Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs

by Nathalie Molina Niño, Sara Grace

Overview

For women entrepreneurs (and anyone sick of the status quo), this smart, unapologetic collection delivers fifty proven hacks to leapfrog over obstacles and succeed in business.

"A must-read for any woman who has a great idea and the nagging thought that doors are closed to her; Molina Niño helps to blow them open."—Publishers Weekly

Think the most critical factor for becoming a great entrepreneur is grit, risk-taking, or technical skills? Think again. Despite what every other business book might say, historical data show the real secret ingredients to getting ahead in business are being rich, white, and male.

Until now. Leapfrog is the decades-overdue startup bible for the rest of us. It's filled with uncompromising guidance for winning at business, your way. Leapfrog is for entrepreneurs of all stripes who are fed up with status quo advice—the kind that assumes you have rich friends and family and a public relations team.

Refreshingly frank and witty, author Nathalie Molina Niño is a serial tech entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of BRAVA Investments, and a proud daughter of Latinx immigrants. While teaching budding entrepreneurs at Barnard College at Columbia University and searching the globe for investment-worthy startups, she has met or advised thousands of entrepreneurs who've gone from zero to scalable business. Here she shares their best secrets in the form of fifty "leapfrogs"—clever loopholes and shortcuts to outsmart, jump over, or straight up annihilate the seemingly intractable hurdles facing entrepreneurs who don't have family money, cultural capital, or connections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780143132202
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/28/2018
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nathalie Molina Niño is the CEO and founder of BRAVA Investments, investing in high-growth, innovative businesses that deliver a measurable economic benefit to women. A technologist and coder by training, Molina Niño launched her first tech startup at the age of twenty. Molina Niño is also the cofounder Entrepreneurs@Athena at the Athena Center for Leadership Studies of Barnard College at Columbia University. She has served as a business and global growth advisor to industry leaders in the for- and non-profit sectors, including Disney, Microsoft, MTV, Mattel, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Most recently, she stepped in as CRO of PowerToFly and led the launch campaign for Nely Galán's New York Times bestseller and company, Self-Made.

Read an Excerpt

Women receive just 2.5 percent of venture capital (VC) funding— and of those, about 0.2 percent are women of color. Women simply don’t have access to the capital that men do.
(Continues…)

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Copyright © 2018 Nathalie Molina Niño.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction: Patience Is Not a Virtue xiii

Section 1 Hacks: Ready

1 You Don't Need a Hoodie 3

2 Don't Mourn; Organize 8

3 Take Daily Vacations 12

4 Forget Getting to Yes. Get to No. 16

5 Become a Walking Sandwich Board 19

6 Hack Your Inner "Peer" Circle 23

7 Steal Paper Clips 29

8 The DIY Business School 32

9 Cash in on Your Woman Card 36

10 Worry About Success, Not Failure 40

Section 2 Hacks: Set

11 Forget Passion. Find Things You Want to Punch. 47

12 A Closed Network Is Open Season 50

13 Let the Techies Tech 53

14 Climb in Bed with Your Customer 56

15 Worship the Franchise 59

16 Squeeze Out Every Drop of Value 63

17 Laser in on an Empty Shelf 67

18 Passive Income Is Sweaty Work 71

19 When the Bar's Low, Dance on It 75

Section 3 Hacks: CO

20 Find Your Dolores Huerta 81

21 Silicon Valley, Bye 85

22 Don't Wait for Folks to Get Woke 89

23 Learn the Rules of the New Clubhouse 94

24 The Four-Word Phrase That Gets Shit Done 99

25 The Knockout Power Compliment 103

26 Don't Ever Be Sorry; Be Fabulous 106

27 Show Me the Receipts 110

28 Master Startup Jedi Mind Tricks 115

29 Bring a Red-Hot Trojan Horse 118

Section 4 Hacks: Fund

30 Funding 101: Start Scrappy, Stay Scrappy 125

31 Raise Prices, Stat 131

32 #$@! The "Friends and Family" Round 136

33 Venture Is a White-Collar Drug 140

34 Debt Isn't a Four-Letter Word 144

35 Win the Crowd 149

36 Get the Traction You Need, Not the Traction They Want 153

37 Write the Casablanca of Decks 156

38 Find Your Angels 160

39 Be Mighty in the VC Power Play 167

40 Answer the $10 Million Question 170

Section 5 Hacks: Crow

41 How Not to Choke on Growth 175

42 Build a Movement, Then a Market 179

43 If You Want Friends, Create Controversy 183

44 Read the Media's Mind 188

45 Out-Kardashian the Kardashians: The New Influencer Marketing 191

46 Hire Smart and Tap a New "Monster" 195

47 Grow Fast by Joining Forces 199

48 Find Partners Who Make Any New Market "Local" 202

49 Catch a Whale 205

50 Do Good and Make Money 211

Epilogue: Go Forth, Be Brazen 215

Notes 219

Resources 223

Acknowledgments 228

Editorial Reviews

A must-read for any woman who has a great idea and the nagging thought that doors are closed to her; Molina Niño helps to blow them open.”—Publishers Weekly

“No-nonsense strategies for starting and growing a business, especially if you don’t have deep pockets.”—Darrah Brustein, Forbes

“We are the leaders we have been waiting for, and with advice from this incredible guide, I believe we will win the fight for gender equity.”—Bob Bland, national cochair, Women’s March on Washington
 
“Leapfrog’s scrappy yet sophisticated advice helps aspiring entrepreneurs from all backgrounds understand how to be the CEOs of our own lives and the creators of our destinies.”—Jamia Wilson, executive director and publisher, Feminist Press, City University of New York
 
“A must-have for every woman, budding entrepreneur or not. [It’s] packed with practical and relevant advice—you can’t help but be emboldened to take that first step toward making your business idea a reality.”—Jacki Zehner, president of the Jacquelyn and Gregory Zehner Foundation, chief engagement officer and cofounder of Women Moving Millions
 
“For those of us who don’t have an MBA or a million-dollar network to pave the way, we have Nathalie’s helpful hacks to catapult us into the C-suite and beyond.”—Ruthie Ackerman, deputy editor of Women@Forbes
 
“There is hidden money and opportunity in America. Nathalie provides the shortcuts to solve the puzzle and go get it! No excuses—Leapfrog is the how!”—Nely Galán, author of New York Times–bestselling Self Made: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way

"Leapfrog is a shot of founder/CEO/executive know-how into the bloodstream. I have never had starting or running business explained to me like this. Not only do I feel like I have to launch my business, I feel like I deny myself a world of experiences, community, philanthropy, self-love and self-knowledge by not launching my business. Leapfrog is a major key guaranteed to unlock your entrepreneurial spirit and convert any aspiring CEO from a dreamer into a doer."—Melani Douglass, Founder, Family Arts Museum & The Well Nana

“Filled with practical advice for real women on everything from funding to finding a network; Nathalie understands that women want to build from the heart, and that how you get there is just as important as where you’re going.”—Danielle Kayembe, CEO of GreyFire Impact, and author of The Silent Rise of the Female-Driven Economy
 
“It’s the future of entrepreneurship. I couldn’t put it down!”—Rakia Reynolds, founder and CEO, Skai Blue Media
 
“I believe everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit within them—the information and inspiration within Leapfrog will serve to empower all women for generations to come.”—Nina Vaca, founder, chairman, and CEO, Pinnacle Group
 
“A blueprint for women like me, who have the will, but need the way.”—Erika Alexander, writer, actress, and cofounder, Color Farm Media
 
“Brash, ballsy, brilliant. Leapfrog is packed with practical wisdom from the front lines of entrepreneurship.”—Gloria Feldt, cofounder and president of Take the Lead, author of No Excuses, and former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
 
“With Nathalie Molina Niño’s help, maybe we can finally thwart the system that has kept women from thriving.”—Marie C. Wilson, honorary founder and president emerita, Ms. Foundation for Women, founder and president emerita, The White House Project, advisory board chair, VoteRunLead, Athena Fellow, Barnard College, senior advisor, Brava Investments
 
“The new playbook for the modern entrepreneur who is redefining success on her own terms, and Nathalie is clearly rooting for all of us.”—Tiffany Dufu, tiffanydufu.com
 
“What made my soul reverberate was Nathalie’s total and complete abandon to the fact that she could do something if she thought of it. Bring your best game—the road map is in your hands.”—Lola C. West, managing director, WestFuller Advisors LLC
 
“A definite must-read for any woman entrepreneur serious about scaling.”—Melanie Hawken, Lionesses of Africa
 
“Leapfrog cuts through the typical ‘lift yourself up by your bootstraps’ advice (applicable only to those with privilege) and peels back that onion to get to the delicious truth of the hustle that is possible for entrepreneurs often locked out of the system.”—Kat Cole, COO and president, North America, Focus Brands
 
“If you have this book, it will change your life, whether you are on an entrepreneurial path or just dreaming of taking the leap.”—Whitney Smith, principal at Whit and Wisdom Consulting, chief of strategy and brand at The Dream Corps, and strategist at Magic Labs Media
 
“I cannot recommend Leapfrog too highly—it’s the secret weapon we all need in the face of rich white male privilege to help level the entrepreneurial playing field.”—Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO, MakeLoveNotPorn and AllTheSkyHoldings
 
“Nathalie Molina Niño has finally given us the book we’ve been wanting about women entrepreneurs in the twenty-first century.”—Jimmie Briggs, cofounder, Man Up Campaign, NYC Gender Equity Commission

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