Positively Gotham Gal

Connie Wong and Susan Zheng are the founding partners of Planted: a match-making service for job-seekers, and companies in search of entry-level talent. Connie and Susan both know all about the difficulties in making the decision to switch career paths and potentially break out on your own -- this team took an interesting path of calculated learning through employment, before really digging into their own business venture.

Shari Bayer is the founder and president of Bayer Public Relations, a full-service public relations, consulting and marketing agency in NYC that specializes in restaurants and other food-based companies. Shari had a long path to starting her own PR firm, but all the dots connected perfectly to get Shari where she is today.

Robyn Beavers is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blueprint Power--is a real estate and energy tech company that turns buildings into urban power plants. Robyn had a real ‘aha’ moment when she came up for the idea for blueprint, and her journey towards entrepreneurship is one not to miss.

Eliza Blank is the founder and CEO of The Sill -- a retail brick-and-mortar & e-commerce platform designed to bring home gardening back into the mainstream. Eliza and I sat down and talked about how she took The Sill from idea, to business with a mission.

Deborah Koenigsberger is the owner and stylist of brick-and-mortar boutique Noir et Blanc, and Founder of the non-profit organization Hearts of Gold. Deborah is a powerhouse and a real advocate for women and children in need. We sat down this week to talk about the work she does through Hearts of Gold, and how her venture got started.

Shannon McLay is the Founder & President of Financial Gym, a company that provides personal training for your finances, regardless of what’s in your bank account. Shannon told me all about her start as a floor trader for big banks where she was often referred to as “the decoration,” and how she powered through that glass ceiling, built strong networks, and transitioned into fundraising and starting her own business.

Nadia Boujarwah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dia&Co -- a shopping and styling resource for plus-sized fashion. Nadia and I talked about how she took her career from investment banking analyst to starting her own business, and all the hurdles in between.

Keri Putnam is the Executive Director of Sundance Institute -- a non-profit that yes, runs the Sundance Film Festival, but also serves to support, champion, and promote independent artists in film, theater, and ever expanding medias. Keri and I discussed everything from how she got her career in media started, to what representation means for her, and the future of organizations like hers.

Kate Bradley Chernis is the Co-Founder & CEO of Lately -- a marketing and advertising service that streamlines content creation for everyone from the top marketing companies to the individual blogger. Kate and I talked about what led to her starting Lately after a successful career in broadcasting and advertising, and what it means to balance your strengths and weaknesses in an effective way in order to keep moving your business forward. Great lessons for entrepreneurs at any stage of the game.

Susan Lyne and Nisha Dua are the Founding Partners of BBG - Built By Girls - Ventures, A Venture Capital firm that focuses on women founders and women-led startups. Their story truly defies what comes to mind when you think of VC’s. In this two-part episode, Susan, Nisha, and I had so much to talk about. From the unconventional way that their partnership began, to incredible advice about raising money and common mistakes too many entrepreneurs make. Tons of great tips for anyone on how to get out there and crush it like a girl.

Susan Lyne and Nisha Dua are the Founding Partners of BBG - Built By Girls - Ventures, A Venture Capital firm that focuses on women founders and women-led startups. Their story truly defies what comes to mind when you think of VC’s. Susan and Nisha sat down with me this week and we had so much to talk about. From the unconventional way that their partnership began, to their struggles raising capital with a mission, and they gave me tons of great advice on how to get out there and crush it like a girl.

Danielle Gould is the Founder and CEO of Food+Tech Connect, the site of record and connector for the food tech sector. Danielle and I sat down to talk about everything from the future of the food industry, to what’s finally prompted her to start taking on outside funding (and why she’s waited so long!) A truly insightful episode on taking your roughest moments as an entrepreneur and changing them into positives, as well as the challenges facing the food industry now and going forward.

Pam Wasserstein is the CEO of New York Media, leading the premium content company on an ambitious expansion in several areas, including video, branded content, live events and e-commerce, while growing audience and revenue at core brands New York Magazine, nymag.com, Vulture, the Cut, Daily Intelligencer, Grub Street, Select All and the Strategist. Before becoming chief executive officer, Wasserstein served as co-chair and head of strategy. Pam and I talked about what took her from working as a lawyer to being top dog of a media empire.

Amanda Curtis and Gemma Sole are the co-founders of Nineteenth Amendment, a direct-to-designer fashion house for clothing and accessories more personal, beautiful, and responsible than anything off the rack. The co-founders were named as Forbes 30 Under 30 for retail/e-commerce and Apparel Magazine's 30 Under 30. I sat down with the duo to talk about the inspiration for their venture, and what helped them pave the way.

An award-winning journalist for over 14 years, Christina Asquith has written for The New York Times, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian and was a staff writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Her book, “Sisters in War: Love, Survival and Family in the New Iraq” is based off of the 18 months she lived in and reported from Baghdad, Iraq. Christina and I sat down to talk about her very impressive career, and how she managed to carve a space for women’s stories long before it was a trending topic.

Tanja Hollander is an artist who works with photography, video, social media and data to understand cultural and visual relationships. Her largest and most noteworthy project to date, ‘Are you really my friend?’ debuted in its entirety as an exhibition, short documentary, and book for a year at MASS MoCA in 2017. Tanja and I talked about the enormous undertaking that this project became and how she’s found the stamina to keep making work.

Larissa Thompson and Sarah Bryden-Brown are two of three powerhouse women behind ONDA -- an online retail and brick-and-mortar store that serves as the go-to authority on natural beauty in the marketplace. I sat down with Larissa and Sarah this week to talk about how they met, and what’s made their venture such a success.

While spending many years working in executive positions in publishing, advertising, technology, and a tech investing, Sharon Kazan Harris’s dream of working in the wine industry was ever present. Today, she is the sole owner and Director of Winemaking for RARECAT Wines. Sharon shared with me everything from how she fell in love with wine, to how she uses one passion project to fuel another: her mission to empower women across the united states & beyond.

If you’ve never heard of Archie Gottesman but have lived in or visited New York - you are familiar with her work. For 20 years, she was the voice behind Manhattan Mini Storage’s iconic, hilarious billboard and subway ads. Now she’s applying her prolific branding acumen to something desperately in need of a marketing re-boot- Judaism. Her website, Jewbelong.com aims to reconnect disengaged Jews with fresh and fun ideas for living your best Jewish life. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.

Peggy Rajski is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker who’s produced over a dozen feature films, directed an Oscar winning short, and garnered more than 40 major award nominations along the way. Her directorial debut TREVOR, a poignant comedy about a musical-theater-obsessed 13 year old boy whose world is turned upside down when word spreads at school that he’s gay led to the creation of The Trevor Project, a pioneering nonprofit organization she founded that is the country’s leading provider of life-saving services for l/g/b/t/q youth. Peggy had some great insights to share about how she carved a space for herself in the competitive indie film marketplace. Music edited from 'Something Elated' by Broke For Free. freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_Fo…mething_Elated From the Free Music Archive. CC Attribution 3.0 Produced by Rachel James. Positively Gotham Gal is proud to be made in NYC.