MAKING MONEY MOVES 💸 💸 💸
CWBS Vol. 8
Hi CWBS!
Amidst webinars, screen-sharing, breakout rooms, and everything else that comes with a virtual semester, I hope your first three weeks back at school have been enriching and revitalizing! CWBS is so excited to be kicking-off a semester full of virtual programming designed to bring you to the forefront of women in business. Last night we kicked off our Money Moves with Judy Zhu virtual panel series, and this edition of The Scope will provide you with an even closer look at Judy’s incredible career and entrepreneurial drive. Happy reading!
- Sophia Naqvi, Membership Engagement Chair of CWBS 2020-2021
THE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN FINANCE CONFERENCE
September 25th - 26th
Join CWBS, CFIG, CUBPS, and LionFund for a two-day Diversity and Inclusion in Finance Conference consisting of a keynote speaker from Morgan Stanley, a networking session with Columbia alumni, an executive day in the life panel, and a recruiting session with our partners! Recruiters and executives from Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and RBC will share their firm’s insights and vision for diversity and inclusion. This will be an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to a variety of firms while learning about the steps that they are taking to make their workplaces more inclusive.
Get your free tickets here.
APPLE AND GOOGLE V. WORLD: Smaller tech-based companies are getting smart in taking on industry monoliths like Apple and Google; groups such as Spotify, Match Group, and Epic Games have created a nonprofit to protest against the monopolistic power of the tech giants. Learn more.
NOROVAX FAST: The Norovax Vaccine has entered stage three of its coronavirus vaccine trials in the UK, and plans to continue trials in the United States in October. Could this be the vaccine? Learn more.
LUXURY IN THE DIGITAL AGE: Luxury auctioneers including Sotheby’s and Christies have been forced to take a stunning leap to further digitizing their luxury goods auctions; global head of jewellery auctions at Bonhams, Jean Ghika, reported that online sales will be an “integral part” of their 2021 sales calendar. Learn more.
JUDY ZHU of MONEY GIRLS
“We think leadership is about asking “how can I be a good leader?” That’s not what leadership is. Leadership is really about asking “how do I accelerate other people?” I want you to have high expectations of what good leadership looks like – as young women, it’s never too early to know and ask “what does it mean to be a good leader?”
— JUDY ZHU
Judy’s life’s mission is to accelerate the potential and ambitions of young women. She founded MoneyGirls to build a platform to help women master their financial lives and be the influential leaders they are poised to become. After working with countless female senior executives who continue to lack confidence in their financial powers, she’s out to empower every woman to maximize her independence by taking control of every aspect of her future. MoneyGirls connects the rising generation of smart, motivated women with the knowledge, tools, and network they need to confidently and capably run their own money.
Previously, Judy and Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei launched The Leadership Consortium, a company working with Fortune 100 companies to accelerate more senior women into the C-Suite. Prior to that, she oversaw fintech Business Development at Uber, building strategic partnerships with financial establishments and disrupters, and launching innovative products such as Uber's first consumer credit card. She was also one of the few female leaders at Uber during a tumultuous crisis in culture and leadership. Judy was an early employee at diapers.com, leading the company from scale, growth to acquisition by Amazon. She graduated from Harvard Business School, and remains on the alumni board.
What inspired you to start Money Girls?
Before starting Money Girls, I had over a decade of experience; I built consumer brands at L'Oreal, Amazon, and Uber, and at all of these places, I consistently saw women that were confident in all areas – except their finances. When the topic of money came up, the conversation needed to involve their dads, their boyfriends, or their husbands, and revolved around this idea that “somebody else in my life should be managing my money”. I just got very impatient with it – I think most entrepreneurs are people that hold somebody else to solve the problem, but at some point, they say, “you know what? I'm going to do it myself.”
So last year, I took the lead and jumped into entrepreneurship to chase the rising generation, Gen-Z, and founded Money Girls to be the place to talk money.
What challenges have you faced in starting a finance-focused organization, particularly as a woman and woman of color?
The financial services sector is filled with men, and, when you talk to an investor, they want to believe that you can actually deliver on what you’re trying to do. Given my e-commerce and consumer background at Amazon and L'Oreal, investors expected me to either look like a twenty-eight year old white man, or they wanted me to pitch an e-commerce related idea. That was the first thing – I did not look how they wanted me to look in relation to the business idea I was pitching.
The second thing is the inherent challenges that came with being a start-up founder with a non-tech background. It’s a challenge to be unable to say “I'm a software engineer and I [have the skills to] build whatever comes into my mind.”
The third one is a question about the target demographics of [Money Girls]; when I pitch [Money Girls], investors say, “I believe in this, but why young women? Why don't you build it for older women?” Or, they'll say something about young women liking makeup, for example. So it's defending the idea of Gen-Z, female-focused financial literacy too.
How were you able to grow the Money Girls Strategist Network and what are the benefits of getting involved?
In regards to growth, it’s almost purely from word of mouth – “Sarah’s doing this, Madison’s doing this, etc.” Another key aspect of our growth is authenticity. If [Money Girls] is useful to you and we're helping you, naturally you’ll tell your friends about it. Also, that authenticity is key; our goals are to build products that we believe will truly give you incredible benefits. For example, accelerating qualities such as your ability to confidently, capably take control of your money – even if you're not an investment banker, you’ll be able to say, “I know what basic investments speak for me.” Even if you don't go work at a hedge fund, you know the basic math of understanding interest rates. Based on those things, you actually gain experience and opportunity.
[Within the Strategist Network], we do quite a few things. For example, we host sessions centered around career pathways or Investing 101. We try to bring value to you because the more you share your insight and knowledge with us, the more we know about [how you spend] your money. What we've learned is that women want more than just the content side, what they love is a network that's excellent and really focused on them, and the reality is that’s what we truly care about.
We're so excited for the Money Girls app to be released. What features are you most excited for?
Yes! We have a super exciting launch coming soon. The app will be a place for motivated women to answer and share all the questions they can to make the best financial decisions possible, all centered around how they think about careers and their spending. Women love to learn from other women – we have exceptional talent and exceptional ambition, and can learn from each other. Expert advice certainly exists, but the extra ability to benchmark themselves and see what their friends are doing is very helpful. So for example, if you ask “where should I get a credit card?” on the app, you’ll get answers from girls like you at Columbia, Cornell, Brown, for example.
We wanted to create a platform where you can create community polls and share tips – for example, on how to negotiate. When you get your first credit card, you can send out polls asking “what was your first credit card?” or “how much do you spend every month on groceries?” and give each other relevant financial advice.
Consider [the app] a community forum where women come together to ask each other questions, help each other along, get a sense of how they see each other and see what everyone else is doing to live their best financial lives.
What are some books, podcasts, newsletters, or blogs that you've enjoyed and would recommend to the CWBS Community?
Sign up for our newsletter, the Monday MoneyDrop! Once a week, you’ll receive a newsletter with a finance-related question that’s been asked by our community and answered by us – we only answer what other women are really asking. So hopefully you'll see the MoneyDrop as a place to ask all your questions.
A book recommendation I have for you is a book by Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei – I helped her launch a female leadership accelerator program while I was at Harvard – she's a TED speaker and she's fabulous. The book is called: Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You. It’s a book about how leadership isn’t what we think it means; we think leadership is about asking “how can I be a good leader?” That's not what leadership is. Leadership is really about asking “how do I accelerate other people?” The reason why I like that book is that I want you to have high expectations of what good leadership looks like; particularly for young women, it’s never too early to know and ask “what does it mean to be a good leader?”
Who is a woman leader you look up to?
Here's what I like to say – I personally don't look up to like leaders that I don't know. I look at them and think “god, they're so impressive.” But something I've learned over and over again in leadership is that everybody has their insecurities. I talk to some women and they say “nobody struggles the way that I struggle.” I want them to know every female leader struggles with insecurities
But genuinely, where I hope everyone finds a woman leader to look up to is in their daily lives – if you look at a woman you know and think she’s really poised or that she communicates well, it’s incredible to really look up to somebody that you find relatable.
So one woman that I look up to is Sumaiya Balbale, she was my classmate at Harvard Business School, is now a board member on Shake Shack, and is CMO at Sequoia Capital. She is so humble – she has been nominated to every Forbes list under 30, under 40, or whatever it is, and she will never brag about it. I think it's women like that where you are wow-ed by them, but they’re relatable and in your sphere; we should look up to women like that.
Read Judy’s full interview on The Scope Website.
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Today, direct to consumer cosmetics is one of the fastest-growing consumer product categories in the world; early-stage startups are on the rise, and larger corporations aim to keep up by acquiring their trend-savvy counterparts.
The global cosmetic industry is strong and continues to grow – it’s predicted to reach up to $716B by 2025.
The fastest growing cosmetics companies today include ColourPop, Bambu Earth, and Coola.
Asia Pacific and North America dominate the global consumer share of the industry, clocking in at 60% of the cosmetics market combined.
Sources (1)
Money Girls: It’s time to run your own money.
MoneyGirls’ goal is to empower all women to maximize their independence, influence, and leadership by giving them the tools and resources necessary to take control of their financial lives. MoneyGirls aims to carry out this mission through the Monday MoneyDrop, a once-a-week newsletter, the MoneyBag, and the MoneyGirls Strategist Network. Later this summer, the MoneyGirls app will launch, bringing the world of accessible financial literacy right to your fingertips through innovative tech. Get involved here.
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