WEBVTT - Chief: Changing the face of leadership 0:00:04.280 --> 0:00:07.680 I think women are constantly battling with stereotypes about their age, 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:11.399 the motherhood penalty. So there's so much that they are 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:14.640 up against. And when they finally get there, we asked 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.520 them to speak on a panel, we ask them to 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.000 mentor we hold them up to such a high standard 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.720 on top of them just doing their job that they 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:31.560 are now teetering at this very um tall precipice. And 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.640 we wonder why women get burned out. We wonder why 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:38.080 they're leaving the workforce. I think we all know, and 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:40.720 yet we're not doing enough to support women and to 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:47.240 really give them strength when they get there. Welcome to 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:52.479 Calling Bullshit, the podcast about purpose washing, the gap between 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:56.160 what companies say they stand for and what they actually do, 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.000 and what they would need to change to practice what 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:03.200 they preach. I'm your host, Time Montague, and I've spent 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.520 over a decade helping companies define what they stand for, 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.920 their purpose and then help them to use that purpose 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:14.839 to drive transformation throughout their business. In this special positive 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.959 case study, we're headed to Toronto with the leaders of 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:21.959 an extraordinary three year old startup called Chief. I'm going 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.720 to interview co founders Caroline Childers and Lindsay Kaplan on 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.440 the main stage at the Collision conference where they're going 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:33.240 to tell us how they're pursuing Chief's purpose to change 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:41.720 the face of leadership. When you close your eyes and 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:45.559 picture of CEO, who do you see? Who I see? 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:50.440 Is this girl I knew in high school who started 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.920 this like shoe company. And then there's like the faceless 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:56.560 corporate man in the suit too. But like it's a 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:58.480 bit of vote of course. Like back in the day 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.640 was like a man um but now I think it's 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.440 very diverse, getting a lot more diverse. I wouldn't say 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.640 like a male or female. It's a picture, but the 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:10.040 first thing that comes to mind is a man. I 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.480 see a guy in a suit. Yeah, hot guy in 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.160 a suit. It does feel like to some extent there's 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.400 kind of like an ivory tower, you know, there's like 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:19.799 an in club, and then that produces the same kind 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.640 of people. I think that the people that are in 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:31.880 power are pretty homogeneous. It's true, corporate America is homogeneous. 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:37.880 In there were more men named James serving as Fortune 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:43.359 five CEOs than all the female Fortune five CEOs combined. 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:47.280 Last year, the number of women on the list came 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:51.600 to a pathetic forty one and in its entire history, 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:59.440 only four female CEOs have been black. But what's even crazier, 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.120 I mean to me at least, is that we now 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:06.120 know that diversity at the top leads to better business results. 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:11.240 Because of this, things are finally beginning to change. For example, 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:15.040 Goldwyn Sacks won't take a company public unless the leadership 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:20.440 team meets their new diversity criteria. But change is painfully slow. 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:26.440 When it comes to leadership, women still face pernicious stereotypes. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.840 For instance, they're more likely to be seen as consensus builders, 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:35.320 not as aggressive decision makers, so even when they are 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:39.040 promoted to CEO, it's often when a company is in crisis, 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.920 which of course increases the pressure on them to perform 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:48.160 and decreases their chances of success. This phenomenon, known as 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:52.080 the glass cliff, means women typically stay in power for 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.480 shorter periods of time than their male counterparts, and when 0:03:55.480 --> 0:04:02.440 they leave, they're often succeeded by you guessed it, white men. Clearly, 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:05.960 we need more women in power and more support for 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:13.480 them when they get there. To solve this problem, Caroline 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:18.280 Childers and Lindsay Kaplan founded Chief, a private network designed 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:21.520 to give women the tools they need to strengthen their leadership, 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:25.760 magnify their influence, and pave the way to bring others 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.560 with them. Chief helps their members to hone their leadership 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:34.440 skills while also fostering community. Within just three years, Chief 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:37.400 has grown to serve more than ten thousand women, and 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:42.000 it's attracted speakers like A. Mall Clooney and Michelle Obama. 0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:46.640 With meeting spaces in three cities, evaluation of a billion 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.800 dollars and plans for expansion, Chief is on course to 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.080 truly live out their mission and change the face of leadership. 0:04:56.080 --> 0:05:00.080 All of our positive episodes focus on industry disruptors, but 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:04.240 as an organization looking to disrupt every industry, I knew 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:15.560 the Chief co founders would be amazing guests. We met 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:19.320 up at Collision, a big tech conference in Toronto where 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:24.640 thirty five thousand attendees learn from the most successful entrepreneurs 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:32.400 in the world. Caroline Lindsay and I recorded two conversations there. First, 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:35.799 we spoke on the Collision main stage about how Chief 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.880 supports driven women in their climb to the top and 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.560 helps keep them there once they arrive. Then we hopped 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.360 over to the Collision podcast booth to go deeper on 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:53.120 the why. Here's how it all went down. First, I 0:05:53.120 --> 0:05:56.400 want to welcome you both to Collision and welcome to 0:05:56.640 --> 0:06:03.080 calling bullshit. Thanks for having us. It's all bullshit. Yeah yeah. So, 0:06:03.720 --> 0:06:08.320 as you know, on this podcast, we focus on purpose 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:15.560 led organizations, some of whom have some issues, but we 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:19.920 also since we like to light candles instead of just 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:23.240 curse the darkness, we want to focus on purpose led 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.479 businesses that are really getting it right as well. And 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.479 obviously you fall into the latter category. The two of 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.800 you are absolutely crushing it. So, but I wanted to 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:37.320 just start out by getting into a little bit of background. 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:41.120 What is the history of Chief? How did the two 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:47.320 of you meet? What made you decide to start this business? Yeah? Well, 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:51.000 I think the irony is that Lindsay and I first 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:56.360 met at a women's networking event. Um, and it wasn't 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.640 the best one. It was terrible. And we've all been 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:03.280 to these networking events with like amount of cheese on 0:07:03.320 --> 0:07:07.080 the side and warm white wine and named tags that 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.200 are placed in awkward positions. And Caroline and I saw 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.960 each other and enrolled our eyes and it was cynicism 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:19.400 at first glance. It's cynicism. That brought us together. But 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.920 we often say, you know, if a bad networking event 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.680 could actually bring together to co founders, and I imagine 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:32.400 what a really powerful, well intentioned network can do. Uh. 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.960 And so as I started to think about the idea 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:38.160 of Chief, UH, Lindsay was one of my first calls 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.560 to start to talk about it as my co founder, 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:44.360 and I think for us, the idea of Chief came 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.360 from a very personal place of we were both getting 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:50.520 more senior in our careers. We're spending all of our 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:55.000 time managing teams, mentoring people, and actually never felt like 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.720 we had resources for ourselves anymore. And that was our 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.680 inspiration to go and art an organization of Chief, to 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.600 build the most powerful network of women and really focus 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:09.920 on senior executive women as our as our first step, right, 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:13.920 And so how do you articulate the mission a Chief? Well, 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.600 our mission is to change the face of leadership. It's 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:20.560 really simple, and yet we have a really big job 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.120 in front of us. At the current rate of change, 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:27.160 it's going to take over two hundred years for women 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:31.920 to reach parity in the workplace, and so we need 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.880 to make that change now. And it starts with powerful 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.840 women coming together and creating a ripple effect in their 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:42.520 organizations and in their communities as well. I love that. 0:08:43.080 --> 0:08:46.800 And you know, purpose led businesses tend to be disruptors. 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:48.880 I just love to hear you talk a little bit 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:56.000 about the dominant belief system that you are trying to disrupt. Yeah, 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:58.080 I mean, I think it's interesting because in some ways 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:03.480 it's disruption, but other ways it's building the status quo 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:08.199 that has allowed certain types of people to find success 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:12.480 where others haven't in just building that same ecosystem for 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:17.839 different demographics. Um, And I think we all know that, Uh, 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.560 A big part of what allows for success and allows 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:26.559 for new opportunity is who you know and those networks 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:28.960 that you build. So I think for us it was 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:34.040 really important to create a similar type of ecosystem and 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.720 network that I think has been in place in many 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.240 ways for certain demographics that just haven't been in there 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:44.680 in that in that same shape and form for others. Right. Yeah, 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.120 I mean some of the doing my homework for this, 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:52.280 some of the statistics about women in sea level positions 0:09:52.320 --> 0:10:00.400 are shocking. Right, less than eight percent of Fortune CEO 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:06.960 are female. Of board seats globally are occupied by women, 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:12.640 And the thing about this to me? Is that makes 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:18.440 it so crazy? Is I've also seen suggestions. I was 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:23.800 reading a McKinsey report that says business outcomes are better 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:30.320 in companies where there is diverse and an often female leadership. 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:37.600 So it's it's almost like the patriarchy is cutting off 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:41.200 its own nose despite its face. You know, if you like, 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:45.080 I just don't. It's it seems crazy to me. So, 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:49.800 I mean, I would assume vcs here in the audience. 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:53.200 I hope, I hope you are listening to this. You 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:58.880 will get better outcomes if you fund diverse companies. So 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.679 I'd love to hear if either of you have experienced 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:07.600 any of the the issues that you're trying to address 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:12.680 through CHIEF personally in your careers. Yeah. I mean, I 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:18.199 think for me, the UM the real focus on this 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:23.000 area and the drive to start something like Chief was 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:27.040 as I started to be in those rooms where decisions 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:32.760 were being made and recognizing that it was just different conversations, UM, 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:36.040 and it was more affecting my team than me because 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:39.160 I didn't hear the conversations about myself, But as I've 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.760 heard the conversations being had about people on my team 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.800 and different ways of evaluating people different ways of even 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.679 just thinking about problems and not taking like the holistic 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:54.680 point of view of recognizing that a business solution that 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:58.000 might be great for certain populations aren't great for all populations. 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:01.360 And so I think it was in those moments where 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:03.520 you were finally in that room and you saw how 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:06.800 it was playing out differently for such different populations, was 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:10.319 and it's why we wanted to start with senior executive 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.319 women to just get more of them into that room 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:17.200 and make sure that more of those perspectives were being 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.760 shared in those rooms. And the ripple effect that that 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:24.480 could have across so many different organizations. I love that. 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:29.520 So I want to pivot to just talking about the business. 0:12:29.600 --> 0:12:33.439 I want to understand how the business actually works. So 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:37.679 how how does one become a member of chief? So 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.679 we are a vetted network, So we, like I said, 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:44.520 focus on senior executives, which the easiest way to describe 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.240 what that is is VP level and above UM. And 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.280 it's really important for us to make sure we stay 0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:54.240 vetted because otherwise you end up falling into that de 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.560 fecto mentor. And we want to make sure that there 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:01.079 is truly a peer organization of people that understand your 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:07.080 context and responsibility UM, and it's an annual membership model UM. 0:13:07.120 --> 0:13:09.240 I think the amazing part of all of this is 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.720 that companies have recognized some of what you were saying 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.880 before that there needs to be more representation, They need 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:19.679 to be investing in their amazing women talent. And so 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:24.040 about seventy of our membership is actually funded by the companies. 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:25.640 In the same way that they would send you to 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:29.520 a conference UM or get you an executive coach, they 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:32.960 will fund a membership into Chief UM and there's a 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:35.480 whole suite of services that you get as part of 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:39.280 that membership. The probably dominant thing that we talk about 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:42.400 is what we call Core UM. It's called Core for 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:46.000 a reason. It's a it's a peer group where we 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:49.240 break down the entire community into groups of ten that 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:51.880 meat on a monthly basis. There's an executive coach in 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.760 the room, and it's just this amazing opportunity for you 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.040 to work through your biggest professional and personal challenges. And 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:02.280 the two of you are in some of these groups, Yeah, 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.640 you actually participate as absolutely. Shout out to my Core group. 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.600 We had a great session last week. And look, it's 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:14.600 really important for women to find other women who are 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:18.439 in these senior levels and have time in a confidential 0:14:18.480 --> 0:14:23.280 space to talk about things that are pressing for executives. Right, 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:27.680 executive problems always end up being people problems, and it's 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:31.520 really important to find a professional board of directors to 0:14:31.640 --> 0:14:35.240 go through that, to give diversity of thought, opinion advice 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:37.880 to help you not only become a better leader, but 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:40.800 to stay motivated and to stay a leader and not 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:45.360 burn out. So one of the things that I have 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:49.360 noticed folks here have probably noticed as well, is that 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.520 you've been out raising some money. I think I've got 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.400 these numbers right. You've raised a hundred and forty million 0:14:55.400 --> 0:15:01.760 dollars and your latest valuation is one point one billion dollars. Yes, 0:15:02.880 --> 0:15:05.440 it's a lot of powerful women. But how does how 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:07.560 does that first? How does that feel? That's got to 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.840 feel pretty good? Yeah, I mean, I think for us, 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.720 we start a chief about three years ago. Um, and 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.040 if you think back to where we were three years ago, 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.560 we started early two thousand nineteen. Then you had the pandemic. 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:24.000 There was just so many shifting things that have happened. 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:28.880 And I think for us, this milestone is less about 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:34.440 like evaluation and it's less about uh, you know the 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:37.040 amount that we raise, and I think it's actually more 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:40.520 for us, just a really amazing moment to be able 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:43.440 to celebrate a lot of pivots that had to happen 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.800 over this period of time and the idea that investing 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:50.720 in women is good is a good investment decision um 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.480 and so we're really proud of that and our members 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.040 are really proud of it, and it's just been an 0:15:56.040 --> 0:16:00.520 exciting time. So how are you using that money? Yeah, 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.080 I mean, I think for us first and foremost, as always, 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.840 we have fifteen thousand active members right now, we have 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:11.480 sixty thousand members that are on our potential members I 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:14.480 should say that are on a wait list. So for us, 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.960 we're just really wanting to make sure that we continue 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:20.360 to invest in the experience and build more for all 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.240 of our all of our members. But we're because we're 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.120 in such early days of what we can build and 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:29.520 who we can build for. So we're talking before about 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:32.360 the fact that you know, our mission is to change 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:37.400 the face of leadership. We were really thoughtful about where 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:40.240 we wanted to start with senior executive women, but to 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.640 really change the face of leadership, I think there's so 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:45.480 much more that we can do under that umbrella, right, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:50.240 and you have physical locations as well. We do. We 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.520 always say we're a community that happens to have a space, 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:57.360 and so we have spaces in New York, l A, Chicago, 0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.480 and one on the way in San Francisco. But really 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.720 what makes Chief special is the network is those core 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:08.000 groups that as we know, we're not really reliant on 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:11.480 spaces anymore, and so they're wonderful amenities. They're great for 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:15.240 getting our members together. But if you're joining, you're joining 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.919 to grow that network and to be a part of 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.840 the community. And do you have plans to expand outside 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:26.720 the US. So we just launched nationally in January, so 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:33.320 we're still in early days of just being two days 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:36.200 in Canada, and I think that's on the road map now. 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.879 So thank you Toronto. So we will we are working 0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:43.280 on expansion. I will say this. When we did raise 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.520 the money, we knew it was really important for us 0:17:45.560 --> 0:17:48.800 to think about how we grow and continue to stay diverse, 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:52.119 and so we committed to doubling our grant program to 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.160 making sure that we are welcoming in women from all 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:01.640 different areas, from different roles, functions, um as as underfunded 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:06.119 women founders, and we're also committing a million dollars annually 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.720 to make sure that we can invest in nonprofits charities 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.520 that are aligned with our mission of changing the face 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.959 of leadership. One of the things that I have learned 0:18:16.080 --> 0:18:22.199 from other CEOs of of purpose led businesses, they have 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:26.119 pointed out to me that who you raise money from 0:18:26.359 --> 0:18:30.840 is actually quite important. In other words, having investors who 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:35.280 understand your mission, are aligned with it, and I'm really 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:37.840 supportive of what you're trying to get done. Has that 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:42.800 been part of your journey as well? Yes, Um, I 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:45.120 don't know that we would have gone on the path 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:47.439 that we did in the way of raising capital that 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.280 we did if we didn't find those right partners. And um, 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.040 it hasn't always been easy, like We've gotten plenty and 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:58.879 many uh knows as we've gone through the process, and 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.320 you definitely have those moments of you know, do you 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.720 need to pivot the business model? Do you need to 0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.400 take capital from somebody who might not be as mission aligned? 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:10.879 And I think for us it was really important that 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.879 we stayed true to that because we never would have 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:16.040 been able to stay as true to our mission as 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.240 we have been able to if we didn't have the 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:22.600 investors that we do UM, and truly feel grateful every day. 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.800 You know, we are a company that feels it's really 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:28.640 important to make statements on you know, things that are 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.919 happening in the world. Our investors actually reach out to 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:34.040 us and say, like, we're proud of you. There's not 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.439 that debate in the boardroom, and I think that that 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.400 is a really key part for us of being able 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:43.240 to do what we do well. What advice would you 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:51.640 have for any female entrepreneurs here at Collision, Yeah, well, 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:55.160 I'm really inspired by the concept of time travel. As 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.359 I said, it's going to take two hundred years for 0:19:57.480 --> 0:19:59.640 us to reach parity, and I don't want to wait 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.800 that law. So when I think about this as somebody 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.680 that's driving impact, I always think about what I can 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:09.080 do during my day to cut out the bullshit which 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:13.240 is your favorite thing in your podcast, UM, and to 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.080 really make sure day to day I am thinking about 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:19.320 what's going to have the most critical impact on the business, 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.199 on the mission, and on really changing the shape of 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:24.720 the future. Yeah. I mean the other thing I would 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.360 just say, and especially for people that are here, it's 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:30.520 great that you're here. It's really important to build a network. UM. 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:36.240 Our earliest investors were people that we knew, UM, that 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:39.159 knew us, believed in us, and we're like, yeah, this 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:41.800 business feels like it'll it'll be great, But I believe 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:44.280 in you, Caroline and Lindsay UM. And so I do 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:47.560 think it's really important to constantly be investing in your 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:52.479 network and in your relationships UM, because that's ultimately I 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.199 think what what helped us out of the gate was 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:59.919 people that believed in us. So you also produce an 0:21:00.080 --> 0:21:04.640 excellent podcast at Chief. I listened to every episode. Thank 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:07.720 you for plugging the New Rules of Business by Chief, 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:13.800 a wonderful podcast you can download now. Russ and I 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.440 am going to steal a trick from you because there's 0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:19.480 a question that you ask everything you know your guests 0:21:19.720 --> 0:21:23.439 in every episode, which is what is the best piece 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:27.240 of business advice you've ever gotten? I will go first, Um, 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:29.800 we got We've gotten so many great answers to this 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:31.800 on the podcast. I feel like a lot of pressure, 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:35.280 um of of coming up with something like new and novel, 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:38.520 But I actually think to me, and it's something that 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:42.080 I have to tell myself daily, is don't let perfection 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:45.639 get in the way of progress. And particularly for a 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:48.600 mission based business that um, you know, you want to 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:52.840 hold yourself to a higher level of and do all 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:55.160 of the right things, and the reality is you're not 0:21:55.240 --> 0:21:57.360 going to be perfect, you're not going to get it right, 0:21:57.359 --> 0:22:00.680 you're not going to have the right position on everything, 0:22:00.760 --> 0:22:03.120 and you might be a little late done something. And 0:22:03.600 --> 0:22:05.760 I think it's important for us to give ourselves some 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:08.400 forgiveness on that and to give each other some forgiveness well. 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:10.800 And on the topic of networking, as we're at this 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:14.120 amazing conference, I met somebody at dinner last night who 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:19.200 said it was important to increase the surface area of serendivity, 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:23.320 and so I think meeting people, forming relationships, getting to 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:26.240 know different people from different walks of life, it's really 0:22:26.280 --> 0:22:29.720 important in business. Even if it doesn't make sense short term, 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:32.800 it could really pay off long term. You literally said 0:22:32.880 --> 0:22:34.720 last night at the dinner, oh, I'm going to steal that, 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:37.840 and you already have. I did so. Thank you to 0:22:37.880 --> 0:22:41.240 the kind person who sat next to me at dinner. Fantastic, 0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:45.399 all right, Caroline Childers, Lindsay Kaplan, thank you give it 0:22:45.520 --> 0:22:54.639 up for chief please. After we exited the stage, we 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:57.000 spoke in depth about what it means to be co 0:22:57.200 --> 0:23:01.199 founders with shared values, what women are up against, and 0:23:01.320 --> 0:23:07.000 why every company is inherently political. That conversation right after 0:23:07.040 --> 0:23:21.520 the break. Okay, all right off the stage and into 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:24.600 the booth. The bo that was a ton of fun. 0:23:24.800 --> 0:23:28.840 Thank you, thanks so much for inviting us. So now 0:23:28.920 --> 0:23:33.320 that we're in the booth, we can get at the realty. 0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:38.200 Um So I want to just do a little more 0:23:38.240 --> 0:23:40.600 about your background, let people get to know you a 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:43.080 little bit better. One of the first questions I had 0:23:43.240 --> 0:23:49.560 was have you always known that you wanted to be entrepreneurs? Actually, 0:23:49.560 --> 0:23:53.000 probably the opposite. And I actually really love telling this 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:56.719 story because I think so often you hear the founder 0:23:56.800 --> 0:23:59.679 stories that are like I knew from early age and 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:02.719 I was, I was doing my lemonade stand in my 0:24:02.800 --> 0:24:05.720 paper route, and I was an entrepreneur even early days. 0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:09.199 And I think for me, so my family had a 0:24:09.240 --> 0:24:12.760 family business, a travel agency, and so like the family 0:24:12.760 --> 0:24:16.840 business was hard, and I remember seeing that and thinking like, wow, 0:24:16.920 --> 0:24:19.719 this is like such a hard journey, and therefore almost 0:24:19.800 --> 0:24:21.760 thinking I'm going the opposite way. I'm going to like 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:25.280 a big company with yeah, yeah, And I started my 0:24:25.359 --> 0:24:28.560 career that way, and it wasn't until after business school 0:24:28.560 --> 0:24:31.080 that I pivoted over into startups and I was like, oh, 0:24:31.119 --> 0:24:32.960 this is where I meant to be. And it was 0:24:33.000 --> 0:24:36.439 only then that I started to think, I don't just 0:24:36.520 --> 0:24:38.480 want to work for somebody else, like I want to 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.000 build something myself. And it wasn't until the idea of 0:24:41.240 --> 0:24:44.800 chief came around that you could get to a place 0:24:44.840 --> 0:24:49.200 where I can dedicate my life to this type of business, 0:24:49.240 --> 0:24:52.160 this type of mission. Um. But it was very late 0:24:52.200 --> 0:24:55.320 for me in my career or later in my career 0:24:55.359 --> 0:24:57.680 that I really started to think about startups in general 0:24:57.840 --> 0:25:03.320 and being the entrepreneur my self. How about you, Lincy. 0:25:03.960 --> 0:25:06.400 You know, I don't think I grew up thinking about business. 0:25:06.680 --> 0:25:09.159 I wanted to be an artist, so I wanted to 0:25:09.160 --> 0:25:11.760 be a painter, that I wanted to be a writer, um, 0:25:11.800 --> 0:25:15.639 And I think business became something that I just needed 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:17.800 to do to pay the bills. And it became really 0:25:17.840 --> 0:25:21.840 clear really early to me when I started that I 0:25:21.920 --> 0:25:24.720 was a little anti authority, that I didn't like paint 0:25:25.080 --> 0:25:29.800 what to do and reflecting back, I also come from 0:25:30.160 --> 0:25:33.679 a family of entrepreneurs. My grandfather owned a business, my 0:25:33.800 --> 0:25:36.040 father owns a business, my mom's a real estate broker 0:25:36.080 --> 0:25:38.560 that works on her own and so it makes a 0:25:38.600 --> 0:25:42.480 lot of sense that I found my way towards entrepreneurship 0:25:42.520 --> 0:25:46.720