Originally posted on CRM Solver
CRMSolver’s Solvers Academy: Empowering Suriname’s ICT Talent Through Salesforce.com Training
Introduction
CRMSolver’s Solvers Academy is making headlines in Suriname as the first official Salesforce partner in the country. As reported in a recent article on Keynews.sr, the academy is committed to increasing ICT opportunities for Surinamese individuals through comprehensive Salesforce training and soft skills development. With a focus on social entrepreneurship, CRMSolver’s Solvers Academy is transforming the ICT landscape in Suriname and positioning itself as a leader in Salesforce education.
What Sets Solvers Academy Apart:
A Commitment to Giving Back: As co-founder Jerrel Van Eer states, giving back to the community is one of CRMSolver’s core values. As a member of the 1% Pledge family, CRMSolver invests time and financial resources in the community, with the goal of creating a positive impact.
Unleashing Suriname’s ICT Potential: The Solvers Academy aims to increase ICT opportunities for Surinamese people both locally and abroad. Suriname is home to a wealth of talent in the ICT sector, and with the right Salesforce training and motivation, these individuals can offer their services to countries outside of Suriname.
Building a Global Presence: With a team boasting a wealth of experience and a track record of successful client-centered Salesforce systems implementation across the globe, CRMSolver and the Solvers Academy are well-positioned to expand Suriname’s ICT reach.
Comprehensive Salesforce Training: The academy offers in-depth training in Salesforce systems, as well as soft skills development. This balanced approach ensures that trainees are well-equipped to guide clients in selecting the right custom CRM system tailored to their specific business needs.
Fostering Local Connections: As part of their Salesforce training, academy participants attend local meet-ups where they can network with peers and share experiences. In December 2022, Jerrel Van Eer traveled to Surinam to initiate the Salesforce Meetup Suriname, further fostering a sense of community.
Conclusion
CRMSolver’s Solvers Academy is making waves in Suriname by providing opportunities for growth and development in the ICT sector through Salesforce education. With a focus on giving back to the community and a passion for empowering local talent, the academy is poised to make a lasting impact on Suriname’s ICT landscape. Be sure to read the full story on Keynews.sr and share this exciting news about Salesforce training and opportunities with your network!
Originally posted on PR Newswire
Fluxx and UpMetrics Announce Global Partnership to Bring First-of-its-kind Grantmaking, Impact Management and Analytics Solution to Philanthropy
The partnership between Fluxx and UpMetrics comes as a response to the growing need for foundations and grantees to deepen relationships through access to real-time data and analytics. By leveraging these two powerful technologies, foundations can reduce the time-consuming process of data collection and analysis, drive alignment across grants management, program and evaluation teams, and make it easier to evaluate their grantmaking.
“We are excited to collaborate with Fluxx to provide a first-of-its-kind solution that empowers foundations and grantees with the ability to better leverage information and relationships to support communities at scale,” said Drew Payne, CEO of UpMetrics. “To effectively take on the most pressing social and environmental challenges, the ability to use real-time data to drive insights, effective decisioning, and collaborative learning is critical. Through increased data transparency and information sharing, foundations can reimagine reporting towards learning and accelerating measurable outcomes.”
The partnership will benefit shared clients, including the Ford Foundation, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and many others. By partnering, Fluxx and UpMetrics are working to modernize how foundations and grantees manage and measure impact, providing a more comprehensive view of their collective work towards achieving their goals.
Originally posted on Business Wire
Zuora Reaches 100% Renewable Energy, Maintains Carbon Neutrality and Progresses DE&I Efforts in Latest ESG Impact Report
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Zuora, Inc. (NYSE: ZUO), a leading monetization platform provider for recurring revenue businesses, today launched its second annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact Report.
The second annual report underscores the creation of Zuora’s global, cross-functional ESG leadership team to guide its overall strategy. This includes the development of publicly facing metrics and goals for “Human Capital Management,” “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and “Environmental Management” that align to Zuora’s company values.
Zuora’s fiscal year 2023 ESG Impact Report highlights the following accomplishments:
- Reached 100% renewable energy for Zuora’s global real estate footprint.
- Maintained carbon neutrality for the second year in a row, reaffirming the company’s commitment moving forward.
- Built a more inclusive and equitable team: 42% of Zuora employees self-identified as members from underrepresented groups, progressing toward the company’s goal to have 50% of its global workforce self-identify as members from underrepresented groups by the end of fiscal year 2025.*
- Upheld Zuora’s Pledge 1% commitment: Zuora donated over $1 million to mission-aligned nonprofits around the world, and 81% of Zuora employees gave back through volunteer hours or company-matched donations.
- Obtained ISO 27701 certification, a certification standard for privacy information management systems (PIMS) that helps protect privacy rights when an organization processes personal information.
“Zuora’s purpose is to help people subscribe to modern ways of doing business – ways that are better for people, better for companies and ultimately better for the planet,” said Tien Tzuo, Founder and CEO at Zuora. “This inspires how we approach ESG authentically at Zuora, the progress we’ve made and our commitment to expanding these efforts.”
The report reiterates Zuora’s ESG focus areas and provides comprehensive updates to its ESG strategy and execution. As the company continues to scale, ESG will continue to be a top priority to drive long-term business success.
To access the full report, visit here.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Sara Cabras
Digital Academy & HR Manager, Balance SPA
Cagliari, Italy
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
I hold three key positions at Balance, including Recruiting Manager, HR Manager, and Responsible for the Balance Digital Academy. As Recruiting Manager, I am responsible for identifying, attracting, and selecting top talent in our industry. As HR Manager, I oversee staffing, resource allocation, capacity planning, and ensure that we continue to deliver high-quality service that Balance is known for. As Responsible for the Balance Digital Academy, my focus is on supporting the development of everyone in Balance, preparing them for their certification journey, as well as managing their training and career development.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Embrace Equity.” What does this mean to you? How can we build workplaces that are more equitable and inclusive?
Embrace Equity means providing equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone, regardless of their background. For me, this means promoting gender diversity and inclusion, empowering women, and supporting women in STEM while providing resources and tools to help women achieve their full potential and offer equal opportunities for career growth and development as well as supporting their work-life balance.
To build a more equitable and inclusive workplace, our company has made it a priority to invest in our employees’ development in innovative and personalized ways. In fact we have launched our own Digital Academy, where we take action and invest in employee up-skilling and reskilling programs. By providing equal opportunities for career growth and development, supporting work-life balance, and promoting gender equality in the workplace, we are fostering a culture of inclusion.
While it may require a deliberate and ongoing effort, we believe that by taking these steps, we can create a more equitable and inclusive workplace for all employees. Through continuous education and awareness, we work hard to maintain a culture that values diversity and inclusion. This, in turn, can lead to increased employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, as well as promoting a more just and equitable society for all.
Do you have any mentors or role models who have helped you on your personal journey?
I didn’t have any formal mentors or role models in my personal journey, but I always learn something new with the people who I meet. All the experiences I have had, even the negative ones, have helped me become the person I am today, both personally and professionally. I was committed to achieving my goals and found inspiration and guidance in other ways. I attended workshops and conferences and sought advice from peers and colleagues. I was also open to seeking out mentorship or coaching opportunities through professional organizations or networking groups. By doing so, I was able to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed both personally and professionally.
Don’t be afraid, in everything, there is a motivation or something that will serve you when you are in your place and feel it. Always bring out the best in every life experience. Ultimately, I believe that success is achieved through hard work, dedication, and a positive attitude, and I am committed to remaining focused on my goals.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best piece of advice I ever received is to always maintain a positive attitude and to stay committed to my goals. I was taught that hard work and dedication are essential components for achieving success, but having a positive outlook and a strong sense of purpose are just as important. This advice has helped me overcome challenges and setbacks, and has motivated me to keep pushing forward even when faced with adversity. By staying focused on my goals and maintaining a positive mindset, I am able to approach challenges with a solution-focused mindset and persevere through difficult times.
The past few years have brought many new and unprecedented challenges. What keeps you motivated or inspires you to stay optimistic?
The past few years have certainly brought many new and unprecedented challenges, which has greatly impacted our personal and professional lives. What keeps me motivated and inspired to stay optimistic is a combination of factors, including the importance of never giving up, staying positive, and finding a true work-life balance.
In difficult circumstances, it is essential to stay positive and focused on finding solutions to the challenges we face. This mindset has helped me to overcome obstacles and find creative ways to adapt to new circumstances.
Additionally, it is crucial to maintain a healthy work-life balance, which can be a real challenge. However, I was lucky enough to work in Balance that prioritized work-life balance and provided us with the tools and resources we needed to find this balance, even during these challenging times.
Pledge 1% helps companies of all sizes and stages leverage their assets for social good. Why do you think it’s important that companies prioritize social impact? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
I believe by prioritizing social impact, we can make a positive difference in the world while also building a stronger and more successful business. Through my own work, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that companies can have on the environment, communities, and workforce when they prioritize social responsibility.
The specific example would be, at Balance, we believe that prioritizing sustainability is key to building a successful and socially responsible business and it is our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment while also supporting the communities where we operate. Through constant partnerships with different non-profit organizations, we are able to regenerate our ecosystem and promote positive social outcomes. We believe that it is our responsibility to give back to the community and contribute to a more sustainable future. We also recognize that diversity and inclusion are essential to fostering a more innovative and creative workplace culture. By creating a more welcoming and supportive workplace environment, we can attract and retain top talent and provide opportunities for all employees to contribute to the success of our business.
Through our commitment to sustainability, social responsibility, and diversity and inclusion, we are working to create a more sustainable and equitable future for all.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
If I had to describe myself in one word, that word would be determination. I’ve always had a strong drive to achieve my goals and push myself to new heights, both personally and professionally. I believe that having determination is essential to success, as it fuels us to overcome challenges, take risks, and strive for excellence. Overall, I believe that my determination is one of my greatest strengths and has helped me to achieve success in many areas of my life. It has driven me to pursue my passions, take on new challenges, and persist in the face of obstacles.
Do you have any unique or useful life hacks to help get through your day?
Absolutely! One life hack that I find particularly useful is to remember to smile throughout the day. Even if things get hectic or stressful, taking a moment to smile can help to release tension and increase positivity. It’s a simple yet effective way to improve your mood and approach your day with a more optimistic mindset. Plus, smiling can also have a positive effect on those around you, which can help to improve team morale and productivity.
Do you have any go-to apps or tools use love to use?
Yes, one of my go-to apps that I love to use is Spotify. I don’t have personal preferences or experiences, but I can tell you that Spotify is a great app for streaming music, podcasts and audiobooks. Listening to music while working has a positive impact on productivity and creativity. It helps me to create a more relaxed and focused working environment, as well as provide motivation and energy especially when I start the day in the morning.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
I am a naturally curious person, and I always try to approach life with a sense of openness and excitement about what’s to come. This year, I am looking forward to challenging myself to try new things and explore new experiences. On a personal level, I am excited to travel more and explore new cultures.
Professionally, I am looking forward to taking on new responsibilities and projects that will allow me to grow and develop my skills further. Additionally, I am always seeking to learn more and stay up-to-date on industry trends and advancements, which is why I plan to attend relevant workshops and conferences to stay stimulated and engaged in my work. Overall, I am eager to see what opportunities and experiences come my way this year and to approach them with a curious and open mindset.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Cynthia Asije
CEO, Adirelounge
Paris, France
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
My current tole is the CEO and Creative Director for Adirelounge. A sustainable fashion company that creates sustainable fashion products and textile fibres from banana waste.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Embrace Equity.” What does this mean to you? How can we build workplaces that are more equitable and inclusive?
“Embrace Equity” is a theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, which aims to promote gender equity and inclusion in all areas of life, including the workplace. As a founder of a sustainability textile startup, embracing equity means ensuring that women and other underrepresented groups have equal access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making power within the company. This includes implementing policies and practices that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, such as flexible work arrangements, training and development programs, and transparent hiring and promotion processes.
To build workplaces that are more equitable and inclusive, we need to address systemic barriers and biases that prevent women and other marginalized groups from fully participating and thriving in the workplace. This involves taking a proactive approach to diversity and inclusion by identifying and addressing implicit biases, promoting equal pay and benefits, and creating a culture that values and respects diversity.
Do you have any mentors or role models who have helped you on your personal journey?
Yes I do have mentors and role models that has helped me in my journey. Having a mentor or role model has been incredibly beneficial in personal and professional growth. Mentors and role models can provide guidance, support, and advice based on their own experiences and expertise. They share their knowledge and insights, offer constructive feedback, and help identify strengths and areas for my personal improvement.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
One valuable piece of advice is to “be true to yourself.” This advice has helped me to stay authentic and honest with myself, to follow my own values and passions, and to not compromise my beliefs or principles for the sake of others.
The past few years have brought many new and unprecedented challenges. What keeps you motivated or inspires you to stay optimistic?
In the face of new and unprecedented challenges,I often find motivation and inspiration in small wins and successes. Celebrating progress, no matter how small, helps me stay motivated and build momentum towards my goals. Focusing on the positive and taking small steps towards progress helps me stay optimistic and hopeful, even in the face of challenges.
Pledge 1% helps companies of all sizes and stages leverage their assets for social good. Why do you think it’s important that companies prioritize social impact? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition that businesses can and should do more than simply generate profit. Companies have the potential to create positive social and environmental impact, in addition to financial returns. Prioritizing social impact can bring a number of benefits to companies, such as improving their reputation, attracting and retaining employees, and building customer loyalty. It can also help companies address some of the pressing social and environmental challenges facing the world, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation.
Pledge 1% is an initiative that encourages companies to pledge 1% of their equity, profit, product, or time to support social and environmental causes. By making this pledge, companies can leverage their assets and resources to make a positive impact, regardless of their size or stage of development.
At Adirelounge social impact is at the core of what we do, we work with farmers communities and help them earn more with the waste, also work with artisans in underserved communities and pay them over 2.5X the minimum wage.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
Resilient
Do you have any unique or useful life hacks to help get through your day?
Start your day with a simple routine: Having a consistent routine can help set the tone for the day and provide a sense of structure and stability.
Use a to-do list: Writing down your tasks for the day can help you stay organized and focused.
Take breaks: It’s important to take breaks throughout the day to avoid burnout and stay refreshed.
Practice gratitude: Focusing on the things you’re grateful for can help shift your mindset and boost your mood.
Overall, incorporating small habits and routines into your day can help you stay focused, energized, and positive. Find what works for you and make it a part of your daily routine.
Do you have any go-to apps or tools use love to use?
I love Canva ! Has made my life so easier.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
One of the major things I am looking forward to this year is raising external funding for Adirelounge. We have bootstrapped from day one and would now like to raise funding to help us reach our goals and scale faster.
Originally posted on Washington Post.
Corporate volunteerism: ‘Not charity. It’s good business.’
The one-day volunteering event — where employees give back to their communities by packing boxes of food or cleaning up a park or fundraising — is so ingrained in corporations that it’s long been lampooned by pop culture.
However, as the national decline of volunteerism deepens, both corporations and nonprofits are looking for something more useful.
“A leader calling up the nonprofit saying, ‘Hey, I have 20 people that can be over there in an hour. What do you want them to do?’ That’s not helpful,” said Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, managing director of corporate insights and engagement at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, which advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues.
“What you want is for those volunteers to be part of an ongoing engagement, so those volunteers become embedded in the community,” she said. “They understand better what those participants needs are and they truly are then approaching their volunteerism work not as ‘I’m helping you,’’ but with a lens of ‘We’re in a partnership about making our community a better place.’ That levels the playing field. It doesn’t make it charity. It makes it a relationship.”
It’s the kind of relationship that more and more corporations are trying to cultivate with their philanthropy.
Tech giant Salesforce is a high-profile example of that connection, with its wide range of volunteer programs and funding initiatives that focus on education and workforce development, as well as climate and community resilience.
Ron C. Smith, Salesforce’s vice president of philanthropy, said giving back has always been in the company’s DNA, along with innovation.
“You have to be willing to hear what the community you live in — or the community you want to support — is asking for,” Smith said. “We start with the question ‘What can we do?’ or ‘How can we help?’ Then, we align to their strategic plans.”
The company is part of the Pledge 1% movement, where corporations promise to donate 1% of their equity, time, products and profit. Salesforce often supports nonprofits through several of those donation types, often stacking them as its relationship with the group grows.
Salesforce’s partnership with The Marcy Lab School, for example, began when some of its employees started volunteering at the New York nonprofit that trains high school graduates to become software engineers in one year at no cost to the students. Then, Salesforce started providing the school access to some of its software and is now looking at hiring some of the school’s graduates.
Last year, The Marcy Lab School became one of the first grantees of Salesforce’s Catalyst Fund, which provided $100,000 to emerging nonprofits that were led by a person of color and had operating budgets under $2 million annually.
Reuben Ogbonna, co-founder of The Marcy Lab School, said the Catalyst Fund allowed the nonprofit to nearly double its student body from 30 to 50. Students accepted at the school pay no tuition and receive a free laptop for their studies. Most graduates land jobs at top tech companies as software programmers, with starting salaries over $100,000.
“What was most interesting about it was that they were making bets on organizations that typically don’t get on the radar of a big funder like Salesforce,” Ogbonna said. “And what I appreciated about Salesforce is that there was this acknowledgment that our organization already had the seeds of competitiveness and impact.”
Ogbonna said Salesforce hasn’t exhibited the signs of doubt that other major funders have over whether an emerging nonprofit can handle a substantial donation properly. Instead, he says, Salesforce volunteers are helping make Marcy Lab School’s curriculum even stronger.
Marcy Lab School’s other co-founder Maya Bhattacharjee said that its impressive 16,000 square-foot campus in an 11th-floor loft space in Brooklyn, New York’s Industry City neighborhood, with views of the Statue of Liberty across New York Harbor was “beyond our wildest dreams.”
But their training program is exactly how they envisioned it. “I always dreamed of building a school that was just filled with a lot of love for students,” Bhattacharjee said. “Teachers are not thinking about students as numbers or test scores or things that needed to be fixed. To have educators around a table working to have programs work for every student is everything I dreamed of.”
For Enmanuel de la Nuez Carvajal, getting accepted into Marcy Lab School was a dream come true as well. Like a lot of the recent high school graduates who apply to join Marcy Lab School, he felt like he was languishing at LaGuardia Community College. But not everyone was convinced.
“Some of my friends were a little skeptical,” said the native of the Dominican Republic. “They said it sounds like it’s too good to be true. But I thought I don’t see how this could go wrong.”
After graduating from Marcy Lab School in 2020, de la Nuez Carvajal was hired by the project management software company Asana, where he is currently a software engineer.
Those are the kind of results that excite volunteers and keep them engaged to help their communities.
Naomi Morenzoni, Salesforce’s vice president of philanthropy strategy, said the company is an outlier in terms of volunteering, with about 87% of its workforce donating time each year. According to Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, the average volunteer participation rate through company-sponsored initiatives was 17% in 2022.
“There’s a sea change that’s happened,” Morenzoni said. “We see that 50% of job seekers won’t take a job if a company doesn’t align with their values. All of that is driving value both for the company and for the community. The two are completely interconnected now.”
Salesforce sees its philanthropy program – which provides employees seven days of paid leave to volunteer and a company match for donations up to a $5,000 total each year – as a tool for recruitment and retention.
Morenzoni said Salesforce’s internal surveys show that 91% of its volunteering employees feel more engaged in their regular jobs.
“This is good for us,” she said. “This is good for our communities. It’s not charity. It’s good business.”
Not everyone agrees. In February, Strive Asset Management President Anson Frericks wrote a letter to Salesforce CEO
Marc Benioff urging him to “stop using your business as a ‘platform for social change’ and focus on serving your customers alone.” Frericks claimed five groups of activist investors who have reportedly purchased stakes in Salesforce “smell blood in the water.”
However, after Salesforce reported better-than-expected financial results in March, several activist investors, including Elliott Investment Management, supported the company’s recent business moves.
Though Salesforce declined comment on the investors’ complaints, officials said the company’s commitment to volunteerism will continue.
“I can’t speak to what the investors are looking for,” Smith said. “But I know we’re going to continue doing the good work that Salesforce has committed to. And we’re going to make sure that we bring our employees and partners and everyone else along with us – including our investors – so they can see the good work that’s happening.”
Originally posted on GlobeNewswire
Coveo Partners With U-Go: Donates 100 University Scholarships to Help Young Women Access Education Across Low Income Countries
Coveo (TSX:CVO), a leader in AI platforms that transform digital experiences with intelligent search, recommendations, 1:1 personalization, and merchandising, today announced a new partnership with U-Go, a recently-launched nonprofit organization that helps young women in low-income countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam to pursue higher education by providing financial scholarships. As part of Coveo’s commitment to the Pledge 1%, Coveo will be sponsoring approximately 100 university scholarships through the program.
UNESCO estimates that around the world, 129 million girls cannot access education. And only 21% of young women complete an upper secondary education. Gender parity and increased access to education for young women is one of the most transformative development strategies. A recent World Bank study estimates that the “limited educational opportunities for girls, and barriers to completing 12 years of education, cost countries between US$15 trillion and $30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity and earnings.”
“Knowledge and education are at the center of our 1% Pledge. We’ve chosen to prioritize programs that support young people in vulnerable social groups to give them equal, accessible, and unconstrained access to education. The U-Go scholarship program is the perfect fit,” said Sheila Morin, CMO at Coveo. “U-Go has already had a huge generational impact on families around the world. Access to education not only empowers women across nations, but can help lift their households, communities, and countries out of poverty. We could not be prouder to join U-Go to support these young women.”
“I’m so excited that we are announcing this new partnership between U-Go and Coveo,” said John Wood, Founder and CEO of U-Go. “Our team’s core belief is that while talent is universal, opportunity often is not. Access to education is one of the only ways to move a family from the bottom tier of income and wellbeing to the top, in a single generation. This year our goal is to increase the cohort of U-Go scholars to over 2,200, and with Coveo’s help we will be able to welcome 100 ambitious and promising young women into the U-Go family.”
- Increased the number of technology companies willing to commit their time and skills to digitally supporting nonprofits from 159 to 1063, a 660% increase over 2020-2021.
- Saw more than 30% of the companies they match engage in more than one project.
- Helped more than 115 nonprofits via their #TechForUkraine campaign
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are paving the way for the next generation. While our featured leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, they are united in their efforts to promote equality for all women in the workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their journey to success, as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Maia Monell
Co-Founder & CRO, Nav.it Inc.
Sun Valley, ID, USA
What is your current role? Briefly describe in 1-2 sentences.
Responsible for business development, strategic and growth operations and investor relations, among many other critical organizational functions.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Embrace Equity.” What does this mean to you? How can we build workplaces that are more equitable and inclusive?
We must do better to ensure women are represented equally across the workforce.
First, entrepreneurship is one of the key levers to unlock intergenerational wealth for women. While they represent more than half the population, women account for less than a third of entrepreneurs. Despite receiving less than half of the investment capital of their male peers, female-founded companies deliver twice as much revenue per dollar invested. In this light, we must re-shape the power dynamic of venture. If you’re a fellow entrepreneur and have built a strong venture-backed business, you hold the keys to your captable. We must hold VC more accountable for their inequitable power dynamics and encourage founders to work together.
Second, firms with strong female representation on their boards are 28% more likely to outperform their peers, while firms with gender-diverse executive teams are 25% more likely to outperform. So, we also must hold small to large companies more accountable for their culture. Corporate transparency must be celebrated. When these companies release meaningful data on workforce composition alongside rates of recruitment, promotion, retention and diverse employees, it: illustrates a company understands and takes seriously the fact that discrimination is a systemic problem; demonstrates the depth of the company’s commitment to accountability; and provides data that allow investors and other stakeholders to assess and compare the effectiveness of firm-wide programs.
Third, we within the financial industry must build OUTCOMES BASED SOLUTIONS AND PRODUCTS. Our industry has not had to align our business incentives with that of our consumers and we’ve isolated huge (soon to be the majority) groups of consumers- failing to build trust, fragmenting the market and perpetuating a cycle of wealth inequality that’s stunted our society for too long. Outcomes-based products and services look like: action-oriented education, affordable and equitable lending and non-predatory credit, to name a few.
Lastly, all of us as investors must play our part. Shareholder advocacy must be practiced and participated in to help hold the companies we care most about keep to our standards of inclusionary impact.
More money into the hands of more women is one of the greatest opportunities we have to slow climate change, scale economic output and stabilize the social turmoil of our time.
Investing in companies -small to large- that clearly illustrate their impact on equality and broader access for all are the ONLY companies worth investing in. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because they consistently outperform their peers.
Do you have any mentors or role models who have helped you on your personal journey?
I’m grateful for a brilliant group of mentors and advisors who have helped guide me throughout my career. For role models, I think they can be found in any woman defying the odds to build a better, safer, more effective economy. Women who embody the best of our shared strength. Women like Billie Jean King, The Williams Sisters, Sara Blakely… the list is endless and growing everyday.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Never run away something, run towards something the fuels you.
The past few years have brought many new and unprecedented challenges. What keeps you motivated or inspires you to stay optimistic?
We’ve built a business focused on improving the health and well-being of all. Our work connects us with people who have, despite many obstacles, improved their financial health with help from the products we are building at Nav.it. I turn to these stories anytime I’m discouraged or stressed as a clear reminder that our team is doing brilliant work to help improve the health and stability of so many. With stories like these, it’s easy to stay inspired, optimistic and on-course.
Pledge 1% helps companies of all sizes and stages leverage their assets for social good. Why do you think it’s important that companies prioritize social impact? Do you have any specific stories or examples from your work or colleagues you can share?
We can no longer afford to do well and not do good. Time’s up. That’s most directly seen in our lacking response to climate change but persistent societal inequities that are too often overlooked are also a direct link to our failing environment. COVID was a major setback for women’s rights and education and because of it, UNICEF estimates over 10 million more girls are at risk for becoming child brides in the next 10 years.
Impact investing is one of the clearest, most efficient ways to challenge systemic inequalities because like it or not, societal power is now held by the private sector. And data shows us impact-focused strategies are not concessionary.
My own social impact efforts are often geared towards the economic development of women. Why women? 90% of a woman’s income goes back to the community vs 40% of male income and globally, countries are losing $160 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between women and men.
The data is clear, women are better stewards of capital. So we must prioritize women across every chain of the workforce.
With regards to the impact economy, we must ensure women have equal access to education and resources that help keep them in the workforce, champion their economic independence.
If you could describe yourself in one word what would that be and why?
Relentless. I don’t believe in giving up on a good idea or when it’s simply the right thing to do.
Do you have any unique or useful life hacks to help get through your day?
Never start the day catching up on emails. Do something for yourself first. Workout, morning walk, meditation. I find exercising your body is the best way to clear your mind to make everyday a success.
Do you have any go-to apps or tools use love to use?
Besides Nav.it? I’m a quantified-self freak. I love Whoop, Mirror, and Aaptive for fitness. Duolingo to brush up on my Spanish and every reading app as I’m also an obsessive reader.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
Scaling Nav.it at Work! It’s be so exciting to see our new solution for the workforce be so well received and I’m really looking forward to expanding our partnerships with companies at the forefront of employee wellness and health.
Personally, I’m focused on caring for and sharing new adventures with my family and friends.