Check it out: The Feminist Founders Guide to Building Your Dream Life
A guided workbook to clarify your equity-centered vision and craft a you-centered plan for making it happen ($15, available on Amazon): https://amzn.to/4aSzeBk

NOTE: Feminist Founders is a listener-funded podcast. Your contributions enable us to continue bringing you these important conversations. To support the mission and receive bonus content, sign up for a subscription at https://feministfounders.substack.com/

SUMMARY: In this episode of Feminist Founders, Catharine Montgomery, founder and CEO of Better Together, shares her journey of building sustainable change. She discusses her unexpected start in entrepreneurship with VC funding and the social impact her agency aims to achieve. Catharine navigates the challenges of transitioning from employee to business owner, overcoming imposter syndrome, and modeling equity and social justice in her business practices. She emphasizes the importance of mentoring, networking, and finding clients who align with Better Together's values. Through her experiences, Catharine provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs navigating similar paths, highlighting the intersection of feminism, entrepreneurship, and social change.

Catharine Montgomery (she/her) is the founder and CEO of Better Together, a communications agency that galvanizes positive change for purpose-driven organizations through creative strategies, messaging and branding. Catharine’s vision for Better Together is to build a more just, environmentally sustainable world centered around human and labor rights, access to education, and healthcare for all through collaborative and creative communication campaigns. After spending nearly 15 years working in public relations, Catharine knows what truly drives results and leaves a lasting impact.

Website | Catharine’s LinkedIn | Better Together LinkedIn | Threads

Discussed in this episode:

• Catharine’s burgeoning and complicated relationship with feminism
• Exiting a toxic work environment (and fighting back)
• How a chance encounter (and a lifetime of preparation) helped Catharine unexpectedly start her agency with VC funding
• Why Catharine decided to accept VC funding, despite being in an industry that isn’t known for relying on it
• How mentoring and networking have helped Catharine as a newer entrepreneur
• Better Together’s values and finding clients that share them
• Making money and doing good
• How entrepreneurship helped Catharine overcome “imposter syndrome”
• The learning curve of going from employee to business owner
• Modeling equity and social justice in how she runs Better Together
• The legacy Catharine hopes to create with Better Together

Resources mentioned:

• Touch4Life
• National Museum of African-American History and Culture
• “Unmasking AI” by Joy Buolamwini

Check it out: The Feminist Founders Guide to Building Your Dream Life
A guided workbook to clarify your equity-centered vision and craft a you-centered plan for making it happen ($15, available on Amazon): https://amzn.to/4aSzeBk

NOTE: Feminist Founders is a listener-funded podcast. Your contributions enable us to continue bringing you these important conversations. To support the mission and receive bonus content, sign up for a subscription at https://feministfounders.substack.com/

SUMMARY: Today we are joined by Rachel Formaro, a seasoned entrepreneur who navigated the tumultuous journey from overwhelmed solopreneur to thriving CEO. Rachel shares her profound insights on transitioning from the solopreneur mindset to embracing empowering business leadership. We delve into the fear of delegating and the essential mindset shift necessary for sustainable business success. Rachel illuminates the distinction between leadership and management, advocating for values-driven decision-making and building a supportive work culture. She emphasizes the importance of investing in a team for sustainable business expansion and shares strategies for navigating short-term challenges while prioritizing long-term gains. Moreover, Rachel candidly discusses prioritizing self-care, overcoming imposter syndrome, and setting boundaries to maintain work-life balance during periods of growth. Join us as we explore Rachel's empowering journey of resilience, growth, and redefining success as a values-driven CEO.

-----

Rachel Formaro (she/her) is the founder, CEO and a senior consultant at Blu Pagoda. With more than 25 years of broad career experience, Rachel is a top-performing communications and business management professional. She is known for her creativity, compassion, and commitment to achieving results.

While Rachel’s specialty is financial services, she also has experience with technology and consumer goods. She has assisted Fortune 500 with their business and communications challenges—particularly in the area of complex programs. Rachel has experience in both the United States and Canada and has assisted companies with initiatives in both countries, including mergers and acquisitions.

Outside of her work at Blu Pagoda, Rachel loves being a mom, wife, cook and avid reader. She stays engaged with her local community through volunteering and is a board member with the Chrysalis Foundation for Girls and Women.

Website | LinkedIn

Discussed in this episode:

• Rachel’s relationship with feminism and how it became more intersectional
• Her journey from Corporate America to self-employment, back to Corporate America, and finally starting Blu Pagoda
• How Rachel balances her anti-capitalist beliefs with serving clients in Corporate America
• The ways Rachel is trying to buck capitalist norms inside her business
• Getting comfortable with the CEO title by redefining what it means
• The importance of enlisting experts to help you grow as a CEO
• Modeling the self-care behaviors she wants her employees to feel empowered to do
• Setting boundaries around time and not making assumptions about others’ needs
• The weight of responsibility for other people’s livelihoods
• Navigating an economic downturn without losing sight of people-first values
• Creating a legacy and owning the word “philanthropist”
• Navigating aging and ageism as a woman business owner

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• “Hood Feminism” by Mikki Kendall
• Sister.is
• Clifton Strengths
• Drive to Survive on Netflix
• “Rest is a Resistance’ by Tricia Hersey
• Moms Demand Action
• Chrysalis Foundation for Women and Girls
• “This Chair Rocks” by Ashton Applewhite

Learn more about accountability coaching with host Becky Mollenkamp at https://beckymollenkamp.com

Check it out: The Feminist Founders Guide to Building Your Dream Life
A guided workbook to clarify your equity-centered vision and craft a you-centered plan for making it happen ($15, available on Amazon): https://amzn.to/4aSzeBk

NOTE: Feminist Founders is a listener-funded podcast. Your contributions enable us to continue bringing you these important conversations. To support the mission and receive bonus content, sign up for a subscription at https://feministfounders.substack.com/

-----

Meg Wheeler (she/her) is the Founder of The Equitable Money Project, which offers financial education through its free Biz Money Library, CFO support through The Equitable Money Club, and done-for-you tax preparation, bookkeeping and CFO services to primarily marginalized business owners. She is a licensed CPA and financial literacy educator with a focus on helping online educators, service providers and small business owners set up, manage and master the financial aspects of their businesses.

The Equitable Money Project prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, and is committed to supporting marginalized and underrepresented business owners through accessible financial education. Meg ties her social justice activism and political work into The Equitable Money Project as part of her commitment to achieving economic equity for all. She is the host of The Disrupt Your Money Podcast and a former Democratic Candidate for the Massachusetts State Senate.

Website | Instagram | TikTok

Discussed in this episode:

• Meg’s relationship with feminism
• Why money is political
• Privilege and generational wealth (vs. being rich)
• The role of ‘money mindset’ in financial conversations
• Why acknowledging privilege is so important for those working in the financial space
• Systemic barriers that contribute to financial inequity
• Why Dave Ramsey and financial “gurus” like him are so problematic
• How they do things differently at Equitable Money Project
• The reason Meg’s gives away the bulk of educational materials for free
• Conditioning that tells women and others with marginalized identities that “they aren’t good with numbers”
• The power of money meetings
• Separating money from self-worth
• The pros and cons of Profit First accounting
• Why “be a radical giver” is part of Meg’s core values
• What Meg’s run for State Senate taught her
• The power of talking to people in your community
• How Meg kissed Zac Efron

Resources mentioned:

• Disrupt Your Money podcast
• Rich White Guys Make Crappy Financial Advisors (episode)
• Biz Money Library
• Gallup study: Bill paying vs. financial decision making
• “Profit First” by Michael Michalowicz
• Pay Yourself First (episode)
• Equitable Money Club
• Elevated Access
• Girls Who Code

Learn more about accountability coaching with host Becky Mollenkamp at https://beckymollenkamp.com

A full transcript of this interview is available at FeministFoundersPodcast.com