Leadership Lessons: An Interview with Jill Johnson

Jill Johnson, founder of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL), discusses the importance of mindset, relationship capital, and the difference between small business ownership and entrepreneurship.  She is all about supporting Black and Brown female founders and creating a bridge between entrepreneurs and capital.

Family offices - private wealth management for ultra-high net worth individuals - make investments, donate dollars, and have the kind of flexibility that other institutional investors may not have.  In this episode, the GFGF crew explores with our guest, Karen Wawrzaszek, Principal with SBSB Financial Advisors, how family offices work, how founders can find family offices to work with, and the possibilities for how family offices may change the funding landscape.

On today’s episode of Get Found, Get Funded, we speak to our very own McKeever Conwell about his new fund RareBreed Ventures. We touch on his background, how he created RareBreed Ventures, and how he uses Twitter to help other entrepreneurs.

A ‘hidden’ resource for funding small businesses - CDFIs. In this episode, we talk to Harold Pettigrew, the Executive Director of WACIF, a D.C. metropolitan area leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI).  Learn more about the importance of the relationship between CDFIs and the community, how CDFIs get funded, and at what point an entrepreneur can seek funding from the institution.

Black-owned businesses need fuel to sustain, grow, and hire. If we support eliminating the Black wealth divide, we need to commit to buying from Black businesses. Our guest Kezia Williams, the founder of the Black UpStart, launched a new movement called "My Black Receipt" to promote buying from Black-owned businesses.  She asks all communities (Black and Allies' alike) to commit to showing support from Juneteenth through July 6, by buying from Black businesses and then uploading the receipt online. In this episode, we discuss how Kezia started The Black UpStart and My Black Receipt, and the importance of buying, creating, and hiring in the Black-owned space. 

Lisha Bell, one of the most senior executives at PayPal’s family of companies, felt empowered to speak up on behalf of her black colleagues in the workplace. The effect of her actions caused PayPal to join other major corporations who made donations in the black community in solidarity of the Black Lives Matter movement. The news of pledging over $500 million broke the internet as PayPal chose to support minority-owned businesses. Lisha joins us on today's show to discuss how the pledge came about, the difficulty – and necessity – of speaking out, and her thoughts on other corporations pledging to give money to the black community in the wake of police brutality. 

Learning how to pitch your ideas to the right people is one of the most critical and most stringent steps you can take for securing funding for your business. That’s why we are sitting down with our very own Mikea Hugley, who was one of the winners in the MICA’s Up/Start Pitch Competition for her new shoe company “Makers for Humankind.” We discuss how she came up with the idea for her company, the steps she took to win the competition, and what we can expect in the future. 

In the wake of the first round of PPP loans, GFGF co-hosts describe some of the issues that big banks had in administering the loans- and why Community banks may be a better option. With Congress releasing the second phase of a stimulus package for small businesses, it’s more important than ever to make sure your business has everything in place (even if you don’t need a loan). In today’s episode, we discuss a personal experience in applying for the PPP funds and how Main Street Bank was supportive. 

As we all adapt to the new normal as presented by COVID-19, we come together virtually to discuss how the Coronavirus has affected us, our friends, and brainstorm strategies that entrepreneurs and small business owners could use to pivot during these unprecedented times.

The hosts sit down with Lynda Peralta, founder of Pocket Palette, as well as Terrand Smith, a retail professional and CEO of 37 Oaks Consulting, LLC. In this episode, we discuss building Pocket Palette as a beauty brand that is about being accessible for the "on-the-go-woman." Lynda addresses the importance of the entrepreneur's gut and listening to your own messaging. Terrand reminds us that positioning for any product is essential. Finally, we talk about sales from distribution channels, the importance of testing, and staying focused on the problem you're trying to solve.