Forty Over 40

Forty Women to Watch Over 40

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 10Qs for Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls Code (BGC)

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls Code (BGC), a non-profit dedicated to teaching girls of color coding skills.

1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?

The pivotal moment of reinvention for me occurred in March 2011 while attending a Berkeley Women Entrepreneurs Conference. During a session with some of the top female founders of Indiegogo, BlogHer and others a discussion question arose from the attendees around the lack of women in the technology field. Many of the observations from the attendees revolved around the lack of available women in the resource pool and the dwindling pipeline of women and women of color in STEM fields such as technology. I realized at this moment if this problem were to be solved I must personally do something about it.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

I’ve had many informal mentors throughout my career both before I started on my non-profit organization. I would say more so than anything there are certainly some very inspiring role models that I look up to for inspiration as I build my business, some of whom I’ve received advice from along my journey. These include women such Kathryn Finney of Digital Undivided, Telle Whitney of Anita Borg Institute, and Kelly Hoey of Women Innovate Mobile.

3. What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest goal is to create a sustainable business model for my non-profit organization, Black Girls CODE, which will allow us to continue to grow and reach girls around the world. Our goal is to reach 1 million girls by the year 2040 and to see our program teach girls around the world to code.

4. What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning.

I am NOT a morning person. I tend to wake up between 8-9am if I don’t have early meetings or calls on the east coast. I tend to start my morning with meditation or prayer and a review of my goals for the day. If I’m feeling cheeky I try to catch one of the morning shows with a cup of coffee, then I’m ready to go conquer the world!

5. How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

My release is music. I played three instruments as a kid, drums, piano, and saxophone and I love jazz, r&b, and classical music. When I really want to relax or when I’m in deep concentration mode on a major project I put on my headphones and listen to a favorite playlist.

6. What challenge / achievement are you most proud of?

20+ years later I’m most proud of graduating from Vanderbilt University School of Engineering with my BS in Electrical Engineering. The four years I spent in undergrad as one of only a handful of women in the school of engineering were some of the most difficult and challenging years of my life. It took an incredible amount of grit and determination and a healthy dose of prayer to navigate the difficult waters of being a female in a non-diverse field dominated by men. I still remember walking across the stage to receive my diploma vividly and it was truly a euphoric experience for me.

7. What was the last business book you read?

The last “business” book I read was David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. Many of the scenarios in the book resonated with me as a small startup founder building a global business against sometimes much greater odds. It’s shown me that with skill and strategy, even David’s can conquer a giant.

8. What cause do you most want to advance?

I am most passionate about increasing the number of women and girls of color in the field of technology. I am dedicated to “changing the face of technology” and seeding the tech pipeline with the girls from the younger generation who will be come to tech leaders and creators of the future.

9. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Follow your passion. Do what you love and love what you do.

10. What is your secret indulgence?

A good pair of pumps (preferably Jimmy Choos). I’m a recovering shoe-holic. I truly love to buy shoes and love a good quality pair of heels any day over a pair of sneakers.

Check out Kimberly Bryant’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!

 

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 10Qs for Beezer Clarkson

Welcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director at Sapphire Ventures, a venture capital firm that specializes in helping innovative technology companies become global category-defining leaders.

1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?

I have always wanted to help change the world for the better. I have reinvented my career multiple times from investment banking to management consulting to working in Silicon Valley at a global technology firm to venture capital exploring different aspects of how to help create positive change.  Along the way I have also welcomed the unconventional in my career, which reflected my desire to take on new challenges, explore alternative answers to existing problems and work at the intersection of different, discrete disciplines.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

My husband

3. What is your biggest goal right now?

Building my firm, SAP Ventures, so that we can invest in and support entrepreneurs globally.

4. How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

My first job was a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York City. I got it by applying through the career center at my university, Wesleyan University along with great coaching from folks there and my fantastic, older sister. I knew after that I wanted to move out to San Francisco and be a strategy consultant so applied to a few select firms and moved west.

5. How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time? 

Very very lucky. I was living in my favorite city, San Francisco, with my then boyfriend, now husband, surrounded by friends and working at a job with a great mentor.

6. How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

One of my favorite ways to unplug is to be silly with my son, who is 6, and husband. Another favorite way is to go scuba diving. My son’s favorite time to be silly is just before bedtime naturally. Finding time to go scuba diving is far more challenging.

7. What’s the best networking contact you’ve made? How did you make it?

In 1999 I had the great fortune of being an intern for Ellen Levy who ran corporate development at a startup that made a handheld reader, a precursor of sorts to the iPad or Kindle before going on to become an advisor and executive at LinkedIn. Knowing Ellen changed the course of my career and arguably my life. She gave me a shot – giving me my first technology job in Silicon Valley when I didn’t know a microchip from a paperclip. She has had my back for the last 15 years introducing me to amazing people who have helped me, advanced my career and have become great friends.

8. What was the last business book you read? 

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

9. What is your “keep me going” quote?

“What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?”

10. What is your secret indulgence? 

Finding cool eyeglasses

Check out Beezer Clarkson’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 11Qs with Sue Chen

suechenWelcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Sue Chen, Founder and Chief Executive Officier at Nova Medical Products, diver and shark conservationist.

1)  What was a pivotal moment of reinvention for you?

The pivotal moment of reinvention for me was when I hit a bottom in my life – both personally and professionally. At 36, I was engaged, in love and an invincible CEO.  One year later, I was in a miserable marriage, feeling like the most vulnerable CEO on the planet and on the brink…of what? – I don’t know. But I was now living in a bottomless pain and darkness I had never known. My epiphany in this place was that I owned my emotional bucket.  The same place that inspired love and passion was the the place where now lived pain and resentment.  So, there was the hope. It was the same place. The same bucket where I could rediscover and reignite the love and passion that once thrived in my bucket. How? With the most powerful source to everyone’s bucket – meaningful connections. I connected with my customers, my mission, my family, my friends, my employees, my planet – and that reconnected me back to my loves, passion and myself.

2)  Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?

My mother.  She is my one woman cheerleading squad who has supported and mentored me my entire life and continues to. No one comes close. And, if you asked my mother this question, she would also say without hesitation, her mother. I’ve had crazy ideas and big project plans since I can remember. As long as I had a plan and passion, my mother supported the “crazy” ideas and projects regardless of any cultural anchors or barriers that may define a Taiwanese girl or Taiwanese woman. And that means I did many firsts as a Taiwanese girl and woman, from being President of my High School class to producing a documentary to being the first woman Membership Chair of my YPO Chapter. As a 43 year old woman, I know I am here today because of three women – my mother and my two grandmothers. They indeed paved a path that gave me infinite opportunities.

3)  What is your biggest goal right now?

My biggest goal right now is to transform and save the Home Medical Equipment industry, which has been stagnant and declining for decades with very little product innovation, the highest dissatisfaction rates of any healthcare products and moral spiraling down to an eminent bottom. A symbol of this is the grey walker with tennis balls. That walker was developed in 1965 and dirty tennis balls never meant for walkers. The dysfunctional distribution of medical equipment and that lack of innovation and has been controlled and fueled by drastic Medicare cuts and regulations forcing thousands of independent Home Medical Equipment (HME) providers out of business and the remaining paralyzed about their uncertain future. I am not just transforming and disrupting my industry, but imploding and exploding it.  I am giving the entire product segment and dealer channel a180 degree turn and doing much more than making great products and saving an industry, but changing the cultural negative stigma towards people with physical challenges and physical differences.  In the past 20 years, I have been making beautiful, sexy, stylish and empowering medical equipment.  That’s right!  Canes in gorgeous prints and styles trending from classics to runway, walkers that are so turbo and “bling-ed out” they turn heads with their leopard seats, colors, brakes, lights, cup holder and designer bags.  And, it’s not just the hot products, but our campaigns and missions that fuel everything we do including the Lose the Tennis Balls campaign, Bathroom Safety fall prevention challenge and Mobility Makeovers.  To save and reposition the dealers, I created a program called HME180 that takes the dealer from a Medicare/insurance business model to consumer direct retail – and it is working.  We have hundreds of independent dealers and pharmacies that have embrace the new opportunities in consumer healthcare retail and most of all, loving their business and mission again.  That mission is the greater good that we all share to improve the lives of millions of Americans.

4)  How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

I grew up in Davie, FL – a small country town in south Florida. Even though we were the only Taiwanese family in own town, like all small towns there is a Chinese Restaurant.  Even though we never ate there, I had good feeling I could get a job there…supply and demand.  So, I when I turned 14 and showed up at our town’s Chinese Restaurant, the New Canton Chinese Restaurant, requesting a job, I was hired on the spot to be the Hostess and Take Out Girl. I loved interacting with the customers and realized the value of customer engagement and service. I happily and enthusiastically engaged with every customer except one…and that one was the person I most idolized in my life at that time.  I was the # 1 Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins Quarterback) fan and when he came in to pick up his take out order I had so much to say, but completely clammed up and experienced Lock Jaw…and couldn’t say one word.

Second job?  Yep, Chinese restaurant again, but now as a waitress.  I waitressed throughout high school and college and that really taught me the value of exceptional customer service.  And, still hoping have that conversation with Dan Marino…

5)  How do you unplug? How often do you unplug?

I unplug by becoming a Marine Biologist and Conductor of an Orchestra…well, kind of.  I have always loved ocean life and classical music and these loves and passions have become a very active, dynamic and meaningful part of my life. Though I am not a Marine Biologist, I am an avid diver, ocean and shark conservationist, underwater photographer and very connected with the ocean world. Though I am not a Conductor of an Orchestra, I am a classical music aficionado, student and super appreciator of the music, artists and composers. And I do have my own baton…just in case! Immersing myself in these two incredible worlds of beauty and sound allow me to refuel, recover, recharge and reinvent with clarity, new perspectives and I unplug in a powerful way.

6)  What’s the best networking contact you’ve made? How did you make it?

The best networking contact I’ve made was with Sir Richard Branson. He was kind enough to come out for the Operation Blue Pride shark expedition. Sir Branson is a tremendous leader and advocate for our oceans and sharks, but had never dove with sharks before. I was his dive buddy for his first shark dive where we encountered dozens of sharks including Emma – the famous Tiger Shark. What an incredible experience. We both experienced the beauty and true gentle nature of sharks. During this trip I learned so much from Sir Richard Branson. I learned about graciousness, courage, adventure and about LISTS. As I was making my TO DO list for my new mission and organization – Operation Blue Pride — and feeling a bit overwhelmed, he said, “Keep on those lists. I make lists for all of my ventures. You make lists and cross things off. Keep making lists and crossing things off until you’ve got something good.”

7)  What cause do you most want to advance?

The cause I most want to advance is to improve the lives of millions of Americans who are facing the greatest fear of aging – loss of independence. All people want to remain active and independent on their own terms and in their own homes.  Yet, falls are the 5th leading cause of death for Americans over 65 with 1 in 3 people over 65 falling every year. Most of these falls can be prevented with information, education and some basic products.  I have become a certified instructor in Fall Prevention and Mobility Optimization so I can educate healthcare providers and consumers and do so in a way that creates a movement and mission.  One of the ways I define success for me is to move that stat – Falls are the 5th leading cause of death for Americans over 65 – out of the top ten.  This is one painful healthcare epidemic we can cure.

8)  What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

Just a few months after I started my company, a family friend and great entrepreneur Chris Schmid said to me, “If you’re going to do something big, be sure to have partners. Real partners…because with partners, the good times are so much better and the bad times not as bad.”   The joy of sharing the highs and comfort in facing the lows has kept my company going, surviving and thriving for 21 years.

10) What is your secret indulgence?

My secret indulgence is playing on my Bosendorfer Grand piano.  I do not deserve such a great piano and sometimes I feel my Bosendorfer deserves a better pianist and one that can perform for others.  A failed piano competition when I was 14 left me with piano performance anxiety and I still struggle playing in front of others.  So, I play and indulge with my beautiful Bosendorfer Grand secretly and happily.

11)  Who on the list of 2013 Honorees would you like to meet?  Paola Gianturco

Check out Sue’s full 40 Over 40 profile here!

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 8Qs for Sally Bergesen, CEO of Oiselle

sallybergesenWelcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This week’s Q & A is with Sally Bergesen, CEO and Founder of Oiselle, a designer and manufacturer of women’s running clothes that fit, flatter and perform.

1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?
When I picked up running, I put down a lot of unhealthy behavior. And while it didn’t immediately lead me to my calling — becoming a designer and CEO of an apparel business — it put me on the path. In many ways running IS a pivotal moment of reinvention. It’s a pure act of physical and emotional effort that has the power to permeate all of life.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor?
That would have to be my first design agency boss, Ted Leonhardt. Long ago, I was hired to be his assistant. But fortunately for me, he didn’t want a traditional assistant – and I didn’t want to be one! I was ambitious, and wanted to do big things in brand strategy and design, but I also had zero experience. I will always be grateful for the fact that he said yes and didn’t box me in.

3. What is one thing that most matters to you professionally?
Design excellence, industry innovation, community building. Okay that’s three! Obsessive product quality will always be Oiselle’s top goal. But pushing for positive change for pro women athletes in an industry that is at times exploitative is also right up there. And continuing to connect with, and be inspired by, our friends, family, and customers always fuels what we do.

4. How did you get your first and second jobs?
First big job: after realizing I would suffer “death by a thousand paper cuts” if I became a lawyer, I flailed around – and just happened to find my dream job and industry in design. I now think flailing is the prelude to discovery. My second job was quitting the first – and going out on my own. It was 2001, and immediately after leaving my secure job, we also bought a house and then 9/11 happened. Making my first business successful during terrible economic conditions forced me to become resilient and scrappy – and actually set me up to handle the 2008 decline.

5. How do you unplug?
The plugs are gone. It’s very difficult. I am the first to admit I have a smartphone addiction. But more and more I try to be thoughtful about context…it’s fine to work the phone when you’re in line at the post office, but out to dinner with friends? Not so much. Running is the best solution of all. I’m a purist in that I prefer to run without a phone, music, and many times. even a watch. Just run and move and be completely free. That sentiment is actually the meaning behind Oiselle…French for bird, it’s about that precious time of freedom, the feeling of flight.

6. What was the last business book you read?
I read David & Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I bought it because we were dueling with a large competitor in our industry, and I really relished the message. One of the points that stuck with me is that a common characteristics of innovators (i.e., Davids that unseat Goliaths) is that they’re not overly concerned with being agreeable. In other words, “let’s just make nice” and be a pleaser is fine in some instances, but if there are things you really want to change, you have to be willing to provoke — even if it’s just provoking people to take a closer look at the issues.

7. What cause do you most want to advance?
We have a partnership with Every Mother Counts, founded by Christy Turlington Burns. It’s a maternal health advocacy group that works to improve pregnancy and childbirth for all women. Improving the health of women, plain and simple, improves the health of the world. Women equals families equals future generations. It’s been an honor to join with them — and spread the message through running, which is a very apt metaphor for what stands between women and good healthcare. In many parts of the world, women have to walk up to 3 miles to get the medical support they need to stay alive themselves, and deliver healthy babies.

8. Who do I want to meet from the list? Alissa Johnson of the White House – just to talk to someone in such a unique world; and Katie Orenstein of the Op Ed Project…hello? When I was reading the list, I spotted her…we went to high school together! Let’s hear it for Berkeley High, Class of ’86.

You can follow Sally on Twitter at @oiselle_sally or on Tumblr at @sallybergesen.

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Forty Over 40 Asks: 10Qs with Erin Newkirk, Founder of Red Stamp

erinnewkirkWelcome to the Forty Over 40 blog. Every week we spotlight one of our honorees and their thoughts on reinvention, mentorship and momentum…plus a peek into what makes them tick.

This weeks Q & A is with Erin Newkirk, Founder and General Manager of  Red Stamp, a Digital and Paper Correspondence company that allows you to send stylish invitations, gracious thank you notes, heart-warming photo cards + more from your phone or on the web.

1. What was a pivotal momentum of reinvention for you?

Realizing it’s not only ok to be different, it’s vital. If people don’t think what you are doing is risky, you will fail.

2. Who has been a valuable mentor or sponsor? 

I cringe at this question because my list is looooong. So, I think I might have to bend the question a bit and list two people who I simply couldn’t have made this list without Joanne Wilson and Riley McCormack. As one of last year’s honoree + all around superstar, Joanne needs no introduction. Not only is she a dazzling connector with a brilliant gut, she has a very kind heart. I am so grateful. The second, Riley, is my lifelong friend + sounding board. He is also my brother + business partner. Without his vision, straight talk and support, I would probably still be hanging my hat in Corporate America.

3. What is your biggest goal right now?

Paying it forward and back. We were acquired almost one year ago and have been working hard to realize the vision of Red Stamp. Spoiler alert :: there is a lot of exciting stuff happening in our world of #FabulouslySocial this year!

4. How did you get your first job? How did you jump to your second job?

Networking. I didn’t know anyone in the town I moved to after graduation, so I reached out to my sorority and they connected me with the regional manager at Kaplan Educational Centers. We hit it off, she took a chance on me + in return I worked like crazy to help her grow our region’s sales by +15% which led to all kinds of opportunities within the organization. I was a regional marketing director of a multi-million dollar region within 18 months.

5. What time do you typically wake up? What do you do every morning?

Most days, I wake up at 7:05am – my alarm is set just after 7 so I don’t tap snooze. I get up, drink about a pot of coffee with skim milk, hang/prep/eat breakfast with my son before he heads off to school, take my pup for a quick walk, and then roll up my sleeves and get to work.

6. How did you feel on your 30th birthday? What were you doing at that time? 

Having a dinner party with my closest friends. Drinking wine, eating good food, supporting a local business, and laughing non-stop – pretty much my dream scene.

7. What was the last business book you read?

Thrive. The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating A Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. By, Arianna Huffington

8. What cause do you most want to advance?

Over the past year, I’ve become pretty involved with Share our Strength // No Kid Hungry. 1 in 5 kids in America struggle with hunger. How can a country with so much still have pockets with so little?

9. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?

You only have to succeed more times than you fail.

10. What is your “keep me going” quote?

“There is no such thing as failure. Only market fit.”

You can follow Erin on Twitter at @erinnewkirk and see her full 40 Over 40 profile here.