Reshaping My Relationship to Money
Running a start-up with limited capital is tough, right?
You know you have a brilliant idea, and you know you could ROCK THE WORLD if you just had a little cash to implement it. So you shop your genius idea around, offering investors the chance to get in on the action. And then you start to lose your mind…
The challenge of raising capital for a new enterprise brings up many psychological and (dare we say it?) spiritual issues with regard to our relationship to money. It’s stretching me, inside and out. Sound familiar?
So I’m in the middle of the grueling process of raising seed money to create the next level of my company Emerging Women. If you’ve done this for your business, you know: it’s a full-time job that consumes your entire mental space – even when you sleep. I’m constantly honing our pitch deck, three different versions of a “compelling-yet-super-brief” presentation which I share in as little time as possible to as many qualified investors as I can get in front of.
I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur before I even knew what kind of company I wanted to build. About a year before telling my mentor and boss that I was ready to leave my cushy full-time job as a successful publishing executive, I started emerging – creativity and ideas started sprouting in my brain a mile a minute, and I felt restless and powerful at the same time. I had endless energy and drive, even though I was a working mom with two kids under four. I was scared, but more of the “how” than the “what” or the “why.”
How would I make enough money to continue the lifestyle I had created with my husband as a two-income household? How would I find a mentor once I left the fertile business learning environment of an established company? How would I create a profitable business while juggling motherhood and marriage? And most importantly – how would I fund this dream?
Ironically, all of these questions led me to create the business itself, Emerging Women. I wanted a support network of powerful women dedicated to creating a new version of success that takes into account the specific “how” challenges that women in business face. And BY FAR my greatest challenge has been access to capital.
When I started the raise last September, I felt confident and excited – with an impact-oriented business supporting women’s leadership in the world, who could say no? Then I learn that though the total investment in female-led companies has tripled since 2000, “85 percent of all venture capital–funded businesses have no women on the executive team,” according to Babson College researchers. Even more astonishing…
“…only 2.7 percent of venture capital-funded companies have a woman CEO.” What the what?!
I know we have a brilliant idea that fills a real need in the world, so I’m crazy eager to have enough money to hire more people, launch new products, take risks, make mistakes. That’s how businesses move from simply surviving to soaring, and scaling. When I look at the powerful women in our tribe, I know we will make it happen. Until then, I’ll just keep being grateful for my thick skin, because every “yes” I receive comes with at least a dozen “mehs.”
I have refined and honed my pitch (am I on version 37 now?) to the point where I can say it backwards. And while I am not done with the full raise, the lessons I have learned along the way have completely re-shaped my relationship to money.
Want to redefine your relationship with money before a big raise? Check out these 5 Ways to start setting yourself up for a life of alignment, abundance and impact.
Storykeeper: Chantal Pierrat
For over ten years, Chantal served as the VP of Sales and Marketing for Sounds True, a multimedia publishing company focused on spirituality, personal growth, and holistic living. In her last year at Sounds True, Chantal spearheaded the successful launch of the Wake Up Festival, Sounds True’s first annual national event with over 25 speakers and 800 attendees. Shortly after, in September 2012, she founded Emerging Women and Emerging Women Live. In 2002, after graduating with an MBA from the University of Colorado, Chantal left a 4-year career in the medical devices industry in search of work that would amplify her dedication to inner transformation and her passion for ideas. She continues to support the integration of consciousness and business through Emerging Women. Chantal’s ultimate vision is to weave feminine leadership and authenticity into businesses, and to create a world where women have a strong voice in the shaping of our future.
