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What's Missing in Traditional Venture Acceleration? Melissa Wallace Reveals How to Fill the Gaps for Women Founders!
Episode 921st January 2025 • #WisdomOfWomen • A Force for Good Inc.
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Episode Description:

In today's episode of #WisdomOfWomen, Coco Sellman sits down with Melissa Wallace, the pioneering entrepreneur behind Fierce Foundry. 

What You'll Gain By Listening In:

Melissa, with over 25 years in consumer, B2B, D2C, and creative agency sectors, shares invaluable insights on bridging the funding gap for women founders through a unique venture studio model. Listeners will gain practical advice and strategic insights on navigating the complex landscape of entrepreneurship and investment.

Takeaways:

  • Fierce Foundry aims to empower women entrepreneurs by addressing the funding gap they face in business.
  • Melissa Wallace emphasizes the importance of combining capital investment with expert services for startup success.
  • The studio model provides a supportive ecosystem, increasing the chances of success for women-led startups.
  • Building a successful venture requires understanding the customer and tailoring products to their needs.
  • Melissa recommends Carrie Kirpin's book 'Work It' as a significant source of inspiration for aspiring female entrepreneurs.
  • The stages of development for startups at Fierce Foundry include ideation, product marketing, fundraising, and growth.

Chapters:

00:08 Amplifying Women's Voices in Business

04:55 Fierce Foundry: Empowering Women Founders

13:24 Focusing on Femtech: A New Era for Female Founders

19:39 Stages of Growth in Femtech

26:05 Understanding Customer Engagement

29:59 The Importance of Founding Teams in Startups

37:51 Transforming Fear into Excitement

BURNING QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

1.How does Fierce Foundry differentiate itself from traditional venture accelerators?

  • Introduction to Fierce Foundry’s unique venture studio model.
  • The comprehensive support system offered from ideation to growth.

2.What inspired the creation of Fierce Foundry?

  • Melissa’s journey from marketing expert to empowering female entrepreneurs.
  • The vision behind focusing on Femtech and supporting women-led startups.

3.What types of ventures or companies does Fierce Foundry invest in or partner with?

  • Focus on innovative products like AI tools for dementia care and investment tools for women.
  • The strategic importance of Femtech and the potential for high-impact returns.

4.How does Fierce Foundry support founders through different stages of their business?

  • Detailed breakdown of the four stages of founder development: Ideation, Marketing, Fundraising, and Growth.
  • The role of customer engagement and avoiding common pitfalls.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

  • Melissa Wallace: "Turning fear into excitement transforms the entrepreneurial journey into a thrilling adventure."
  • Coco Sellman: "Empowering women in business isn’t just about funding; it’s about structuring success from the ground up."

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

This episode of #WisdomOfWomen not only highlights the innovative approaches of Fierce Foundry but also serves as a beacon of inspiration for women entrepreneurs seeking to make significant impacts in their fields. Melissa Wallace’s expertise and the supportive ecosystem of Fierce Foundry provide a roadmap for success that many women founders will find invaluable.


OFFERS & CONTACT INFORMATION:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissahudsonwallace/ 

LinkedIn – Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fierce-foundry/posts/?feedView=all 

Website: https://www.thefiercefoundry.com/ 

Email: info@thefiercefoundry.com 


Follow the #WisdomOfWomen show for more inspiring stories and insights from trailblazing women founders, investors, and experts in growth and prosperity.

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/yja3w7nh

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/4tak8ajk 

Amazon Prime: https://tinyurl.com/366syddj 

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/bdhananz 

RSS Feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/womengetfunded/ 


Coco Sellman, the host of #WisdomOfWomen, believes business is a force for good, especially with visionary women at the helm. With over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, she has launched five companies and guided over 500 startups. As Founder & CEO of A Force for Good, Coco supports purpose-driven women founders in unlocking exponential growth and prosperity. Her recent venture, Allumé Home Care, reached eight-figure revenues and seven-figure profits in just four years before a successful exit in 2024. A venture investor and board director, Coco’s upcoming book, *A Force for Good*, reveals a roadmap for women to lead high-impact, high-growth companies.

Learn more about A Force for Good:

Website: https://aforceforgood.biz/ 

Are Your GROWING or PLATEAUING? https://aforceforgood.biz/quiz/

1-Day Growth Plan: https://aforceforgood.biz/free-plan/ 

FFG Tool of the Week: https://aforceforgood.biz/weekly-tool/ 

The Book:  https://aforceforgood.biz/book/ 

Growth Accelerator: https://aforceforgood.biz/accelerator/ 

Transcripts

Coco Selman:

Welcome to the Wisdom of Women Show.

Coco Selman:

We are dedicated to amplifying the voice of women in business.

Coco Selman:

A new model of leadership is emerging and we are here to amplify the voices of women leading the way.

Coco Selman:

I am your host, Coco Selman, five time founder and impact investor and creator of the Force for Good system.

Coco Selman:

Thank you for joining us today as we illuminate the path to unlocking opportunities, opportunities and prosperity for women led enterprises by amplifying the voice and wisdom of women today.

Coco Selman:

We have a very special guest who is here to talk to us about how she is creating a very unique ecosystem to help women founders thrive and prosper.

Coco Selman:

Melissa Wallace is a trailblazing entrepreneur and marketing expert.

Coco Selman:

Boasting over 25 years of experience in consumer B2B, D2C and creative agency sectors with a focus on cutting edge technologies and entertainment.

Coco Selman:

Melissa has held key positions at Superfly, DirecTV, A, E and eMusic.

Coco Selman:

Renowned for revitalizing startup marketing strategies.

Coco Selman:

was acquired by Salesforce in:

Coco Selman:

o Marketing Collective and in:

Coco Selman:

The pioneering femtech venture studio empowering women led startups.

Coco Selman:

Melissa's dedication and vision can continue to transform the tech industry landscape.

Coco Selman:

It is such a pleasure to welcome you Melissa.

Melissa Wallace:

Thank you so much for having me.

Melissa Wallace:

I'm excited to be here.

Melissa Wallace:

Yay.

Coco Selman:

We're happy to have you and Fierce Foundry, just the sound of it alone, it seems like something we all want to be part of.

Coco Selman:

Fierce Foundry is great.

Coco Selman:

So Melissa, what is one book written by a woman that has significantly influenced your life?

Melissa Wallace:

I am so glad that I've listened to your podcast because I knew this was coming and I have, you know, you specifically say by a woman, which you know, I've read a lot of books.

Melissa Wallace:

Not many of them are by women that had influenced my life.

Melissa Wallace:

But I had to go through and think, you know, for a minute there and one right away I was like, oh yes, this is the one I'm going to share.

Melissa Wallace:

It's a book called Work it by Carrie Kirpin.

Melissa Wallace:

And I read this book.

Melissa Wallace:

I want to say it was:

Melissa Wallace:

We just bought a house.

Melissa Wallace:

So much going on and I'm sitting there interviewing for fabulous opportunities but knowing that I wanted nothing to do with these roles.

Melissa Wallace:

And after reading this book, which is like a compilation of strong women telling their stories and providing guidance, probably for women younger than me.

Melissa Wallace:

But you know what, that's okay because it was the perfect time in my life where I said, you know what?

Melissa Wallace:

I'm starting my own business.

Melissa Wallace:

And it really empowered me to think differently.

Melissa Wallace:

There was a whole chapter about, you know, understand trusting your instinct, which was something I never did.

Melissa Wallace:

I was against my instinct.

Melissa Wallace:

And to this day, it's a regular part of my meditate, meditation practice because of how it's impacted my journey.

Melissa Wallace:

So if you haven't read it, check it out.

Melissa Wallace:

Carrie Kirpin.

Melissa Wallace:

Actually, I think she's coming out with another book this year, so get on that one first.

Coco Selman:

Amazing.

Coco Selman:

You know, and Carrie Kpin is like a name that comes up a lot.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Coco Selman:

You know, she.

Coco Selman:

And so I, I feel like it's.

Coco Selman:

This is a wonderful recommendation.

Coco Selman:

I have not read this book and I will pick it up.

Melissa Wallace:

I just want.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah, it's why I asked question.

Coco Selman:

It's a selfish question.

Coco Selman:

I'm always like, what are you reading?

Melissa Wallace:

Oh yeah, we need all the ideas, especially books written, business books written by women.

Melissa Wallace:

Like give them, give them all to me.

Melissa Wallace:

I want to, I want to read them all.

Coco Selman:

Yes, it's that wisdom.

Coco Selman:

It's the, it's a different spin on, on how to, how to be great and it's, it's nice to hear from other women.

Coco Selman:

So thank you for that wonderful recommendation.

Coco Selman:

So I really just want to dive in and hear all about Fierce Foundry.

Coco Selman:

So you're addressing the funding gap for women founders.

Coco Selman:

So tell us, what is Fierce Foundry and what inspired you to create this unique venture studio model?

Melissa Wallace:

So we, I started my, my marketing agency with my co founder, Laura Mayorano, and you know, to work with early stage startups.

Melissa Wallace:

It was absolutely my passion where I wanted to be.

Melissa Wallace:

And we were meeting a lot of women who were coming to us saying, I have an investor who's interested, but they want to see customers and traction.

Melissa Wallace:

But they had like $200,000 in the bank and brilliant ideas.

Melissa Wallace:

Working prototypes had gotten very far, but certainly not enough.

Melissa Wallace:

Like if you're going to use that money, you need to rethink where you're putting that.

Melissa Wallace:

Marketing was certainly not where we thought they should be putting those funds, but we also didn't want to walk away from them.

Melissa Wallace:

So we started volunteering our marketing services once per quarter to a female founder because it's this, you know, getting over that, like bridging that gap was, was almost impossible.

Melissa Wallace:

So, so that's how it started.

Melissa Wallace:

We started to find other people who wanted to volunteer their time, like creative designers and develop financial experts.

Melissa Wallace:

And it became a bit of a mentoring community that continued to grow.

Melissa Wallace:

We would have events and AMAs and it was great.

Melissa Wallace:

But last year I sat down with the board and said, we have this amazing network.

Melissa Wallace:

We can do more, we need to have more impact.

Melissa Wallace:

And five Foot two Marketing, my marketing agency was connected to a studio.

Melissa Wallace:

We were one of the studio partners responsible for marketing at that very specific stage within the studio.

Melissa Wallace:

So the studio would come up with the idea, find a founder, connect it and provide all the services.

Melissa Wallace:

And we were one of the service providers.

Melissa Wallace:

So I was familiar with the model, but I decided to dig in a little bit deeper, read a few books and came back at the end of the summer and said, this is what we have to do.

Melissa Wallace:

And the studio model.

Melissa Wallace:

So studio is sort of the other option from say, going straight to VC and getting your funding.

Melissa Wallace:

It's funding, it's a capital investment.

Melissa Wallace:

Plus the studio co founds the company with the founder so that all of the services come from experts.

Melissa Wallace:

It's kind of like accelerators on steroids where we're covering all these services from idea all the way to exit.

Melissa Wallace:

And the way that we work this, our objective is to exit these companies in less than seven years.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Melissa Wallace:

That these female founders go on and invest in more women and become just like you, Coco.

Melissa Wallace:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

This is what we want to do.

Melissa Wallace:

We want to get more of you out there where it's an opportunity to fuel that flywheel.

Melissa Wallace:

That is really the only way that we're going to change this ecosystem.

Melissa Wallace:

So.

Melissa Wallace:

So that's why we chose the studio model.

Melissa Wallace:

I know it's, it's much more complex than just that, but that's, that's why we're doing it.

Melissa Wallace:

And we believe, and we know, we know that that founders that go through a studio model are 30% more successful than just going out and fundraising on their own.

Melissa Wallace:

So, you know, we've got that.

Coco Selman:

It makes so much sense to me because when you.

Coco Selman:

Part of the challenge, you know, in my experience is you do have such limited funds and you can't afford all the experts that you need.

Coco Selman:

And you, you know, and you don't have the personal experience either to, to know what really works in all these different kinds of ways.

Coco Selman:

Like, you know, it's.

Coco Selman:

It costs you a lot of money trial and erring, you know, it really doesn't.

Melissa Wallace:

We don't have that money to spare.

Coco Selman:

You don't, you don't.

Coco Selman:

You don't.

Coco Selman:

You have to, you have to get further faster and, and that's what I know your whole idea is around is getting further, faster, more efficiently, and doing it in a community of people that are genuinely aligned with your needs and helping you get there.

Coco Selman:

So how is Fierce Foundry so, you know, maybe unpack a little bit for us?

Coco Selman:

Like, how is it different from a traditional venture or accelerator program?

Coco Selman:

And why do you believe it can make such a lasting impact?

Melissa Wallace:

So, first and foremost, we are.

Melissa Wallace:

We're a co founder, so we're not.

Melissa Wallace:

It's not just a capital investment.

Melissa Wallace:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

So we have skin in the game too.

Melissa Wallace:

And we know that if we can structure a model that has, in our case, four very specific stages and we can support the founder, again from a female perspective, which is, I think, really key too, because women have the potential to be incredibly successful if they have the right resources.

Melissa Wallace:

And it's not just something you might get at an accelerator, which, and I hate this term is, you know, cookie cutter.

Melissa Wallace:

You come in, you go through the program, and you.

Melissa Wallace:

And you come out right now.

Melissa Wallace:

I have participated in accelerators.

Melissa Wallace:

I'm a mentor at many accelerators, and I love these programs.

Melissa Wallace:

And I think that they offer, you know, especially for the right founders, it can be the perfect fit for what they need.

Melissa Wallace:

But we're literally starting at the very, very early stage, so we have the opportunity to some degree de risk the company's path forward.

Melissa Wallace:

So if for some reason we get through a certain stage and we realize that, oh, we're learning that the product market fit is not there, for example, we have the right team right there immediately to help in that pivot and the next stage or make the decision that we're not going to move forward.

Melissa Wallace:

And that's really, really challenging for founders to do on their own, especially women, because we are connected to our ideas and they become our babies, and we want to help drive that path to success.

Melissa Wallace:

So the studio model allows us to do that, and we're with you through the whole thing.

Melissa Wallace:

Harry Kirkman is on the, in the last stage of, you know, as our exit whisperer, to come in and, you know, several years before the exit will take place to really define that path, which, you know, as a founder, you don't have time to even think about that.

Coco Selman:

And you really do need a couple of years just to think about exit and like, getting your organization in order and professionalizing and understanding what those buyers might want and need, you know, from the organization, who those buyers might be and what their particular.

Coco Selman:

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Coco Selman:

I fully, fully, fully agree.

Coco Selman:

So it's, it's so many good Things about this, I really feel like, what are the best types of ventures or companies that you invest in or you partner with?

Melissa Wallace:

Yes.

Melissa Wallace:

So right now.

Melissa Wallace:

So, yes, we've been around for a year, which is a lifetime.

Melissa Wallace:

I know.

Coco Selman:

It's also, it's, you know, I know it's like a lot happens in a.

Melissa Wallace:

Year and so much has happened.

Melissa Wallace:

You know, we've met with over 50 founders and we've brought on just about 80 partners to work with.

Melissa Wallace:

So that's a lot of meetings in itself to happen in here.

Melissa Wallace:

Forget about investors and everybody else that we've met with.

Melissa Wallace:

But in the last year, we learned very quickly that we needed to have proof of concept.

Melissa Wallace:

The studio model is.

Melissa Wallace:

It's not new, but at the same time, it's very fresh and emerging.

Melissa Wallace:

And so we're in the process of focusing on three companies and we decided that our thesis would be focused in femtech.

Melissa Wallace:

80% of femtech founders are women.

Melissa Wallace:

So it just makes sense because not only that, think of, you know, the, the.

Melissa Wallace:

The less than 2% of female founders getting funding, you know, 80% of female femtech founders are women.

Melissa Wallace:

So that means that there's these ideas and products and services that are for women and the people in their lives that will never see the light of day.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

And so that's why that's where we have to focus first.

Melissa Wallace:

The other sort of benefit to this area, this, the femtech focus, is that we're seeing exits happen in a shorter timeframe.

Melissa Wallace:

There's a lot of interest.

Melissa Wallace:

It's a growing market.

Melissa Wallace:

ink it could be a trillion by:

Melissa Wallace:

So this just, you know, we're putting all the numbers together and we're thinking about how, how we're going to get where we're going.

Melissa Wallace:

And femtech, defined, again by us very broadly, it's not specifically health or medical devices.

Melissa Wallace:

It is products and services that benefit women and the people in their lives.

Melissa Wallace:

And so the first two companies that we are focused on, and we're actually looking for a third.

Melissa Wallace:

So founders out there, you know, listen, listen close.

Melissa Wallace:

The first two products, one is an AI tool for dementia patients and their caregivers.

Melissa Wallace:

The second is an investment tool for women.

Melissa Wallace:

Imagine NOOM meets E Trade.

Melissa Wallace:

Proper accountability, gamification, but the right kind of education and the right opportunities for investment.

Melissa Wallace:

And then for a third, there's many of us in the group so far that really want a menopause PAWS product or service.

Melissa Wallace:

So we're actively seeking and speaking to founders in that realm right now.

Coco Selman:

That is amazing.

Coco Selman:

And I love this, all these, these, the dimensions that you're talking about.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

And so AI for people with dementia and their families, which, you know, I know this, this, this, this group, this, this whole demographic and they're in the challenges of families when they're trying to take care.

Coco Selman:

Goodness.

Coco Selman:

And I was just talking about this challenge with somebody else and investing in women and how often women are really good with philanthropy.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

Yes.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

And they can be smart and savvy with a budget.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

Handling.

Coco Selman:

But, but, but they don't know necessarily how to invest and themselves like their future.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Coco Selman:

Yes.

Melissa Wallace:

I mean, you know, I mean, I know.

Coco Selman:

I mean I, I just turned 50 and it's, it's a, I've had, I've made investments over the years in various things and I'm just now starting to realize how, how afraid I have been and how like I look for permission from somebody else, my husband, to do these things.

Coco Selman:

And it's complete, you know, crap.

Coco Selman:

You know, it's, it's so.

Melissa Wallace:

But it doesn't need to be the way that men have experienced it.

Melissa Wallace:

It can be our way.

Melissa Wallace:

It can be in a way that gives us that comfort level and.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

Well.

Coco Selman:

And it's not, it's actually not my husband who would ever try to tell me what I should invest in.

Coco Selman:

It's, it's all.

Coco Selman:

But, but it's just, I think this is such an important product.

Coco Selman:

And then of course, you know, menopause is, is a growing number.

Coco Selman:

You know, we're all getting a little older and, and it's been for a long time that there hasn't been enough focus on it.

Melissa Wallace:

So there's still, there's still.

Melissa Wallace:

I mean, there's great stuff.

Melissa Wallace:

Electra.

Melissa Wallace:

What Electra is doing is amazing.

Melissa Wallace:

And I can go on, but as another member of the, the newly added to the 50s club, I can say like, wow.

Melissa Wallace:

And, and it's terrible that we realize it now and I know it's like so much you can do at an early age that would benefit.

Melissa Wallace:

So we'll, we'll find.

Coco Selman:

I love how, I love how femtech in your, in your, in your definition too really does sort of.

Melissa Wallace:

It's.

Coco Selman:

It's different.

Coco Selman:

It's not.

Coco Selman:

It's beyond what you might just think of like, you know, whatever you might.

Coco Selman:

So I really want to hear more about your stages because I, because I, I looked on your website and I could see that you have a process to bring your founders together and you take them through These four stages.

Coco Selman:

And I think for our founders who are listening, it would be helpful for you, for us to know how you work with founders in each stage.

Coco Selman:

And hopefully we, we can all be thinking about where we are in each of these stages and you know, like, if this is a recipe you put together that works, there's a lot for us to gather, whether or not we're a fit or not for Fierce Foundry.

Coco Selman:

Right, so you've.

Coco Selman:

Right, so, so tell us about your sort of process and your belief system around what creates sustainable growth.

Melissa Wallace:

Absolutely.

Melissa Wallace:

So I will start by saying we actually have decided to relaunch that community that I mentioned earlier that we pivoted to here, which is allowing us to think about these stages and have it filtered down to members who may not be co founded with us, but giving them access to the tracks within each stage.

Melissa Wallace:

So anybody interested?

Melissa Wallace:

You know, we don't, we're not going to turn anybody away.

Melissa Wallace:

We're going to find a way to provide these resources as we, we build them out further.

Melissa Wallace:

So, so in the first stage is really ideation and analysis.

Melissa Wallace:

This is, it's a combination of us going out and exploring ideas that we're interested in, like right now, menopause.

Melissa Wallace:

We're also looking into different types of cardiovascular products and services that I think are really important for women right now.

Coco Selman:

And the number one, the number one killer of women.

Melissa Wallace:

Right?

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah, yeah.

Melissa Wallace:

And the lack of information, again, is all part of this.

Melissa Wallace:

So, so we have ideas that we're looking for founders who might be building products and services around.

Melissa Wallace:

We also have women that we meet that are looking to do something new and we bring them into this ideation and analysis stage.

Melissa Wallace:

Our investment app is the perfect example of that, where we have someone who is a perfect fit, an amazing entrepreneur to come in and build this product.

Melissa Wallace:

So that's an ongoing process for us in that stage.

Melissa Wallace:

And when we start to sit down with founders that we think are the right fit, we then take them through an initial market analysis.

Melissa Wallace:

Who is the customer, we kind of dig into the details of what this might look like, how much we could charge, what does the financial model look like?

Melissa Wallace:

And then we have a wonderful woman, Teresa Neal, who heads up our product side of things, who comes in and says, okay, let me see what kind of lift this is from a design and development perspective.

Melissa Wallace:

Because what we want to do is in this stage is really assess the opportunity to work with a product or service that can be built quickly but still be really impactful.

Melissa Wallace:

So she provides feedback on that.

Melissa Wallace:

Then we have A whole sort of validation process that those companies go through.

Melissa Wallace:

And we move into what's kind of stage one, Stage two, kind of little bit of a gray area into stage two where we do product marketing.

Melissa Wallace:

So developing, positioning, messaging, going deeper into market research and truly understanding the product that we need to build, moving into design and producing a beta that we can go out and market test.

Melissa Wallace:

Once we get there, then we know what's gonna happen next.

Melissa Wallace:

And the next part is where, okay, now we're gonna start fundraising in stage three, because we wanna go to market.

Melissa Wallace:

So now if we have a direct capital investment that helps us get through the first two stages.

Melissa Wallace:

But then when we get to stage three, depending upon the size of what we're building and the market we're going after, that could require additional fundraising.

Melissa Wallace:

So we have people like Katie Dunn on our team, you know, Katie Dunn from Power to Pitch, who is, you know, helping us in preparing for that stage.

Melissa Wallace:

And then the go to market is, you know, basically getting the product ready, getting a full push out and starting to generate revenue.

Melissa Wallace:

Our goal would be to really have these products and services making lots of money early on.

Melissa Wallace:

There isn't a requirement for future funding because it's already a challenge as it is.

Melissa Wallace:

And then the final stage is grow and exit.

Melissa Wallace:

Now our objective is to get to an exit and we will do that.

Melissa Wallace:

And most of the founders that we've met with are on board with that.

Melissa Wallace:

But there could come a change in heart and ideas, and we're going to be very flexible to kind of what happens in the end there, if there's an opportunity.

Melissa Wallace:

So think about those four stages, then think about there's tracks, right?

Melissa Wallace:

So I just told you about the product track, but there's also the business track.

Melissa Wallace:

So we have educators that will come in and implementers who will help set up systems, from setting up your QuickBooks to organizing your CRM, all of those pieces.

Melissa Wallace:

And those are the things that will funnel down to the what we call fierce founders community, which is open to anyone.

Melissa Wallace:

And then there's my favorite and most important track is founder development.

Melissa Wallace:

And this is a combination of founder therapy.

Melissa Wallace:

So if there's co founders involved or if the founder themselves are having a moment that they need support in a different way, that will be a regular component of that and other types of support as women need when they're building something wonderful.

Coco Selman:

That is so cool.

Coco Selman:

I mean, it's really comprehensive in all the ways.

Coco Selman:

So you take a co founder role, so you sort of operate.

Coco Selman:

How does that work?

Coco Selman:

So you're obviously you have to set up a pretty, pretty detailed agreement, arrangements.

Melissa Wallace:

We've been working several months now on finalizing those agreements.

Melissa Wallace:

And I'll give a shout out to Leslie Cohen, who has been an amazing advisor and her team has been fantastic to work with.

Melissa Wallace:

But yes, there's a lot going into this agreement.

Melissa Wallace:

But we, we, we're making sure that the founders are the owners of their companies.

Coco Selman:

Right, so they own most of it.

Melissa Wallace:

Yes, absolutely.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Melissa Wallace:

And they will, you know, they'll be the final say in decisions that are made, but we'll have our place where we are engaged at a very important level.

Coco Selman:

I love it.

Coco Selman:

I love it.

Coco Selman:

It's so, so cool.

Coco Selman:

And so right now, so before I go into, I want to talk to you about the, how you raise funds and, you know, what you're, what you're trying to do, your big goals right now.

Coco Selman:

So what have you learned in this experience as well as through all your other experiences working with startups and helping them grow?

Coco Selman:

Like, what are some of the big lessons you've learned about what works and what doesn't work?

Melissa Wallace:

There's so much there.

Melissa Wallace:

I, I can start on the marketing side and I can tell you that if you don't have enough money to spend in marketing, then you shouldn't be marketing.

Melissa Wallace:

I, that's a mistake.

Melissa Wallace:

We see all the time, you know, we, we ask at the marketing agency, we ask, like, what is your budget?

Melissa Wallace:

You know, I'm open.

Melissa Wallace:

You know, it's no, no, no, no, no, no budget.

Melissa Wallace:

And I'm going to tell you honestly if I think you should be hiring us or not.

Melissa Wallace:

And that's that.

Melissa Wallace:

Right?

Melissa Wallace:

Like, that is the, I think one of the biggest challenges I think founders have because they want so desperately to get out there and they want to get those customers.

Melissa Wallace:

And so that, that's really hard.

Melissa Wallace:

But one of the amazing things that I have seen, and this goes across everything, not just marketing, is when you infuse creativity into the ideas and you think differently, but very closely connected to the customer.

Melissa Wallace:

Spend time with the customer.

Melissa Wallace:

This is, you know, this is kind of a thing that I see founders make a big mistake on just as often as the money part of it.

Melissa Wallace:

But you think because you experienced it, this challenge and you created the product, that you are the customer, but you're not, because you're too close to what you're building and you miss the pieces that are important to the person who's actually going to pay for this product.

Melissa Wallace:

So never identify yourself as the customer.

Melissa Wallace:

You are the founder.

Melissa Wallace:

And learn as much as you can about that customer and really think about things creatively, like stem out from what they're thinking.

Melissa Wallace:

Think about reaching them in ways that are not, you know, not what your competitors are doing.

Melissa Wallace:

And you know, I love to copy a competitor if they're doing something really great, but infuse some creativity into it.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

Those are the things that I have seen make move mountains for.

Coco Selman:

Well, you know, what you said too, when I was, as I was listening to you to describe the stages, the.

Coco Selman:

I agree with you.

Coco Selman:

It is, I think it's hard for founders to, to, to take that step of going and doing the proper research on their customers, doing the, the outreach, the, you know, really finding out, really finding out what the customer experiences and doing those quick iterations.

Coco Selman:

That is hard for me.

Coco Selman:

It is extremely hard for me.

Coco Selman:

I will say it's like I have to have somebody else really there for me to do it or I won't.

Coco Selman:

And that's like, for you, for you to say, that's like, oh my God, that would take the burden off of the founder to feel like they have to put it all together.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of work.

Melissa Wallace:

In fact, we were having this conversation today about, you know, we don't have a very big budget at the moment, but we know that do these consumer insights and we have great partners, but they would be probably better suited later stage or at least, you know, when we, where is a little bit more money and someone had raised the question, well, could you have an intern do it?

Melissa Wallace:

And I said, you can't.

Melissa Wallace:

I, I think if, I don't know if there's a case study out there, but if you talk to a handful of the most successful founders and ask them how did they engage with their customers, they will tell you, I went door to door or that's all I did was focus on the customer.

Melissa Wallace:

And the more that you can dedicate that time, the more you're going to build a product that's worthy of someone spending money on and have that ability to be what that customer wants.

Coco Selman:

Totally.

Coco Selman:

And you end up spending so much time and money creating something that nobody wants or needs.

Coco Selman:

And that's the mistake.

Coco Selman:

Right?

Coco Selman:

That's why you run.

Coco Selman:

One of the reasons you run out of money too quickly, you know, before it takes fire.

Coco Selman:

The other thing I also thought was really valuable in this model, and I was happy to hear that you're finding a way to do it with more than just the ones you decide to really partner with, is the, is the accountability that comes with having somebody go along with you.

Coco Selman:

You know, I, I first started angel investing with 37 angels.

Coco Selman:

I don't know if you know 37 angels.

Coco Selman:

Okay.

Coco Selman:

And one of the things that Andrea Le, who, who founded 37 Angels, and she's, she's a, she's a professor at Columbia and she says that it's really, really good to have a co founder.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

It's really, really good to have.

Coco Selman:

We like people, we like when it, when there's more than one founder.

Coco Selman:

Because if it's all one person, there's key person risk.

Coco Selman:

But more than that, there's just not the mindset to, to think beyond oneself.

Melissa Wallace:

Right?

Melissa Wallace:

Absolutely.

Melissa Wallace:

100°.

Melissa Wallace:

And the diversity, if you can have diversity in that relationship, I mean, then you're going to be set up for success for sure.

Coco Selman:

Exactly.

Coco Selman:

So I think it just sounds really cool.

Coco Selman:

So how then you're.

Coco Selman:

So how it works then is you raise money.

Coco Selman:

Right.

Coco Selman:

And so you have people then who come, who are investors, venture type investors, and then you use that money to invest in the businesses, Correct?

Melissa Wallace:

Yes.

Melissa Wallace:

So it's, there's a couple different stages again, stages upon stages.

Melissa Wallace:

So right now we are, we want to build three companies as a proof of concept before we go raise the big capital investment fund.

Melissa Wallace:

So we are, we are raising that fund through angel investors and we're looking to raise $3 million that will get those three first three companies off the ground.

Coco Selman:

Okay.

Coco Selman:

Once, once we've like roughly a million dollars invested per.

Melissa Wallace:

Yes.

Coco Selman:

And does some of.

Coco Selman:

How does that money, does that money go.

Coco Selman:

How does that money go into a fund?

Coco Selman:

What happens?

Coco Selman:

So it happens with a venture fund, but how does it happen with this kind of thing?

Coco Selman:

It's this, is this going as an angel investor directly into the cap table.

Melissa Wallace:

Of the company or there's two pieces.

Melissa Wallace:

There's one piece that goes into the studio, operating the operating studio, and that covers the cost of the services that we're providing.

Melissa Wallace:

The other half is a direct investment into the portfolio and that is an opportunity to come in and directly invest into those companies while we're focused on our part of it, which is the services that we're providing.

Coco Selman:

Got it.

Coco Selman:

Okay.

Coco Selman:

So.

Coco Selman:

So when, when.

Coco Selman:

So you put in 100 grand and 50% of it goes to operating expenses and 50% goes into the investment fund.

Coco Selman:

Is that, that's how it works?

Coco Selman:

Kind of.

Melissa Wallace:

It's, it's a little bit nuanced from there because the, it's really more like 70% of the services.

Melissa Wallace:

Right.

Melissa Wallace:

The operating, like to operate the studio is Much less than that if you think about it in terms of product development, market research and the go to market strategy.

Melissa Wallace:

Like it's really those three core areas that are being financed through the partnership.

Coco Selman:

Got it, got it, got it.

Coco Selman:

Wonderful.

Coco Selman:

Okay, great.

Coco Selman:

And what.

Coco Selman:

So you're looking for investors right now.

Melissa Wallace:

You're looking for investors right now.

Melissa Wallace:

We actually have a We Funder campaign which is, is a rev share.

Melissa Wallace:

It's not.

Melissa Wallace:

You don't have to be an angel investor.

Melissa Wallace:

You don't have to be an accredited.

Coco Selman:

Accredited.

Coco Selman:

Yeah.

Melissa Wallace:

You can come in and contribute as as little as 100 and you get a 1.3x return, 1.3x return.

Melissa Wallace:

And we did that so that we could go move faster, but now we're having conversations with angels again for more of that direct investment into the portfolio.

Coco Selman:

Okay, so you said I want to make sure I understand.

Coco Selman:

So the We Funder campaign is a revenue based generation.

Coco Selman:

So that's cool.

Coco Selman:

Yeah, so that's really cool.

Coco Selman:

So you could go listeners, you can go and is on we funder.com yes.

Melissa Wallace:

It'S wet comm slash fierce boundary.

Coco Selman:

And so you can go there and then you can make an investment there.

Coco Selman:

And just so you all know, you're not buying a share or a percentage of equity, you are basically saying, I'm putting money towards the revenue and as they create revenue, we will share the revenue.

Coco Selman:

And you're saying 1.3x is the return that you're moving towards.

Melissa Wallace:

Yes, that's.

Melissa Wallace:

Yes.

Melissa Wallace:

You get it.

Melissa Wallace:

You get a shirt, a really cool T shirt that says invest in women.

Coco Selman:

I love that.

Coco Selman:

I am gonna not pass go.

Coco Selman:

I'm gonna go directly to we funder.com foundry because that's so cool.

Coco Selman:

I mean, what a great way for, for us all to support women founders and to learn about investing in this area and space of startups.

Coco Selman:

I love this.

Coco Selman:

This is a great opportunity.

Coco Selman:

Okay, so what is the last.

Coco Selman:

So how do people get in touch with you?

Coco Selman:

How do investors get in touch with you?

Coco Selman:

How do founders get in touch with you?

Melissa Wallace:

So I welcome anybody to email me directly.

Melissa Wallace:

Founders, investors, even partners, if you're a service provider.

Melissa Wallace:

We do have different team members responsible for the different areas.

Melissa Wallace:

But you can email me@melissathefiercefoundry.com you can also go to our website.

Melissa Wallace:

We do an info session every other Wednesday.

Melissa Wallace:

I usually host it.

Melissa Wallace:

I usually bring in a couple team members who, you know, might, you know, provide a little more pizzazz to the conversation.

Melissa Wallace:

But we give you a quick overview of what we're building, what the status is of the companies and then we just have a conversation.

Melissa Wallace:

It's great because the, you know, founders come in, they talk about things that they're building, investors come in and they get a quick, you know, idea of like, who else is out there.

Melissa Wallace:

But info sessions, you can, you can register for those on our website, the fierce foundry.com just go to resources.

Coco Selman:

Wonderful.

Coco Selman:

And so that's, that's really a great way to bring everybody together too, whether you're an investor or you're a founder looking to, you know, especially if you're a founder with a menopause based product right now.

Coco Selman:

And then once this is done and you get your three companies and you have your 3 million and you're going, then you're going to raise a bigger fund.

Melissa Wallace:

Is that the plan?

Melissa Wallace:

We know we're estimating a $15 million fund so that we can, we can launch about 30 companies.

Melissa Wallace:

And I'm looking forward to that.

Melissa Wallace:

I know it's not normally what us women look forward to, but to me it's a huge milestone for me to be out there raising that fund.

Melissa Wallace:

So I'm looking forward to it.

Coco Selman:

I'm so happy for you, Melissa.

Coco Selman:

Thank you.

Coco Selman:

What's one last piece of wisdom that you can offer that you, that you want to share with us all about, you know, how you, your, your philosophy on leadership and making the world better?

Melissa Wallace:

Don't be afraid.

Melissa Wallace:

Honestly, I think, um, if you can focus on channel taking that, that, that feel, that physical feeling of fear and turning that into excitement and thinking about it in terms of like something exciting is going to happen.

Melissa Wallace:

I'm feeling this way because something new is going to happen.

Melissa Wallace:

Instead of being afraid of what might be, I think we can all accomplish great things and with the right mindset.

Melissa Wallace:

So don't be afraid.

Melissa Wallace:

That's what I would say.

Coco Selman:

Don't be afraid.

Coco Selman:

And you said to take your fear and turn it into excitement.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Coco Selman:

Brilliant.

Melissa Wallace:

Hard to do, but when you, when you get there, it feels really good.

Coco Selman:

So it does.

Coco Selman:

Well.

Coco Selman:

And there are such close feelings.

Coco Selman:

Right?

Coco Selman:

Fear and excitement are close, close cousins.

Coco Selman:

They're just right there next to each other.

Melissa Wallace:

Yeah.

Coco Selman:

I'm on the, I'm on the roller coaster.

Coco Selman:

Am I excited or am I scared?

Coco Selman:

Choose that.

Coco Selman:

You're excited, right?

Coco Selman:

This is exciting.

Melissa Wallace:

It is, it is.

Coco Selman:

Well, thank you so much, Melissa.

Coco Selman:

I can't wait to keep our conversations up and learn more about fierce Boundary.

Coco Selman:

We're both right here in New York and it's likewise, it's really exciting to be here with you.

Coco Selman:

So thank you Melissa so much for joining us today on the Wisdom of Women Show.

Coco Selman:

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and illuminating the path to unlocking opportunities for growth and prosperity for women led enterprises.

Coco Selman:

We value you and your experience and your wisdom.

Coco Selman:

So if you're listening today and you found value, I hope you will follow like and share the Wisdom of Women show on whatever your favorite listening reviewing platform is.

Coco Selman:

And to infuse more wisdom into your business, be sure to take the Growth Readiness quiz at a ForceForGood biz quiz.

Coco Selman:

It'll give you an actual score, and A score of 80 or higher indicates that you're probably growing fast and the world is made better by women led business.

Coco Selman:

So let's all go make the world a better place.

Melissa Wallace:

Cheers.

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