Meet Syama Bunten

We were lucky to catch up with Syama Bunten recently and have shared our conversation below.

Syama, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

I launched Getting Rich Together, an expander podcast to hear stories of successful women, because I found in my financial journey a need to hear other stories. These women have all stepped forward to generously share their wealth creation and financial stories. My generosity to share these stories with the world comes from a deep desire to help more women become financially active. Its shocking to find out that if women invested at the same rate as men did we would have an extra $3T + in th global economy. Imagine what change could happen in the world if we had the capital to invest in the people, businesses and ideas we believe in. More capital allows us to create the world we want to see.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

5 years ago I sent out an email to 50 girlfriends asking them about money. I was going through a divorce and wanted to know how they managed their money, how they invested it, and where they got their information from. I was surprised by how many were disconnected from their investments with their wealth managers, how many of them didn’t think they had enough money to be active with and then there were the few who said, YES Syama, I want to learn more with you. That began a process of closing financial gaps. I enrolled in the VC course at Columbia, joined a number of angel syndicates, started talking to wealth advisors, attended the webinars…all the things. I soon started to lead conversations within the communities I am a part of and realized that when I raised my hands within these groups, others would raise their hands too. This is how Getting Rich Together, my new podcast on women and wealth, got started. I raised my hand, I was vulnerable. My vulnerability gave the permission for others to be vulnerable too. This podcast highlights wealth creation stories from incredible women.

There are three interviews that stand out the most to me, as of today are;

1. Nyakio Greico, the founder of Nyakio beauty (exited to Unilever), and founder of ThirteenLune, and Relevant Skincare. I appreciate her journey to being a young founder at 27, fundraising in LA before it was cool, and how she’s navigated her exit and launching new businesses.

2. Amy Jo Martin, the founder of Renegade Global, a global community of women leaders and investors, NYT BestSelling Author and speaker. I adore Ajo’s strength in her vulnerability as she shares about growing up in a trailer park to how she is creating legacy through investing and empowering other women to create generational wealth.

3. Joanne Bradford, C-Suite leader, advisor, mentor and investor. Joanne has led a powerful career shaping the businesses of brands like Pinterest and SoFi. She advises powerful organizations like the FemaleQuotient, and is a female financial evangelist. What draws me to Joanne is how clear she is about her values, and her ability to articulate her power.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I’ve learned quite a bit from these interviews. Amongst all the lessons the below stand out to me.

1. When investing , pick what you are passionate about and become obsessed with it or hire somone who is obsessed with it. This is what makes the difference between a great angel investor and a great LP (Limited Partner) vs. a haphazard one. (I know great funds that are looking for more women LP’s.)

2. In your early days of investing you are learning. Consider any money lost on an investment the cost of your education. Take incremental, informed risk.

3. Stoke the fire in your belly to create change in the world. Change on the micro and macro levels are all impactful. This could mean having the funds to be a powerful philanthropist, to creating grants for startups or investing in late stage bio-tech or space ventures. Even the conversations we have with our kids are impactful micro level conversations that could have massive long term impact.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am looking to speak with other women who identify as successful to be on the Getting Rich Together podcast. Focused on storytelling, not prescriptive strategies, these interviews highlight all the ways to build wealth. From investing in mobile home parks to entrepreneurship, and strategic career building. I believe that women need to see what is possible to expand their options. Whether they’ve inherited their wealth or built it from the ground up, being active in building a financial future is the name of the game. I’m looking to interview women who are ready to share they are doing it. You may or may not have arrived at your North Star yet, but everything is possible and through sharing our stories we expand others possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.syamabunten.com
• Instagram: gettingrichpod
• Linkedin: syamameagher
• Twitter: syamameagher

Image Credits

Wendy Yalom