Emma Grede

I had a lot of luck.

I'd like really doubled down on that luck.

And so by the time I got to my early 30s, I had choice.

And that choice allowed me to then say, you know what, I'm going to choose the project and I'm going to choose something that aligns with how I see the world and the type of woman that I want to be.

So that's the first thing.

What I will say is I think it's a little bit of a slippery slope when we start to talk about women and purpose as it relates to business.

And this is the reason.

When we talk about these stats that women get 3% of venture capital, right?

And a measly amount given how ingenious and innovative and brilliant we are when it comes to running businesses.

Sometimes we might have to take a little step back and understand in the spirit of Start With Yourself, what part we have to play in that equation.

oftentimes what I see are women will pitch impact over profit.

Now make no mistake, the point of business is to make money.

Money, yes.

And you have to make money before you start talking about how you're gonna give money away.

So when I get decks from female founders and I'm six pages in and no one's told me about the money, but you've told me how you're gonna look after the community, I'm like,

What is happening here?

So we have to separate those things.

I have always put social good at the center of my businesses once they were profitable.

Because when you have a profitable company, you can hire people, pay them the best money, you can do community initiatives, you can give away to nonprofit, but you can't do any of that without a profit.

And women don't want to talk about money.