Four of a Kind Podcast

This week’s episode features an interview with Rachael Wolfner, the owner of The Little Rad Wolf Boutique and the #MAMAWOLF Blog!  The boutique and blog stems from Rachael’s desire to increase awareness around the joys and challenges of motherhood and passion to build a sustainable business.In this episode, Rachael shares her journey from school teacher, to NFL cheerleader, dance and cheer teacher to business builder.  She expands on how her friends, network, and mentors influenced her success.  She also speaks about truths of motherhood – including the bonds she’s built with other moms – and balancing a small business while managing a family. Tune in to hear Rachael’s inspiring story of how she brings her authentic self while reaching for her aspirations.Here’s where you can find out more about Rachael’s boutique:Website: The Little Rad Wolf BoutiqueBlog: #MAMAWOLF BlogInstagram: @thelittleradwolfEmail: the littleradwolf@gmail.comRachael’s friends’, mentors’, and sponsors’ boutiques mentioned in the episode: Brooke and Arrow and The Southern Gypsy RoseQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com.Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates!

This week’s episode is a check-in with some of the wonderful female founders we interviewed on prior episodes of Four of a Kind Podcast.  We wanted to see how they were holding up during COVID and also how their businesses were faring with such a major shift in the way we are conducting business during the pandemic.   We asked our guests to answer the same four questions about the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses, and during the episode we share their answers with you.How has COVID impacted your business? What changes, if any, have you had to make in the short term?What have you learned so far from this experience?What surprised you the most about your business / your team / yourself during this time?Is there anything that you have had to do differently that you might keep doing?Note: We recorded this episode earlier this summer - we know the entrepreneurs we discussed have been managing their response to COVID realtime, so please make sure to checkout their platforms for the latest on new projects, products, and updates. Here’s how you can get in touch:Shruti Joshi, CEO/Co-Founder, Compell'dInstagram: @compelldTwitter:  @compelldnow Website: Compelld.com LinkedIn Company Page: Compell'dDownload the App!!Shruti on LinkedIn: Shruti Joshi, CEO and Co-Founder at Compell'dAshley Connell, CEO/Co-Founder, Prowess ProjectInstagram: @ProwessProjectTwitter: @ProwessProjectWebsite: ProwessProject.comLinkedIn Company Page: Prowess ProjectCassy Saba Shovak, CEO/Co-Founder, Cassy Saba JewelryInstagram: @cassysabajewelryWebsite: Cassy Saba JewelryQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Trang Pham, Executive Director, Venture Lab of the University of Pennsylvania. Venture Lab is a resource for students across all of the University of Pennsylvania interested in entrepreneurship and education.In this episode, Trang talks about her background as an immigrant to the US, and her path from consultant, to supporting innovation in the federal government, and to her role today as Executive Director of the Venture Lab of the University of Pennsylvania.  She tells us about the perspective of Venture Lab in educating and exposing students to not only the topics of entrepreneurship and innovation, but also the practice of entrepreneurship. Trang also gives great perspective on how we can attract and promote female entrepreneurs.  Listen to hear the great story of an inspiring female leader, and the work she is doing to set the stage for the future generation of entrepreneurs. Here’s how you can get in touch with Trang and learn more about the Venture Lab:Website: Venture LabTwitter: Venture Lab on TwitterLinkedIn: Venture Lab on LinkedInQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's minisode, we answer the question "What is hobby have your started or what new thing have you tried during the Stay at Home orders?"In an attempt for some lighter content during everyone's time at home, tune in to the episode to learn more about the new things your pod hosts are trying out!Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

What a crazy few weeks it has been! (Do we all start every email with that now, or is it just us?). In this week’s episode, we address the topic du jour, COVID-19, and specifically how it is impacting women in the workplace. We discuss some of the challenges we have heard from our female friends and colleagues as well as some bright spots and potential opportunities to accelerate change and equality at work.  There are so many facets to this topic, and we know everyone's situation is different and there are challenges no matter where or who you are, but we hope we can use some of this time of major change to reflect and just talk! Here are the articles we mentioned in the episode:"Life after pandemic: How will coronavirus change us?", by Mike Bebernes, Yahoo News, April 7, 2020 "What's the Surprising Leadership Lesson in the COVID-19 Crisis?", by Joan Michelson, Forbes, March 28, 2020  "I Feel Like I Have Five Jobs: Moms Navigate the Pandemic", by Jessica Bennett, The New York Times, March 20, 2020  Here is an interesting podcast on the Future of Work that we also learned a lot from (and we reference some of the ideas in our episode)."The New Future of Work - A Conversation with Matt Mullenweg", Episode 197, Making Sense Podcast by Sam Harris, March 24, 2020.Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's minisode, we answer the question "If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or into the future and why?" Tune in and learn more about your pod hosts! Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Anna Ratala, CEO and Co-founder of Zvook, an Antler portfolio company leveraging AI to monetize the long tail of podcasting industry by matching brands with podcasts based on target groups, brand alignment and relevance.In this episode, Anna talks about her experience and advice on moving across the globe to build out a startup from scratch. She also talks about finding her co-founders through Antler, which is a global startup generator and early-stage VC firm, as well as how the idea of Zvook came about. Here’s how you can get in touch with Anna and learn more about Zvook:anna@zvook.coWebsite: ZvookInstagram: Anna and Zvook Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's minisode, we answer the question "What upcoming trip(s) are you most excited above?" -- a very fitting question for all four of us with busy travel schedules.From work trips to personal getaway, learn more about your pod hosts! Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Shruti Joshi, CEO and Co-Founder of Compell'd.  Compell'd is an app that changes the way we experience and share authentic, personal recommendations.In this episode, we talk to Shruti about how she built a career in marketing - working in corporate America, in startups, and in consulting - before founding her own company.  We also discuss Shruti's journey from intrapreneur to entrepreneur and how she found ways to drive innovation before starting Compell'd.  We finally of course dive into the world of Compell'd.  You will definitely want to become an experience collector after this episode.  We didn't hesitate to jump onto this bandwagon!Shruti began her career at Verizon Communications.  She was a Partner at Altman Vilandrie & Company, a consulting firm where she built the firm’s Marketing Analytics practice.  She holds board positions with a number of organizations, including TVision Insights, Facet Wealth, Syntactx and the David Lynch Foundation. Shruti has an M.B.A from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Business from the University of Southern California.  Here’s how you can learn more about Compell'd and get in touch with Shruti:Instagram: @compelldTwitter:  @compelldnow Website: Compelld.com LinkedIn Company Page: Compell'dDownload the App!!Shruti on LinkedIn: Shruti Joshi, CEO and Co-Founder at Compell'dQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's minisode, we answer the question "If you could go anywhere in the world for a week, where would you go?". No concern for cost or physical safety!Our answers were literally and geographically all over the place.Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's Mini-Sode, we discuss McKinsey and LeanIn's annual "Women in the Workplace" report, released at the end of last year.  The 2019 report focuses on the "broken rung" for women, which is at the manager level - well before the CEO and C-Suite roles.We share our (candid) thoughts on the report - including what surprised us and what did not about the latest data.  We also discuss the solutions presented in the report and how we have seen those solutions work or not work.  Finally, we share some of our ideas for how to drive change.  We would love to hear what you thought about the report - please reach out and share, especially if you have ideas on how to solve the "broken rung"!Here are links to the 2019 "Women in the Workplace" Report:"Women in the Workplace 2019", October 2019, by McKinsey and Company and LeanIn.OrgHere is a summary of "Women in Workplace 2019" if you want to get a quick view of the highlights.    Here is the article Kelcy mentioned:"Fostering Women Leaders: A Fitness Test for Your Top Team" by Lareina Yee, from McKinsey Quarterly, January 2015 Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Ashley Connell, CEO and Founder of Prowess Project.In this episode, we talk with Ashley about the founding of Prowess Project, and how she is working to meet the needs of women who are reentering the workforce after time away.  Ashley jumped into this challenge after working in Marketing roles in Tech companies, and also at her own marketing consultancy, and hasn't looked back.  As Ashley says, she found it harder to stop working on Prowess Project during that first year, than it was to build it, so she continued to go with her gut and get Prowess Project up and running.  Ashley also tells us about her experience working with Founder Institute in Austin - an incubator for startup ideas.  Listen in to hear great advice from Ashley on starting a business, and get energized by her clear passion for her work! Here’s how you can get in touch with Ashley and learn more about Prowess Project:Instagram: @ProwessProjectTwitter: @ProwessProjectWebsite: ProwessProject.comLinkedIn Company Page: Prowess ProjectForbes article here: "Social Entrepreneur Creates Unique Talent Algorithm To Ensure Seamless Onboarding and Increased Business Team Success"Built In Austin's 50 Startups to Watch in 2020 article hereHere's how you can learn more about Founder Institute:Website: https://fi.co/Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's Mini-Sode, it is another "What We Learned" episode marking the mid-point in Season 2!  We have had an awesome crew of guests this season and we always find it valuable to pause and reflect on .... you guessed it .... what we learned.  From how to approach venture opportunities, making the best of unplanned events, the many varieties of entrepreneurship, seeking inspiration from unique sources, and more - so much to discuss!Thanks again to our guests so far this season: Sabine Hairabedian, Shelby Kemper, Rachel Stern DeJong, Erin Papworth, Mike Annunziata, Stephanie Gould Rabin, and Mike Cardamone.Here is book Kelcy mentioned:Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein - available on Amazon or your local bookstore Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Michael Cardamone, CEO and Managing Partner of Acceleprise, which is a top B2B SaaS-focused accelerator (finishing 2019 with $1B+ total enterprise value across its portfolio). In this episode, Mike sheds some light on how startup accelerators work - from sourcing companies, the initial screening and due diligence, to the actual accelerator program, including finding mentors, etc. He also talks about important considerations for founders thinking about going through an accelerator program. Lastly, he provides some tangible advice that female founders can take to their next pitch! Here’s how you can get in touch with Mike and learn more about Acceleprise:Email: mike@acceleprise.vcTwitter: @MGCardamoneWebsite: AccelepriseQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Stephanie Gould Rabin, currently the Founder and Managing Partner of ViridianNYC.Stephanie is a proven Operations Executive with 25+ years of experience in Senior Leadership, Strategy and Analytical roles in Insurance, Insurtech and Professional Services.  Her breadth of experience as an Operations Executive, combined with her being a credentialed actuary and organizational psychologist, has inspired Stephanie to start two companies.  ViridianNYC targets fundamental gaps that companies have and identifies ways to bridge those gaps to achieve successful strategic change and growth as their fractional and strategic COO.  Ment To Be is a new goal-oriented mentoring platform that builds a one-one match between mentor and mentee through signature industry events. In this episode, we talk with Stephanie about how she knew it was time not only to start ViridianNYC but also why she started a second venture, Ment To Be, around the same time.  Here’s how you can get in touch with Stephanie and learn more about her companies:ViridianNYCMent To BeMent To Be on LinkedIn Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this week's Mini-Sode, we answer the question "What is your Myers-Briggs type?". We all took the test in advance, so the question was not quite off the cuff this week, but there is still so much to discuss with Myers-Briggs (MB) tests, and personality tests generally.  Tell us your Myers-Briggs type by sending an email to fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com!Given this mini-sode is a little longer than the others, we have some time markers below if you want to jump to a particular part of the episode!If you already know what all about MB personality types and you're just dying to learn about our results, feel free to skip through our introduction straight to 6:15.If you're really in a rush today and want to skip to the discussion, including how we think MB and other personality tests can impact women in leadership individually and holistically head to 18:25.Here are links to the Myers-Briggs test and the 16 Personalities test result descriptions - which both use the same E/I N/S T/F J/P format.  Note you have to pay to take the official Myers-Briggs test, but we found the 16 Personalities test to be very similar (and it is free!).Myers Briggs FoundationMBTI BasicsMBTI Online Test - We suggest checking with your employer or if your career center if you are a student to see if they have an access code or other discount for the test16 Personalities 16 Personalities Free Test16 Personalities Type DescriptionsOther facts we mentioned:Approx 2% is ENTJ (https://www.truity.com/personality-type/ENTJ)Approx 1% is INTJ (https://introvertdear.com/news/infj-secrets/)Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Mike Annunziata, Co-Founder and CEO of Farther Farms.In this episode, we talk with Mike Annunziata about all things investing and startups.  Mike is the Co-Founder and CEO of Farther Farms, and they are building technologies to improve the way food is made. Before Farther Farms, Mike spent his career on the investing "side of the table".  Mike also continues to do his own investing as well, as he says, paying it forward, and talks about one of the female-founded companies he has invested in, Atolla.  Tune in to this week's episode to listen to our discussion with Mike and his unique perspective as both a Founder pitching his business, as well as an investor looking to bet on the right business partners.  Here is the Lines, not Dots article Mike referenced during the episode, as well as some other useful links:"Invest in Lines, Not Dots" by Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures Dorm Room FundFirst Round Fast Track Mentor ProgramHere’s how you can get in touch with Mike and learn more about his company:mike@fartherfarms.comFarther FarmsHere’s how you can get in touch with Meg and Sid and learn more about Atolla (Atolla is a female-founded company that Mike is an investor in).@atollaskinlab on InstagramAtolla - Meg and Sid create personalized serum based on a proprietary skin evaluationQuestions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features an interview with Erin Papworth, Founder and CEO of fintech startup Nav.it.In this episode, Erin shares the genesis of Nav.it as she follows her passion to solve for the huge gap in women's financial wealth as a result of the infrastructure we inherited, including the impact of career pauses. She talks about the importance of financial stability, getting into investing early in your career, and being patient. She also talks about her experience fundraising as a female founder of a female-forward fintech startup, which has proven to be extra challenging.   Here’s how you can get in touch with Erin and learn more about her company:Erin@Nav.it.comNav.itYou can also check out the crunchbase article that Grace mentioned here, which discusses the amount and level of venture capital funding being poured into startups with at least one female founder as well as female-only founded startups.Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

In this Mini-Sode, we answer the question “What was your first job and what did you learn from it?”We all learned valuable lessons from our first jobs before college that we took with us and continue to apply in our current "grown-up" jobs.Grace was unable to join our recording so we asked her to share it below. We tried to guess it, but we were only half-right.  "Great guesses from my co-hosts! While I did coach basketball in the Winnipeg Minor Basketball league, it wasn't my first job so you guys are wrong! My first job was at an internet pharmacy company filling prescriptions for patients and filing physical files (tons of paper cuts!). What I learned? Well, I learned that physicians have the worst handwriting. More importantly, I learned early on a couple of things: 1) attention to detail and 2) coping with a fast-paced environment. Sometimes, the volume of orders we get was overwhelming. But because patients rely on you to get them their prescriptions on time, being able to work efficiently and under time-pressure was key."Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates! 

This week’s episode features Rachel Stern DeJong who co-owns Academic Tutoring Centers in Highland Park, IL.  In this episode, Rachel shares her journey and discusses how she transitioned from teaching in Manhattan to becoming a business owner.  Through the introduction by family members and the support of a mentor Patsy Prince, Rachel and her husband embody Patsy's philosophy of helping students translate their hard work into confidence and success. Rachel explores how following her passion allows her and her husband to achieve success in their careers and balance life and family pursuits. To get in touch with Rachel or to find out more about ATC visit the website here:https://academictutoringcenters.com/Questions or comments? Email us at fourofakindpodcast@gmail.com. Also, don’t forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Instagram for updates!