We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sunny Stroeer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sunny, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?
Starting an expedition company and directing mountaineering expeditions as a young woman can feel pretty isolating at times. Most mountaineering guides are men, and the vast majority of expedition company founders and owners are men. The stark gender gap invites scrutiny and criticism from third parties, as well as imposter syndrome from within. I have learned that, in order to be effective as the founder and owner of AWExpeditions, I need to silence the detracting voices and focus on my internal compass that helps me hone in to what I know is necessary and right.
My past education and professional background have proven helpful in that – I earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and spent my twenties working for top-tier employers such as Bain & Company, where the notion of defining and following your own “True North” was a guiding principle.
The other thing that has been helpful is to reach out and actively pursue community. Over the years I have found several other women who are building companies that, while not directly analogous to AWExpeditions, are similar enough that their existence makes my position feel a bit less insular.
In the end, it all boils down to this: Believe in yourself, believe in what you’re doing, and remember why you’re doing it. Then get to work and get it done.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the founder and owner of AWExpeditions (“awe” for short) which is a mountaineering company for women and by women. Going off on big expeditions and climbing big mountains is incredibly empowering – and it’s mostly the domain of middle-aged affluent white men. There are many women out there who are interested in mountaineering and climbing big peaks but it can be hard for us to enter the space. From a lack of women role models and mentors, to being potentially the only woman or one of very few women on a co-ed climbing team, to having to drop your pants and pee on a glacier without being able to take your climbing harness off or unroping from your climbing partners – there are many reasons why the mountains aren’t always welcoming to women. AWE is unique because we offer mountaineering and backcountry adventures for all-women teams, supported by all-women guides and staff where possible.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Stubbornness, passion, and ignorance (or, to phrase the latter more kindly, a high comfort level with uncertainty) – I think these are natural qualities for any entrepreneur.
On a more serious note, the hard skills that helped me tremendously in getting AWExpeditions off the ground were my background in storytelling and photography, subject matter expertise as a passionate mountaineer, and my past experience as an MBA and strategy consultant. My advice for those three areas:
1) If you have a chance to pursue an MBA or another general business education, take it. If you can’t pursue a formal education, read all the books and listen to all the podcasts.
2) Make sure you are passionate about the area that you are starting your business in, and don’t ever forget about that passion – it’s what will drive your curiosity and motivation to continue learning and getting better at whatever “it” is.
3) Make story telling a priority and practice, practice, practice. Tell your story, take 1000 photos, then take 1000 more. Always think about how you can get better at story telling, be it with words, still images, or moving images. Being able to serve as the creative mastermind behind how your story reaches the world is priceless.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
I remember looking at this very question in business school. Donald Clifton and James Harter wrote a white paper on the very topic, and the answer was clear: Invest in your strengths and you will improve exponentially. Invest in your weaknesses, and you will only be able to improve incrementally – so it is better to double down on your strengths, and find a way to compensate for your weaknesses. In my mind, this means hiring others to address areas that I am not great in: desk-based customer service, accounting, complex web design, and the like.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.awexpeditions.org | www.sunnystroeer.com
- Instagram:www.instagram.com/awexpeditions | www.instagram.com/sstroeer
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AWEClimbing
Image Credits
Sunny Stroeer
