the life sciences space in addition to expert witness consulting services. She is also an active angel investor and former Vice President of Sand Hill Angels, regularly advises startups and in her spare time, flies helicopters. She is passionate about supporting, and advocating for, female founders and investors and has created Class Bravo Ventures to more formally do so.

Show Highlights

• Terri talks about the chartered flight from SFO to Helsinki, Santa Claus visiting the flight, the mannequin challenge and collecting her posse as she leaves the plane

• Terri takes you through the various events including visiting the Swedish and US embassies in Helsinki

• Terri hits a wall on day three of the event, gets a power nap and attends another US embassy event followed by dinner at the hotel to thank her concierge and driver

• Terri talks about what she's afraid on this trip including being in a bathing suit in a sauna in the winter and being disappointed

• Terri, Stu and others get to the airport for the flight home in a sleep-deprived state

References:

• Slush Flight mannequin challenge video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnigL3ggyVU
• Slush Helsinki: http://www.slush.org/home-2/
• TheVault: https://www.thevault.co/
• Hotel Kamp Helsinki: https://www.hotelkamp.com/en/
• Maria 01: https://maria.io/

• Napue gin: http://kyrodistillery.com/products/#
• Roster Helsinki: https://rosterhelsinki.com/
• Clue app: https://www.helloclue.com/
• Ida Tin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Tin

Contacts

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead

Feel free to email her at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks to Chris Brown about his time in Estonia working with startups and how VCs invest in the same things because they are afraid of being wrong. She also talks to him about how we must fight against our human biology in the way we make decisions and actively break down the walls that keep us from connecting as humans.

Who is Chris Brown?

Chris has worked in multiple roles around the startup scene for past several years both in Europe and in the US. He's a passionate and driven connector and advisor, and over the last several years has worked in acceleration, VC, and startup/corporate collaboration. He believes unwaveringly in the power of technology to break down ancient barriers of business, politics, and culture, while in the process bringing the world closer together.

Show Highlights

• Chris discusses how he ended up in Estonia, gives us a little history lesson on Estonia and describes how it has become a hotbed for startups and technology
• Terri and Chris talk about shifting demographics and demands and the opportunities in changing investment focus as a result
• Chris talks about how VCs invest in the same things because they are afraid of being wrong
• Terri talks about how more and more women are becoming investors and are looking at the investment opportunities through a different lens that are in alignment with their values
• Chris talks about how we need to fight against our human biology to shift our attention from outliers and waxes philosophical about how we make decisions as humans
• Chris would wave a magic wand to change our need for tribes that separate us as humans and break down the walls that keep us from connecting as humans

Terri's Key Takeaway

While we need some of our delusions to survive, we need to challenge our beliefs to thrive.

References in the Podcast

• Slush Helsinki: http://www.slush.org/home-2/
• Portfolia: http://www.portfolia.co/

Contact

Chris an be reached via LinkedIn with a message about why you want to connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjbcreighton/

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cjbcreighton

And on Twitter: @cjbcreighton

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks with Jacqueline about their conversation a year ago that led to their first project together and how the year's work is so clearly illustrated on her new business cards.

Piloting Your Life #PLY025: Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over a glass of champagne to celebrate the accomplishments of the last year that are so clearly detailed in the new business cards Jacqueline designed for Terri.

Show Highlights

• Terri and Jacqueline celebrated their first discussion a year ago that prompted the work that is perfectly illustrated in Terri's new business cards designed by Jacqueline
• Jacqueline talks about personal branding and how she worked with Terri to define her brand that led to the creation of the website www.terrihansonmead.com released in Q1/2017.
• Terri and Jacqueline started working on the podcast in April with the goal to release in June after Necker Island but missed that goal and ultimately released late September
• They talk about how the podcast came together and the learnings from the podcast; Terri and Jacqueline continue to iterate on the podcast and weekly email as they receive great feedback and emails from listeners
• Terri talks about the other changes in her professional life and the expansion of her services and experiences including expert witness work, speaking engagements, shifts in her investing, and international expansion in addition to the podcast
• Jacqueline and Terri conducted a strategy session (with the help of wine or Dutch courage) to define their ambitions and goals for 2018
• 2017 has been a rough year politically and Jacqueline introduced the concept of stubborn gladness that she heard about on a podcast and how we need to be stubbornly optimistic
• Happy Thanksgiving!

Call to Action

Take a few hours with a friend who loves and supports you (maybe with a glass of wine or champagne) to map out some goals (big or small) for 2018 and begin to define the tasks that will help you achieve them. Think big. Think positively. Practice gratitude. And be stubbornly glad and optimistic.

References in the Podcast

• Iron Horse Vineyards Wedding Cuvee: http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com/product/2013-Wedding-Cuvee?pageID=709AE74B-BA4F-D99C-A5E2-1F62C09E374F&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=20&
• Caitlin Roberson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinroberson/
• Julie Gordon White: http://www.growatthewell.com/

• Jacqueline Steenhuis: http://www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com/
• Andrea Barrica: http://www.terrihansonmead.com/podcast/2017/10/2/piloting-your-life-episode-8-andrea-barrica
• Terri's blog about the InTeaHouse event with links: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead/rcl-accelerator-muru-du-founders-hosted-by-inteahouse-in-sf-11-16-17-bd82514a760c
• Brazen Global: https://brazenglobal.com/
• Symposia: http://symposiacon.com/
• 4YFN Barcelona: https://www.4yfn.com/event/4yfn-barcelona-2018/
• Slush: http://www.slush.org/home-2/

Contact

You can follow Jacqueline on Twitter at @jacquelineStee or find her on her website at www.jacquelinesteenhuis.com.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks to life coach and artist Svetlana Saitsky about learning to not be afraid of the darkness, the importance of acknowledging your inner saboteur and how asking for help is a sign of strength and not weakness.

Who is Svetlana Saitsky?

Throughout the last decade, Svetlana has worked with many corporations including Google, Apple, Lululemon, Great Place To Work Institute and YouCaring. Her expertise in culture building, coaching, and mindfulness are brought to life through interactive workshops, and speaking engagements targeting individuals and companies looking for transformation. She is also an artist whose work focuses on mental health awareness. Svetlana's work best supports creatives, entrepreneurs needing an extra push to achieve, and those going through massive career and life changes.

Show Highlights

• Svetlana talks about saying yes to an opportunity without knowing how she was going to make it work
• Svetlana and Terri met over shoes at a Guild event (https://theguilded.org)
• Svetlana talks about how it took her ten years to really decide to become a life coach
• She reached her goal and realized it didn't feel good and fell into a severe depression
• She describes the importance of having a support team in place and the first step in getting help is recognizing you need help
• She realized that it wasn't all about inspiration and following your bliss and that you need to embrace the darkness
• Terri and Svet talk about tall poppy syndrome in Australia and the imposter syndrome and embracing the saboteurs in our heads; stop resisting the resistance
• We are more powerful than we can imagine
• Svet would wave a magic wand to give everyone the courage to tap into their own creativity

Terri's Key Takeaway

We need to continue to redefine our definition of success as we learn and grow and to appreciate the journey and not just the destination.

References in the Podcast

Beverly Ryle: http://www.beverlyryle.com/

The Geography of Bliss: https://www.ericweinerbooks.com/books/the-geography-of-bliss/description/

InTeaHouse: https://inteahouse.com/

Startup Catalyst: http://www.startupcatalyst.com.au/

TiE Global: http://tie.org/

Inside Out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673/

Contact

Svetlana can be reached via her website www.svetlandasaitsky.com or on Instagram and Twitter @jetsvetter.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks about finding equilibrium as a mom and combatting social expectations.

Who is Terri Mead?

Terri Hanson Mead is President of Solutions2Projects, LLC, a consulting company that provides IT strategy and IT compliance services in the life sciences space in addition to expert witness consulting services. She is also an active angel investor and former Vice President of Sand Hill Angels, regularly advises startups and in her spare time, flies helicopters. She is passionate about supporting, and advocating for, female founders and investors and has created Class Bravo Ventures to more formally do so.

Show Highlights

• Looking for equilibrium instead of balance

• How the reality of becoming a mom didn't align with expectations

• Saving for therapy for her kids

• Combatting unreasonable societal expectations

• Watching Deadpool with her 15 year old son was awkward

• Each day is a new day to do better

• She kisses her hugs her kids as much as possible and makes sure they know she loves them

• Women need to do a better job of supporting each other and not judging

Contacts

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead

Feel free to email her at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri continues her conversation with Kristina Jones of Court Buddy about coming out to California to be a part of 500 Startups, raising their round, how excited they are about growing the business, learning she doesn't need to get permission to do what she needs to do, and how this is all impacting the way she is raising her daughter.

Who is Kristina Jones?

Court Buddy President and Co-founder Kristina Jones is a Los Angeles native and a Florida International graduate for both her Undergraduate and Master's degree from The School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Kristina's Master's Degree from FIU was in tandem with Miami Ad School's Art Direction Portfolio Program.

As an Art Director, Kristina went on to work for Advertising Agencies in both California and Florida and had the honor of creating campaigns for San Diego Tourism, Disney, Greater Fort Lauderdale Tourism, SeaWorld, Walmart, Silver Airways, and Kaplan University to name a few. Kristina's experience with these brands has allowed her to see how media and advertising effect the sales and growth of major corporations.

Kristina was able to take the experience creating content for other brands to help her create her own brand Court Buddy with her husband James Jones Jr. Esq. Court Buddy's website, courtbuddy.com, matches people with attorneys based on their budget. Court Buddy is helping to bring the legal system to people who previously did not have access to it. Kristina handles the company's advertising, marketing and social media.

Show Highlights

• They had a great experience with 500 Startups and learned to split their time and how to successfully fundraise including introductions to investors
• There is a lot to be learned by going through the process even if it gets you to a 'no'
• Terri asks about whether they had trouble fundraising because they were a husband and wife team
• They got validation from investors writing the first checks which helped get them complete their fundraising; some investors needed to see others say 'yes' for
• Kristina talks about some of their biggest challenges in growing the company and supporting the clients
• Kristina talks about what she is excited about in hiring people, growing into all 50 states and expanding opportunities within their customer base
• She felt like she needed permission when they started the business and she has learned to just do it
• Starting and growing Court Buddy has impacted the way she is raising her daughter and she is making sure that her daughter knows that she can set her own path and do whatever she sets her mind to

• If Kristina could wave a magic wand, she would make it so that people don't see color and make it so that people aren't judged based on the color of their skin

Terri's Key Takeaway

Asking for what we want and need means we will hear no and we need to get comfortable with this to get to the yeses.

Contact

Kristina can be reached at [email protected]. Check out Court Buddy at https://www.courtbuddy.com/.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri and her producer Jacqueline sit down over a cup of coffee and not bubbly, to talk about the responses Terri received from the Finding Your Tribe solocast and discuss friendship, vulnerability, trust and the importance of asking for what you want or need.

Show Highlights

• Jacqueline comments on how important it is for us to be able to call the friend who holds that space for you without trying to fix you
• Terri talks about being at events where everyone wants something from her and how draining that can be for her despite how much she enjoys them
• It is important that we trust each other and not self-select out of conversations and relationships that we could benefit from and that we trust that we can handle whatever the responses will be
• They talk about asking for something as simple as a discount or a meal customization without qualification.
• Terri has raised her daughter Rachel to ask for help and often uses her to ask for what she wants.
• Asking for something special is a something we all need to get more comfortable with.
• If you get a no, it isn't a personal rejection.

Call to Action

Ask for something special every day (outside of your comfort zone) and share how you asked for help or for something at [email protected].

Contact

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.

Terri talks to Kristina Jones about how being a creative problem solver and listening to her husband James talk about his experience in the court system led to the birth of Court Buddy, a software solution that provides people and businesses with access to an attorney when needed, regardless of their financial status. This is part one of a two part interview.

Who is Kristina Jones?

Court Buddy President and Co-founder Kristina Jones is a Los Angeles native and a Florida International graduate for both her Undergraduate and Master's degree from The School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Kristina's Master's Degree from FIU was in tandem with Miami Ad School's Art Direction Portfolio Program.

As an Art Director, Kristina went on to work for Advertising Agencies in both California and Florida and had the honor of creating campaigns for San Diego Tourism, Disney, Greater Fort Lauderdale Tourism, SeaWorld, Walmart, Silver Airways, and Kaplan University to name a few. Kristina's experience with these brands has allowed her to see how media and advertising effect the sales and growth of major corporations.

Kristina was able to take the experience creating content for other brands to help her create her own brand Court Buddy with her husband James Jones Jr. Esq. Court Buddy's website, courtbuddy.com, matches people with attorneys based on their budget. Court Buddy is helping to bring the legal system to people who previously did not have access to it. Kristina handles the company's advertising, marketing and social media.

Show Highlights

• Kristina grew up in Los Angeles and was a creative kid who left for Miami as soon as she graduated from high school
• She started in marine biology in Miami but ended up in advertising after she did some soul searching in college and seeing what her aunt was doing in the advertising space; she wanted to provide creative solutions to problems and wasn't doing well in her sciences classes
• Once she realized that she could take inspiration from what has been done before to apply it to advertising and problem solving, and she credits her aunt for the advice that gave her freedom
• Kristina was a Miami Heat dancer when she met her husband, James, at a party
• James started his own law firm right after they got married and she had just started a new job
• Kristina talks about how the idea for Court Buddy came from James noticing the number of people asking him for help before they went into court because they didn't have representation; they didn't think they could afford attorneys
• They saw solo-practitioner attorneys looking for clients, too, which led them to research how attorneys could operate to provide services to people who needed representation and Court Buddy was born
• They applied for 500 Startups in San Francisco and it took two tries to get in

• Getting to their 500 Startups interview was a series of misadventures including a rainstorm, a mis-scheduled flight, a car that wouldn't start, being stuck in an elevator, and a locked door

Terri's Key Takeaway

Having an outside perspective combined with a deep understanding of a problem can lead to creative and disruptive solutions.

Contact

Kristina can be reached at [email protected]. Check out Court Buddy at https://www.courtbuddy.com/.

You can follow Terri on Twitter at @terrihansonmead or go to her website at www.terrihansonmead.com or on Medium: https://medium.com/@terrihansonmead.

Feel free to email Terri at [email protected].

To continue the conversation, go to Twitter at @PilotingLife and use hashtag #PilotingYourLife.