The Power of Difference: Sallie Krawchek at Ellevest

I strongly believe in the power and importance of diversity. That's one of the reasons why Masters of Scale was the first American media program to commit to a 50/50 gender balance for its guests. But a nuance that is often missed is what it's like being the person who provides that diversity.

Sallie Krawchek, my guest on the latest episode of Masters of Scale, earned her fame with her willingness to be different, and to stand up for her principles rather than going along with Wall Street norms. This was often difficult and harrowing. Sallie is candid about the kind of sexual harassment she faced on Wall Street, and if you'd prefer not to hear the details, I do provide an advance warning in case you'd rather skip 30 seconds ahead.

Sallie survived and overcame these challenges, as well as what she considers the toughest environment she ever faced—7th grade at an all-girl's school in South Carolina—and today, she's leveraging the power of diversity with her startup Ellevest, which helps women invest and own their own futures.

Sallie and I discuss how a diversity of viewpoints helps you see the opportunities that others miss. She talks about why it's a good thing that she and her co-founder Charlie disagree about almost everything. She'll also explain why it's okay to be fired on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, as long as you got sent home for the right reason (in Sallie's case, for advocating that her company return money clients lost following bad advice), and the simple technique she uses to maintain a diverse workplace at Ellevest, with a gender-balanced engineering team and 40% people of color.

As always, I'd like to hear your thoughts and reactions to this episode. What kinds of diversity have you built into your team? Not just gender, and ethnicity, but in terms of radically different experiences. How have you maintained that diversity over time?

Please write a short post on your LinkedIn newsfeed to share your answers with the wider community. Tag your post #mastersofscale so I can find it. And if you’d like, tweet it at me @ReidHoffman) and @MastersOfScale.

Suzanne Grant, CD

Veteran.LoverOfPeace.TechLeader.WarriorForBetter Driven by mission, curiosity and human behaviour. Discovering the nuances of positioning, presence, and deals. Mamma to a pop star and an engineer #EverEntrepreneur

5y

Another brilliant episode just packed with insight. @SallieKrawcheck ‘s story is fascinating. Thanks! Going to check out Ellevest and share with some friends re the MasterCard Challenge. Paul Vallee - Sounds like you.

Basem Salah

T.V DIRECTOR🔛entrepreneur🔛🔛🔛 Owner of one world APP

5y

والله انت برنس يا هوفمان يااخويا 👉

Nicole Dodge

Senior Sales Executive

5y

She is direct, no nonsense, experienced and smart!

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