About The Fearless Entrepreneur:

The Fearless Entrepreneur believes that each one of us has a unique gift to share with the world.  Within us, there is a voice that calls us to uncover our uniqueness and to use our gift to make a difference.  

TFE fosters emerging women entrepreneurs through:

• Business building programs
  
• Monthly Networking Events
• Group coaching programs
• Individual coaching and consulting

Our mission is to enable women to reach their full economic potential through entrepreneurship.  Ours is an authentic community of strong, successful women who are committed to fostering the best in each other. 

Prior to the The Fearless Entrepreneur, Starla spent 12 years in institutional financial services as a fixed income portfolio manager, in international and domestic product marketing and in multinational sales and service.

With a Masters in International Economics and Finance, Starla built her career at Fannie Mae, Charles Schwab and Barclays Global Investors on her ability to think strategically, drive tactical execution and most importantly, on the strength of her relationships.

In 2004, Starla translated her corporate experience into something more meaningful – a business that fosters entrepreneurs through coaching, educational programs and strategic consulting.  

Starla is a highly regarded speaker featured at conferences nationwide and is regularly featured in a variety of media, including Entrepreneur, the Fine Living Network, BNET, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Marin Independent Journal.

Starla is actively involved in the community and frequently volunteers her time as a speaker/consultant for the Bayview Business Resource Center, the Small Business Administration, Dress for Success, City College of San Francisco, Grace Center (substance abuse recovery program for women) and Women’s Initiative for Self Employment (WISE).  She also volunteers as an Animal Management Apprentice for the Oakland Zoo.

Starla lives in San Francisco with her husband and her Chiweagle named Scooby.
Email Starla

Laura Guy: Co-Founder & Director of Operations

Laura keeps things moving at Fearless. Whether it’s helping manage finances, tracking student registration or structuring strategic analysis, Laura excels at wearing the many hats required in her position.  Originally from Panama, Laura moved to California from her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri to attend Stanford University.  After college, she migrated to and fell in love with San Francisco, where she currently lives.

Laura is also the creator of Snaxy, all-natural, sugar-free, gluten-free, low-glycemic -- and delicious – cakes!  Laura discovered her passion for baking in graduate school; at the time she needed something creative and sweet to fuel her through the rigors of her dual JD/MBA program at the University of Southern California.  A self-professed fitness buff, Laura loves to stay healthy with running, Bikram yoga and cycling and good nutrition.

Is Laura fearless? Absolutely! Is she scared sometimes? Of course. But Laura works through her fears by relying on her family, Fearless peers and urban community. They all help her stay inspired and engaged in the activities she loves.

Laura’s communities: The Hub SOMA, Stanford Alumni, Café Gratitude, Landmark Education, Club One, Funky Door Yoga

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Carolyn Johnson, Program Instructor

Carolyn is a Business Advisor with 20+ years of experience in small business management and finance. She works with entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, small business owners and nonprofit organizations throughout California.

As an advisor, Carolyn combines the support and guidance of a business coach with the expertise and hands-on interaction of a business consultant. Carolyn, in active collaboration with her clients, develops effective business plans to guide them to exceed break-even in the early and emerging stage(s) of their business and achieve profitability in the expansion phase of their business.

As a lecturer, Carolyn has designed a series of business presentations on topics ranging from “Real Life: Where Personal and Business Meet” and “The Disciplined and Organized Entrepreneur” to “Location, Location, Location: A Critical Choice” and “Business Communications: Becoming One of the Top Three”.

Prior to the establishment of this Advisory practice, Carolyn was a Principal of the Genesis Capital Group, where she provided advisory and corporate financial services to privately held companies. She was also Director of Consulting and Grant Programs at the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF) where she managed a commercial real estate grant fund and led the expansion and integration of NCCLF’s financial and real estate consulting and training programs.

Carolyn earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles and Masters degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds a Masters degree in Business Administration in the fields of Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance and Marketing from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, New York.

Julnar Rizk - Coach and Consultant

Julnar Rizk is sure about one thing: there's no work she'd rather be doing than coaching and facilitating learning and change.

A certified professional coach since 2005 and a consultant in talent development and organizational change since 2006, Julnar has gained broad expertise in not only how to define and clarify one’s vision and strategy for change, but how to successfully execute this strategy and achieve sustainable goals for personal and professional success. She currently coaches throughout Silicon Valley in practice areas of leadership development, innovation, and inclusion & diversity.

She received her coaching and leadership training through the Coaches Training Institute, and is currently engaged in Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change Graduate Certificate program. She also has a Masters degree in Physical Therapy and a BA degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, before becoming a physical therapist, Julnar performed and recorded as a professional violin and fiddle player.

Jenn Giordano -- Impassioned Learner, Trainer and Coach

Why entrepreneurship matters to me: To me, entrepreneurship should be a word that is synonymous for following your dreams. Each of us have been given incredible, unique talents, and those of us who have the desire to create a new entity in the world, to spread those ideas and talents, are the driving force behind innovation within this global economy. We may feel small as we begin, but as our ideas take flight we can make powerful changes in the world. I want to be apart of this experience and do all I can to help others make the leap!

What I value most about being a part of FWEN: I so value female relationships that inspire me to be better (personally and professionally) than I am today. Being a part of FWEN pushes me to the next level, allows me to experience the innovation and intellect of woman who are making a difference in the world. Each time I am with my friends and colleagues within FWEN I feel that I grow...in my mind it doesn’t get much better than that!

Jeanine Becker

Jeanine Becker is passionate about Fearless and playing with a community of women who inspire, challenge and support each other to believe in possibility and achieve our dreams – together. For Jeanine, the joy is in those ah ha moments where women uncover what they want, formulate a strategy, and negotiate for it – fearlessly.

She teaches and trains others to negotiate with confidence as a Lecturer at Stanford Law School, and in many corporate and non-profit settings such as Young Women Social Entrepreneurs and the National Association of Women Business Owners. In addition, Jeanine serves on the San Francisco Board of the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, a local microfinance organization that provides training and loans to high potential low income women in the Bay Area.

Carolyn Jones -- Financial Goddess

Originally from the hot and sultry streets of Miami, Carolyn Jones is our resident Financial Goddess. Carolyn is the owner of Absolute Numbers, an accounting management firm that provides financial systems and bookkeeping consulting to small businesses in diverse industries.

Entrepreneurship encompasses all the qualities Carolyn deeply values: freedom, learning, growth, inspiration. She believes in the ability of each of us to create the life we want and being an entrepreneur gives us the power to do that. She thinks women are especially suited to be entrepreneurs because of our ability to solve problems creatively, juggle a million things at once, and our resiliency in the face of uncertainty.

Carolyn feels lucky to have stumbled across FWEN and in their willingness to take her in. In the short time she has been a part of the network, she's experienced such an immense rapport, respect, camaraderie (and sometimes clothing envy) – the likes of which is incredibly rare to find in the business world.

Johanna Nilsson -- Social Media Expert

Johanna is the Founder of Herringbone, a San Francisco/Stockholm based company that provides coaching and social media consulting for clients who want to make their voices heard and create a profound impact in this world. Johanna applies her expertise in marketing and coaching to a wide range of corporate, institutional and private clients in order to identify and support the emergence of core messages, build engaging customer communication and strengthen brand awareness. She has provided coaching and created social media marketing effors for a variety of corporate, institutional, and private clients, including Michael E. Gerber Companies and Deep Coaching Institute. She loves to work with Fearless and would love to get you heard too!

Heidi Isern -- Marketing Maven

Heidi Isern is Founder of Chameleon Endeavors, a management-consulting firm that uses consumer insights and market analysis to help apparel companies grow their brands. She is also a freelance writer who manages her own blog, writes for various online publications and is currently working on her first book, The Untaken Road. Heidi holds a B.A. and an MBA from the University of Washington and is conversant in Spanish and German. Please contact Heidi if you have a story to share; she would love to help you spread the word.

Community Fellows 2011

Who am I? I’m a woman with a crazy big idea. Growing up poor I was taught to dream small and need to retrain myself to dream and live big. With a long history of working in the nonprofit sector, I now turn my attention to a for-profit enterprise that taps into my passion for wine and food – and the magical relationship between the two.

So what is my crazy big idea? To reinvent the personal retreat industry by uniting spiritual pleasure with the earthly pleasure of wine and food with a focus on local sustainable production. People should not have to choose between monastic, ascetic experiences and “spa vacation” experiences that lack real opportunity for personal growth. This new retreat approach focuses on deliciousness, unleashing joy and making connections on three levels: to ourselves, to each other and to the Earth.  A return to wholeness, abundance and joy that goes beyond serving delicious food – participants will also receive wine and food education and opportunities to build community.

What do I hope to learn? The nuts & bolts of business planning, the nuances of launching a successful enterprise and the “how-to” of building the strong networks needed to make my idea happen. I also look forward to building relationships with other women that can serve as sustenance during the hard times that are inevitable in building something that matters. I seek community and knowing that I will not be alone in my journey.

Julia is proud to join the The Fearless Entrepreneur and community. As the daughter of immigrant small business owners, her passion stems from a desire to support families, create jobs, and to be fearless for sustainable growth and change.  She co-founded Retrofit Republic, a sustainable vintage store with a social impact, along with Jenny Ton in 2010. Their belief is that it’s wholly possible to look good and do good. Julia and Jenny are community organizers by trade and hail from the environmental justice world with particular passion for women of color issues.

Retrofit Republic specializes in vintage and recycled clothes of exceptional quality and donates a portion of the proceeds back to groups that serve a social or environmental mission. The store is online-based but hosts regular events and trunk sales in the Bay Area to help support other local entrepreneurs and grow the local economy.

She hopes that her experience can serve as a launching pad for other women entrepreneurs who come from immigrant backgrounds.

You can find Retrofit Republic at www.retrofitrepublic.com, on facebook.com/RetrofitRepublic, and on twitter.com/RETRORepublic.