EP35 Stephanie Melodia: CEO & Co-Founder Insights on Business ,Co-founding ,Investment and Empowerment

In this Episode 35 , my next guest is Stephanie Melodia is the Co-Founder of BOMBA, an award-winning creative studio for explosive brands, and former CEO of the award-winning marketing agency, Bloom, which she founded before the age of 30.

Ready to follow the trailblazing Stephanie Melodia? She's busting out from a desert island to conquer the UK business scene. Stephanie shares her climb to success, from an admin assistant to the co-founder of Bomba Creative Studio and former CEO of an award-winning marketing agency Bloom  Her journey is one of relentless drive and self-awareness that will inspire and challenge you.

We're also getting real about the business world. From succeeding in the digital space to the benefits and challenges of co-founding a business, this episode is a goldmine of insights. We discuss the hard truths: the diversity issues in venture capital, unconscious bias in startups, and the psychological implications of passion, bias, and FOMO on funding and investing. It's a gritty, honest look at the industry that you won't want to miss.
But it's not all hard truths and strategies. We touch on the softer aspects of entrepreneurship too. The critical importance of adaptation, public speaking, and staying true to yourself. Stephanie shares how she found her coach, networked her way to success, and how she stays true to herself. This episode is a must-listen for all women in business looking to blaze their own trail. Don't miss out on this enlightening and empowering conversation with Stephanie Melodia.

Follow Stephanie
https://www.stephaniemelodia.com
https://www.bloomltd.co.uk
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
Instagram - @stephmelodia  https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
YouTube - @stephmelodia https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia
X - @StephMelodia  https://twitter.com/StephMelodia
watch now https://youtu.be/iPNQ86mSgw4 

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Transcript

The Trailblazers Experience : 0:12

So welcome to the Trailblazers Experience podcast, the podcast that showcases and highlights in real life trailblazers women with amazing stories, sharing their career journeys across multiple platforms. You know, if you've watched or listened to the last few episodes, you know we have had some amazing guests and my next guest is one of them. I'm going to introduce this amazing lady who is former CEO of an award-winning marketing agency called Blue. She is also a podcast host of Strategy and Tragedy. She's a co-founder of Bomba, a creative studio for explosive brands, and she has been ranked as one of the UK's top 20 most influential female founders. She's an accomplished public speaker. Let me introduce you to Stephanie Melodia Hi.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:20

Thank you so much for having me.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:23

Wow, I'm on a pedestal Girl, I mean and all this under 30, is that what we're saying?

Stephanie Melodia : 1:29

Not all of it, no, no, not all of it. I tried to cram in a few things before that, but thank you so much for having me on the show and what a wonderful intro. It's really funny because obviously, as you mentioned, I have my own podcast, strategy and Tragedy. So it's funny because whenever I do those wonderful intros for my guests, the response from their side is always wow. I wish every time I walked into a room I had that wonderful intro.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:54

That's a bit strange one yeah, well, I really got on a pedestal and I get to experience it on the other with the shoe on the other foot. So no, thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.

The Trailblazers Experience : 2:05

Of course, there's a thing where we say we give people their flowers now, you know, not getting flowers when you're dead. It's like we need to celebrate people. Now, you know, let's celebrate, let's share, let's educate, you know, so that someone else can learn. So we're going to really start with your early years and early beginnings. What was the catalyst or moment for you to say do you know what? I'm going to embark on this entrepreneurial journey and this is the direction of travel that I want to take. It's an ambitious one and a bold one.

Stephanie Melodia : 2:38

To be completely honest with you, my first proper business, which was Bloom, the award-winning marketing agency that you mentioned as part of the intro. There was no real strategy behind that. Like there was not a business plan For me. The catalyst was. So I started out my career working agency side and I went my way up through the ranks. I had no connections. I'd moved to London from abroad Proper rags to riches story.

Stephanie Melodia : 3:09

Like I actually have to tell people like this is a fake posh accent Like I'm definitely not from a middle-class background whatsoever. I actually have a really unique kind of weird background, which is I actually grew up on a desert island. I grew up on one of the Canary Islands so super random, so weird. I can get into you know the reasons why and a bit more of that, but I was, you know, sick of it. I needed to get off the island, I needed to get on with my career and, yeah, it came to the UK with you know nothing really. I didn't have any money, I had no university degree to my name either and, honestly, I was interviewing for like nine months at the tail end of the last recession before I got my first opportunity, which was as an admin assistant in a creative agency for 15k a year Like I still remember all the details perfectly and I then really worked my way up and within three months I got promoted.

Stephanie Melodia : 4:10

By the end of my time there I had more than doubled that starting salary and then moved on to a bigger company and for me, I was really keen to make sure that I got a role that was in-house on the marketing side of things. I wanted to make sure that, after so many years being agency side, that I had that in-house marketing experience before then going off and setting up my own thing. I did always know I wanted to do my own thing. I knew that I had at least some of the basic ingredients. I had that drive, that proactivity, and even my previous bosses had always, I think they knew before I did that I was going to go off and set up my own thing, and so for me it was really checking that box and knowing that, okay, I've done that, I've done that, now let's go for it. Basically.

The Trailblazers Experience : 4:59

So you joined as an admin assistant. So why were the agency? What were the key skill sets or that you thought? Actually I can do this? I think I've got something here that will be useful to this brand agency at the time.

Stephanie Melodia : 5:14

Joining as an admin assistant all the years ago. I mean, yeah, I need to cast my mind back because as much as I've got a baby face, that was quite a while ago it was just that it's the skills that you then used to then start your own agency.

The Trailblazers Experience : 5:30

So what made you say I think I could actually be good at this.

Stephanie Melodia : 5:35

It was just. I think that a lot of it was not even that conscious. To be completely honest, I think so much of it was just for me. I'm a very intuitive person and I have a very high level of self-awareness and I think it was just naturally being guided and just knowing this is, I really would say, like my calling, but just naturally gravitating to that industry, to that world.

Stephanie Melodia : 6:02

I mean in terms of a particular skill set, to better answer your question, I mean back then, as I say, nine months of interviewing at the tail end of the last recession, there were things like persistence, determination, entrepreneurialism, and I didn't I mean Antola, I didn't even know half of. I say I've got a high level of self-awareness now but I didn't even know half of the skill sets and half of the stuff that I was delivering as value back then in my early 20s the amount of stuff when I look back now and I think how lucky that particular employer was to have found me, I just had all that energy and drive and wanted to get stuck in and roll up my sleeves and just make sure it happened.

The Trailblazers Experience : 6:44

To be honest, yeah, and there's something to be said about the fact that digital creative branding has evolved so much, like the playbook that was relevant in the 40s to DC Mad Men Error. Obviously, the core principles of brand and messaging storytelling are still there, but in terms of digital acceleration, it's things that you're learning because it wasn't there even before. So the fact that you were curious and keen and were like yeah, it's fun.

Stephanie Melodia : 7:15

It's funny.

Stephanie Melodia : 7:15

You mentioned that because you have just unlocked a memory from that time in my early days of my career, where I yeah exactly where I, to be completely honest like I'll be completely open and transparent here when I started that first job in my early 20s, I was addicted to Facebook like to be completely honest with you and I was aware of the power that it had for businesses to be on there. But I was kind of using it as a bit of an excuse, a bit of an opportunity, if I'm completely honest, to be able to use Facebook while I was at work a little bit. Obviously, I never took the mick with it, but I was a bit. But it's funny because, like it was brand new then, like I was telling my bosses, like you need a Facebook page, I mean even talking about Facebook, like who talks about Facebook now? Right, but just posting, and I think I probably set up a Twitter account as well and do some. So even then it was like, oh okay, this like fresh, hot, you know, new talent is coming in and doing some social media for us. And that was about a decade ago. It wasn't as you say. It wasn't as if it was like 40s or 50s, decades and decades ago. So, yeah, it's funny kind of casting your mind back in terms of, like, digital media, social media, that sort of stuff.

Stephanie Melodia : 8:42

But you're totally right, like the core principles absolutely still apply.

Stephanie Melodia : 8:46

You're still marketing to people.

Stephanie Melodia : 8:50

There are still those core fundamentals of telling a story, knowing how to stand out from the crowd, knowing what resonates.

Stephanie Melodia : 8:58

The challenge now is just that it is such a noisy space and I feel like even even just you know, without even comparing us now to the 50s or 60s, even if we just take the past 10 years less than that as a snapshot, as a window in time, there's already so many cycles that we've been through, like even within that same window of social media. So for me now the big shift that's happening is what I used to always tell people was because it's so noisy, because there's so much going on. There's always channels you need to stay visible, you need to be relevant. You're better off posting frequently, consistently. But now it's actually more about it's almost like we've gone full circle back to like the quality producing stuff. Like actually you're better off spending some time to produce something that's really high quality, that adds value, that might be once a week instead of three times a day, in order to actually have success in this noisiest space, because if you're just constantly posting, you're just adding to the noise.

The Trailblazers Experience : 10:12

That is so true. I mean Bloom. You know a business you started started, you know, driving revenue of six figures. What are some of the challenges and maybe milestones that maybe you want to talk about as your first business that you?

Stephanie Melodia : 10:32

led through so many challenges, like spoil for choice. Which challenge do I talk about? There were a lot of great lessons along the way. It taught me the hard way how to be strategic because actually before I even started out Bloom, I don't even really think I understood, I don't think I truly understood the definition, like the meaning of even just the word strategy. And it's funny because actually when I started my career back in the early days, I didn't even know what marketing was. And then here I am fast forward 10 years later running my marketing agency. And now here I am, a few years later, with that deeper appreciation of strategy, like these new things that you learn, that you come to really appreciate on a deeper level. And I guess I think I mentioned that first for me because, having that high level of self awareness, I know that one of my biggest strengths, which is also a weakness, is that I am such a doer. So it had always been a huge strength of mine throughout my career. So, especially recounting some of those early days, getting out there, just putting in that energy, whatever needs to be done, I'll get it done I was definitely the sort of person where, like, if a job needs to be done, whatever it is, give it to Steph and you will trust her implicitly. She'll get the job done like absolutely no shadow of a doubt.

Stephanie Melodia : 12:00

Where that started to actually become more of a weakness for me is that when I became my own boss, I didn't have anyone else around me to put the brakes on. I remember hearing someone on a panel actually talk about this. In terms of talent employees, there's two types of people Most people, you need to crack the whip and you need to kind of drive them forward. Very few people, as a minority, were actually you need to put the brakes on them as a boss, and I didn't realize it at the time. But the great bosses I'd had before were putting the brakes on me and so because I didn't have that myself and because it was like right, free rain, I can just go for it.

Stephanie Melodia : 12:40

I obviously it was a recipe for burnout. I burnt out twice because I just ran myself ragged, kind of doing anything and everything without a strategy in place, without having you know. Part of what makes a good strategy is not what you say yes to, it's what you say no to. So I was just saying yes to anything and everything. There is an element of that.

Stephanie Melodia : 13:00

Again, you know, when you are just starting out you do need to kind of like try things out. You never know you do need that energy and that productivity, but just up to a certain point, and I just went past that point. So that for me, that strategy knowing you know where to draw the line in terms of your own, you know self care, your own founder health that was a big lesson I learned. Prioritizing high quality talent as well. So don't don't like scrimp or save on talent, like pay people. Pay more for someone that's high quality and it will pay dividends because, alternatively, the other ways that they're more of a hindrance than a help if you kind of you know if you don't get someone that's as great on the team early on.

The Trailblazers Experience : 13:49

There's something to be said about hiring you know, great talent so that you can delegate and focus on leading your business. And the thing about strategy, it's that quadrant. Isn't it urgent, important, not important, not urgent things that you can say yes to, things that will drive your business, things that won't it's it's something that you learn over time.

Stephanie Melodia : 14:12

Yeah yeah, the hard way, yeah, yeah, a lot of us need to learn it the hard way.

Stephanie Melodia : 14:17

Yeah, and I was in a very privileged position I still am in terms of having that agency model where I get to work with so many different clients and now, with the podcast, you know, interviewing different entrepreneurs as well. But the privileged position I mentioned is having that, that exposure, that exposure to you know, not only your own personal business journey, but especially when you're working with startups, founders, high growth scaling businesses, you, you're exposed to their business stories vicariously, you know, through them. So there's a lot of lessons that I also learn, you know again, the ones that are the deepest cuts, right, the ones that you really that really hurt that. You that you go through those direct experiences. Those are like the unforgettable lessons. But you know, there's something to be said for. Oh, there's a pattern here, like these, all these entrepreneurs, these founders, like they seem to keep coming up against these same obstacles and so, yeah, you know, I learned, I learned so much from them as well. That's amazing.

The Trailblazers Experience : 15:21

I mean, you know a milestone is definitely the fact that you set up your own business. You grew it to a significant revenue and probably worked with some great projects and amazing brands as well. I'm pivoting now because you've now gone completely the other way in terms of going the collaborative route and starting bomber by joining courses with the co-founders. Yeah, so I'm really curious to really understand that. So why did you decide to join with other founders, and is there any power or strength that comes from the collective effort of establishing a brand agency with two other people or three?

Stephanie Melodia : 16:09

Yeah, great question. There's always such a debate on the co-founder versus solo founder thing and I was just chatting someone about this yesterday. I think the grass is always greener, right? Yeah, it's never perfect. There are pros and cons in either situation.

Stephanie Melodia : 16:24

Right now, because it's early days, I'm really, really enjoying and I'm really grateful to have two other co-founders in the mix, and I know that I have that deep appreciation because I went through running my own business on my own by myself for six years and there were a lot of points during that time with Bloom where I wished I had a co-founder. So, whether it was just to be able to divide and conquer, whether it was to be able to hand over the baton, to go and take a holiday and take a break, and just the practicalities of feeling so thinly spread, especially during the busier times where you've got team meetings, you've got client presentations, but you've also been invited to an event and you need to do some networking and you forgot to post that day and it is easy to think, ah, if there was someone else in here with me. And a lesson that I learned on that side of things with Bloom is it's a lot harder. Nothing is ever impossible, of course, but it is a lot harder to bring in a co-founder to an existing business than it is to go in just fresh from others, you know, with others. So that was a challenge, you know, because I did have a couple of conversations after I'd already started Bloom, you know, a few years in. But the best analogy for that is kind of like you've got kids from a divorce marriage and you've got that kind of baggage that you're kind of taking over and you're trying to find a partner to help kind of feel that role of like dad in your family unit.

Stephanie Melodia : 18:02

I was sort of Bloom as my baby and so you know they also the other person of course, needs to feel that same level of ownership and productivity and it's just not going to come if it's something that you've already started and you've been building for the past few years. So I am really, really excited with the new Bomber Venture at the moment, having two other co-founders. One of the really big things that I'm experiencing with that, like the biggest benefit, is we are greater than the sum of our parts when we're all joined up. So one plus one plus one equals 10 in this situation and this is also and that's completely genuine, it's authentic and actually it kind of comes through in a bit of the sales pitch because there's an argument for you know, why should we be bringing in you guys as the team, versus, say, hiring an in-house brand person or working with a freelancer?

Stephanie Melodia : 18:59

And that is one of the benefits, if it's a right fit, is you're not just getting a collective, you're getting this power of all these different minds coming together and we're all able to produce as a result of that. So, yeah, tons of benefits on the co-founder side of things. But, as I said, I wouldn't have that same appreciation if I hadn't already gone through running my own. I had that itch to scratch first with Bloom. So yeah, there's power in numbers at the moment definitely.

The Trailblazers Experience : 19:28

Yeah, and definitely you're all bringing you know specific skill sets, strengths, expertise. There's diversity in that, you know, in the fact that you all bring something different from your experiences and how you've shaped the industry to the table. So I think you know good for even finding two people who just want to collaborate.

Stephanie Melodia : 19:52

That's. The other thing is and this is where you know anyone who is listening, who's maybe, who is on their own, and they were in the position that I was in with Bloom and wishing that they had a co-founder or someone that's looking to start off something. It's as someone who's very much a master of her own destiny. You just saying about you know, good for you for finding those people. That's the other thing. You know, it's like it is a marriage. You can't not that you can't, but it is a lot harder to be like. Right, I've got this profile, this is what I want. I actually did that years ago. I actually I put together a job description or at least a few bullet points on like who I think would make the ideal co-founder, and I put it out there. I shared it with my network. I was like, look, I'm looking for someone to partner up with and, yeah, you know, nothing came back because it's just yeah, I was going to say how did that work out for you?

The Trailblazers Experience : 20:46

Because it's like on dating apps and having these checklists and ultimately you just want to meet a person. Do you connect on? You know certain things. They may be core values and ethics, and that should be the foundation.

Stephanie Melodia : 21:01

Yeah, it's just not how it works. Yeah, I mean again, it does for some people. You know, never say never. But the three of us all came together completely organically. It was not planned, it was not like you say, it wasn't like a Tinder day, it wasn't like putting out a job description. It was a really fortuitous, organic coming, coming together of the different parties. And you know the downside to that, if you will, is that there's a you can't fully control that process. So it's annoying. It's annoying when you are a master of your own destiny and you want to. You want to achieve things, you want to make this happen. Sometimes you've. Just, I think, when it does come to other people, you've got to let go a little bit and you've got to see what's the universe going to bring up for me here and you know if you know when to let go, know when to push back. That's where you know you need to let other things, other factors come into play there.

The Trailblazers Experience : 21:58

So I'm really looking forward to seeing what Bomb is doing For those of the audience. You might want to hop onto LinkedIn and see the post of what the various names were before they decided on Bomba. That is what's downside.

Stephanie Melodia : 22:12

Yeah, just on that. And so, as you mentioned, that's really funny. That's a really great example. Actually, I posted about all the different names because with Bloom like this is a perfect example With Bloom, it was all of two seconds that I came up with the name.

Stephanie Melodia : 22:27

There were no other names in the mix, it was just there, wasn't you know? It just came to me. I found a URL that was the closest, I found a way I could call the company or company's house. And then, conversely with Bomba, you know, it was like six weeks of arguing with two other co-founders over all of these different potential names.

Stephanie Melodia : 22:49

And, as I say, you know, if I hadn't already gone through six years of Bloom on my own, I would have found that so frustrating. I would have been like, oh fuck sake, come on, let's just choose something. This is ridiculous. But I knew that we would all. I mean, obviously I deeply respect and admire the other guys as well, so that helps. But I knew that we were going to come up with something great, something that we would all feel so confident with, something that we would really be excited to go out to market with. And I think it's just a, it's a nice anecdote. It's a really easy direct comparison. To be like Bloom me on my own, two seconds came up with it. Cool done Bomba. Six weeks of arguing on WhatsApp with the co-founders that actually it's something that's, you know, really resonating, it's cutting through and hopefully will be a bigger and more successful business.

The Trailblazers Experience : 23:38

But that was probably the good litmus test. I mean the fact that you've gotten over and managed to come up with a brand name. You know, take the good way to start. Steph, you're also a VC scout, so can you explain for the audience what is a VC scout and how does this fit into the broader landscape of, we know, venture capital and startup funding, and what motivated you to take on this role as well?

Stephanie Melodia : 24:08

Yeah, great question. So for anyone who's not aware, so venture capital is all about kind of funding exciting new businesses which tend to have a tech element to them, to have that scalability, because the way a VC fund works is that they are betting on the majority of their portfolio failing. It's a very risky. It's a high risk, high return type of business model. So they are betting on just really a handful of companies in their portfolio, really really really making it big to deliver the returns over and above what all of the other guys would have probably lost. And so really risky kind of you know, venture capital game.

Stephanie Melodia : 24:56

The scout role is a position that helps with what's called deal flow for VC. So VC's investors, they are hungry for deals, they want to be on the front line, they want to see what new emerging technologies are coming out, what innovative startups are being born. And particularly with Aida Ventures, which is the fund that I'm a scout for, they are specifically an early stage venture capital fund. So for them it is very much like looking under rocks, looking in overlooked places where you know these great ideas they can come from literally anyone and anywhere. So for them, having a scout network, which is, you know a network of different individuals who are plugged in to different communities, whether it's geographical, whether it's having a particular diversity focus MyReamIt, for example they'll have more of a leaning to female founders. So if there are any female founders listening to this, I'm a humongous supporter, a huge feminist. We can talk about that separately. But, like, get in touch. More women need more money full stop.

Stephanie Melodia : 26:13

So for Aida Ventures, having a scout network is really essential to having a diversified deal flow. So for them, of course they do want to identify these potential opportunities that can deliver. You know the venture returns but they are balancing that with having that diversity piece to it as well. And they're also very aware that you know the whole venture capital game is hugely overrun by very well off middle upper class white people and mainly guys as well, to be honest. So they're also kind of using that scout network again to plug into those other communities.

Stephanie Melodia : 26:56

So that's my role with them. So really, if I come across something that's interesting, I do give feedback. I do kind of look at the. I've obviously seen quite a few pitch decks in my time as well, so I can't help myself either, but sort of give some advice and direction to help, support with that process and then kind of give a bit of that preferential treatment, if you like, going through a scout, you know, pitching that deal to the VC firm in terms of getting involved. Sorry, were you going to ask me something on that?

The Trailblazers Experience : 27:29

No, I just find it very interesting. So, just looking at the stats in terms of you know VCs, they know that 90% of startups will fail. So, like you said, it's a high risk, high return If it does work. You know businesses that started off bootstrapped with zero dollars and then selling for 250 million or IPOing, and there's also a report in Bloomberg that talked about the cent of venture capital money goes to female founders.

Stephanie Melodia : 27:57

And Tola. It's crazy, it's so infuriating, it's so, so interesting, it's so, so infuriating. You know, to link back to a comment you made earlier about you know how far we've come in terms of advertising you mentioned before about the madmen era in the 60s and when you look at the gender stats, the in terms of gender equality, we're still in the madmen era. You know, we can talk about AI, machine learning, sending rockets to space and all this other stuff, but you're like we still have these really, really bad fundamental problems when it comes to gender equality. We're not there. We're a really long way off from it. It's really, really infuriating. So I guess that's a nice segue into answering, you know, the next part of your question, which is you know how I got involved. It was quite an organic thing as well, so similar to what we were saying with the co-founders, how you just you know you meet people, you cross paths and sometimes you can't control those things, but I think that was a there was a bit of a combination with. You know, I was putting out some of this stuff about gender inequality, how passionate I am about the space, how much I want to support female founders, so I think that was probably in the back of their mind as well when we had that chat. It was like, look, obviously we can see you're super active in that space, very plugged into the female founder community. It would make a ton of sense to have you as part of one of the founding you know VC scout members. So yeah, that's how I got involved, but it is. It is really annoying, I mean, when you look at things like the unconscious bias as well. I'm sure you know about. There was that famous TED talk that described the. That shared the questions that male founders are asked versus female founders. So how male founders are typically asked questions and this is just completely subconscious, like the unconscious bias. Female founders are typically asked kind of growth related questions are like how are you going to capitalize on the upswing, how are you going to maximize, you know, getting this market share, whereas female founders are typically asked about minimizing risk and having more of that protectionism and kind of cautionary sort of approach to it. There's so much all kind of in the mix there, from like how we're conditioned as kids and all the way through. And actually one last thing I'll just I'll just share on this really briefly is this is currently my biggest, biggest bug bear and this really, really pisses me off. If it's okay to swear on your podcast, so don't worry this. I just I have to get this off my chest is.

Stephanie Melodia : 30:39

I am in various WhatsApp groups, like Slack communities, different forums and things, but particularly WhatsApp groups for different entrepreneurial communities, and there's one WhatsApp group which is for startup founders full stop, and there's one that is specifically for female founders. The former, which is for startup founders in general, has just naturally become extremely male dominated in terms of the people who are in the group, but more so the people who are active and the ones who are more Kind of vociferous, if you like. Like in that group. It's see, it's just like very naturally got like very male, very white, and I know there are at least some women in that group, in myself included like it's not a female only thing, but we're all quiet, we don't say anything. It's all these guys, the female founder one.

Stephanie Melodia : 31:40

The Contrast of the conversations that happen in these WhatsApp groups is so incredibly Infuriating, and this is where I'm like I Don't want to point fingers. We don't get anywhere by blaming anyone, but when I see things like this, we don't help ourselves either. So I screenshot it a particular message that was shared in the female founder group and it was all going off at the same time as this other general one. In this general group they talk about Exit strategies, commercials, they talk about shares, they talk about oh, an angel wants to pull out. What like All of this? Like just straight, like business stuff.

Stephanie Melodia : 32:23

Yeah in this female founder group. I could not believe. It just outraged me that I saw people talk about when to buy prams from. It's absolutely unbelievable Like where to buy stuff for like nurseries and prams.

The Trailblazers Experience : 32:40

Do you think it's hard because they're trying to find a way to To bond and on former, you know, like there's a time and a place for everything, isn't it? And you sort of feel this is a group which is supposed to be. I'm not a fan of WhatsApp groups. I think they always go for an attendant, but that's another podcast. But you know, I think what I've seen with women we find find our tribe, our community, within a professional space, camaraderie and so on, and that's sort of a way of Bonding. But I also do understand playing devil's advocate. The other side of you know, we already know that 2% of funding is only going to us. So let's be strategic in these groups so that we can get as much knowledge. Lift one up and share all the things so that you can get the funding you need. Your business can grow like. Let's like Utilize these platforms to the best of our abilities.

Stephanie Melodia : 33:36

Yeah, my big thing is male Allyship. Like I've spent a lot of years Thinking about this whole. I actually try not to think about it too much now because, as you can tell, it gets me really, really wound up and and I just like I have to protect my energy sometimes because I really do hate it. But this whole, even just that distinction of, like the fact that there are still Female founder only, whether it's WhatsApp groups, whether it's private member clubs, as you say, yes, there is a time and a place for everything, and I get the community and the bond and every and all the rest of it. But you, you just said something there with, like you know, lifting each other up, and my belief is, well, if I'm at a particular level, the highest I can lift you up to is up here is to my level.

Stephanie Melodia : 34:23

If the guys are the ones who are still getting the majority of the funding, who are in positions of power, if they still have the majority of the seats around the boardroom table, does it not make more sense to like to cozy up to like the people who like?

Stephanie Melodia : 34:38

This is just, it's just kind of logical to me, but it's just, you know, like the other thing, or more of just a practical, quick, financial thing as well. Like another thing that I've observed, and more from that VC scout perspective, is women never ask for enough. Women, like, just even in time, like the fundraise amounts, like a man will be going for a million, like seed round, a woman will be going for a quarter of that, like you and I. Actually, if we can talk about this really briefly because this is actually super relevant and interesting the dinner that we met each other, you know, you know I'm gonna say yeah, minority of people sat around the table with women. They were still a handful of women but like, fine, the few women that were sat around the table, half of the few, ourselves included, what we're not, the other half, not me and you, the other half women there how much did they put themselves down every time they open their mouth and toilet?

The Trailblazers Experience : 35:36

Oh yeah, that is like, and that's why I had to say that's why you spoke up. I'm sorry, I do spoke up. Stop saying sorry, stop apologizing. You've started a business. It's driving us how in fury and we need to thank our ally. You know, nathan, we've been organizing yeah, he's, he's really an ally. Yeah, this, yeah, yeah, it starts with that. So you're basically not only looking as a scout, for I was gonna talk about that. So what qualities or characteristics do you look for in founders and entrepreneurs when considering investment opportunities?

Stephanie Melodia : 36:10

There has to be a huge level of passion. On a practical level. It needs to drive you forward. Because it is so tough. You have got the highs and the lows, so it the passion piece there is ensuring that it sustains yourself as a faint, as a founder, when the going gets tough. You care enough about this to keep going.

Stephanie Melodia : 36:31

And that's where, like, a little bit of the crazy Comes in as well, like everyone talks about a bit of the founder crazy. So having that Doggid Determination, that deep passion for something and the other reason why passion matters so much for founders is because it needs to come across in even just a sales kind of perspective. So, like you're selling to investors, if you're selling to people, if you're selling to partners, passion is at the root of that too. I've spoken to founders where it's like that passion Just like isn't coming across. And if you're not passionate about it, then, like I'm not, you know you just need to get, like other people, excited is the basics of it. So definitely that passion, first and foremost, the determination, the resilience, and on the rest of it, you know you can learn, like you can learn how to, you know put together a decent balance sheet, how to train people how to interview.

The Trailblazers Experience : 37:25

But those really core Passion and determination, I think are just like the two non-negotiables I Just want to circle about for the audience, because you touched on the VC framework of questions and how they're asked in two different ways. So just looking at the Harvard business review and and really I'm just I'm not shocked, but I'm not surprised. So you talked about how male and female entrepreneurs are asked different questions yeah, I, vcs, and how it affects how much funding they get. Exactly. They call this the psychological theory of Regulatory focus. So investors adopt what it's called promotion orientation when quizzing male entrepreneurs, which means they focus on hopes, achievements, advancements, ideals. Conversely, sir, when questioning female entrepreneurs, they embraced prevention orientation, which means they're concerned about safety, responsibility, security, vigilance, you know. And 67% of the questions posed to male entrepreneurs were of promotion orientation, while 66% of them post a female work of prevention.

The Trailblazers Experience : 38:37

And just to simplify, if someone is saying this is all gobbledygook, so a promotion question would be, you know, acquisition how do you want to acquire customers? And then a prevention question would be retention how many daily and monthly active users do you have? So that even the wording is just completely different. Yeah, exactly, I mean. And questions like sales how do you plan to monetize? This would be a question asked to a male and then for a woman it would be margins.

Stephanie Melodia : 39:06

How long will it take you to break even and you just thinking, yeah, I mean, it's okay now in a famous I can't remember the name, it's escape me now I'll try and find it and we can put it in the show notes, if anyone is curious but there's a famous Ted talk I'm dotted, I can't remember the name of the speaker because because they're amazing, but we'll find the link to it but there's a Ted talk that came out that I think made that whole research piece viral.

Stephanie Melodia : 39:32

It's really if you, and then again there's it's so nuanced, there's so many elements to it, whether it's the unconscious bias in the questions, whether it's the fact that there aren't there aren't many female investors on the other side of the table either. A really common theme I hear over and over and over is Is when female founders are pitching for money, they're talking to a room of men and they don't get it and like as much as yeah, they're money guys and they talk in numbers. That's BS, it's total BS. We're still humans, we still have emotions and it's the emotions that come first. We're still evolutionary.

Stephanie Melodia : 40:07

You know beings from thousands of years ago and the thing is is like, if it's something that makes them feel and kind of fits, anything to do with you know, let alone bloody, like menstrual care or you know any, or fertility or Anything, if it's more biological, anything that's more specifically to do with With women, it's there's. There's number one, there's already an initial discomfort, like, how many men are comfortable just openly talking about periods to just to begin with, just to have a chat, let alone Putting their money where their mouth is and funding these real problems? You have come across so many great startups that are solving real problems that a huge segment of the population are going through, whether it's things like Endometriosis, for example, these things that just get so overlooked by the guys and they don't, they don't get in. The same applies, you know, obviously the day job for me is more in the branding and marketing space, and if people, the first thing is people need to be Open and aware and familiar. Those are the first levels of the nurturing Before you get anywhere near to either having customers parting with their cash or having VCs investing in your company. It's the same thing if you're marketing to consumers or you're trying to get investment. If they, if there's already that, to boo that discomfort to begin with, so that's the thing.

Stephanie Melodia : 41:36

So, going back, if it's a tiny minority of women who are the ones who have the money, it's all, it's all part of the mix. So this is another call for arms, if you like, for any listeners. So, whether you're a female founder trying to raise investment. Get in touch, let's see if it's a fit for aid adventures or if there are other investors that this would be suitable for. And, conversely, if you are a Bit more well off, if you've sold a business or you've got a cushy day job and you think you could dabble with some angel investing as a woman, please consider it as an option, because money talks and we need more of it flowing with women.

The Trailblazers Experience : 42:14

I Love that and you know good podcast even to be talking about that, because we're aiming to empower Women out there and we love our male allies that are out there supporting us. So let's talk about the industry. So are they specific focus or industry Preferences you look like look for when you're scouting for startups, or is there a niche and what emerging trends or industries I are you looking because obviously you're trying to get that return on the investment for the VC?

Stephanie Melodia : 42:43

Yeah, great question. So with aid adventures, thankfully I can now Give a give a succinct answer because their latest fund does have a clear focus on three main areas. So I mentioned before aid adventures as a fund, just generally speaking, is early stage. So first of all, your pre seed seed average check sizes around 500k to 1.5 million. So that's the first thing. So if you're starting out it's early days still, you know You're pre series a then then that's one, the first thing to bear in mind in terms of sector focus. So three main areas as part of their investment thesis. So one is around climate change, the second is around health care and the aging population and the third area is economic empowerment. So, again, whether there's minorities or overlooked areas, underserved, that help Redistribute the wealth because the wealth gap is just widening and widening. So, again, very impactful, very mission driven, like three core Areas of their investment thesis. Beyond that, if it's not a fit for aid adventures, then I am plugged into that investor space and I do know others, whether it's other early stage VCs, other angel investors. So I'm I'm I'm quite open personally to kind of look at different things in terms of looking at, you know, emerging trends and what you know what VCs are betting on in order to make that return.

Stephanie Melodia : 44:07

I Was interesting to sorry, I was listening to another interesting podcast which was talking about the psychology of FOMO. Now, I know what. Nothing drives investors like FOMO. So if they see there's a new buzzword or someone else is getting excited about something, or if 10 other VCs have invested in somewhere else, that is the number one like key driver that gets them moving. And it's funny because actually, one of my episodes I found a talked about how they just managed to get their first initial angel investors over the line and they, very savoury, use that as leverage to then get the next set of investors to basically just just use that social proof. So so is already on board, exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly. And it's funny because this bit actually just went live yesterday as well, that episode because that particular entrepreneur yeah, he didn't share how much those first investors had actually put in and but, yes, so not you know, not lying, maybe a version of the truth with that.

Stephanie Melodia : 45:17

But coming back to the emerging trends, is the psychology around the FOMO. There's this one theory, which is because the dot-com boom that happened like 20 years ago was so seismic and it was so. It was so impactful and there were so many people who didn't move quickly enough, who were still around now, who still remember it. It's that's kind of never left them and now, whenever there is anything like crypto, ai, any of these other like buzzy trends, it's kind of rooted in that previous technological boom that's driving them to not want to miss out again this time around.

Stephanie Melodia : 46:06

What I would say to this is these are such short term cycles and we've now seen, like I was saying before, with the short window, even just with social media and the cycles that we've gone through with that. We've also, in that same space of time, already seen the highs and lows, the rise and fall of the likes of uber, we work, even the whole crypto currency space. So I think, like now there is a little bit more kind of intelligence around. Okay, let's not just kind of jump on the bandwagon. These aren't just kind of quick buck sort of things. I'm very much aligned with aiders, investment thesis around healthcare, climate change. I think those, those are real problems, that that are here to stay, that need that need fixing.

The Trailblazers Experience : 46:51

Yeah, I mean, there's really an excitement around artificial intelligence because it's, you know, I think, probably the sixth industrial revolution, if you've Studied the the different phases. But yeah, I was talking to Head of a VC and he was saying Look for businesses where there's a need. So, like you said, economic empowerment, or there's a need in the future or now for People, whether it's underrepresented groups. But also, you know, if you're a founder and you're passionate about a project and you've got an idea, still, you know, go forth with that. But yeah, it's challenging when everyone is looking for what will be the next. You know, business idea Go crazy out there, yeah it is it?

Stephanie Melodia : 47:36

Yeah, you're totally right. I think that that is such, that is such a big challenge is identifying Not only a big enough problem to solve but also something that you deeply care about. Because, again, going back to, you know characteristics that you look for in a founder that passion, that determination. I have. All you know, I've definitely worked closely, I've seen firsthand how there's, there's some founders they usually always men where they do take more of that analytical approach, where they do say, okay, where is there a gap in the market? What could potentially bring these big returns? What's going to make this become a unicorn one day? And it's and it honestly for me, like it's not Driven, it's not coming from the right place. It makes business sense totally.

Stephanie Melodia : 48:25

I'm definitely not arguing with that, but for me it just doesn't like they never work out. They never work out because they don't have the same level of deep drive and passion to Pull the all-nighters, to stay up at night to go to that extra networking event. You're not driven by that deeper emotional, you know passion. So that that's the challenge is finding something. And it doesn't. We're not. We doesn't always need to be a unicorn, right, like if you're going to choose one or the other, trying to build something that's going to be huge or trying to build something that you're massively passionate about. My advice would be take the latter Because, conversely, like all these things in life, you may well even stand a better chance Broly will stand a better chance of that becoming more successful anyway but you're driven by the right things when you're doing it, and For the audience who doesn't know what a unicorn Business is.

The Trailblazers Experience : 49:22

We're using all these words and it was like a unicorn. What was going on airy fairyland? So it's Privately held startup business with evaluation of over one billion and it's commonly used in the venture capital industry. Yeah, and apparently the term was first popularized by venture capitalist. I didn't need they know the unicorn, unicorn status. I mean that's just amazing. Any businesses to achieve that? I think in Kardashians, on the cover of four, four of course. Obviously she started a VC.

Stephanie Melodia : 49:55

Yeah, I love that.

The Trailblazers Experience : 49:56

Yes, yeah and I think I love to see that more women. We need to get them in doing that. Serena Williams yeah, yeah, yeah. Founder of Bumble's got a VC as well. Yeah, just more yeah.

Stephanie Melodia : 50:10

Yeah, I really love that. I really, really really do, and I, I love that you, I love that you mentioned Kim Kardashian as well. I, I, just I look up to her. I think she's massively admirable.

The Trailblazers Experience : 50:21

I love the business. So these are three things I love about the Kardashians. One, the fact that they're family. You know, I'm the oldest of eight and my mother passed away 16 Years ago.

Stephanie Melodia : 50:33

Wow.

The Trailblazers Experience : 50:34

I just love that whole family things. My mom was all about family, oh, each other. So I resonate with that. Yeah, billionaire, but you know the core values and ethics of that to the fact that they leverage Social media and turn it into business. And then she then said well, instead of us wearing other people stuff on the show, let's create our own brands and leverage that. So, whether it's skims or you know a sister with good American and All the things that they're doing, I think Then they should be, and probably there is a course at university About the business of the Kardashian janners. It should be studied.

Stephanie Melodia : 51:15

Definitely I Would, I would be there, I would sign up in a flash. I mean, and you probably saw, kim Kardashian did. Actually, she went and gave a talk at Harvard Recently and the fact that she is now, yeah, I think she's super, super savvy, the fact that she, you know, you mentioned on the cover of Forbes for sky, her new venture capital firm, the fact that she's a lawyer I don't know if you also saw, but they put they, they put Kim Kardashian, hillary Clinton on the same law test. They gave them the same test and Kim Kardashian came out with higher results, a higher grade than Hillary Clinton, which you know, not getting into politics and different opinions and stuff.

Stephanie Melodia : 52:01

But it's funny because obviously her and Paris we won't go on too much of a tangent here, but her and Paris Hilton were obviously kind of threat. They knew each other from before and what's interesting is both of them Portrait, they, they consciously portrayed this ditzy, dumb image of themselves in the media. Did you? I don't know if you saw? So Paris Hilton came out a while ago now Reveal, like even the voice, the voices that they both used. They both put on voices as part of these characters To appear Dumber than they actually are and both of them are coming out and being like no, actually, we're these super savvy, successful business women. So the fact that Kim Kardashian now you know she is a lawyer, she passed the bar, she gave a talk at Harvard, she's a A partner in a venture capital firm it's like this woman who was famous because of a sex tape is Just amazing.

The Trailblazers Experience : 52:59

I mean, hey, and we're not encouraging the audience to go and do a sex, we're talking about the business side Of the Kardashian Empire and, just you know, leveraging social media, thinking about different businesses, and I think skins is probably worth more than Spanx. I have not looked at the staff, so surely it must be. I wouldn't be surprised.

Stephanie Melodia : 53:23

Yeah, but even they even skims wrestling, I mean, even then. Both female founders, both incredibly successful. So no, I love, I love what you're saying. I think it's really important to underscore that point you made with. You know, whether it's Serena Williams. Whitney Wolfe heard Kim Kardashian having more of those visible women that are. They're all mothers as well, coincidentally, like their mums, their parents, they are succeeding and it's going in the right direction. You know as much as there's still a lot of work to do. It's the, the, exactly those sorts of things, these conversations, this great podcast that you put together. This is, this is all great stuff.

The Trailblazers Experience : 54:02

Amazing. Right, let's talk about being agile and Adaptability, and this applies, whether you know, we're talking about founders on entrepreneurs as a VC scout, but even you, who obviously started your own business and as a co-founder In your experience, how important is it for a business owner founder on you know all of it to be able to adapt and pivot?

Stephanie Melodia : 54:29

yeah, I feel like the obvious quest, the obvious answer story to your question is yes, of course, it is super important to adapt, to pivot, especially now in a post pandemic era where it felt like every Tom, dick and Harry was pivoting in the year 2020. So I feel like that really became the the trend du jour, and again, there are a lot of the entrepreneurs that I've interviewed to have talked about how one of the key, the key skills that actually surprised them with their own businesses was letting go of their own idea. I think you know that that's. Another really big challenge in entrepreneurship is balancing a vision that you may have as an entrepreneur Versus, yeah, knowing when to let go, knowing when to adapt, knowing where to meet the market. My kind of pinch of salt with that as well is, like everything is a balancing act. I think you do still need to know, like, what your position is in the market. I think you still need to.

Stephanie Melodia : 55:31

I think it's about Knowing when to adapt without losing yourself, and I think that's where things like mission and purpose Come into play, because I have seen lots of successful businesses that have Pivoted, even with Aida ventures. They talk a lot about how, because they're investing at such early stages, they're actually not really looking as much at the business itself. Then they are at the founders. The entrepreneurs are the things that matter the most to them, because the business has a such a high likelihood of changing in the next few years, and adapting is how you go about that as a founder.

Stephanie Melodia : 56:13

So, so, so that's my point is yes, it is important, but if you blow with the wind and you get caught up in any new trend, for example, again going back to 2020, I I came across a shoewear brand that that just jumped on the bandwagon with masks again in kind of spring, summer of 2020, and it was just such an obvious oh cool, everyone's selling masks. It just like there wasn't anything special about it. There wasn't any if they were. Literally, it was such an obvious just jump on the bandwagon with everything else. And yeah, I mean, needless to say, that business is no longer around. So, yes, adapt, but stay true to yourself and that core mission that you've set out for yourself.

The Trailblazers Experience : 57:03

Stealth. Public speaking I mean becoming a public speaker is a pivotal moment, I suppose to say. I've got something to say and I can articulate myself with great oratory skills. What drove you to venture into public speaking and what impact do you think you have as a public speaker and what influences you in terms of just going about it and being passionate about addressing?

Stephanie Melodia : 57:33

I'll answer the last question first there, in terms of influences because it kind of links with the whole feminism kind of chat as well is when we were talking about Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, etc. I totally get you know, you need to see her to be her and female role models, Super important, like absolutely Weirdly, for me I don't need that as much. My influence is funny enough. I used to really look up to Gary V, Gary Vaynerchuk, and I've kind of moved on from him now. He kind of feels like a next boyfriend to me. I've kind of like the rose scintillars.

The Trailblazers Experience : 58:11

He was a motivation and a different stage of your life. I think that's it, you know.

Stephanie Melodia : 58:17

I used and it was really funny because everyone around me would be like, steph, we don't really get it. It doesn't like what. He's such a you know he's such a character but I loved him. But I still obviously have a soft spot for Gary V. Obviously I would still be crazy like Starstruck if I haven't met him in real life. But I've since kind of moved on and now I'm kind of obsessed with Scott Galloway. It's kind of my more sophisticated croffty.

Stephanie Melodia : 58:41

He's now my more sophisticated version of Gary Vaynerchuk, so those are two people that I really look up, especially Scott Galloway, so I mentioned those guys as well. Now, on the public speaking piece, because they are both public speakers, they both do the rounds and deliver the keynotes at the top conferences and everything, and I really think Galloway is writing a new book about masculinity.

The Trailblazers Experience : 59:04

Yeah, it's out, it's already out and now I need to get it for my sons because raising them as a single parent and I think they need real life scenarios to guide them.

Stephanie Melodia : 59:16

So, yeah, yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, you're totally right. I think the book is out now. What is it called? Yeah, it's something around masculinity. We need absolutely more of these female role models. Yeah, for me, I don't know there's something about Gary Vaynerchuk, scott Galloway, like these guys that still really resonate. I still really look up to them. So I would love I actually was thinking about this last night. I kind of used Gary Vay before as a bit of a blueprint, especially in terms of the public speaking game, and really annoyingly, I heard that his first paid public speaking gig was when he was 33. And I heard about it, I think, when I was 32. And I was like, right, I've got a year to get this done. Yeah, to match Gary V's timeline. And I didn't do it and it really and like and like those kinds of things was like, fuck, I feel like I'm behind and there's so much on social media about like you're not behind, it's your own journey.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:00:15

What was your?

Stephanie Melodia : 1:00:16

first public speaking gig? Yeah, so it was. Again, it was kind of a coincidental thing. It was through one of our first clients at Bloom about four or five years ago. It was actually an International Women's Day event and at the last minute the host, the moderator, felt ill and dropped out and I, for whatever reason, was the natural next best thing to step in. So, like Steph, would you mind, it was really, really last minute. I was kind of roped in. So, again, it was a really fluky opportunity and I absolutely loved it and I got such great feedback afterwards as well and people couldn't believe that I'd just been dropped in at the last minute and they were like what? That was amazing and it reminded me and this is part of answering the first part of your question here as well, which is you know how I got into it and stuff Is that fluky opportunity about five years ago to step in at the last minute reminded me of my very, very first burning ambition ever since I can remember, ever since I was teeny, tiny, which was to be an actress.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:01:29

So this goes back to you know, how did you think about it? It's kind of similar to, you know, the beginnings of my career when it was like it wasn't so much conscious. This was obviously just kind of a natural inkling that I had. I wanted to be an actress during my whole childhood. I was desperate, desperate for that, and that also links into your self awareness piece as well. So if it's something that works for you, if you've got a natural ability or a natural strength, it's something that you enjoy. Those are going to be different things for different people. For me, there's obviously a bit of that performer in me. I'm outspoken. I was always cast as the narrator in my school plays, which I always cried about because I wanted to be an angel, but because I wasn't blonde, I never got to play the part of an angel. You're crazy, right? So funny.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:02:18

The jaw can be anything yeah.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:02:22

Then, even thinking back to that, where it was like I was, definitely I was the best spoken, I was the. You know, I was very well read, I could speak very eloquently. I was always the natural choice to be the narrator, to literally be the storyteller of the nativity play, and because I wasn't blonde, I never got to be the pretty angel. It was such a telling kind of you know who plays what roles and I remember one year I cried, I was like I don't want to do this anymore. But yeah, so, whatever skills you've got, whatever strength you're going to play into and, interestingly, it was to be working with a fantastic business coach through blue, through bloom that kind of gave me permission to lean into it, to actually be like Steph you've got a lot to say, outspoken, you're comfortable in front of the camera, you thrive, you get that adrenaline rush like use that as part of your one of your marketing channels, as part of a personal brand, you know, lean into that. So, yeah, it was.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:03:23

She kind of gave me permission and and I've been building on that, on that ever since- you know, I think that is such a great statement because I do think public speaking does play in shaping your personal brand and influencing the community, the people you network with. You know it's all that vicious circle of putting yourself in the right position and also do things you love.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:03:50

Mm. It's like that icky guy, isn't it? That Japanese framework stuff, something you love that helps the business and everything, and again, that might be that will be different for different people. For me, that that ticks a lot of those boxes.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:04:03

And a lot of things that you said about just leaning into it. You know there's no magic plan. I think sometimes we all set no path and have a list of things we want to do, we want to achieve, but life is not linear in terms of the progression. But you have to just sometimes trust your instinct, jump into things sometimes like throws your curveballs. You don't have a job, the first one you get. You know that kind of thing. Yeah, you're starting a business. One might work out.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:04:26

Start another one, there's so many lessons learned that there's no one way to do things. But I think you mentioned resilience, passion, power and true, being consistent, being disciplined. Yeah, will serve you well, yeah. Hey, do you have a specific goal or vision for your public speaking endeavors? So I think that sort of manifested into the podcast like strategy and tragedy.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:04:52

Yeah, I love, I love doing the podcast, definitely. But yeah, no, I've also got other, bigger goals on the public speaking side of things. I am really excited to actually be hosting Web Summit this year, which is which is amazing. I would love to. I'd love to get to. Yeah, you know, I mentioned Scott Galloway before. I'd love to kind of meet those guys, like meet those guys in terms of where they're at in their career in terms of delivering a keynote at the big conferences. Yeah, bigger, bigger stages, bigger events. That's. That's kind of what I've got my site set on.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:05:29

There's a lot to be said because you've got lived experience in terms of branding and marketing and your agency and being a CEO and our co-founder, so I think there's there's still a lot to come. Let's talk about networking and mentoring. You talked about having a business coach and how pivotal that's been for you. Is it something you sought out? Someone's listening and saying, okay, I think I need a coach, I think I need a mentor. What are questions I should be asking? What? What should I be looking?

Stephanie Melodia : 1:05:58

for yeah, great question. The best coaches will ask you the questions. So that's been one of the biggest surprises with working with such great coaches is, yeah, is being asked these questions that I'd never even thought of before, or getting me thinking about things in certain ways? I used to very wrongly think that the whole coaching game was a bit of a pyramid scheme. It was a little bit of a. I didn't really think it was that legitimate before.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:06:31

What's in it for you? What's what's?

Stephanie Melodia : 1:06:35

and I think it was because, again, maybe with 2020, I feel like there was such a boom where, like every Tom, dick and Harry was a coach and it was all a bit, like you know, I don't think it's a very regulated kind of thing. I think anyone can sort of do half of an online course and get a certificate and call themselves some type of coach. So it wasn't to answer another part of your question there. It wasn't something that I actively sought out. I actually did have a lot of skepticism around it, to be completely honest with you, and again, funny enough, it was something that came up really organically, really naturally. I am quite a good networker and I reached out to a few other panelists who were speaking at a conference that I was also at a few years ago Just no agenda, to be honest, like I think that's another thing to share with your guests is there's a lot of networking. I do with zero agenda, I think, similar with us, where it was kind of like let's connect. You know, believe in the power of connection, you don't always know where things will end up and so reached out to a few of these other fellow panelists One of them happened to be an amazing business strategist and we just had a few coffees built that relationship followed each other on social media and I actually saw she was putting out like this particular coach was putting out a lot of very valuable content. So that's a tip to share with anyone who's maybe considering finding a coach. Looking for some help is what are they already putting out there? That's demonstrating their own expertise? Because the stuff that this woman was sharing was so helpful. It was so practical. There were so many things that I was already implementing that I was already doing that. I'd learned from them, and then it was a gradual thing actually. So there's a lot to learn in terms of their own sales and marketing strategy, because once they'd kind of hooked me in on their, on their Instagram, they then ran more of a low ticket group program Again during the pandemic actually. So that was a good way for me to be like okay, actually, let's, let's give this a, let's give this a go see what this is like, and it just kind of grew grew from there and then continue to work with this person one on one and continued working with them for years.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:08:47

And the other skepticism, to just touch on as well, was I very, very naively used to also think that, like, why would you need a coach when you're setting out to do your own business? Like, surely you should know what you want to do with your business, that's why you're a founder. Why do you need a coach? Like it was. I've completely changed my way of thinking on that Because, of course, if you look at any, you know the sports field is the obvious analogy.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:09:16

Michael Jordan had a coach like it's not. It's not a cop out. I think I always saw it as like a crutch, a cop out. Oh, can you help me? Can you give me the answer? I like at school it's like, can I ask the teacher for the answer to this question? So I highly, highly, if you find a good one I think there are probably are quite a few cowboys out there. I probably got very lucky with this one I do recommend it.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:09:44

The other piece of advice that I'm recycling from good old prof G as well is he talks about this thing called the kitchen cabinet of mentors and having kind of like your own board of advisors and however formal or informal you want to make that. But you can, depending on the stage that you're at, depending on what you can or cannot afford. You can tap into your community, especially if you've got kind of more senior mentors and things around you and kind of lean on certain people for different strengths, for different things. So whether it's marketing, finance or just having someone that you can have a bit of a heart to heart with, sometimes it doesn't all need to come from one person necessarily.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:10:29

You know the stats say 70% of coaches improve work performance, relationships and communication. 80% of coaches report increased self confidence, which is something we all need. At one in six business owners turned coaching to improve the performance because it's worth it. And then about mentors it does say 33% of founders who are meant to by successful entrepreneurs don't come from performance. So you know, it's really just to improve those elements, but also, I think we just also want to be. I like to give real life advice as well. So Gabo Matte was on a podcast and he said you can't afford any counseling or a mentor etc. Read books, go on YouTube. Your mentor, you know coaches, etc. They're putting out content that you can easily digest.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:11:22

Listen to podcasts.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:11:24

Yeah, you can listen to a podcast, you can. If you can use your phone to scroll endlessly, you know silly videos on on on TikTok and etc. Yeah, use your phone to gain knowledge and then at some point when financially or you're in a space where you can actually meet, such a good mentor will give their time without charging for it.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:11:46

They're paying it forward. I think your listeners, I think many would be surprised to know how many people would say yes If you yeah right, if you reach out to someone who's further along in their career, that's a bit more senior, don't be scared. You need to push through the fear. If they. The worst that can happen is that they'll say no is they'll say no or they won't answer you. But you'll be surprised. More often than not, they'll probably say yes. They'll be up for a phone call because, as you say, many of them are happy to pay it forward.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:12:18

Yeah, I'm loving that We've talked about so many things, the many facets of staff. Um, let's talk about trailblazer takeaways. There were three things knowledgeable things you want to impart. What would they be?

Stephanie Melodia : 1:12:36

Um, I yeah, as you said, I mean, we've covered a lot already on this podcast. So I think, really, I think I'll just kind of underscore just a few things that we've already spoken about. In summary, basically Um so, three trail baits that's a bit of a tongue twister, isn't it? Three trailblazing takeaways, um, so, for the women listening, I'm going to steal this from you and Tola, stop apologizing. I'm so happy that you spoke up at that dinner. Honestly, that was really grinding my gears. If it's more women kind of listening, stop apologizing, go for it, ask for more money? Um.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:13:19

Secondly is, if you're a bit like me in terms of you're such a doer and you want to go for it, I've learned the hard way how to put the brakes on myself. So the power of strategy, the strategic thinking, and I think the third thing there is is reach out for help. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Whether it's, as we were just saying, reaching out to mentors. You'd be surprised how much people are happy. It makes people feel good to help other people. So don't feel guilty, don't feel bad, don't feel like, oh, they're doing you such a big favor. People like to feel good as well. So just just remember that and put yourself out there.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:14:04

Steph, this has been amazing, as always. Lots of nuggets there, Um, you know I've written a few notes myself, things that need to take on board, but you know that's that's a cycle of life where we're always learning, and having great conversations with great women is is part of it. So thank you so much for joining.

Stephanie Melodia : 1:14:24

Fantastic. No, thank you so much for having me and thank you for again putting together this podcast. I I love what you're doing here and I really do hope that it helps inspire the women listeners to do better, go harder and make more money.

The Trailblazers Experience : 1:14:41

Love that. On that note, this has been the Trailblazers Experience podcast. You know where to find us and all streaming platforms. Please tell another woman about this podcast and remember to share, like and subscribe and stream and download. That's all we ask, thank you.