How they built one of the largest Women Entrepreneur Platforms

You don't have to navigate everything alone. I think so many times as women, we feel this societal pressure that we have to just take on everything ourselves and just figure it out, and that we might be a burden to other people if we're asking for help. And really, the advantage that anyone can have is reaching out and asking for help, because when you surround yourself with other people and you're vulnerable and you share what's going on, human nature, most people do want to help. My daughter would not be on this planet, she would not be on this earth if it were not through, women I connected with who helped me through our journey. But I was vulnerable. I shared what I was going through. I shared, this is where I need help and support. Can anyone connect me with the right doctor? This is the experience I'm having. Has anyone been through this before? And so many women reached out to me to help and to share advice. And that's the learning. Like, just—

Yeah.

Don't try to do it alone. It is so much harder. And you are less likely to be successful trying to do everything yourself.

I love what you shared just about being vulnerable. I think, like you said, on social media it can be very intimidating. People are afraid to be real and say what's really going on.

No one can help you if they don't know what's really going on.

Communication is key.

It's so true. We say that to our clients too when they're about to meet their mentor or get on with their mentor. Be real, because if we— if you don't tell us everything, we can't help you. Exactly right.

Business is hard. Even when things are going well, things, you know, challenges can pop up. Really, to be successful at entrepreneurship, you have to be someone that bounces back when, when there's a setback.

And Courtney, you, you're hands-on as an angel investor in, in these women-led startups. Um, when you're deciding whether to back a founder, what are you actually looking for? Welcome to the Scale-Up Method podcast. I'm your host, Allison Maslan, the CEO and founder of Pinnacle Global Network, where we mentor CEOs around the world to grow and scale companies that change the world. And today we have got 2 world changers right here for women CEOs, and I am so excited to introduce them to you. My guests today are 2 powerhouse founders who decided that building one successful company together was not enough. So Stephanie Carton and Courtney Spritzer are serial entrepreneurs. They're investors and authors who co-founded SocialFly back in 2012, one of the first social media marketing agencies, and scaled it into an award-winning firm working with Fortune 500 brands before it was acquired in 2024. But they didn't stop there. They are also co-founders of Entrepreneista, the leading media company and membership community for ambitious women founders. So what started as a podcast in 2018 spotlighting inspiring women has grown into a platform that is reaching millions with a thriving community called the Entrepreneista League that gives founders the connections, the capital access, and the support they need to grow. So along the way, they co-authored a book on using social media to grow your business. They launched an angel investing community And have been featured everywhere from the Today Show to Forbes to Bloomberg. And these 2 built businesses, they've changed industries, they've made it their mission to help more women do the same. So I am thrilled to have both Stephanie and Courtney here with me. Welcome to the SCALE-IT Method Podcast.

Thank you, Allison, for having us. So excited to be here.

Yeah, my goodness. You know, um, a lot of people struggle with having a partnership, but here you are. Now, uh, 2 times together doing it and doing it successfully. That's amazing. Congratulations on that.

Thank you so much. And just like anything in life and business, partnerships and business partnerships take work. And I think we have figured out the secret sauce to our partnership.

Yeah. Well, uh, I wanna dive into that in a little bit, but I wanna kind of back up. So you, you launched the Entrepreneur Podcast in 2018. To spotlight other women founders. And at what point did you realize that this wasn't just a podcast anymore, that you were building something much bigger?

It was actually back in 2020. So we had launched the podcast, as you mentioned, in 2018, and the podcast really started to take off from that first episode. We were one of the early podcasters back in 2018, starting to share the stories of incredible women like, like yourself that are building these businesses. So when the pandemic actually happened, happened, we started getting so many messages from our listeners and followers. At that point, we were hearing things like, you know, I lost my job. I want to start a business. Can you help us? Or I need to pivot my business. Can you help us? And here we were in the middle of the pandemic as well, navigating business ownership and the pandemic, running our agency. And what we did to really get through everything was we turned to our network. We turned to the organic community that we had created over a decade ago at that point, or throughout the decade. And we would get on Zoom calls with each other and we were brainstorming ideas. and talking about how we were navigating everything. And we realized this is what we needed. And we were hearing this is what everyone who was following us and listening to our podcast needed. And we knew we needed to be the ones to create this community and bring everyone together, especially during that time. So that is how the membership community actually started.

Yeah. And I mean, who would've ever thought that a pandemic could, you know, launch this community? Amazing, really. And I remember at that time too, I think that we were all surprised that people were just craving that, you know, because everyone was siloed. So I think that was a good point.

Yeah. And one thing that actually Stephanie and I haven't really talked about too much that we did in that first year of the pandemic was at that point, the community was the women that were following us on social media, but also our podcast guests. We had so many podcast guests at that point. So, something that we actually did was we just sent a Google invite for a Zoom to every single person we had on the podcast. And we hosted a lunch and we went around and asked everyone, you know, how are they navigating this difficult time? And doing things like that and bringing our— that community together. Stephanie and I have always been a part of other entrepreneur communities as well. Those networks have always helped us during really tough times.

Yeah, I, I think it's so critical, uh, and we were talking about this before, um, we had started the show, is just this— the, the power of community and mentorship. I mean, trying to navigate as a business owner, you know, forget even the pandemic, just regular running the business It's almost impossible.

Yes, it's impossible if it, if you do try to do it on your own, but it is possible when we all get together and collaborate and you have mentors and you have guides. And Courtney and I always invested in ourselves and in our business, literally from day one of starting our business full-time. That was the best advice that we received early on when we had initially quit our corporate jobs to launch our agency business was to join a networking group. And that group, that first group that we joined really led to Every single one of our first big wins in business, from new clients to speaking opportunities. That first big speaking opportunity led to meeting our mentor who I was telling you about before, Allison. And it's just this ripple effect of when you build these relationships and you invest in yourself, that's when all of the business magic, as we say, starts to happen.

Yes, definitely. I mean, it's my favorite part of business, or is the relationship. Meeting you ladies, of course, is a perfect example of that. What has been the secret sauce? sauce for you two now in your second business together in partnership? I have had a couple of partnerships in businesses over the years. One of them was not so hot and I couldn't get out of there fast enough. And then the other was fantastic. But I would love to hear because you've obviously figured it out.

Yeah. I would say it's really that we have opposite skill sets and really different skill sets. So we We manage different parts of the business. So, we're not getting in each other's way. And at this point in our relationship, we really trust each other to manage different sides of the business and then come together on strategic planning and roadmapping and the big vision for the company. And for any partnership, it's just so important that you have those types of conversations and that you're constantly checking in. And aligned on what the big goal is and how you're going to get there. And I think where a lot of partnerships fall apart is they're not having those types of conversations or they're not comfortable enough to really share what they need and how they, how they feel.

Yeah. And then that can build up, right? That sort of resentment if you're not communicating well.

I would add there to what Courtney was sharing that trust is the most important thing in any business partnership and relationship. It's just like a marriage, right? If you don't trust the other person to not just execute in business, but really that no matter what, Courtney and I know that we are always going to do the right thing by each other and by the business. And we genuinely care and we both have the same vision and passion and mission. And being able to, as Courtney was sharing, have these conversations and have these tough conversations. Courtney and I absolutely do not agree on the path always on how to get from point A to point B. But we know we can have these conversations with each other and figure out how to get there and test things and try things. And we're not gonna get upset with each other and we just always figure it out because ultimately we know the path and where we want to get to and we're willing to try things and we trust each other. Yeah.

I mean, that's everything that you, I mean, you may have each have different ways that you feel that you're gonna get to the end goal. But if you're both aligned to the vision, that really is the magic. So for anybody that is listening and you're going through this right now, I mean, you've got to be really open and honest with one another because that's where the trouble can start. Now, there are a lot of communities and courses for women founders out there now, but you've actually built, you have scaled, You've sold a company, you invest your own money in other founders. How does that change what Entrepreneista League is versus everything else out there?

We really have built a community around the center of that everything is about collaboration over competition. So we have women in our community that are first building their businesses right now. They're leaving corporate jobs, they're building their business on the side so then they can leave their corporate job and go in full-time, and they're joining to get all those resources. Resources and build their network faster and really shortcut that learning curve by getting in early. And we have women in the community that are doing 7, 8, 9 figures that have scaled businesses, sold businesses to Unilever for $100 million and everything in between. And women are hiring each other, working with each other, collaborating with each other at all stages because we all need different things as we're growing and scaling a business. One of our members who you may know her, Allison Gwen Whiting, she founded the company, The And she's hosted office hours inside our community and helped members of our community learn how to grow, scale, sell a CPG brand. And then she started her next business. So what did she do? She went inside the community and started working with and hiring members to help her launch her next business because she hadn't done that in 20 years and technology and everything had changed.

Yeah.

So there's just so much opportunity for everyone at all different stages of business. And what I always share with everyone, Allison, is Share with us, share with the community team, share with me and Courtney what your goals are and what you want to accomplish. And we'll share with you really the path to get there and unlock everything a lot faster. And because we built this media platform through our podcast first, and now through our awards program, which you're going to be part of this year, and through the in-person events that we do and our virtual events and our email newsletter and social media, we now have this built-in platform. To be able to share the stories of all of these women in our community and help them grow their business and their visibility even faster through what we've already created over the past decade.

Yeah, that is so, so beautiful. I love it. We talk a lot in Pinnacle Global Network about being a go-giver. Like, that really is our— one of our core values. And because I think sometimes people come into a community or a coaching organization and they're saying, what can I get? But we always say first, what can I give?

Yes.

And how can we lift one another up? And you better believe it, people want to give more to a giver.

Yeah.

Right? And so I just think it's fantastic what you both have done. Now, you co-founded Pearl Influential Capital specifically to get more funding into women's hands. What do you feel is the single biggest barrier keeping women from capital, and how is Entrepreneista moving the needle on that?

I was gonna say, it first starts with education. So really what's holding women back is just not knowing what all the options are when it comes to funding your business. Raising money for your business is not the only way to fund your business. And for most businesses, that path doesn't really make sense. So what we're doing at Entrepreneurista is partnering with different organizations and even our members to educate our audience on all of the different ways to fund your business. There's self-funding it, there's taking on loans, there's finding the right credit cards, there's finding the right partnerships that you can, you know, collect cash upfront to fund some of your initiatives. There's grant programs. And then of course, there is raising money and there's a whole process to how you would do that, which we have the resources and the education inside the community on how to do that. But really, it boils down to access to these resources and then deciding what makes sense for you based on what your goals are.

The other thing that we have really seen with the route of raising capital, whether that's through angel investors or through venture capital, So much of it comes down to your relationships. And if you are not part of a network or a community where those relationships exist, it is a lot harder and it will take you a lot longer to accomplish your goal. When you can already start from 100 instead of zero, when you're inside a community and share that you're raising capital, find the specific people you're looking to meet and ask if someone is willing to or has an introduction to who you are looking to connect with. When you have those introductions and you have those relationships, you are more likely to be successful.

Yeah, because you could go down the wrong road with the wrong person.

Absolutely.

And, you know, there's all kinds of nightmares out there of people taking equity and then being kicked out of their own business. So having the right guidance is really critical. So I love that you all provide that.

There's so many horror stories in business. You know, on Instagram, everyone posts the highlight reel. And, and there's, there are a lot of accounts that are posting the real things that happen, but business is hard. Even when things are going well, things, you know, challenges can pop up. So—

Yes, daily. Exactly.

Really, to be successful at entrepreneurship, you have to be someone that bounces back when, when there's a setback. And, and over time, as you're an entrepreneur for longer, Like, we've been entrepreneurs now for, I think, over 15 years. Now, when a problem happens, I'm, I'm so unfazed, or I bounce back really quickly. And that's all part of it, is getting comfortable with the failures and the challenges and deciding that you want to move forward anyway, whereas a lot of people would just give up.

Oh yeah. I mean, I think you really nailed it. I know in my earlier days when things would happen, it was like, Like the world was falling apart and, you know, I would be freaking out, sometimes in tears. And now it's just like, okay, so what are we gonna do about it?

You make a plan and problem solve. And for us, I mean, we still have problems all the time, but we can pick up the phone and call someone. And we had an issue last week and we're like, okay, we know exactly who to call. Get on the phone, they take our call right away because these are relationships that we've built over years. And that's why it's If you're surrounded by the right people and the right community, when you have these problems, you can be unfazed because you have the right people on speed dial to help you.

Yes, that have most likely been through it before.

Exactly.

So they can share how they've navigated. And so speaking of resilience, Stephanie, you've built multiple 7-figure businesses while navigating dealing with MS, going through infertility, infertility, a complicated pregnancy. So what do you want other women managing personal challenges, hardship alongside their business to hear from you?

You don't have to navigate everything alone. I think so many times as women, we feel this societal pressure that we have to just take on everything ourselves and just figure it out, and that we might be a burden to other people if we're asking for help. And really, The advantage that anyone can have is reaching out and asking for help because when you surround yourself with other people and you're vulnerable and you share what's going on, human nature, most people do want to help and they just need to know that you need it so they can step up and be there for you. I share, you know, my daughter would not be on this planet. She would not be on this earth if it were not through women I connected with who helped me through our journey. But I was vulnerable. I shared what I was going through. I shared, this is where I need help and support. Can anyone connect me with the right doctor? This is the experience I'm having. Has anyone been through this before? And so many women reached out to me to help and to share advice. And that's the learning. Like, just—

Yeah.

Don't try to do it alone. It is so much harder and you are less likely to be successful trying to do everything yourself. And in these hard moments, We need other people. Like, we need support. You know, just because Courtney and I are out there building these amazing businesses and community, we need help and support too. We can't do everything alone.

1,000%. I love what you shared just about being vulnerable. I think, like you said, on social media, it can be very intimidating when people are talking about, oh, I made, you know, I made several million dollars in a week kind of thing. And, you know, we know how that really goes behind the scenes. And I think that they're just— people are afraid to be real and say what's really going on. And that is so important because you don't have to impress anybody, right? And so that is the way. And then people can raise their hand, oh, I've been there. You're going to be fine. Here's what you need to do, or call this person.

Exactly. Exactly.

No one can help you if they don't know what's really going on.

Yes. Communication is key.

Yeah, it's so true. We say that to our clients too when they're about to meet their mentor or get on with their mentor. Be real, because if you don't tell us everything, we can't help you.

Exactly.

Right? So, and Courtney, you're hands-on as an angel investor in these women-led startups. When you're deciding whether to back a founder, what are you actually looking for? And what do you most— what do most women get wrong when they're about to pitch their business?

Yeah, I would say, like Stephanie was saying earlier, it's really about the network. So, you know, when I'm investing in someone, I'm really investing in the idea. Can I help it? Am I uniquely positioned to help this idea be successful? And 2, Do I believe in the founder? And then the last one that admittedly is probably a little bit more important to me just because I'm a busy person is who else is on the cap table? So there's a few investors that I really respect, and when I see that they're also investing, I know it's a good sign that I should invest too. So I say networking is really important when you're out there raising money. You want to get into the right networks. You want to have the right names on your cap Because once you attract one of them, it tends to attract some other, other good investors.

Yeah, great advice. Great advice. And, and what is— where are some things that— how women can improve when they're pitching their business? What do you see that they get stuck at?

Yeah, really knowing their numbers, knowing, you know, what is the big vision? How are you going to get this company sold? What are you going to be focused on over the next 3 years, I really want to see that these women are really clear on what they need the money for and how they're going to deploy these funds and how that's going to lead to growing and scaling the business. And I would say it's really just being super clear on what you need and what support that you need.

Right. That makes so much sense.

The amount of money and the support that you need. It's not just money these days with investing. It's what other support, what other introductions can I make for you that's going to help set you up for success?

Yeah. One great introduction can open so many doors. And also, I think You know, I had— I've had Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran at our events and so forth too. And they always say they're investing in the person, not the business. So they want to really see the passion for what they're doing.

Absolutely. And you need to know they're not gonna give up when things get hard. So if we're investing our personal money, we wanna be sure that when times get tough, and they're gonna get tough really fast, and as Courtney was sharing before, you have to be able to bounce back. And be able to keep going and not just give up and let that business go and let our investment go as well.

Yeah, great advice. Now, when a women founder joins Entrepreneista League, what changes for her? Can you walk us through what she gets in those first 90 days that she could not get on her own?

Immediately, she is getting access to a network of over 4,000 other founders who are just like her, who want to be inside the community to build real and meaningful relationships and connect and collaborate. So she's instantly opening up her network to all of her future best friends in life and in business inside the community. And then when it comes to business and visibility, so immediately in the first 90 days, we are going to feature her and her business on our website on entreprenisa.com. And she's going to have a beautiful media piece about her business. So whether she has already scaled her business to 7 figures and wants to talk about a new product or launch that she has going on in that profile piece, or she's new in business and this can be her first big feature to really help get her business out there, she's going to get access to that as well. And we also do virtual learning and networking events every single week inside the community. And now we have this incredible local meetup program. So we have members that hosting events all across the country every single month. So she will get access to be invited to those events. And then of course, now we have our annual Founders Weekend retreat as well. So she will be invited to get a ticket and come to our Founders Weekend retreat and really experience all of the magic in person at our event as well.

Wow. So visibility, support, Community connection. And I've been inside your platform. I've seen it. It's amazing what you two have created. Seriously, super, super impressive.

Thank you so much, Allison.

I was just gonna say, and I'm doing right now, I feel like I'm on a world tour. I'm traveling everywhere. And I think what's great about the size of our community, and it's growing, is that literally anywhere I go, any state I go to, any conference I go to, There's always women in the community that I can connect with, and I don't even have to be alone now going to these places. There's people to connect with everywhere.

Yeah, that's such a great thing. It is. It feels like home when you're not home.

Exactly.

Yeah. And so can you tell me, you spoke to it a little bit, but who is Entrepreneurs League? really for? Like, if you were to share, you know, your ideal avatar. So if a woman is listening right now wondering, is she too early? Is she too small? Is she too late? What would you say to her?

I would share that Entrepreneista is for the ambitious founder who really wants to grow their business alongside other incredible, ambitious women who truly want to support and connect. And this community is really for women who want visibility for their business and also personally as well. And for the women that truly want to make best friends in life and in business, because that is also what's happening every single day inside the community. As Courtney was sharing, when she was just in France at an event and met up with 15, 20 other Entrepreneistas at that event, there, anywhere you go, anywhere you travel to, our members are sharing, I'm going to be in New York City for the week. Who can I meet up with? way to be able to connect with everyone wherever you are, really. Of course, in the United States, but also in the world as well, which is truly exciting.

That is amazing. That's amazing. That's so exciting. Well, congratulations. What's the next chapter for Entrepreneista for both of you that the world doesn't fully know about yet?

Oh my gosh, we have so much planned. Well, we have our Entrepreneista 100 Awards. Our applications are opening on September 8th. So would definitely encourage every woman entrepreneur to apply to our awards program. And we're currently working on all of our plans right now for our next big Founders Weekend retreat, which is very likely going to be in September of 2027, working on all of the details right now and really just continuing to grow the community and working to build out, uh, chapters across the country as well.

I love it.

I love it.

Well, thank you both for being here. I'm excited that we are partnering our organizations because I really encourage our members at Pinnacle Global Network as well to build, to expand that community as much as they can. So thank you both for what you're doing and how you're supporting women entrepreneurs.

Back at you, Allison. Thank you so much for having us, and we're so excited for all of the collaborations ahead.

Definitely. And I hope you all enjoyed this episode. And if you did, we welcome those reviews. We— they are so meaningful. I read them all. And so please share this with another woman CEO that you care about, or if you're a gentleman, share it with you— if you're in business with your wife, share this as well. There's so much value here today. And if you also, if you're truly ready to scale your company and you wanna have that one-on-one guidance with an established CEO that has already built a very successful company and your business is in that 7, 8, or 9 figures, I invite you to check us out at Pinnacle Global Network, where we mentor CEOs to fast-track their success. And create a more freedom-filled life. And if you want to speak one-on-one to one of our CEO strategists for a deep dive session where they're going to diagnose your biggest growth gaps and determine what is needed to close those gaps, just go ahead and go to myscalesession.com. We will put the links below for Entrepreneista. I encourage you to check them out and check out their incredible community. And I'll leave you with this today. Make decisions from where you're going, not from where you're at. Until next time, we'll see you soon. Bye, everybody.

Bye.

Bye.