Defining Moments cover art

Defining Moments

Defining Moments

Written by: Lendio
Listen for free

About this listen

 Everyone fails. It’s one of the few guarantees life provides us, regardless of ambition or status. Yet, as leaders and entrepreneurs (and humans in general), we often brush those failures under the rug. Because they’re embarrassing. They hurt. They can rock our entire world. But without these moments - these defining moments - we would have a lesser sense of purpose, empathy, and meaningful achievement. This isn’t another business podcast about accomplished leaders who have changed the world and made millions. This is where we talk to real people who have struggled to make their personal and professional pieces fit while building the businesses that fuel America. Join us every other week as we guide you through a new and noteworthy story on the power of perseverance, prioritizing, and pivoting. Defining Moments is brought to you by Lendio, your trusted partner in small business finance.2020 Lendio Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • Vlada Lotkina | Communication Is the Foundation of Success

    Vlada Lotkina | Communication Is the Foundation of Success
    Feb 4 2021
    Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Vlada Lotkina, CEO and co-founder of ClassTag, saw firsthand the successes and failures that inevitably come with following your dreams. It was that inherited pioneering spirit that drove Vlada to emigrate from Ukraine to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School for her MBA.Vlada had a few different business ideas early on, but it wasn’t until her daughter began preschool that she fully dove into entrepreneurship. In fact, it was the overwhelming experience of teacher-parent communications that inspired Vlada to create ClassTag, a platform focused on better connecting parents with their students’ teachers.“I was on the receiving end of various parent communications from her school,” Vlada says, describing how she spotted an opportunity. “And I really was overwhelmed and felt that there is a better way to connect parents and teachers in every child's success. … That was a problem that I felt is both needed and critical, as well as really a big market opportunity because education has just been lagging behind so many industries.”Rather than marketing ClassTag directly to school districts, Vlada and her team took a backdoor approach. They focused on building the best in-class consumer product for those who would actively use it: teachers. “I'm just impressed every day with how tirelessly educators are working to meet the needs of families,” Vlada says. “And certainly I think innovation and technology is only there to support the sometimes really heroic efforts that they all make.”ClassTag is currently used by 4 million parents and teachers across 25,000 schools, helping streamline communication and improve the relationship between teachers and parents. According to Vlada, building a partnership between these two parties is the foundation for student success.##Featured Entrepreneur👱‍♀️ Name: Vlada Lotkina⚙️ What she does: Vlada is the co-founder and CEO of ClassTag, a simple and free parent-teacher communication system that just works — for everyone.🎨 Company: ClassTag💎 Words of wisdom: “The experience of growing up in an entrepreneurial family was really impactful for me and just seeing how many times my dad started and closed different companies and realizing that the only way to fail is not to try. ... Certainly that just removed the fear of not making it and really looking at the journey as a way to learn and to do the best you can and just have sometimes ungrounded belief in your own success.”🔍 Where to find Vlada: LinkedIn | Twitter🔍 Where to find ClassTag: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube##Defining Insights💡 Entrepreneurial spirit: Vlada credits her father’s own ambitious and inventive energy with inspiring her to take risks and pursue new initiatives. 💡 Ignorance is bliss: Without knowing its prestigious rank, Vlada applied and got into the Wharton School. She says sometimes not knowing certain things can help you lose that fear of rejection and go after what you want. 💡 Everything is a learning experience: Aside from Wharton’s challenging curriculum, Vlada credits her classmates with teaching her just as much, if not more, about the way business works in the United States.💡 Look for the right opportunity: Always looking for ways to start her own business, Vlada paid attention to everything around her. Such an opportunity emerged when her daughter started preschool — Vlada saw a need to improve the parent-teacher connection for student success.💡 Appeal to the actual client, not the larger business: Vlada and her team targeted the teachers who would actually be using the product rather than entire districts at large. This yielded the best in-class consumer product inspired and influenced by teachers themselves.  💡 Rather than reinvent the system, find areas for improvement: Instead of creating a new workflow, Vlada and her team looked closely at the existing system and found gaps in the line of communication that could benefit from changes.💡 The only way to fail is to not try: Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family, Vlada saw the success and failure of starting new endeavors. Once accepting that the only true failure is not trying, Vlada was able to take fear out of the equation and pursue her dreams. Top quotes from the episode:Vlada Lotkina:“I went through a number of corporate positions and finally started my own company, which is called ClassTag. And it's been the most challenging and rewarding part of my journey so far.” “When ClassTag came about, it was really from my personal experience, right? So my daughter started preschool at the time, and so I was on the receiving end of various parent communications from her school. And I really was overwhelmed and felt that there is a better way to connect parents and teachers in every child's success. And so that became the mission behind ClassTag.”“We certainly strive to ...
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • Gail Sexton Anderson | Helping Build Families Through Comfort and Connection

    Gail Sexton Anderson | Helping Build Families Through Comfort and Connection
    Jan 28 2021
    When Gail Anderson began working in third-party fertility nearly 25 years ago, she dreamed of opening a one-stop-shop that would give prospective parents all the resources to face the challenges ahead. Whether it’s mental, emotional or educational support, Gail is determined to provide it to her clients.Gail’s motivation to join the field of third-party fertility was ignited by a difficult personal experience: a heartbreaking miscarriage. After feeling flushed and in pain from severe cramping, Gail sought medical attention at a nearby emergency room, where she was treated with impatience and little empathy. “I left there feeling very much embarrassed — like ‘Oh, sorry for bothering you,’” Gail shares. “It was just this really negative experience. And it took a few days for me to kind of go like, ‘Wait a minute. I'm not pregnant anymore.’”Later on, Gail received the opportunity to work with an egg donor and surrogacy program. It was then she realized she had found her calling. “I just loved helping people when they're going through this very difficult time and helping them to kind of make sure they feel heard and understood and how challenging it was. And so that sort of began my life's work,” Gail says. Gail’s own harrowing experience was the driving force behind her business endeavors. She became determined to create a space where those seeking help in starting a family can feel supported, heard and seen — a great contrast to the treatment she received after her miscarriage. After nearly four years of planning and building from the ground up, TULIP opened in 2020. The membership-based platform reflects Gail’s determination to help anyone and everyone on the journey to parenthood.  ##Featured Entrepreneur👱‍♀️ Name: Gail Sexton Anderson⚙️ What she does: Gail is the co-founder and chair of TULIP, a platform where intended parents can find education and support as they build their families in a not-so-old-fashioned way. 🎨 Company: TULIP💎 Words of wisdom: “We always say that our clients are — as I mentioned, we call them ‘intended parents’ — our true North. If we don't listen to them and learn how we can help them, then we can't.”🔍 Where to find Gail: LinkedIn🔍 Where to find TULIP: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn##Defining Insights💡 Sparked by personal experience: Gail was so affected by the poor medical treatment she received after a miscarriage that she wanted to create a place where she could help people in the ways she was not.💡 Everyone has a story: Just as Gail’s own experiences led to her life’s work, she believes listening to people’s stories is the key to effectively helping them.💡 Easing parents through an overwhelming experience: For many, choosing an egg donor or a surrogate requires a huge mental leap, thinking about the birth of their child in a new light. TULIP is focused on being there for the intended parents every step of the way.💡 Set realistic expectations: Despite all the research clients might come prepared with, TULIP makes sure intended parents have all the information they need for a realistic understanding of the situation and to make the best decisions for themselves and their family. 💡 Tapping into a wider network: Having worked in third-party fertility for nearly 25 years, Gail knows the value of making connections with agencies to bring more options to her clients.💡 True North: At TULIP, the intended parents remain the focal point. Making sure they are heard and cared for in every realm is the company’s mission.Top quotes from the episode:“Looking back, I now wish there was someone there to kind of say, ‘How are you doing? How are you feeling?’ I only had one friend who was aware that I'd been pregnant and then had a miscarriage who actually called me to say, ‘How are you doing?’ … I think it helped me to be able to be so much more empathetic to anyone going through this sort of thing where it’s their greatest heart's desires to have a child and they need someone to be there and listen to them.”“I think truthfully the biggest influence has been the hopeful parents and trying to hear what it is that they really need. We always say that our clients are — as I mentioned, we call them ‘intended parents’ — our true North. If we don't listen to them and learn how we can help them, then we can't.”“We offer to a different group of intended parents at TULIP, which is more of the self-help … to be able to help them kind of go through this and feel supported. Of course, we have coaches at TULIP, but it’s something where it's more of a do-it-yourself and helps any intended parent to feel much more like ‘Here are my possibilities, and now I can kind of sort through that without anyone looking over my shoulder and saying, decide, decide, decide.’”“Don't fall in love with a surrogate before your doctor has reviewed the medical records because you may ...
    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • PPP Update From Lendio CEO Brock Blake

    PPP Update From Lendio CEO Brock Blake
    Jan 25 2021

    Watch the video on YouTube!

    Lendio's CEO, Brock Blake, gives an update on this new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

    The latest round of PPP comes with bolstered support for the businesses that need it most, including: 

    • The ability to receive a 2nd PPP loan for borrowers who previously received a loan.
    • Funding specifically earmarked for performance venues and BIPOC-owned businesses.
    • Provisions to help ensure that the smallest businesses can secure these essential loans.
    • Better support for hard-hit industries like restaurants.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
No reviews yet