TWO WORDS: KATHRYN FINNEY

Let’s talk about one of my longest professional relationships! Since the early 2000s, I’ve been fortunate to call Kathryn Finney a dear friend.? When I was an account executive at Fleishman-Hillard, I talked one of my clients into sponsoring Kathryn’s Budget Fashionista event during NY Fashion Week! I remember going through our office in NY and being baffled when someone didn’t know her name…” How do you not know who Kathryn Finney is?!? She’s amazing. She’s Budget Fashionista!” Kathryn was the first person I knew who had written a book, sold her company, and, just like that (snaps finger), started a new chapter with a red lip, amazing outfit, and energy that fills a room!?

Kathryn has been a sounding board in every major entrepreneurial decision that shaped my career at every turn.? She has been part of the pivotal moments in business that have brought me the most fear, faith, and courage - leaving DBA, starting BT, launching a studio and then a fund, bringing on a co-founder. I mean talk about career ups and downs! We brought our children together before they could walk. I can recall the grannies beaming with pride on Kathryn’s NY apartment floor, and? I see myself sleeping in Christian’s toddler bed when I needed an escape and break.?

Kathryn is and will continue to be a force. I could list her myriad of accolades - Obama Champion of Change Award, Investor, Renowned Global Speaker - but I want to highlight my friend for her latest endeavor which, as a Black Female Founder myself,? gives me the turn-up boost I needed to keep moving.? It reminds me, at the end of each day, that I am a success! I tried and failed; I tried and succeeded but, at every turn, I did my best. I stood in my confidence and took the next shot.?

When I first started talking about investing and building a fund, the feedback I received was that it was too hard…I should stick to what I know…have I seen the stats on Black women in venture?!... Just because you raised money doesn’t mean you can do venture! In between the lines, what they weren’t saying, plain and simple, is I wasn’t a white male.

When stars aligned with Lisa Stone and I was able to jump head first into my vision, Kathryn was the first person I called. She was the friend, coach, and colleague who helped me see the forest from the trees with just a few words and a strong-willed text message! I had told her years ago that I wanted to get into venture and,? in typical Kathryn fashion, she gave me a venture book to read, invited me to Digitalundivided’s HQ, and gave me the real talk on venture. It was a fitting talk given her latest endeavor writing the book:? “Build the Damn Thing: How to Start a Successful Business If You're Not a Rich White Guy”

An Amazon reviewer states:

“Don’t wait for the system to let you in—break down the door and build your damn thing. For all the Builders striving to build their businesses in a world that has overlooked and underestimated them: Kathryn’s book is the essential guide to knowing, breaking, remaking and building your own rules of entrepreneurship in a startup and investing world designed for and by the “Entitleds.”?

I couldn’t agree more. So in celebration of #FounderFriday, Juneteenth, and our freedom to build and grow as we choose, I encourage you to devour my good friend, Kathryn’s book, and more importantly, to take the stories, the feedback, and wisdom and build your own damn thing!?

Here’s a snippet:

Building Your Internal Foundation

There's a tendency to define success as something outside ourselves. We say, "If I just get this job/investment/partner, then I will be successful." While these types of achievements can help you along the path to success, they are external. The path to success is internal. As a Builder, there will be times when the only person who can see your vision will be you. You are your own boss, and any boss worth their weight in stock options understands that self-awareness-knowing who you are and acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses-is an extremely important part of being a great leader.

In order to build your company, you will need to get comfortable with uncertainty, risk, and failure. You must be able to manage the stress and challenges that come from the realities of building a startup. Of the hundreds of companies I've encountered throughout the years, the ones that succeeded were the ones whose founders built a strong internal foundation before executing their ideas.

Smart, successful entrepreneurs have no problem spending time on their mental and spiritual health. My dear friend Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, co-founder of the health company rē?spin with Oscar winner Halle Berry, has a formal yoga practice that she does every day. I'm a member of a group of exceptional women entrepreneurs and leaders called TheLi.st. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEO of the group gave its members a free month of a meditation app. Getting your mind right is crucial to getting your company right.

Build the Damn Thing: How to Start a Successful Business If You're Not a Rich White Guy” Excerpt. ? Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Order your copy today: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Damn-Thing-Successful-Business

About Kathryn Finney:?Kathryn Finney is Founder and CEO of Genius Guild and General Partner of The Greenhouse Fund. Genius Guild is a business creation platform that uses the venture studio model to invest in Black entrepreneurs building scalable businesses that serve black communities and beyond. Kathryn’s $10M Greenhouse Fund is a pre-seed venture fund that invests in market-based innovations that end racism. They apply an investment lens that proactively addresses how capitalism has been manipulated to limit, exclude, and defraud Black communities.