Stairway to CEO By cover art

Stairway to CEO

By: Lee Greene
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  • Summary

  • Stairway to CEO is a podcast, hosted by entrepreneur Lee Greene, featuring untold stories from inspiring Founders & CEOs about what it takes to start and grow a business.
    Stairway Group LLC © 2023
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Episodes
  • Widening the Wealth Circle for Women with Allegra Moet Brantley, Founder and CEO of Factora

    Widening the Wealth Circle for Women with Allegra Moet Brantley, Founder and CEO of Factora
    Apr 2 2024
    Description:Joining the show today is Allegra Moet Brantley, the Founder and CEO of Factora. This women-led personal finances company is on a mission to lead one million women to $1 million in wealth. Today she shares her journey from building her first company to becoming a salary negotiation coach to leading partnerships and marketing at Financial Gym, where she ultimately came up with the idea to build Factora. Tuning in, you’ll gain insight into the importance of financial transparency, the challenges that can come with fundraising, building a sustainable business while growing a family, and much more. Allegra also has some valuable, go-getting advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, so if you have a business idea that has been nagging at you, you won’t want to miss this episode!Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:• AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high-touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at lee@stairwaytoceo.com to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee ChatsIn This Episode You’ll Hear About:• [02:53] Why transparency is the key to rid conversations about personal wealth of taboo.• [05:43] Insight into Allegra’s upbringing across the country, her education, and her first jobs.• [16:35] The importance of always negotiating for more and reading contracts thoroughly!• [19:45] Lessons from Allegra’s time in the marketing department at Estee Lauder.• [21:35] What her first steps into entrepreneurship in 2011 taught her about financial freedom.• [30:13] Allegra’s valuable experiences at Financial Gym and the origin story of Factora.• [38:29] How Factora has evolved and how The Wealth Circle community has grown.• [40:45] Some of the challenges of fundraising, bootstrapping the business from the ground up, combating burnout while raising a family, and how Allegra overcame them.• [49:37] Price ranges for Factora’s courses, what they entail, and how you can benefit for life!• [53:50] What the future holds for Factora, how they take women from overwhelm to sustainable wealth-building, why this industry is ripe for disruption, and more.To Find Out More:FactoraThe Wealth Circle6 Figure SavingsCoffee & Coin PodcastAllegra Moet Brantley on LinkedInAllegra Moet Brantley on InstagramLee Greene on LinkedInStairway to CEOStairway to CEO on InstagramQuotes:“It is so nerve-wracking and cathartic to share these numbers we never [talk about]. In the very first call, [Wealth Circle members] are sharing their salary.” [0:04:26]“When we share resources and investment strategies, it’s such a wealth of knowledge.” [0:05:33]“[Becoming] a salary negotiation coach – only reemphasized what I was experiencing personally. Now that I’m good at asking for more money [and] getting more money, it doesn’t mean I have more money. Making and keeping [money] are two very different things!” [0:29:02]“I was more passionate about helping women build wealth than anything else I had touched on in my career. It’s one thing to understand where your income goes. It’s a whole other thing to make a strategy for investing it [and] feel confident enough to do so.” [0:34:25]“It felt like a sentence would not stop tapping at the base of my neck – ‘Help women build wealth, help women build wealth, help women build wealth,’ all day long.” [0:35:51]“When you raise funding, and now you have investors involved, and they have a vision too, oftentimes you have to acquiesce and collaborate with that vision. I felt so strongly [about] my own [vision]. I didn’t want to bring in anything to muddy that.” [0:43:57]“90% of women come to Factora for the stick market portion. They say for the community and the access to additional creative investment ideas.” [0:52:32]“I don’t want people to hand over their entire financial autonomy because they don’t think they’re smart enough to do it themselves. That is why I think this industry is ripe for disruption.” [0:57:55]“For aspiring entrepreneurs; if you have an idea that’s banging at the base of your neck, it’s going to create value in this world both for potential customers but also for you and what you are going to learn [through your failures, strifes, and success]. Make like Nike and do it!” [0:58:20]“Investing is not hard. Investing is not complicated. You are meant to think – that it is. You’re already doing it if you’ve ever utilized a 401k or an IRA. You can do more of it, and I suggest that you do.” [0:59:49]
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Turnarounds, Transformations, and Taking Charge with Mary van Praag, Global CEO at Milani Cosmetics

    Turnarounds, Transformations, and Taking Charge with Mary van Praag, Global CEO at Milani Cosmetics
    Jan 16 2024
    Description:  Mary van Praag joins us today to talk about how she became Global CEO of Milani Cosmetics, a 20-year-old company built on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to own and enjoy luxury beauty. From her entrepreneurial pursuits in high school to her first CEO role at Perricone MD, Mary tells us about her remarkable career journey and how she became the Global CEO of Milani cosmetics. Tune in today to learn about Mary’s passion for transforming companies, the lessons she’s learned about being vulnerable as a leader, and much more!Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high-touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at lee@stairwaytoceo.com to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee ChatsIn This Episode You’ll Hear About:[02:31] Mary’s upbringing in Ohio; how her parents’ divorce (and being the eldest) informed her early leadership development, her first entrepreneurial pursuits, and her college years.[10:12] What it was like moving 17 times in her professional life, how this has proven her ability to manage change, and why she loves making things better.[14:46] How Mary found her internal drive as a leader and her advice to others struggling to find their voice.[21:18] Her early career in sales and how her experiences as general manager at Coty and OPI Products set her on the path towards CEO.[27:07] Mary’s first role as CEO at Perricone MD, the destabilizing impact of the COVID pandemic, and how she adapted and ultimately became CEO of Milani Cosmetics.[30:54] Key lessons on building your team as a CEO.[34:44] What Mary has learned about turnarounds since she first started out, and her insights on how being CEO resembles running your own business.[37:53] Why being vulnerable as a leader is one of the most important lessons Mary has had to learn, and her thoughts on what sets the role of CEO apart from other positions.[46:02] Milani Cosmetics’ approach to remote work and an overview of the exciting things the brand has coming up![52:18] Mary’s practical advice for aspiring CEOs.To Find Out More:Mary van Praag on LinkedInMilani CosmeticsCotyPerricone MDLee Greene on LinkedInStairway to CEOStairway to CEO on InstagramQuotes:“Moving, I think, indicates my ability to manage change and transformation. But at the same time, create a great network of deep-seated roots and connections that I will forever have in my life.” [0:12:13]“I'm at my best, as a leader – when you look at the context of a situation – when something requires change and transformation. I love to make things better.”  [0:12:40]“Some people are great at constructive conflict, others are analytical geniuses, others are great teachers. I always say ‘find that thing that makes you unique, [and] whatever your superpower is, really feed into it.’” [0:16:14]“Leaders don't have all the answers. What I want to hear is the people [who] are closest to the business [and] have a unique point of view. And we need to hear that.” [0:16:56]“I can be interesting, but I have to be interested first.”   [0:19:54]“You always have to respect the past, but you have to get people aligned to create the new future. And you quickly find out who wants to do that, and who doesn't. And that's a lot of work.” [0:25:02]“Thinking about how you build teams is an important part of what a CEO does. I have amassed a fabulous team with very high engagement scores and a really strong culture. And we built it brick by brick, but it started with my leadership team.” [0:33:04]“We're all motivated towards the same future that we want to build. And that's very, very rewarding.” [0:33:51]“Depending on the circumstances, [a turnaround] this is like running our own business.” [0:35:26]“The biggest thing I had to learn was to be vulnerable.” [0:37:55]“If you don't give people an inspiring vision, they have nothing to hope for. Especially when you're in a turnaround.” [0:38:53]“I don't necessarily think everybody needs to be in the office every day to get productivity or work. I think we have happier employees, because we're hybrid, and that’s part of our culture now. We work hybrid.” [0:47:14]“Have a bias [towards] action. The strategic agility part is really important in today's day and age with the millions of things that we have flying at us.” [0:53:08]
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    55 mins
  • Connection, Community and Conversation with Julie Rice, Co-Founder and CEO of Peoplehood

    Connection, Community and Conversation with Julie Rice, Co-Founder and CEO of Peoplehood
    Jan 9 2024

    Description:

    Today’s guest fell into entrepreneurship when she started to create experiences with her own needs in mind. Julie Rice is the Co-Founder and CEO of Peoplehood, where she facilitates deep conversation and connection to develop ‘relationship fitness’. During this episode, she shares her childhood passion for theatre, talks about the start of her career in talent management in New York, and tells the story of how she built and exited her first startup, SoulCycle. Tune in to hear all this and more!

    Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:

    AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high-touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at lee@stairwaytoceo.com to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee Chats. 

    In This Episode You’ll Hear About:

    • [02:16] How growing up as a theatre lover in small town New York started her off on a creative and collaborative path.

    • [06:24] Early leadership tendencies, working in the entertainment industry, and translating those skills to working in brand.

    • [12:44] The story of SoulCycle’s inception in New York in 200; starting with a business plan on the back of a napkin.

    • [17:11] Starting and growing SoulCycle and the premise that motivated Julie and her business partner to start Peoplehood.

    • [26:41] What Peoplehood is and how it is unfolding as a business.

    • [34:02] Tips for truly getting to know the people in your sphere.

    • [43:28] Communication insights from Peoplehood and advice for entrepreneurs.

    To Find Out More:

    Julie Rice on LinkedIn

    Peoplehood

    SoulCycle

    Awesome CX

    Lee Greene Email

    Lee Greene on LinkedIn

    Stairway to CEO

    Stairway to CEO on Instagram

    Quotes:

    “For me, the great fun in any business that I create is really about collaboration and the gifts that different people can bring to a project.” [0:06:34]

    “Community and team activity is something that I’ve always loved participating in.” [0:07:04]

    “A lot of the things that I learned in the entertainment business absolutely affected the way that I thought about brand building.” [0:09:55]

    “Brand is really about who you want to be in the world; what does it feel like, sound like,, what does it smell like, what does it look like?” [0:10:13]

    “The funny thing is, I never set out to be an entrepreneur. I never actually thought of myself that way until people started to use the word retroactively.” [0:15:14]

    “We created something that we wanted to use.” [0:15:31]

    “As an entrepreneur, having a business partner, if you can find the right partner, is great.” [0:18:14]

    “We began to think about what it would look like to create something that was relational fitness; a place where we could teach people how to listen to each other, how to talk to each other and build a different kind of muscle.” [0:23:13]

    “When you look at all the information out there, what we know for sure is that we cannot lead physically or mentally healthy lives without being in productive relationships.” — Julie Rice [0:24:17]

    “We spend so much of our lives and our time in relationships and we really don’t spend the intentional time figuring out how to be in these relationships.” — Julie Rice [0:24:49]

    “What people really want from people they are in relationships with is to feel heard by them, to feel seen by them, and to feel like their opinions matter to somebody.” — Julie Rice [0:27:29]

    “What we’re doing at Peoplehood is really giving somebody space to peel the layers of their own onion.” — Julie Rice [0:31:46]

    “An underpracticed and underappreciated skill is listening.” — Julie Rice [0:33:28]

    “There’s something about stepping back and letting someone finish that is very powerful.” — Julie Rice [0:42:00]
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    47 mins
Leadership Management Career Success Economics
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