Introducing The Grant For Ambitious Women

You can’t make this up… “I was raised to be either an engineer or a doctor… and I chose Engineering. I enjoyed it, and was good enough to rise through the ranks and lead large, globally distributed teams. But it wasn’t my passion. It was simply my job. And in that job, I found myself gravitating towards customers - wanting to tell their stories, solve their problems, and showcase the value in our products. This wasn’t engineering – this was marketing. And so, after some soul-searching, I took a leap of faith and changed the trajectory of my career. The pay was lower and I had technically demoted myself, but I didn’t care because finally, I was doing what I loved.?

Because of this new career, I’ve been blessed to experience so many “once in a lifetime” things, like sending Webex into space! As part of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, headed on a 42-day mission around the moon and launching late August/early September, Webex is part of the Callisto payload which includes Amazon Alexa and a purpose-built instance of Webex. This was a two-year journey to get here, including significant engineering work. This is why I LOVE my job!?

I was blessed to have great mentors and sponsors in my career and in my personal life. One of those is my mother. She has been an inspiration to me since I was just a girl. She taught me to take risks – even if calculated – and follow my dreams. She taught me to be financially and emotionally independent and to work to contribute to others’ success. And she was a role model – having a career at a time and in a country when that was frowned on.?

Now, I want to pay it forward to the next generation of women. I have two daughters who are building their own businesses, and I see that among their peer set, women can feel lost or doubt themselves and their abilities. It is a beautiful thing when women help other women recognize their skills, grow, and succeed. I want to teach all women to never give up, and never take no for an answer. Keep asking for what you want and more – you’ll be surprised at how far you can take it!” - Aruna Ravichandran, SVP and CMO of Webex by Cisco.

I’m so excited to be featuring Aruna in this week’s newsletter! I wanted to take a moment to spotlight her achievement. There are so many of us, founders and hopeful founders alike, who grew up surrounded by an idea of who we were supposed to be.?

I want you to know that, whoever that person is, she doesn’t have to be you. Maybe she is, and maybe she isn’t. Either way, you deserve to find your own path, just as Aruna did.?

It is a goal of mine to support an inclusive future for all women, one that allows everyone the freedom they so deserve to explore their? truths and build their own? business.

Last year, female founders secured a mere 2 percent of venture funds, and I, along with Aruna and Erica Duignan Minnihan, are on a mission to change that with a $20,000 grant. This grant will be awarded to a well deserving founder on September 21st during a pitch event featuring 7 spectacular finalists who applied to present their incredible businesses.??

?You can tune in and support these founders here.?

I look forward to celebrating my fellow female founders with you,?

Rebecca?