861. Jaclyn Johnson, CEO of Create & Cultivate And New Money Ventures On How to Nail Your Pitch, Transform Your Mindset Around Rejection And Fund Your Business Idea

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Welcome to the Earn your Happy Podcast. I'm Lori Harder, Founder of Light Pink, bestselling author, three time fitness world champion and I'm a crazy, multi passionate entrepreneur. My journey has taken me everywhere from being a broke waitress, barista, retails associate and personal trainer with massive anxiety and no belief in myself to later becoming a multi millionaire in love with my life. In 2007 my husband and I lost everything. We found ourselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt at rock bottom. We had no ideas and I had no education to fall back on. This is when I found personal development and learned everything I could about business. Not by choice I but because I realized no one was coming to save me. The conversations on this podcast are gonna let you know that you're not alone and that we all feel like we don't know what we're doing. We're gonna give you the tools to help you face your fears, take action, start your business and grow those massive dreams that are keeping you up at night. It's time to create a life that you can't hide from and put so much on the line that your higher self is forced to come out. You're gonna stop waiting for someone of you and you're going to anoint yourself. Because I'm obsessed about building businesses that give women a platform, I want to feature you. So if you text the word podcast to 310-496-8363 you can get your questions answered on our Q and A segment along with a shout out and if you rate, review and subscribe to this podcast, we're choosing someone every month to get coached and featured on our show. It just might be you. So let's get started. Welcome back to the show. I have one of my favorite women on who truly has been a trailblazer and just a mentor in my life who I have studied and watched and really seen all of the big moves that she has made. In fact, there's some things that right now I'm really looking at her career and what she's done and modeling some of the things that I'm going to be doing for Light Pink and my guest today is the incredible Jacqueline Johnson. I really wanted to feature her for Women's History Month because she has a new venture capital firm which I'm so excited about and she has created such a powerhouse career. She's an entrepreneur by the time she was 28 and she sold her first first business, invested in multiple female owned startups and launched her second multimillion dollar company, Create and Cultivate all. Before she was 30, she recognized a gap in conversations, in resources, events and communities for female millennial entrepreneurs and she responded with the solution of Create and Cultivate, which is now obsession worthy. It's wildly popular, it's a media platform and nationwide conference. In the process. Jacqueline's own work life philosophy built on the cornerstones of female empowerment. Hustling hard and innovation have propelled her voice to the forefront of the discussion on workplace equality. She's a new thought leader for millennial women and gen zers on the career come up. This passion for supporting female entrepreneurs sparked her latest endeavor, New Money Ventures, a venture capital firm and brand studio on a mission to fund and build the next generation of game changing female led. She's been named a Forbes 30 under 30 and she's earned her way to the front lines of a workplace revolution at a time when change agents and disruptors are flexing real influence. We talked about all of this and more. We literally really focused on what motivates her and what has taken her to all of these places. What is her true passion? How does she stay motivated? What does this look like to take all of these big leaps in your life and business? It was so much fun getting to hear the inside and how her brain works and really sharing this with you and showing you that you have all of these capabilities and you can do this same thing too. There's just a few key things that maybe she does different that you can Start implementing as well. So let's get started.

Jacqueline, I'm so excited to have you back on the show. Thank you so much for coming on.

Of course. So good to see you and excited to be back.

It's so fun to see you. I feel like you're one of those people that if six months goes by, you probably have something new and really exciting started. You're like a 10x version of my brain, which already feels like I always want to create a new thing. Has that always been who you have been since you were a kid? Tell me about what happens when you start to know that you're getting an itch to do something else. Just tell me a little bit about that journey.

Yeah, I've definitely always been this way. And I think my friends always tell me you don't know how to relax. Probably true, but I've always just been a high energy type person. Like, I don't do well when I'm not busy. I like kind of having my hands in a lot of different things. And so for me, I feel like I'm always looking into what's my next path going to be? What's the next thing that excites me, what's the next thing that makes me wake up in the morning ready to go, you know? So I think it's always important to be paying attention to those cues in your life of, like, when one thing is ending and one thing is starting or when things are starting simultaneously of, like, where to lean in and sometimes where to lean out.

Oh, I love this. Okay, so you have a new project, but we're going to talk about that in a minute. But I think that this is such a fun topic because I was just speaking at a conference and a lot of people were asking Clarity questions around, like, when do you know that you should go on to the next thing? Can you share a couple of just even just like, signs in your life and your body, how you're feeling, like, what's going on with you, Everything Emotionally, physically. When you start to know that there's a new chapter, I do think that.

There is some natural momentum that starts happening in your life, and it's really just about paying attention to the signs. I think a good example is with my first company, no Subject, which was the marketing and events agency, that business was doing really well. It was growing, the team was growing, and we had some acquisition offers and we ended up doing the acquisition. And I was sort of presented with the opportunity to stay on board with the company that acquired us and or you know, go, run, create and cultivate. And this is create and cultivate in its infancy. And I knew there was just so much momentum around create and cultivate. It just felt like I was being almost physically pulled in that direction to go do that. So that's an example of when you kind of know and, like, you're feeling that momentum and excitement and things like that. And sometimes it's when you know you're not getting the result you want over a period of time or, you know, you're not the person to get something to that next level. And that might take time to figure out, you know, and so I think it's just about paying attention to that. And then thirdly is, like, having people in your life who kind of help you or push you in that direction. Like, I have an amazing career coach that I've been seeing for, I don't even know, like, five years, who, you know, when I'm sort of like, I don't know, I think I might. And she's like, no, you're ready. Like, you need this newness, and you need this different energy around you. So I. I think it's a combination of things. I think it's just about paying attention to the momentum, where your energy is happening, where the results are, and then kind of leaning into those mentors and friends that help guide you in your life and in your work.

Oh, that's so huge that you have somebody that you can bounce ideas off of. And I actually think that that is where you kind of tip that domino over. Because for me, I'm such a verbal processor. Are you verbal processor?

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Like, if I do not get to verbally vomit out how I am feeling, like I can't get to the actual place that need to get to. So you literally had two exits already. That is insane. That is crazy. Like, did you even know what that was? At first, just talking about getting acquired. Like, when was the first conversation about getting acquired and acquisitions? Did you know what that word meant at first? Be honest.

No, no, no, no, no, no. So when I started my first business, I was 23. I had no idea what I was doing. I was just building a company that I could, like, pay my bills and pay my employees and, like, be able to function in the world. Selling a company was never really an option or something that was honestly, in my head, as an option. I was really lucky in that. Like, my business partner on Crate and Cultivate and someone that I really admired who had been in my life before creating Cultivate. Honestly, you Know, kind of led me into that universe a little bit of like when you're building really big businesses, people want to buy them and you know, you can provide extreme value in that space. And I think for my first acquisition it was really, that was one that was less about partners and money and trading hands and all that. It was more about the strategic alignment of where we were in our careers. We were acquired by a strategic agency out of New York that was very similar to the work that we were doing in Los Angeles. They were much larger, much further along, much more stabilized as a business and saw the opportunity to grow their LA office quickly and easily with a company that was doing exactly what they were doing. Not only getting a revenue stream, but getting a built in team, built in office and things like that. So it was a great deal for me at the end of the day and obviously was able to make some money off that deal, which is great. But I, knowing what I don't know, having gone through a crate and cultivate exit, which is a much larger, much more complex exit, that was just like a. So like I had no idea what I was doing. I was like, okay, cool, let's do it. What's due diligence? You know, sounds fun, it's not, turns out not fun. You know, I think that's the point of learning. And that's why in my book Work Party I have a whole chapter on selling your business, which I caveat by saying like this might feel completely out of reach to you, but that's how it felt to me when I went through it. And I wish I knew these like five things or whatever it is about selling a business that I do now. And I think it's just important to share that. And I think it's important for women to know that you can sell your business, you can keep your business, you can have a successful small business. Like all of these are options. It doesn't mean you're not successful if you don't do this big acquisition.

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So good. Okay, so you've done so many things that people model their events, their business, their everything, their Instagram, their outfits. After literally, what do you think just talking about your business success, it's not luck. Like, there is some form of Jaclyn formula or secret sauce. If you had to tell somebody what you really think, the key or formula, like, you can't do this without these key things or being these key things or thinking these key things, what would you tell somebody?

I think you really have to think about the moment in time and what's missing and what you can bring to the table as the person who wants to bring that into the world. I think specifically with Create and Cultivate. It was sort of a perfect storm of everything I had done in my career to date. I had been a blogger and influencer, like, early in that world. I had done social media strategy for a ton of different brands and understood virality and social marketing. I also had experience with events on a much smaller scale, but like in working on events and creating these experiences. Experiences. I also had been attending these insane influencer events that were absolutely stunning and that I would post pictures from and things like that. And I had this moment where my sister, who's a wedding photographer in Florida, was like, those events look so insane. I wish I could go to an event like that. And I just had this moment where I was like, wait, we should be able to have everyday women and consumers be able to go to events that are beautiful and fun and gorgeous and the food's great and you can do all cool activations and walk away with an insane gift bag. And you can also learn about business, grow your business and have these conversations. And like, those two ideas just clicked in my head. And I knew I was the person to do it because I had a lot of questions about entrepreneurship. I was an entrepreneur and I had a lot of ideas about that. And I also knew the influencer space and the marketing space and all of those things. So I married those two ideas together and just tested it out. And like, the first one wasn't some, like, screaming success. It was like 25 people at the Ace Hotel. But there was momentum around it. And so I think it's just about thinking about where we're at in a moment of society, what is missing from that moment, and how can you use your expertise to bring it to life? I love that.

Okay, so with your book, I remember reading Work Party and I loved it, by the way. And really thinking about marketing, and I'm really thinking about even marketing with my product that's coming out, like doing non Traditional things. And you're kind of the queen of just doing really non traditional things. So when you were writing Work Party, do you still feel like you would go back and write that book simultaneous? Do you think that those two, like, really helped each other grow?

Yeah. So, I mean, the book deal came out of nowhere for me. I was, you know, still relatively small in the space, but I had this editor that believed in me and believed in the story and felt like that, you know, was the right time for the book. And I feel like looking back on it, it's such a time capsule of where I was in that moment, but I think it's still super relevant. What Work Party ended up doing was creating this opportunity to launch a sub brand of Create and Cultivate, meaning we were able to launch the podcast around it. We went on an intensity book tour. We were able to lean into these conversations and have this kind of fun brand that would be a sister brand to Create and Cultivate. I think both were extremely beneficial in helping build the brand because it began sort of my voice within Create and Cultivate. I always wanted Create and Cultivate to stand alone. That's why I didn't call it the Jacqueline Johnson Conference. Like, I wanted Create and Cultivate to be about the community, and I wanted Work Party to be about the story and the things that I could provide as I was kind of going through the same things that our audience was going through in terms of building a company or managing a team or scaling up and like chatting about those things as I was sort of growing as a business owner as well. So I definitely think it. It was a great way to kind of, you know, have the brands launch in an interesting way. And to your point, I think, you know, now we've seen the book tours that mimic what we've done have done the same things as Work Party. So I'm a big proponent of doing outside of the box type activations that look might fall on their face and no one cares. Fine, fine, fine. But if they take off and have that effect, that's the winning idea. And you have to take risks to do that. So I'm a big believer in that for sure. Attention is so limited. We're all on TikTok, watching TV, scrolling through Instagram on our emails, doing a zoom, listening to a podcast. Like something that you're like, oh, that's cool, that breaks through. And I think that's really hard to do, but when you do it, it can really, really take off.

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Let's talk about. There's a lot of people who either want to get brands out, they want to get their personal brand, they want to get a product out there. And we can definitely go through the imposter syndrome factor where maybe we want to go to a creating cultivator, we want to have an event like that where we want to have our products with these, you know, incredible women who would help the product grow and things like that. Did you ever in the beginning, because obviously you weren't just like born into these incredible networks. Number one how did you feel when you were reaching out to these people and pitching your ideas or trying to get them all in a room like out of nowhere, like, hey guys, let's.

Make this party really, really cool with.

These really popular, amazing women. Like, was that nerve wracking and then how did you kind of grow from there? How did you continue to build that network?

It was not nerve wracking for me because I was really inviting my peers at the time. So women that I was like that now are like massive names, but at the time were just like women that I was connecting with that because we were in the same boat and we were both small and starting our businesses. So I think that's like first and foremost and obviously seeing those women like explode has been amazing. But I definitely got so many non answered emails like I've sent. I would send so, so, so, so, so many emails and get no response or like it's a no for years. And I think for me it was when I really could lay out the value of what we were providing to the talent. That's when we really started to see the results. And honestly it's word of mouth from there. Like one high profile talent having a good experience with create and cultivate feeling like we delivered and telling other people is like the best thing you can do for your business. It's sort of that chain effect of like, oh well, they did it, I'll do it. And I think it thing with client work as well. Like we had Levi's come on as our presenting level sponsor for the first ever create and cultivate for like $1,000 maybe. I mean it was like no money and they were like, oh, we'll sponsor like a gift back. I'm like, no, you're the presenting sponsor. Because I knew saying presented by Levi's would be powerful and other brands would be like, what's Levi is doing? What's this thing they're doing? And sure enough, it worked. And so I think it's something about creating that value to your partners, to speakers, to whatever it might be, and then delivering on the promise of what you're giving them is so crucial because if they show up and it's like a bad experience or super weird, or the audience is like, wah, wah. Like they're not gonna like rave about this event, but if they come in and it's an incredible experience, they'll tell their friends, okay, that's so good.

So tell me about number one, the behind the scenes when you were thinking of how to create something, did you Ask questions like, okay, what do these people actually want? Like, how do we add value to them? And then also, did you just go for, like, with Levi's, did you just go for the big one? Like, put all of your energy into one until you got it, or were you simultaneously doing this to a few?

So Levi's was the only person interested in that? Like, it was so small. It was like the first one ever. We had zero roi. We had no track record. Like, it could have gone up in flames. And for them, it was zero risk. I think she put it on her credit card, and they probably thought it was like a lunch somewhere, like, truly. So for us, it was everything because we had Levi's plastered everywhere. You know, it was a great way to kick off the event and get people excited about attending. And Levi's being such an iconic brand. So for us, it was amazing. For them, it was awesome because they were like, we're getting quadruple the value of a gift bag inclusion, and we're really able to show up in a meaningful way. And then they would. They sponsored further to that. And then after that, it was an influx of brands coming in and being able to figure out what opportunities to give them, where and how. And with the talent side of it, you know, it was really about creating experiences and knowing, like, again, if a talent is a content creator, for them. Followers, this is specifically early on. Followers is key. So I would say we'll promote you, we'll put you in our email. Like, you know, we'll put your handle on everything. And so for them, that was extremely valuable. Now, a lot of our speakers have product lines or have things they're pushing. So how can we integrate their product lines? Like, can we have light pink at the event? Can we have a light pink pop up? How can we help you meet your goals while simultaneously bringing your audience into what we're doing? So it has to be mutually beneficial in that way, and you have to really deliver on those results.

I always love hearing you talk about that, because I think it's literally the entire idea behind partnering, networking, everything is just always thinking what they need or what they would want. I love that. Okay, so let's talk about new money ventures, because I am so excited to hear about it, first of all, just to hear about it, because I haven't really gotten to hear from your mouth exactly what the turning point was for you when you knew you wanted to do it. And if you could also explain to everybody what that is.

So basically being the founder of Crate and Cultivate for nine plus years. What we really nailed was community and conversation. And it was so powerful and we've seen the results of that. It's been incredible. But one of the main things that kept coming up in conversation around all of these different women focused events was capital, access to capital, getting money to start my business. How, who, what, when, where. And the reality is we've all heard the stats. You know, 2% of VC funding goes to women owned businesses. Less than 1% for women of color. It's staggering, it's depressing, it's insane. But another stat that I found was that only 5% of venture capital firms are led by women, which is also the problem. Like one feeds the other. And this is a cycle that we need to break. Not only do we need to fund more women, we need more women in the position to be able to fund these companies. So new Money Ventures was born out of really just those conversations. It's a $20 million consumer fund focused on funding the next generation of female leaders or female led businesses where we not only inject capital in their business, but we also provide mentorship as well. Because in my experience as a self funded business owner, the access to resources is really limited. Even if you have all the right people on your cap table, all the right, you know, in the room, people who will truly have a founder's back are few and far between. And it's a very specific world that you're getting into when you start making millions of dollars as a business. And you really need to have the know how to navigate that landscape as a founder while also simultaneously like running a successful business. So you're extremely spread thin. And so for me, I wanted to be able to pass on my expertise having, having sold two companies, having gone through those processes, having, you know, built a company from literally nothing, you know, creating something that's profitable and scalable. So that's really how New Money Ventures was born.

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So I have a lot of friends who've started in on that conversation of just wanting to eventually be able to do something like that. How did that conversation get started? Where does the money come from? All of those things?

Yeah. So I've been angel investing for 10 years, which is, you know, me basically writing checks to people. And I've loved that and it's been like really amazing. And I've taken on more of like an advisor role and a lot of those things and really found like, like I can help a lot of women, you know, grow their businesses. As I was having these conversations, I met a family office out of Chicago that's run by Matt Holziser and Jenny Just Jenny is one of the only self made female billionaires in the United States. She's a complete legend. She's in the fintech space, she's under Rihanna in the Forbes billionaire list. It's like how I always sort of like teed up. She's a legend and she's amazing and we started having similar conversations. She also is extremely passionate about women in finance and fintech and obviously growing generational wealth. And it kind of happened very naturally where I was like, you know, I really want to change the funding landscape and what I want to do. So we're really fortunate in that we have a single LP for our fund. So typically when you raise a fund, you'll have multiple LPs, you'll go out, you'll raise money, you'll have a bunch of people that are involved in your fund. For me it was just Jenny currently as our lp. Jenny and Matt.

Can you tell people what an LP is just in case?

Yeah, so it's a limited partner. So basically a lot of funds, like anyone can kind of write a check. It depends on the check size. You can write a 250,000 DOL check and then you're an LP in that fund. And then that fund creates mandates around what they can invest in so that you feel connected to what they're doing. So is it women owned, is it fintech, is it startup, is it seed, is it later stage, is it black owned, whatever. Like all these funds have different mandates and you can put your money wherever you want within those mandates to fund those businesses and then you obviously get a piece of the pie as well. As a fund manager, basically what we do is we go out and find opportunities, we vet opportunities, then we make investments. Our investments are between 250,000, upwards of 1 million. And all the deal structures are different. We're lucky in that we kind of get to mandate our own what we want to kind of do in the fund. And so we're not stuck to like a specific type of company or anything like that. Our biggest thing is that we want to invest in businesses that we see disrupting space that are making moves that also have a potential to exit in the future, whether that's an IPO or an acquisition or something like that.

Oh, this is awesome. What part have you loved the most about? Because how fun to be able to like. Are you the person who literally gets to sit at the table and hear the pitches?

Yes. So it's super fun and probably really hard. It's really hard because I just want to be like, yes to everyone. What I've come to find out one is like, good news is there's so many cool businesses out there and people are doing amazing things. And like, I'm inundated every day with like the amount of cool shit that's happening out there, which is great. The other thing that's starting to happen is if it's not right for us, I'm knowing people who it could be right for and being able to pass it on or even, even provide feedback on their deck. And that's what I find is really fun and really valuable. But I think, you know, if a fund passes on your business, I don't think it means, like, you don't have a good business. Funds have to be so specific with, like, their assortment, the type of portfolio they have, the distribution of the. Of the cash that they're doing. So I just think that's something to say because I think a lot of times people are like, oh, they passed on us or whatever. It's not like a personal thing on the business. It usually is like a much larger thing. But. But it's been so fun. I think it's been really awesome to see all the amazing businesses out there. And so we have a bunch of investments. So we're invested in Crown Affair, which is Diana Cohn's hair care brand, which is really awesome.

She's awesome.

She's been on here.

Yay. Frame Reformer, which is a digitally connected Pilates reformer. So think peloton for Pilates. Compact fits in your closet digitally native with obviously content and classes. We're also invested in K Skin, which is Winnie Harlow's Sun Caroline that she just announced. It's amazing. The product is awesome. Also just invested in Sama Tea, which is Roddy Delucia Shetty and Jay Shetty's tea line, which is really exciting. So tons in the works for us and it's just been more and more fun every day as we get to like, you know, wire the money, sign the paperwork and start to work with these brands. I love that.

That's so exciting. I know Kim Perel really well, so she's helped me so much. She's incredible.

So she's the boss.

Oh my goodness. She's so much fun to talk to. Okay, so what is your absolute favorite thing to talk about right now? Like, what just lights you up if you and your girlfriends are out having wine? Like, what are you talking about to them?

Investing for sure. You know what has come to my attention and what I think we need to do more of and you've been really good about doing this always. But is getting women in the room and talking about where we're putting our money and why, whether it's crypto or real estate or Web3 or NFTs, are we buying NFTs or buying the stock? Who's managing your money? Like, I am such a proponent of like not gatekeeping around building wealth because I think it's been gate kept for from women for so long that we have to catch up. And if something's working for one person, like share that knowledge and that wealth when you can about what you're doing, why it's working and what you're seeing in the marketplace. Because I think that's how we really start to see more women investing in women owned businesses, investing in funds and like making those changes in their businesses, in their lives. Oh my God.

That is like why I'm so passionate about just getting them in on that conversations and getting me in on the. Getting everyone in on the conversation and making it a normal thing for it to come up. Because I remember before I started light pink, like I didn't actually feel like some of these opportunities were even available to me. I wouldn't even know how to start talking about investing or what does it look like to sell a company. I was sitting at a table and someone was talking to my husband about selling his company for $300 million. And I literally was like, my girlfriends and I are not having this conversation and we're going to and we need to literally had that moment where I was like, no more am I going to sit and listen to this and then listen to my girlfriends who are like, they're doing amazing. Like a lot of them doing seven figures a year. And it was like they were maxed out though they were tired, they were exhausted. They didn't know what was next because that next level opportunity was not a conversation we were all having. So I'm so obsessed that you're doing this and that you are such an advocate and you're always speaking, you're always on podcasts. I think it's so incredibly important. So I'm literally in love with your mission right now. So you said NFTs. I'm so curious because I just started thinking about them. I just bought a couple. What is your take on NFTs?

So Web3 in general, I'm pretty bullish on. I like Web3. I think it's the future. I think I had someone on my podcast that I thought described it so well, where she was Like Web one was read, right? You, you're getting access to the Internet, you're reading all about it. Web2 is write and create. So creating content, putting it on platforms and Web3 is own, right? So you start owning what you're actually building and doing. And I think looking at it from that perspective, it's so true. We've all been putting out so much content in the world through different platforms, not of our own, and not having ownership over anything we're doing. Maybe getting paid for it, but not owning it. So I think when you put it in those contexts, you're like, yes, duh, this is a natural evolution of the Internet. That being said, I think the manifestation of how it's kind of coming to light has been really interesting. My personal take on NFTs are, I think NFTs will have to have some sort of tie back or relation to an IRL experience, a club or a product.

Totally agree.

Yeah, like, I don't know about the like owning a JPEG to own a JPEG like that. To me I'm like, okay, like I.

Get lost in that one.

Yeah, I'm like, I still get, but I'm like, I understand owning something that gives you access and value and like that could be to a concert, that could be to a crate and cultivate conference. That could also get you an exclusive product drop from a brand you love. I think it's a loyalty play as well as a value play over time and creating those types of communities around it. So that's what's interesting to me. And you're starting to see brands do that and I think been fun to watch of like who's doing what, when, where and how they're thinking about it. But I also love to see things like women of the world and some of these bigger women led projects, you know, getting massive attention and you know, playing up there with, you know, the board apes of the world. So I think, you know, it's interesting. I think there's also an IP play around NFTs and like what they eventually become. But it's early stage and I always tell everyone this is the same thing with angel investing. It's risky, it's risky no matter which way you do it. But like, like if you have the cash that you're willing to lose and you want to diversify, like why not partake?

That's literally what we say. We're like, don't do this unless you are okay losing whatever you're putting into this right now. Because it is just like so Risky. Okay, so where do you go for your information? Let's just say when you want to learn, what's next? You actually go to conferences. Do you put together a dinner? Are you really proactive and just reach out to people? What does that look like when you want to learn? Learn just what is new and what's coming next?

Definitely podcasts. And I would say also I like to read the information, which I think is a really good site. I'm always on Crunchbase, kind of seeing who's raising, who's selling, who's like, you know, kind of in those hot M and A markets. Those are two that I'm kind of like always tuned into. And I think they have a little bit of like a stronghold on like the what's next of it all. But I also like to listen to podcasts that are outside of my network. Like I love all my girls on, you know, dear media that I work with on like all the podcasts I've been on and it's been awesome. But sometimes I like to dive into some really weird, more specifically targeted to men podcasts. Cause they think they're interesting and like it's speaking to a completely different audience. My friend Ellen Bennett actually, who runs Headley and Bennett, introduced me to this podcast episode with Kevin Rose, who's like the founder, or former founder, I guess, of Digg, which was like an early Reddit. And then Alex is Ohanian Serena Williams husband who was the founder of Reddit. And it's them talking about crypto and like their thoughts on crypto and the world. And it's fascinating because it's from such a specific male lens that it's so different than the way I'm sort of thinking about it. So I like to get those like third party perspectives sometimes of things like outside of the realm of like what I'm living in, which is like create and cultivate world and women founders and everything. It's like get outside your bubble and sort of start looking elsewhere for information as well.

That's so great because we feel that way too. Like we learn the most from other businesses. Like, it's so good to learn in your own world to see what's working. But then a business is a business is a business is a business. Like there is something to take from everything. You know, there's always something that you're like, wow, I know that's a totally different business and business plan, but if that's working, how could that work for us? And like, try to figure out that spin on it. Okay, I need to know some of your favorite podcasts and some of your favorite books. I know you just shared with me us, but now we need to go listen and read all of them.

My gosh. Okay. Well, I think from the podcast side, I'm really into how I built this, which obviously is a great one. I do like the one. Kevin Roses, Modern Finance. That's a good one. There's a bunch of other things that I kind of tune into, but I'm kind of all over the place, to be honest, in terms of what I'm listening to, and it's mostly from people passing it along. On the book front, I feel like I haven't had a chance to read a book in so long. But I'm going on vacation, so I will take book recs because I definitely need something to, like, disappear into.

Oh, so good. Where are you going?

I'm going to Belize for my birthday, so I'm super excited. But I also did just get Gabby Bernstein's new book, so I'm really excited about that. I just got that one in the mail.

I literally just got it yesterday and I started reading it this morning. It's so good already. Of course it is. Everything she writes is so good.

Good.

Okay. So anything else in your world right now that is super lighting you up outside of investing, obviously. Vacation decorating. Tell me about what you do because you have a career, had a career, still do, that has. It can have a lot of pressure. I know that there have been just different moments where I'm like, oh, my goodness. I'm like, really thinking of her because you've had to hold a of lot lot. Had to hold a lot of energy. You've had to hold a lot of opinions, ideas, people wanting things from you. The more that you get out there, the more that you have a platform and people know that you can help, the more that you are just pulled at in every direction. How have you dealt with all of that? How have you dealt with all of the pressure and really attempted to also enjoy the journey?

So true. I think I'm really good at setting boundaries and I've gotten better at it. I haven't been good for a long time. And then I really, in the past, like three or four years, have really prioritized it. And that's just a few different things. Like, one is I prioritize working out. I never would do that for years. And it actually changes, like my entire attitude about the day, how I feel, how I process all these things. So that's like number one. And that's something I've been really good about. I also, like, prioritize my downtime. Like, I watch a lot of dumb tv. Like, I literally will, like, be, like, I need to be by myself. I need to watch this dumb show. I need to binge Emily in Paris and, like, be left alone. Like, and I need those resets to just, like, zone out for sure. And then also I've gotten to the point where I'm like, I don't need to respond to everyone. And I think that's, like, important as well. Like, I have a lot of guilt about, like, not getting back to that person or, like, not being there for that person or whatever it is. And I really tried to. To set boundaries of, like, not being everything to everyone all the time and really being able to just show up as the best version of myself and do the best I can for that day or project or whatever it might be. So that's really important to me as well. And I think for me, I'm, like, really leaning into enjoying not being a completely crazed, always on a plane, always burnt out type person. Like, I'm really trying to, to prioritize spending time with friends, going to events outside of creating, cultivate, meeting new people. Like, because I think for so long, I was just in that bubble forever. But I think it comes with time, and I think it also comes with experience of, like, how you can start setting those boundaries and how you can start creating a space for yourself that feels healthy versus feeling burnt out all the time.

Okay, so for your newest venture, New Money ventures, what would you tell women who are wanting to start a business or start a company or start a raise? I was actually just in a mastermind, and there was just a lot of overthinking questions, like, they were getting stuck in, needing to put the exact amount of money that they thought their marketing would cost in a pitch deck. And I was like, oh, hold on. Like, I so did all of these things too. Let's, like, back it up. And how would you tell a woman, okay, yes, this is a big deal, and it's not a big deal. Like, you also need to look like almost. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, separate yourself from the, like, thinking that your pitch deck needs to be exactly perfect and, like, these are numbers pulled from thin air. How do you make this easier so they don't overthink every move and get stuck before they even start?

Yeah, absolutely. So I think first and foremost is like, get your deck together. The first deck. Like, you don't have to reveal all. Like, it's a teaser to get people excited about your business and about the opportunity. That being said, you need to know what you're asking for. And that needs to be outlined obviously in terms of, like, this is what I'm asking for and this is what it's being used for. Like, those two things are very important because if you're going and you're like, well, I think we're going to raise about this much and I don't really know what it's for, like, then that can throw off an investor pretty quickly. That being said, once that investor, you have that investor's interest peak, it moves very fast from there. So they're going to want to see everything. Like, like, show me that marketing number. Show me that, like, you know, pipeline. Show me who you're hiring. Show me who's on your team. Show me everything. So you have to be ready to go for all that stuff because it is a quick moving process. That being said, I think the best thing you can do is start to pitch because you'll just start getting feedback. Like, and pitch to friendlies, Pitch to people that like, don't pitch to the person you really want on your cap table first. Like, pitch to friendlies, ask for intros, give me feedback. Like, I literally get five emails a day from friends that are like, what do you think about my deck? And I'll be like, you know, this is what I think. I think you should, like, move this slide, highlight this slide. You're not telling this story well enough. And I do that for the companies I advise and invest in as well as the one who sees a lot of decks. I think it's really important to have strong information, visuals telling a story throughout the deck of, like, why this company needs to exist in the world, why you're the person that needs to be running it, why this money will absolutely change the game for your company and where that money will be going and why you need that. I think those are the things that you need to get across, like, first and foremost. And then don't be afraid if tough questions come your way again, be able, you know, do your best to be able to answer this. But just saying, like, hey, like, a lot of this information is in our data room or is behind, you know, whatever, let's get an NDA in place and we'll continue the conversation and don't be afraid to do that. I think, you know, you can kind of create that mystery and keep moving as well. But I definitely don't Think you should wait until it's absolutely perfect. Every single detail is built out in that first round. But create that story and that narrative, and that'll get you to that second round.

Oh, so good. Okay, so let's talk about rejection real quick because they're about to get a lot of it and just kind of like not letting yourself get down on those moments, especially when it's somebody, you know.

Early.

Early on, I had somebody who was super influential in my life, meant a lot to me. Just kind of tell me, like, maybe, nope, not going to do this because of X, Y and Z. And it was that moment in the very beginning where you're like, God, is the sidesheet totally shitty? And you're almost like, God, I'm not.

Sure if I should do this.

How do you bounce back from that?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think take into consideration everything everyone says and then look at what they're saying. If someone's like, oh, this person's doing what you're doing, but they're doing it better, make note of that because that will likely come up again and you need to create your defense against. Against why you're different or why people will use you instead of that product or whatever it is. So use some of that feedback as data points to build your case even stronger of why you should be in the world. And then on top of that, like, some people are just, like, rude and jerks and, like, you need to move on. And, like, they won't get your idea and they'll, like, laugh. Like, I think about all the time, if I had gone into a VC and pitch praying, cultivate to, like, a room full of, like, white dudes, they would have been like, what? No, there's no way. And I would have been like, no. But there's, like, this community and they're important. And, like, it's like, absolutely not. Because it's like they can't see financials on a spreadsheet that are like a customer acquisition cost and a growth market and a margin. It's like, no. But, like, so don't feel like every no is like a no on your business. It's just a no for that moment and, like, move on and learn from it. And I think that's the best thing you can do is take as much information in as possible and ask why they passed. I think that's really important. I always give the exact reason. And sometimes it has to do with our business, and sometimes it has to do with our portfolio and our mix and the timing of like when they're trying to close, like there's a million different things and like scenarios of why it's a no. But I think it's great to ask and understand why. And sometimes it's just wrong time, wrong place, you know, and other times it could be of kind great feedback for your business.

Okay, before we wrap, what are some things that you want women to know about starting a company? Raising money. What should they maybe have in their mind or really focus on getting correctly or practicing before they go out and do it?

When it comes to raising money, it's possible. I think that's the biggest thing I would like to get out there is like it's absolutely possible it might not happen as quickly as you want it. It might not be as much as you want, but. But it's absolutely possible to do. And like I see women doing it. There's so much cash floating around the universe, like take advantage of that. The other thing is, is understand the why of raising money. Because I think there is this like glamorized thing about like running a venture backed company and the reality is like you shouldn't take money unless you really need it to build that business. Like there is value in creating a company that you wholly own that you maybe take a loan out on that you maybe do a friends and family around. Like you don't need to go. Like I need to run a venture back business to be a successful entrepreneur. There are thousands of companies that are like surviving and thriving and doing extremely well without that backing. So I think that's first and foremost and then really understanding and going into that room with confidence, like I think that's key is being the expert on your business, super confident, knowing all your shit. And if you don't pretending like you do or figuring it out or getting back. I think that's really important because I think sometimes like having now been pitched by both men and women, like the confidence that these men have in the room is wild and their business might not even be that impressive, but they come in so hot and I'm like, women need to have that same presence in, in terms of like the confidence in what they're talking about.

That's so good. Yes. So many things just that I've even seen out in the world. Whether it's pitching people's businesses or literally anything, it's like I'm captivated by the energy and how much the person believes in it. It's like someone who believes in something of theirs can make me literally believe in something that I'M like, I don't really even need that. But that is so interesting. You just made this incredible story around it.

Okay, well, I'll finish up here.

But I need to know, what are you your most frequently watched type of TikTok videos and then what's on your IG popular page?

Oh, I love that TikTok video for sure. Dog content. It's all dog.

Thank you for being not a psycho. Thank you.

All dog content. And then in my for you page, I would probably say it's all interior design. So it's like dog interior design and like, occasionally like crypto talk. I feel like I like, dabble in. But that's.

Oh, that's the best. You're like dogs. And where can my dogs be in within this beautiful interior design? Yes. All very important. That's like pretty much exactly what I look at. Okay. I'm so grateful for you. Thank you so much for coming on and always sharing your wisdom. It's just one of the most amazing gifts to be able for you to just go and like, you are a leader. You blaze the trail and then you come back, you share it with all of us and let us know we can do it. Trail might be a little scary, but it is very possible. You let us know and now you're supporting. Now you're cheering us on. So it's so exciting. So I'm really grateful for you and you guys. Where can we go, actually, Jacqueline, to get more information on what you're doing right now and if we want to know more about your most recent venture.

Yeah. So I'm aclynrjohnson on Instagram. You can also follow NewMoney Ventures on Instagram as well and NewMoney Ventures Co for our website, our portfolio and where you can pitch us.

You're amazing. You guys definitely go give her a follow. And also, one of the biggest gifts that we can do for our guests is to just share this on your stories and let her know what your biggest takeaway was. It's always so much fun to be able to hear how she got to impact your life. So until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone.

Sam.