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- [00:01]
Unknown Host
The following podcast is a dear media production. So before we get into today's episode, I have some pretty exciting news. Balance Black Girl is actually nominated for a 2025 NAACP Image Award under the best Podcast for Lifestyle and self help category. Now this is an incredible, incredible honor and I would appreciate your vot. We are with some amazing shows in the category that I'm honored to be nominated beside and I would just really love to see you all turn up and turn out to support Balance Black Girl. So we will leave a link in the show notes or you can go to the NAACP Image Awards website and you can cast your vote there. Again, I would really appreciate your vote for Balance Black Girl under the best lifestyle and self help podcast category. Thank you so much for your support.
- [01:00]
Les
Thank you for tuning in to Balance Black Girl. My name is Les. I'm your host and I appreciate you tapping in. So if you've been listening to the podcast lately, you know that I've had this loose theme of what it means to be an athlete of life. So how we can apply an athlete's mentality to the various areas of our lives so that we can live the life that we want. And when I was thinking about what that means for our career, I didn't want to have a conversation that was all about the grind, the hustle, the push, prioritizing work over everything else. I really wanted to have a conversation around what does it look like to bet on yourself, to invest in yourself, to take risks in your career, but to also know when to pull back and when to focus on yourself. And today's episode gets into just that. So I'm really excited to welcome my friend Tori Bell to the podcast. And Tori is an amazing example of what it means to pivot when something is no longer serving you in your life and in your career. So I'm really excited for you to get to know Tori, for you to hear more of her story and how she's navigated, balancing self care, being a founder, and navigating changes in her career. And I hope that you'll walk away feeling inspired. Welcome to the podcast.
- [02:13]
Tori Bell
Thank you for having me.
- [02:15]
Les
I'm so excited to have you.
- [02:16]
Tori Bell
I'm excited and like, I have to say, I'm. I don't understand why I'm nervous, but I am, so I have to like, name that.
- [02:23]
Les
Oh, well, I mean, I appreciate you letting me know. I mean, we're just gonna chat and hang out and it's chill. We're all friends here.
- [02:32]
Tori Bell
We're all friends here.
- [02:33]
Les
We also have the nicest listeners. I'm actually so grateful for the community of this show because they are truly so sweet, so supportive. They will love you.
- [02:42]
Tori Bell
Well, that's what I hear. So I'm excited. And thank you for being so kind.
- [02:46]
Les
Oh, my gosh. Yeah, absolutely. And so I am really on the cusp of, like, ushering in this new era of the podcast, and it's happening in real time. Like, I'm still not fully sure what it's going to be, what form it's going to be, but what I do know is that I really love telling the stories of women, particularly women who look like us, who take risks and who are not afraid to go down different paths. And that was why I was so excited to bring you on the show, because I think you are such a great example of taking risks in your career, making pivots, making changes. If something doesn't feel good to you, you are willing to step into it and make a change. And I think that that's so important to talk about.
- [03:30]
Tori Bell
Thank you. That's so powerful. And in speaking with my. I had. I have a life coach, and speaking with my life coach today, we were kind of talking about just all the pivots that I've made and, like, the type of person that I am and the things that I gravitate towards and. You're right. When things don't feel right, I like to make a change. I don't like to do things that everybody else have. I like to create and chart a new path for myself. And I'm excited to share more about that with you, and hopefully it inspires some of your listeners as well.
- [04:00]
Les
It definitely will.
- [04:01]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [04:01]
Les
A major role that you've had over the past few years as a founder of your company, Inclusion Unpacked. I want to talk about that, but I also want to talk about your journey in creating that.
- [04:11]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [04:12]
Les
Previously you worked at Meta for a long time.
- [04:14]
Tori Bell
I did. I was at Meta for about four and a half years. Before Meta, I actually helped. I was an. An early employee at a very small startup called Jopwell, and it was like a diversity and inclusion hiring platform. And we were actually backed by Magic Johnson randomly. I learned a lot throughout that process. And, you know, I was really young in my career, and I knew that I wanted some stability. And so I came to Meta when I was based in New York, looking for that structure, looking for some mentorship and in my career. And at the time, I was managing an east coast internship program. And then eventually my role at Meta formed into Managing internal culture and community for the company. And while I was there, I also founded the employee resource group Black Women at Meta and scaled that to over 3,000 members globally. One of the reasons why I founded the employee resource group was because, so working at Jople, I was like mostly around black and brown and individuals every day. And so coming to Meta, I remember going into my orientation class, There were over like 200 people in the class. It was a large class starting at Meta, and it was really hard for me to find the other black women that existed within the company. And it made me just really curious about where we existed.
- [05:34]
Les
Right?
- [05:35]
Tori Bell
Like, where is community? What does that look like? And so I ended up talking to the diversity team and asking if an employee resource group existed for black women. And they said it didn't. And they encouraged me to create one and created one purely based off of like, just wanted to create community. And then it blossomed into something really beautiful that erg still exists today, which is something I'm really proud of. But one of the things I learned was that while it's amazing to have community of black women at the company, the interesting side of that was that as we all know, because the data shows this, black women were suffering internally from burnout, you know, they had more HR violations than any other group within the organization at the time. I don't know what it looks like today. And there were just like a lot of issues that existed for black women within the organization.
- [06:30]
Les
Quick question. When you say HR violations, does that mean that the black women were going to HR more than anyone else or HR was kind of reprimanding black women more than anyone else?
- [06:40]
Tori Bell
That's a good question. I, I don't, I don't want to misspeak here. And again, I haven't worked at Meta for a long time, but I would say it was a combination of both. Again, I don't know what it looks like today, but yes, just a lot of internal issues that existed within the company. And so this community that I created, that I thought was going to be this like fun community, we all get together for like lighthearted things turned into like, wow, there are some real issues that exist within this company and it's not unique to Facebook. It's, you know, it's very prevalent within big tech, within large corporations as well. And so a lot of the program that programming that we designed for black women at Facebook was around self care and community and, you know, making sure you're thriving and not just surviving within the company as well. And so it just made me very curious. You know, my experience at Joplin, which was a, you know, diversity hiring platform, and to now going into this company that I thought was really progressive. And then there were all these issues that, you know, we face within the organization. You know, it just made me curious about, like, well, what if an organization actually prioritized diversity from the beginning? What would that look like? And, like, you know, could black women thrive and succeed and feel like they're empowered, you know, to take charge of their careers? And so anyway, long story, but this concept for inclusion unpack was kind of born from that experience of wanting to capture startups and founders early in their journey. And I love this idea of creating a membership community where companies pay a membership fee, they get access to diversity and inclusion resources, and then we capture them early, and then they grow. As they grow, they're just embedding diversity and inclusion within the life cycle of their company. So that was like the premise of inclusion Unpacked. And so I started the idea while I was at Facebook. And yeah, I started Inclusion Unpacked as a newsletter during the, like, George Floyd time, which was a very interesting time. I left Facebook to get my MBA at Columbia. I got a full ride shout out to Columbia. Love that Columbia Business School. And I spent two years there kind of refining this idea, refining the business model. Columbia actually invested in my company. I won a bunch of pitch competitions and was like, on this trajectory. And I felt like at that time, like, man, I'm going to be this founder, this, like, girl boss that you're going to see everywhere. And it's, you know, it's going to be this, like, beautiful thing. And then, you know, I graduated from business school and was like, yeah, I'm going to go all in on inclusion unpacked. And I did have some customers and a little bit of traction, but quickly was met with the reality of, like, whoa, like, it's really hard to go all in and start a business. I had the cushion of business school when I was first starting out, and then now that I don't have that cushion, like, what does, like, what does building a company look like? You know, I don't come from generational wealth like some of our majority counterparts, and I didn't. I don't have, you know, mom and dad to fall back on. Although they're lovely, they're so supportive of my journey. It's just not the same. And so, you know, trying to go all in on inclusion unpacked was really difficult. And so I wanted to be a venture backable startup. So meaning I wanted to take on VC money to help fund my business. And if you know anything about vc, you have to pitch a lot. Pitch your company, pitch the vision. You know, have all these data points to show that your company is a viable option for the investors to to support. So I did that to a ton of VCs and I had one that was like, yeah, you want to invest? And I'm like, great. Just graduated from business school, got some investment money from Columbia. This other VC wants to invest. I am killing it. Like, you know, I was very like yes. You know, the world is my oyster.
- [10:45]
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- [14:13]
Tori Bell
So then the VC keeps kicking the can around, like wiring the money. Like, they just never. And this is the thing within the startup world, I didn't know. Yeah, no one told me this. So they, it was like, yeah, we'll send it. Like, we'll send it next week. Like, you know, and kept being next week, next month, we got it. And so as, as the, like, the investment money that I had from Columbia was like, whittling down. Like, I'm living in New York, I'm paying for rent, I'm trying to like, grow the business. But like, you know, like, times are shaky and the VC never to this day, never wired funds really. And so then it got down to the wire where I had just enough money in the bank to pay my rent in New York. And I was like, I, I literally don't know how I'm going to keep going. And you know, at the same time, I'm like, trying to like, make sales happen for inclusion, unpack. But I'm trying to make sales happen from like a desperate place of, like, please, you know, like, buy something. And, you know, I feel like I'm just oozing desperation and I can barely afford my rent and my credit card got declined for $44. I will never forget this $44 worth of groceries at the grocery store in New York. And I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna. I'm gonna keep going. And so I remember one day I called my dad because also, I was, like, keeping this to the best. Like, I didn't. I didn't share this with my family until it got really bad. But I called my dad, and I was like. I told him the situation. I started crying on the corner of the street in New York. And the beauty about crying in New York, if you live there, is that, like, people don't care.
- [16:04]
Les
They don't. No one will look at you.
- [16:06]
Tori Bell
I got a mumo of my life. It's like, the best place to cry because it's essentially like, you're crying alone in your room.
- [16:10]
Les
Yeah.
- [16:11]
Tori Bell
And so I'm crying on the street to my dad just being like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I have. I literally have no money. This VC never wired funds. I'm broke. Like, I don't know what to do. And I just felt so paralyzed with fear. And he was like, tori, you have.
- [16:29]
Les
Two weeks to figure it out. Like, you need to get out of here.
- [16:32]
Tori Bell
Like, love my job. It was like this tough love, you know? And I don't know, something snapped in me when he was. When he said the two weeks. And I feel like. I felt like, okay, I can, like, let me get my stuff together. So then I sublet my place. I had. I found someone to rent it out. I ended up moving with my mom just to, like, calm the waters.
- [16:56]
Les
Yeah.
- [16:56]
Tori Bell
Was still applying to grants and pitch competitions, but just very much like, I don't know what is going on. I don't know what. What my next step is. You know, just talking to mentors, talking to my mom and my dad and my siblings about what to do. And I can't remember who said this because, like, it came from different directions. My. My mom, my dad, mentors. But someone suggested. But then there's. To apply for a job. And I was like, no, I'm a founder. I can't apply for a job because I'm a founder. You know what I mean? Like, there's this, like, stigma that, like, you're not a real founder if you have a job. And so I actually, like, wrote a manifestation list of, like, okay, if I did have a job, what type of job would it be? I need a job that allows me to build my company. I can't just. I can't, like, go back to Facebook. Like, that's not. Not that that there's anything wrong with that, but that sort of company won't allow you to have both, you know, and. And I think as black women founders, a lot of times it's just preached to us, or not black, like, just founders. It's preached to us to go on in your business, to deplete your savings, to. To max your credit cards, to deplete your 401k. And like, maybe for some that is an option, but I would challenge other founders who are building. I would really challenge you to be like, what are all the ways that I can build this company and still maintain my sovereignty, still maintain my sense of self? You know, I don't have to. Or I guess speaking for myself, I just don't have to deplete myself in order to build something I love. I can build from a place of abundance, and I really don't care what that looks like to other people. You know, I really don't care if people are saying, like, oh, she really a founder? I, like, I don't care anymore because I just know what that low place was like and I will, I will never go back there.
- [19:00]
Les
Yeah.
- [19:01]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [19:01]
Les
Well, it's hard to bet on yourself if you can't even take care of yourself.
- [19:04]
Tori Bell
It's so hard. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I was starting to, like, doubt my abilities. I was doubting my. Because my self confidence was in the gutter. And I feel like all 2024, like, for like six months, I was like crying every day, like, where is, you know, where's money gonna come from? Like, I can't even. People were inviting me to things and I was too embarrassed to say that I couldn't afford dinner. I couldn't afford the things that, like, my friends were doing. Just, you know, it's really hard to create something that you believe in from a place of lack. So, yeah, completely agree with you for sure. Yeah.
- [19:41]
Les
And when you talked about experiencing a sense of shame around being a founder with a job, because I'm sure that there are definitely other entrepreneurs and founders who feel that same way. Where does that come from? Does it come from messaging that founders receive? Did it come from maybe what other people in business school or like tech stars were doing? Like, what is the source of the messaging that says that it's bad or you're not like, truly in and a founder if you have an outside job?
- [20:09]
Tori Bell
I think it's a mixture of a lot of things. One is that in the headlines and articles that you read, a lot of times it's like, yeah, this founder went all in and like, you know, they, they rose to the top and they were able to raise $6 million for their company. Like, you see that in a lot of articles and sort of fed to you that that is the playbook for a founder.
- [20:30]
Les
That's the standard.
- [20:30]
Tori Bell
That's the standard.
- [20:31]
Les
Yeah.
- [20:31]
Tori Bell
And then also, like all these founder communities that I've been a part of, like, you know, like, yeah, techstars and other communities, it is sort of preached to you that, like, you got to go all in on your business or else, like, that's, you're not really, you're not really sacrificing, you know, you're not really doing it in the proper way or you're not, you're not taking your company seriously, you know, so it's like, it's a lot of messaging from like, yeah, articles, founder communities, other founders. It's very rare to have a conversation around like, yeah, I have a job, I have other sources of income and I'm building my business. So that's what I would say. Yeah, yeah.
- [21:12]
Les
And I do think, though, with the economy that we have, I think it's something that we're going to see more of and I think it's something people are going to be more honest about. Because last decade, 2010s was an entirely different time in business. There was so much VC money flying around. That was like the girl boss era, where we were economically in a place where more people could do that.
- [21:32]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [21:32]
Les
Currently that's not the case. And I think if people are going to innovate and create the new businesses of tomorrow, like, the innovative companies that we are going to see are going to be from people who have jobs.
- [21:44]
Tori Bell
Wait, I love that you say that. Yes, it's so true. And also, like, jobs can look so different. You don't have to be a chief partnerships officer like myself. Like, I mean, content creators, like, I think that's like another side hustle that people have. And they're also founders, like, which is really cool to see. You know, there's just. I would encourage other founders to find something that sustains you. Wait. Another thing that I learned is that a lot of the female founders who don't look like us, who are not from our community, a lot of times they are married. They have husbands.
- [22:17]
Les
You successful women in business, they're very rarely not married because they, they do have that. That is their source of stability.
- [22:25]
Tori Bell
Yes, yes. Their husbands are bankrolling their lives.
- [22:28]
Les
And it looks like content creators too. Yeah.
- [22:31]
Tori Bell
Oh, interesting.
- [22:31]
Les
Oh, yeah.
- [22:32]
Tori Bell
You know nothing about the world.
- [22:34]
Les
Oh, yeah. I mean, I think it's very similar in a lot of ways. And a lot of big content creators, you know, definitely have partners, parents who are bankrolling their lifestyle so that they can create content and get to a certain level.
- [22:46]
Tori Bell
And then like, you know, you see that as a black woman, you're like, oh, I can have that too, you know, and like, and maybe for some we can, but like, it's just, it's okay that our path looks different. It really is. You know what I mean? And there's no shame in it. And at least that's what I'm telling myself.
- [23:05]
Les
Absolutely. And I think that's why conversations like this are so important.
- [23:08]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [23:17]
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- [26:39]
Les
I have a question relating back to your experience with the VC that kind of ghosted you.
- [26:44]
Tori Bell
Oh, I'm like, I want to out them so bad, but I don't know.
- [26:47]
Les
Legally, like, yeah, we don't, we don't do that.
- [26:50]
Tori Bell
Right, exactly.
- [26:50]
Les
But for people who may not be as familiar with venture capital and that process and how that works, like, how is it that a VC can just ghost somebody when you're entering into an agreement where they're supposed to give you a certain amount of money, how are they able to just not do it?
- [27:05]
Tori Bell
That is a really good question, which I still ask myself that. Apparently it is very common. This particular VC did not have the funds to even deploy capital. And so they were just giving me lip service. I know it's. I can laugh about it now, but I'm telling you, I was like in my room crying, being like, why is this happening to me?
- [27:29]
Les
Why would somebody do that? You're playing with people's lives.
- [27:32]
Tori Bell
I think they do that because maybe they actually believe that money is coming on their end. Like, I guess I want to believe.
- [27:39]
Les
I want to believe somebody's not paying them. They can't pay the founders.
- [27:43]
Tori Bell
That's what I'm thinking.
- [27:44]
Les
Okay.
- [27:45]
Tori Bell
Like, they were actually hoping on hoping that funds would come in.
- [27:48]
Les
Yeah.
- [27:49]
Tori Bell
They weren't just trying to be terrible for the sake of Being terrible.
- [27:55]
Les
Yeah.
- [27:55]
Tori Bell
But sometimes I, like, look them up online and I don't think they've deployed any capital. Like, I don't think, like, it's quiet on the.
- [28:02]
Les
Quiet on the home front. Well, good. I mean, at least it's quiet. Not. You're not seeing them give other people money or something.
- [28:06]
Tori Bell
Could you imagine?
- [28:08]
Les
Yeah.
- [28:09]
Tori Bell
At this point, I wish them well. I, like, I thank them for the gift that they gave me and that it allowed me to be resilient, to find other sources of income. Defined Nest, which I'm really proud of. And I love. I really love working there. Yeah. Like, it's really fun.
- [28:27]
Les
Yeah.
- [28:27]
Tori Bell
You know, I. I learned a lot about myself through that process, so it was a gift they gave me, you know, and so at least I'm trying to see it in a positive light. At the time, I was. It was a mess.
- [28:37]
Les
Yeah. It was a traumatic event. But it also sounds like it's been a catalyst of a lot of other beautiful things for you.
- [28:43]
Tori Bell
Yeah. Yeah. And I, like, I just feel like Leif right now feels so peaceful and I'm also a person where I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's so peaceful right now. Like, when's the bad thing gonna happen? And I'm really trying to sit with, like, no good things can happen to you. Like, you're a good person.
- [29:00]
Unknown Host
You.
- [29:01]
Tori Bell
You worked really hard for this chapter in your life.
- [29:03]
Les
Yeah.
- [29:04]
Tori Bell
And. And now you can manifest something, like, even bigger. Like, what. What is the next horizon? What do you want?
- [29:09]
Les
This is the floor, not the ceiling.
- [29:11]
Tori Bell
This is the floor. Yeah. And so now it's like, opening up so many beautiful things. Like, yes, I want inclusion unpacked to grow. I want customers to come in. I want to. I want to be a thriving startup that, like, owns the conversation around what diversity and inclusion looks like today. I also, like, want to continue growing at Nest and the way that I see fit. But I also. Now I feel like I'm in a space where I can, like, actually think about love too, and, like, fun things, other.
- [29:44]
Les
Other parts of life.
- [29:45]
Tori Bell
Yeah. And so that's. That's cool. And so I. I just invested in a life coach. It was amazing. We've been working together for a little while now. I also have a therapist, so I. I have, like, a team of two behind me. I see both of them weekly. And I just. I feel like, you know, good things are happening. I don't know what next next chapter looks like, but I feel more secure and I'm. I'm really proud of that as well.
- [30:13]
Les
Yeah. Good.
- [30:14]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [30:15]
Les
I would also love to talk a little bit more about the business side of things because particularly around inclusion, unpacked. Because being in the diversity and inclusion space, there's like massive whiplash.
- [30:27]
Tori Bell
There's so much.
- [30:28]
Les
It's like we look at 2020 and 2021 and it was such a big priority for all of these companies, all of these organizations. It was like a lot of talk. And now, just a few years later, the pendulum has swung in this other way where it's almost like for some people, certain people, the idea of diversity and inclusion is like an insult. It's like a. It's being deprioritized, but there's this like almost venom against it in some ways, which is jarring.
- [30:57]
Tori Bell
It's. It is jarring. It is frustrating as well, because I. It's like it feels out of nowhere. I actually, I should have seen this coming because there was so much excitement for diversity in 2020 and 2021 that like, of course the next administration was going to try to tear it down. Yeah, it is scary building a diversity startup right now. I'm not gonna lie. Another reason why I have jobs is because I don't know what this industry looks like. I don't know what the future looks like. I know that there are companies like, we've seen the headlines with Costco that like, really want to. Yes, we love Costco. We love. I'm going to get a membership. I don't even know where Costco is in la, but I'm going to get a membership.
- [31:38]
Les
Well, there's one in Marina Del Rey. That's one I used to go to when I was.
- [31:40]
Tori Bell
Okay, well, great. I'm going to get a membership and shop at Costco because.
- [31:44]
Les
Oh, you know, for people who may not know the headline that Costco really doubled down on their DNI efforts. Their board had actually suggested that they not as like a cost cutting measure. And the company decided like, no, we don't care. We're sticking with it.
- [31:57]
Tori Bell
We're sticking with it. I think we're going to see more companies that behave like that. So you're either going to see companies that are like, I don't want to invest in diversity. Like, no way we are unwinding or laying off our diversity team and like, good luck to them, or you're going to see more companies like Costco that double down on it. Like, I really don't think you're going to see middle of the road. You're going to see either or unless, God Forbid Trump like outlaws diversity within organizations. I don't know if that will happen, but I do think it's going to be more separate. What I'm interested in is, is serving these companies that believe in diversity. I like, can't put all of my energy into these companies that convincing companies that diversity is a priority. If you don't believe it's a priority, that's fine. But like your company will suffer. The data shows us your company will suffer because of that. But I'm, I'm excited and interested in supporting companies that prior. And there are a lot, especially a lot of small businesses, a lot of startup founders who believe in the importance of diver, of diversity, believe in speaking to a diverse audience, an inclusive audience. You know, it helps your product sell better, it helps with employee retention. Like there are, there's so many data points. Like to me it should be a no, no brainer, but for whatever reason it's been politicized, which is really unfortunate. Yeah. I mean, you know, we have some customers I like can't name them, but there are some brands that you probably heard of that are really excited about inclusion unpacked and it's fun to work with them as well.
- [33:33]
Les
Yeah, yeah. And I think to that point, you know, it is so smart that you focus on those smaller startup companies so that it can be built into their ethos. Because I also think why we're tending to see other maybe more established companies kind of abandon it is because they're treating it, they were treating it almost like a band aid for the past couple of years. It's like there was all of these issues that they weren't necessarily willing to get to the root of. It was just like, let's make all these claims. And then when it gets hard, when it's, you know, not necessarily yielding a return right away, then they want to abandon it versus those companies that are starting with inclusion at the beginning so that it's built into the brand fabric.
- [34:17]
Tori Bell
Yeah. And there are. Yes, yes, exactly. When it becomes this like additive and it's not baked into the ethos of your company, it is much easier to just lay off the team and like keep business as usual. But like when it's embedded, I'm trying to think of companies that I've not worked with that like have embedded diversity. I can't actually think of any. Or maybe some that are like black women owned or like female founder led tend to be more like inclusive from the beginning. But yeah, when it's baked in from the beginning, it's just it's so it's so much easier to continue the good work, you know, so those, those are the companies that I'm, I'm concerned with working with. And the others, it's like you're a lost cause. There's no convincing and it's, it's totally fine. So.
- [35:03]
Les
Yeah.
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- [37:03]
Les
You just said something really interesting that I'd love to dig into more is that the female founded brands tend to be more likely to incorporate inclusion in their ethos, which I'm not surprised.
- [37:14]
Tori Bell
Yeah, because it's like who we are. Right. Like, we think from this lens of like, how, how is this product or how is this service gonna support people who look like me? And typically people who look like us are at the bottom of the totem pole. And so then like supporting black women or women of color, you end up supporting everybody. Right. And so it's like, like it's already embedded into the ethos of your brand.
- [37:38]
Les
Yeah. And I think helping, helping women Led brands is also so important because women control so much more of the spend.
- [37:45]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [37:45]
Les
Women, we experience so many more of the problems. And so when we, similar to your company, like when we're creating companies and businesses, we are creating things that are solutions to real problems that we're facing that will actually help more people.
- [37:58]
Tori Bell
Yes, yes. Wait. Yes.
- [38:01]
Les
These are just things I think about at night.
- [38:04]
Tori Bell
No, it's so true. Which is, it's so silly when, when VCs like to write off female founders or women led companies. Like, no, we actually have a pulse on, on real societal issues and trends and like I would bet on a women woman led venture any day of the week.
- [38:23]
Les
Why do brands want to see that you have a majority female audience? Because women are going to engage. They're going to actually buy the products, they're going to click the links, they're going to inquire in ways that the other genders do not. So it makes sense.
- [38:38]
Tori Bell
It makes sense.
- [38:39]
Les
Consumers who are actually engaging with what's going on. We're leading the businesses that are out solving these problems.
- [38:46]
Tori Bell
Yeah. Also, I didn't know this about the content creator space, but like now I want to dig into. This is so interesting.
- [38:52]
Les
Yeah.
- [38:52]
Tori Bell
I feel like I know nothing about. You're teaching me so much right now.
- [38:56]
Les
Yeah. Which makes me connected. It's like a different part of all these other businesses. But having a female audience is where.
- [39:03]
Tori Bell
The value is because we're loyal. Yeah. This makes, this makes a lot of sense. This makes a lot of sense. You know, I love being a female founder. Like, I love the, the. It's both a blessing. You know what? It's a blessing. It's not a curse. I was gonna say it's a blessing and a curse. I. Yeah, I just, I love the ride that I've been on. I love, I love the challenges and having the pulse on the community is amazing as well. So I love that you just outlined that. It's cool.
- [39:30]
Les
Yeah.
- [39:30]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [39:30]
Les
Have you always been entrepreneurial or was that something that came with time?
- [39:36]
Tori Bell
I think so. I've always been. I knew I always wanted to create something and so like, I guess, you know, with, with jop. Well, it opened my eyes to the VC world and like what it looks like to create a business from scratch. I didn't know that much about anything. I was like, I went into that organization completely blind to the startup space. And I think at that time, you know, I just moved to New York. It was like 2015 and I would go to a lot of like talks and events that were led by women founders. Some of them you may or may not heard. But I, I loved Mickey Agarwal at the time. I think she's a little controversial now, but like, she's the founder of Thinx for those who don't know. Yes. But I, I just loved her. I, like, I read her books and you know, I, I, I, she inspired me to think bigger about just like, I don't want to just have a, a job. Like, maybe, maybe one day I can build something of my own. Like, I don't know what that is yet, but like, so anyway, I would go to like her talks or like other female founder events. I remember there was one startup that was really popular at the time called Shine Text and they would host a lot of events in New York. And so I just like to like immerse myself in the, in the female founder space. And at the end of the day, I want my mark on the world in some way, in a, in a real way. And yeah, like, maybe that's what led me to have the desire to create inclusion unpacked.
- [41:09]
Les
Yeah, I can relate to a lot of that. Really used to work for a company that had co working spaces really centered on female founders. And there was a ton of events. Was based in Seattle and it was really like this hub for like kind of the founder community in Seattle, particularly for women. It wasn't just women, but mostly women. And I was a social media manager there. So I had to attend all of the events, getting content, and I would hear from all of these founders and their stories and the different panels and I just, before that, I had no real exposure to entrepreneurship or I didn't know what a founder was like. Learning about all these local companies, it was just so cool. I was like, oh, people are just creating stuff.
- [41:49]
Tori Bell
I, you realize it's like, possible. Yeah, I didn't, did. Did you grow up with your parents being entrepreneurial?
- [41:56]
Les
No, not at all. I had no exposure to entrepreneurship. And it was very much drilled into me. Like, go to school, get a good job, stay at that job forever. College. I worked at a company that was very much like an old company that everybody stayed at. Like, literally all of my friends were 60 years old because everybody there just stayed there their whole career. I finally left the company when all my friends retired. Like, that was very much the expectation, but I hated it. I didn't fully know why and I didn't know what else was out there because there was just no exposure.
- [42:30]
Tori Bell
Yeah. It was not drilled in me to be an Entrepreneur. It was more like, find a job, get a salary, like, get benefits, stay there, you know?
- [42:39]
Les
Yeah, definitely. And I think it's. We can get in these seasons where we are so focused on career, but if there's no connection to self.
- [42:47]
Tori Bell
Yes.
- [42:47]
Les
We'll never get there. And there's nothing wrong with focusing on career, but you can't not also include yourself in that. Like, the personal goals, I think, and like, the personal ways that we pour into ourselves are what make the career things possible.
- [43:02]
Tori Bell
Yeah. Yes. Oh, that's a. That's a great point. Yeah. And I'll never get to a point again. I will never allow myself to get to a point where I'm not pouring into myself. Like, I just want to just continue to nourish myself, continue to just take care of myself. Career is secondary to, like, Tori, you know, And I just. I'll never prioritize something external over myself ever again.
- [43:26]
Les
Yeah. And I think that's such. I mean, your story has been such a testament to that, that when you took that step of. Of getting that job, being able to take care of yourself in a certain way, all of these opportunities for your business started pouring in. So it shows that those things aren't mutually exclusive.
- [43:40]
Tori Bell
Wait. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for. For showing me that. I really appreciate that.
- [43:46]
Les
Yeah. I mean, I think it's a message that we all need to hear.
- [43:48]
Tori Bell
Yep.
- [43:49]
Les
Because I think we can get tunnel vision if we're very much focused on one thing, but we can also be a whole human being. And that doesn't mean that we go 100% at everything all the time, because that's physically not possible. But it does mean that we allow ourselves to be whole in the various aspects of life that we want. So even if we're focusing on one thing for a season more than others, which I think is more balanced and healthy to do. If you have a season where maybe you're focusing more on building the company, you have a season where you're focusing more on building wellness. You're not pretending like those other parts of you don't exist.
- [44:22]
Tori Bell
Yes. My. My life coach was saying today. She was like, think of yourself as a tree. Like, at the root of it, at the trunk of it is Tori or yourself. Then you have all these branches, and, like, one branch is inclusion unpacked. Another branch is nest. And another branch. Thing I really want to call in this year is love. You know, I'm just gonna put it out there. It's fine. And, you know, there's wellness, but, like, that's those are parts of me. Those are, you know, but at the core is like, myself and taking care of myself. So that really resonates.
- [44:53]
Les
Yeah, I love that. And it, it kind of goes along with a. A theme that has been kind of recurring on the podcast for a little while now. I've called it like the athlete of life. Like, when we think about elite athletes and the teams and like all of the different ways that they pour into being at the top of their game, how can we apply that to having the lives that we want? And so it sounds like you have done that kind of without even realizing it. Like, you have this care team of like your trainer, your coach, your therapist, these practices that are making you whole so that you can win at the things that you desire.
- [45:26]
Tori Bell
Yes. And I'm no longer doing things on my own. Like, I've seen what that gets me. I see, I've seen where that leads. It's a dead end. It's so nice to have a team. It's so nice to have a trainer and a life coach and a therapist and people who care about my well being as well. It's like, it, it feels like a team. It feels like we're all in this to better me. It's so Leo coded.
- [45:54]
Les
But it's also like, you know, when we think about these people that we admire, I mean, I feel like I talk about Beyonce in every episode because she just inspires me so much. And obviously this is a very beehive, friendly space. And she is this incredibly talented, visionary performer that we all know. And she also has a lot of people around her, supporting her and helping her carry out that vision. So that doesn't take away from her ability to be this brilliant artist and performer. It means that because she has this team around her that can help her carry out the vision, her brilliance can shine through because she has the support.
- [46:28]
Tori Bell
Yes. And for me, at least one of the things that I have realized about myself is like, there was shame around asking people for help because I didn't think that there, that I was worthy of receiving help. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't coming from a place of like, I got this. It was like, I'm not, I'm not that big of a deal that, like, I would need a team, you know, and so doing some journaling, doing work on myself and realizing, man, my like, self worth was really low that I allowed myself to deplete my finances. I allowed myself to cry at night in my room and like, not ask for help. Like, why Was my self worth worth so low? And so, you know, spending time, like, raising. Raising my self worth through working with my therapist, through journaling, and just realizing, like, man, like, I am worthy of love and receiving goodness. I am worthy of all these amazing things. Like, you know, that that's what helped me is that is raising my self worth. That makes sense.
- [47:37]
Les
Absolutely. It's very relatable and I think just something that a lot of us need to hear.
- [47:41]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [47:42]
Les
Yeah. Because we can all be in that place.
- [47:44]
Tori Bell
I mean, it's. It's helpful to hear that I'm not the only one that, like, goes through that stuff. Sometimes, like, when you're at your low point, you feel like I'm the only one that has experienced this or at least for me, I felt like that. And then learning that, like, other women go through this. You're not the only one. Like, it's. That's empowering for me as well.
- [48:04]
Les
Yeah. And just being able to talk about it and hear other people's experiences helps a lot.
- [48:08]
Tori Bell
Yeah.
- [48:09]
Les
Yeah. Tori, thank you so much for being here.
- [48:12]
Tori Bell
Thank you for having me.
- [48:13]
Les
This is awesome.
- [48:14]
Tori Bell
I was so nervous, but, like, for what? Right?
- [48:16]
Les
I told you we were just going to Kiki. So can you please let our audience know how they can keep in touch with you if they want to work with Inclusion Unpacked? If they want to follow your work? How can they do that?
- [48:27]
Tori Bell
Yeah, they can follow Inclusion unpacked at Inclusion unpacked on Instagram, Instagram and LinkedIn. And they can follow me on Instagram. It's at Tori Bell two underscores Tori Bell and DM me, you know, and if you're going through the same thing, I'm happy to chat about it as well. Perfect. Thank you.
- [48:46]
Les
I'll make sure we have all that linked in the show notes to make it easy for people to find.
- [48:50]
Tori Bell
Thank you so much. This is amazing.
- [48:52]
Les
Thank you for joining me. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. I really hoped that you enjoyed our conversation with Toria and that there was something in her story that you could relate to and feel inspired by. So make sure that you give her a follow. I've included her social medias as well as links to her newsletter in the show notes so that you can continue following her journey and so that you can check out Inclusion Unpacked. We also have so many goodies in the show notes. Everything that we mentioned, links to all of our discount codes from our amazing sponsors. So please make sure that you check out our show notes and if you enjoyed this episode. I would greatly appreciate your five star review because we are five star girly. So you can review us on Spotify, you can review us on Apple, and also make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss an episode. Thank you and I will see you next week.
- [50:07]
Tori Bell
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services.
- [50:12]
Les
Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products.
- [50:17]
Tori Bell
Or services referred to in this episode.