This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Morgan McMillan is the Executive Director of Pledge 1% Colorado. She was hired as the first E.D. (and paid staff) for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado (EFCO) in 2012. After partnering with Salesforce, Atlassian, and Rally for Impact in 2014 to launch the global Pledge 1% platform, the EFCO board decided to rebrand and expand to Pledge 1% Colorado to better align our work with the global movement.
Read the full interview below to learn more about Morgan’s experience and what inspires her to give to her community.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
I had been working in the nonprofit sector for a decade and observed the struggle to connect nonprofits with the startup community in a meaningful way. Often participating organizations from both sides of the aisle were left feeling dissatisfied from their interactions. EFCO sought to positively impact community nonprofits in a way that aligned with startup culture. Ryan Martens’ (founder of Rally Software) passion and vision for how startups could intentionally establish a culture of giving at the earliest stages was also really inspiring! You could really see how that commitment drew employees to Rally and sparked a deep loyalty to their company.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?
I respectfully acknowledge that my role is more on the periphery of technology companies so I can’t directly speak to the challenges women might face – but my experience working with Pledge 1% companies demonstrates an authentic desire by many tech companies to be inclusive of a broader workforce. Leadership matters. A company may have an HR department that values inclusion but if it isn’t shared broadly by the leadership team, the culture won’t reflect it. I’ve also seen the importance of establishing a network of support. Connecting and meeting regularly with other women in tech and the broader startup sector provides emotional support – but it’s also a great business strategy.
Q3: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
I’ve been a longtime volunteer with Intercambio Uniting Communities, a local organization that teaches English to adult immigrants and works to build cross cultural understanding.
Q4: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
I’ve mentored people formally and informally over the years. Sometimes that looks like advice or bouncing around ideas – and sometimes it means intentionally inviting a mentee to a meeting or a network gathering. Professionally and personally I’ve realized that so much of success depends upon strength of network and that too often our networks look just like us – ethnically, economically, education level, and sometimes gender. I look for opportunities to mentor and include people who aren’t currently ‘at the table’ to expand their network – and mine, too!
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
Your priorities shift at different times in your life. You do the best you can and try not to feel guilty about the things that get put on the backburner. (This was particularly poignant for me as I had two children after joining EFCO and while launching Pledge 1%.)
Q6: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
Work to maintain focus. You will be pulled in many directions. Listen, reflect, and filter out those that don’t align with your purpose. And enjoy all the new stuff you’re about to learn!
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News and one of TIME’s 100 “Innovators for the 21st century,” Linda Rottenberg is among the foremost experts on entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, and leadership. Dubbed the “Entrepreneur Whisperer,” Rottenberg has won acclaim for her pioneering work, with profiles in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Economist, and appearances on GMA, The Today Show, Morning Joe, and more. For years, Rottenberg was known as “La Chica Loca” (the crazy girl) for insisting that scalable entrepreneurs existed in emerging and growth markets.
As co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Rottenberg has led the global entrepreneurship movement for two decades. Headquartered in New York, with 50 offices worldwide, Endeavor rigorously selects, mentors, and co-invests in innovators with the greatest potential to grow their businesses and move the needle of their economies. Currently, the 1,500 Endeavor Entrepreneurs, screened from over 50,000 candidates, provide nearly 700,000 jobs and generate $10 billion in annual revenues. Today, Rottenberg also leads Endeavor Catalyst LP Funds I and II, rules-based funds that invest in Endeavor Entrepreneurs.
Rottenberg is the author of the New York Times bestseller, CRAZY IS A COMPLIMENT: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags. Additionally, Rottenberg serves on the boards of ZAYO (NYSE: ZAYO), the world’s leading bandwidth infrastructure group, and Olo, a premier online ordering platform. She is a member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and served on the entrepreneurship steering committee of the World Economic Forum.
A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Linda Rottenberg lives in Brooklyn with her husband, author and New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, and their identical twin daughters.
Read the full interview below to learn more.
What inspired you to work in this industry?
The idea for Endeavor was born—of all places—in the back of a Buenos Aires taxicab! My driver, I learned, had a PhD in Engineering, but could not find any other job. When I suggested that he become an entrepreneur, he looked at me dumbfounded—“A what?” he had never heard of the term, so foreign was the concept there of someone successfully launching and running a new venture, outside the purview of government cronies and private business tycoons. I did some digging and found that there was a pervasive donut hole in investment for entrepreneurs that neither qualified for microfinance nor private equity funding.
I connected with an old friend, Peter Kellner, and at my parents’ kitchen table we started mapping out our vision for an organization that would help for-profit entrepreneurs in emerging markets get started and go to scale. Twenty years later, that hazy vision is now a global network of over 1,400 entrepreneurs leading 900 companies that have collectively created half a million jobs and generated $8 billion in annual revenues.
Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
Endeavor is thrilled to be part of Pledge 1%’s Escrow UP initiative, alongside other great organizations working on entrepreneurship. Likewise, “paying it forward” is truly at the heart of Endeavor’s mission, and many of our entrepreneurs become Endeavor mentors or board members, multiplying their impact by inspiring future generations of founders within their local ecosystems and around the world to innovate and take risks.
Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
Yes. Running an organization “of, for, and by entrepreneurs,” I can’t presume to support and mentor high-impact companies if I’m not one myself! As such, at Endeavor we’re hyper-conscious to practice what we preach on thinking big, taking risks, doing the unexpected and disrupting the status quo. The idea behind Endeavor was always to nurture people with big ideas and big dreams, starting with my own team.
I want people to know that they don’t need a hoodie or a Silicon Valley zip code or a rolodex of impressive contacts to be an entrepreneur. The most important thing entrepreneurs can do for their businesses is to surround themselves with a circle of mentors who can offer a rotating mixture of tough love, wise counsel, fresh insight and clear direction. In a survey we conducted, our entrepreneurs overwhelmingly found that the most valuable contribution to their success was not financial investment but rather mentor capital. As one put it, “There’s lots of money out there, and it’s all worth the same. But there’s not a lot of good advice.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
The best piece of advice I ever received came from a 5 year old – my daughter! With sage wisdom, she pulled me aside just as I was leaving for a business trip to caution, “Remember, you can be an entrepreneur for a short time, but you’re a mommy forever.” Since that day, the business trips have lessened and thankfully so have the schoolings from my children!
What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
“Go big AND go home!” For years, I, like many others, had adopted the mantra “Go big OR go home,” a rallying cry I delivered to myself, to our entrepreneurs and to our staff. If we were to keep growing we had to keep pushing.
In 2004, I was pregnant with identical twin daughters but I was determined not to let this slow me down. I kept up my demanding work travel schedule, setting off for Mexico, Chile and South Africa, until my doctor had to impose a mandatory no-fly zone and three months of bedrest. It worked—the girls arrived, healthy and happy, at 38 weeks—and I walked away with a valuable lesson: to go forward, sometimes you have to take a step back; to go big, you have to go home.
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
The Upside Foundation of Canada enables Canadian startups to give back by donating equity to charities. Members of the Upside Foundation form a community of entrepreneurs across Canada, with opportunities for connection and collaboration with like-minded peers, investors and influencers.
The Upside Foundation is led by three co-founders, Janie Goldstein, Mark Skapinker, and Rob Antoniades, and one staff member, Jennifer Couldrey. Janie and Jen comprise the management duo for the organization.
Janie Goldstein is the Executive Director and has been working pro-bono for the Foundation since its inception. Janie leads the organization’s strategic direction and partnerships. Both Janie and Jen built their careers working for boutique consulting firms which were later acquired by Deloitte (different ones!). Janie’s background also includes technical marketing, Venture Capital, and independent business strategy consulting. Janie has spent considerable time working on philanthropic endeavours, including as current Chair of the Governance Committee of the Board of Directors of Bialik Hebrew Day School. She is the mother of three children in grades 6, 8 and 9, and proud that they are already committed to charitable giving. “I have lofty goals for Upside. I think we can get a high percentage of our startups pledging options and it could become the way we do business in Canada,” she said. “Ideally, philanthropy will become one of the many things that define Canadians and how we work. We’re making it easy for startups to share a small percentage of their upsides. Canada needs this.”
Jen Couldrey is the Foundation Manager of the Upside Foundation, and has been running the Foundation on a day-to-day basis since May 2016. As Foundation Manager she leads business development, member engagement, partnership management, and marketing & communications. Jen has focused her career on the intersection of business and social impact, having worked in Corporate Social Responsibility consulting, as well as with a Kenyan microenterprise focused on women’s economic empowerment and community health. “I have always believed in using business and entrepreneurship as tools to solve the world’s greatest challenges. It’s exciting to live in a world that is advancing so quickly and to be surrounded by the startups leading us into that future, but there are also consequences to innovation. I believe we have a responsibility to funnel some of that new wealth creation back into the community to ensure no one is left behind in the 21st century economy. I love that I have the opportunity to help this community make a huge positive impact for Canada.”
The Upside Foundation is the Canadian partner for the Pledge 1% movement, and is pleased to work closely with the dynamic team on this fast growing global movement.
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Kriss Deiglmeier is CEO of Tides, a philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator working with innovative partners to solve society’s toughest problems. Kriss has more than 20 years of senior executive experience that spans business, social enterprise, nonprofit, academic and philanthropic sectors. She is recognized as a pioneer in the field of social innovation and has presented nationally and internationally on social innovation, social entrepreneurship, design thinking and public-private partnerships as well as guest-lectured at universities around the world.
In 2016, Pledge 1% joined forces with Tides as a special initiative.
What inspired you to work in this industry?
I started in the corporate sector with a traditional business background. What moved me into social change work was, first, I wanted to do something with impact that pushed the boundaries around innovation. I also was really drawn to the people and performance side. I wanted to work with an organization that cared about people, impact and performance, in a field that tends to care about one or two of those things but not all three.
I also love messiness! I love working at the intersection of business, government and civil society. I’ve worked in a number of organizations that are at that nexus, because I feel like it pushes me – and all of us – to think differently. If you’re always working with the same folks who think like you, it just reinforces your thinking and doesn’t push you as much.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you in your career?
Find a great boss! Especially when you are starting your career, don’t get so caught up in what the company is, or what the job title is. When you’re taking a bold step in your career, it’s all about who your boss is. You’ve got to believe you can learn from them, and that they are a role model.
I had great bosses and mentors that wouldn’t micromanage, but they also wouldn’t let me go over a cliff. There’s a balance there – you want someone who will give you just the right amount of autonomy.
Do you serve as a mentor to women in your field?
I have served as both a formal and an informal mentor, and I have a strong preference for informal mentor relationships. I believe that every boss you have should be a mentor, and if you are a manager, you should be a mentor. When we come to work, it’s personal and professional. The best thing to do is find somebody who will commit to your development as an individual.
What’s the advice you’d give yourself 5 years ago?
As an older professional now, I don’t have mentors, I have networks of women that have my back and inspire me. In your younger career days you think about mentorship, but as you grow, what you really need are peers that can support you.
I wish someone had told me about 10 years ago to focus on building networks of support more consciously and earlier. I think it’s hard – you’ve got a family, you’ve got work, you’ve got kids. But in hindsight I wish I had had those support networks when I was younger – they could have helped with transitions differently. Mentorship is an older model – I think we should focus on networks that can provide emotional support.
What other thoughts do you want to share with women in the social sector?
I believe that women in social change fields are particularly suited to be successful. The field is messier, and change doesn’t happen in quarters – it takes time. By and large, it takes collaboration and deeper listening skills. Women leaders are inherently suited to take on those challenges.
As a field right now, hopefully we are learning the consequences of traditional male leadership. An “I know everything” leadership style will never work in the social change field.
My big takeaway from this past election is that we need to redefine what leadership looks like. We wholeheartedly need to embrace women leaders and a woman’s style of leadership. Sharing power, collaboration, integrity, listening is as important as being smart and doing the hard work. We still have only about 20% women in elected positions and on Fortune 500 boards. We are finally starting to get more women in CEO positions but we have a long way to go.
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Charlotte Creech is the CEO of Patriot Boot Camp. Read the full interview with Charlotte below to learn more about her experience and advice for women working in tech.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
My husband’s military service in the Air Force is initially what prompted me to start a tech company. Watching his disjointed and frustrating experience transitioning out of the military left me thinking there had to be a better way to connect and match veterans with the best fit higher education programs at scale. I partnered with a fellow MBA classmate who witnessed the same problem while serving in the Coast Guard, and together we launched a tech startup to build a solution. As non-technical founders trying to build a SaaS product, we were fortunate to be selected to attend Patriot Boot Camp, where we received world-class mentoring from the Techstars network to help us execute our vision.
Following my experience, I now have the privilege of working with other veteran and military spouse startup founders to help them launch and grow companies of scale and impact via Patriot Boot Camp’s program.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?
The best way to learn and succeed is by doing! It’s easy to be intimidated by “tech” when you don’t have a technical background, but anyone can learn and join in. You don’t need to be a software developer to break into the industry. Think of a topic you’re passionate about, find someone who’s building a scalable solution to address it, and get involved as an employee, mentor, volunteer, beta user, etc.
If your goal is to build your own solution, surround yourself with experienced mentors and advisors that have the skills and subject matter expertise you are lacking so you can learn from them and make informed decisions.
Q3: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
Yes, Patriot Boot Camp is a proud Pledge 1% member and partner. We also encourage our alumni to become members and incorporate philanthropy into their business model. We find that military & veteran entrepreneurs already have a strong commitment to give back and #givefirst. Pledge 1% makes it easy for them to do so!
Q4: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
In my current role, I view myself as more of a facilitator and network connector to stellar mentors than a direct mentor. However, I always look forward to working with founders and lending my experience and guidance when asked.
To me, mentorship is about helping others advance without expecting anything in return. I’m a big believer in the Mentor Manifesto created by David Cohen from Techstars.
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
I’ve been fortunate to benefit from the experience and coaching of many great mentors, but one piece of advice that continues to drive my decision-making is this: choose the one thing that you want to be the best at in the world and focus relentlessly on executing.
This was advice that Nicole Glaros from Techstars gave me to help redirect product development for my startup, but I find myself coming back to it in both professional and personal contexts. Time is limited and resources are scarce, so don’t waste your efforts focusing on things that don’t matter or on trying to be all things to all people. Take pride in doing one thing really well, and grow from there.
Q6: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
Plan less! Be focused and work hard, but don’t try to predict or architect the future. The beauty of life lies in the journey and there are many paths that lead to meaningful outcomes. Don’t waste time stressing out over trying to pick the right “one.”
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Stephanie Herrera is a Salesforce MVP who works at Spredfast as the Director of Salesforce and Business Operations. She got her start in Technology 19 years ago at Dell. After Dell she went on to work for a few startups as well as Apple. After Apple she focused 100% of her energy on the Salesforce Platform. Stephanie also has 3 Salesforce certifications. She lives and breathes Salesforce, so much so that in January of 2014 she founded, and continues to lead, the very first Salesforce Women in Tech chapter in Austin that now has chapters throughout the U.S. as well as globally. She also founded and has been leading Salesforce Saturday since March of 2015 that allows for work within the Salesforce platform to help grow individual skill sets within a team environment. The concept has spread throughout the community, producing several new chapters throughout the U.S., India and the Netherlands. Stephanie has also worked with Veterans and spouses of Veterans to help them get started in a career in Salesforce and has been a mentor within the Austin Partners in Education program for the last 3 and a half years. Stephanie provides mentoring to children, teens, and adults in both their personal and professional lives. As a result of her mentoring within the Saleforce Community and the Austin Community in general, she was rewarded as a finalist for Mentor of the Year at The Austin Under 40 Awards in 2016.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
I love the Salesforce industry, but stumbled upon it by accident and I am so glad I did! The platform itself allows me to combine both my problem solving and creative interests into one. It also allows anyone that works in its ecosystem so many opportunities. I haven’t had to go “looking” for a job since 2011 when I left Apple to start my Salesforce Admin career back up! The community is like a family and we actually like to refer to ourselves as “Ohana”. Technology is constantly changing, and you have to work to keep up with it. With the Salesforce community, it makes this easier to do and the community is invested in helping you succeed! My community is what BUILT ME! SO, the community is what inspires me to continue to work within this industry.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech?
Go for it! There is no better time in history than now to be forging a career in tech as a woman! When I first started working in tech 19 years ago at Dell, I didn’t even know how to turn on a computer, much less use it! I didn’t let that stop me, I knew I was capable of learning and that’s just what I did, and I’m so happy I did! The people I met in tech are not only directly responsible for the success I have experienced, but they have become some of my closest friends and have provided some of my fondest memories in life. You don’t have to have a Computer Science degree to get into tech. I only have a semester and a half of college and it was for a Business degree. I’d also like to think tech is more inclusive now than it was 19 years ago, and I don’t regret for a second having made this move. IF more women don’t get into the world of tech, then how will we ever close that gap? You have nothing to lose and so much to gain! More and more women are taking the reins and leading the way, so that more women can transition into tech easier. I’ve been so fortunate to meet and know some of these women, and I’m blown away by how dedicated they are, to paving the way for women in tech. Don’t let their hard work go to waste!
Q3: Any advice on how they can build their career?
It starts and ends with your network, which should be made up of family, friends and co-workers. These are the people that will help develop you and let you know of future opportunities for professional growth! Add them all to your LinkedIn network, and make sure you keep your LinkedIn profile up to date with at least all of your previous roles and responsibilities. Also, Be RESOURCEFUL! Find a community of like-minded people who do what you want to do. People really do want to share their knowledge on how to succeed in their fields. Ask questions, lots of questions and then apply the advice and do the work! Then when someone asks questions of you, pass the knowledge on as well! Keep paying it forward, it will come back to you tenfold! From within this community find a Mentor. Also find a champion where you work. Also, Always Be Learning! Take any opportunity to expand your knowledge. Read as often as you can, whether its online articles or books, just Keep Learning! For example, if you don’t know the difference between a Mentor and Champion, google it. There is a difference! If you invest in your network, your community and your continuous education you will succeed! Again, make sure you are updating your LinkedIn and other social media channels you are using for your personal brand. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, google it, be resourceful! Go in search of answers, don’t wait for someone to give them to you. IF you do all of this, your network will start to pay off for you in more ways than one!
Q4: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
In my local community I work with Cloud Co-OP and the Merivis Foundation. Merivis and Cloud-Coop both help military vets transition into a career in technology by training them on the skill set needed to get a job in the Salesforce ecosystem and by either hiring them to work for them or helping them find job placement. I’ve also started working with PepUpTech.org, which is an organization that is dedicated to enabling community based organizations to offer computer science and technology programs to underrepresented people! Also, Spredfast gives back to our local communities and encourages its employees to do the same. We have the hashtag #BeNiceAndSocial to help promote the spirit of giving!
Q5: Do you serve as a mentor?
Yes! Mentoring is my world, and this too happened by accident. My first “mentor” type role happened when I worked at Dell as a Sales Coach, and it was something that just came very naturally that I really enjoyed. I founded and lead the first Salesforce Women In Tech chapter here in Austin in January of 2014, and have been leading it since and we meet every single month. I also founded and lead Salesforce Saturday here in Austin and have been doing so since March of 2015 and we meet EVERY Saturday. With both groups I serve as a mentor, along with other amazing mentors in the community, that helps them not only build their skills but also helps them grow professionally in their careers based on our experiences in tech and the advice we’ve received from our mentors. I’ve also been working with http://www.
Q6: What does mentorship mean to you?
Wow, I could write a novel about this question, but I won’t. I’ll do my best to keep it simple. Mentorship changes lives for both the mentee and the mentor! If you can contribute to the success of another, why not do so? We change the world, one person at a time, and one of the most effective ways of doing this is through mentorship. As mentors, we teach others how to help others and through mentoring, we make the world not only a better place, but a more informed place. When we can make someone else’s life a little better, they will pay it forward and society as a whole benefits!
Q7: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
Career like a Man and don’t allow yourself to be Intimidated! The BEST career advice was something I read back in 2011 (It was an article on LinkedIn) about the differences between men and women when it came to applying for a job. Men will apply for a job that they are only somewhat qualified for, whereas women will only apply for jobs they are 100% qualified for. Now this is common knowledge, back then, it wasn’t. Men take the risk and will rise to the occasion even when they may not be qualified for the role. It was a defining moment for me! I was tired of working 2 jobs, 7 days a week! It was at that moment, that I decided I was going to be more like a man, and start applying for jobs I wasn’t 100% qualified for, and it worked! The AVP of Legal Solutions that hired me as a Salesfore Admin, Scott Zimmerman, made the comment that “Stephanie WAY oversold her advanced excel skills, but EVERYTHING else she brought to the table was worth it!” He was right, the job called for experience with Pivot Tables, Ad Hoc Reporting and V-lookups, all of which I had no idea what they were at the time, much less how to do them, but I knew I could LEARN them, because people in my network told me I could. In the past, I allowed myself to be intimidated with what I “thought” was a lack of experience and expertise. Once I let go of that, I was finally able to fully reach my potential! This was the last time I went “looking” for a job and ever since then, the roles have come to me! ANY new role you take on, you are going to have to LEARN the ins and outs of it. As a matter of fact, the next role I went to, I was sought out by Neil Garrett the Director of Analytics at the time, again as a Salesforce Admin. He told me “You’ve brought more to the role than I knew we needed.” So, don’t sell yourself short, you have more to offer than you may even realize!
Q8: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
I would have told myself to have been fearless SOONER! To not doubt myself as much as I did, and to follow my instincts more. I also wished I had realized sooner, that you don’t have to be an “expert” to take that next step in your career or to help people! You just have to have the passion to learn and share what you’ve learned. For this reason, this has become one of my favorite driving quotes in my life: “It’s not where you’re from; it’s where you’re going. It’s not what you drive; it’s what drives you. It’s not what’s on you; it’s what’s in you. It’s not what you think; it’s what you know.” ~ anonymous
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Anutthara Bharadwaj is a Group Product Manager at Atlassian. Read the full interview below to learn more about Anu’s career journey and what inspires her to lead.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
I have always been interested in technology – from writing games as a 11 year old on my first PC to getting patents for technological innovations at Microsoft. The best thing about this industry is having the chance to touch the lives of millions of users through something I can create.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?
We are on the cusp of several technological innovations that have the potential to revolutionize human life as we know it. Some of the biggest problems of our time – climate change, energy equality, health care, all have solutions rooted in technology. There’s never been a better time to work in technology. Don’t let anything discourage you from your chance at shaping the future of the planet.
Q3: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
Atlassian is a founding member of Pledge 1% and the culture of giving is inherent among Atlassians. I am on the board of a non-profit org, Global Sisters, that we support via the Atlassian Foundation. I’ve had the good fortune of being able to take a sabbatical last year to work on wildlife conservation projects in Africa and community development projects in India. Over the years, I’ve been able to donate money to causes I am passionate about, but the chance to spend an intense period of time on those causes was more fulfilling and enlightening than I had imagined.
Q4: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
Yes, over the last decade, I’ve had the opportunity to mentor over a 100 people, from various arenas – colleagues, ex-reports, entrepreneurs, students. I’ve had the good fortune of having great mentors throughout my career and mentoring is my way of paying it forward.
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
The best advice I’ve received is to not be afraid of failing. Contrary to what you’d expect, in the tech industry, it is encouraged to fail fast. Thanks to the fast pace of technology, the more number of things you try in a shorter amount of time, the likelier it is that you succeed. To do that, you have to be willing to fail. And learn from those failures. I’ve learned this from experience several times during my career.
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Elise oversees internal and external training initiatives, certification, enterprise education and global program development at MediaMath through the New Marketing Institute (NMI) where she leads a global team of 29, touching 16 different countries. She joined MediaMath in January of 2012, bringing with her 15 years of experience managing, facilitating and building targeted training programs from the ground up. She launched NMI shortly thereafter – in Q2 of 2012. In the 4 years since launch, she’s led the charge in building a team of training professionals who share in her passion for educating and empowering the new generation of marketing professionals.
Successfully transitioning from the financial sector as a global trainer at Thomson Financial (Thomson Reuters), Elise started out her digital marketing career at Right Media (acquired by Yahoo) where she transformed their internal training program and founded Right Media University for the Sales, Operations and Technical Support Teams. By ensuring training curriculum aligned with the overall strategy she was able to directly impact company culture by driving individual, team and organizational performance. Elise continued her career at Macys.com within the e-commerce division, facilitating and developing curriculum for the New York employees focusing on merchant, marketing, platform and leadership skill development across the organization. By identifying department specific and business needs Elise was able to directly contribute to the corporate vision, ensuring high performance.
Elise maintains a strong presence on the board of prominent industry and L&D organizations such as the IAB and ATD. She holds a seat on the IAB Board and is also part of the IAB Digital Leadership Program, which helps foster growth for the next generation of digital marketing and advertising executives. She has also joined the Association for Talent Development (ATD) as a member of the ATD Forum Advisory Group, helping to shape forum activities through thought leadership and collaboration.
Elise holds a B.A., in Communications, PR & Advertising along with a M.S., in Instructional Leadership and Business Communications from Robert Morris University. Elise resides in Bergen County New Jersey with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, going to concerts, playing basketball, watching sports, mentoring and providing career development coaching to former and current student-athletes who are making a transition into the corporate world.
This profile is published as part of Pledge 1%’s Women Who Lead series, which celebrates women in the Pledge 1% community who are creating change within their workplace and communities.
Jen Consalvo is the Cofounder and COO of TechCo Media, a content, news, and events organization focused on better connecting and educating entrepreneurs, and amplifying startup communities everywhere. Started as a grassroots event to connect local communities, Tech.Co now has millions of global readers, works with industry leading brands, and is the go-to place for tech startups and enthusiasts. She is also a startup investor and advisor, and a founding member of NextGen Angels.
Prior to Tech.Co, Consalvo led product development teams in a range of product areas such as digital imaging, community & social platforms and personalization. Much of her career was at AOL, planning and building products used by millions of people globally. Her deep network across the global technology community enabled her to introduce many entrepreneurs to AOL resulting in interesting new relationships and in some cases, multi-million dollar acquisitions. The most enjoyable part of her role was working together to find areas of potential partnership with these young companies.
Jen serves on the digital advisory board for The Nature Conservancy and for the Master of Arts in Media Entrepreneurship program at American University.
Jen was nominated by Nevada’s TBAN for 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year, listed by Business Insider in their 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter, named a 2013 and 2011 Tech Titan by Washingtonian Magazine, was featured in DC Modern Luxury Magazine in “The Smart Set”, in the Washington Post cover story “Digital Nomads Choose Their Tribes” and also in the Huffington Post story “What is Work? Cutting Yourself Free With Heart“. Over the past few years, Jen’s products have been featured in such places as WashingtonPost, TechCrunch, CNET, Mashable and more.
To learn more about Jen’s experience and advice for women in teach, read the full interview below.
Q1: What inspired you to work in this industry?
I worked at AOL for about 13 years. When I first started there in 2006, it was already a pretty big place, but it still had many startup-like qualities to it, so I knew what it felt like to create new products and be at the forefront of an industry. During my last few years there, I was spending a lot of time in our Silicon Valley office evaluating startups and connecting with the startup and investor community. It really energized me and got me excited to figure out how I could take all of my years of experience building products and partnerships at AOL and apply it to the efforts Frank had started around his side project, Tech Cocktail (now TechCo Media), which had a mission to provide community, content, connections and resources to startups around the country. I loved working with the startup community. To me, there’s nothing more important than people taking their unique ideas and talents and bringing them to the world. More people need to be encouraged and supported in these endeavors, so that’s what we do.
Q2: What would you tell women who are looking to work in tech? Any advice on how they can build their career?
If you’re a computer engineer, start building your network and support community early. While everyone should have a support community, I think female engineers can especially benefit from building that professional network and sharing experiences. And if you don’t have a technical background but want to work in tech, don’t be intimidated by any aspect of the tech world. There is nothing you can’t pick up or learn by asking questions. I know so many men who have jumped into the tech world, and even founded companies, who had no technical background at all. So don’t ever feel limited by a lack of technical knowledge.
Sadly, when I first started coding, I was actually surprised that I was able to do it! Not that the work was always easy, but it was a huge realization for me that coding wasn’t as mysterious and scary as I had built up in my mind. I would also remind women that there are many different roles in the tech world that have nothing to do with coding. You can be a designer, project manager, product manager, marketing person, lawyer, etc within the tech space. Or a startup founder! At AOL, I quickly decided I didn’t want to focus my career around coding, and preferred product management, which opened up a whole new creative world for me, and led me into business, management, and leadership roles.
Q3: Is your company a Pledge 1% member or do you personally give back to your community? If so, how do you give and to what cause?
Yes, TechCo Media took the Pledge this year and we’re excited to create new ways to give back to our community. In the past we’ve hosted social events and festivals that incorporated various charities that focused on the digital divide or teaching entrepreneurship to kids.
Q4: Do you serve as a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you?
My mentorship has typically been informal, but over the years I’ve advised dozens of founders and women in tech. I’ve always been willing to sit down for coffee or jump on the phone to talk to people about their careers. I think it’s because I’ve been so fortunate to have had terrific mentors and advisors who have always made time for me.
Q5: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received to help you with your career?
Don’t let anyone disregard you. Stand up tall, speak with conviction and know that you have something valuable to offer. Learn as much as you can and make sure that at the same time you’re building your confidence. Don’t wait until you know it all to move to the next level – learn along the way and cultivate an attitude of career learning.
Q6: What’s the one piece of advice you would give to yourself 5 years ago?
Don’t be afraid to be disliked. At various times in my career, I’ve been told to smile more and be less direct. That was bad advice! As a leader and manager, it’s critical that you get very clear about your needs and communicate them. That doesn’t mean to be rude or insensitive. It just means that it’s important to make sure people understand what you need and know that you mean business.