Let’s talk about media, college, and the entrepreneur. When you hear college, media, and startup, you probably think of Facebook. Well, today’s special guest is also a Harvard startup alum who shook up the world of college media catering specifically to female students. She was in her senior year at Harvard when she co-founded and launched HerCampus.com

Stephanie Kaplan Lewis is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Her Campus. Her Campus is the #1 New Media brand for female college students, and a 360 degree college marketing agency. Her Campus reaches over 35 million users monthly across the Her Campus media network, and Her Campus marketing clients include H&M, Ikea, Vera Bradley, and many, many more.

Join us for a fantastic discussion on calculated risks, first time challenges, and startup success! Stay tuned to learn more about Stephanie’s journey, the Her Campus community, and going from being a full-time student to a full-time CEO.

In This Episode

• Stephanie’s Story and Her Campus
• Launching a Startup
• Backup Plans and Calculated Risks
• Challenges
• Working Relationships

Quotes in This Episode

“I think there's always a question of whether entrepreneurs are kind of risk averse or risk loving or somewhere in the middle. And for us, no question that pursuing our own business was more risky than going a very traditional path.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

“I think there are a lot of benefits to being a young first time entrepreneur, but there are also just so many gaps that you have in terms of pure knowledge and skills and it's really helpful to have mentors and advisors that you can lean on to help fill in those holes.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

“I think vacation is a relative term when it's your own business. So, we're never truly unplugged.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

“We were college students coming out of a liberal arts undergraduate, and we had never worked full time in the real world. And, we've completely bootstrapped the company, as well. So, we've opted not to raise money, and we've funded it entirely through our revenues, and we've been profitable since we launched.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

“I really never growing up saw myself as someone in business, let alone as an entrepreneur. I always thought I was going to be a writer or an editor or a journalist when I grew up. So it's been really interesting to see I guess the evolution of what I'm interested in and what I find fulfilling and meaningful to do in my work day to day.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

“ And I think there's a big misconception out there that you're going to have this overnight success, and you're going to go from nothing to this huge company so fast. And then you're going to sell your business for tons of money or whatever it may be. But really, it's a really long road. It's really hard work. It's sprinkled with some really fun, exciting times, no question. But most of the time you are just slogging through for what feels like an endless stretch of time.” —Stephanie Kaplan Lewis

Resources

Stephanie’s LinkedIn and Twitter

Her Campus Website

Stephanie’s Book: The Her Campus Guide to College Life

Today we are talking tech and delving deeper into augmented, virtual, and mixed reality in the personal and professional spaces. This promises to be an enlightening episode, especially if you are a smaller business interested in immersive experiences. What do you need to know? We are answering all the questions you never knew you had!

Guiding us through this topic is VRare Founder, Reekita Gala. VRare is an AR, VR, and MR development and education service business. VRare is known for merging real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations. While technology is often vilified for isolating individuals or hindering interpersonal connection, Reekita’s journey sheds light on the ability of advancing technologies to bring people together. We are excited to have Reekita with us today!

Stay tuned to learn about the magical qualities of AR and VR, as well as what virtual tech can provide your business. Reekita breaks down how she founded a tech-forward business after becoming a mother and why you shouldn’t be scared of VR either!

In This Episode

• AR, VR, MR, What Does It All Mean?
• What’s Out There Now, What’s Coming?
• Getting Your Customers on Board
• Seeing the Writing on the Wall and Staying Current
• Learning from the Experts
• VRare and Pioneering VR in Marketing

Quotes in This Episode

“So I think [the] starting point should be an understanding about these technologies. It's such a new thing where businesses can actually either win or lose because of this technology.” —Reekita Gala

“You need to change your mindset, because the hardest thing that people actually have in adapting the technology is [that] they feel that it's [...] not gonna affect me and the business. ” —Reekita Gala

“Every technology has a decade [...] the market has shifted already, by 2020 it’s going to be totally mainstream for the consumer.” —Reekita Gala

“I started learning what is required to create this platform [...] I had no programming skill at that [time]. So learning all about programming [...] I think I took around more than 150 courses!” —Reekita Gala

“He actually took my phone and he took the card. He's like how did you do that? Like, is this some kind of magic? I was like no it's not magic, it's augmented reality technology!” —Reekita Gala

“Stress is something which is conditioned. If you condition your mind not to be stressed about things, you will not be stressed [...] if you feel stress that means there is something which is bothering you. And when something is bothering, you should understand the reason behind it.” —Reekita Gala

Resources

Reekita’s LinkedIn and Facebook

Official Website

Today's Women Worldwide episode is taking us in a few interesting directions; from memory improvement and self-directed learning, all the way to artificial intelligence and robotics. We are bringing you a packed episode! Today’s guest is not only a memory expert, but a PR expert as well, and he’s got a lot to share with you.

Dave Farrow started his career promoting a program for memory improvement that actually landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. Dave is an entrepreneur and expert of self-directed learning and accelerated learning. Through these techniques, he is teaching others how to improve their chances for success in life with simple, fun, and effective tools. He is also the founder and CEO of Farrow Communications, an expanded PR firm, and a popular speaker.

Stay tuned for a fun episode filled with playing cards and robots! We’ll be learning a few effective techniques for memory improvement, hearing some excellent advice, and learning more about growing a business organically, as well as expanding your field of expertise.

In This Episode

• Improving Your Memory
• Guinness World Records
• Re-Branding and Building a Business Organically
• Robotics and AI
• Expanding Into Other Fields

Quotes in This Episode

“I was talking about what we now know is the real model of the brain, which is brain plasticity, which basically says that your brain is constantly changing based on the exercises and activities that you do.” —Dave Farrow

“Almost at any age, when you actually start doing proper brain training, you cut your risk for memory loss as you age dramatically.” —Dave Farrow

“When you make a business, the arrogance is to believe that you're at the center of the universe, and you're choosing everything, but I really think a business should be grown organically based on what the customers want” —Dave Farrow

“From the very beginning I've wanted to be really on the cutting edge of technology, that's why we changed from FarrowPR to Farrow Communications recently because we're offering social media services, we're writing articles for people, working on their books with them, or doing coaching on branding.” —Dave Farrow

“I think a lot of us can relate to we're in our field and we're really smart at what we do, but we see other fields and other realms and we think, "Wow, I'd like to play in that sandbox a little bit," and we think that that's not okay in our society. Everyone wants to be pigeonholed, and specialists get paid more and everything. For me, it actually had the opposite effect.” —Dave Farrow

Resources

Dave’s Twitter

Farrow Communications Website

Dave’sMemory Made Easy Program

Are you happy with your job? Are you happy when you wake up in the morning? Well, today we are talking all about working happier and living better. Happiness is an internal process, but there are ways to bring the principles of happiness and fulfillment into your workplace. Today Happiness Expert Stella Grizont is teaching us all about living out our possibilities in full color!

Stella is the Founder and CEO of Woopaah, where she works with overachievers who are seeking deeper career fulfillment and organizations who are dedicated to engaging their employees. She was well positioned for the job as one of the first 150 people to earn a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (aka the science of happiness) from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to launching Woopaah, Stella was a Brand Strategist at Y&R. But after refocusing and reorganizing, Stella is living her best life as a speaker, executive coach, entrepreneur, and writer working with Forbes!

Stay tuned as Stella shares her own journey and some wonderful personal advice. Stella is all about creating the life you love, and listening through the journey to find your “dream job” on the other side of your “dream job.”

In This Episode

• Woopaah
• Losing Yourself to the Corporate World
• The “Dream job”
• Applied Positive Psychology
• Who Do YOU Want to Be?
• Following Your Gut, Not Fear

Quotes in This Episode

“That was the first time I realized, ‘Oh my God, your mind and body are so connected.’ I have lost who I am in this organization...So, our body is always sending us signals.” —Stella Grizont

“I realized that the essence of what I love to do was to listen to people and help them live their dream life.” —Stella Grizont

“So, it's funny because for thousands of years philosophers, mystics, teachers, poets, religious leaders have all wrestled with what does it mean to live the life worth living, and it's only in about the last 20 or so years that scientists have started asking that question.” —Stella Grizont

“There's tons of toxic work environments. We know that nearly 80% of people worldwide are unengaged in their work–7 out of 10 in the US. So, people are checking out.” —Stella Grizont

“The way I help my clients–and this is the first thing I do with my clients–is I help them establish a vision of not what it is that they want to achieve or do or accomplish in five years, it's about how do I want to be, because you can achieve a bunch of goals and still be miserable.” —Stella Grizont

“Traditional psychology, as we know, it is a deficit model. So, it asks what's wrong with people and how do we get them from negative five to zero–how do we get them back to normal? Positive psychology uses the same empirical approach–so evidence-based approach–but it asks a different set of questions. It asks, ‘How do we get people from zero to plus five?’” —Stella Grizont

Resources

Stella’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Blog

The Woopaah Website

Every single day of our lives we face decisions–some benign and some potentially damaging. But when those decisions affect our bottom line, not reacting, or reacting inappropriately, can have dramatic ramifications on our businesses. To make sure you are prepared to act under crisis, Women Worldwide is speaking with Helio Fred Garcia.

Fred is a coach, counselor, teacher, speaker, and highly respected author writing on the topics of decision making, leadership, and crisis management. He is a professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, and Columbia University School of Engineering. Fred is also the President of the crisis management firm Logos Consulting Group, and the Executive Director of the Logos Institute for Crisis Management & Executive Leadership. Through this role, he has helped leaders build trust, inspire loyalty, and lead effectively for over 35 years, and although he is based in New York, his reach is wide and global! He is published in multiple languages in multiple countries and has served clients on 6 continents.

We are very lucky to have Fred here with us sharing his journey, his expertise, and his wonderful advice. Stay tuned to learn more about crisis management, building trust, how Fred has systematized the common sense steps that will help you succeed, and even getting the outcome or job you want!

In This Episode

• The Typical American Immigrant Story
• Leadership in Crisis and Building Trust
• Ethics in Business
• Scandal, The Power of Social Media, and Reputation Management
• Systematizing Common Sense and Succeeding

Quotes in This Episode

“I have a vivid memory of when President Nixon resigned. I waited for the planes in the sky and the tanks in the street–and they didn’t come–and I thought, ‘Wow, a change of government of a corrupt presidency without soldiers in the street. I want to be a part of this.’” —H. Fred Garcia

“A lot of what I do is based on the feeling of helplessness as a kid and the recognition that one individual could rescue me and put me on a path, and I’ve spent the better part of the last 38 years of my career helping people in adversity get past that adversity.” —H. Fred Garcia

“Leaders of institutions are reluctant to follow common sense because they don’t necessarily recognize it [...] so I systematize the common sense and illustrate it with examples.” —H. Fred Garcia

“Mental readiness is an attribute of leadership and [...] it starts with emotional discipline and [...] one of the things it consists of is the ability to contain the panic, and the anxiety, and the fear that happens in the moment of crisis.” —H. Fred Garcia

“Early in my career a very wise headhunter [...] said ‘Let me give you some career advice, [...] it’s a fundamental mistake to market yourself based on your experience, because then you’re just applying for the last job you had, instead you need to market yourself based on your ability, and the experience is a very slight proxy for your ability, but find other ways to demonstrate your ability and people will want to do business with you because of what you can do, and not because of what you have done.” —H. Fred Garcia

Resources

Fred’s Twitter and LinkedIn

Logos Consulting Group

The Agony of Decision: Mental Readiness and Leadership in a Crisis BOOK

The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively BOOK