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“Everything is so fraught and so hard and so on the line in the first years of running a company,” says Lindsey Taylor Wood. The company she’s talking about has higher stakes than most. Though many people come to The Helm as an e-commerce site, it’s also a venture fund. What is The Helm? Wood has invented a whole new way to invest in women, so that it’s approachable for everyone, whether you have the capital to be an LP (limited partner) or if you’re just buying a letter opener for your office at shop.thehelm.co. That’s because everything for sale on The Helm comes from a company owned by someone who identifies as a woman. It’s not hard to see, then, how Wood’s gamble feels especially high-stakes. Her favorite advice came from Jean Brownhill of Sweeten, who said simply that when the going gets really tough, “Just keep going.” And that’s exactly what Wood does. About Lindsey Taylor Wood In fact, The Helm started from a desire to “just keep going.” Wood’s career has centered on the women's rights space for more than 15 years. But despite her efforts, she felt that women in the U.S. weren’t making progress, or worse, were backsliding. At Wood’s previous business LTW, an impact studio with an emphasis on contemporary feminism, “It was hard to justify advocating allocating those levels of philanthropic resources when we weren’t seeing the sort of returns we wanted to,” she recalls. Inspiration Behind The Helm So she went on a yearlong quest, asking anyone she could, “Why is philanthropy the only way we’re investing in equality?” Amid a wide range of experiences and answers, her “aha” moment that catalyzed her to start The Helm was when she was told about the difference between well-off men and women.   While men are taught to amass their wealth, the friend postulated, women with wealth tend to give it away. In other words, women are putting their money where their mouth is, trying to clean up the inequities they see in society. And one way people with more financial capacity can do that? By investing in The Helm’s venture fund. But not everyone has pockets that deep. That’s why Wood came up with the masterstroke of adding the retail component to help support women-owned businesses through consumerism. Launching The Helm The Helm launched in 2018 and deployed all the $1.5 million it had raised in its first fund by February 2019. That included 11 businesses, all with female CEOs. Those businesses ranged from Haute Hijab, which sells the perfect satin version of the Muslim head covering, as well as more practical (but still soft) jersey versions. Those products are for sale at The Helm, but not all of the companies that were funded fit into the retail space. Among the other 10, companies include Ganaz, a suite of technology tools that helps with agricultural management; Tia, which started as a women’s health app, but has expanded to launch a flagship clinic in New York; and The Riveter, a network that provides a digital ecosystem for entrepreneurs as well as IRL workspaces. But the next company to be funded by The Helm could be yours. The upcoming fund, which Wood says will be much larger, is currently being built. Expanding to Retail The retail component of The Helm launched in the summer of 2019. The products available range from fashion for work and play to feminine care and sex accessories. It’s a one-stop shop for practically anything a successful woman needs at any time of her life. Which, of course, is not surprising, given the fact that every product was conceived of by a woman herself. When asked about her greatest challenges, Wood is hopeful. “What’s interesting is that the thing we’re trying to solve for is the greatest opportunity,” she says. “The opportunity is exponential.” She hopes that inviting women to the table will help them to feel that they have agency to make change with their dollars. “The whole mission is to change the relationship between women, money, and power.” And with every purchase, and every investment, women are helping to change the narrative — and build success — for other women. For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Having one of those days when it feels like your latest hurdle will be the death of your business? You’re not alone. But listen to Lisa Bradley of handmade handbag company R. Riveter. “I think our greatest challenges have also been our greatest opportunities,” she says. Unemployment Among Active Duty Spouses She’s not just being a Pollyanna. In 2011, she and co-founder Cameron Cruse were commiserating over their struggles to find employment, despite the fact that each had a master’s degree. This is no surprise: According to a 2017 survey of active duty spouses, 24% identify as unemployed. That’s not because of a lack of desire to work, says this older study. Then why is it such a challenge? “Employers say, ‘Why do you have so much experience in so many different places?’” explains Bradley. The reason, of course, is the reality that people in the military are transferred from base to base as a regular practice. Bradley, for example, has moved five times since R. Riveter started, thanks to her husband’s busy career. “Professional mover is one of my wonderful skill sets,” she jokes. Creating Employment Opportunities By creating their own employment, Bradley and Cruse realized from the beginning that they would also eventually be generating jobs for others – now close to 40 people – and establishing a new system for manufacturing. But back in 2011, they were just two women gathered around a sewing machine in Cruse’s attic, stitching together handbags from canvas and leather. It was six months into the business that the pair began adding Riveters to the staff. The job title, like the company itself, is named after Rosie the Riveter, the star of World War II-era posters encouraging women to take on defense industry positions left empty by men who’d been shipped off. “We see ourselves as modern-day Rosie the Riveters, plugging into the economy while still having a family,” Bradley says. About R. Riveter Products Each Riveter works on crafting a single piece of a handbag, which is stamped with her Riveter number. The members of what Bradley calls “ a virtual assembly line” ship each part they make to factories in Florida or North Carolina, where they are put together into the finished products and delivered to customers. Growth as a Remote Company But the Riveters aren’t the company’s only remote workers. Most of the staff, from administration to marketing to the director of e-commerce, are also distributed. Many are military spouses, but not all are. “We try to provide opportunities to as many military spouses as possible, but to be an employee, you just need to believe in our mission,” Bradley says. With the new Florida manufacturing facility, R. Riveter is doubling production and its opportunities for new Riveters that come with it. It's the biggest growth the company has seen since what Bradley calls, "the second official launch of the company." She's talking about winning an investment on TV pitch competition "Shark Tank." Success on Shark Tank In 2016, Bradley and Cruse appeared on the show and got offers from three of the sharks. Daymond John told them that they would succeed on their own and shouldn't give away equity to anyone, but ultimately, they shared a 20% stake in the company with Mark Cuban in exchange for $100,000. The result? "We sold more in a night than we had in the previous entire year," Bradley recalls. "Luckily our customers understand that it takes eight weeks for our product to be crafted by hand." Despite exceptional growth, Bradley says that R. Riveter's business model has changed surprisingly little over nearly a decade in business. The product, from fabric to final stitching, is still crafted entirely in the United States, though it's no longer made from upcycled military materials. That's because the Riveters needed to pay for a storage unit just to have a place to keep the fabrics. The new model is now more economical. Staying Organized How does Bradley manage a remote workforce from day to day? Riveters plug into a website to chart their daily work. Office 365, including Excel, are major players in production planning. And all for all the remote meetings? "I love Zoom so much I could literally work for it," Bradley says. In fact, Bradley now says that she thinks remote working is an advantage for her company. "Being right around the corner from somebody, it’s so organic and easy to move things forward," she says, remembering the time that she and Cruse were indeed on the same base. "But now that we’re past those startup challenges [being remote has] made us more efficient. It's been a challenge and a tremendous opportunity for us." The kind of opportunity that would make Rosie the Riveter proud. For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Just a glance at Shelly Bell and you'll know she's a creative. It could be the colorful Mohawk, the vivid makeup, or the stylish clothes, but there's no hiding her well-developed right brain. Still, she says her evenly matched left brain is just as instrumental in her success. After all, Bell is all about numbers. She's a computer scientist by training. Which side is calling the shots as the founder manages Black Girl Ventures? It takes her whole brain, in all of its glory, to do that. What is Black Girl Ventures? Black Girl Ventures is a community dedicated to creating access to capital for female founders of color. Bell started BGV in 2016 and has since funded 41 Black-and-brown-women-owned businesses. It may sound like finance is the backbone of the initiative, but Bell says that community was the motivating factor for starting BGV in the wake of her success with screen printing company Ms Print USA. "I was like, 'Wow, I built a cool business. I’m making money and that’s great, but I’m also super lonely,'" she recalls. When asked how something like BGV would have changed her life, it doesn't take Bell long to reply, "Something like Black Girl Ventures did change my life, and it was the poetry community. It was us gathering together with a common interest on a regular basis and seeing people who understood me." Community & Capital She built BGV with the goal of a similar sense of community, but with the added appeal of getting that group together to help with access to capital for other small businesses like hers. This was a means of raising capital with a difference: Bell was inspired by the art world events she had helped organize, rather than any other fund that ever existed. This results in what Bell terms "long-term, sustainable impact and community connections." BGV Pitch That centers around BGV Pitch, pitch competitions in which attendees donate and get to vote on which competitors win that money. Bell calls it "Kickstarter meets 'Shark Tank.'" (Past BGV Pitch competitions have been held in Austin, Houston, Durham, Miami, Birmingham, and Philadelphia.)   Women who have been funded include engineer Brittany Young of B-360, a Baltimore-based program that ties dirt bike culture to STEM careers. Since winning a BGV competition in 2017, the first pitch she ever attempted, she's also racked up an Echoing Green fellowship and is now a TED fellow. Bell also mentions Jasmine Edwards of i-Subz, a platform that connects substitute teachers to underprivileged schools without the outsize effort that most have to put forth to get placed — or to find qualified teachers. Since her 2018 win, she's been featured in USA Today and won a Camelback Ventures fellowship, a feat Young can also claim. Prioritizing Inclusivity Both are Black women, but Bell says that she wants to do a better job attracting other minorities, whether they're veterans, have a disability, or simply identify as brown. One challenge for data-focused Bell is that there aren't good numbers on how funding is going for other minorities like LGBTQ+, seniors, and the disabled community. Chances are, though, BGV could also benefit people in those groups. But funding isn't the only thing that needs to become more inclusive. "The C-suite needs to be diversified," she says. And when she talks about diversity, she isn't just referring to the obvious. She thinks cognitive diversity is overlooked. "Having all the same people from all the same schools — it's not diverse," she says. "While we do need everyone to understand a certain story line, we also need different kinds of thought." Encouraging Community Part of the way to solve this is to encourage minorities of all kinds to become ecosystem builders in their own rights. Bell's advice for doing it? "I think that you can gather people around a cause that you care about in your city or your market. You can become a thought leader and start evangelizing," she says. For her, that recently meant speaking on a panel on the diversity and inclusion track at CES with Alice co-founder and president Elizabeth Gore. "Elizabeth herself is just a powerhouse. She is a voice in this work," says Bell. And she says that she appreciates Alice being "a bold voice" not only in promoting the New Majority of business owners, but in doing so by gathering data. "We're gathering it for the most positive purpose: We want to see women win," she says. And few things make this computer scientist's brain light up quite like hard data. Except, of course, using her creativity to make those numbers look a little more encouraging every day. For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Jacki Zehner has made it her career to close the investment gap for women-owned businesses. The first woman trader and youngest female to become a partner at Goldman Sachs, Zehner left the investment firm in 2002 to focus on new projects, including the Circle Financial Group and the Jacquelyn and Gregory Zehner Foundation, two entities focused on social impact investing. She's also an Alice investor. We spoke to Zehner about the state of Utah entrepreneurship, gender-lens investing, and Wonder Woman ahead of the Sorenson Institute's 2020 Winter Innovation Summit this week in Salt Lake City. We hope to see you there! What draws you to the summit, and what are you most excited about? There is a lot of talk, as there should be, about responsible investing. Philanthropic capital will never be enough to help solve the world's problems. Investment capital has to be more fully activated, and thus I am attending the conference to get ideas, meet people, and become a greater champion for impact investing. What advice do you have for mission-driven businesses seeking funds at the Summit? Be ready to tell your story.  You need to show up super ready to share why your product/service, why now, why you, and the outcomes you hope to achieve. [GUIDE: Learn more about how to pitch to investors on helloalice.com] You live with your family in Park City. What can you tell us about the status of entrepreneurship in Utah? Utah is generally speaking very supportive of entrepreneurship in terms of the ecosystem.  We have a strong local economy with a growing population and the investors are here. What are some of the most important criteria you use when investing today? For me, at this point of my life, I am all about impact – multiple levels of impact.  My impact lens includes having a diverse and centered leadership team, having a product or service that needs to be in the world, a look to who will benefit or use the product or service, and of course the company's ability to bring in revenue to drive and scale the business. Part of investing in a business is investing in the people who run them. Tell us something you’ve learned from building these relationships over two decades. It truly is all about the people, which includes not only the founders, but the people they hire. What I’ve learned is that I need to spend time really getting to know the founder(s) in particular and to trust my gut in terms of whether I have confidence in their ability to execute. It truly is a special type of person that can take something from idea to a successful business and it is incredibly hard. Incredibly hard. As an investor, my job is to be their champion and to stand behind them in both good times and when things are not so good as well. Investment in women-owned businesses remains stubbornly low after years of targeted effort from you and other philanthropists. What are some of the biggest barriers to achieving gender-egalitarian investment? Oh gosh, I may have to write a book on this one. Sadly we still live in a world where men are trusted more than women in terms of starting a business, particularly businesses in certain industries.  As long as men — and particularly white, older men — are the ones that allocate capital we will not have anything close to parity. You can call it unconscious bias, or outright sexism, but it is there, and it is real. Just look at the numbers. One of the main things we can do is to support and encourage women to become investors, both at an individual level and as a professional. There are many more funds focusing on women and people of color, which is also great. Further, we have to hold the industry accountable for inclusive practices both in terms of staffing, and investing. You’ve invested in Alice, which shares your values in its mission to empower New Majority business owners. Do you see investing through a gender lens as a way to broaden opportunities for all groups underrepresented in the business community? Heck yes. We know you are a huge fan of Wonder Woman. What’s that all about? Another book needed. I have been collecting Wonder Women paraphernalia for over 20 years. I grew up at a time when she had a television show, and I really believe it helped me to set high goals for myself.  Over time she came to represent a big idea, that women could have power and use it for the greater good.  Before the recent movie came out in 2017, it was actually quite hard to find Wonder Woman collectibles; now they are everywhere. I am very excited about the new film coming out this year. You can follow Zehner on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

We can't even begin to try to enumerate all of the Black Americans who have made history in the business world. From Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, to modern multi-hyphenates like Jay Z, there are too many people to cram into one short article. But these are some of the Black entrepreneurs in history who inspire us the most. William Liedesdorff (October 23, 1810 – May 18, 1848) Perhaps you've heard the name Madam C.J. Walker bandied about as the first Black millionaire. But according to Shomari Wills's Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires, William Liedesdorff was the very first person of African descent to make a million U.S. dollars. He was a West Indian native who died before he turned 38. If you live in San Francisco, you may know of Liedesdorff as one of the city's founders. He became a Mexican citizen to move to the fledgling city when it was still known as Yerba Buena. He was president of the San Francisco School Board, City Treasurer, and vice consul to Mexico at the Port of San Francisco. But how did he get so wealthy? He gained esteem as a ship captain, then a master of vessels, first in New Orleans, then San Francisco. Then, he built a fortune with a route from Panama to Alaska. Notably, Liedesdorff even launched the first steamboat ever to sail the San Francisco Bay. However, his best investment was a land grant. Incidentally, his property (known as Rancho Rio de los Americanos) was packed with gold. In essence, his story proves that making that first million is a combination of hard work and a little bit of luck. Robert Reed Church Robert Reed Church (June 18, 1839 – August 29, 1912) While Liedesdorff made a million dollars by going his own way, Robert Reed Church, the first southerner to reach the same milestone, did it by embracing the Black community. Church and his first wife, Louisa, were both former enslaved people turned entrepreneurs. She owned a series of beauty parlors, while he opened a saloon, restaurant, and hotel. Church encountered anti-Black violence, but fought against it by not only staying in Memphis, but continuing to expand his real estate holdings. He even built an auditorium that seated 2,000 people. This was the first establishment of its' kind to be Black-owned. Finally, Church's greatest contribution was the establishment of Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company. This helped Black Americans get funds to buy homes and become entrepreneurs like him. Annie Malone (August 9, 1877 – May 10, 1957) Madam C.J. Walker is better known as the first female self-made millionaire in America according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Perhaps lesser known is Annie Malone who was actually Walker's boss. When Malone struck out on her own, she got many of her tricks from Malone, who preceded her as a millionaire. Malone copyrighted her products and gained a wide audience with press conferences. She toured the country with her Poro hair care products, recruiting women to sell them all over the South. Famously, Malone pioneered the same-day service system for mail orders. All orders were shipped the day they were received. (This was a totally new concept in the snail mail era.) Besides manufacturing her products, Malone also built Poro College, a beauty school just for Black women. Better yet, another great aspect of her legacy was her generosity. After she became a multi-millionaire, she helped to fund notable Black organizations from orphanages to Howard University's medical school. Lucille B. Smith Lucille B. Smith (September 5, 1892 – January 12, 1985) Ever wondered who is responsible for the convenience foods we buy at the grocery store? One of the biggest contributors was Lucille Bishop Smith. She is known to many as the "the first Black businesswoman in Texas." The Fort Worth educator originally created "Lucille's All-Purpose Hot Roll Mix" for a church fundraiser. However, it ended up going far beyond charity. In the first month of business, she made $800 in profits. (An amount that in the 1940's has the same modern purchasing power as $16,000!) It was the first roll mix in the country and paved the way for other baking mixes. Smith later created chili biscuits, which were served on American Airlines flights and in Lyndon Johnson's White House. But like Malone, one of her most important legacies was education. She created one of the first college-level commercial food preparation programs at Prairie View A&M, a historically Black college. Her recipes are still available at Lucille's in Houston, a restaurant named for her and owned by her great-grandsons. Oprah Winfrey (January 29, 1954) She's inspired millions of viewers to follow their bliss, but they should be following her business tips, too. In 2003, she became the first Black woman billionaire. Notably, she is preceded into the pantheon of Black billionaires only by BET co-founder Bob Johnson. She gained millionaire status by the age of 32 when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" became syndicated. That's because she was smart enough to start her own production company and retain rights to the show. Her business savvy really started to show when she co-founded Oxygen Media in 1996. With that, she went from owning her own studio to full-on mogul with an entire cable network and magazine publishing business. Now, she's also the CEO of OWN – the Oprah Winfrey Network. With her vast wealth, she was able to purchase 10 percent of Weight Watchers and has worked as a face of the brand. She famously gives back, too. In 2007, she started the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a school in South Africa for economically disadvantaged girls like her own childhood self. For more entrepreneur tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

We can't even begin to try to enumerate all of the Black business owners who have made history in the United States. From Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, to modern multi-hyphenates like Jay Z, there are too many people to cram into one short article. But these are some of the Black entrepreneurs in history who have inspired us the most. 1. William Liedesdorff (October 23, 1810 – May 18, 1848) You've probably heard the name Madam C.J. Walker bandied about as the first female millionaire. But according to Shomari Wills's Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires, the very first person of African descent to make a million U.S. dollars was a West Indian native who died before he hit age 38. If you live in San Francisco, you may have heard Liedesdorff referred to as one of the city's founders. He became a Mexican citizen to move to the fledgling city when it was still known as Yerba Buena. He was president of the San Francisco School Board, City Treasurer, and vice consul to Mexico at the Port of San Francisco. But how did he get so wealthy? He gained esteem as a ship captain, then a master of vessels, first in New Orleans, then San Francisco, and built a fortune with a route from Panama to Alaska. Liedesdorff even launched the first steamboat ever to sail San Francisco Bay. But his best luck came from a land grant. His property, known as Rancho Rio de los Americanos, was found to be packed with gold. Just proving that making that first million is a combination of hard work and a little bit (or a lot) of luck.   Robert Reed Church 2. Robert Reed Church (June 18, 1839 – August 29, 1912) While Liedesdorff made a million dollars by going his own way, Robert Reed Church, the first southerner to reach the same milestone, did it by embracing the Black community. Church and his first wife, Louisa, were both entrepreneurs and both former slaves. She owned a series of beauty parlors, while he opened a saloon, restaurant, and hotel. He encountered anti-Black violence, but fought against it by not only staying in Memphis, but continuing to expand his real estate holdings. He even built an auditorium that seated 2,000 people, the first such establishment to be owned by a Black founder. But Church's greatest contribution to Black business history is the establishment of Solvent Savings Bank and Trust Company, which helped African American people get funds to buy homes and become entrepreneurs like him. 3. Annie Malone (August 9, 1877 – May 10, 1957) Once again, the name C.J. Walker tends to come up when we talk about millionaires from the world of hair. But Annie Malone was actually Walker's boss, and when she struck out on her own, she got many of her tricks from Malone, who preceded her as a millionairess. Malone copyrighted her products and gained a wide audience with press conferences, and touring the country with her Poro hair care products, recruiting women to sell them all over the South. But Malone's legacy comes from creating a same-day service system for mail order. All orders were shipped the day they were received, a new concept in the snail mail era. Besides manufacturing her products, Malone also built Poro College, a beauty school just for Black women. But one of her greatest legacies was of charity: After she became a multi-millionaire, she helped to fund African American organizations from orphanages to Howard University's medical school. Lucille B. Smith 4. Lucille B. Smith (September 5, 1892 – January 12, 1985) Ever wondered who is responsible for the convenience foods we buy at the grocery store? One of the biggest names early in the existence of the field was Lucille Bishop Smith, known to many as the "the first African American businesswoman in Texas." The Fort Worth educator created "Lucille's All Purpose Hot Roll Mix" for a church fundraiser, but it ended up going far beyond charity. In the first month in business, she made $800 in profits, nothing to sneeze at in the 1940s. It was the first roll mix in the country and paved the way for other kits like it, including Smith's own chili biscuits, which were served on American Airlines flights and in Lyndon Johnson's White House. But like Malone, one of her most important legacies was education. She created one of the first college-level commercial food preparation programs at Prairie View A&M, a historically Black college. Her recipes are still available at Lucille's in Houston, a restaurant named for her by her great-grandsons who own it. 5. Oprah Winfrey (January 29, 1954) She's inspired millions of viewers to follow their bliss, but they should be following her business tips, too. In 2003, she became the first Black woman billionaire, preceded into the pantheon of African American billionaires only by BET co-founder Bob Johnson. She gained millionaire status by the age of 32 when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" became syndicated. That's because she was smart enough to start her own Harpo, production company and retain rights to the show. But her business savvy really started to show when she co-founded Oxygen Media in 1996. With that, she went from owning her own studio to full-on mogul with a cable network and magazine of her own. Now, she's also the CEO of OWN – the Oprah Winfrey Network. With her vast wealth, she was able to purchase 10 percent of Weight Watchers and is working as a face of the brand. She gives back, too. In 2007, she started the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a school in South Africa for economically disadvantaged by brilliant girls like her own childhood self. For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Even those of us who devote our lives to small business don't always walk the walk. Amazon can be so very, very convenient. But it's important to us at Alice to shop small and local whenever we can. That's why, when choosing the staff gifts for Alice's holiday retreat, chief of staff Jillian Benvenuti had a master plan. She lives and works in Sonoma County, which was recently crippled by the Kincade Fire. After a call with Peter Rumble, the CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, Benvenuti was inspired. "Post-fire, businesses up here were starting to close down or were really, really struggling," she recalls. "I said, 'Hey, I have a pretty healthy budget. I can raise awareness around the fires and help support those businesses.'" So she headed to Windsor and Healdsburg for a shopping spree. "In most cases, I went around the store with the owner to curate the gifts," Benvenuti says. But not everything came from California. She also wanted to give a chance to fledgling business owners she'd met in her role at Hello Alice. The only rules were to keep everything unisex, small enough to fit into a carry-on bag and get through airport security (the gifts were being presented at the company's San Francisco retreat, to which Houston-based employees had to fly), and within the budget. It all started with a box from a Santa Rosa location of shipping store PakMail, owned by Matt Cohen. The shipping boxes were dolled up with bows and stamped with the PakMail logo. Oliver's Market is a four-store Sonoma County chain that's been locally owned and operated since 1988. During the power shut-offs related to the fires, the markets lost all perishable items in stock. For the gift box, Benvenuti picked up lotion and beard balm from Soap Cauldron, owned by Emma Mann, her daughter Sabrina, and sister Pandora. Benvenuti went to Roost General Store, which owners Heather Walters and Therese Gabaldon were forced to close for many days due to fire evacuations and power shutoffs, for Truck & Barter candles. Julia Hohen pours the fragrant candles in Petaluma. Miracle Plum is Sallie Miller and Gwen Gunheim's home for pantry items and staples from local farms in Santa Rosa. Benvenuti bought Alice staffers bags of Rancho Gordo crimson popping corn, along with seasoning blends to boost the snack. Both Miller and Gunheim were personally evacuated, and had to close the store due to power shutoffs. Michelle Schultz had to close her Healdsburg store Market 377 for more than a week due to the fire. Benvenuti purchased colorful reusable grocery bags for Team Alice. The items from outside California included leather business card holders from Oowwee Products. Benvenuti met founder Gabriel Hargett at Inc. 5000 and was impressed with his mission of employing people with autism to stitch all of the company's leather goods. Finally, Rana Lustyan, a trained chef, is a member of Alice's WomanMade Community and is an active Alice user. Benvenuti thought her edible cookie dough, Edoughble, was the ideal sweet finish to an evening full of special gifts. Team Alice appreciated her impeccable taste, but were even more pleased with her eye toward helping business owners who need our support right now. After all, isn't paying it forward what the holidays are all about? For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

“I definitely didn’t think, I want to be a venture capitalist,” says Alison Rapaport, CFA and vice president of Serena Ventures. A few short years ago, she was on track to forge a storied path in big business, the world of stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities. She graduated from the Wharton School of Business magna cum laude. After spending her young adult life in finance, at J.P. Morgan, she hit the books once again, this time at Harvard Business School. But in grad school, she started learning about the smaller side of the business landscape, and she was hooked. "Early stage was really exciting to me," she remembers. She met Serena Williams — tennis superstar, fashion maven, devoted mother, and it turns out, powerhouse investor — through Chris Lyons of the Cultural Leadership Fund. His fund, part of Andreesen Horowitz, connects cultural leaders (think of the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Quincy Jones, and Sean “Diddy” Combs) to technology companies and by extension, helps more young African Americans enter the tech world. At the time, Rapaport was looking to work with talent-based investors. “He introduced me to a couple of different people creating their own funds and taking it very seriously,” she recalls. She and Williams hit it off like a house afire. “Serena is a bit of a winner, in case you didn’t know,” she jokes. But Rapaport isn’t just any venture capitalist, and Serena Ventures isn’t just any venture firm. Because investments are all made with Williams’ own money, the company has flexibility to be truly mission-oriented. “Our goal is to make the everyday lives of everyday people better,” she explains. How? By helping lift up companies that solve problems that disproportionately affect people of color, for one. Those businesses, not surprisingly, are overwhelmingly run by diverse leadership teams. It’s a newer take on VC funding, with a young team. “I think that I've always kind of been the youngest person in the room at my job,” Rapaport admits. “I’m used to being surrounded by lots of older men, which is often the case in venture settings.” But she says she’s never really thought about the rarity of being a woman or being younger. She’s built up a supportive cast of mentors that help her feel less alone when she needs it. “Venture is first and foremost about being a people person and connector,” she says. “As long as you can find common ground, you can continue the conversation.” Being a sports fan with a powerful love of business stands her in good stead in nearly any room, she says. But she adds that it’s great to be dealing with women in the venture community as their presence grows. Those include Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, with whom Williams has partnered on the Bumble Fund. “We share similar visions when it comes to supporting women,” says Rapaport. Alice took part in the fund’s pitch competition earlier this year, helping to vet more than 9,000 applicants. Williams and Herd went through the top 20 contestants, and were ultimately so impressed that they picked two winners, Nude Barre and Virtue Health (now called Clio and live in the App Store). What makes a worthwhile investment? “We want to find founders who are personally connected to an issue and uniquely positioned to solve it,” Rapaport says. She and Williams are likely to pass on a founder who spent “six months in a room trying to come up with a business” in favor of someone who’s seeking to solve a problem with which they actually struggled. Some of Rapaport’s favorite investments include Retail Zipline, a software company that helps retailers with task management and communication. “The number one job Americans have is working in retail,” she reasons of the power of the SaaS product. Another, Mahmee, helps maternal health outcomes by focusing on women just after they’ve given birth, from lactation advice to surveys that test for postpartum depression. But we’re most excited about Serena Ventures’ latest investment: Alice. Williams met founders Elizabeth Gore and Carolyn Rodz at the Bumble Bizz First Movers Summit and was immediately drawn to them, Rapaport says. But it wasn’t just a great personality match. “Hearing about this small business marketplace that could actually empower people to get the resources they need was an ‘aha’ moment for us,” she remembers. AI was also a hole in their portfolio that she and Williams were looking to fill. “For us, it was kind of a perfect storm,” she says. And we at Alice couldn’t be more excited to work with Rapaport, Williams, and Serena Ventures.

Here at Alice, we support small businesses owned by women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, people with disabilities, and other historically underrepresented groups—or what we like to call the New Majority. New Majority businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy: More than 8 million businesses are owned by people of color, and 12 million businesses are owned by women, half of whom are women of color. You can support New Majority-owned businesses, too, by buying gifts for your loved ones from them. It’s easier now than ever, especially with this handy list of gift guides and directories. Women-owned businesses: Women-Owned Businesses to Shop This Black Friday We Are Women Owned Women Owned Business Directory The Helm Black/African American-owned businesses: Black-Owned Businesses: Clothing, Jewelry, and Accessories Clever and Creative Black-Owned Holiday Gifts You Won’t Be Able to Resist Buy Black: The 2019 Black-Owned Holiday Gift Guide Official Black Wall Street Support Black Owned Latinx-owned businesses: Shop Latinx Latina-Owned Businesses Latina-Owned Skincare Brands Latinx Owned Businesses to Shop From This Holiday Season Native American-owned businesses: North American Native-Owned Brands & Artisans Asian American-owned businesses: A Guide to Ethical Brands Owned by Asian Americans The Asian Business Association LGBTQ+-owned businesses: LGBTQ-Owned Businesses to Support National LGBT Chamber of Commerce Lesbian-Owned Businesses and Queer Shops To Support This Holiday Season LGBTQ-Owned Businesses That Are Changing the World Businesses owned by people with disabilities: Businesses Owned by People With Disabilities You Can Support Veteran-owned businesses: The Rosie Network Veteran-Owned Businesses to Hit This Holiday Season Veteran Owned Business Directory We want to make this list as inclusive of New Majority business owners as possible. Are we missing something? Let us know by emailing [email protected]

If there’s one battle military spouses are losing, it’s the struggle to find a community of like-minded business owners. That’s one reason why co-founders Flossie Hall and Moni Jefferson hatched the idea for the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs (AMSE) in summer 2019. “It’s about a need for that one-on-one,” says Hall, a Navy spouse herself. “I’m always hearing, I don't want to Google it, I don't want to find it, I don't want to read it, I just want to ask someone my questions. For us, we would love for AMSE to be a community hub for all the things that military spouses need, period.” Both co-founders recognized the profound need for such a hub after witnessing a familiar cycle in the military spouse community: As families rotate to a new duty station every few years, spouses accrue dreaded resume gaps that make it difficult to land a job at all, much less one that matches their qualifications. It’s not long before they’re contributing to military spouses’s reputation as a group with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation – roughly 24 percent. Jefferson, an active duty Air Force spouse, says she found herself in this situation about five years ago when she had trouble getting the type of work she wanted as she moved around. “I just decided to start my own business,” she says, going on to launch her own virtual PR agency. After a similar experience, Hall started a meal delivery service called Healthy Momma. But that independence only solved one problem for each spouse as they quickly discovered how the military lifestyle compounds many already difficult tasks of starting a business. “We're not always plugged into our community, we don't know what resources are out in town, we don't know the CEOs or business owners down the street, we don't know that there's a startup week that goes on every year in October,” Hall explains. “We don't know all of those things, and when things go wrong in our business, we don't have a grandma nearby who can come take care of the kids while our spouse is deployed.” These are the situations AMSE is designed to address. After meeting via social media, the duo developed the concept for an online community where fellow military spouses could connect with the education, networking, mentorship opportunities, and other resources they require. Perhaps more importantly, Hall and Jefferson want military spouses to lean on one another’s expertise to help start successful, independent businesses. “We're saying there's another option for you: Work for yourself – here's how you do it,” Jefferson says. “Let's find your skills, let's teach you how to do it. We're just getting really loud that this is an option.” So far, both founders say the response has been overwhelming, with more than a thousand military spouses expressing interest pre-launch – a huge number given the hyper-specific demographic they’re targeting. With a launch targeted for November, they’re focused on getting AMSE off the ground, connecting spouses with resources, and creating a community for their peers. “Whether it's moving, your child going through adjustment issues, or you aren't sure about your taxes for your new business, we know your lifestyle inside and out,” Hall says. “We're going to help you as a community and point you to the best things.” For more small business tips and inspiration create a free account on Hello Alice or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.