December 29, 2024 • 42 mins
On episode #121, join me as I sit down with Alyssa Pollack, a well-known and respected entrepreneur who has navigated the corridors of corporate giants and the fast-paced lanes of tech startups. Alyssa takes us on her journey from her early days at Walgreens to her transformative role in launching Uber Eats and ultimately onto co-founding Fello, a startup tackling the loneliness epidemic with a groundbreaking peer-to-peer model. Her story is a testament to the power of resilience and the impact of pushing one's boundaries in pursuing personal and professional growth.
Throughout my conversation with Alyssa, we discussed her startup life, which was filled with exhilarating challenges and unparalleled rewards. Discover how she helped scale Uber Eats into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise by staying relentlessly customer-focused and resilient in the face of obstacles. Alyssa generously shares her strategies for building self-confidence and asserting value in high-stakes environments, especially for women striving to make their mark. She also shares her approach to leadership and compensation strategies, emphasizing the importance of self-recognition, leveraging personal strengths, and advocating for fair compensation in the entrepreneurial world.
Alyssa offers invaluable insights into the significance of nurturing supportive networks and securing financial backing. Learn her secrets for building robust business foundations and fostering transparent relationships with mentors and investors. We also touch on the importance of energy management and maintaining passion over the long haul. This episode is brimming with actionable advice and inspiration, perfect for anyone looking to carve out their path in business and tech. Don’t miss this captivating exploration of empowerment, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of meaningful connections.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi there, my name is Mary Kiloalea.
Welcome to the To Be Bolderpodcast providing career
insights for the next generationof women in business and tech.
To Be Bolder was created out ofmy love for technology and
marketing, my desire to bringtogether like-minded women and
my hope to be a great role modeland source of inspiration for
my two girls and other youngwomen like you, encouraging you
(00:22):
guys to show up and to be bolderand to know that anything you
guys dream of it's totallypossible.
So sit back, relax and enjoythe conversation.
Hi there, mary here.
Thanks for tuning in.
Today's guest is an inspirationto women running their own
businesses and those who aspireto become a founder someday.
(00:43):
Alyssa Pollack is a well-knownand highly respected female
founder.
Before co-founding Fellow,alyssa rose through the ranks as
an early Uber employee and afounding member of Uber Eats
team.
She then joined the foundingteam of Mill, a climate tech
startup, and led the businessfor its first four years.
Earlier this year, alyssa tookthe plunge as a co-founder and
(01:06):
first-time CEO of Fellow, astartup focused on solving the
loneliness epidemic.
Outside of work, alyssa enjoysskiing and hiking with her
husband and two children,mentoring emerging startup
leaders and reading copiousamounts of both fiction and
nonfiction.
Alyssa, it's so great to haveyou on the show.
I appreciate you being here.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to talk.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And I love that you're a mentor in your
day-to-day life.
I just think women who giveback and help other women in
their careers just are goodpeople in general.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, and it's fun to do.
It feels really rewarding whenwhat you've done can be a
playbook for someone else.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Exactly Okay.
So let's dive into yourimpressive career.
Tell us about your careerjourney and your current role as
the co-founder of Fela.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Sure.
Well, I grew up in the Midwestand when I was growing up there,
the tech scene wasn't really athing that I knew about, so I
took a little bit more of atraditional career path.
My first job after I graduatedcollege was at corporate
Walgreens and their financialrotational leadership program,
(02:18):
and it didn't take too longbefore I realized that the big
corporate life really wasn't forme.
I kind of got my first taste ofthe tech scene by being
proximate to Chicago, and afterI saw the growth of these new
interesting companies and theproducts that I was using that
(02:40):
were being built by thesescrappy little teams, I knew
that I wanted to figure out away to get in the mix.
So I kind of hustled my wayinto a role at Uber in 2012.
And this was back when it wasjust black cars on demand and my
job description was kind oflike do whatever it takes to
(03:00):
make this business grow.
And as daunting as that felt assomeone in their early 20s, it
was exactly what I was lookingfor.
It was fast paced, full ofautonomy, and I was working on a
product that people were soexcited about using and telling
their friends about.
So I spent a few years leadingoperations in the Chicago market
(03:24):
and then actually moved out toUber's headquarters in San
Francisco where I was on thefounding team of Uber Eats,
which operated like a littletiny startup within Uber, which
was a little bit moreestablished at that point.
So I got the taste of the earlystage grind again, which I love
.
(03:44):
I spent the following five yearsdoing a bunch of different
roles within Uber Eats, butusually at the intersection of
operations, product and businessstrategy.
So how are we going to makethis thing work, how is it going
to make money, where are wegoing to have to spend money and
what is the product that peopleare actually excited to use?
(04:05):
After about seven years and onechild later, I felt the pull to
do something that felt a littlebit more impactful and again
kind of the pull to go earlystage again.
So I joined as employee numberone at Mill, which is a climate
tech startup focused on foodrecycling, and it was just a
(04:28):
huge learning experience for mefrom moving from kind of
building a consumer marketplaceover into climate, the climate
sector, into hardware andbuilding something that's
physical, that actually goes insomeone's home, and furthermore,
we were building this companyat the height of COVID.
The company was incorporated, Ithink, in May of 2020.
(04:52):
So that was a whole learningexperience in and of itself and
loved every minute of my time atMill.
But when I met my now co-founder, pete Cadens, about this time
last year, he pitched me on anidea that he and our other
co-founder, jeff Waring, hadbeen thinking about and starting
(05:14):
to tinker with, and the ideawas around using a peer-to-peer
model to address the mentalhealth crisis and the loneliness
epidemic, and there was kind ofjust only one thing that might
have pulled me out of climate,and that was mental health.
And so when Pete came to mewith this idea, I saw it as a
really interesting opportunityto work on something that was
(05:36):
really high impact and also beable to pull from my bag of
tricks of building early stagemarketplaces and put those to
work.
So I stepped in as co-founderand CEO in February this year,
and it's been nonstop excitementand a roller coaster ever since
, but you probably won't besurprised to know by now that
(05:59):
I've loved it all, because thisis the stage that I thrive in.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
That is a fascinating career, especially for someone
who had her own business.
And then I went and worked forcorporate where I feel like you
know, your hands are tied sotightly for several years.
And now I'm kind of migratingback into working for myself
again.
And there is something verytangible when the risk is higher
(06:26):
.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah, and you feel like your fingerprints are on
everything, right, right, and ifyou're upset about how
something's going, it's up toyou right, yes.
You don't get to look aroundand say who's going to fix this?
Who's going to make this better?
Like, the answer is you.
Who's going to fix this?
Who's going to make this better?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Like, the answer is you, and that is to me really
empowering and energizing, andyou know it's tiring and
stressful too.
You said there was only a fewthings that could take you away
from climate change,no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And when I was considering the concept of
fellow and sort of this power ofaccumulated wisdom of humanity,
I thought back to a few reallytransformational moments in my
life.
I was diagnosed with stage fourcancer when I was a teenager
(07:52):
and didn't know anyone else whohad been through that and and so
you know I had a loving familyand access to incredible medical
care.
But there was this kind ofmissing piece which was like
wouldn't it be amazing if Icould talk to a 20-year-old who
had been through this, who'dgone through the same type of
treatment?
So I thought back to thatmoment.
(08:14):
I also navigated infertility asa relatively kind of young
woman as a result of my cancertreatment and again, I was kind
of the first of my friends tonavigate this whole new world
with new words and financialimplications and health outcomes
and all these things I wasunfamiliar with.
(08:35):
And since then I have beenreally open about my journey
with infertility and I've beenable to help probably a dozen
women understand their options,figure out what great doctors to
go to help them, not lose hopeif the first cycle of whatever
doesn't work, and so thinking onthose two experiences really
(08:56):
made me believe in the power ofexperienced-based peer support.
And then you know, I've kind oflike learned how to lean into
my vulnerability over the years,and doing so has enabled me to
help people through some ofthese difficult challenges.
So kind of thinking on thatside of things, like wouldn't it
(09:19):
be amazing if we could empowerhumanity to use those hard
fought battles and put those towork to help those around them?
It just is such a good feeling.
So that was kind of the pull tome and once the seed was
planted in my head, like therewasn't a day that went by that I
wasn't thinking about it.
(09:57):
How do you vet the people whocome on that help others?
Who are the three steps aheadwhere someone on our team
further understands theexperience that they've been
through, what help theyleveraged along the way, make
sure that they're in a goodmindset to be able to offer help
and make sure that they're agood communicator and a good
listener right, that's half thebattle.
(10:18):
Then we do two reference checksand make sure that they have
personal references that cankind of verify that they're the
type of person you'd want to gethelp from.
Then we do a background check,then the fellow undergoes
training and an assessment andonly after that can they be
listed on the platform.
So we go through a lot of stepsto make sure that these folks
(10:41):
are well positioned to providethat support, guidance and
empathy to people who need help.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And what are the topics that someone could come
to Fellow through the app toseek help with?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah, honestly, our vision for this is that for
anything you're feeling stuck onor that you're navigating alone
that's challenging, you cancome to Fellow.
We're a startup so we got tostart somewhere, and the areas
that we've started focusing onare drug and alcohol use.
(11:13):
So I'm sober, curious, or I'vedecided I want to stop drinking,
or I'm ready to reassess myrelationship with drugs or
alcohol.
Parenting this is one that I amactually a user of.
I'm parenting a neurodivergentchild and I've tapped into our
network of fellows to help meunderstand.
(11:33):
How do I support my son'sself-esteem, how do I navigate a
school system?
What academic milestones shouldI actually be worried about?
Or what is more, like icing onthe cake.
So parenting is a bunch thatkind of rolls up into the
parenting vertical.
And then relationships isactually our most popular
(11:55):
vertical where we have peoplecoming to get advice around
interracial, interfaithrelationships and some of the
tensions that arise from that.
Inter-racial, inter-faithrelationships and some of the
tensions that arise from that.
Navigating a divorce, if it'scome to that, or just navigating
tension in various differenttypes of relationships in your
life.
But again, the vision is muchbroader than that.
But those are the verticalsthat we've started with and have
(12:17):
gotten some traction in.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
That's exciting because it's just so relevant
today.
I think it's always beenrelevant, but I think we just
are seeing the demand and theimpact of the lack of support
today more than we have in thepast.
Yeah, you talk about beingattracted to or drawn to
(12:40):
startups because of the kind ofscrappiness and the hustle that
comes with that.
What is it Do you think umabout?
That type of business excitesyou?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah, I think a lot of it is the pace.
I am just like, if you askanyone who knows me, I'm always
on the go.
I've always been described as alittle bit impatient, or maybe
a lot impatient, depending onwho you ask I'm not great at
sitting still.
I'm not great at sitting still,I just like an object in motion
(13:20):
tends to stay in motion andthat is me.
And I love that at a startup thepace of decision making, the
feedback loops directly withearly customers, and being able
to say, oh hey, we heard from adozen customers that this
feature would be super helpful,and then two days later, like
(13:43):
here you go, customers, like wewere able to, we were able to
solve that problem for you.
And so the agility of it all, Ithink is, is really what
attracts me.
And, and then I also think,like you know, to take the leap
into an early stage endeavor,you have to really believe in
the problem that you're goingout and solving and that you've
(14:07):
got a solution.
And I think, just havingsomething that feels really
useful, that you're building forpeople like when you describe
fellow to someone, they're like,oh yeah, I could have totally
used that back when I was goingthrough X, y or Z or, oh my gosh
, I need to tell my sister aboutthis because she's navigating
this situation.
So I love building things thatpeople actually love using.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So I'm going to step back and go to when you worked
at Uber Eats.
You grew Uber Eats from zero to15 billion run rate business
across over 6,000 cities and 43countries in just four years,
and I have to look at thosestats again to really believe
that.
What lessons have you learnedabout resilience and handling
(14:53):
challenges when scaling abusiness so rapidly, and how did
you personally stay resilientthrough those ups and downs
during that time period?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Yeah, well, I think the interesting thing that not
many people know about Uber Eatsis that it took us about a year
maybe a little bit longer thana year with a different type of
food delivery concept beforepivoting into the Uber Eats food
delivery marketplace that weall know and use and probably
(15:23):
spend way too much money ontoday and that year was.
It was a slog.
Right, we were puttingsomething out there, we were
doing limited meals, but theycould be delivered in five or 10
minutes in a tight geography,and we thought, wow, this is
cool.
Who wouldn't want their lunchdelivered in five minutes?
(15:43):
Right, and we had thetechnology.
Right, we had Uber driversaround every corner so we could
get something to people in fiveminutes.
But it took us a while to figureout why it wasn't really
sticking.
People would use it, they wouldfind it to be novel, but they
wouldn't use it on a weeklybasis, which is kind of what you
wanna see when you're buildinga product like that.
(16:05):
And we decided to ask ourcustomers, hey, why don't you
use us more often?
And they came back and said,hey, we need more selection,
right?
One option or two options forlunch or dinner each day just
isn't enough, especially if I'mtrying to get an order in for
the office or for my family.
(16:26):
There's just not enough thereand so we were able to then kind
of pivot with that informationand focus more on building on a
breadth of selection.
And I think you know that waslike a little bit of a hard pill
to swallow, honestly, becausethey're like why would, why
would someone want moreselection with a longer delivery
time, if we could get themsomething in five minutes.
(16:47):
But I think the lesson is likestay customer obsessed and if
you can just really keep thecustomer front and center in
your mind, they will help youkind of guide in the right
direction.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Sometimes it's so simple Just ask the customer.
Yeah, I love that.
Okay, let's talk aboutconfidence.
As women, we often facechallenges with self confidence
and high stake environments.
How have you navigated this andwhat advice would you give to
women working on building theirconfidence in their careers?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I think this there was a big unlock for me.
Later in my tenure at Uber Eats, I was around the table with
executives from some of thebiggest restaurant chains in the
country, in the world, and onceyou get a seat at that table,
it's really interesting.
You realize people around thattable don't have all the answers
(17:43):
right.
That's not what it's actuallyabout.
It's about asking the rightquestions.
It's about bringing kind ofyour superpower to the table and
knowing where others need tobring theirs.
And I think that was a bigunlock and that gave me the
confidence to really raise myhand, even if I wasn't 100% sure
(18:05):
that I was going to be able todo the thing that I was setting
out to do.
I think that that was thebiggest learning for me.
And then, you know, I thinkanother thing is to the extent
that you're able to justsurrounding yourself with people
who really value yourperspective.
And I was lucky enough to havethat in the leadership team at
Uber Eats and then in subsequentpositions where I was able to
(18:29):
say, hey, here's what I'm reallygood at, and they were like, oh
, that's important and we needyou at the table to provide that
point of view.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
I love that fact where you said this is what I'm
good at.
How do you encourage women toidentify what they're good at
and to take the stance to raisetheir hand and make that louder
and known?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Yeah, I think there's .
You know, I've always, sinceI've been a leader, I've really
subscribed to kind of astrengths-based team approach.
It's like let's not focus on,like, making all of our hundreds
of weaknesses better, likelet's make our handful of
strengths, like extra strength,right, and so I think, you know,
(19:16):
trying to instill that in theteams that work for me and with
me is part of it.
But I actually think the keyhere is leading by example, and
what my teams will tell you isthat I'm the first person to say
, hey, this isn't my area ofexpertise, like let's loop in
someone else.
Or hey, this is something thatI've done a handful of times.
(19:39):
So I'm going to have a littlebit of a stronger opinion about
how we go about this, so wedon't learn lessons that I've
already learned the hard way,and I'm just very transparent
about the things that I know andthe things that I don't know,
and I think then that givespeople the confidence to do the
same in other venues.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I love that leadership quality and I don't
think I've ever heard anyonearticulate it like that, and I
think that's a very uniquequality in your leadership.
Many women struggle with makingsure that they are compensated
appropriately, and you know theyone need to identify the value
they bring, but then they needto articulate hey, I need to be
(20:20):
compensated for that.
What have you learned or whatadvice do you have around salary
and compensation andnegotiating for women out there
listening to this?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, I think this is particular for early stage
startups and that in many caseswhen you're starting something
yourself or when you're thefirst or second or third
employee, there's not.
You're often walking into acash strapped situation and
there's not a lot of comparabledata points.
(20:54):
For your salary, You'reprobably wearing a half a dozen
hats.
You may not even have a jobtitle.
For your salary, you'reprobably wearing a half a dozen
hats.
You may not even have a jobtitle.
Your sector is like roughlyestablished, but there's just
you can't line it up on a tableof comps to say this is the
salary that I deserve, because Ilooked at these seven other
roles at these other companies,Cause it's just apples and
oranges at that stage.
So my approach really has beento get in the door to make an
(21:19):
impact, prove your value,quantify it and then use that as
leverage to get thecompensation you deserve.
And I think one other reallyimportant thing to remember,
especially in startup land, isthat if you really truly believe
in what you're building andyour ability to contribute to
(21:40):
the success of the company, youactually should be looking to
maximize your equity stake inthe company.
So salary is just one component.
So whenever I'm coaching ormentoring people on, what should
I ask for?
I always am like OK, how muchdo you believe in this company?
How big of a risk are you in aposition to take?
(22:00):
And that typically fluctuatesdepending on life stage,
financial situation, all of that.
But to me it's like, if you'regoing to spend day in and day
out and a lot of times latenights on this, on this startup,
like, get the equity stake sothat you can share in the upside
of the success that you'regoing to have a big hand in
(22:21):
creating.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
How do you help women transition their mindset from
terms or words like wherethey're almost belittling their
passion project, their passionproject, little hobby, you know?
(22:43):
Where I mean, where theybelieve it's a business and they
have the dream and hope it'sgoing to go big, but yet the
words that are coming out oftheir mouth don't emulate where
they see the vision or how muchthey believe in the company
money?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
That's a good question.
I think that it can be a littlebit cheesy feeling to do, but
the practice of manifesting andI think one of the things that
(23:16):
you learn in marketing and PRand positioning is this sort of
aspirational language right, youmarket the company that you
intend to be, the product thatyou intend to have, and win
hearts and minds through thatvision, not necessarily through
what you're at where you're attoday with it, what you're at
(23:42):
where you're at today with it.
And I think, just going throughthat practice and manifesting,
even earlier, when I wasexplaining to you what Fellow
covered, right, it started withwhat's the vision for Fellow.
Right, and we're on steppingstone number two or three of who
knows how many.
But as long as you can kind ofpaint the vision and that gets
you excited, that's what youshould be sharing with others,
even if it's just a weekendproject right now.
(24:04):
Figure out what the vision is,own it and then share it.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Great advice Having your own business from women
I've talked to, and even mypersonal experience can be
lonely.
You know you feel a lack ofsupport.
What have you done, or what'syour secret sauce to building a
strong, supportive network ofpeople around you, both
professionally and personally?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
What I've experienced is that startup teams become
incredibly close because usuallyit's a small team and usually
you're navigating highs and lowstogether.
So I think my secret sauce hasbeen hiring people or working
for people that I want to be onthe roller coaster with.
(24:50):
It's like who am I going to behappy when things are good, when
things are not so good and whenthings are just all mixed up
right, who am I going to behappy working with?
And these people are typicallypeople who bring positive energy
and just a fearlessness when itcomes to diving into the chaos.
(25:11):
So that's kind of like.
My professional trick is justlike work with great people, and
I know it's not always possible.
But the good news is, in earlystage companies, a lot of times
it is a lot of times you'rebuilding the team from scratch
or you're joining a small teamand you can you should interview
every single person on thatsmall startup team, because,
(25:32):
even if it, even if they're notin your department, even if it
doesn't seem like you guys aregoing to be working together,
the minute there's a crisis,even if it doesn't seem like you
guys are going to be workingtogether, the minute there's a
crisis which there inevitablywill be.
Everyone's going to be in ittogether.
So that's sort of how I'venavigated that in my
professional life.
And then you know I don't takefor granted in my personal life.
I have an incredibly supportivehusband and two kids and they
(25:56):
just are my biggest, loudestcheerleaders, most energetic
cheerleaders, and that reallykeeps me going.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
That's awesome.
Speaking of support, what areyour go-to resources or mentors
that you've had along the waythat have played crucial roles
in your success and yourbusiness acumen?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
I am constantly reading.
I love reading about journeysof other startups, other
founders and I find it reallyknow much about Um.
I didn't know anything abouttransportation before I started
(26:43):
at Uber.
I didn't know anything aboutclimate or garbage before I
started at mill.
I knew a little bit about umkind of the mental health space
before I um started buildingfellow and I love going deep on
those sectors.
So you know, at mill you wouldfind me reading books about the
garbage industry, um at fellowI'm currently consumed on
(27:06):
anything about the lonelinessepidemic or about social
connection or um social health.
So I like to just like throwmyself into those types of
resources.
And then you know, I think I'vehad some success with this
concept of mentorship before,but it might not surprise you
(27:29):
that, given what we're buildingat Fellow, I've actually found
more valuable connections, likecalling up my friends who are
founders, who started theircompanies two years ago, who are
just a couple steps ahead of me, and they would probably laugh
if I said like, oh, you're mymentor, but they're kind of my
GPS, right, and those areusually lower pressure, you know
(27:52):
, lower stakes type ofengagements, and so I would
encourage people to not get toohung up on what you know the
definition of mentorship is, andit's sort of like okay, can I
find someone who is a couplesteps ahead of me on this
journey, and they may not haveall the answers, but they may
have one of the answers that I'mcurrently trying to find.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I love that.
Let's talk about financialfunding.
It's a significant hurdle forwomen-owned businesses.
Do you have any tips, insightsor resources that you can
recommend for securing fundingor grants, especially at that
early stage?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, I think no amount of tips or tricks is
going to be more important thangood business foundations, right
?
So like building a businessthat's healthy and that has
solid economics and a vision anda path to get to that vision, I
(28:48):
think is like step one.
You cannot skip that and it'salso not sufficient.
And I think the other piece ofthe puzzle that I have found to
be most important isrelationships and calling up
those mentors or the people thatare a couple steps ahead of you
and saying, hey, who's been thebest investor to that you've
(29:09):
worked with, or who did you findto be most collaborative in
your process?
Can you introduce them to me?
And even if they're not a goodfit, maybe they'll be able to
introduce me to someone else.
And I think the trick is likestarting to build those
relationships very early,nurturing them, bringing them
along for the journey, doingthat before you need money.
If you're in a position whereyou need money, you've waited
(29:33):
too long to start buildingrelationships.
So I just encourage people toleverage your network, build the
relationship, nurture therelationship and be transparent.
I think a lot of times I usedto feel pretty intimidated by
investors, like, ooh, they haveall of the control and power and
(29:54):
in some respects they do,especially if you're in that
position of needing money fromthem.
But really they just likesolving interesting business
problems, like you do, and theytry to do it from a different
angle.
And so I found that taking someof the hard problems that I'm
trying to solve to investors hasactually gotten them really
(30:17):
engaged in what we're buildingand invested in what we're
building, and that ends upcoming back and paying dividends
when it's time to ask them towrite a check.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
That's super smart advice.
The next thing I want to talkabout is you as a leader and how
you've evolved and kind of someof your recommended books,
podcasts or habits that havehelped you become the leader
that you are today.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, I am kind of a creature of habit, so this is a
good question for me.
I think one of my mostimpactful habits which actually
started day one, week one atUber was looking at the metrics
every day, every week, right.
And so at Fellow we have aweekly huddle and at the top of
(31:09):
that meeting each week we'regoing top to bottom on the key
business metrics and if I'mconfused about why a number is
going in one direction when Iexpected it to go in the other,
we double click on that.
We figure out okay, issomething broken?
Are we looking at this in thewrong way?
Do we need to optimize oriterate on what we have out
(31:30):
there?
And I just don't think you canbe, especially in these early
days.
I don't think you can be in thenumbers too frequently.
Be especially in these earlydays.
I don't think you can be in thenumbers too frequently.
And I think that also builds alot of respect with the team
that I lead, which is like, oh,all this is like invested in how
(31:55):
things are going and and reallyinterested in how the work I'm
doing is contributing tobusiness outcomes, and I always
like to have the people who areclosest to the metric, speak to
it, and so oftentimes that givesmore junior team members an
opportunity to really showcasethe work that they're doing.
And I think there's anotherthing that I feel really proud
(32:16):
of, and that is when the numbersaren't going in the direction
we want.
We just there's no hiding it,there's no sugarcoating.
We just say, hey, like thisisn't, this isn't working the
way we thought it would, whatare we going to do about it?
And we take a really kind ofdecisive action oriented
approach to that.
So I think that's one of thehabits that just like so
ingrained now that it justhappens really really naturally.
(32:40):
The other one is talking tocustomers.
Any chance I get, at leastweekly, I'm talking to customers
, and I want to talk to thehappy ones, I want to talk to
the mad ones, I want to talk tothe ones who actually decided
that they wouldn't be a customer.
Anyone who will spare 15minutes talking with me.
I make room on my calendar andI find that those anecdotes are
(33:08):
actually a lot of times evenmore powerful, especially at the
stage when sometimes the datapoints on certain things can be
lacking in volume.
I find that the anecdotesreally power us through and help
drive important insights andaction.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I think I would tell my 20-year-old self that energy
management is important whenyou're diving into startups.
If you're doing it right, it'sgoing to be a multi-year thing
right.
And so managing energy andfinding those pockets where you
(33:49):
can kind of exhale and notfeeling ashamed about taking
that minute to exhale becauseyou know that minute is not
going to last very long and it'sgoing to be kind of back in the
trenches I think I would tellmyself to be a little bit more
intentional about energymanagement and I think I've
gotten much better at that asI've gotten a little bit older.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
And I think post-COVID and just in where we
are today, I think, withcompanies laying off people,
women, older women, you know,let's just say 40 and above.
You know that they've alreadyhad successful careers or their
burnout there.
They're starting to step awayand there's a growing number of
(34:32):
older women starting businesses.
Um, what advice do you have forthem, again, where they have a
great idea but they feel maybethey're late in their career.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
yeah, I think you know.
First, I believe that everyentrepreneurial journey starts
with falling in love with aproblem.
So what's the problem you'relooking to solve with the thing
that you want to do?
And you've really got to lovethat.
And, honestly, a lot of times Ido this myself and I give
people this advice when they'rethinking about starting
(35:10):
something try to think of allthe reasons why pursuing the
opportunity is a bad idea is abad idea.
And then if you still feel drawnto the problem, that's your
sign to take the leap right whenit feels inevitable, when it
(35:30):
feels like there is no otherchoice.
And if you don't feel like thaton the first idea you have or
the first problem, that doesn'tmean you're not cut out to be an
entrepreneur.
That means you need to digdeeper and think more critically
about the problem you'resolving, who you're solving it
for, and go back to the drawingboard.
And because if you don't havethat pull, it's going to be hard
to get up early, stay up late,juggle all the things work on
(35:54):
that Saturday, miss the soccergame, you know, do all these
things that these make, allthese sacrifices that you have
to do when you are anentrepreneur, and and so you've
really got to love it.
You've really got to love theproblem that you're working on.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
I love having this opportunity to pick your brain.
I just find it like my littlesecret time, but even though I
get to share it with so manypeople.
But let's talk about personalbrand.
To me, it's something I'm verypassionate about and I see women
get ahead in life once they'reclear on having a personal brand
(36:29):
.
How have you intentionallytaken that and put that into
motion for your own brand,separate from your businesses,
throughout your career?
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Yeah, I have to be honest, I'm very early on this
journey of personal brand and Ithink part of it is I've been in
the weeds for many years instartups and sort of carving out
the time and the space toprioritize.
That has felt difficult.
I think the other part of it, ifI'm being honest, is I love I
(37:04):
like being behind the scenes, Ilike making the magic happen in
the business right, and sostepping out and having my face,
as you know, as part of therepresentation of what we're
doing as a company or as athought leader in the social and
mental health space, that's,you know, that's daunting, and
(37:27):
so I think you caught me kind ofearly on my journey.
This podcast might be a reallygood example of one of the
things that is taking me out ofmy comfort zone.
That that's an effort to kindof tell my story along with the
story of the company that I'mbuilding, and I think you know I
kind of straddle the era of.
(37:49):
You know I remember life beforesocial media and before we
shared everything on theinternet, and so I think I still
have a little bit ofapprehension about putting more
out there.
But the thing that hasmotivated me to really
prioritize this is the fact thatevery time I put up a LinkedIn
(38:14):
post or speak on a panel or takea random cold call introduction
to an early career woman, I getinbound.
Oh, thank you.
This helped me think aboutsomething in a different way, or
this really piqued my curiosity, or this motivated me to go do
something that furthered mycareer, and so I'm kind of
(38:36):
taking that as fuel andmotivation to continue investing
in building a personal brand.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
I love it.
Well, I think you shouldcontinue, because I think you're
amazing, thank you.
What does to be bolder mean toyou?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
I think to be bolder means challenging the status quo
.
You know, the way things havebeen doesn't mean that's the way
they should continue to be.
In fact, it probably means thatit's not the way they should
continue to be.
I think it's about having thecourage to try new solutions.
I think we are trying to embodythat at Fellow and sort of kick
(39:16):
off a paradigm shift with theway that we think about
supporting one another as humans.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Lastly, what's next for you and Fellow?
Speaker 2 (39:27):
What's next for me and what's next for Fellow are
kind of one and the same at themoment, we have so much that
we're doing that I'm so excitedabout, and we're gearing up to
really bring experience-basedpeer support to the mainstream,
normalize getting help forlife's challenges.
We don't have to do this stuffalone, and one of the things I'm
(39:50):
really really excited about isan upcoming partnership that we
have with the WNBA star, who hasjust an incredibly inspiring
story, and she is excited tohelp us spread the word about
fellow and reach even morepeople.
So I would encourage everyonelistening.
If you're interested in whatwe're doing at fellow, follow
along, check us out on the appstore.
(40:11):
I attempt to post on LinkedInas much as I can about about
what we're doing and about thebroader landscape and, uh, would
love to have you along for thejourney.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
It has been such a pleasure meeting you and I've
enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you for being here andsharing your story.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Thank you, mary, it was so fun.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Thanks for listening to the episode today.
It was really fun chatting withmy guest.
If you liked our show, pleaselike it and share it with your
friends.
If you want to learn what we'reup to, please go check out our
website at 2BBouldercom.
That's the number 2, little b,bouldercom.
Hi there, my name is Mary Kiloalea.
Welcome to the To Be Bolderpodcast providing career
insights for the next generationof women in business and tech.
To Be Bolder was created out ofmy love for technology and
marketing, my desire to bringtogether like-minded women and
my hope to be a great role modeland source of inspiration for
my two girls and other youngwomen like you, encouraging you
(00:22):
guys to show up and to be bolderand to know that anything you
guys dream of it's totallypossible.
So sit back, relax and enjoythe conversation.
Hi there, mary here.
Thanks for tuning in.
Today's guest is an inspirationto women running their own
businesses and those who aspireto become a founder someday.
(00:43):
Alyssa Pollack is a well-knownand highly respected female
founder.
Before co-founding Fellow,alyssa rose through the ranks as
an early Uber employee and afounding member of Uber Eats
team.
She then joined the foundingteam of Mill, a climate tech
startup, and led the businessfor its first four years.
Earlier this year, alyssa tookthe plunge as a co-founder and
(01:06):
first-time CEO of Fellow, astartup focused on solving the
loneliness epidemic.
Outside of work, alyssa enjoysskiing and hiking with her
husband and two children,mentoring emerging startup
leaders and reading copiousamounts of both fiction and
nonfiction.
Alyssa, it's so great to haveyou on the show.
I appreciate you being here.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to talk.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And I love that you're a mentor in your
day-to-day life.
I just think women who giveback and help other women in
their careers just are goodpeople in general.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, and it's fun to do.
It feels really rewarding whenwhat you've done can be a
playbook for someone else.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Exactly Okay.
So let's dive into yourimpressive career.
Tell us about your careerjourney and your current role as
the co-founder of Fela.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Sure.
Well, I grew up in the Midwestand when I was growing up there,
the tech scene wasn't really athing that I knew about, so I
took a little bit more of atraditional career path.
My first job after I graduatedcollege was at corporate
Walgreens and their financialrotational leadership program,
(02:18):
and it didn't take too longbefore I realized that the big
corporate life really wasn't forme.
I kind of got my first taste ofthe tech scene by being
proximate to Chicago, and afterI saw the growth of these new
interesting companies and theproducts that I was using that
(02:40):
were being built by thesescrappy little teams, I knew
that I wanted to figure out away to get in the mix.
So I kind of hustled my wayinto a role at Uber in 2012.
And this was back when it wasjust black cars on demand and my
job description was kind oflike do whatever it takes to
(03:00):
make this business grow.
And as daunting as that felt assomeone in their early 20s, it
was exactly what I was lookingfor.
It was fast paced, full ofautonomy, and I was working on a
product that people were soexcited about using and telling
their friends about.
So I spent a few years leadingoperations in the Chicago market
(03:24):
and then actually moved out toUber's headquarters in San
Francisco where I was on thefounding team of Uber Eats,
which operated like a littletiny startup within Uber, which
was a little bit moreestablished at that point.
So I got the taste of the earlystage grind again, which I love
.
(03:44):
I spent the following five yearsdoing a bunch of different
roles within Uber Eats, butusually at the intersection of
operations, product and businessstrategy.
So how are we going to makethis thing work, how is it going
to make money, where are wegoing to have to spend money and
what is the product that peopleare actually excited to use?
(04:05):
After about seven years and onechild later, I felt the pull to
do something that felt a littlebit more impactful and again
kind of the pull to go earlystage again.
So I joined as employee numberone at Mill, which is a climate
tech startup focused on foodrecycling, and it was just a
(04:28):
huge learning experience for mefrom moving from kind of
building a consumer marketplaceover into climate, the climate
sector, into hardware andbuilding something that's
physical, that actually goes insomeone's home, and furthermore,
we were building this companyat the height of COVID.
The company was incorporated, Ithink, in May of 2020.
(04:52):
So that was a whole learningexperience in and of itself and
loved every minute of my time atMill.
But when I met my now co-founder, pete Cadens, about this time
last year, he pitched me on anidea that he and our other
co-founder, jeff Waring, hadbeen thinking about and starting
(05:14):
to tinker with, and the ideawas around using a peer-to-peer
model to address the mentalhealth crisis and the loneliness
epidemic, and there was kind ofjust only one thing that might
have pulled me out of climate,and that was mental health.
And so when Pete came to mewith this idea, I saw it as a
really interesting opportunityto work on something that was
(05:36):
really high impact and also beable to pull from my bag of
tricks of building early stagemarketplaces and put those to
work.
So I stepped in as co-founderand CEO in February this year,
and it's been nonstop excitementand a roller coaster ever since
, but you probably won't besurprised to know by now that
(05:59):
I've loved it all, because thisis the stage that I thrive in.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
That is a fascinating career, especially for someone
who had her own business.
And then I went and worked forcorporate where I feel like you
know, your hands are tied sotightly for several years.
And now I'm kind of migratingback into working for myself
again.
And there is something verytangible when the risk is higher
(06:26):
.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yeah, and you feel like your fingerprints are on
everything, right, right, and ifyou're upset about how
something's going, it's up toyou right, yes.
You don't get to look aroundand say who's going to fix this?
Who's going to make this better?
Like, the answer is you.
Who's going to fix this?
Who's going to make this better?
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Like, the answer is you, and that is to me really
empowering and energizing, andyou know it's tiring and
stressful too.
You said there was only a fewthings that could take you away
from climate change,no-transcript.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And when I was considering the concept of
fellow and sort of this power ofaccumulated wisdom of humanity,
I thought back to a few reallytransformational moments in my
life.
I was diagnosed with stage fourcancer when I was a teenager
(07:52):
and didn't know anyone else whohad been through that and and so
you know I had a loving familyand access to incredible medical
care.
But there was this kind ofmissing piece which was like
wouldn't it be amazing if Icould talk to a 20-year-old who
had been through this, who'dgone through the same type of
treatment?
So I thought back to thatmoment.
(08:14):
I also navigated infertility asa relatively kind of young
woman as a result of my cancertreatment and again, I was kind
of the first of my friends tonavigate this whole new world
with new words and financialimplications and health outcomes
and all these things I wasunfamiliar with.
(08:35):
And since then I have beenreally open about my journey
with infertility and I've beenable to help probably a dozen
women understand their options,figure out what great doctors to
go to help them, not lose hopeif the first cycle of whatever
doesn't work, and so thinking onthose two experiences really
(08:56):
made me believe in the power ofexperienced-based peer support.
And then you know, I've kind oflike learned how to lean into
my vulnerability over the years,and doing so has enabled me to
help people through some ofthese difficult challenges.
So kind of thinking on thatside of things, like wouldn't it
(09:19):
be amazing if we could empowerhumanity to use those hard
fought battles and put those towork to help those around them?
It just is such a good feeling.
So that was kind of the pull tome and once the seed was
planted in my head, like therewasn't a day that went by that I
wasn't thinking about it.
(09:57):
How do you vet the people whocome on that help others?
Who are the three steps aheadwhere someone on our team
further understands theexperience that they've been
through, what help theyleveraged along the way, make
sure that they're in a goodmindset to be able to offer help
and make sure that they're agood communicator and a good
listener right, that's half thebattle.
(10:18):
Then we do two reference checksand make sure that they have
personal references that cankind of verify that they're the
type of person you'd want to gethelp from.
Then we do a background check,then the fellow undergoes
training and an assessment andonly after that can they be
listed on the platform.
So we go through a lot of stepsto make sure that these folks
(10:41):
are well positioned to providethat support, guidance and
empathy to people who need help.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And what are the topics that someone could come
to Fellow through the app toseek help with?
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah, honestly, our vision for this is that for
anything you're feeling stuck onor that you're navigating alone
that's challenging, you cancome to Fellow.
We're a startup so we got tostart somewhere, and the areas
that we've started focusing onare drug and alcohol use.
(11:13):
So I'm sober, curious, or I'vedecided I want to stop drinking,
or I'm ready to reassess myrelationship with drugs or
alcohol.
Parenting this is one that I amactually a user of.
I'm parenting a neurodivergentchild and I've tapped into our
network of fellows to help meunderstand.
(11:33):
How do I support my son'sself-esteem, how do I navigate a
school system?
What academic milestones shouldI actually be worried about?
Or what is more, like icing onthe cake.
So parenting is a bunch thatkind of rolls up into the
parenting vertical.
And then relationships isactually our most popular
(11:55):
vertical where we have peoplecoming to get advice around
interracial, interfaithrelationships and some of the
tensions that arise from that.
Inter-racial, inter-faithrelationships and some of the
tensions that arise from that.
Navigating a divorce, if it'scome to that, or just navigating
tension in various differenttypes of relationships in your
life.
But again, the vision is muchbroader than that.
But those are the verticalsthat we've started with and have
(12:17):
gotten some traction in.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
That's exciting because it's just so relevant
today.
I think it's always beenrelevant, but I think we just
are seeing the demand and theimpact of the lack of support
today more than we have in thepast.
Yeah, you talk about beingattracted to or drawn to
(12:40):
startups because of the kind ofscrappiness and the hustle that
comes with that.
What is it Do you think umabout?
That type of business excitesyou?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Yeah, I think a lot of it is the pace.
I am just like, if you askanyone who knows me, I'm always
on the go.
I've always been described as alittle bit impatient, or maybe
a lot impatient, depending onwho you ask I'm not great at
sitting still.
I'm not great at sitting still,I just like an object in motion
(13:20):
tends to stay in motion andthat is me.
And I love that at a startup thepace of decision making, the
feedback loops directly withearly customers, and being able
to say, oh hey, we heard from adozen customers that this
feature would be super helpful,and then two days later, like
(13:43):
here you go, customers, like wewere able to, we were able to
solve that problem for you.
And so the agility of it all, Ithink is, is really what
attracts me.
And, and then I also think,like you know, to take the leap
into an early stage endeavor,you have to really believe in
the problem that you're goingout and solving and that you've
(14:07):
got a solution.
And I think, just havingsomething that feels really
useful, that you're building forpeople like when you describe
fellow to someone, they're like,oh yeah, I could have totally
used that back when I was goingthrough X, y or Z or, oh my gosh
, I need to tell my sister aboutthis because she's navigating
this situation.
So I love building things thatpeople actually love using.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
So I'm going to step back and go to when you worked
at Uber Eats.
You grew Uber Eats from zero to15 billion run rate business
across over 6,000 cities and 43countries in just four years,
and I have to look at thosestats again to really believe
that.
What lessons have you learnedabout resilience and handling
(14:53):
challenges when scaling abusiness so rapidly, and how did
you personally stay resilientthrough those ups and downs
during that time period?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Yeah, well, I think the interesting thing that not
many people know about Uber Eatsis that it took us about a year
maybe a little bit longer thana year with a different type of
food delivery concept beforepivoting into the Uber Eats food
delivery marketplace that weall know and use and probably
(15:23):
spend way too much money ontoday and that year was.
It was a slog.
Right, we were puttingsomething out there, we were
doing limited meals, but theycould be delivered in five or 10
minutes in a tight geography,and we thought, wow, this is
cool.
Who wouldn't want their lunchdelivered in five minutes?
(15:43):
Right, and we had thetechnology.
Right, we had Uber driversaround every corner so we could
get something to people in fiveminutes.
But it took us a while to figureout why it wasn't really
sticking.
People would use it, they wouldfind it to be novel, but they
wouldn't use it on a weeklybasis, which is kind of what you
wanna see when you're buildinga product like that.
(16:05):
And we decided to ask ourcustomers, hey, why don't you
use us more often?
And they came back and said,hey, we need more selection,
right?
One option or two options forlunch or dinner each day just
isn't enough, especially if I'mtrying to get an order in for
the office or for my family.
(16:26):
There's just not enough thereand so we were able to then kind
of pivot with that informationand focus more on building on a
breadth of selection.
And I think you know that waslike a little bit of a hard pill
to swallow, honestly, becausethey're like why would, why
would someone want moreselection with a longer delivery
time, if we could get themsomething in five minutes.
(16:47):
But I think the lesson is likestay customer obsessed and if
you can just really keep thecustomer front and center in
your mind, they will help youkind of guide in the right
direction.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Sometimes it's so simple Just ask the customer.
Yeah, I love that.
Okay, let's talk aboutconfidence.
As women, we often facechallenges with self confidence
and high stake environments.
How have you navigated this andwhat advice would you give to
women working on building theirconfidence in their careers?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I think this there was a big unlock for me.
Later in my tenure at Uber Eats, I was around the table with
executives from some of thebiggest restaurant chains in the
country, in the world, and onceyou get a seat at that table,
it's really interesting.
You realize people around thattable don't have all the answers
(17:43):
right.
That's not what it's actuallyabout.
It's about asking the rightquestions.
It's about bringing kind ofyour superpower to the table and
knowing where others need tobring theirs.
And I think that was a bigunlock and that gave me the
confidence to really raise myhand, even if I wasn't 100% sure
(18:05):
that I was going to be able todo the thing that I was setting
out to do.
I think that that was thebiggest learning for me.
And then, you know, I thinkanother thing is to the extent
that you're able to justsurrounding yourself with people
who really value yourperspective.
And I was lucky enough to havethat in the leadership team at
Uber Eats and then in subsequentpositions where I was able to
(18:29):
say, hey, here's what I'm reallygood at, and they were like, oh
, that's important and we needyou at the table to provide that
point of view.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
I love that fact where you said this is what I'm
good at.
How do you encourage women toidentify what they're good at
and to take the stance to raisetheir hand and make that louder
and known?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
Yeah, I think there's .
You know, I've always, sinceI've been a leader, I've really
subscribed to kind of astrengths-based team approach.
It's like let's not focus on,like, making all of our hundreds
of weaknesses better, likelet's make our handful of
strengths, like extra strength,right, and so I think, you know,
(19:16):
trying to instill that in theteams that work for me and with
me is part of it.
But I actually think the keyhere is leading by example, and
what my teams will tell you isthat I'm the first person to say
, hey, this isn't my area ofexpertise, like let's loop in
someone else.
Or hey, this is something thatI've done a handful of times.
(19:39):
So I'm going to have a littlebit of a stronger opinion about
how we go about this, so wedon't learn lessons that I've
already learned the hard way,and I'm just very transparent
about the things that I know andthe things that I don't know,
and I think then that givespeople the confidence to do the
same in other venues.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I love that leadership quality and I don't
think I've ever heard anyonearticulate it like that, and I
think that's a very uniquequality in your leadership.
Many women struggle with makingsure that they are compensated
appropriately, and you know theyone need to identify the value
they bring, but then they needto articulate hey, I need to be
(20:20):
compensated for that.
What have you learned or whatadvice do you have around salary
and compensation andnegotiating for women out there
listening to this?
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, I think this is particular for early stage
startups and that in many caseswhen you're starting something
yourself or when you're thefirst or second or third
employee, there's not.
You're often walking into acash strapped situation and
there's not a lot of comparabledata points.
(20:54):
For your salary, You'reprobably wearing a half a dozen
hats.
You may not even have a jobtitle.
For your salary, you'reprobably wearing a half a dozen
hats.
You may not even have a jobtitle.
Your sector is like roughlyestablished, but there's just
you can't line it up on a tableof comps to say this is the
salary that I deserve, because Ilooked at these seven other
roles at these other companies,Cause it's just apples and
oranges at that stage.
So my approach really has beento get in the door to make an
(21:19):
impact, prove your value,quantify it and then use that as
leverage to get thecompensation you deserve.
And I think one other reallyimportant thing to remember,
especially in startup land, isthat if you really truly believe
in what you're building andyour ability to contribute to
(21:40):
the success of the company, youactually should be looking to
maximize your equity stake inthe company.
So salary is just one component.
So whenever I'm coaching ormentoring people on, what should
I ask for?
I always am like OK, how muchdo you believe in this company?
How big of a risk are you in aposition to take?
(22:00):
And that typically fluctuatesdepending on life stage,
financial situation, all of that.
But to me it's like, if you'regoing to spend day in and day
out and a lot of times latenights on this, on this startup,
like, get the equity stake sothat you can share in the upside
of the success that you'regoing to have a big hand in
(22:21):
creating.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
How do you help women transition their mindset from
terms or words like wherethey're almost belittling their
passion project, their passionproject, little hobby, you know?
(22:43):
Where I mean, where theybelieve it's a business and they
have the dream and hope it'sgoing to go big, but yet the
words that are coming out oftheir mouth don't emulate where
they see the vision or how muchthey believe in the company
money?
Speaker 2 (22:56):
That's a good question.
I think that it can be a littlebit cheesy feeling to do, but
the practice of manifesting andI think one of the things that
(23:16):
you learn in marketing and PRand positioning is this sort of
aspirational language right, youmarket the company that you
intend to be, the product thatyou intend to have, and win
hearts and minds through thatvision, not necessarily through
what you're at where you're attoday with it, what you're at
(23:42):
where you're at today with it.
And I think, just going throughthat practice and manifesting,
even earlier, when I wasexplaining to you what Fellow
covered, right, it started withwhat's the vision for Fellow.
Right, and we're on steppingstone number two or three of who
knows how many.
But as long as you can kind ofpaint the vision and that gets
you excited, that's what youshould be sharing with others,
even if it's just a weekendproject right now.
(24:04):
Figure out what the vision is,own it and then share it.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Great advice Having your own business from women
I've talked to, and even mypersonal experience can be
lonely.
You know you feel a lack ofsupport.
What have you done, or what'syour secret sauce to building a
strong, supportive network ofpeople around you, both
professionally and personally?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
What I've experienced is that startup teams become
incredibly close because usuallyit's a small team and usually
you're navigating highs and lowstogether.
So I think my secret sauce hasbeen hiring people or working
for people that I want to be onthe roller coaster with.
(24:50):
It's like who am I going to behappy when things are good, when
things are not so good and whenthings are just all mixed up
right, who am I going to behappy working with?
And these people are typicallypeople who bring positive energy
and just a fearlessness when itcomes to diving into the chaos.
(25:11):
So that's kind of like.
My professional trick is justlike work with great people, and
I know it's not always possible.
But the good news is, in earlystage companies, a lot of times
it is a lot of times you'rebuilding the team from scratch
or you're joining a small teamand you can you should interview
every single person on thatsmall startup team, because,
(25:32):
even if it, even if they're notin your department, even if it
doesn't seem like you guys aregoing to be working together,
the minute there's a crisis,even if it doesn't seem like you
guys are going to be workingtogether, the minute there's a
crisis which there inevitablywill be.
Everyone's going to be in ittogether.
So that's sort of how I'venavigated that in my
professional life.
And then you know I don't takefor granted in my personal life.
I have an incredibly supportivehusband and two kids and they
(25:56):
just are my biggest, loudestcheerleaders, most energetic
cheerleaders, and that reallykeeps me going.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
That's awesome.
Speaking of support, what areyour go-to resources or mentors
that you've had along the waythat have played crucial roles
in your success and yourbusiness acumen?
Speaker 2 (26:15):
I am constantly reading.
I love reading about journeysof other startups, other
founders and I find it reallyknow much about Um.
I didn't know anything abouttransportation before I started
(26:43):
at Uber.
I didn't know anything aboutclimate or garbage before I
started at mill.
I knew a little bit about umkind of the mental health space
before I um started buildingfellow and I love going deep on
those sectors.
So you know, at mill you wouldfind me reading books about the
garbage industry, um at fellowI'm currently consumed on
(27:06):
anything about the lonelinessepidemic or about social
connection or um social health.
So I like to just like throwmyself into those types of
resources.
And then you know, I think I'vehad some success with this
concept of mentorship before,but it might not surprise you
(27:29):
that, given what we're buildingat Fellow, I've actually found
more valuable connections, likecalling up my friends who are
founders, who started theircompanies two years ago, who are
just a couple steps ahead of me, and they would probably laugh
if I said like, oh, you're mymentor, but they're kind of my
GPS, right, and those areusually lower pressure, you know
(27:52):
, lower stakes type ofengagements, and so I would
encourage people to not get toohung up on what you know the
definition of mentorship is, andit's sort of like okay, can I
find someone who is a couplesteps ahead of me on this
journey, and they may not haveall the answers, but they may
have one of the answers that I'mcurrently trying to find.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I love that.
Let's talk about financialfunding.
It's a significant hurdle forwomen-owned businesses.
Do you have any tips, insightsor resources that you can
recommend for securing fundingor grants, especially at that
early stage?
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yeah, I think no amount of tips or tricks is
going to be more important thangood business foundations, right
?
So like building a businessthat's healthy and that has
solid economics and a vision anda path to get to that vision, I
(28:48):
think is like step one.
You cannot skip that and it'salso not sufficient.
And I think the other piece ofthe puzzle that I have found to
be most important isrelationships and calling up
those mentors or the people thatare a couple steps ahead of you
and saying, hey, who's been thebest investor to that you've
(29:09):
worked with, or who did you findto be most collaborative in
your process?
Can you introduce them to me?
And even if they're not a goodfit, maybe they'll be able to
introduce me to someone else.
And I think the trick is likestarting to build those
relationships very early,nurturing them, bringing them
along for the journey, doingthat before you need money.
If you're in a position whereyou need money, you've waited
(29:33):
too long to start buildingrelationships.
So I just encourage people toleverage your network, build the
relationship, nurture therelationship and be transparent.
I think a lot of times I usedto feel pretty intimidated by
investors, like, ooh, they haveall of the control and power and
(29:54):
in some respects they do,especially if you're in that
position of needing money fromthem.
But really they just likesolving interesting business
problems, like you do, and theytry to do it from a different
angle.
And so I found that taking someof the hard problems that I'm
trying to solve to investors hasactually gotten them really
(30:17):
engaged in what we're buildingand invested in what we're
building, and that ends upcoming back and paying dividends
when it's time to ask them towrite a check.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
That's super smart advice.
The next thing I want to talkabout is you as a leader and how
you've evolved and kind of someof your recommended books,
podcasts or habits that havehelped you become the leader
that you are today.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Yeah, I am kind of a creature of habit, so this is a
good question for me.
I think one of my mostimpactful habits which actually
started day one, week one atUber was looking at the metrics
every day, every week, right.
And so at Fellow we have aweekly huddle and at the top of
(31:09):
that meeting each week we'regoing top to bottom on the key
business metrics and if I'mconfused about why a number is
going in one direction when Iexpected it to go in the other,
we double click on that.
We figure out okay, issomething broken?
Are we looking at this in thewrong way?
Do we need to optimize oriterate on what we have out
(31:30):
there?
And I just don't think you canbe, especially in these early
days.
I don't think you can be in thenumbers too frequently.
Be especially in these earlydays.
I don't think you can be in thenumbers too frequently.
And I think that also builds alot of respect with the team
that I lead, which is like, oh,all this is like invested in how
(31:55):
things are going and and reallyinterested in how the work I'm
doing is contributing tobusiness outcomes, and I always
like to have the people who areclosest to the metric, speak to
it, and so oftentimes that givesmore junior team members an
opportunity to really showcasethe work that they're doing.
And I think there's anotherthing that I feel really proud
(32:16):
of, and that is when the numbersaren't going in the direction
we want.
We just there's no hiding it,there's no sugarcoating.
We just say, hey, like thisisn't, this isn't working the
way we thought it would, whatare we going to do about it?
And we take a really kind ofdecisive action oriented
approach to that.
So I think that's one of thehabits that just like so
ingrained now that it justhappens really really naturally.
(32:40):
The other one is talking tocustomers.
Any chance I get, at leastweekly, I'm talking to customers
, and I want to talk to thehappy ones, I want to talk to
the mad ones, I want to talk tothe ones who actually decided
that they wouldn't be a customer.
Anyone who will spare 15minutes talking with me.
I make room on my calendar andI find that those anecdotes are
(33:08):
actually a lot of times evenmore powerful, especially at the
stage when sometimes the datapoints on certain things can be
lacking in volume.
I find that the anecdotesreally power us through and help
drive important insights andaction.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
Speaker 2 (33:27):
I think I would tell my 20-year-old self that energy
management is important whenyou're diving into startups.
If you're doing it right, it'sgoing to be a multi-year thing
right.
And so managing energy andfinding those pockets where you
(33:49):
can kind of exhale and notfeeling ashamed about taking
that minute to exhale becauseyou know that minute is not
going to last very long and it'sgoing to be kind of back in the
trenches I think I would tellmyself to be a little bit more
intentional about energymanagement and I think I've
gotten much better at that asI've gotten a little bit older.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
And I think post-COVID and just in where we
are today, I think, withcompanies laying off people,
women, older women, you know,let's just say 40 and above.
You know that they've alreadyhad successful careers or their
burnout there.
They're starting to step awayand there's a growing number of
(34:32):
older women starting businesses.
Um, what advice do you have forthem, again, where they have a
great idea but they feel maybethey're late in their career.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
yeah, I think you know.
First, I believe that everyentrepreneurial journey starts
with falling in love with aproblem.
So what's the problem you'relooking to solve with the thing
that you want to do?
And you've really got to lovethat.
And, honestly, a lot of times Ido this myself and I give
people this advice when they'rethinking about starting
(35:10):
something try to think of allthe reasons why pursuing the
opportunity is a bad idea is abad idea.
And then if you still feel drawnto the problem, that's your
sign to take the leap right whenit feels inevitable, when it
(35:30):
feels like there is no otherchoice.
And if you don't feel like thaton the first idea you have or
the first problem, that doesn'tmean you're not cut out to be an
entrepreneur.
That means you need to digdeeper and think more critically
about the problem you'resolving, who you're solving it
for, and go back to the drawingboard.
And because if you don't havethat pull, it's going to be hard
to get up early, stay up late,juggle all the things work on
(35:54):
that Saturday, miss the soccergame, you know, do all these
things that these make, allthese sacrifices that you have
to do when you are anentrepreneur, and and so you've
really got to love it.
You've really got to love theproblem that you're working on.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
I love having this opportunity to pick your brain.
I just find it like my littlesecret time, but even though I
get to share it with so manypeople.
But let's talk about personalbrand.
To me, it's something I'm verypassionate about and I see women
get ahead in life once they'reclear on having a personal brand
(36:29):
.
How have you intentionallytaken that and put that into
motion for your own brand,separate from your businesses,
throughout your career?
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Yeah, I have to be honest, I'm very early on this
journey of personal brand and Ithink part of it is I've been in
the weeds for many years instartups and sort of carving out
the time and the space toprioritize.
That has felt difficult.
I think the other part of it, ifI'm being honest, is I love I
(37:04):
like being behind the scenes, Ilike making the magic happen in
the business right, and sostepping out and having my face,
as you know, as part of therepresentation of what we're
doing as a company or as athought leader in the social and
mental health space, that's,you know, that's daunting, and
(37:27):
so I think you caught me kind ofearly on my journey.
This podcast might be a reallygood example of one of the
things that is taking me out ofmy comfort zone.
That that's an effort to kindof tell my story along with the
story of the company that I'mbuilding, and I think you know I
kind of straddle the era of.
(37:49):
You know I remember life beforesocial media and before we
shared everything on theinternet, and so I think I still
have a little bit ofapprehension about putting more
out there.
But the thing that hasmotivated me to really
prioritize this is the fact thatevery time I put up a LinkedIn
(38:14):
post or speak on a panel or takea random cold call introduction
to an early career woman, I getinbound.
Oh, thank you.
This helped me think aboutsomething in a different way, or
this really piqued my curiosity, or this motivated me to go do
something that furthered mycareer, and so I'm kind of
(38:36):
taking that as fuel andmotivation to continue investing
in building a personal brand.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
I love it.
Well, I think you shouldcontinue, because I think you're
amazing, thank you.
What does to be bolder mean toyou?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
I think to be bolder means challenging the status quo
.
You know, the way things havebeen doesn't mean that's the way
they should continue to be.
In fact, it probably means thatit's not the way they should
continue to be.
I think it's about having thecourage to try new solutions.
I think we are trying to embodythat at Fellow and sort of kick
(39:16):
off a paradigm shift with theway that we think about
supporting one another as humans.
Speaker 1 (39:22):
Lastly, what's next for you and Fellow?
Speaker 2 (39:27):
What's next for me and what's next for Fellow are
kind of one and the same at themoment, we have so much that
we're doing that I'm so excitedabout, and we're gearing up to
really bring experience-basedpeer support to the mainstream,
normalize getting help forlife's challenges.
We don't have to do this stuffalone, and one of the things I'm
(39:50):
really really excited about isan upcoming partnership that we
have with the WNBA star, who hasjust an incredibly inspiring
story, and she is excited tohelp us spread the word about
fellow and reach even morepeople.
So I would encourage everyonelistening.
If you're interested in whatwe're doing at fellow, follow
along, check us out on the appstore.
(40:11):
I attempt to post on LinkedInas much as I can about about
what we're doing and about thebroader landscape and, uh, would
love to have you along for thejourney.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
It has been such a pleasure meeting you and I've
enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you for being here andsharing your story.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Thank you, mary, it was so fun.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
Thanks for listening to the episode today.
It was really fun chatting withmy guest.
If you liked our show, pleaselike it and share it with your
friends.
If you want to learn what we'reup to, please go check out our
website at 2BBouldercom.
That's the number 2, little b,bouldercom.
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