Straighten Your Crown

Confused by negotiations on valuation and dilution? Tired of not being heard by men? Feeling like the underdog negotiating against an investor who has 20x the deal experience? What you need is the advice of a seasoned investor you can trust. Enter this ground-breaking interview with Alda Leu Dennis, General Partner at Initialized Capital. Not only is Alda a former litigator (aka expert of experts!) and operator, she came highly recommended from a founder we trust. In this episode, Alda gifts all female founders her simple, laser sharp strategies for negotiating and winning. You’ll learn effective levers founders can use to negotiate on valuation, how important it is to understand what your counterparty cares about, and how to communicate in a way that will be heard. We hope this episode makes all the difference in your next round! Alda's bio: Alda Leu Dennis [https://twitter.com/AldaLeuDennis?s=20] is a General Partner at seed-stage investment firm, Initialized Capital [https://initialized.com/].She has over a decade of investing and legal experience and is focused on investing in startups with founders that are solving real world problems with software in sectors including famtech, consumer behavior, and underserved markets. Some of her investments include The Mom Project [https://themomproject.com/],A-Frame [https://www.aframebrands.com/],Kinside [https://www.kinside.com/]andAva [https://www.ava.me/].Before Initialized she was managing partner at 137 Ventures where she led investments in Planet Labs, Wish, Coupang, CourseHero, and Work Market (acquired by ADP). Previously she was COO at Airtime, General Counsel at Founders Fund, Assistant General Counsel at Peter Thiel’s Clarium Capital Management.

The key to mastering negotiations is mastering difficult conversations. Yet what makes difficult conversations difficult? How can you have them skillfully instead of avoiding them? As a founder, the most challenging aspects of your job probably boil down to maneuvering difficult conversations, whether they’re in fundraising, with your co-founder, or in delivering or receiving feedback. This interview with Amy gives you exactly the right tools and know-how to master any difficult conversation so that you can strengthen your relationships, and get what you want. Amy’s bio: Amy [http://www.amyjin.com] is a mindfulness-based leadership coach and speaker. Amy has coached mission-driven entrepreneurs backed by a16z, Female Founders Fund, First Round Capital, and executives at Google, Lyft, and Hinge. She utilizes the latest research in neuroscience and human behavior to empower her founders and has been trained by The Coaches Training Institute (CTI Co-Active). She is a pitching & public speaking expert and regularly speaks at tech & leadership conferences, accelerators, and universities. A negotiation nerd, she has been personally trained by Stuart Diamond, author of Getting More. A former tech executive, Amy launched & scaled first-of-kind products across the US and Europe. At Google, she led business development, including the successful international launch of Google Pay across Europe. Prior to that, Amy was the youngest member of the OpenTable sales team, where she won every sales award and helped build the company's revenue towards its 2009 IPO. In 2010, Amy co-founded MEI New York, a fashion startup aimed at empowering women. Amy brings the lessons of burnout, of working at startups of all sizes, and as an operator and co-founder to her coaching practice. Amy holds a B.A. in Psychology and Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a certified yoga teacher, a dedicated meditator, a tango and wine enthusiast, and has traveled to 46 countries. A passionate advocate for women, she is the co-host of Straighten Your Crown, a podcast for female founders. Her life's mission is to reduce human suffering, and her mantra is to lead with heart.

Did you know that your head is connected to the rest of your body? Why does that matter in negotiation? Does this apply to you: “I know what I need to do, but I feel bad”? What’s happening Meet Netysha Santos, an expert negotiator, coach, and teacher. Netysha honed her negotiation skills on wall street, in big tech (Google and Facebook), and is a trained negotiation instructor via Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. Yeah, when we said expert, we meant expert. From boxing to meditation, Netysha walks us through killer tools that change the way you enter and leave negotiations. She hones in on how womxn specifically can win in negotiations. Her sharp assessments will show you how to be the best steward of your vision in any circumstance. You’ll feel coached, just like we did. Netysha bio: With over 15 years of business experience ranging from Wall Street to Google and now Facebook, Netysha Santos has spent the bulk of her career on Wall Street and in Big Tech negotiating. Netysha holds an MBA from INSEAD and two bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Political Science from Rutgers University.  She is a PCC with the ICF and a trained negotiations instructor via Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.  She currently lives in Paris with her family.

Second in our negotiation series is an in-depth interview with our very own host, Andrea Minkow! Ever wish you could sit down with a seasoned, caring founder who’s dedicated her life to helping other founders? That’s what you get in this interview with Andrea: best-in-class coaching advice, from direct experience, for how founders can win in fundraising negotiations. Andrea gives us the words, questions, and mindset to make killer deals. She shares with us the art form of negotiation, how to set expectations, and align interests. Most importantly, she gives us the magic for how to find ourselves in negotiations, how to care for fear, and how we can show up: “This version of you is going for the invention of new opportunities. She’s not bound by convention.” Goosebumps!!! Tune in now. Andrea’s bio Andrea is the secret weapon, cheerleader and advisor for second career female entrepreneurs and CEO’s. As an entrepreneur herself she has lived through starting a company and raising 2 rounds of capital.  With 15+ years of creating award winning, impactful work, Andrea is a business strategist with expertise in crafting value propositions, marketing, branding, visual design, technology strategy for companies like, SAP, Intel, Stanford University, Nike and the New York City Marathon. Andrea helps second career female entrepreneurs because she knows both the pain points and expertise needed to start your own business. From the highest highs to the lowest lows, she has seen it all. And she has come out on top. After working in politics for leaders such as Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid, Andrea moved into creating world-class experiences for companies like Unilever and Under Armor and eventually cofounding an event software management company. Whether it’s politics or business, brand impact or human connection, she understands what makes both businesses and people thrive. She may be a nationally recognized speaker, writer and strategist on female entrepreneurship, technology, politics and business, but Andrea’s not all work. She also loves to play! From sailing to skiing, to hiking with her poodle, Reuben, Andrea loves to be outside and enjoy everything life has to offer. https://andreaminkow.com/

First up in our negotiation series is star mediator and negotiation teacher, Erin Gleason Alvarez. If you’ve got a negotiation boogie man hiding under your bed, Erin’s smart tools and mindful approach will vanquish your fears and empower you. You’ll realize that negotiation is a survival skill we cultivate early on in life and use hundreds of times every day - meaning, you’re already a skilled negotiator! (What a relief!) You’ll learn how to show up in perceived power differentials, such as when we’re the only woman in the room. (Her elegant answer? “Their behavior is not my fault.” BOOM!) Whether you’re closing deals, hiring/firing, or negotiating with your family, Erin shares ingenious ways to lead with mindfulness and positivity in negotiation. You’ll feel more confident, more creative, and as women, more authentic. You might even walk away with tips to manage imposter syndrome. Erin's Bio: Erin Gleason Alvarez is a mediator, an arbitrator, and an attorney who has been teaching negotiation theory and practice for over fifteen years. She is the CEO of Take Charge Negotiations, which she founded to transform negotiation into a dialogue grounded in mindfulness and positivity. Her online membership community, Compass by Take Charge Negotiations, provides members with a space to learn, practice, and share their journey toward more collaborative and rewarding negotiation experiences and outcomes. https://goop.com/wellness/career-money/why-mindfulness-is-key-to-negotiating/ [https://goop.com/wellness/career-money/why-mindfulness-is-key-to-negotiating/] https://www.takechargenegotiate.com/ [https://www.takechargenegotiate.com/]