Twanita Dozier and Kimberly Lawson are joining forces for the Cupcakes and Conversations Social Tour stop in Atlanta.

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA – In less than one month, successful businesswomen Twanita Dozier and Kimberly Lawson are hosting the Cupcakes and Conversations Social Tour stop in Atlanta. The event will feature vendors, a speaker panel, refreshments, and a place to gain incredible business insight and network with other business owners and entrepreneurs. The event will be held at the CEO Factory in the Atlanta Area on July 17th from 2 pm-5 pm.

The Cupcakes and Conversations Social Tour is co-hosted by Boss Up Magazine, the brainchild of the speaker, author, and CEO Twanita Dozier. Boss Up Magazine is a platform dedicated to highlighting emerging black entrepreneurs and businesses. The platform acts as a resource for businesses to grow and network and aims to bridge the gap between media and entrepreneurs. The magazine is part of Dozier’s larger mission of empowering minority entrepreneurs, breaking barriers, and providing support to those who may not get it otherwise. 

For this event, Dozier has teamed up with Kimberly Lawson, an international best-selling author, business coach & strategist, podcast host, and speaker. Lawson is also an entrepreneur and is the founder and CEO of Lawson Learning Academy, a company dedicated to helping people realize their entrepreneurial dreams. Lawson combines her background in psychology and education with her extensive business knowledge to motivate new entrepreneurs and give them the tools they need to succeed.

“The Cupcakes & Conversation tour was a great experience!” said a previous event attendee, “It’s good to see other women discuss their businesses and all that came with being business owners.”

Atlanta’s Cupcakes and Conversations Social Tour stop will feature Life Coach Dr. Roxanne Dixon, Mindset Coach Emi Valerio, and Business Coach Aaron Carr as panelists. This event is the perfect place for entrepreneurs to learn from others with similar experiences, and find a safe haven for networking and taking the next step to success.

Tickets for the Cupcakes and Conversations Social Tour stop in Atlanta are available on the Boss Up Magazine Website.

Media Contact
Company Name: Boss Up Magazine & Lawson Learning Academy, LLC
Contact Person: Twanita Dozier & Kimberly Lawson
Email: Send Email
Address:6670 James B Rivers Memorial Dr # 700
City: Stone Mountain
State: GA 30083
Country: United States
Website: www.bossupmag.org/ccstatl

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Originally Appeared Here

Missouri often gets lost in the shuffle when discussing U.S. cannabis. Those ignoring the Show-Me State and its medical market may be missing an early opportunity as an investor or entrepreneur.

Both sales and patient enrollment have performed strongly since opening in October 2020. The state had neared $25 million in monthly sales by the end of March 2021. By June 11, the total stood at $53.96 million.

Patient enrollment has gained ground consistently. By April 2021, the state received 13,477 patient applications that month, bringing the program’s total to 136,000.

“The number of people wanting this plant-based alternative is skyrocketing,” said Tom Muzzey, CEO of BeLeaf, the state’s largest vertically integrated brand.

Missouri’s Market Long On Growth Potential And Short On Competition

As Missouri’s patient count grows, additional retailers are needed to meet demand. In recent months, action has been taken to address issues such as unopened dispensaries. While waiting for more stores to open, operators remain optimistic.

Vishal Rungta, co-founder, president and CFO of MSO C3 Industries, said the growing patient count suggests a wealth of consumer enthusiasm in the state, adding that a limited license market is often favorable to investors.

“Missouri should be a healthy medical market that strong operators will be able to do well in,” he said.

While patient counts swell, Missouri is short on operators, providing little competition for the time being.

Part of the small competition pool stems from license holders that failed to open a store in the designated one-year period initially granted. In March 2021, the state revoked several licenses that failed to open.

Tyler Williams, founder and CTO of St. Louis-based Cannabis Safety and Quality, said minimal competition is a boost for investors. With the licenses revoked, he said the state is “left with only a few cannabis growers and manufacturers with a head start over the impending recreational market that is likely to come within the next couple of years.”

As the industry grows, the education gap is beginning to close.

In March 2021, BeLeaf partnered with Saint Louis University’s School for Professional Studies to develop the University’s Cannabis Science and Operations certificate. The program aims to cover all aspects of the medical market, from cultivation to compliance. Muzzey said the program has enrolled more than 300 students so far.

Growing Pains And Litigation Hinder Investor Enthusiasm

Market maturation appears to be the core pain point in the Missouri market.
Muzzey said licensing holdups keep some operators from moving forward. “Investors working with those particular licensees will be very late to the market, which will make it more difficult for them to catch market leaders.” 
The shape of the industry could also depend on various ongoing court cases.
Williams highlighted the state appellate court’s decision to review the business license application process. He hopes to see an expanded number of licenses and modifications to the process from the case.

Lawsuits hurt businesses, but Williams said the concern should be on the patients who, due to limited dispensary access, have few options, “and not to mention, pay ridiculous amounts for what they can find in-state.”

The impact of litigation is being felt by operators like Rungta and C3. “The volume of appeals and some limited litigation has negatively impacted investor enthusiasm in Missouri,” he said, adding that other hurdles, including residency requirements, can complicate matters for entrepreneurs.

Still, Rungta said his company remains hopeful the market will continue to evolve in a positive direction.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

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Originally Appeared Here

A curated technology-enabled global platform, Della Leaders Club (DLC), has been launched by social entrepreneur, chairman, and founder of Della Group Jimmy Mistry that aims to create a comprehensive support ecosystem for modern entrepreneurs.

Della Leaders Club, launched on June 12, has an initial physical presence in 15 cities in six countries in phase one, including nine metro cities in India, Jimmy Mistry told reporters at a virtual press conference on Thursday.

DLC is a for-profit, social impact company headquartered in Delaware, USA with subsidiary companies in India, UK, UAE, HK, Singapore, and Thailand.

In the next 12 months, DLC is planning to launch two more phases consisting of 30 more cities.

Over 2,000 honorary committee members already signed up across 15 chapters cities, these committees will bring together seasoned veterans, entrepreneurs, and young leaders for the perfect mix of dynamism and experience.

”We are planning a physical expansion of Della Leaders Club in 8 phases and are planning to add 15 cities every 6 months. We began with an initial investment of Rs 15 crore so far. We are planning to raise Rs 50 crore in the second round through family and friends, which is expected to close in 3 months. After that, we will explore institutional investors as and when we require funds for further expansion,” Mistry stated.

The annual membership for Della Leaders Club accounts for Rs 3 lakh or USD 4,000 for entrepreneurs with a minimum turnover of Rs 5 core, he said.

Mistry said in the post-pandemic world, modern leaders will benefit from the knowledge and experiences of global leaders.

DLC aims to create an exclusive and secure global community of leaders that will help each other evolve from a life of success to a life of significance, he noted.

”We live in a volatile world and I realised that leaders, across industries, need a support system that will empower them. This platform goes beyond just networking and focuses on knowledge development along with community outreach,” he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Originally Appeared Here

Mervyn Goh En Wei, Cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker works with companies to detect any … [+] vulnerabilities in their virtual systems.

Mervyn Goh En Wei

Whether it’s our social, professional or personal lives, each has a place online. The average internet user has 80 apps on their smartphone alone—that’s a lot of information stored online.

But concerns about data privacy are growing. Most internet users have become more aware of the ways companies track, store and share their information. In 2021, it matters that you take steps to protect your information online to prevent being hacked. For entrepreneurs, data security is directly tied to your business success. Digital safety is essential to a modern business strategy because it protects both you and your clients, and it increases trust in your brand.

Take Care of the Basics

Cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker Mervyn Goh En Wei works with companies to detect any vulnerabilities in their virtual systems. As a child, Mervyn would work to find cheats on various video games. As he grew up, he decided to become an ethical hacker—sometimes called a “white hat”—and work on behalf of companies, instead of against them. Now, he engineers and develops safer and smarter security systems for large-scale companies.

While it may seem like a no-brainer, many people forget the basics of cybersecurity and thus make themselves vulnerable to attack. For example, too many people use the same password for multiple sites and forget to change them frequently—two things that Mervyn says are critical for keeping your data secure. In addition, he advises people to store their passwords somewhere that they can’t be found (perhaps through an encrypted system like LastPass).

Encourage your employees to follow best practices and regularly change their passwords to promote security. Require more elaborate passwords on company computers or softwares, and use two-factor authentication.

Think About What You Share & What You Use

Hackers can pull from multiple sites, profiles and data sets in order to get access to your information. With this in mind, keep track of what you share online and don’t share too much of your personal information. Another important factor in cybersecurity is considering which platforms, systems and software you use.

As a business leader, you should clearly communicate with employees how to use company computers and technology. Create company security policies and regularly remind employees of best practices. This includes appropriate uses of company materials, external email communication rules, and the types of approved software.

Your employees should have a clear understanding of which information is confidential, what can be shared online, and how employees can communicate about the inner workings of your company. Clear expectations are key.

Double Up On Security

Use two-factor authentication wherever possible. Most social platforms and online services have this available as an integrated setting. While it may take a second or two longer, this can help you prevent hacking, and you will get notified if someone is trying to break into your accounts.

You can also use an external authentication service, like Authy or Duo Security. These will allow you to receive one-time codes on your mobile phone every time you’re logging into a particular platform.

Cybersecurity can make or break your personal brand and your business. Make sure that your information is protected, and keep an eye on what you share online, and what your employees share. If you want to go the extra mile, hire an expert ethical hacker who will show you your vulnerabilities and teach you how to stay secure.

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Originally Appeared Here

New Delhi [India], June 16 (ANI/PNN): When Steve Jobs inspired hundreds of professionals by encouraging them to ‘follow their passion’, it was not just another piece of advice. Our work is what fills a large part of our life and the only way to feel satisfied is by doing some great work which comes only if we love what we do. Even though the internet is full of ideas, it cannot turn that idea into a business nor make one an entrepreneur if it is not backed by passion, diligence, and hard work. The Indian alert, a growing digital media platform for news and marketing honoured ten entrepreneurs who have turned their passion and mission into hugely successful business ventures.

1. Ajay Ajmera – Founder of Ajmera Fashions: Since 1992, Ajmera Fashion was entrenched with a dream of providing women empowermentequality to women in anyways.

Looking back to the previous phase, in 2013, Ajmera Fashion was going to end its journey. But with god’s grace and unfaltering resolution, the Internet blessings unlocked our way to expand into new markets by offering tailored experiences to customers around the world by providing quality productsservices across 30 countries and it was determined as a change in their growth.

Recently, Ajay Ajmera, the CEO of Ajmera Fashion was awarded “The Champions of Change award” for “Women EmpowermentSocial Welfare” by the Governor of Goa (Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari). It was the most cherishinghonoured moment for them as well as for Ajmera Fashion.

2. Manodh Mohan – Founder/CEO Skyislimit Technologies Inc: From rags to riches, the story of Manodh Mohan of Skyislimit Technologies Inc is all about zeal, determination, and hard work. 15 years back, the man who started as a freelancer, today, runs a company with over 70 passionate technology-driven enthusiasts. Manodh with his products Salesfokuz-Fokuz proudly serves market leaders like SBI DFHI, CSB Bank, DCB Bank, Saraswat Bank, Godrej, etc., through customized solutions and has by far bagged 10 awards which include both international and national. Even during the pandemic, Manodh raised a USD 2 million angel investment for his company from a US-based visionary Suneel (Sonny) Menon, and his wife Ms. Shari Menon. Manodh always holds to two catchphrases – “EVERY PROBLEM HAS A SOLUTION” and “TEAMWORK MAKES DREAM WORK”.

3. Priyanka Bhatnagar – Founder of Samridhii: Believing in the immense power of the human soul, Priyanka has turned herself among the most recognized tarot cardReiki Healer in her discipline. Decades of helping people rendering Spiritual services related to psychic healing, angel healing, horoscope matching, numerology aiming of prosperity and contentment in the lives, manifold since 2018 she has become “The Best Tarot Card Reader in Delhi”.

Embracing the journey with “Healer of the Year-2018”, “Excellence Award 2019 in Tarot”, “National Gratitude Award -2020” acknowledged by iconic personalities like Malika Arora, Sapna Swaraskar, Sonali Bendre, Preity Zinta, and more.

“SAMRIDHiI” helps people in their career, business, relationship, and more.

4. Viraj Kohli – Director of Uviraj Group: Viraj Kohli is the Director of Uviraj Group that is India’s Most Trusted and Fastest Growing Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) Manufacturer. After completing his education at the Newcastle University in 2017, Viraj along with his brother Swaraj started their journey with a sole mission to ‘help save as many lives as possible’.

With over 250 employees and two manufacturing facilities spread across 100,000 square feet, Viraj saw the opportunity and quickly ventured into manufacturing PPE Kits at the onset of Covid 19.

Sticking by the tagline ‘Hume Parvah Hai’, they have donated over 15,000 masks/PPE kits since the Pandemic started.

5. Abhishek Sinha – Founder of NotJustLex Education LLP: Abhishek Sinha is the Founder of NotJustLex (NJL). Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, he was a Partner with the MA, PE team at two of the leading law firms of India (KhaitanCo, Mumbai, and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai). Abhishek is also a qualified solicitor of EnglandWales and has post-qualification experience of more than 15 years. NJL is a platform for young lawyers and law students to learn and express themselves. NJL’s vision is to: (i) provide accessible quality legal learning; and (ii) bridge the gap between theoretical learning and practical applicability. The focus is primarily on participatory learning. Recently, he was included in the list of Times 40 under 40, 20216. Paspuleti Pallavi Krishna – Executive Director of Tripura Constructions: A woman of elegance. She is one of the handfuls of women in the construction industry, devotedly handling homefamily business with utmost care. Setting new standardscontinuously embracing better practices is her routine. Empowering everyone in her journey also leading through inspiration comes easy to her. Pallavi is very passionate about sustainable developmenttakes every measure wherever possible to achieve it. She is the patronage of Indian art, culturehandicrafts. A very promising woman as leader of the future7. Hindol Basu – FounderCEO of Actify Data Labs: His dream has always been to create a technology product company in India that can compete with the world’s best.

Hindol- the Founder and CEO of Actify Data Labs, which helps companies leverage the power of data, brings about 19 years of a machine learning experience.

A big believer in teaching analytics and data science to young students and professionals, Hindol teaches at places like IIM, IIT, HBS, and IITB.

Co-authoring the book Business Analytics- Applications to Consumer Marketing, which has sold over 3000 copies worldwide, Hindol was also the first in India to build credit bureau analytics for the Indian market.

8. Dr. Sitanshu Singh – Founder/CEO of ThinkFiniti Education: Dr. Sitanshu Singh always harboured an intense passion for helping individuals, and society at large. He founded Thinkfiniti Education through which he has Trained, counselled, and improved the lives of over 2.5 lakh students all over India. He, after offering his services as a Covid-19 frontline worker, set his eyes upon the domain of healthcare and is now also the founder of MedFiniti Healthcare through which he looks to provide multidisciplinary healthcare to his patients.

He is a multi-dimensional entrepreneur who is working hard to improve and develop both the Education and Healthcare industries and is doing so with an industrious and perseverent mindset.

9. Monica Uberoi – Founder and Principal Architect at SPACES: Monica Uberoi is the founder and Principal Architect at SPACES. She is a gold medalist and a member of the Indian Council of Architecture with a rich experience of 24 years.A perfectionist by nature, Monica gives attention to detail and is committed to exemplary design. Her work is modern and reflects her sensibility towards society, culture, and environment. Under her leadership SPACES has completed over 300 projects in residential, commercial, and corporate interiors.

Her firm has been awarded the Best Interior Design firm in Delhi. As a woman of substance, she has clearly demonstrated the outstanding qualities which a woman leader should possess. She has been celebrated as one of the change-makers in the country, pouring invincible potential among women entrepreneurs.

10. Ram Shriram – CEO of Mahagram: Ram Pathade, 29, is a Young Entrepreneur, Investor, and the FounderCEO of Mahagram- a banking technology company that provides technology and infrastructure to banks and BFSI Start-Ups that process more than 10000 crore transactions annually.

He launched BharatATM, India’s First Rural NEO Bank which Sonu Sood- an ActorHumanitarian had previously endorsed.

An app that turns any retail store into a banking outlet, enabling customers to get banking services when shopping for their everyday needs having more than 3,00,000 retail banking touchpoints across India, serving more than 10MN customers monthly.

Ram is also an investor in several tech and fintech start-ups, including Finoviti, Fidypay, and others.

List Created By: The Indian AlertThis story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)

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Originally Appeared Here

June
16, 2021

5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Although tumultuous, 2020 accelerated trends in the video game industry. Newzoo estimated that the industry grew to $159.4 billion between 2019 and 2020, representing a 9.3% increase.

The titans of gaming — Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft — thrived as players weathered the global health crisis at home. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Sony’s PlayStation 5 hit store shelves shortly before the 2020 holiday season. Demand has outpaced supply so far, with many eager gamers still awaiting their chance to purchase one of the new consoles.

Related: Microsoft Is Buying ZeniMax Media and Bethesda For $7.5 Billion

The gaming industry also emerged as a source of entertainment for spectators in 2020. Major networks like Fox Sports, NBC, and ESPN aired officially licensed NBA, NFL, and MLB games during prime slots in April and May. When eNASCAR aired on Fox, more than 1.3 million viewers watched. And it’s not just sports: 27.7 million unique players participated in a Travis Scott Fortnite concert in April 2020.

Considering the popularity of video games, the industry is here to stay. Even if you’re not a part of the industry, you should look inward and see how you can incorporate video games or gaming as an activity, community, strategy, etc. The world is ushering in a new era, and any advantage can give you a leg up on the competition.

Related: How to Become a Successful Gaming Entrepreneur

How to capitalize on the gaming industry’s rapid growth

How can you improve employee or customer engagement? What might be an effective new marketing strategy? Asking questions like these can help you figure out what you can learn from the gaming industry.

If your employees need additional support, for example, you might use video games to prevent burnout and improve productivity. At Mission Control, we partnered with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to create a recreational esports league for the company’s employees at the beginning of coronavirus shutdowns. Doing this helped the team de-stress and form cross-departmental relationships when in-person meetings weren’t possible.

Although life has become more complicated, the video game industry has seen increasing success during the ongoing crisis. This presents you with potential learning opportunities. Here are three ways you can capitalize on the industry’s momentum:

1. Promote games or gamification techniques that align with your brand

Gamification isn’t a new tactic, but it can be used in new and inventive ways. In 2013, clothing retailer Moosejaw gamified its e-commerce platform through Quikly by using real-time pricing to incentivize consumer demand. Marketing campaigns like this capitalize on the engagement aspect of video games and encourage active participation.

You can also consider partnering with companies in the industry and using games to promote your products and services. In 2012, the snack company Popchips offered free bags of chips to players who reached certain levels in games created by the app company Kiip. More recently, the U.S. Army has used Call of Duty to find new recruits. The current health crisis hampered enlistment, so recruiters found a new way to reach potential candidates.

2. Drive physical action through virtual programming

Virtual engagement is extremely valuable because you can use it to prompt physical actions. Pokémon Go serves as a great example of this. In the game, players are encouraged to visit real locations to receive items, catch Pokémon and grow stronger. This led to huge increases in sales at small businesses that were near in-game Pokéstops in 2016. In 2020, Niantic, one of the game’s developers and publishers, used this phenomenon to launch its Local Business Recovery Initiative. Players nominated 1,000 businesses to receive in-game Pokestops and potentially see more traffic and sales.

The best part is that virtual programming doesn’t even have to relate to the action being taken. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proved this when she used the popular game Among Us and the streaming service Twitch to engage constituents and promote voting. In a casual tweet, she asked her followers whether they wanted to join her and “get out the vote.” You can similarly incentivize consumers by meeting them where they are.

Related: How Online Gaming Can Improve Your Entrepreneurial Skills

3. Collaborate with influencers and notable gaming brands

When Activision was gearing up to release Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Xfinity saw an opportunity to capitalize on the much-anticipated release. By forming a partnership, Xfinity’s customers got access to the game’s beta and were able to play it before it was released; meanwhile, publisher Activision could market its game to an expanded audience.

In another example, Chipotle went a step further and created an esports tournament called the Chipotle Challenger Series. The tournament featured $25,000 cash prizes and the opportunity for players to compete with professional athletes, actors and other celebrities. These mutually beneficial relationships can help promote companies in a whole new way.

A lot of changes accompanied the unusual year that was 2020, although not all of these changes will be permanent. However, one thing that can be counted on is the continued growth and expansion of the gaming industry. As an entrepreneur, you should look for ways to capitalize on the popularity of video games to expand your audiences and engagement.

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Originally Appeared Here

By Leana de Beer

OVER the course of the year, 2020 has forced businesses to change the way they do things – whether through promoting greater entrepreneurial thinking and innovation in the workplace, or simply encouraging employees to follow their passion projects or side hustles.

The evolution and changes in the way people work is needed if South Africa is to adopt a more resilient economic model to weather any future storms ahead.

At the heart of it, what we need is to start building a nation of entrepreneurs.

In the traditional sense, it has been commonly viewed that being an entrepreneur means owning or running your own business, but this isn’t always the case. Having an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of where you work, gives any professional an added advantage.

Thinking like an entrepreneur allows people to see things differently. Those who think this way have an added edge over the rest of the world, giving them the ability to identify new opportunities and ideas, as well as grow in whatever role that they may be in.

As the world finds its balance again, particularly in dealing with the current unemployment rate as recently confirmed by Stats SA, this type of thinking will prove vital to help restart and re-engineer the country.

This couldn’t be more needed, especially in industries where skills shortages and the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have increased the demand for innovators and entrepreneurs – something that young South Africans are perfectly matched for.

A study commissioned by Feenix showed university students are resourceful and have an entrepreneurial mindset. The research found 86% of university students aspire to be an entrepreneur and 16% of students currently have their own income through a side hustle or more formal job.

Young people are well-positioned to lead the change in how we work. Generation Z looks at the world differently, and it is this added advantage that will help them redefine what employment will look like in the future.

This sentiment was echoed by one of the students in the study who said, “I always thought, why work for someone else when you can work on your own masterpiece, in order to master peace within your life and all around the world!”

Another participant in the study believes that entrepreneurship is key to building your own legacy.

Creating something that could help feed your family from generation to generation is what draws me the most to this life. Don’t get me wrong, running a business is the most difficult, most frustrating, most insane thing to do, and I still have so much more to learn, but in end, all the effort is worth it.

The rise of the side hustle

It isn’t just a change in the way that people think and work, South Africa is also seeing greater adoption and acceptance of the “side hustle”.

According to a recent report by the Henley Business School, 27.5% of South Africans have some sort of side hustle, citing that 71.3% of those who had a side hustle did this as a way to supplement their income.

The study also found that the culture of the side hustle in Africa is driven by innovation, creativity and is firmly rooted in the informal economy. These traits fit in perfectly with the fundamental characteristics of entrepreneurship.

The national lockdown changed the game. People had a chance to reconnect with hobbies and passion projects, which for quite a few, blossomed into side hustles as a way to bring in extra income.

Having a side job while studying also has its benefits, as pointed out by one of the students in the research report who noted that it helped them build their work experience while also creating their own source of income.

We are starting to see more mainstream adoption of the side hustle, with many large companies celebrating the success of their employees’ side projects. Not only is this great for overall employee engagement and wellness, but some of these side hustles have the potential of turning into something bigger – ultimately adding jobs to our economy.

This view was supported by the research done by the Henley Business School, which found 71.6% of employers supported their employees who had a side hustle. This showed value, as the findings also found that 37.5% of side hustlers employed at least one other person.

Allowing greater entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking has a direct influence on our country’s economic performance. The results of which will ultimately bring new products, methods and production processes to the market and boost productivity and competition more broadly.

Leana de Beer is a CEO at Feenix.

* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL. or for title sites.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

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Originally Appeared Here

Jhalani’s luxury cashmere label, Janavi, retails out of 100 department stores worldwide, like Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus in the US, Harvey Nichols and Liberty in London, and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and China.

Jyotika Jhalani, creative director and founder of Janavi

‘Top Notch’ is a fortnightly column where journalist and editor Namrata Zakaria introduces us to fashion’s elite and erudite club.

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Most founders of companies are a type. They are usually male, backed by legacy money or then a fantastic college degree. Jyotika Jhalani is the rare one who breaks that mould. At 57, she is among India’s leading producers and exporters of cashmere shawls. Her label, Janavi, retails out of 100 department stores worldwide, like Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nieman Marcus in the US, Harvey Nichols and Liberty in London, and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and China. It aims at raising Rs 500 crores in the next five years.

Jhalani’s story is as special as she is unique. She left school at 15, as academia didn’t interest her. But at 18, she landed a job handling information and public affairs at the World Bank, where she stayed for the next 10 years. Marriage and two children later, she participated in an exhibition in Reno, Nevada, on a lark, selling shawls from Kashmir. “I grew up in Kashmir, we wore shahtoosh (shawls made of the Tibetan chiru, now an endangered species) all the time, not even pashmina. The pashmina boom had just begun in the 1990s. Everyone internationally was wearing pashmina. The exhibition did very well and that encouraged me,” Jhalani remembers her halcyon years. “I didn’t want to do run-of-the-mill stuff. We grew up with a penchant for painting and colour and embroideries. I especially loved embroideries—at the time pashmina was 30 percent silk and 70 percent pashmina so it was rather thick and could carry the threadwork. Of course, we kept refining it over the years.”

Embroidery on cashmere, a very soft wool, is indeed hard to do. But Jhalani had decided that she wanted to take this luxurious Indian item and make a global name for herself.  “India needed to be represented better. Labels showing off items that were made in Italy or France [were front and centre], but labels that said ‘Made in India’ were pushed at the back of the racks. I had befriended Fulvia Ferragamo [the daughter of the great Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo]. I started providing shawls for them. Then I went to Chanel, Dior, Armani, Missoni and Etro — oh, I was thrilled.”

The Janavi label was born with a rather personal story. “My kids said to me, ‘Mum you do all this great work but when you die no one will know what you do’. They were right; anyway I was so overwhelmed by all the contracts that were coming in, I had to give my business a name. ‘Janavi’ is another name for the river Ganga. A river forges its path ahead, and it’s what I do too,” Jhalani laughs. Her son will be opening Janavi in Mexico this year.

Janavi SS 2021 collection

Janavi is now known the world over for the finest cashmere shawls, in gorgeous colours and with elaborate but stylish embroideries. Their lace shawls, first made for Valentino, are a connoisseur’s must-have. “Everyone copied these after I started selling a lot of them at Harrods in 1998. We also sold them for Armani, Ferragamo and Oscar de la Renta. Of course, we were under contract then and couldn’t talk about them.”

Janavi is 25 years old and present in several top departmental stores across countries. Was the idea of an Indian luxury product difficult to sell then? “No, because the product sold itself. When someone sees our product line, you’ll see why. There’s always a market for beauty, creativity and love. We are a very unique company and we create magic on cashmere,” she avers.

Kashmir and cashmere are both very close to Jhalani’s heart. “Kashmir is not a political space for me, it’s too personal. Everything about it is heavenly, and my work progresses in capturing that.” She says she is incredibly close to her artisans. Janavi employs 400 people at their Noida factory. “All of them are Muslim and all of them are my family.” She says she is a great enabler of economic equality too. “My handbag masterji, the guy who stitches the purses, takes home Rs 1.25 lakh per month. But the business development manager, who has a degree, gets paid Rs 80,000. The college graduate asked me why, and I told him if the masterji wouldn’t make the handbag, what would he sell? I am not a graduate too, and I believe creativity and hand-skills are priceless.”

Jhalani is starting a weekend school in Noida for the children of her employees. Each child who attends will receive training in their traditional embroideries, the skill of their forefathers, but also computers, including CAD. Additionally, they will be paid Rs 5,000 per month for each child who attends, even if they have four kids. Janavi’s attempts at building human capital with this effort are commendable.

From the Janavi Spectacular collection

Jhalani has collaborated with Kiera Chaplin, where the musician granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin and the great granddaughter of Eugene O’Neill has created an art deco narrative around which a line of shawls is made. “We have another collaboration with Andrea Bocelli coming up, as well as one with the Zurich Opera. And then, a partnership with Loro Piana, one of the finest cashmere clothing companies in the world,” Jhalani shares.

Janavi has also expanded into Home and Baby verticals. “I love doing interiors. We did cashmere blankets for Hermes and Armani. Our cushions became very popular for their fauna embroideries, even monkey motifs. The Baby line was a natural progression when I became a grandmother,” she smiles.

Janavi is testament to women entrepreneurs achieving great success by mixing the personal with the professional. “I run my business through an emotion, not an excel sheet,” Jhalani says.

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Originally Appeared Here

(JTA) — On March 13, nearly a year to the day after Temple Beth El of Charlotte, North Carolina, closed due to COVID-19, Rabbi Dusty Klass gathered the congregation’s 900 households for a shared — albeit remote — Jewish experience.

Unable to gather her community for worship, Klass and her colleagues, including operations manager Nathalie Friedlander, invented something new: Challah Day. Volunteers baked over 900 challahs, and others delivered them to the doorstep of every household in the community for enjoying over a Shabbat meal.

Even those who rarely attend synagogue participated. New volunteers took leadership roles; people of different ages and stages initiated new relationships; those who felt only a distant connection to the community and to Jewish practice reported a sense of belonging.

Klass was one of thousands of pulpit rabbis who amid the pandemic quickly became rabbinic entrepreneurs — and in the process kindled new energy in her Jewish community. 

“I don’t know what to say except that the worst misfortune isn’t only misfortunes,” says the Rev. John Ames, a character in Marilynne Robinson’s novel “Gilead.” These words are true of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the rabbinate. Our clergy have now spent more than a year adapting their leadership to reach beyond their synagogue walls, serving those who couldn’t show up.

Misfortune may have fully emptied our sanctuaries, but the pandemic was merely an acceleration of a trend. The 2021 Pew Study of American Jews demonstrated that even before the pandemic, 52% of American Jews reported attending synagogue “seldom or never.” Without a synagogue, most do not have a relationship with a good rabbi.

Yet more than half of these “non-attenders” reported “other ways of expressing their Jewishness” through, as Pew confirmed, “holidays, food choices, cultural connections or life milestones.” 

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Of course, there are thriving synagogues where clergy and congregants express a dynamic American Judaism. But the title “rabbi” no longer guarantees pews full of Jews. Largely trained and paid to serve synagogues, rabbis thereby don’t reach the Jewish majority.

Our clergy are an underleveraged resource in connecting Jews and Judaism — and can do so with the incentive and tools. COVID-19 has proven our rabbis are ready to radically change in order to reach our people where they are.

For the past several years, the Center for Rabbinic Innovation has been training rabbis with the skills they need to build new communities in our Fellowship for Rabbinic Entrepreneurs. We have had success training our clergy to build and lead Jewish communities with and for those who do not attend synagogues. It only takes relatively small investments and support to encourage this success.

I see this in our fellow Rabbi Ariel Root Wolpe, who is building Ma’alot Atlanta, an emergent  spiritual community that gathers folks to “sing, hike, eat, and celebrate holy moments.”

While bringing rabbinic wisdom and spiritual leadership to this community, she has also been honing and practicing her entrepreneurial skills. Wolpe has met with scores of Atlanta residents who don’t attend synagogue. She has collected and analyzed data on their spiritual and communal needs, tested new ideas, tweaked her early projects and has begun to attract financial support for her work. Over this past year, with training and very modest investment in her work, her community has been growing.

Clergy in our fellowship learn the skills of spiritual entrepreneurship and practice a lean startup methodology. They use small launch funds to pilot projects meeting people where they are and move forward with them. Through the failures and successes of our rabbinic innovators, we are learning in real time the best practices for creating sustainable communities with those who seek to express Jewishness outside the synagogue.

This year, we extended our work to 150 intrepid rabbis, including Klass, who participated in our Rabbinic (re)Design Labs. These mid-career clergy, serving existing communities, transformed their own spiritual leadership.

For example, the rabbi of a midsize congregation launched a listening campaign, training a core of passionate volunteers to reach out and build deep connections to others within and outside the synagogue. With online meetings, they engaged more of their community than they had through regular synagogue programs and built Jewishly inspired, collaborative projects to overcome near-universal feelings of isolation.

Another rabbi in an urban congregation turned their neighborhood into a “Living Torah Museum Walking Tour” for Simchat Torah and beyond. They placed 54 laminated posters on members’ buildings and gates around their neighborhoods. Each poster had artwork representing one of the 54 weekly Torah portions, plus a QR code with links to the portion. Members, neighbors and curious passers-by all engaged with Torah in new ways.

These rabbis nearly universally said they could prioritize these innovative projects only because their regular synagogue services and programming were on hold.

The majority of clergy earn their salaries from institutions supported by and focused on their members. Necessarily, the bulk of their attention goes to serving the needs of those paying dues: sanctuary worship, b’nai mitzvah, synagogue-based Jewish education, social action and chesed initiatives. Already working to capacity, they have little time or resources to reach those who may never appreciate these synagogue functions. Only a small subset of clergy can take the financial risk to pursue their innovative ideas as entrepreneurs. And who pays the rabbi as she builds a spiritual startup? 

Our entire community must radically invest in the reinvention of the rabbinate so that 1,500 rabbis, not 150, learn and practice these methods. Even as we rightly celebrate the reopening of our sanctuaries, now is the time to ask how your synagogue, JCC and federation are prioritizing and dedicating time and money to rabbinic innovation. 

Training and supporting our clergy to lead successfully beyond the walls of the synagogue has exponential return on investment. COVID-19 has proven that they have the vision and capability to do so with the right training and support. Now is the moment to ensure that our clergy have the training, incentives, support and resources to harness this positive momentum born out of our misfortune.  The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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Originally Appeared Here

Divya Gugnani, the cofounder and CEO of Wander Beauty

Courtesy of Divya Gugnani

For Divya Gugnani, building her own empire was never going to be enough. After leaving a career in investment banking and private equity to take a leap of faith to the other side, she built a popular online fashion destination and sold it to QVC in 2012 then cofounded cult favorite Wander Beauty in 2014 and has served as CEO ever since. But all of this was just a warm-up for what would soon become Gugnani’s true passion: helping other female founders of color forge their own success.

“Back in the early days of my career at Goldman Sachs, there was only one woman with a senior role in my group. She had fought so hard to get that seat at the table and guarded it with her life,” the beauty entrepreneur and investor recalls. “Seeing that, I felt strongly that as I grew in my career, it was important to create more seats at the table and leverage my network to pull more women into opportunities.” With women receiving only 2.3 percent of the total venture capital money invested each year and women of color getting less than 0.65 percent, Gugnani has seen first-hand the many challenges that face female founders and has long recognized the need for change. “There are already so many obstacles for women and especially women of color so it’s imperative that people who have raised money or have built, scaled, and sold businesses take the time and energy to mentor and help others to have the same success in their careers,” she adds.

And one of the best ways to do that, Gugnani believes, is to build a strong network. “I’m constantly building a network of people that would mention each other in a room of opportunities,” she says. “I had seen so many of my male colleagues advocating for each other, and I became a huge proponent of doing this amongst women, especially women of color.” While market competition has historically pit these founders against one another, the Wander Beauty CEO thinks providing help and guidance to newcomers is crucial. “There are already so many obstacles for women and especially women of color,” Gugnani notes. “So, it’s imperative that people who have raised money or have built, scaled, and sold businesses take the time and energy to mentor and help others to have the same success in their careers.”

Throughout the last 21 years, Gugnani has invested in over 70 companies across a wide range of industries, either personally or through her investment fund Concept to Co, and she even closed an impressive six deals last year despite the obvious hurdles brought on by the pandemic. “In the early years of Wander Beauty, I was an advisor for only one brand at a time,” she explains. “But as I scaled and built out our management team, I’ve had the opportunity to take on an advisor role in a few more brands.”

As Wander Beauty has grown, Gugnani has had more time to devote to advising new brands and founders.

Courtesy of Divya Gugnani

These days, Gugnani is a passive investor in most, but she’s able to actively advise a several brands at a time, including Tower 28, a popular beauty brand founded by Amy Liu in 2019. The two founders met shortly after Tower 28’s launch, at an intimate dinner in Los Angeles where Liu, who had long been an admirer of Gugnani and her work, introduced herself and gladly accepted the Wander Beauty CEO’s offer to take a call and give her some advice. “Honestly, I have always considered Divya a mentor even before I met her!” Liu says. “She is forward facing as both an investor and a founder, and whether it’s a podcast, her Instagram, or Clubhouse, I think she is an amazing thought leader and does a great job putting out info for everyone to hear.”

Over the last two-plus years, Gugnani has assisted the Tower 28 founder in myriad ways—be it sharing her network and connecting her with people who would help her grow the business, making a monetary investment during the second round of fundraising, or simply offering advice from her own experience in the space. “Representation matters, and seeing women of color like Divya in positions of power and lending support in real ways (not only being a voice for change but literally putting her money where her mouth is) is the way change happens,” Liu adds. “I am inspired by Divya and hope to do the same in my own small way!”

Olamide Olowe, the founder and CEO of Topicals, another rapidly growing beauty brand that Gugnani has invested in and advised, has had a similar experience. “We started working together in June 2020, and she has been instrumental in Topical’s success,” Olowe says. “Divya held my hand through the process of launching at Sephora, from inventory delays to negotiating terms, and she’s always a text message away.” And beyond the practical help Gugnani has offered the Topicals founder, she’s been a real-life manifestation of the kind of success that can be possible for female founders. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” Olowe explains. “For women of color who grow up feeling like outsiders, it’s inspiring to see someone who looks like you succeed in the industry. It’s even more inspiring to know they want you to succeed just like them.”

For Gugnani, investing in like-minded founders will always be a huge part of her work and her life, but more than that, she hopes it ushers in a wave of change for women, and particularly women of color, in business. “We need to work together to create more opportunities and build the ecosystem of female entrepreneurship,” she says. “There are still so few seats for women and women of color at the table, so we have to band together to help each other. We have to share ideas and opportunities. We need to build each other’s networks and help each other solve problems to grow our businesses and our wealth.”

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Originally Appeared Here