Jaclyn Johnson on Building, Losing, and Reclaiming Everything

Jaclyn Johnson built Create and Cultivate from a blog into a multi-million dollar company, sold it, watched it fall apart under new ownership, and bought it back. In this episode, Create and Cultivate founder Jaclyn Johnson breaks down what it actually costs to build a company: a $75 million acquisition deal that collapsed because of COVID, a private equity sale two years later, a stage zero breast cancer diagnosis, and a marriage that ended along the way. She explains how she negotiated her way back into ownership of the company she started in 2012, why she now runs Cherub to get more women into angel investing, and how resilience carried her through every setback. What you'll learn in this episode: - Why Create and Cultivate didn't turn a profit for five years, and why that was the point - The difference between a strategic acquisition and a private equity buyout - How COVID killed a $75 million deal and forced a pivot to virtual events overnight - What to know before your next mammogram, and how to push for a second opinion - How she negotiated to buy back her own company after the PE firm decided to sell - Why women get 1.9% of VC funding, and how Cherub is closing that gap with angel investing starting at $10,000 Jaclyn Johnson is the founder of Create and Cultivate, the media and events platform for women entrepreneurs she built starting in 2012 and grew into a multi-million dollar company before selling a majority stake in 2021. She later bought the company back and now also runs Cherub, an angel investing platform built to get more capital into the hands of women. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro/Teaser 02:32 Meet Jaclyn Johnson 05:30 Building community before it was trendy 10:15 Early career, layoffs, and starting over 16:14 The moment Create and Cultivate got real 20:08 Getting acquired, a deal falling through, and COVID 25:12 Strategic acquisition vs. private equity, explained 30:05 Buying back her own company 34:28 Identity, marriage, and the crash after the sale 38:03 Her breast cancer diagnosis 44:01 What to do when you get "the call" 47:22 Founding Cherub and democratizing angel investing 49:26 Accreditation and check sizes, explained 53:34 Her mom, the unofficial co-founder 55:34 Defining "breadwinner" Join The Breadwinners community: Subscribe on Substack: wearethebreadwinners.substack.com Follow on Instagram: @wearethebreadwinners Rate & review wherever you listen - it helps more women find this show #CreateAndCultivate #WomenInBusiness #FemaleFounders #AngelInvesting #WomenAndMoney #BreastCancerAwareness #Breadwinner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices