SDH109: Creating Something from Nothing with Terri Brax

Are you an entrepreneur because you want to make the world a better place with your passion? Maybe you're in a specific field of entrepreneurship that makes you lack confidence in yourself?You may feel like you don't fit the stereotype of others working in that field, which means you may not succeed? It's time to gain that confidence back and let go of those fears. If you want to do something with your passion you can do it. You can create something out of nothing. Today's guest, Terri Brax, has created two companies TeacherCare & Women Tech Founders, because she wanted to fulfill a need in two areas that interested her. She has first hand dealt with women who have experienced similar doubts in the tech industry and is here to offer some boss insight on how to deal with hurdles for all women on the entrepreneurial journey. In this episode you will... Hear the exact moment of inspiration for WTF (Women Tech Founders) Realize the hurdles women in tech face, both controllable and uncontrollable Learn the importance of building ecosystems to move forward Understand the value of revenue models Get a behind the scenes look on how the people at the top don't have it all figured out Discover what keeps Terri in the game of entrepreneurship RESOURCES: She Did It Her Way Podcast She Did It Her Way Twitter She Did It Her Way Facebook Women Tech Founders Facebook Women Tech Founders Twitter Women Tech Founders Instagram Teacher Care website Teacher Care Twitter Terri Brax Twitter Terri Brax LinkedIn Midwest Women in Tech Conference "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor E. Frankl Insights “We brought women together to become role models for other women and to break the stereotypes about what it looks like to be a woman in tech because we found that was also some of the things that were holding people back.”-Terri Brax “Over the course of the year between 2015 and 2016 we saw Chicago become the global leader of women in tech with now 30% of all tech startups led by women.”-Terri Brax “We need role models for women in leadership in tech and in leadership overall.”-Terri Brax “We want to make sure that every young woman sees someone that looks like them and every career changer can look at somebody and think ‘hmm maybe I can try something that reflects me and I can do this to.”-Terri Brax “They came to the tech industry not because they wanted to play with programming but they wanted to achieve this goal that’s driving their soul and they were going to knock down walls in order to make that happen.” -Terri Brax “How important it is to build that whole ecosystem, instead of just alone focusing on that one small piece. We need that support.”- Terri Brax “Women tend to start with this passion and often times you’re so dedicated to the goal that your revenue miles need to be built up in order to reach the broader goals.”- Terri Brax “Think of your revenue model as strongly as you’re thinking about the passion and how to get to it.” -Terri Brax “When I started this I would look and see this woman who in my head knew absolutely everything and never fact checked herself. She was so confident. But what i’ve really seen all of us have insecurities coming from different places and we’re all trying to work through them, but I see the value of having that confident front in order to be able to move other people forward.”-Terri Brax “Once you’ve been in it, it’s almost like a bug that bites you. It’s really hard to not think in the terms that an entrepreneur starts thinking. All the crazy things that go along with it is hard.. but the rewards for it are so high.”-Terri Brax “Seeing that you can create something from nothing is an amazing fill you up kind of feeling and knowing that you can make the world a better place, that is just so rewarding.”-Terri Brax “Timing in the tech startup world is incredibly important. They say the number one way to succeed is to have some sort of a platform at the time when there is a lot of things happening around it.”- Terri Brax “If you want to be in this industry you should be in this industry.” -Terri Brax “Women, I don’t think give themselves enough credit for what they do know and how strong and impactful that can be and how we can all work together to fill each other's voids and to learn from each other to move each other forward.”-Terri Brax “No matter what I do, I am going to be OK. There’s people to support you. There’s so much here that we have in this country.”-Terri Brax