The 20 most successful shepreneurs to watch in 2019

www.insightssuccess.com
March 2019
Luthra
andanaV
The 20 Most
Successful
Shepreneurs
to watch
in 2019
Vol.03 | Issue 01
Attributes of a Good Leader
The Art of Leading
Successful Personality Traits
to Learn from Elon Musk
Imparting Wisdom

Redefining the term Beauty
When she decides to
walk an extra mile,
success is predictable.
It is just about the firm
first step.
“
“
hen you hear the term ‘a beautiful woman’, what is the first
Wthought that comes in your mind? A woman with beautiful face,
figure or posture, may be? Don’t you think, beauty is beyond
those stereotypical perceptions? In my opinion, beauty lies in anything that
pleases the aesthetic senses; thoughts, vision, approach, confidence, in
absolutely everything.
However, in the social setting where woman is considered inferior to man,
evidently, the beauty in thoughts struggles sustaining its value. Sometimes a
woman with an ingenious mind and exceptional capabilities is neglected just
because she is a woman. Be it business, education, or employment, she the
discrimination is quite visible. We can term it male ego, socially stoned
opinion or prejudices, but we can’t deny it exists to an extent.
Yes, the shift is happening and we are now in the times where society is
accepting contribution of women and encouraging them to make their own
mark. However, every welcoming evolution is a fruit of unforgettable
sacrifices of revolutionaries. Their courage, confidence and determination to
take the stand embark the rise. The empowering journey, bundled with grace
and perseverance of these individuals, keeps inspiring generations to walk on
the path they desire to pave. Every field is blessed with women who has
challenged typical mindsets and created an unwavering impact on the
respective sector through their work. Art, science, business, every single
entity has flowered with their contributions.
Entrepreneurship specifically is a tough road to travel. With all the misogyny
that exists around, it becomes even tougher for women. Finding time for her
becomes hard and stressful after ensuring all the household duties are served
properly. Imagine establishing a company and running it successfully. From
proving the idea in male dominant society, raising funds to incepting a team
that shares same vision and approach, she does it all, when she decides to
walk an extra mile. A homemaker running a prolific catering business from
home or a millennial techy innovating a revolutionary gadget, it showcases
that she is capable of conquering everything.
On this women’s day Insights Success proudly presents an exclusive edition
’The 20 Most Successful Shepreneurs to Watch in 2019’ that exhibits the
inspiring journey of some renowned shepreneurs dominating various sectors.
They are the symbols of a far-reaching beauty, a beauty of work embedded
with the thoughts and soul.
Let’s relish the contributions that made the business world more beautiful
than ever.
FROM EDITORS DESK
Bhushan Kadam

A Leader's Touchpoint
Paying it Forward!
Expert's Outlook
The Fuss about AI
Effortless
Balancing the Needsof Business
22 42 58
VANDANA LUTHRAA Face of Persistence & Adaptability
Cover Story
10
CXO

Articles
Colleen Wong
A Trailblazer with
Technology Expertise
Kathryn Petralia
Leading the Global Fintech
Revolution
18
20
Liz McKinley
Exemplifying Strategic
Leadership
Logan Cohen
Making smartphone screen
time smart
28
32
Imparting Wisdom
Successful Personality Traits
to Learn from Elon Musk
From Editor's Desk
The Journey
to Self-Discovery
The Art of Leading
Attributes of
a Good Leader
26 34 50

Pae Natwilai
Revolutionizing Construction
Industry with 3D Drone
Mapping
Renée Safrata
Tenacious and Exemplary
Entrepreneurial Voyage
46
48
Sophie Thompson
A Determined Believer
Beyond Prejudices
Suzanne Grant
An Ofcer of Leadership
54
56
Loral Langemeier
Say Yes to Wealth Then
Figure Out How!
Marina Tognetti
An Inspiring Leader in
Technology
38
40

sales@insightssuccess.com
March, 2019
Editor-in-Chief
Co-designerSenior Sales Manager Business Development Manager
Marketing Manager
Technical Head
Technical Specialist Digital Marketing Manager
Research Analyst
Database Management Technology Consultant
Pooja M. Bansal
Managing Editor
Anish Miller
Executive Editor
Bhushan Kadam
Assistant Editors
Jenny Fernandes
Hitesh Dhamani
Visualizer
David King
Art & Design Director
Amol Kamble
Associate Designer
Nagesh Tembhekar
Passi D. Peter Collins
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Sales Executives
David, Kevin, Mark, Prasad
Business Development Executives
Steve, Joe, Alan, VishalJacob Smile
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SME-SMO Executive
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Circulation Manager
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Co-designer
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A Face of Persistence and Adaptability
I started VLCC with a simple dream. I wanted to create an
environment where people felt nurtured, supported and would
be encouraged to achieve their full potential. I envisioned
a place where people would work towards becoming the
best version of themselves, for themselves.
I started VLCC with a simple dream. I wanted to create an
environment where people felt nurtured, supported and would
be encouraged to achieve their full potential. I envisioned
a place where people would work towards becoming the
best version of themselves, for themselves.
“ “

Cover Story
Vandana Luthra
Founder & CEO
VLCC Healthcare Lted

Very often the biggest
obstacle women face is the
one in their minds. Be
condent about your skills
and abilities and strive for
more. And don’t ever let go
of your ambition.
“
“
first-of-its-kind DNA Wellness
Program where a new series of tests
are performed to help the individual
understand his/ her body tendency
towards weight gain, lifestyle diseases,
and also to understand the right
changes to be made in diet, exercise
and lifestyle to lead a healthy life.
Moreover, considering the body
sculpting and contouring market is
expanding and people are now looking
to seek their desired shape, VLCC is
one of the first brands in India to
introduce Coolsculpting ― the most
futuristic fat freezing technology for
body shaping using Cryplypolysis.
Adding more to our plethora of
services, for detoxification and overall
wellness, we have LipoDetox program
which focuses on weight loss and cm
loss. Apart from this, we also have
several therapies and appliance-based
programs like Curve Xpert and 3D
treatments for accelerated weight loss
and cellulite reduction.
In the beauty domain, we offer
multiple services which include
skincare with exotic natural ingredients
like DiamondLite 60 and plant stem
cells, marine-based skin care, and anti-
pollution skin care. We also offer a
range of scientifically advanced facials
from Bellewave which is powered by
Swiss Bio-Technology and combines
nature and science in the most unique
way, picking exotic ingredients to
address multiple skin concerns in a
single facial regime. Besides this, we
have partnered with renowned French
skincare brand Ericson Laboratoire, to
introduce their premium range of facial
treatments in India. The treatments are
suitable for all skin types and
successfully tackle the visible signs of
ageing and various skin problems.
What are the most essential traits
that every entrepreneur should
imbibe according to changing times?
The most essential trait that every
entrepreneur should imbibe is
adaptability. If you are going to be an
Below is the highlight of the interview
between Vandana and Insights Success.
What is your take on your journey
as an entrepreneur?
I was privileged to be born into a
family that encouraged me to study and
pursued my dreams. From an early age,
I wanted to be independent and start
something on my own that would help
the society at large. When I decided to
start VLCC, I faced a lot of challenges
from arranging finance to working my
way up in a male-dominated
environment and having medical
doctors onboard. However, none of this
could stop me from realizing my
dream. Over the years, I have
withstood the test of time, criticism,
and competition to establish VLCC as
the leading Indian beauty and wellness
brand, whose operations today span
330 locations in across South Asia,
South East Asia, the GCC Region and
Africa.
How do you diversify your
organization’s offerings to appeal to
the target audience?
At VLCC, we constantly strive to offer
the latest technology, services, and
products to suit the modern customer.
We focus on providing a scientific
approach towards beauty, slimming
and wellness services. We introduced a
Dream is a divine power in
itself. It fuels efforts and
inspires to explore
possibilities. A dream instigated with
persistence and adaptability is capable
of creating wonders. And a dreamer
triggered with such blend of abilities
can challenge stereotype perceptions
and make their own mark by achieving
something considered impossible. A
woman establishing and leading a
world’s renowned venture, in the
society were women are considered
inferior to men is one such impossible
dream, according to stereotypes.
Vandana Luthra, Founder and CEO
of VLCC Healthcare, is the cover
feature of our exclusive edition. She
challenged this perception by forming
a company in 1989, and proved her
mettle in the evolving industry like
Beauty and Corporate Wellness by
making it world’s leading platform.
In an interview with Insights Success
she exhibits her journey of creating
VLCC Healthcare. “VLCC was not a
spur-of-the-moment decision, but a
well-nurtured dream which took years
of dedication, hard work and
perseverance to bring it where it is
today.” She derives.

entrepreneur, the only thing that will be
constant is change. You will have to
adapt according to the changing
dynamics of the industry and consumer
preferences. A close second to
adaptability is persistence. Inevitably,
you will encounter bumps in the
journey. To succeed, you will have to
be willing to persist through difficult
times. The third necessary trait that
every entrepreneur should imbibe is
the ability and the willingness to work
hard. Running an organization is filled
with challenges, but if you’re
adaptable, have the willingness to
persist, and are willing to work hard,
you will greatly improve your odds of
success.
What were the past experiences,
achievements or lessons that have
shaped your journey?
My journey can be best described as a
roller coaster ride which had its share
of ups and downs. There have been lots
of past experiences, achievements, and
lessons that have shaped the journey.
VLCC was not a spur-of-the-moment
decision, but a well-nurtured dream
which took years of dedication, hard
work and perseverance to bring it
where it is today. It has definitely not
been an easy journey for me. From
arranging for finance to convincing and
having medical doctors onboard, I
faced it all. Being a women
entrepreneur in the eighties, and trying
to scale up in a highly unorganized
sector like beauty and wellness was
one of the biggest challenges initially.
It was the support of my family and the
belief in my concept that gave me the
strength to win against all odds and
achieve my dream. The reason why I
chose this path was because of my
interest in transforming lives;
something that also helped me keep
going at every step of the journey.
Today the fact that I can contribute
towards skill development and women
empowerment through VLCC Institute
and in my capacity as the chairperson
of B&WSSC also gives me immense
happiness.
What’s your strategy to contribute
effectively in a hyper-competitive
market?
The beauty and wellness industry is
ever evolving, and hence it becomes
important to keep me abreast of all the
latest happenings in the industry and
simultaneously adapt to changes.
Being part of a hyper-competitive
market like beauty and wellness, I
prioritize the tasks according to
importance. I believe in delegating the
tasks to the people who are skilled in
their respective areas of work. Doing
this allows me to act upon the
changing dynamics of the industry and
also contribute effectively.
What are the frequent challenges
faced by women entrepreneurs in the
workplaces and what are the ways to
tackle them?

finance more accessible for even the
small entrepreneurs. However, for
better progress, organized players and
the government sector need to work
together to provide support to women.
As a Shepreneur how do you manage
to achieve a balance between work
and family?
Frankly, it is easier said than done. But
then, my family and I have learned to
cope. While I always wanted to do
something, I started my entrepreneurial
journey relatively late - in 1989, with
the opening of the first VLCC Beauty
& Wellness Centre in New Delhi -
once I felt my two daughters were old
enough. I was also very fortunate. I
could not have done this without the
support of my husband Mukesh, who
always had more belief in my abilities
than I did. Nor would I have spent that
kind of time in building what I had
started, without the understanding of
my parents-in-law, given that I had
married into a joint family.
Where do you see yourself in the
future?
The year 2019 marks the 30th year
since VLCC’s inception in 1989.
VLCC’s journey that has brought us to
this milestone year has been path-
breaking, and I am confident that with
our continued dedication and hard
work, we will surpass our expectations
to date and breach new frontiers that
will take the organization to its next
level of growth.
Personally, I would like to create some
regulatory body for the beauty and
wellness sector. It is still mainly an
unorganized sector. I see a future
where this sector is going to become
big support for initiatives such as ’Skill
India’ and women empowerment.
What advice would you like to give
to young women to succeed in the
workplace or as an entrepreneur?
How do you perceive the role of
mentorship to guide aspiring
Shepreneurs?
The road to entrepreneurial success is
When it comes to entrepreneurship, women have many odds stacked against
them. From arranging for finance to establishing a stronghold in a male-
dominated environment, women have faced it all. The only way to tackle
such challenges is to fight for your rights and work relentlessly towards
pursuing your dreams.
Fortunately, times are changing now as we can see some government-led
initiatives creating entrepreneurship opportunities by making banking

There will denitely be many
challenges in your path, but what
will keep you going is the faith in
yourself and the belief in the dream
you harbor in your heart.
“
going is the faith in yourself and the
belief in the dream you harbor in your
heart.
How are Shepreneurs contributing
to the Economy and women
empowerment?
Gender inequality still exists globally
despite international measures to gap
it. It prevails in basic education,
political, economic, social
empowerment and opportunities.
Usually regressive cultural and social
norms lead to further inequality for
women.
To think on a positive note, women
along with men can strive to create a
better future. This is exactly what some
exceptional women are doing, the
present-day female entrepreneurs, who
are ruling and empowering businesses
and sustaining the economy. According
to me, education is necessary and
essential for entrepreneurship. It builds
character and personality, boosts self-
esteem and confidence in an individual.
More women should be highly
encouraged in vocational training
courses, which will give them the
ability to excel on their own terms and
enhance their control over financial,
intellectual and human resources in the
society.
not always easy, especially for women.
All aspiring women entrepreneurs
should develop the skill set first and
then eventually gain domain
knowledge once they start working in
the field. A woman should always
believe in her abilities and be confident
enough to fight against all odds that
may come in her journey. The key to
succeeding in the workplace or as an
entrepreneur is to never give up on
your dreams.
It’s heartening to see so many women
from different walks of life doing
exceptional work. Becoming role
models for each other and inspiring
one another to achieve the pinnacle of
success. Back in those days when I
started out, my mother became my
greatest role model, who had a huge
impact on me both personally and
professionally. She was an Ayurvedic
doctor and always helped people feel
better, which actually sowed the seeds
of my interest in beauty and wellness
at an early age. So while I would say
that having a mentor definitely helps in
guiding an aspiring shepreneurs, it is
equally important to derive the
motivation from within. You have to be
a self-starter if you wish to achieve all
that you want to accomplish. There
will definitely be many challenges in
your path, but what will keep you
“ “
There will denitely be many
challenges in your path, but what
will keep you going is the faith in
yourself and the belief in the dream
you harbor in your heart.
going is the faith in yourself and the
belief in the dream you harbor in your
not always easy, especially for women.not always easy, especially for women.not always easy
All aspiring women entrepreneurs
“““

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In an interview with Insights Success, the Founder
and Director of Techsixtyfour, Colleen Wong
shares the key insights over her organization’s
journey and its specialized solutions and services. She
has also broadly discussed about his company’s core
competencies and how the company is establishing its
foothold in the global market. Considering these
inﬂuential and inspirational aspects, Insights Success
recognizes Colleen Wong as one of the most
successful shepreneurs to watch in 2019.
Below are the highlights of the interview conducted
between Colleen and Insights Success:
Give a brief overview of your background as
an entrepreneur.
My idea for My Gator Watch came to me
almost 3 years ago when I was with my 2
babies, then aged 4 months and 18 months
old. I saw a fellow mum running around
looking for her young child and my
ﬁrst thought was ‘how can we be
more connected to our younger
children so we don’t lose their
minds.’A few weeks later,
Techsixtyfour was born.
March 2019|18

What were the primal challenges and roadblocks you
faced during the initial phase of your career as an
entrepreneur?
The biggest challenge was getting a new technology brand
to market with very little marketing budget. I would meet
with some of the biggest retail brands but no on wanted to
take a risk on a new brand. It is not easy getting others to
believe in something new much less buy it. Another major
challenge was juggling everything within the business
while also at the same time, juggling 2 babies.
Where do you see yourself in the near future and what
are your future goals?
I see myself continue to be the driving force behind my
business and hoping to bring the business to profitability in
2019. I hope to expand to other markets such as the elderly
market and also to add new features and products into the
mix.
What is your advice for budding and emerging
Shepreneurs?
Manage your finances wisely. Focus on how you will sell
your product and if people will buy it. Spending money is
far too easy. Earning it is the hardest part. Know your
accounts like the back of your hand.
Stay laser focused on building a solid foundation for the
business even though it is never perceived as the sexy or
glamorous part of being an entrepreneur.
About the Company
My Gator Watch is the coolest Wearable mobile phone &
tracker made just for children. It has no internet, no games,
no social media, so kids will be more active. My Gator
Watch, part of Techsixtyfour, launched in 2015 with a
mission to support kids (and their parents) as they take a
step towards independence and explores the world on their
own. My Gator Watch is Secure with end to end encryption
platform.
How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to
appeal to the target audience?
We currently have one product, My Gator Watch, which
solves a major problem. Over 95% of parents dislike their
younger child owning/using smartphones but for peace of
mind, they want to stay connected. There is a dramatic
increase in depression, anxiety, obesity in young children
recently and smartphones/screen time are largely to blame.
My Gator Watch is a mobile phone and GPS/WIFI tracker
made for children between the ages of 5-11. It does not
have access to the Internet, social media or games. The
watch is designed to offer peace of mind to parents who
have a child too young for a smartphone but old enough to
want some independence.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every
entrepreneur should possess.
Be an effective and honest leader who leads by example,
quick decision making abilities, have integrity and someone
who works smart.
How do you strategize your game plans to tackle
competition in the market?
We stand out from our competition because
1. We are the only brand selling through retail channels.
2. We offer multi network coverage which makes the
product more reliable
3. Our design is simple and sleek
4. Our offering to parents is simple and easy to set up
5. Our focus on security of our data is top priority and we
have a London cyber security firm run tests on a monthly
basis on all our servers and systems.
6. We are a team made up of flexible working mums and
dads and we know exactly what parents need and want and
we focus on that.
What are the frequent challenges faced by women
entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways
to tackle them?
Challenges include getting less investment, not being taken
seriously, have ability undermined. The best way to tackle
all these challenges is to know your facts and figures and be
confident about yourself.
March 2019| 19

The true definition of success is
remembering where we were
when we started our journey,
and realizing the fact that how we
persist through it, aids in believing that
we’ve attained success. Similarly, the
journey of an ardent entrepreneur,
Kathryn Petralia, has come a long
way from getting her start as an
English Literature major to now
helping lead one of the most successful
FinTech companies in the U.S.
Even during college, Petralia’s interest
in technology and financial services led
her down a path of entrepreneurship.
She has spent the past 20 years
working with tech startups and
established companies, focusing on
credit, payments, and e-commerce.
Currently, she is the President and Co-
founder of Kabbage Inc., an online
financial technology company
providing small businesses access to
funding through an automated lending
platform.
Kathryn
Petralia:
Leading the Global
Fintech Revolution
Kathryn Petralia
President & Co-founder
Kabbage Inc.
March 2019|20

Rob Frohwein, Kabbage’s CEO, had the idea to automate
small business lending via APIs and analyzing the live
business performance of a company. After connecting with
Kathryn, Kabbage and another co-founder, the company
launched in 2009. To this day, the company leads its
industry with a focus on data, maintaining more than 2
million persistent data connections with its customers, and
by delivering a fast and simple lending experience which
approves and gives small businesses access to funding in
minutes. To-date, Kabbage has provided more than 165,000
small businesses access to over $6 billion.
In an interview with Insights Success, Kathryn shares her
valuable insights on avidly leading a comprehensive
lending platform. Below are the highlights of an Interview:
Give a brief overview of your background as an
entrepreneur.
I have always been attracted to technology and its potential
to change the way we live. I was fortunate enough to build
a career in financial services and the rest is history when
Rob called with his idea to automate small business
lending.
How do you diversify your organization’s offerings to
appeal to the target audience?
When we started Kabbage, we didn’t prove that small
businesses needed capital. That was evident. We proved
there was a better way to access it. Replacing dated
paperwork and waiting months for a response, we allow
businesses to connect their live business data to apply,
qualify and access a Kabbage line of credit in minutes.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every
entrepreneur should possess.
A tremendous amount of hustle. We recently surveyed 400
small businesses to understand what drives and motivates
entrepreneurs. You can see those findings here:
https://www.kabbage.com/motivation/
How do you strategize your game plans to tackle
competition in the market?
Competition is healthy for your market. It validates your
product or service and is unavoidable in business. Instead,
put that energy in designing the best products for your
customer, deliver the best experience and ensure you’re
delighting them every step of the way. The rest will fall in
place.
What are the frequent challenges faced by women
entrepreneurs in the workplaces and what are the ways
to tackle them?
Be the expert in your field. A lot of confidence comes from
knowledge. If you prove your knowledge in your business,
everybody will look to you as a trusted, valued and equal
partner.
entrepreneur?
All businesses have challenges, especially the ones you
start. My approach is it is never as bad as you think it is.
There is a solution, just break down the core elements of the
problem and prioritize the top challenges.
Where do you see yourself in the near future and what
are your future goals?
We have a lot to accomplish at Kabbage, and we’re
committed to helping small businesses grow successful and
long-lasting companies.
What is your advice for budding and emerging
Shepreneurs?
Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Instead, celebrate them. If you
aren’t afraid to fail, greater opportunities will open up for
you.
We’re committed to
helping small
businesses grow
successful and long-
lasting companies.
“““““
“““““
March 2019| 21

Benji Coetzee
Founder & MD
Seedpitch Innovation
Consultancy
March 2019|22

Paying it Forward!
Benji Coetzee is the
Founder of award winning
freight matching
marketplace EmptyTrips and
Managing Director of
Seedpitch Innovation
Consultancy. She is an
evangelist for purpose-
driven business. She was
recognized by Forbes in Top
60 woman in technology
‘18, a Top50 Woman to
watch by Entrepreneur Mag
‘18. In addition she was also
the winner of the Global
Impact Challenge ‘18 of
SingularityU Ventures Africa
and of SA Innovation ‘17.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ever do a deal with a bad person” quoting my idol
NWarren Buffett, is exactly the sentiment I have used
to ground my career, companies, teams and
personal relationships. Although my wealth or success
cannot measure up to Warren Buffett as yet, it has been a
great adventure over an aggressive 10 years since leaving
university. To be honest, my ambition far outweighs my
talent – yet, since the age of 7 I have been a go-getter,
overachiever and outright nerd. This attitude of abundant
success enabled by a steadfast work-ethic and tirelessly
creative mind, has provided for countless opportunities both
in South Africa and abroad in top firms. I have been very
fortunate to work with great teams, companies and leaders.
However, initially geared with a millennial expectation to
walk into a dream job. With my BCom and two Master
degrees (one from Stellenbosch University of South Africa
in Economics - Maritime and the second in Corporate
Finance & Law from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University),
I was surprised when, as many others, I started as a glorified
filing clerk and a small basic salary. I also took extreme
steps of courage to venture into a bank with no appointment
to see Human Resources after months of tedious online, no-
success job applications. This reality quickly brought me
back to humble ground whilst being a good reminder that
we all need to start somewhere, and work for it!
Be relentless
After earning my stripes and proving my excel modelling
capabilities in “not my job description” extra efforts, I was
promoted from mundane KYC (know you customer) client
services of HSBC bank to analyst, the role I had hoped I
would have secured initially. Thereafter I survived the
intense and challenging interview process of management
consultancy firms Mckinsey and Boston Consulting Group,
nearly failing the final case study at BCG due to pure
exhaustion of 18 hour banking days, finishing a thesis and
studying for CFA. Fortunately, partner Stefano Niavas had
compassion and gave me a second chance. Needless to say,
I then embarked on a journey of development, growth and
exploration as a consultant. I was fortunate enough to work
with leading teams, executives, brands in Africa and
Switzerland improving processes, unlocking savings and
“
March 2019| 23
A Leader's Touchpoint

was prevalent. It is estimated that ±30% of total transport
costs can be reduced by reducing empties with significant
environmental positive impact too. This mismatch in
demand for space and supply thereof burdened me, and I
decided to find a better solution. I started developing an
algorithm, similar to online dating, to better match cargo to
space moving in a direction. This algorithm paired with an
innovative platform-driven business model enabled by
digital was the creation of the EmptyTrips platform. Since
launching the enterprise orientated marketplace in April
2017, we have won numerous accolades, persuaded clients
to try new things, and systematically changed the way big
goliath companies think of innovation and technology.
Make a plan, and then have fun
To fund an idea was harder than I expected. I always say
that the economy of ideas is thriving, yet the currency of
execution is feeble. As such, we endeavored to prove we
had the execution capability, and not just a great idea. To
fund the journey, I relied on the one skill I trusted in,
strategy consulting. Being a creative that is deliverable
orientated often ensured that executives enjoyed working
with me on their goals, company strategy or even simply
independently sound-boarding. Seedpitch Innovation
Consultancy was created to fund Emptytrips through its
development phase until we could earn revenues to
“bootstrap”, grow and then attempt to raise venture capital.
VC is not a strategy, it is a tactic to growth after all.
To date Seedpitch has assisted executives across Mauritius,
Dubai, Saudi, Kenya, Tanzania, Switzerland and South
Africa to recalibrate growth strategies, and operational turn-
arounds. It has been daunting juggling two roles, but I have
fun doing it with such a winning feeling when I see a client
succeed off a practical but bold roadmap we developed
together.
Aspire to share
EmptyTrips foundation principle is filling spaces to places,
this is only possible by enterprise sharing of data (securely)
and asset capacity of course. Personally, the concept of the
sharing economy goes beyond that of the platform. I have
been so fortunate over the past 10 years to learn, grow,
travel, build, launch, fail and win. Teachings I willingly
share with those who ask for help. Sharing is caring, I can
only encourage all of us to “pay it forward”.
innovating business models. Although many question
the value consultants bring to companies, I have never
doubted the impact our projects brought to management
via enabling a clearer strategy and often enabling them
to shine as rockstars.
Check your own pulse
In 2016, after an emotional December of
disappointment and over-ambition, I resigned from
BCG and joined a niche strategy and investment firm
named Singular Group. At Singular, under the
mentorship of Lorenzo Tencati I was given immense
autonomy with the taste of entrepreneurship and a
health scare. Within 6 months I resigned to attempt to
launch a platform I believed could create purposeful
impact paired with profits in a legacy driven industry
calling out for disruption; logistics.
Be bold
During my consulting years and on many holidays, the
topic of inflated transport costs to absorb the empty haul
March 2019|24

egends never need an introduction. They tend to be
Lvictorious despite of their uneventful histories. They
stick to captivating traits such as Discipline,
determination and self-belief which help them accomplish
wonders in the long run. One such example of an extra-
ordinary person is Elon Musk, a South African Business
Magnate, Investor and an engineer.
Musk is the founder, CEO, and chief architect of SpaceX;
co-founder, CEO, and product designer of Tesla Inc.; and
co-founder and CEO of Neuralink. As of February 2018, he
is the 53rd-richest person in the world and has a net worth
of $20.8 billion, which is far more than the net GDP of
Greece taken into consideration.
While each entrepreneur possesses a unique set of traits that
makes him/her successful, this Tech founder has a few traits
much different from any other ordinary CEO, which has
allowed him to build some of the world’s most respected
and innovative organizations. Musk once quoted, “When
something is important enough, you do it even if the odds
are not in your favor.”
Let’s have a look on these personality attributes and
characteristics that make him a contender for the most
innovative intellectual entrepreneur of the century alive.
Hard-work and Characteristic Work Ethics
Elon Musk is a hard-working innovator, working for about
100 hours a week, and has been productive since many
years. He may even be considered as the hardest working
employee of the company, setting standards for his
colleagues to follow and implement. Since the field of work
lies inside his radius of interests, he enjoys it to every
moment and bit when it comes to learning and execution.
Strong Risk Tolerance
Founding a start-up involves a great deal of uncertainty and
risk. A study found that after 10 years of being in business,
96 percent of the start-ups fail. Going by the statistics,
Musk must have faced the same odds against him, when he
had decided to leave an otherwise comfortable life to start a
risky and uncertain business venture.
For instance, Musk left his PhD program at Stanford
University to find a company called Zip2 with his brother in
the year 1995. Later, the company was sold to Compaq
computers, profiting Musk a bit over $20 million.
Following this, Musk once again took a great risk by
investing millions of dollars to found a company called
X.com, one of the world’s first online banks.
‘Always Be Learning’ Attitude
An astounding and less-known fact about Elon Musk is that
he is self-taught in programming and in many advanced
level subjects. He read and understood a variety of books,
which helped him gain endless and persistent knowledge
and understand diverse concepts.
The best piece of advice on learning and implementation is
to constantly think about how things could be done in a
better manner and question self to seek the answers.
Feedback Loop
It is of prime importance to recognize the present symbol or
otherwise ‘status quo’ in the market as an organization and
re-position accordingly. Musk solicits constant feedback of
the companies and executes ‘self-analysis.’ He induces
efforts and divergent strategies to improve customer
feedbacks and strives towards perfectionism.
SuccessfulPersonality Traits
to Learn from
Elon Musk
Imparting Wisdom
March 2019|26

For example, he seeks out his critics
and tries to converse with them. This
habit of self-reflection at regular and
considerable periods is pivotal for any
entrepreneur or organization to succeed
in the long run.
Tendency for Vertical Integration
Vertical integration is a strategy where
an organization or a firm acquires
business operations within the same
product vertical. Both Tesla and
SpaceX embrace this concept. For
example, Tesla not only produces
electric cars; they also generate public
awareness about their cars via Tesla
showrooms across various countries.
And SpaceX does not only have the
primary goal of rocket propulsions;
they develop their own rocket
architecture as well.
Faith in Self and the Founding Team
Musk undoubtedly possesses a
profound belief in his own capabilities
Tesla Motors, a far headed firm headed
by Elon Musk, is anti-ordinary. Its
compelling marketplace has become a
one-stop destination for potential
buyers where they can interact about
product specifications. They also have
video testimonials that far outperform
in the sales-dominated industry.
There is no ambiguity that Musk, by
far, has been a pillar of inspiration for
budding entrepreneurs and investors
because of his prolific and optimistic
approach towards life
All these traits possessed by Musk, in
some manner or the other, coincide
with most of your habits. The only
thing that stands as a potential barrier
between these two is identifying your
strengths and working on them on a
continual basis. Go on, apply these
traits into your daily life, and you may
become the next big CEO the world is
in need of today!
as well as the potential-seeking factor
of its founding team. He does not
hesitate to gamble on large scale unless
he is genuinely aware of the expected
end-results.
It is equally essential to maintain
clarity of doubt in any large scale
organization. Under his supervision,
Musk encourages in creating a positive
and comprehensive environment across
his firms.
Preferring to Stand Out From the
Crowd
Musk elects to bring up innovation at
every level of his understanding. He
tends to impart theoretical knowledge
at the base level, applying changes and
executing the same on the practical
level. He relies more on transitional
aspects such as research and
development, thereby increasing the
probability of ground-breaking
inventions.
March 2019| 27

Liz McKinley:
Exemplifying Strategic Leadership
The oil industry is notably a male dominated
industry. Only a few woman-owned businesses
exist in this industry and the other women in the
industry inherited their business as opposed to starting
them from scratch as Liz McKinley did with Pinnacle
Petroleum, Inc.
Liz’s journey has been marked with astonishing
achievements. Her parents were both academicians, and
thus, her interest in business was outside the box. Liz
had a keen interest in economics, finance, and how
geopolitical events change the value of currencies. She
was asked by Koch Industries to interview as an oil
trader. Living in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the oil trader
position was the closest Liz could get to trading a
commodity. Liz was the first female hired by Koch
Industries at a commercial level. After working for
various trading companies, she left to start her own
business in 1995. Currently, Liz owns Pinnacle and
serves as the Company President.
A Certified Woman-owned Enterprise
Pinnacle is a national provider of competitively priced
petroleum products and services. The Company has
delivered refined fuels, lubricants and specialty fuels
nationwide as a certified woman-owned business
enterprise (WBE) since 1995. Pinnacle has a large
footprint, making the Company desirable to larger
corporations who prefer to minimize their vendors.
Furthermore, Pinnacle strives to be a One Stop Shop for
all fueling needs, differentiating the Company in the
market place. The Company is leading edge at providing
inventory management which leverages client’s
inventory to take best advantage of market conditions.
Pinnacle is constantly pivoting. Liz likens it to a speed
boat in the harbor competing against the ocean liners.
Pinnacle is smaller than its competition, which are
largely multi-billion and multi-generational companies,
while the Company is fierce and nimble. Pinnacle offers
flexibility and creativity to its customers. Today, the
Company has reached new heights due to its customer
centric approach as Pinnacle works within customer’s
processes as opposed to forcing the customer to adhere
to the Company’s services.
Learning Curve
Being a woman entrepreneur, Liz faced many
challenges. Initially, getting bank financing was hard-
won. When the Company needed the cash, banks were
less inclined to work with the Company as they doubted
Pinnacle’s viability. For the first line of credit, Liz had to
have a male friend accompany her to the bank to vouch
for her. Another road block was getting “good ole boys”
to accept Pinnacle and do business with the Company.
The oil business is inherently a very closed industry with
many barriers to entry. Pinnacle’s business depended on
other companies to establish the Company’s distribution
channel.
Many women entrepreneurs face similar challenges in
their workplaces. According to Liz, the most frequent
challenge women deal with is clients assuming that they
are less capable than their male competitors. It is always
March 2019|28

a learning curve for prospective clients to
understand that a woman-owned businesses is
not a small business with limited capabilities.
Flourishing Future
Over the last few years, Liz has been working
hard to build her bench and develop talent, so
that Pinnacle’s team members can take on more
leadership roles. In the near future, Liz is
interested in creating an online lifestyle
company that would establish micro
manufacturer businesses in third world
companies using Pinnacle’s excess warehouse
space for storage. Liz wants to give back to the
community and use her knowledge base to
assist others who are less fortunate.
Tenacity is the Key
In the Liz opinion, the most important personal
attribute every entrepreneur must have is
tenacity. She believes that hard work always
pays-off, but, it isn’t necessarily a guaranteed
linear pathway. As long as an entrepreneur
tenaciously and smartly plugs away at a goal,
there will eventually be a payoff.
Secondly, a valuable support system is essential
for a woman entrepreneur. Liz advises other
business women to find a trusted confidant with
whom they can consult. She says, “In retrospect
if I had had a seasoned business person to
consult, I would have been less stressed about
my unilateral decisions. I recommend getting
involved with peer groups of women who can
also support and advise them in their journey
i.e. Women’s President’s Organization. In the
first few years of my business I didn’t join any
groups because I thought I was too busy and I
believe I missed out on valuable support.”
“““““Business goes
where it’s
invited and
stays where it
is cared for.
“““““
— Liz McKinley
President
Pinnacle Petroleum, Inc.
March 2019| 29

The map is
not the terrain,
go do it
Logan CohenMaking smartphone screen time smart
Entrepreneurship can be exciting and challenging. While a successful
entrepreneur possesses many qualities, perseverance is at the top of the
list.
Logan Cohen, the Co-founder and CEO of KÜDZOO, showcases the genuine
meaning of perseverance by converting her simple idea into a globally recognized
app. The basic idea of KÜDZOO is to leverage teen smartphone usage away from
scrolling through mindless, never ending newsfeeds toward mindful consumption.
At its core, KÜDZOO continuously asks, ’what’s in it for our student users?’ This
app fosters good habits and grades by recognizing and rewarding students for
mindfulness, kindness, and academic achievements.
At KÜDZOO, the belief is that recognition changes everything.
Even though cell phones are often seen as a distraction for students, Logan
Cohen sees an opportunity. On KÜDZOO, students submit their report
cards, academic achievements, acts of kindness, volunteerism, and
answers to daily trivia to earn points redeemable for rewards. As of this
publication, KÜDZOO has over half a million student users in over
46,000 schools in the USA.
Logan completed her degrees in Finance and International Business
from Florida International University. The tremendous strides made
at KUDZOO led Logan to be named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under
30 in education. She is also a TEDx speaker and was featured at
2018’s SXSW EDU.
Amplifying Product through Assessment
When asked about the factors that have helped KÜDZOO scale,
Logan embraces the importance of market analyzing skills. She
mentions:
“So many entrepreneurs are relying solely on their vision
and gut feelings. Both of these are important, but at
KÜDZOO, we take pride in admitting what we don’t
know. Put simply, data and market feedback
always trumps opinions. We beneﬁt greatly by
diversifying our product oﬀerings to appeal
to students by asking students for help.
Before a product launch, we conduct
countless surveys and focus groups.
Students are helping to enhance the
product in more ways. Their clear
vision and honesty, drive us to
perpetually improve our product.”
Logan Cohen,
Co-founder & CEO
KÜDZOO
March 2019|32

A Blend of Perseverance and
Confidence
Logan considers the ability to
persevere to be one of the top attributes
of an entrepreneur. When asked about
her success, she referenced the popular
quote:
“It is funny, how many nights
it takes to become an
overnight success.”
In entrepreneurship, there are many
ups and downs, and Logan insists that
her momentum is credited to “failing
forward.”
“In an environment of
motivational memes and
social media filled with ’win-
only’posts, we don’t get
enough of the authentic
story.”
When asked about additional qualities
that are essential in an entrepreneurial
quest, Logan includes: empathy, active
listening, confidence while avoiding
hubris, and lifelong learning.
Striving to be better
Logan considers it is important to be
knowledgeable about one’s market.
“This is not something that
one can accomplish in once; it
takes to keep a pulse on it.
Now more than ever, the
market is changing.
Especially in the field of
technology, the next
workforce is expected to
master tools that do not even
exist yet.”
According to her, KÜDZOO has
thrived on being aware of the
competitors, but they do not let
competitors dictate the company’s
strategy. KÜDZOO has been able to
differentiate and scale by providing
quality products and services to its
students and brand partners. The team
is sticking to its mission and ensures a
valuable user and customer experience,
while keeping a pulse on the ever-
changing market.
Unfolding Initial Difficulties
Being an entrepreneur is hard. There
are loads of challenges faced by
anyone who wants to start their own
business. It is, however, important to
note the unique challenges that women
entrepreneurs face. According to
Fortune, “Female founders got merely
2% of venture funding in 2017.” Logan
refers Dana Kanze’s Harvard Business
Review Study of “Male and Female
Entrepreneurs get asked different
questions by VCs — and how it affects
the funding they get.” Investors adopt a
promotion orientation when quizzing
male entrepreneurs, which means they
focus on hopes, achievements,
advancement, and ideals. Conversely,
when questioning female
entrepreneurs, they embrace a
prevention orientation, which is
concerned with safety, responsibility,
security, and vigilance. Logan learned
to proactively combat these types of
questioning by answering “prevention”
questions in a “promotional” manner to
keep the conversation transparent, yet
optimistic.
Self-belief is the key
Initially, Logan prided herself on being
a perfectionist. However, she learned
that perfectionism can lead to
procrastination. Logan encourages
entrepreneurs to “launch to learn.”
Now, this doesn’t mean to not plan and
prepare, but to recognize that too much
planning may lead to stagnation. She
has challenged herself to emphasize
execution. Put simply: stop being busy
and start being productive.
When asked what advice she would
share with her younger self, Logan
says:
“Be unapologetically
yourself.”
She used to think that she had to
conform to how a business person
thinks, act, speak or dress. She didn’t
want to stand out since she was usually
the only woman or the only 20-
something-year-old in the room in the
pitch meetings. Over time, she learned
that being you actually help the
business. Logan says, “As cliché as it
sounds, we are taught to differentiate
our businesses, but there is not enough
emphasis placed on differentiating
yourself as a leader. Take pride in who
you are, be aware that you have a lot
to learn, and recognize that, especially
in the early stages, investors and
teammates are getting involved in the
company because they believe in you.
Give them something to believe in.”
Prepared for the Challenges Ahead
What’s in store for the future? Logan is
looking forward to continuing to grow
KÜDZOO. She shares her excitement
about KÜDZOO’s positioning:
“We have a unique
opportunity that the more we
grow, the more students we
can impact for the better, and
that’s a beautiful thing. We
take this opportunity seriously
and our team is grateful for
the responsibility of scaling a
mission driven business.”
Failure is not the End
We asked Logan what advice she has
for other entrepreneurs. She advises:
“Perfectionism leads to
procrastination. The only
difference between you and
those who make a difference
is that they decided to go for
it. Be the CEO.”
She admits that, early on, she thought
that she was somehow lacking,
whether it was in experience,
networking, or a particular skillset.
“Entrepreneurship keeps you
on your toes. One of the
benefits is that you’re
constantly learning since
you’re perpetually humbled
about how much you do not
yet know. That challenges
you to want to learn, to grow
to improve.”
March 2019| 33

The JourneyThe Journey
Self-DiscoverySelf-Discovery
toto
Entrepreneurs set up their new ventures with a new and unique vision, goal,
and its future. These entrepreneurs face many challenges over the course
of their journey. However, financial challenge is the most painful ones they
have to face. Making a list of all the financial challenges can aid a business and a
new starting player in attaining sustainability and economic stability.
The Small Business Association estimates that around forty-four percent of
startups and small business survive at least for four years only. Others cite that
poor capital management, overspending, and the lack of reserve funds are some of
the common reasons behind a business closure. All these three terms come under
the finances of a company.
From Editor's Desk
March 2019|34

One way to address the financial problems is to use the 4R formula i.e. Review, Revamp, Research, and Rewrite the
company’s business plans. By using this formula, they can take action against the things that are not working out.
Working Capital Issue
Startups have to wait for their big clients to pay up so that they can manage their expenses. Entrepreneurs must save at
least the expenses of six months as its working capital, which can help them in engaging new customers and create a
productive business pipeline. Players can also avoid inadequate working capital by cutting-costs up to twenty percent
and set the cut out as the working capital. For the startups that are yet to make profits, should make sure that they are
adequately financed before taking any harsh decision, which can affect their survival in the industry.
Non-consistent Cash Flow Issue
Most of the project-based business relies on their cash flow, which further relies on the flow of the project and the
services rendered. It is therefore important for the company to have a good business team ready to connect new and
reliable clients and projects. For the company that does not rely on the cash flow, must construct a flow of consistent
cash flow at the proper time. If the client is unavailable to pay on-time, the businesses should think newer methods of
client engagement. They should be patient and make decisions that would help them while dealing with the clients in
the future.
Another way of improving the cash flow is to get a down payment for the product and the services provided. This down
payment will aid the companies in covering the expenses associated with the project sales and profit margins. Firms can
also set a day in the week to go through the accounts, payables, and checks.
Bookkeeping Issue
Corporations can hire organized bookkeepers, which can save a lot of time. If they cannot find one, they can give this
responsibility to one of its team member. The firm can improve by distinguishing the discretion and non-discretion
spending. These include rent, office overhead, inventory purchases, and wages. The companies can even save further by
polishing their overall marketing plans. Identifying and creating a larger clientele that can develop marketing strategies
can help in promoting the service and products. Firms must set goals and expectations for marketing initiatives and
develop the tools to improve the revenue outcomes.
Wrong Predictions and Revenue Issue
Businesses on a day-to-day basis have to predict the company’s revenues. This is even truer for the businesses that are
dynamic in nature. Most of the predictions can be measured on a month-to-month basis. Although a lot of factors that
are dependent upon the revenue prediction, but mostly it rely on the relevancy of the business. By foreseeing accurately,
the firms can generate good revenue that is crucial for the cash flow statements. By paying attention to the seasoned
fluctuations and affected timelines, they can predict the revenues accurately.
Hiring Issue
Hiring a good staff is not an easy task. A decision like over-hiring can create additional costs for the company in
contracts and long-term employee liabilities. The employer is responsible for its employees and they have to provide
them with the employee benefits that increase the costs. The key solution lies in hiring the term-based employees,
freelancers, and independent contractors as they will provide services only for the time worked and employer do not
have to add payroll costs in paying them. These independent contractors are paid only for their time spent on the work.
Depending upon the job, firms can easily find out that whether these are perfect for the job or not. In return, these can
absorb the work-related wages and can add the benefit of costs.
In eliminating the conundrums, the mind-power and descision-making of the entrepreneurs is important. They can seek
loans and grants which are specifically tailored towards boosting the company's finances. Even some of the vendors
allow the company to offer their assistance and can refine the business debts. The players should not haste in making a
decision. They should be thoughtful and intellectual for deciding the expenses. It is important for them to think
strategically. They should be aware of their decisions and should seek guidance in decision-making and in expenses.
March 2019|36

Loral Langemeier :
Say Yes to Wealth Then Figure Out How!
Who doesn’t want to be a
millionaire? Money
making conversations
with ‘yes we can’ as a response is
something every business individual
strives for. And if a leading financial
expert is assisting you in it, assuring
the desired benefits through an
intellectual conversation and with a
solid proof, it’s the cherry on the top
of a cake, isn’t it?
Meet Loral Langemeier, a money
expert, sought after speaker,
entrepreneurial thought leader, and
best-selling author of five books who
is on a relentless mission to change
the conversation about money and
empower people around the world to
become millionaires. Through her
innovative platform Integrated
Wealth Systems, Inc. she is
converting this vision into reality. In
an interview with Insights Success
she sailed us through her persistent
life journey that begins with ‘Yes! I
can’ as an answer.
Below are the highlights of the
interview between Insights Success
and Loral Langemeier
Give a brief overview of your
background as an entrepreneur.
I didn’t come from success. I’m a
farm girl from Nebraska – I created
my success in life, and I think a large
part of that is my desire to always
have a high-level conversation.
One of my most formative memories
is from when I was a child at
Thanksgiving time. There was a table
for the adults and there was a kid’s
table. I was told to sit at the kid’s
table, but I quickly decided that I
didn’t like the conversation the kids
were having and that I wanted to be
where the real conversation was. I
went to the adult table, pulled up a
chair, and invited myself to the
conversation!
I think that lesson is so important and
missing from so many people – they
are not inviting themselves to the
conversation! No one is going to do it
for you, and so you have to go out
and make it happen yourself.
How do you diversify your
organization’s offerings to appeal to
the target audience?
We simply listen to the marketplace!
During our workshops, we talk about
the process that ANY sales person
needs to utilize to help close a sale or
better understand what their customer
is looking for. Whether it’s a one on
one conversation, or me learning and
seeing what the market wants, we
appeal to the audience by delivering
EXACTLY what they ask for.
It’s amazing to me how few
entrepreneurs listen to their customers
and the market, and it’s the biggest
opportunity to make money or grow a
business when done well.
Describe some of the vital attributes
possess.
The most important attribute or skill
is understanding your numbers; every
entrepreneur should understand their
finances, their taxes, and corporate
structure.
Business is a numbers game, and if
you don’t have a thorough
understanding of the numbers of your
business, product or service, and
market, you will not succeed.
How do you strategize your game
plans to tackle competition in the
market?
The easiest way to tackle competition
is to have none! When you look at
some of the biggest companies of the
past 25 years, a majority of them
created entirely new products or
services that didn’t exist before. So
when you are thinking about how you
will compete, consider how many
competitors there are first and
whether or not it’s a field worth
competing in.
Once you decide you want to compete
in a market with other providers, you
need to determine what the best value
is that you can provide and gives you
an almost unfair advantage over your
competitors, and then offer that.
faced by women entrepreneurs in
March 2019|38

the workplaces and what are the ways to tackle them?
Even though I am a world leading business and personal
finance expert, I still find that there are men who have
trouble dealing or working with a woman. While I can’t
fight stereotypical mindsets, I can be the best at
providing financial expertise. The key it to having
enough potential clients and customers that I don’t have
to rely on close minded folks who might not want to
work with me. If they can’t wrap their minds around the
idea of working with a woman, they REALLY won’t be
able to wrap their minds about most of the deals I am
working and I don’t need that hassle.
entrepreneur?
The biggest setback I ever had was the loss of my
database during the move of my business from one
location to another. I had been speaking and networking
for years, and there were several hundred thousand
people in it when we lost it. All of that hard work was
gone and I was looking at having to start from scratch.
The biggest thing this episode taught me was the
importance of having the right people on your team no
matter what it is you do. Having the right team in place
and empowering them to act on your best interest is
incredibly important if you want to truly grow and scale
your business.
Where do you see yourself in the near future and
what are your future goals?
Cannabis, block chain and cryptocurrencies are the
biggest areas I am currently exploring and making deals
in. These have the potential to make the dot com era of
the late 1990’s look like a dot bomb, and I am so
excited with the variety of ways entrepreneurs will
be creating their wealth during the next decade.
What is your advice for budding and
emerging Shepreneurs?
The best piece of advice I was given and that I
give out today is this: don’t give equity for
what you can hire. I think too many people
give equity away just because they want
friends. If you can hire it, you don’t give
equity away.
Say
“Yes!” and then figure
out how to do it!”
“
— Loral Langemeier
Founder & CEO
Integrated Wealth Systems, Inc
March 2019| 39

Being an entrepreneur comes
with tough risks of its own.
Being a female entrepreneur is
exponentially tougher, despite all the
improvements that have already been
made. But if we start by recognizing
challenges as opportunities, we are
already on the path to change, and each
of us can become a role model for the
next women to come.
We need to show a different example
of leadership, of what it means being a
successful entrepreneur. A strong
leader is not the one without faults, as
we all have faults, but one who is so
self-confident to be able to show her
vulnerabilities without being scared
that it might impact her strength.
Marina Tognetti is one such self-
confident Shepreneur who believes that
vulnerability can also be the strength of
a female entrepreneur. She is a tech
enthusiast, Founder and CEO of
mYngle, a pioneer in live online
language education that has become a
significant player in its segment.
Marina holds an MBA from INSEAD.
She has a bit of an atypical profile as
an entrepreneur, as before founding
mYngle she had a successful corporate
career in large multinationals. She has
a professional experience in consumer
marketing, business and product
development at Procter & Gamble,
Philips, Sara Lee; strategy consulting
at The Boston Consulting Group and
internet technology at eBay. She
received a myriad of international
recognitions for her contribution as a
woman in technology, as the one of the
50 most inspiring women tech leaders
in Europe 2015.
Comprehending the Potential of
Internet
It was when working as consultant on a
project on internet strategy that Marina
fell in love with the internet, she saw
its potential to disrupt entire industries
and change forever the way consumers
buy/sell/interact. Following that, she
went to work for eBay to learn about
this new ‘world’ and from there she
decided it was time to start a business
for herself. With more than 20 years of
experience as an international manager,
Marina knows the benefits of
communicating in a native language.
Having resided in numerous countries
and speaking 6 languages herself, she
knows firsthand the difficulties one
faces when learning a new language
and culture. That is why she came up
One of the mistakes many start-ups do
is to try to be everything for everyone.
mYngle is very focused on its target
segment and tries to understand the
needs of its users in depth. It constantly
monitors its users’ reactions and tries
to adapt accordingly. This is also
reflected in its internal KPIs and how it
assesses its job, using adapted versions
of NPS (Net Promoter Score), which
defines that only excellence counts.
Being OK is not good enough for
mYngle. 95% of its learners rate
mYngle trainings as excellent. The
average lessons scores are 4.8/5.0.
Adapting to Change
Marina emphasizes that an
entrepreneur should step out of the
comfort zone and must not be afraid to
take calculated risks. An entrepreneur
should be able to constantly adapt.
Dealing with uncertainty and change is
in fact a key attribute of successful
entrepreneurship. An entrepreneur
should also be resilient, to be able to
go through different phases and
embrace, not fear, change. She strongly
believes that the key to success is not
constantly comparing with
competition, but aligning with what
customers want and satisfying their
needs. “You are not going to win by
being equal or better than competitors,
you are going to win by being exactly
what customers want”, she says. It was
in following the direction given by
customers that mYngle underwent two
major shifts. The first was to move
from an open marketplace to a quality
online global school. The second was
to move from B2C to B2B. Marina
believes that change is an essential part
of being an entrepreneur, and that was
the key to success of mYngle.
Marina Tognetti:
An Inspiring Leader in Technology
with the idea to start mYngle. She
moved from managing large budgets,
teams, projects to starting a company
from scratch.
Focused on the right Target
Segments
Con dence comes
not from always
being right, but from
not fearing to
be wrong.
“““““
“““““
March 2019|40

Reducing Communication Barriers
It is in Marina’s nature to want to
constantly improve, and it is in the
nature of an entrepreneur to always see
new opportunities or areas of
development. She believes that the
future for mYngle will surely hold new
challenges, as it will need to keep on
innovating and being ahead while the
market moves from early stage to
being more mature. Standing still is
like going backwards, especially for
tech companies. And for her
personally, it will be time for the
idealistic voice inside to speak, the
voice that believes in giving something
back for a better world. mYngle
already is a very positive product:
education overall is a positive force,
and Marina believes that language
education, in particular, can be a
medium to bridge cultural differences
and reduce communication barriers
between people. Her future will hold
new discoveries for the inner self,
looking for ways to make a difference,
and make the world a little bit better.
Reflecting the True Self
The advice that Marina gives to other
Shepreneurs is to stop comparing to
anyone else. She suggests to avoid
thinking too much about all doomed
scenarios and not to listen to people
that only see limits and barriers. “All
the stories we read about the few that
‘got it all’ are rare exceptions and often
not the full truth”. She warns to not fall
in the trap of trying to be perfect, but
let go of the ‘not good enough feeling’
and all of that. She quotes, “Let go of
trying to imitate types of leadership
you see around but which are not you,
and be really true to yourself.”
Marina Tognetti
Founder & CEO
mYngle
March 2019| 41

Sofia Fenichell is the Founder and
CEO of Mrs Wordsmith. Mrs
Wordsmith is on a mission to illustrate
the English language with the award-
winning artists behind Madagascar
and Hotel Transylvania - so children
fall in love with learning words. We
are the first company to illustrate the
English language to re-imagine the
dictionary for digital natives and the
visual world we live in. Prior to Mrs
Wordsmith, Sofia was the CEO and
Founder of Rockpack, which created
two of the most downloaded video
curation apps, regularly featured by
Apple. She has an MBA from
Columbia Business School and a BA
in History from Northwestern
University. She is also an agented
writer on a novel in the works, called
Silicon Sally.
About the Author
Balancing the Needs
of Business
Balancing the Needs
of Business
Iam mumpreneur. I am very proud of this title. It
evokes an image of a frazzled yet sincere, middle-aged
woman effortlessly juggling the needs and
expectations of loved ones, with running a business.
In reality, it is very different, especially the ‘effortlessly’
part.
Over the past 4 years I have been in over 100 classrooms
teaching Mrs. Wordsmith or just observing how students
learn. I have had the pleasure of working with highly
regarded academics, fellow entrepreneurs, large companies
and informed investors in the edtech sector.
I have learned more than I have taught.
Here is what I have learned in and out of the home and the
classroom, and how it relates to being an entrepreneur.
Lesson #1
It’s important to stand for - or against - something
meaningful
People love to rally around an idea or a mission. At Mrs
Wordsmith, we stand for the fight against boredom, both in
classrooms and at home. If you can hold the attention of
children, you can educate them. Easier said than done. But
in our case, we think about this every minute of every day.
We vet our ideas and our products around this simple
concept - can it hold the attention of a child? If we fail to
Effortless
March 2019|42

Soﬁa Fenichell
Founder & CEO
Mrs Wordsmith
March 2019| 43

engage children, we have failed to deliver on the most
critical aspect of learning.
Lesson #2
Lean hard into change until it feels like you are about to
topple over
And don’t worry about falling over because you will.
Heavily discount market perceptions that people are not
looking for change. It’s not true. We are all looking for
change - parents, teachers and schools. It’s just that we may
not be able to articulate what we are looking for until you
the entrepreneur show us what good looks like. There is so
much we resist in life until someone shows us. When we
first started Mrs Wordsmith, everyone said to us, “you will
never be able to illustrate words that aren’t nouns” and sure
enough, it’s the hallmark of what we do. We know how to
illustrate words that are difficult to illustrate like ‘ambitious’
or ‘blaring’.
Lesson #3
Don’t make incremental changes - kicking the can up
the road is for hobos
You need to think big. Being an aggregator, making minor
improvements to products or services that exist today - this
isn’t innovation, it’s repackaging. There is a place for this.
But don’t expect customers to pay for it, or students to truly
benefit from it. The single biggest problem in the education
sector today is incrementalism. Instead of thinking about
how to repackage spelling exercises, think about whether
we need to teach spelling to primary kids at all? Should we
bin the lists and just give kids the space and time to read?
Instead of spending 80% of classroom time learning about
our history and who we were, how about learning about the
future and who we could become? Entrepreneurs shift the
80/20 rule in unexpected and meaningful ways.
Lesson #4
Hire well
You can’t do it alone. You can’t. Hire people you can learn
from. You should admire the people you work with. Hire
people who disagree with you, Hire a diversity of personas
and mindsets. Make sure you feel a connection to them.
You are going to debate a lot of issues together. And then
delegate. The more you delegate, the faster you will learn
how capable people are.
Lesson #5
Don’t take your culture for granted
Culture is something you build, not inherit. Culture can be a
powerful, single organising principle. It can also be a
disease. You want people to feel safe but slightly unhinged
so they can be creative. You want them to feel under
pressure from the customer, not management, so they
genuinely bring their A game to work. And lastly, take care
of your people. They will feel more inspired.
I have learned a lot from two - very different - books on
culture. One is called Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull the
founder of Pixar and the other is Powerful, Building a
Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, by Patty McCord of
Netflix.
Lesson #6
Execute, iterate, and execute
It’s been said so much. But that’s because it’s the hardest
thing on earth. Execution is highly nuanced too. You have to
read, think and listen a lot to execute well. You have to plan
and iterate.
Lesson #7
Saving the best for last. Family and exercise
The idea for Mrs Wordsmith came from my children,
because I was so connected to their needs at school. After a
lot of fruitless searching for a product, I decided to create
one. The entrepreneur’s story only has a happy ending if you
remember to put your family first, or at a minimum, on par
with your business.
Being an entrepreneur is hard work. There are times when
the boundaries between work and home, or work and health,
will be blurred. Only you can set these boundaries. It’s not
always easy. But if you truly believe in what you do, you
will play the long game. You will set the boundaries that
make you a better wife, mother, person, friend - whatever it
is that gives you perspective, anchors and rejuvenates you.
March 2019|44

Pae NatwilaiRevolutionizing Construction Industry
with 3D Drone Mapping
In an interview with Insights Success,
the Founder and CEO, of Trik, Pae
Natwilai, sheds a light on company’s
cutting-edge innovation and shares her
insights about the drone innovation and its
future. She also explains the impact of
digitalization on overall construction
process.
Below are highlights from the interview
conducted between Pae and Insights
Success:
How do you diversify your organization’s
offerings to appeal to the target
audience?
We have a key set of features which our
software can perform and we rarely develop
special tools for individual clients.
In order to diversify our offering, we focus
on finding user cases and explaining
different benefits that each of our clients
can receive from using our services. For
example, our software has the capability to
detect changes in 3D and track it through
time.
For asset management companies, they are
more interested in seeing the progress of the
whole project and track the change against
budget. While insurance companies will be
using this same feature for comparing
before and after condition to evaluate the
insurance cost. This is the same technical
feature in our software but delivers
completely different benefit to clients. By
phrasing things into benefit with clear case
Pae Natwilai
Founder and CEO
Trik
March 2019|46

study, we can diversify our offer to
many industries without any change in
our core software.
Describe some of the vital attributes
possess.
Practically, it doesn’t matter if you
have an amazing idea, unless you
figure out a way to make a sustainable
business, the company won’t last.
How do you strategize your game
plans to tackle competition in the
market?
In the drone industry, competition is
actually good for everyone. Because
the technology is still very new, most
of the work we do is educating the
market of what they can do with drone
data. Competition makes our clients
know more about drone in general and
can see different benefits the drone
brings to different industries. We
always keep a close eye on our
competitors, but we realize that more
than 80% of the people we thought
were our competitors, were actually
very good partners, as we were
interested in the same clients but we
can provide a different specialty.
faced by women entrepreneurs in the
workplaces and what are the ways to
tackle them?
I think the key challenge most woman
entrepreneurs face in workplaces is
most people making assumption that
they’re not capable. You can’t change
or educate the whole industry
overnight. Though it would be nice if
we can, one of the ways that I find very
practical for me is to establish
credibility for myself early on in the
conversation. Another way that the
whole industry could help is to make
successful women and other role
models more visible. When General
Public is familiar with seeing
successful women in multiple fields,
people will be more used to the idea
that a woman is capable of doing
anything.
What were the primal challenges
and roadblocks you faced during the
initial phase of your career as an
entrepreneur?
One of the primary challenges I faced
during the initial phase of my career as
an entrepreneur is self-doubt. Everyone
I met told me I need to find a
co-founder to help me build the
company, so I thought that is what I
need. I wasted over a year trying to
find the right person to work with,
while in fact I have both the technical
knowledge and industry experience to
actually start the company by myself.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t need a
team. I do, I just don’t necessarily need
a co-founder to start the company to
begin with.
Where do you see yourself in the
near future and what are your future
goals?
My main goal is to grow the company
internationally and have a better work
life balance.
I would like to establish a better
supporting system inside the company
to provide opportunity for young
people and minority, and support
personal growth for everyone in the
team.
What is your advice for budding and
emerging Shepreneurs?
Keep going and don’t forget to ask for
help along the way.
Asking for help doesn’t mean you are
weak. It means that you are strong
enough to accept your strength and
weakness, and strong enough to let
other people know that. I would not
have made it to today without the
advice, help and support of everyone
around me along the way.
About the Leader
Pae Natwilai is a trailblazing innovator,
technologist and thought leader in
drone innovation and digital
construction. As CEO and founder of
Trik, she has developed and launched
software that uses drone photography
to create real-time 3D mapping of
buildings and other architectural
structures. The technology, which
represents a revolution for the
structural inspection industry, has won
Pae a host of accolades, including
selection for the Forbes 30 Under 30
Europe, Industry list.
Pae completed a B.Eng. in Mechanical
Engineering at Chulalongkorn
University in her native Thailand. She
started her career as an inspection and
maintenance engineer at the Thai
national oil and gas company, PTTEP,
before winning a scholarship to study
an MA/M.Sc. in Global Innovation
Design at Imperial College London
and the Royal College of Art (RCA).
My main vision is
to make all the
cutting edge
technologies usable
by someone who
has absolutely no
technical knowledge.
March 2019| 47

Renée Safrata:
Tenacious and Exemplary
Entrepreneurial Voyage
S
ometimes the traits are
inherited. Being born with
extraordinary abilities in an
extraordinary family is surely a
blessing. However, evidently not
every child is capable of enduring
the glory. Refining those leverages is
equally essential to step into the
great shoes of legacy. If such
intellectuals have a vision coupled
with tenacity to evolve with time, no
one can stop them from achieving
what they desire. Born in the house
of a successful entrepreneur and
blessed with entrepreneurial traits
from her childhood the CEO of
renowned Vivo Team Development,
Renée Safrata is that example for
you.
The Inception of Vivo Team
Development
Inspired by one of her mentor
Phillip Moody’s statement ‘if I can
do it, you can do it’, Renée launched
her first ever venture in her twenties,
Safrata Group Inc. a boutique
interior design firm. After ensuring
its success she transitioned and
established her own children’s
Renée Safrata
CEO
Vivo Team Development
March 2019|48

clothing line – Wigglers after eleven
years. A short stint with Wigglers set
her up to co-own ViRTUS. Having
such diversely successful and
enriching experiences solidified her
idea of never needing to work for
someone else. After a bucket load of
research on the future of agile and
distributed teams, the influx of new
generations in the workplace and the
need for technology drive better
solutions to train teams and leaders,
Renée started Vivo Team
Development in 2012 with a passion
to solve the workplace disengagement
crisis.
Building Teams, Developing
Leaders
Vivo Team Development’s SaaS
platform uses people analytics to
describe and prescribe the most
effective solutions for Team and
Leader development. They target
=companies that are interested in
investing in their people so they more
effectively achieve their business
results. It helps companies that are
tired of investing in talent but not
seeing measurable improvement. Vivo
Team Development also contributes to
companies that are focused on
working in agile and distributed teams
and are looking to increase their
productivity.
Vivo Team Development has
developed the first proven HR
Predictive Analytics platform that can
measure how leaders and employees
behaviors contribute to the bottom
line.
Entrepreneurial Traits
Renée exemplifies all vital
entrepreneurial traits. To be a
successful entrepreneur the top
attribute is a tenacious entrepreneurial
spirit. You must have it, and you must
look for it in the team that you build
around you. Being an entrepreneur
requires a strong stomach and an iron
will. You are constantly evolving and
being challenged and growing. It’s
thrilling and rewarding; it is generally
not for the faint-hearted people.
Seduction of safety is much more
dangerous than the perception of the
risk. You also have to have a positive
outlook and you should be a problem
solver. No one succeeds as an
entrepreneur unless they are able to
see a problem as an opportunity and
have the willingness to go over the
edge of the fear.
Unique and Innovative Approach
Renée always looks for ways that how
Vivo Team Development can serve its
clients in a unique and innovative
way. While she definitely has her
finger on the pulse of what’s going on
in Vivo Team’s market and
competitive landscape, she focuses her
energy more on developing the best
product to provide value to
organization’s clients rather than on
what a perceived competitor might be
doing.
Best Time to be Shepreneur
Renée says that various tests and
challenges on the way keep her alive,
on-her-toes, sharper than others
perhaps. She chooses to remain
curious in such situations. She handles
challenges by tapping into her
patience, repeating back the questions
she is being asked before jumping to
the solution and she tries to stay
focused on her goal. She says, “right
now is a fantastic time to be a woman
business leader - like never before!”
Looking Forward
Near future, Renée aims to close on its
first round of seed capital after years
of being the solo investor in growing
company Vivo Team Development.
She says that 2019 is going to be a big
year of scaling and growth and a lot of
new learning for her and her team.
Her Future goal is to grow a thriving
global tech company that provides all
employees with the vehicle to live
their dream. She has spent the past six
years working most waking minutes.
She looks forward to lifting off and to
be able to enjoy the fruits of a lot of
hard work.
Enhancing Right People
Renée advises to aspiring
Shepreneurs, “Find the Robin to your
Batwoman.” She says that she cannot
stress enough the importance of
building the right team around
oneself. She suggests hiring only
those people who are aligned with
one’s vision and one’s work ethic. She
adds, “Develop your people, invest in
their happiness and there’s nothing
that can hold you back. Our business
is built on enhancing our key asset -
our people - and in my experience as
an entrepreneur, the right people are a
game changer.”
“Say many small
and big yeses, help
others learn to
make decisions
thoughtfully and
quickly and help
team members
move forward with
their best work.”
March 2019| 49

Leadership is about using the
power of a position to
empower a group of people
in order to attain a common goal. A
leader’s task is to implement the
plans that usually look good on
paper, through a delegated team, in a
specific time with an ongoing
motion. She/he may use the
traditional method or may think out
of the box. It depends on the leader
as how to do it; the ultimate motive
is to get the job done. Although, each
and every individual has a different
approach on leadership, some might
say it is about setting examples,
some might say it is about sharing
the authority; what matters is, taking
the right decision when it is most
needed.
Leadership varies from one
organization to another. An
organization is a dynamic body and
The Transformational Leader
A transformational leader inspires
the team through effective
communication and an intellectual
environment. However, these
individuals require more detail
oriented managers to successfully
implement their strategies.
Transformational Leadership is
considered among the most effective
employees of the organization. One
of the examples of this type of
leadership is when a leader is
assigned on a higher level for
effective environment.
The Transactional leader
The transactional leadership, as the
name suggests, enables the leader to
incentivize the team corresponding
to their performance. The team gets
rewarded when it attains the goals
and the Leader has the power to
review the results and act
creates new probabilities every now
and then. And with new
probabilities, come new challenges.
Although, it is impossible to
overcome every challenge, the
business environment has adopted
certain leadership styles for the
efficiency of business:
The Participative Leader
Participative Leadership is the
process of sharing authority with the
work force in order to get optimum
efficiency. The team, after getting
access to certain powers, works
responsibly to accomplish the goals
set by its leader. The shared
leadership also helps in case of any
requirement of change, as the
employees adapt quickly in such
environment. Incidentally, this style
of leadership fits best in a scenario
when there is a limitation of time.
Good
The Art of Leading
Attributes
of a
March 2019|50

accordingly when the team fails to
do the same. The goals and the
strategy to attain them are decided
by the leader and the team itself.
The Situational leader
Situational leadership is a theory that
the best leader will adapt to the
required leadership style according
to need of the hour. A Situational
leader may adopt democratic style
while discussion business with
senior executive, but may switch to
transactional at the time of team
review. However every individual
has a natural style of leadership and
it may be difficult to switch roles at a
certain point of time.
Qualities of a good leader
There is an old proverb that says,
“Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed
Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish,
and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.”
So is the case with leadership. One
of the basic qualities of a Leader is
to pass on the leadership skills.
Following are some of the qualities
of a good leader:
Ÿ Communication Skills
Communication is the basic
requirement for efficiency in a
business. As the level of hierarchy
elevates, the requirement of
communication grows. Especially,
when it comes to leadership, there is
no scope for lack of communication.
A Leader who fails to develop this
skill is looked up as incompetent,
because it is his job to send the
message loud and clear. Although, it
is also important to listen as it is an
integral part of communication.
Ÿ Decision making
There is risk in decision to making.
Great leaders take great decisions
when the stake is high and it is the
success of those decisions that make
them great. To add up, a good leader
takes right decision at the right time.
In conclusion, a good leader can be
defined by the dynamics of his style
in leadership, the values that he
brings to the organization, the
methods he uses to make the best of
the resources, and the kind of
decision he makes in the given
situations. At the end it is about the
attitude of an individual to bring the
change for good.
Ÿ Integrity
C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing
the right thing, even when no one is
watching.” Be it giving credit to one
of the team members or be it
admitting a mistake, a leader wears
integrity as a badge of honor. They
do what is right, no matter what.
Ÿ Empowerment
As mentioned earlier, Leadership is
about using the power of one’s
position to empower a group of
people in order to attain a common
goal. A good leader shares his
authority with the team in order to
get the job done. By doing this, he
shows confidence in the team and
obliged by the gesture, the team
works with full enthusiasm to
accomplish the goal.
March 2019| 51

“The biggest attribute an
entrepreneur must have is
determination and belief - both
of which should be strong
enough to endure the inevitable
tough times.
“
Sophie Thompson
Co-founder
VirtualSpeech
SOPHIE
THOMPSON
A Determined Believer Beyond Prejudices
March 2019|54

nderneath your fear lies the
Ugreatest of opportunities.
Conquering something that
scares you the most and tearing down
the invisible barriers that discrete you
from the ideal life, you become the
person you’ve always dreamt of: the
best of you. A crafted blend of belief
and determination can open that door
and enable you to pave the way beyond
prejudices.
Meet Sophie Thompson, a young
resilient believer who conquered her
fear in an inventively unusual way and
marked a global success. Sophie once
had a fear about speaking in public. A
millennial found an exceptional
solution to overcome this adversity: a
VR powered immersive training
platform, VirtualSpeech. Sophie
recalls the app was initially co-created
for fun and was not expected to
become a business. However, today it
is a recognized solution worldwide,
which enables people to learn and
practice key business skills in virtual
reality (VR). Within 18 months of
creating VirtualSpeech, Sophie went
from not being able to order her own
food at a restaurant to being
interviewed live on BBC World News -
all with the help of VirtualSpeech.
Positive Integrations
VirtualSpeech’s offering has diversified
over the years to cater for the growing
needs of a global audience. The
platform now offers online training
courses combined with VR for an array
of business skills, for individuals and
small businesses, as well as offering
the ability to integrate them into
company LMS systems for wider-scale
adoption. The solution is also available
as a standalone option to coaches and
trainers, who are looking to diversify
their own in-person training packages.
Sophie has been integral to the
evolution of the business and
streamlining growth of the platform to
ensure they over the best solution
available.
Enduring Tough Times
Sophie recalls she faced two main
challenges during the initial phase of
her tenure. The first one was related to
operating in a relatively nascent
market. According to Sophie, putting
extensive efforts to sell a VR solution,
when a high proportion of people
didn’t even know what VR was and its
exceptional benefits for education was
quite a challenge.
Selling to large enterprises was another
perspiring task. Sophie was 22 when
she began selling VirtualSpeech and,
being so young, she felt a pressure to
disprove stereotypes and prove herself
and her knowledge. However, she
mentions, proving to know the product,
market, and understanding customers’
needs was key to persuading people
that age didn’t matter.
In addition to this, Sophie commented
on an unconscious bias engrained in
many people towards female
entrepreneurs. She mentioned that
sometimes she is not taken as seriously
as her male co-founder, although
acknowledges that people probably
don’t mean harm by this. According to
her, female entrepreneurs need to
develop a thick skin and realize it’s not
personal. And the best way to tackle
this is to display your expertise with
confidence and don’t let anyone dim
that or take that away from you. Her
never- ending enthusiasm and an
unwavering belief in her product have
kept her motivated and helped her to
overcome any obstacles she’s
encountered.
Committed to Build the Best
Customer satisfaction has always been
the first and foremost priority for
VirtualSpeech. When asked about
tackling competition, she asserted,
“Focusing too much on the
competition can become a huge
distraction to a business, so we just try
to focus on building the best product
we can.” She further adds, “Our focus
is on our customers and providing a
solution which the market demands,
not on what others in the market are
doing.”
Personifying Traits of Success
A young, globally successful
entrepreneur, Sophie believes the
biggest attribute an entrepreneur must
have is determination and belief - both
of which should be strong enough to
endure the inevitable tough times. She
comments, “Entrepreneurs need to be
visionary with their ideas but at the
same time, realistic about how they’re
going to get there, and have bucket-
loads of motivation to match.”
Sophie surely has a promising future
ahead. In the coming year, along with
leading VirtualSpeech’s growth, she
envisions advocating teens and young
women to pursue careers in tech,
through entrepreneurship or otherwise.
For Sophie, it’s important that women
are represented in the industry. She
comments, “The tech industry has
massively influenced our lives to date
and will continue to do so, and it’s
important that women are represented
in the industry, and influence how tech
is developed so it’s not entirely from,
typically, one demographic’s
perspective.”
The determined VirtualSpeech co-
founder serves her vision in every
possible way and encourages woman
to do the same with her work and
words. She states, “Have the
confidence to believe in yourself and
your product. I often speak to women
with amazing ideas and the thing that
stops them is their lack of confidence,
but you miss every shot that you don’t
take!”
March 2019| 55

Suzanne Grant is the Co-founder of iBIONICS, a
medical technology company. Under her leadership,
iBIONICS recruited a world class team, raised $4.8M
in grants and investment and has been recognized as a top
retina innovator within the international retina surgical
community and by CB Insights. iBIONICS has won
multiple awards including the National Startup Canada
Award for Innovation and the Creative Business Cup. The
med tech innovator has appeared on Bloomberg TV, CTV,
AMI and CBC radio and in the Global Mail and BioWorld
Med Tech.
Suzanne was recently awarded a 50 over 50 Award (WISE)
and a Female Founder Award (Startup Canada).
She shared the Keynote Stage at The Interface Health Brain
Machine Connection Summit in Vancouver - with
visionaries Geordie Rose, Founder of Sanctuary.ai and
Yoshua Bengio Cofounder of Element AI.
Suzanne believes that there are three distinct chapters that
can be carved from her winding career trajectory; military
engineering officer, strategic communications & publishing
entrepreneur (in an international market), and brain
machine interface startup cofounder/CEO. Her main
takeaways from each of these experiences were mission
focus, collaboration, and imagining beyond what’s known.
According to Suzanne, “Each of my roles has provided an
opportunity to serve.” As a military officer, she served her
country. While leading an agency and publishing house in a
frontier market, she served her team, clients, and the public.
As a medical technology entrepreneur, developing solutions
for devastating disease, she served humanity alongside her
team.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities I have been entrusted,
the mentors who have guided me, and the teams of diverse,
brilliant people who have taught me the meaning of
leadership. On this path, we are forever learning.” asserts
Suzanne.
Suzanne Grant is the Co-founder of iBIONICS engineering officer, strategic communications & publishing
An Ofcer
of Leadership
March 2019|56

The 20 most successful shepreneurs to watch in 2019

The 20 most successful shepreneurs to watch in 2019

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