3 Mobilizing Tips for Movement Makers

How many of you think the world can be a better place? How many of you have an idea about how to do that but have not implemented it? Wokie Nwabueze asked these questions to kick off October’s Emerging Women Live panel Movement Makers: Amplifying Vision, Voice and Influence to Change the World, and was answered by a room full of raised hands.

When we live with our ears to the ground, Wokie said, we get ideas that would absolutely improve quality of life for a group, a community, the planet. But we get afraid of that idea, thinking “Who am I to start a movement?”

We at Emerging Women have a favorite quote, from Move The Crowd founder Rha Goddess: “We are moving out of the age of the celebrity and into the age of the citizen.” That means we don’t have to wait for Angelina Jolie to start a movement. We can do it ourselves. We must – now more than ever.

To dig into the how, Wokie interviewed Joan Blades, founder of MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org, and Vicki Saunders, founder of SheEO and #radicalgenerosity. What did we learn?

1. Put it out there.

In 1998, Joan Blades sent a one sentence political petition to less than 100 friends, and it went viral. Within days the petition had hundreds of thousands of signatures. For the first time in history, an online petition broke into and helped transform the national conversation. Joan realized that online organizing had the potential to disrupt and fundamentally alter the course of our democracy. The signers of Joan’s petition became MoveOn’s first members, and a powerful movement of millions was born.

Vicki Saunders believes in socializing ideas. At a networking event, she’ll say, “I have this super crazy idea. Imagine this. Would you do it?” When she applied this tactic to SheEO, she realized it resonated in a big way. Though she had been running from the idea for 20 years, she couldn’t ignore the response she got when she put it out there. In 2013, she launced the website and quickly raised $500,000 to invest in women-led businesses.

2. No more guru.

Echoing Rha Goddess, Vicki pointed out that we’re living in a post-hero world. “It’s going to take all of us to change this world,” she said, “so don’t follow a guru. Follow the energy. If there’s something resonant in your idea, it becomes an uncontollable force. Don’t try to control it. Let it go, and that’s when you’ll really see it take off.” Vicki allows SheEO Activators to invest directly in businesses they feel passionate about. By giving women the power to invest in ideas they personally believe in, SheEO emboldens everyone involved – no guru necessary.

Joan embodied the no-guru rule by cultivating an agile team with outstanding ability to listen to and serve MoveOn’s membership. “They don’t need me – they’re incredible,” Joan said. She surrounded herself with good people she loved and respected, and who were aligned with a shared purpose. That gave the movement great collective power to grow and prosper, in service to the community and not just the leadership. She now serves on the MoveOn’s Board of Directors, and is free to found new movements like the much needed MomsRising and the especially timely Living Room Conversations.

3. Start with relationship.

“Design an experience for people to be in relationship together,” said Vicki. In SheEO’s model, women fall in love with the kinds of things they want to put their capital towards as a kind of gateway for falling in love with investing itself. Without that relationship, SheEO wouldn’t have the magic that makes it work.

“People are ready to pay for what they value,” Joan said. The key is deep listening to what the people want, and the ability to serve and facilitiate those desires. “We’d just say, ‘Do you want to do this?’ And they’d say yes and we’d have the money to do it!” When you allow people to choose what they’re passionate about and how they want to be involved, they will happily supply the resources you need to take action.

A final thought from Wokie to sum it all up? “You allowed the idea to be surrendered to community,” igniting the alchemy that transforms good ideas into massive movements. “We don’t have to take a hero’s journey. We can take a heroine’s journey and do it with community.”

Are you a Movement Maker? We’d love to hear about your expereince in the comments. And if you want to make deep connections with other women ready to make waves in the world, join us at Emerging Women Live 2017 in Denver, CO.


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Investing in the SheEconomy

Want to be a part of the SheEconomy? Hear from expert investors on how women are using their money, power and influence to change the world in this clip from the stellar panel at Emerging Women Live 2015 to find out where you fit into the SheEconomy:

Vicki Saunders is the founder of SheEO, a program for women entrepreneurs that supports the next generation of women-led social ventures to lead from their strengths on their own terms. She is a serial entrepreneur, passionate mentor to the next generation of change makers, and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive transformation in the world.

Sue Heilbronner is the co-founder and CEO of MergeLane, a groundbreaking, award-winning startup accelerator targeting companies with at least one woman in leadership. She also consults with fast-growing digital companies and executive teams through her work as Chief Catalyst at Boulder Ideas.

Trish Costello is the founder and CEO of Portfolia, a collaborative entrepreneurial investing community designed for women. Trish was named in The Ten Women in Tech to Watch in 2015 by Inc magazine and to The 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2014 by Goldman Sachs.

Our Top 9 Fave Wisdom Quotes from Emerging Women Live 2015 Power Talks

If you loved our Emerging Women Live 2015 keynote speakers, don’t miss the wisdom from our Emerging Short talks, too. These power talks let us hear from a diverse group of women who are positively using their feminine leadership to change the world. We’ve sifted through our notes and gathered our top nine favorite quotes.

Be sure to catch these brilliant women on the live stream archive, which will be available for replay until Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015.

 

  1. Vicki Saunders (Founder of SheEO)

“We (as women) have not been at the table for designing this world. We need to be there for VERSION 2.0. We all need to redesign this world desperately.” twitter

 

  1. Wokie Nwabueze(Founder of Women Prepared to Lead)

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“When you can become enchanted by who you are, when you can forgive the part of you that betrayed you, then you will be seen and heard and nothing less than captivating.” twitter

 

  1. Promise Phelon (CEO of TapInfluence)

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“Grit is the sand that is exfoliating the path of where you want to go.” twitter

 

  1. Anese Cavanaugh (Creator of IEP Method)

“People often think it is the doing that is going to impact, what actually is more powerful is our presence.” twitter

 

  1. Neha Sangwan, MD(Founder of Intuitive Intelligence and Author of TalkRx)

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“It’s impossible to prove something to others that you don’t believe yourself.” twitter

 

  1. Johanna Jackman (Senior Director at LinkedIn)

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“Vulnerability plus tenacity – they are the platform for being truly authentic.” twitter

 

  1. Natalia Oberti Noguera (Founder/CEO of Pipeline Angel Fellowship)

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“Privilege is like oxygen, you don’t know it is there until it is gone.” twitter

 

  1. Guru Jagat (founder of the RA MA Institute)

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“It’s important for us to train our mind to consolidate our energy, so that we then can use that energy for a true revolution.” twitter

 

  1. Sahar Paz (Author, Speaker and Life Coach)

“Don’t let your shero cape, become a veil.” twitter

It Doesn’t Have To Be Hard – #emergingnow

Dear Friends,

Have any of you out there felt that you need to work really hard, climb high hills, carry big stones, and develop callouses on your hands in order to make big things happen? I have. Truthfully, I don’t remember achieving anything of note without really digging in and putting in some serious dedicated effort.

As a rule, I am suspicious of any approach that touts short cuts to getting what you want – affirmations, manifesting techniques, get rich quick groups. In my experience, when we really apply ourselves to any pursuit in life, we learn, grow and develop a wisdom that cannot be replicated by mere statements. I tend to respect perseverance, tenacity and weathered hands over glossy tales of being in the right place at the right time.

And yet when I came across this chapter in Vicki Saunders‘ book, How To Think Like A SheEO, I was totally blown away: It Doesn’t Have To Be Hard. Wow. Instantly, I wanted to franchise that sentence – I saw bumper stickers, t-shirts, retail stores, a travelling SUV. “It doesn’t have to be hard.” Say it. It does a number on you.

This is what I love about Vicki – she recommends that we lead by leveraging what comes naturally to us. By focusing on what we are masterful at we can increase our levels of success without increasing our levels of stress. 

For me, the “hard” is not in the work itself (I am a Capricorn, I like to work hard!), but in the emotional exhaustion that comes with trying to do everything by myself – the learning curve, the top-line execution, the progressive leadership, the cash-positive business, the social impact, and so on. We all set high bars for ourselves, but must we tackle all of this by ourselves? 

I, for one, am ready for a new model. One that is based on true connection and authentic relationships. For example, if you are at a networking party, focus on developing relationships with people you really connect with. You might end up in deep conversations with only two people, but then you later ask them to introduce you to their friends.

Choosing this instead of “working the room,” passing out your cards and not remembering who you spoke to at the end of the night? Hells yes! Easy, right? 

When we connect with others as we reach for the stars life becomes easier – and the opportunities multiply. We learn faster, and we find the ropes we need to help us climb those high hills. But best of all, we are nourished – not depleted – by the shared human experience of striving. And that is not hard – it’s aaaahhhh.

Big love,

Chantal Pierrat

Founder, Emerging Women

PS – The $100 Early Bird discount for March Power Circles ends on Wednesday at midnight! Register HERE  to be matched into a group of women specially tailored to accent and compliment your desire to take your business to the next level (spaces are limited).

 

 

Vicki Saunders – Think Like A SheEO

Unleashing, Unhooking and Understanding – EWLive14 Souvenirs

Super Early Bird Tickets are On Sale for EW Live 2015 in San Francisco!

How do you keep it in the “ahhhhhh” zone? Tell us below:

Demystifying the Money: Women Investors & Investing in Women

>As we increase our leadership reach in all areas of our society, it is essential for women to understand how we can harness financial resources to help us actualize our vision for change.

At Emerging Women Live, we will be uncovering ways for women to jump into the existing investment structures, as well as ways to use our collective emerging power to create new possibilities around global money distribution and management.

Meet the members of EWlive14’s panel discussion “Demystifying the Money,” concerning the rapidly changing trends of women investors and business leaders – women who are earning, raising and investing money to reflect deliberate action and greater influence in our world.

1. Adaora Udoji – Interim President of News Deeply

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Adaora Udoji is currently Interim President of the award-winning startup News Deeply; specializing in single topic publishing while providing enabling technology to engage users on complex global issues. It’s her latest adventure in entrepreneurship after founding The Boshia Group, an international network of strategists, advisors, operational specialists, content developers and producers. The Group provides content and project management, as well as editorial and production frameworks serving clients such as startups, new media and tech companies; law and investment firms.

Adaora is also a lawyer and an award-winning storyteller who has worked across broadcast and digital media platforms: television, cable, radio, and the internet. Her roles have included corporate strategist, producer, on-air correspondent and anchor at Bloomberg, ABC News, CNN and public radio. The National Academy of Arts & Sciences recognized her reporting of the Afghanistan war. Essence Magazine named her one of the 25 most influential African-Americans.

In an interview with AlleyWatch, Adaora was asked, “If you could fix one thing in the startup ecosystem right now, what would it be?”  She answered, “To see it flooded with women, women and more women – both as entrepreneurs and investors.”

“To see it flooded with women, women and more women – both as entrepreneurs and investors.”

2. Amanda Steinberg – Founder of Daily Worth

Amanda Steinberg is the founder of DailyWorth, the leading financial media company for women. Steinberg is a thought­leader on the topic of women and money, working to advance women’s financial confidence and wealth.

Amanda is an engineer by training, a media executive by profession, and a serial optimist at heart. DailyWorth serves millions of women monthly via its daily newsletters and Website focused on money and career advice.

Amanda says, “The stories women tell themselves about money have perpetuated the idea of money being a source of stress for women … [We need to] see it as access to freedom and choices in our lives, not as a source of anxiety.”

“We need to see it as access to freedom and choices in our lives, not as a source of anxiety.”

3. Kesha Cash – Partner and Director of Investments at Impact America

edited-Kesha-Cash-PicKesha Cash is a Partner and Director of Investments at Impact America, an early-stage equity fund that invests in high growth companies that aim to generate real financial returns while improving the well-being of underserved communities and creating quality jobs in America.

Impact America Fund is the evolution of Jalia Ventures, a three-year minority-focused impact investing initiative Kesha launched and executed with the support and collaboration of leading investors, accelerators, community organizations, university programs, and industry experts across the country.

Kesha’s passion for social responsibility is apparent in her vision for the future: “We identify as one human race and deeply consider the impact of our actions on other human beings, the environment and future generations.”

“We identify as one human race and deeply consider the impact of our actions on other human beings, the environment and future generations.”

4. Fran Hauser – Angel Investor and Partner at Rothenberg Ventures

Fran HauserFran Hauser is an angel investor, digital media veteran and an advocate for women and kids. She is passionate about connecting people and inspiring change.

An active investor, Fran is a partner at Rothenberg Ventures. Before diving into the world of venture capital, Fran spent 15 years in the digital media space, holding President and General Manager positions at Time Inc., AOL and Moviefone. She played an integral role in the $400mm sale of Moviefone to AOL and in building PEOPLE.com into one of the most successful women’s websites.

Fran is a funder of the PBS documentary Half the Sky, Board Chair of GlobalGiving and an advisory board member of Helpusadopt.

Her advice as a mentor shows she knows the power of leveraging our feminine strengths. She says, “One of the best ways to get into a dream company is to develop relationships with the people who work there.”

“One of the best ways to get into a dream company is to develop relationships with the people who work there.”

 5. Vicki Saunders – Founder of SheEO

Vicki is a serial entrepreneur, passionate mentor and advisor to the next generation of change makers and leading advocate for entrepreneurship as a way of creating positive transformation in the world.

Vicki is founder of SheEO, a program for women entrepreneurs that supports the next generation of women-led social ventures to lead from their strengths on their own terms.

Vicki is also co-founder of WhatsNext, a global network of leading entrepreneurial talent focused on solving major challenges for business, education, NGOs and governmental institutions.

We very much agree with Vicki when she says, “We’re moving towards a post-hero world where the greatest challenges will require multiple people collaborating to solve.”

“We’re moving towards a post-hero world where the greatest challenges will require multiple people collaborating to solve.”