Sallie Krawcheck is no stranger to stress. She spent 20-plus years in banking, rising to top roles and becoming "the most powerful woman on Wall Street," all while shouldering the weight of institutionalized sexism. Her two highestprofile jobs ended publicly: In 2008, she left her post as CEO of Citi Wealth Management after failing to get the bank to repay on toxic investments. Three years later, she departed Merrill Lynch because of a restructuring. In 2015, Krawcheck started over by co-founding Ellevest, a women's investment and wealth management platform that had more than 120,000 users (including this reporter) as of 2021; today it has $1.9 billion in assets under management.
Krawcheck got real with us about her chronic sleep issues, the emotional burden of being a woman founder, and her bid to confront her fear of failure.
A few years after becoming a Wall Street refugee, you went into entrepreneurship, a space rife with stress and burnout. Did you consider that?
When it comes to stress, anxiety, and overall difficulty, entrepreneurship makes Wall Street look easy. But it wasn't a conscious jump from one high-stress environment to another. I just saw a need, looked around, and said, "There's a solution set of one, and it's me." At the time, I didn't realize how stressful it would be-but I would have done it anyway.
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Inc..
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 2024 edition of Inc..
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Screen Play
Joe Thomas and his co-founders were two weeks away from running out of money for their software startup when, in 2016, they launched a new product and went all in on prerecorded videos as a workplace communication tool.
THE GUY WHO PUTS COPS IN THE SKY
BLAKE RESNICK, A 24-YEAR-OLD WITH FUNDING FROM SAM ALTMAN AND SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, IS ON A WILD RIDE TO REINVENT THE FUTURE OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AI Gets to Work
It's leading-edge, it's downright scary and it's here. Following AI's breakout year, we take a look under the hood at how entrepreneurs are applying the tech and what you need to know to stay competitive.
THE CRUSADING KOMBUCHA CEO AND 200 YEARS OF STARTUP-DESTROYING LEGAL DOCTRINE
Michael Peter wants to dismantle a longstanding legal precedent that can prevent entrepreneurs from getting their day in court. His not-so-secret weapon: A small-business superhero named Reverend Justice.
ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE FEMALE FOUNERS 250
SUCCESS often breeds success-but triumphs also arise out of necessity. Consider that Airbnb, Uber, and Rent the Runway started during the Great Recession. In many ways, the past year was defined by similar tumult. While the U.S. never technically entered a recession, the retrenchment in investment and ad spending paired with the psychological-if not direct-toll of tech layoffs yielded tough times indeed. But female founders are nothing if not resilient, and their achievements defied the conditions they faced, giving us cause to expand our list to 250 of them. They're not ranked, but they are organized around themes. In the pages that follow, you'll find snapshots of courage from women who've overcome trials-such as keeping the internet running in war zones, coping with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, or facing personal crises. You'll also learn how this year's top female founders grew their collective 2023 revenue to more than $8.86 billion, raised $6.2 billion in funding to date, and kept it together not just to survive, but to thrive.
Shelley Zalis
On that elusive work-life balance, her own version of perfection, and pivoting with positivity.
Steve Young Shares Lessons From the Private Equity Playbook With a First-Time Founder
The athlete-turned-investor helps Tessa Barton prepare to scale her bootstrapped photo-editing startup, Tezza.
AI in HR Tech: A New Era in Human Resources Technology
The next generation of HR software is here, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Now, your business can harness the transformative power of AI in HR tech.
Think Liberally and Deliberately
Why do I devote four weeks a year to reading and thinking? So I can supercharge all the other days.
At Board Meetings, the CEO Should Get Lost
Directors need to candidly discuss company leadership. They can't do that if the top manager is also the board chair.
