The Female Founder

This week Rachel Sipperley joins fellow founder Criag Lewis of Gig Wage in a panel discussion on acquiring funding for startups for UTD’s entrepreneurship program moderated by Leah Frazier. Hear golden nuggets for success from two founders that have raised millions for their startups!

What you will learn in this episode
✧ How to attract investors
✧ What documentation and information you need to prepare for pitches
✧ The spiritual significance to entrepreneurship
✧ Tangible Tips
✧ How to make a pitch deck
✧ What other attachments to include with your deck
✧ How to price each series round for your raises

To follow and connect with Craig and Leah you can find them here:

Craig J. Lewis:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/craigjlewis
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CraigJamalLewis
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrfutureofwork/

Leah Frazier:
www.instagram.com/theleahfrazier
www.instagram.com/thinkthreemedia
www.thinkthreemedia.com


More about Craig and the Gigwage
Born and raised in North Texas, Craig J. Lewis is the Founder and CEO of Gig Wage, a venture capital backed technology startup, that’s raised millions to build modern payment tools for the future of work. In an industry where forward thinking is a rarity, Craig’s vision for innovation has pushed an antiquated industry to modernize by designing a service that meets the demand of on-demand workforces. “Simple. Fast. Easy.”
As a North Garland High School alum he went on to graduate in 2004 as a B.A. recipient in Communication, with a Minor in Marketing at Morehead State University. From there he would go on to become a Professional Basketball player across Europe, until returning stateside and becoming an expert in payroll technology, selling over $10 million in payroll related software for the likes of ADP and others.
Prior to building Gig Wage, in 2012, Craig became the Chief Strategy Officer of Kairos, a venture backed facial recognition/emotion detection startup that has received much success, such as being named one of the “Top 20 Startups” by The Wall Street Journal, and was selected to participate in the first ever Morgan Stanley Multicultural Innovation Lab, and reaching a 130M valuation.
Always relentless and unyielding, he transitioned his experience raising money in Silicon Valley to founding Gig Wage, in Dallas, TX. Gig Wage, a tech industry leader, is designed to meet the demands of the future workforce and well positioned to scale. In 2018, Steve Case (Founder of AOL) and his Revolution ROTR Venture Fund, invested in Gig Wage to help power the future of work.
As a black tech entrepreneur with significant business and growth results throughout his career, he understands the importance of work ethic, teamwork, and the sacrifices required to accomplish the impossible. Embodying the motto, “go for it”, has been the creed which has propelled him. Notable accomplishments: authoring “The Sport of the Sales”, contributor to Forbes, The American Payroll Association, PayTech Magazine and Thomson Reuters, sitting on the boards of Visit Dallas, the Friends of Fair Park, Marketplace Risk, and is a Founding Member of Forbes’ Dallas Business Council.
As an evangelist of technology and its capacity for wealth creation and therefore its ability to improve lives, Craig’s ultimate mission is to help millions of businesses and everyday people in the gig-economy by providing innovative software, unique business models, and a...

Leah is back in the hot seat for part 2 of the 1 year anniversary episode. Rachel Sipperley rants about the Cuties movie and child abuse issues in our country, Leah shares about how to get more PR for your brand and her new course for business owners. 
What you will learn in this episode 

The reason PR is an area you should spend funds on 

Ways to generate more PR for your business 

How one entrepreneur landed a placement in Cosmopolitan Magazine after taking Leah’s course


Recommended Resources 

PRSA : https://www.prsa.org/


https://www.newfriendsnewlife.org/


Connect with Leah here: 

www.instagram.com/theleahfrazier
www.instagram.com/thinkthreemedia
www.thinkthreemedia.com 

More about Leah and Think Three Media 
Leah Frazier is a 2-Time Emmy Award-Winning entrepreneur and was recognized as one of Dallas' most successful women for 2015. She is a multi-licensed attorney turned marketing and communications guru, who unapologetically left the practice of law to pursue her entrepreneurial ventures. In 2020, Leah was recognized byDallas Innovates As one of the Future 50 Leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth for tech,innovation and disruption and recently won the 2020 “Inno on Fire” award fromAmerican Inno’sNorth Texas Innomedia outlet, for her service to the startup, small business and entrepreneurial community.

Leah has built a multi-faceted empire as an award-winning journalist, publicist, media personality, celebrity stylist, digital marketing expert, and in-demand consultant to notable brands. She has been honored as one of the best wardrobe stylists in Dallas, and recently led the styling initiatives for the Emmy and 5-TimeAddy Award-Winning #IAMUP campaign for the ABC TV affiliate, WFAA Channel 8.Leah is the CEO and proud owner of Think Three Media–a creative marketing and communications agency focused in the areas of content marketing, social media marketing, communications (specifically in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Landscape) and public relations services for brands spanning the industries of fashion, beauty, public speaking, the performing arts, food, lifestyle, and more.Her work has been featured and mentioned on Forbes, Vogue.com, NBC, CW, CBSLocal, Chase TV, Fox TV, Good Morning Texas, Haute Living Magazine, D Magazine,CEO Blog Nation, and many other outlets as an expert in fashion, PR and entrepreneurship. 

Leah has cultivated top-tier partnerships with Toyota, the DallasMavericks, Belk, Cantu Beauty, Marshall's, Via Spiga, Vogue, Brahmin, NeimanMarcus, Warner Bros., Shoedazzle, Yosi Samra Shoes, and more.Leah co-authored her first book in 2018,The Success Factor, which reached #1 as a Best Seller for Women and Business reads, and was also awarded an African-American Literary Award. She recently released her second co-authored title,Promise: A Global Women’s Devotionalwhich recently became a bestseller as well.She is currently working on her third book to be released at the latter part of 2020.

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

Episode Notes:
On the one year anniversary episode of the female founder podcast Rachel Sipperley brings her friend and colleague Leah Fraizer, 2-time emmy award winning entrepreneur who was recognized as Dallas’ most successful women in 2015. The ladies share a vulnerable conversation about the BLM movement and what white people need to know. 

What you will learn in this episode 

Ways that we can help fight and combat systemic racism in our culture 

How HR departments an create a culture of inclusion and diversity  

The resources you need to have an open conversation with your friends and family


Recommended Resources 

White Fragility:

https://www.amazon.com/White-Fragility-People-About-Racism/dp/0807047414/

Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Kids-Sitting-Together-Cafeteria/dp/0465091296

How to argue with a racist:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Argue-Racist-Science-Your/dp/1615196714

The Hate You Give (movie and book)

https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas/dp/0062498533/



About Leah and the Think Three Media
 
Leah Frazier is a 2-Time Emmy Award-Winning entrepreneur and was recognized as one of Dallas' most successful women for 2015. She is a multi-licensed attorney turned marketing and communications guru, who unapologetically left the practice of law to pursue her entrepreneurial ventures. In 2020, Leah was recognized byDallas Innovates As one of the Future 50 Leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth for tech,innovation and disruption and recently won the 2020 “Inno on Fire” award fromAmerican Inno’sNorth Texas Innomedia outlet, for her service to the startup, small business and entrepreneurial community.Leah has built a multi-faceted empire as an award-winning journalist, publicist,media personality, celebrity stylist, digital marketing expert, and in-demand consultant to notable brands. She has been honored as one of the best wardrobe stylists in Dallas, and recently led the styling initiatives for the Emmy and 5-TimeAddy Award-Winning #IAMUP campaign for the ABC TV affiliate, WFAA Channel 8.Leah is the CEO and proud owner of Think Three Media–a creative marketing and communications agency focused in the areas of content marketing, social media marketing, communications (specifically in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Landscape) and public relations services for brands spanning the industries of fashion, beauty, public speaking, the performing arts, food, lifestyle, and more.Her work has been featured and mentioned on Forbes, Vogue.com, NBC, CW, CBSLocal, Chase TV, Fox TV, Good Morning Texas, Haute Living Magazine, D Magazine,CEO Blog Nation, and many other outlets as an expert in fashion, PR and entrepreneurship. Leah has cultivated top-tier partnerships with Toyota, the DallasMavericks, Belk, Cantu Beauty, Marshall's, Via Spiga, Vogue, Brahmin, NeimanMarcus, Warner Bros., Shoedazzle, Yosi Samra Shoes, and more.Leah co-authored her first book in 2018,The Success Factor, which reached #1 as aBest Seller for Women and Business reads, and was also awarded an African-American Literary Award. She recently released her second co-authored title,Promise: A Global Women’s Devotionalwhich recently became a best seller as well.She is currently working on her third book to be released at the latter part of 2020.

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out...

Jimmy Ku is a San Francisco based VC that has helped hundreds of startups and raised over $330MM in capital for startups. This week he shares with Rachel Sipperley insider secrets for raising VC money and gives founders an approach to tackling their first raise the easy way. 
What you will learn in this episode 

The importance of preparing for your pitch before prospecting

How to select the correct investors to pitch to and how to get in front of them

How to determine how much money to raise for each round 

Tangible Tips

Have a founder friend you can talk to and rely on for when Sh*t hits the fan

The two secrets for success Jimmy shares to getting your first investor to sign on and getting traction with you raise 

Calculation for valuation: how much is your company worth and how to figure it out

Recommended Resources 

Pitch Book: https://pitchbook.com/


NFX Signal: https://signal.nfx.com/login


Crunch Base: https://www.crunchbase.com/


Tech Crunch: https://techcrunch.com/


Angel List: https://angel.co/


Sales Navigator on Linked In: https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/hidden-sales-navigator-features


Fundraising the easy way guide: https://docsend.com/view/jdspspucbcxyibxb



About Jimmy and the Brand
Jimmy is currently the COO of MixerBox, a mobile entertainment startup with over 313 million downloads across its suite of applications and he is focused on continuing its growth trajectory. He is also a Venture Scout for Grishin Robotics and 10X Capital. Over the last few years, Jimmy has helped thousands of startups with their growth strategies and fundraising as an Advisor, Angel Investor, and GM of Fundraise Concierge at Atrium. He has helped founders raise over $330 million over the last 3 years. 
 

You can learn more, connect and follow along with Jimmy here:
LinkedIn
AngelList
Crunchbase

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

This week Rachel Sipperley chats with one of her closest advisers and angel investors, Devika Chand Dandona. The ladies catch up on how the pandemic is impacting startups, angel investing, and the letter with 12 words on wisdom Devika wrote to her 12 year old daughter that’s relevant for startup founders. 
What you will learn in this episode

Devika’s words of wisdom for her 13 year old daughter that were so timely for Rachel as well amidst the pandemic 

What Devika looks for when selecting founders and brands to back and work with 

Why communicating your needs is important and how to recognize the glamizoration of putting others first and stop it. 

Tangible Tips

Push yourself to be constantly uncomfortable so you can find growth  

How to redirect the stillness of the pandemic for self discovery 

Starting with self work and focusing inward for the betterment of the community as a whole 


About Devika and the Devi Collective

Dallasite Devika Chand-Dandona has made it her mission to help others by serving her community. Devika and her husband found success when they launched their investment company, Sanya holdings. At the time, the focus of the investments was multifamily properties throughout the United States. Since then, Sanya Holdings has expanded its focus to include start ups. 
Using today’s advantages of social media and her background in design, Devika started Devi Collective where people can purchase the latest trends in fashion and beauty with a portion of every purchase going to different non profit organizations.
Treating others with respect and serving with a positive mind make Devika the kind of woman others want to follow. By living and breathing her mission, Devika inspires others to use their time, influence and energy to give back and serve others.
 


You can learn more, connect and follow along with Devika here:
www.devicollective.com
www.instagram.com/itsdevikac
www.instagram.com/devi.collective

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

How did they raise 2 million in the middle of Covid?!? The women behind Spiritless never imagined their launch would coincide with a recession and global pandemic but that did not stop them from conducting over 100 virtual pitch meetings and nearly closing their seed round. Discover with Rachel Sipperley the art of virtual fundraising and what it’s like to pursue and pitch potential investors—entirely online
What you will learn in this episode 

Maximizing opportunities on zoom calls 

How to set up your deck and numbers when your product has no real competitor 

Distribution trends on the rise in a post pandemic culture 

Tangible Tips 

How to select co-founders and build your team the right way

How to determine your cap on first raise 

How to make a meaningful product pitch when you can’t meet in person 


More about Lauren, Lexie, and the Spiritless brand 
Slated to launch in Fall 2020, Spiritless Kentucky 74 is a distilled non-alcoholic spirit crafted for your favorite bourbon cocktails created in Louisville, KY by co-founders Lauren Chitwood, Abbey Ferguson, and Lexie Larsen. After noticing a gap in the beverage market for cocktail lovers who want to enjoy a night out (or in) with less alcohol, the trio came up with the concept for Spiritless — designed to be used as a delicious option to go booze-free or to lower the ABV in mixed drinks. Kentucky 74’s advanced, innovative formulation process starts by blending their own high-proof, intensely flavored, rapidly aged spirit before undergoing distillation in a unique method which removes all but .5% or below of the alcohol (the same ABV as kombucha). The result is a non-alcoholic spirit, amber in color and underpinned by notes of caramel, vanilla, and oak. With Kentucky 74, consumers can enjoy their favorite cocktail completely Spiritless, or with a lower ABV by going halfsies with bourbon. While the team is launching Kentucky 74 as their first product, they are passionate about scaling their business to provide a comprehensive line of high-quality Spiritless solutions to the beverage world. The Spiritless team can envision the day that any consumer can walk into any bar, choose a cocktail, and #orderitspiritless.
About Lauren Chitwood, CEO
Lauren Chitwood is an entrepreneur and award-winning brand evangelist. Not content to rest on her laurels — or to rest, period — her combination of head-in-the-clouds creativity and boots-on-the-ground guts have earned Lauren a reputation for being nimble, innovative and, above all else, a problem-solver.

About Lexie Lancaster Larsen, COO
Lexie Lancaster Larsen is a Fifth-generation entrepreneur whose roots run deep within both manufacturing and production and bourbon. Passionate about building businesses from the ground up, Spiritless is the third female-founded company Lexie has had the opportunity to grow.
You can learn more, connect and follow along with Spiritless here:
www.spiritless.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/drinkspiritless
Facebook: www.facebook.com/drinkspiritless

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

So you have an idea for an app…. Now what? How do you take your idea and turn it into a digital product? Learn from Jeff Francis, founder of Eno8, with Rachel Sipperley on how to increase your odds for success when launching a digital product 
What you will learn in this episode 

How to pick the proper tech stack for your needs 

The most common cause of project failure and how to prevent it 



Tangible Tips 

Why you should think of launching an MLP not a MVP 

When to recognize and avoid the V1 Monster

What is expected of a product owner role and how to use them to leverage your product vision

Clarifying what your true north and success is, in product and business 

Resources

https://svsg.co/how-to-choose-your-tech-stack/

Google Design Sprints (https://www.gv.com/sprint/)

Unique Ability Concept from Dan Sullivan: strategiccoach.com 


About Jeff and Eno8
 
Jeff Francis is a long-time entrepreneur and co-founder of Dallas-based digital product studio ENO8. Jeff and his business partner, Rishi Khanna, created ENO8 to empower companies of all sizes to design and develop innovative, impactful digital products. With over 18 years working with new startup companies, Jeff has a passion for creating and growing new businesses from the ground up. Jeff has developed a unique ability to assist companies with aligning technology product initiatives with real business outcomes.


You can learn more, connect and follow along with Jeff and Eno8 here:
https://www.ENO8.com
www.LinkedIn.com/in/francisjeff
www.LinkedIn.com/company/eno8

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

Anju Rupal is an british born indian and serial entrepreneur, who has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls in india and world wide through her efforts to combat gender inequality. After contributing as a founding member of the Forest team, Anju launched her skincare line, Abhati, which has helped over 320 thousand girls go to school. Listen with Rachel Sipperley about her journey working through gender inequality to entrepreneurship and how she has coined “aesthetic activism” through her brand.

What you will learn in this episode: 

How gender inequality - supporting women / helping women in domestic violence/ running shelter 

Why building a project is not always just about money

What aesthetic activism is and how Abhati lives it 

Tangible Tips: 

You can make change with every dollar you spend, so spend it wisely 

Anju’s formula for success: PURPOSE -- Don't just create a great product, drive a meaningful movement. PASSION -- Keep your energy and commitment fully charged at all times by pursuing something you believe in. TEAM -- Build powerful teams that can execute your vision.

 
Resources:

https://www.weforest.org/page/why-and-how

https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Money-Transforming-Your-Relationship/dp/0393353974


More About Anju  
Anju Rupal is a serial, now social entrepreneur who believes that the purpose of business extends well beyond profits alone. A British-born Indian who lives in a little village with her family in Switzerland. She launched SwissMediKids, the first privatised walk-in clinic for children in Zurich. Anju was one of the founding members of the WeForest team, she used this learning curve to later launch Abhati Suisse. Anju’s background as a sociologist and ethnologist were truly brought into play when she visited India and witnessed the devastating lack of sanitation and education. She mobilised some of the most renowned industry experts from beauty and design to work pro-Bono and contribute their skill sets to develop an all-natural skincare range, raising funds to ultimately make an impact in the lives of hundreds of girls in India. The fruit of her labour, Abhati Suisse, was successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo, where it officially became a company. It has since been graced with the first-ever B Corp certification in Switzerland and coined by the media as ‘aesthetic activism’.

You Can Follow and Connect with Anju:
www.abhatisuisse.com.
www.instagram.com/abhatisuisse

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

This week Rachel Sipperley hosts live office hours with Brittany Alexander, founder of BreezeBoxx, a local ready made meals startup. The ladies discuss making first hires, growing the business on budget, and what getting investors on board looks like for early stage startups. 

What you will learn in this episode: 

Rachel’s tips for founders looking for angel investors 

The #1 way to ensure success in your business is to understand WHY your CUSTOMERS chose you, and how that ties in to their personal goals/plans in everyday life. 

Most everything boils down to 3 things: finances, opportunity cost, and personal mission.

Tangible Tips:  

Think about the end first when thinking about bringing on investors: What does success look like to you and how does that change your investment strategy? 

The importance of focusing on true north when launching a startup and pitching to investors 

Resources:
Best Resource Guide for Pitch Decks: https://articles.bplans.com/what-to-include-in-your-pitch-deck/

More About Brittany
Brittany worked in staffing for 10 years where she learned the key to business is knowing THE CUSTOMER IS KING and understanding their core motivation. This breeding ground for entrepreneurs gave her the soft skills and business insights to launch her first startup, Breezeboxx, which provides ready made meals for the whole family. Brittany is fascinated by studying people's motivations and crafting and tailoring her pitch and product around the number one driver of successes - the other. While she didn’t have a background in the food industry, her passion for cooking coupled with her hustle heart and figure out mentality provided an avenue for this startup. BreezeBoxx is on a mission to reduce food insecurity through education and community impact for those that suffer across the USA.  

You Can Follow and Connect with Brittany here:
www.instagram.com/brittanymalexander
www.instagram.com/breezeboxx_
www.breezeboxx.com

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]

What you will learn in this episode 

The difference between vision and goals and the importance of distinguishing both 

How to concour decision making fatigue and overwhelm 

Building a roadmap and the reason you need a visual aid to accomplish your goals

Tangile Tips

How to prioritize your tasks correctly to avoid mental clutter 

S.M.A.R.T Goals -what they are and how to use them in business and life

Utilizing focus blocks to work smarter and not harder 

Recommended Resources 

See Crista’s resource guide for topics discussed today

https://www.leanoutmethod.com/resources

Example of S.M.A.R.T goals 

Tools for creating kanban Boards and organizing your plans

Mondays.com

Trello.com

Asana 

The Big Leap

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361


More Crista 
Crista Grasso is a lean business consultant who helps growing businesses achieve more by doing less through a combination of strategic planning and lean business practices. She helps business owners eliminate noise, distractions, and competing priorities by identifying the most important things they should focus on right now that will drive maximum value for their customers and maximum profits for their business. Crista created the Lean Out Method and the 90-day Lean Out Planner to help business
owners move out of overwork and overwhelm and into leveling up without doing more work.

You can learn more about Crista and connect with her here;
www.instagram.com/theleanoutmethod
www.facebook.com/theleanoutmethod

For questions, comments, or to stay in touch please check out Thefemalefounderpodcast.com or email [email protected]