Inspiring Women in Finance: Her Story of Success in Review - a podcast by Leah Glover Hayes

Her Story of Success recently went through a rebranding process to help us better reflect where our company is today while also preparing for Season Next. But even as we look ahead to where we want to go, it’s important to also remember where we came from. With Her Story of Success in Review, we’re revisiting some of our favorite conversations, giving you another chance to be inspired by the amazing women who helped mentor and shape Her Story of Success into the company we are today. 

In this episode, Vicki Saunders, Hayley Dickson, Maria Aspen and Arlan Hamilton share their stories of working in finance, an industry predominantly led by white men. They explain how they’ve used their success to empower other women, and they share some of their best advice about raising money as a female founder, overcoming imposter syndrome and more. 

Their Stories of Success

Vicki Saunders believes that empowering women to practice radical generosity is the key to changing the world. She’s the founder of SheEO, a global initiative that supports, finances, and celebrates women who are working on the world’s to-do list. This unique model brings together 500 women activators in each cohort who contribute $1100 each to loan out to 5 women-led ventures. The organization is working to build a $1 billion perpetual fund by 2026. Before starting She-EO, Vicki built and ran companies in Europe, Toronto and Silicon Valley. She’s been honored as a UBS Global Visionary, Toronto Regional Board of Trade’s Business Leader of the Year,  and a World Economic Forum Global Leader for Tomorrow. 

Listen to Vicki’s full episode here.

Hayley Dickson is on a mission to help women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals achieve greater financial success She carries this out in her role as a Financial Advisor at Northwestern Mutual, and she quickly set herself apart as one of the company’s top advisors. In her first year, Hayley was No. 1 in the Western Region among advisors with fewer than five years at the company, and in 2019, she was named one of the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Most Influential Wealth Managers. Hayley also worked tirelessly with the corporate office to launch a family planning policy that allows more flexibility and better benefits for moms. That policy is now used nationwide at Northwestern’s more than 250 offices. 

Listen to Hayley’s episode here.

Maria Aspan has spent years as a reporter and editor covering finance and gender, so she’s seen firsthand the need for greater diversity in finance. Today, she’s a senior writer at Fortune, writing about finance, the intersection of policy and business, and gender. She’s also the author of Startup Money Made Easy: The Inc. Guide to Every Financial Question About Starting, Running, and Growing Your Business, and she writes the weekly Lady Business newsletter. Before joining Fortune, Maria was an editor at large at Inc. Magazine, where she oversaw the annual Female Founders 100 List. Maria has won multiple Best in Business awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and she was a finalist for a Jesse H. Neal award.

Listen to Maria’s full episode here, and her “HSS Live from NYC” episode here. 

Arlan Hamilton understands the importance of investing in underrepresented founders, because less than five years ago, she was one herself. Arlan is the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, which she started while experiencing homelessness. Since then, Backstage Capital has raised more than $10 million and invested in more than 130 startup companies led by people of color, women and/or LGBT individuals. Arlan also co-founded Backstage Studio, which runs accelerator programs for underestimated founders. Arlan is the author of It’s About Damn Time and host of the “Your First Million” podcast. She’s been honored on lists like Forbes’ “40 Under 40” and Business Insider’s “Most Powerful LGBTQ+ People in Tech,” and she was the first non-celebrity Black woman to be featured on the cover of Fast Company.

Listen to Arlan’s full episode here.

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