Have you ever felt like you would like to take the leap into entrepreneurship but you imagined that it might be a lonely place? I speak to a lot of women who want to strike out on their own but feel the desire to be a part of a team as well. Ashley Sumner is helping solve this tension by providing an online and in-person community for female entrepreneurs with her friend Gianna Wurzl.

The daughter of parents who both ran their own businesses, Ashley learned very early on the benefits of creating something you’re passionate about. She went to NYU for theatre before realizing what she really loved was connecting people. After working as a romantic matchmaker and later, community builder at companies such as Neuehouse, she met Gianna who had the other half of her idea for Quilt. Now, they bring women together in small groups of 8-10 in homes where they can work, learn, and grow together while exploring the concept of women supporting women.

HIGHLIGHTED EXCERPT

Majo: So it’s more of a mindset shift than an expertise conversation. So it’s like “Hey guys, we all don’t know what we’re doing and that’s okay because we can figure it out together.

Ashley: Totally. We learn from stories. So we can get ten women in a room who all have a different story around money but when you hear someone’s story where maybe they’ve gotten themselves out of debt and how they did it. They’re by no means a financial expert but oftentimes those experts have a really hard time coming down to where people are and translating and understanding. So I think we often learn the most from someone who just completed a step right above us or right below us. A billionaire has no idea how to tell you to save five dollars on a cup of coffee. So, yeah, peer to peer.

Majo: Peer to peer. I love that.