We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacyann Russell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stacyann , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
There are two keys to me either staying in a high state of confidence or getting back to one quickly. The first is making sure I place my confidence in things that I have control over and that have a sure foundation. For me that largely evolves around my faith and my behaviors rather than outcomes. The other thing is keeping people around me who can remind me about who I am when I lose sight of that for myself. This takes the pressure off me to always “be” something. Instead, I can be present with what is happening and what I’m feeling while knowing where to go for help or perspective. It also allows me to enjoy more of my journey.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an innovation and startup strategist. This means I work with organizations to find creative ways to solve a market need through launching either a new product or a new business. My background as an engineer allows me to do this with deep technologies (inventions) as well as highly tech-enabled solutions. The exciting part is I get the opportunity to see 500-800 startup ideas in any given year. I love the way this keeps me sharp and at the frontier of cutting-edge technology. It also allows me to have meaningful events and conversations which make it more accessible for people with product and business ideas to get to market. We do this through an innovation night that is open to the public where people can pitch their ideas and get connected with ecosystem players that can help them get to their next major milestone. We also host strategic conversations with people who can specifically remove barriers along the startup journey about how we can get more ideas on the path to market delivery.
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?
Three key qualities that have helped me on my journey are: remaining curious, having empathy, and knowing when to ask for help. Most people are so concerned with “becoming” an entrepreneur that they forget the importance of remaining one. Sustainability matters.
Remaining curious allows me to be agile and responsive in my business. I always assume that there is more to learn. This keeps me humble and open to learning something that I wasn’t aware I didn’t know. You’d be surprised at how many entrepreneurs think they know more than their customers. It’s alarming. A customer may not know how to solve their problem, but they know what they’re willing to pay for. Being empathetic towards people’s experiences is the first step to meaningfully helping someone. It’s less about the solution and more about the outcome you’re looking to change.
Finally, asking for help is crucial. There’s not a person out here who is self-made I don’t care what they say lol. We all need help at some point. Getting good at knowing when you need help and then reacting quickly to that is important to staying on the journey be it personal or professional.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I love a good collaboration! Right now I’m looking to connect with three types of individuals. The first are directors or program managers who provide training and/or services to founders and small businesses. We have a robust curriculum and services around community engagement and coaching. Second, we would like to connect with individuals who play a key role in advancing a product or business to market. This could be an economic development officer, VC fund manager, lawyer, or head of supplier diversity. We would love to get connected on how we might help get valuable ideas further along in their market entry journey. Last, we would like to get connected with blockchain engineers. We have access to some cool projects that may be of interest to you. Any interested parties can shoot us an email at [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: https://darajacollective.com/
- Instagram: @thedarajac
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/daraja-collective
