Mastering Fundraising And Partnership: A Guide For Black Women Entrepreneurs

Forbes

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson joins Forbes Reporter Rosemarie Miller for this episode of New Money where they discuss strategies for fundraising, the leap into entrepreneurship, and the pros and cons of starting a business with co-founders.  0:00 Introduction 0:45 The Beauty Of Success: What Inspired Kendra To Become An Author? 1:53 Kendra's Background And Life Growing Up 4:34 Kendra's Inspirations In Entrepreneurship  9:13 How Long Does It Take To Become A Successful Entrepreneur?  10:00 The Fundraising Process Of BrainTrust And Building Community 16:21 How Do You Know You Should Start A Business With Someone? : Kendra Breaks Down The Pros and Cons 20:05 More On BrainTrust: What Keeps Kendra Growing And Going 23:37 How Does Kendra Bracken-Ferguson Manage Her Money? 28:52 Go To Advice For Starting Your Business  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 There has to be a reality.

00:02 Not every person who starts a company

00:04 who's brilliant and has a great idea

00:06 is going to have a billion dollar exit.

00:08 That's just not the way of the world.

00:11 But what can happen is that you can have

00:13 a wildly successful company that provides for you,

00:17 that creates generational wealth

00:18 and generational inheritance.

00:20 And so I always say, let's look at

00:22 what's the best thing that could happen.

00:24 (upbeat music)

00:26 Hi everyone and welcome to New Money,

00:29 where we talk to movers and shakers about how they made it.

00:32 I'm your host, Rosemary Miller,

00:34 here with the CEO and founder of Braintrust,

00:37 Kendra Bracken Ferguson.

00:40 Thank you so much for joining me today, Kendra.

00:41 Oh my gosh, Rosemary, thank you for having me.

00:44 I so appreciate it.

00:45 Absolutely.

00:46 So Kendra, you recently wrote a book,

00:49 "The Beauty of Success."

00:51 What inspired you to write a book right now?

00:54 So it's funny because I was actually talking

00:56 to my mom about this.

00:57 When I was in college, I said, "I wanna write a book."

00:59 And my mom said, "How about you have a career,

01:03 "experience life a bit and write a book?"

01:06 And I feel like it was such a manifestation of that.

01:09 And it's funny because I host a podcast

01:12 called Business of the Beat,

01:14 and it's focused on BIPOC leaders

01:17 who are really starting, growing

01:18 and accelerating their businesses.

01:20 And my publisher was listening to the podcast and said,

01:23 "Oh my goodness, have you thought about doing a book?"

01:25 And I said, "Well, actually I have."

01:28 And it really was an opportunity to tell my story

01:32 as a three-time founder and all of the lessons

01:36 that I learned.

01:37 But then I also brought in 18 stories from my podcast.

01:40 And it was really this great moment to say,

01:43 "What have we learned as leaders

01:45 "and how can we share that with others?"

01:47 In a really fun, very much relatable way.

01:51 And that was the impetus for the book.

01:54 Well, I do wanna get into the book,

01:55 but first I wanna talk about you and your background.

01:58 Could you give me a brief overview of life growing up?

02:01 Who's Kendra?

02:02 (laughing)

02:03 You're like, "Who are you?"

02:05 I'll say this.

02:05 I was one of those people.

02:08 I lived by this mantra that I saw in "It's a Wonderful Life"

02:12 where George Bailey says,

02:13 "I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town

02:15 "off my feet and I'm gonna see the world."

02:17 And literally my whole childhood,

02:20 I traveled with my mom for her work.

02:23 She was a senior executive, started many companies.

02:25 And then I remember being in sixth grade

02:27 and the president was giving a speech

02:29 and someone handed him a piece of paper

02:31 and I said, "Who is that?"

02:33 And my mom said, "The press secretary."

02:34 And I said, "I wanna do that job.

02:37 "I wanna tell stories.

02:38 "I wanna be behind the scenes and make things happen."

02:41 And so I went to college, practiced PR,

02:45 worked at Fleischman Hillard,

02:46 one of the largest PR agencies,

02:48 became the youngest VP there,

02:49 was recruited to go to Ralph Lauren.

02:51 I was the first director of digital media.

02:53 So really this notion of being an entrepreneur,

02:56 being inside of a company starting things

02:58 was my trajectory.

03:00 And then I met my first business partner, Karen Rabinowitz,

03:03 and we started a company called

03:04 Digital Brand Architects in 2010.

03:07 That was really so revolutionary at the time.

03:09 It was one of the first agencies to manage bloggers.

03:12 So before Instagram, before Pinterest,

03:15 we were managing bloggers.

03:17 And it was during that time that we raised money

03:20 and I became part of the first group of black women

03:23 to raise more than a million dollars.

03:25 And we also had the opportunity

03:28 to really grow and scale that company.

03:30 And it was funny because in the midst of that,

03:33 I started realizing that I had a different alignment

03:36 in terms of where I saw myself, where my partners,

03:40 we actually brought in a third partner.

03:42 And I was sitting in my office and I said,

03:44 "What have I learned?"

03:46 And it was that I really love working with smart people,

03:49 but I also more than that, understood the notion of trust.

03:53 And so I wrote on my whiteboard,

03:55 "Brain Trust, smart people that you trust

03:58 to do what they say, say what they do."

04:00 And I think that's how we actually solve problems.

04:03 And so that kind of pivoted my career

04:06 and starting Brain Trust in 2015.

04:09 And then the evolution of that

04:11 into Brain Trust Founders Studio in October of 2021,

04:15 which is now the largest membership-based platform

04:19 for black founders of beauty and wellness companies.

04:21 And then we launched our Brain Trust Fund last year.

04:25 So it's been a really exciting journey

04:27 of what does it look like to be inside of a company

04:30 as an entrepreneur and then really expanding

04:32 and becoming an entrepreneur.

04:34 - That is quite a journey.

04:35 So back to your childhood,

04:38 were there any examples of entrepreneurs in your family

04:41 that you can remember?

04:43 - Well, it's so funny because I didn't realize it,

04:46 of course, at the time.

04:47 But through this journey, so my mom was always,

04:50 she was always a senior executive.

04:52 She led HR for the city,

04:55 but she also sold Mary Kay and she sold Jafra.

04:59 And we laugh about that now

05:01 because she had her own entrepreneurial spirit.

05:04 And it's funny because when she retired

05:07 and I was still coming of age,

05:09 I said to her, I was like,

05:10 "Oh, I'm gonna build you a website.

05:12 You're gonna do HR consulting."

05:13 And she said, "No, I'm actually gonna start

05:15 a jewelry business."

05:16 And she has had that business for 10 years.

05:19 She travels all over the world.

05:21 She finds jewelry pieces and she sells it.

05:24 And so she has her own P&L.

05:26 She has, and so it's so funny

05:28 because we've talked about being entrepreneurs together,

05:31 but how growing up she always was an entrepreneur

05:35 and then she was an entrepreneur.

05:37 - I think, could you explain what is an entrepreneur?

05:40 - I love that term.

05:40 You're like, girl, tell us.

05:42 So an entrepreneur is really someone

05:44 who is inside of a corporate structure,

05:46 who works for a company,

05:47 but is building something that they really believe in

05:50 or passionate about.

05:51 And so I liken it to when I was at Fleischman Hillard,

05:55 I helped build the digital practice group there.

05:57 I was so passionate about what does digital PR look like?

06:01 And I was in all the mommy blogs and forums.

06:03 And then at Ralph Lauren,

06:04 I was hired to be the first director of digital media.

06:08 And so I launched the brand across social,

06:10 did the first influencer campaigns.

06:12 So really building that within a corporate structure.

06:16 And I talk about the importance of being an entrepreneur

06:19 because that's what helps us as entrepreneurs

06:22 actually do more.

06:24 It's the people inside of the companies that see us

06:27 that wanna use the company's resources,

06:29 and even being here on this interview with you,

06:31 and say, I'm going to help pave a new path

06:35 or create something new.

06:37 - So back to you and mom, okay?

06:40 Mom is an entrepreneur.

06:41 Maybe she doesn't really see herself like that,

06:43 but mom is definitely an entrepreneur.

06:45 And you, did you ever realize at that point in your life

06:49 that you were going to be an entrepreneur

06:51 or were the people in your life always telling you,

06:55 okay, you gotta go get a job, you gotta go get a job?

06:57 - It's so funny because I did not.

06:59 I was literally, I wanna be the youngest VP.

07:02 I wanna be the president of a company.

07:05 My aspirations were climbing corporate.

07:08 Like I literally, everything I did

07:11 was this goal to build my resume.

07:12 And I enjoyed it.

07:13 I was the president of my sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho.

07:16 I was like, if I'm gonna do it, I have to be the president.

07:19 I was the senior editor

07:20 at the Black Cultural Center newsletter.

07:22 I was like, I wanna be the senior editor.

07:24 So everything was this notion of how do I build and build

07:29 so that professionally I can get to the highest

07:32 of the corporate structure?

07:33 Because that's what I saw, because my mom was the head

07:35 and I'd go to her office and she was leading the meetings.

07:38 And so that's what I knew.

07:40 And it really wasn't until I met Karen.

07:44 And I remember because I was at Ralph Lauren

07:47 and I texted her, she called and I said,

07:50 I have an idea to manage bloggers.

07:52 And she said, me too, I have a company name.

07:55 And I literally put up a website for us that day.

07:58 Sunday, the next day,

08:00 we got our husbands together for brunch.

08:02 Monday, we filed for an LLC.

08:04 And I went to David Lauren and Julie Berman and I said,

08:07 hey, I'm gonna start a company and manage bloggers.

08:09 And so it was this really interesting,

08:13 it was divine intention.

08:14 And it was this notion of I have this idea,

08:19 let me just start it.

08:20 But I think the interesting thing is that

08:22 like many entrepreneurs, I had responsibilities, right?

08:25 And so we had this great moment,

08:28 but I couldn't in that moment say,

08:30 and now I'm leaving and I'm gonna start this company.

08:32 So I continue to be very transparent.

08:35 But during the day I was running all the social

08:38 at Ralph Lauren and then at night,

08:40 we were working on our business.

08:42 We were meeting with the bloggers every Friday

08:44 saying we wanna manage you.

08:46 And so that's even one of the lessons

08:48 that I talk about as well.

08:49 We think about when do you pivot into something

08:52 that you truly believe in, right?

08:54 And so for me, and I say to entrepreneurs,

08:57 you really have to figure out that leap of faith

09:00 and when it's time.

09:01 And for us, it was about,

09:03 we have enough money to pay ourselves and an assistant

09:07 so that we could leave our full-time jobs

09:10 and really fulfill our entrepreneurial spirit.

09:13 - And how long did that take?

09:15 - It took about six to eight months.

09:18 And it was interesting because I was of the mindset

09:23 that we are gonna do this and we couldn't let the time pass.

09:26 I'm very much a jump off the bridge.

09:29 And I was also very much a realist

09:33 that we live in New York City on 14th Street.

09:36 My husband and I, and there are certain things

09:39 that I wanted to make sure were protected.

09:42 So we didn't have this five-year business plan,

09:45 but we knew we were in the moment.

09:47 And we made sure that we had almost like a safety net

09:51 of our careers to then be able to go out and pivot.

09:55 And then we were fortunate because we were able

09:57 to raise funds to then continue the journey of the business.

10:00 - So you were able to raise funds.

10:02 What did that fundraising process look like?

10:04 Because this was your first time fundraising.

10:05 - Yes.

10:06 (laughing)

10:07 And it's funny because now wearing my Venture Capitalist

10:11 hat and running a fund,

10:12 and actually it's in all seriousness,

10:16 it's really interesting because that experience

10:19 is what has molded me into the investor that I am today.

10:23 Because there were all these things that I did not know

10:26 when we went through that first investment process,

10:29 how to structure the right deal,

10:30 how to have the right lawyer for me outside of the company

10:34 to make sure that I was protected in my interest

10:36 as a founder, how much money do you raise

10:40 and the right money to raise?

10:41 And who do you raise money from?

10:42 And what does the board look like?

10:44 And how important is the board?

10:46 And so that process was very much us saying,

10:49 we have the right connections,

10:51 which is also something that I,

10:53 through Brain Trust Founders Studio, help founders.

10:55 'Cause getting the connections is hard, right?

10:58 We know the stats, less than 1% of black-founded companies,

11:01 in particular black women, receive funding.

11:03 And so I'm trying to think about what did I learn?

11:07 You need connections, you need resources,

11:09 you need the right structure to do the deal

11:12 through lawyers, legal management.

11:14 And then how do I bring that into my role

11:17 in terms of now investing into others?

11:20 And so I try and always think about that

11:23 as I'm talking to companies about investment,

11:25 because it does take time.

11:27 You're gonna get no's, that doesn't mean

11:29 that that no is against you personally

11:31 or that your business doesn't work.

11:33 But you really have to use that no to find your yeses,

11:38 because there will be yeses.

11:40 And for us, that's what we found in our first investors

11:43 and what I've been able to carry forward.

11:45 - So what tips do you have for fundraising?

11:48 - So it's interesting because I think the biggest thing

11:52 is you have to understand your company

11:54 and you have to understand your numbers

11:57 and you have to understand what you want out of it, right?

12:00 Because there has to be a reality.

12:04 Not every person who starts a company

12:06 who's brilliant and has a great idea

12:08 is going to have a billion dollar exit.

12:10 That's just not the way of the world.

12:13 But what can happen is that you can have

12:15 a wildly successful company that provides for you,

12:19 that creates generational wealth

12:20 and generational inheritance.

12:22 And so I always say, let's look at what's the best thing

12:25 that could happen, right?

12:26 In the book, I talk about the best thing

12:27 that you could ever imagine.

12:29 So what does that look like?

12:30 And then what does it look like

12:32 in terms of steps to get there?

12:33 How much do you really need

12:35 and what's gonna make you happy?

12:37 And I say to founders, if your intention

12:39 is to never sell your company,

12:41 then let's look at it differently, right?

12:43 But if your intention is to sell your company,

12:46 then there's different steps.

12:47 We need to look at our numbers.

12:49 We need to look at our EBITDA.

12:50 We need to look at our valuation.

12:51 We need to look at sustainability

12:53 in terms of how are we gonna continue

12:55 to drive that revenue year over year.

12:58 And you also have to make sure that you as a founder

13:02 are protected in terms of what you want, right?

13:04 Because the you and the brain that started a company

13:08 may not be the same you and the brain

13:11 that takes your company from 10 million

13:13 to 100 million to 500 million.

13:15 And so I always talk about what is it that you want?

13:18 Is it to be the chairman of the board?

13:20 So it comes down to know what you want,

13:23 understand the outcomes that you want for your company,

13:26 protect yourself from a legal perspective,

13:29 immediately determine who is your counsel

13:32 that's gonna help you structure the deal

13:34 in a way that's gonna support you.

13:36 And then you have to date.

13:38 Not all investors are created equal,

13:41 which was my experience.

13:42 And some investors will be great for you and others aren't.

13:46 But your investor relationship is so important

13:48 because you're in it for the long call.

13:50 We're not exiting businesses in two or three years.

13:53 It's a longer lifespan.

13:55 And so I really say to founders, interview the investors,

13:59 talk to other people who they're invested in.

14:01 Is this someone that you want at the helm

14:04 representing you and your company?

14:05 And it's okay on the other side to say no,

14:08 that this may not be the right investor for me,

14:11 but do your research, do your research

14:14 and make sure that it's the right person,

14:15 that they're investing in your space

14:17 in a way that's meaningful and that it's for the longterm.

14:21 - Well, Kendra, I imagine that this is what you know now.

14:23 (laughing)

14:25 I realized you did not always know that.

14:27 You didn't know this back then.

14:29 So back then, with what you knew,

14:31 how did you approach fundraising?

14:34 - So we were very much, let's go to our friends

14:38 and let's go to our network

14:40 and let's start talking to people.

14:42 And I do think it was a different time

14:46 in the sense that we were truly

14:48 one of the first agencies to do this.

14:50 And Digital Brand Architects has now since been acquired

14:54 by UTA, United Talent Artists Agency Management.

14:57 And so for us, we were literally in this moment of,

15:02 no one was talking about managing bloggers.

15:06 And so when we sat down and really thought about it,

15:08 there was a handful of people, other talent managers,

15:12 other agents who actually coached us.

15:14 And I'll never forget, one of the managers said,

15:17 "You guys are gonna win in the streets.

15:19 Do what you do, keep working hard."

15:21 We had a few of the large talent agencies

15:25 coming to us trying to take our talent.

15:27 And they were like, "You guys, you're the truth.

15:29 And you're genuinely connected

15:31 and you care about the talent so much.

15:33 So run your race, run your game."

15:36 And we didn't know to your point,

15:38 all the things about how to do that,

15:40 but we did know we had a good business concept.

15:43 And so every meeting that we had,

15:45 we stayed true to our core of,

15:48 if you look at the trajectory of talent,

15:50 the next big talent is gonna be bloggers.

15:53 And what has happened, a lot of the people

15:56 that we managed back then are now the big time bloggers

15:59 that have their own brands, their own companies,

16:01 multimillion dollar success.

16:03 So I'm like, it was the grace of God that we got through it.

16:06 But we did, we dated.

16:07 I remember there was one investor

16:10 and we were at this fancy dinner in Beverly Hills.

16:13 And we realized that that wasn't the right investor for us.

16:18 And so ultimately we were able to make the right decision.

16:22 - So with Digital Brand Architects,

16:24 I know you also had a co-founder.

16:26 Could you tell us some of the pros and cons

16:28 of starting a business with someone else?

16:31 - Oh, Rosemary.

16:33 So I actually talk about this in my new book,

16:36 Character and Allyship.

16:38 So the beautiful thing about my first co-founder

16:42 and my first business was that

16:44 we were so passionate about our idea.

16:47 We truly found a white space.

16:49 And the first time I said it,

16:51 she said it too, and we were aligned.

16:54 Over time, we added a third co-founder

16:57 and it changed the dynamics of the relationship.

17:00 And I think anytime you have two that becomes three,

17:03 there's always a new dynamic.

17:05 And ultimately, one of the reasons

17:08 that I really decided to leave

17:10 and really work on my new venture, Brain Trust,

17:13 was because of that dynamic.

17:15 And I realized throughout,

17:18 but I didn't quite understand it,

17:21 was that you can't be in business

17:24 just based upon a good idea that you have, right?

17:27 You spend so much time,

17:28 and so there has to be an alignment

17:30 in terms of integrity and in terms of values.

17:33 And everyone has a different sense, and that's fine.

17:36 But for me, I realized that that alignment wasn't there.

17:40 And it was really difficult

17:42 because when you build something and it's going well,

17:44 it's not as though we weren't having success.

17:48 And I really had to dig deep

17:50 and kind of figure out, is this the right relationship?

17:52 And one of my really good friends came over and said,

17:56 it's okay to leave something that you started.

17:59 It's okay to outgrow something.

18:02 Catherine Finney, I'll never forget that.

18:04 And it really gave me the courage to say,

18:06 this may not be the right relationship for me

18:09 as much as I love what we're doing.

18:11 And when I started Brain Trust, I was a solopreneur.

18:15 - I want to stop you right there.

18:16 You had that relationship, that conversation

18:18 with your friend, but you also had a conversation with God.

18:22 - Yes. - Soon after that.

18:23 Could you talk about that?

18:24 - Absolutely.

18:25 So I believe so deeply.

18:28 I am covered by God's grace.

18:30 I am protected.

18:32 And in everything that I do,

18:34 I don't necessarily believe in coincidence

18:36 because it's all divine.

18:38 Everything is divine in terms of when it happens

18:41 and how it happens.

18:42 And I remember being at this red light

18:46 and I had just moved to LA and I was just like,

18:49 what is happening?

18:50 And I felt as though God was like, I brought you this far,

18:54 I'm not gonna leave you.

18:55 And it was, I wouldn't bring you this far

18:57 so that you can fail.

18:59 Like, look at all of the amazing things that have happened.

19:02 And in that moment, I had so much faith

19:05 and I continue to have faith.

19:06 And I knew that no matter what was happening,

19:10 it was gonna be all right.

19:11 And my success was gonna continue

19:13 and I was gonna be able to move forward.

19:15 - I couldn't let you skip over that.

19:16 - Thank you.

19:17 (both laughing)

19:20 - What were you saying?

19:21 (both laughing)

19:23 - You're like, hold on.

19:24 And you know, it's interesting because I remember

19:29 just praying so deeply for protection.

19:33 And I think that whenever you're in a space

19:37 and especially professionally,

19:38 and you've created something,

19:40 that as much as we try and say

19:43 that we're not impacted by people's words, we can be.

19:46 And so, so much of it was, you know, guide me,

19:49 help me do the right thing.

19:51 I always wanna treat people right

19:53 and then protect me in whatever decisions I make

19:56 so that I will continue to support.

19:58 I'm here to be of service.

19:59 So as long as I can be of service to people,

20:01 then I feel like I have success

20:03 and that I'm accomplishing my goals.

20:05 - And you're definitely doing that now with Brain Trust.

20:08 So Brain Trust is all yours, right?

20:11 - So funny enough, Rosemary.

20:13 So when I started Brain Trust, I was a solopreneur.

20:16 And then as I expanded and created Brain Trust Founders Studio

20:20 and Brain Trust Fund,

20:22 I literally ran into a woman, Lisa Stone,

20:26 who I had known for 20 years, co-founder of BlogHer,

20:29 which is where we met.

20:31 And she said, "Kendra, I've been following your journey

20:34 "and I've really been focused on my own passion

20:37 "and my own pivot."

20:38 And I remember in 2015,

20:40 Lisa wrote Black Lives Matter on her LinkedIn.

20:43 And it was so paramount

20:45 because we had always been in community.

20:47 She had always been someone I leaned to.

20:49 But as we went fast forward to 2020

20:52 and we saw the deaths of George Floyd

20:54 and Black Lives Matter,

20:56 when I started Brain Trust Founders Studio,

20:58 it was to say, "I've been through so many different things.

21:02 "How can I create an ecosystem of resources

21:05 "for other black founders?"

21:06 And so it was an interesting moment of starting the company

21:10 and then that January, running into Lisa,

21:14 and she literally said, "How can I help?"

21:17 And I had talked to so many different people about the idea.

21:20 Some people said, "You're not in venture.

21:24 "You didn't work at one of the banks.

21:26 "Stick to what you know."

21:27 And she said, "Oh, capital?

21:30 "I know that.

21:31 "You wanna build a fund?"

21:32 And literally that weekend,

21:34 she wrote this plan for how we could take my vision

21:37 of ecosystems and capital and turn that into a fund.

21:41 And so I immediately invited her to join me as a co-founder.

21:45 And there's a lot happening

21:47 when we think about race and allyship.

21:49 And I went to several of my advisors and I said,

21:53 "I truly believe that in order to do this work,

21:56 "we have to not only have a brain trust,

21:58 "but we have to believe in the impact of allyship.

22:01 "And I would like to invite Lisa to join me."

22:03 And while the studio was designed for black founders

22:06 and with our fund,

22:07 you have to have at least one black co-founder,

22:10 I said, "I can't imagine doing this journey

22:12 "and this work without her."

22:14 And so I do have a co-founder.

22:17 And the interesting thing that I learned

22:19 from my first company is that,

22:21 and Lisa will tell you,

22:22 I put together this long questionnaire.

22:24 I love a questionnaire.

22:26 All in my book, there's worksheets and workbooks

22:29 and things to fill out.

22:30 So I put together this questionnaire

22:32 and it was all of the things that I learned.

22:35 Do you wanna be the face of the business?

22:38 What would cause you to not want

22:39 to be in the business anymore?

22:40 What are you passionate about?

22:42 Why are you doing this as a white woman

22:44 supporting a studio for black founders?

22:47 Why is that important to you?

22:48 Why does it matter?

22:50 And it was all of these different questions

22:52 that I realized I did not do that exercise

22:55 with my first co-founders.

22:57 And so that's why when we got into the long tail

23:00 of the work, we weren't aligned in certain things.

23:02 And so we both went through this exercise.

23:05 I brought in my long-term executive coach, Julie Flanders,

23:08 and I said, "I want this to work."

23:11 And in order for it to work, like any relationship,

23:13 you have to work on the relationship,

23:15 but you both have to be committed to what's important.

23:18 And so that has been the beauty of having a co-founder

23:22 in this iteration of what the Brain Trust has evolved

23:25 and transformed into.

23:27 - Well, Kendra, we are on new money,

23:29 so we do have to get into the money thing.

23:31 I wanna know, how did you learn

23:34 how to manage all of your money?

23:37 - Well, Rose Remy, I'm still trying.

23:41 It's really interesting because,

23:45 again, we talk about these lessons.

23:46 I have so many lessons of starting different entities.

23:51 How do you start an entity?

23:53 How do you structure it?

23:55 The difference between an LLC and pass-through cost.

23:58 And so I always say I'm constantly evolving.

24:02 I have set up my businesses.

24:03 They're different entities.

24:04 They have different cap tables,

24:06 meaning they have different ownership of them.

24:08 I'm the majority in all of them.

24:10 I also have my own personal consulting that I do

24:15 with people that requires money.

24:17 So there's a lot of different ways

24:20 that I think about money and that I think about capital.

24:23 And it really is, what is the social and human capital?

24:28 So everything that I do requires a brain trust.

24:30 It requires a team.

24:31 What does that look like?

24:32 How do I build that human capital around me

24:35 so that I can succeed?

24:36 To your point, what does the money look like?

24:38 And I am not a money person.

24:41 So I make sure that I have

24:43 different wealth management people, different legal.

24:46 I've had my same general counsel for years and years

24:49 so that I can make sure that I'm looking at

24:51 how is money flowing into the business,

24:53 how is money flowing out of the business,

24:55 and then I also have to live.

24:56 So luckily, I have worked with and built people

25:01 who can help me manage it on the day to day.

25:06 And then when I think about the fund,

25:08 we are a traditional venture fund,

25:10 and that is also where having a business partner

25:13 like Lisa comes into play.

25:15 She's raised money, she's worked in venture,

25:18 and so our ability to say we are going to raise money

25:22 so that we can invest it,

25:24 that does require a different level of wealth management

25:27 and understanding.

25:28 People say, "You've raised all this money,"

25:31 and I'm like, "That money is for investment.

25:34 "This money is for Kendra Bracken Ferguson."

25:36 And understanding the two, and I say to my founders,

25:40 you have to start with the money.

25:42 You have to look at the money.

25:43 You have to understand how taxes are gonna work,

25:46 how your entities are set up, what does a trust look like.

25:49 And one other thing that I'll say

25:51 is I was talking to a founder

25:52 who recently had a health scare,

25:54 a very serious health scare,

25:56 and she was saying, "We don't talk about,

25:59 "as entrepreneurs and 1099s, as it were,

26:03 "the notion of health insurance for ourselves,

26:06 "because if you are a sole proprietor

26:09 "or you're someone running your business

26:11 "and something happens for you,

26:12 "especially in the beauty industry,

26:15 "then it's hard for you to recover."

26:17 And so I'm saying to founders,

26:19 make sure that you have life insurance.

26:21 Make sure that you have your own insurance policies,

26:23 your own health insurance,

26:25 so that we can make sure that we're also protected.

26:28 Because as I was talking to founders,

26:30 I realized a lot of founders are not looking at that side

26:34 of what wealth management and money moves looks like.

26:37 - Well, on a much, much lighter note, Kendra.

26:41 - You're like, "Bring it down."

26:42 (laughing)

26:43 - What is the dumbest splurge you've made

26:48 since having money?

26:50 - Oh my goodness, the dumbest splurge

26:53 I have made since having money.

26:56 Well, is it a dumb splurge if you feel good about it?

26:59 (laughing)

27:00 Hey.

27:01 - Hey.

27:02 - No, I think, so I have a smart splurge and a dumb splurge

27:06 but I'm gonna start with my smart splurge first.

27:09 After 14 years of being in New York,

27:12 and we know what that's like,

27:14 my husband and I moved to LA and we bought our first house

27:17 and then we bought a second house

27:19 and I was just so proud of that.

27:22 And I think when we think about how hard we're working,

27:25 there's the splurges that we make that make you feel good.

27:27 I love eyelash extensions.

27:31 I pay lots of money for them.

27:34 Thank you, Integrity Lash and Tessany.

27:36 I think that they are so vital.

27:39 We could call them dumb,

27:40 but they really are the beauty of my success.

27:43 And then another thing that I, of course,

27:45 bought this really amazing jacket.

27:49 And I was so in the moment of it

27:52 and everyone was telling me to get it.

27:54 And it was one of those things where you love it,

27:55 but then you look at it and it's like,

27:57 huh, let me think about what I could have bought.

28:00 I could have invested in a WeFunder campaign.

28:03 I could have-

28:04 - Andrea, how much was the jacket?

28:06 - Well, do I have to say it?

28:08 - We have to know how much was this jacket.

28:10 - Well, people are gonna be like, it's not that much.

28:11 For me, it was a lot.

28:13 It was $3,500 and I felt like I had made it

28:18 until I was like, no,

28:19 you could have bought all these other things.

28:21 And now I would not do that because I use Rent the Runway.

28:26 But really, you know,

28:28 and there's nothing wrong with that, Rent the Runway.

28:31 And I do that and also I'm very fortunate.

28:34 Veronica Beard is a great partner.

28:36 They have just been phenomenal

28:39 and they're donating proceeds of sales for the book tour

28:42 to our Brain Trust Founders Studio.

28:44 So I have learned a lot by ways of how to dress myself

28:48 and how to spend my money wisely and invest.

28:52 - Well, Kendra, leave us with three tips

28:54 that you want entrepreneurs to know

28:57 when starting their business.

28:58 - So the first one is, and I kind of mentioned it,

29:02 but really be intentional and understand

29:04 if you are creating a business for profit or for passion.

29:07 And I know that it's cliche, but as a visionary founder,

29:11 I come up with companies all the time.

29:12 And that does not mean that this is a company.

29:15 This means that this is a passion.

29:17 So really be intentional about what are you creating?

29:20 Is there a white space?

29:21 Is there an opportunity to do something

29:23 that hasn't been done or to evolve something

29:25 that has been done and to be honest and to write it down.

29:29 I also tell founders, and I live by this mantra,

29:31 Carpe diem, seize the day.

29:34 We can wait our whole lives for something to be perfect

29:37 and there's no such thing.

29:38 So I always say, take that moment, take that risk,

29:41 because as I learned when I was leaving Ralph Lauren,

29:44 if it doesn't work, you can always go back.

29:46 You can always pivot.

29:48 You can always do something else,

29:50 but you have to make sure that you truly take that risk

29:54 and Carpe diem.

29:55 And then I always say, build a brain trust.

29:58 And I know that it sounds like,

30:00 oh, I'm gonna go and find someone to be my mentor.

30:04 It's so much greater than that.

30:06 And I was saying literally to my assistant today,

30:09 this entire tour, my career, the agency, the success

30:13 has been built on my brain trust.

30:15 I am here because I built a community of people

30:18 where we support each other.

30:21 And at any given moment, I know that whatever I need,

30:24 I'm gonna have someone that I can ask a question

30:27 that I can tap into.

30:28 And so I always say to founders,

30:30 make sure that you have found that

30:31 and that you have built that and that you nurture it.

30:35 The greatest gift is when we give to others

30:38 and that allows others to pour into us.

30:40 And so I think that if you can start with those things,

30:43 then the rest comes to play because your lawyer comes

30:46 because you've had a brain trust.

30:47 Your new idea comes because you've been intentional

30:50 about what's gonna drive you into success.

30:53 And then you have Carpe diem, you've seized the day

30:56 because you've taken the leap of faith to start it.

30:59 And I think that those are the most important things

31:01 to start with.

31:02 - Hey Kendra, you are such a light.

31:04 You are such a light.

31:05 I told my producers before you came in here.

31:08 So I know you have no problem

31:10 having a huge community around you.

31:12 - Thank you.

31:13 - Thank you so much for joining me today.

31:14 - Thank you.

31:15 (upbeat music)

31:18 (upbeat music)

31:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Transcript

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