The 20 most successful businesswomen to watch 2019

Vol. 11|Issue. 04| 2019
Kim
Davis
Creating a People-centric
Work Culture
20Businesswomen
most Successful
The
TO WATCH

Transforming the
World Bit by Bit
usinesswomen, this word itself is having so
Bmany success stories, an era of struggle in
this men’s world to find equal place, women
empowerment and feminism. This all defines
women’s persistent and commitment to get
more self-improvement and bring changes in the world. But
where are we standing today because as i am seeing women
empowerment is not an issues anymore and feminism is at
its peak so what are the challenges and changes women’s
are having at present time?
Today, when we talk about working women or
businesswomen, we only celebrate those who already have
achieved higher position in their respective companies. But
there are many others who are simple working women and
having families, spouses, and other responsibilities and yet
completing demands from personal and professional
commitments. These women are mother and wife and when
the business requires her to be the leader and show
commitment; they perform accordingly.
Success in business requires a strong leader with critical
leadership traits. According to various studies, companies
with the women in leadership have better financial
performance than men, mostly due to their up to the mark
management skills. In US only 12.3 million businesses,
Desk
Editor’s

which is covered 40% businesses in the country are women
owned. These statistics show the phenomenal work and
promises by women in their personal and professional life.
Women in businesses are dynamically bringing changes in
the economy and Insights Success has taken the
responsibility to celebrate their out of the box ideas,
business traits and leadership skills. In this issue of "The 20
Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch" Insights
Success has shortlisted those women leaders who are
persistence, conﬁdent and kind of rebellious to achieve
something that many only can dream. Their stories from
scratch to top of the world are real inspiration for others and
giving a sight how can anyone reach to the height of
success.
Featuring the Cover Story is Kim Davis, Chief Diversity
and Inclusion Oﬃcer of NFP, worked to align the
company’s goals and employees’ goals in a way that adds
value to an organization and engages the employee to excel
and manage their own career growth and success. After
integration of her acquired company, she assumed the head
of HR role for NFP and became an executive level leader in
the company. Transitioning NFP from a public holding
company to a private insurance brokerage and consulting
company that has grown to be the 4th largest insurance
brokerage in the US, requires cultivating a people-centric
work environment where the company’s employees are
seen as the #1 asset of the company and encouraged to
build honest and transparent relationships with the clients
and vendor/partners to unite all parties together for mutual
success.
Also, makes sure to scroll through the articles written by
our in-house editorial team and CXO standpoints of some
of the leading industry experts to have a brief knowledge of
the sector.
Happy Reading!
A leader does not born with
exception she/he creates it.
Rohit Chaturvedi

08
Cover Story
Kim
DavisCreating a People-centric
Work Culture
18Leader’s Desk
Building Entrepreneurial
Ecosystem for Women
20Evelina Lavrova
Helping Startups
Grow and Evolve

34Sophie Slavin
Leading with
Experience and Skill
40Usha Bodappu
A True Entrepreneur
Focused on Providing
the IT Solutions
46Yulia Rorstrom
A Calm and Stylish
Business Leader
26Rachel Brownlow
Lund
Empowering Women
to Step Up
30Expert’s Outlook
Ways to Sustain the
Entrepreneurial Spirit
in Women
38Preksha Kaparwan
e Fuss about AI
44e Art of Leading
Attributes of a
Good Leader
IN
THIS
ISSUE

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November , 2019
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There will be days when things don't
go as planned — but that's just a
detour, not a full stop.
“
KimDavisCreating a People-centric Work Culture
“
The 20 Most Successful Businesswomen to Watch

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Oﬃcer of NFP, with her
expertise in HR leadership and people centric
management is bringing value to the organization and
engages the employee to excel and manage their own
career growth and success.
Below are highlights from the interview conducted
between Kim and Insights Success:
E
mployee’s engagement and performance are
critical to the overall success of an
organization. You will accelerate growth in
the business if employees feel that they are
valued for the work they do and the ideas they have.
People centric management allows you to build
processes and programs that bring “interconnection”
between the organization and its people. Kim Davis,

programs by negotiating economies
of scale to improve benefit program
pricing while maintaining individual
contracts and high levels of service
for each portfolio company owned.
Private equity firms were starting to
hold their portfolio companies
longer, and working to increase their
value before selling. It made sense
that if we were having success
managing portfolio programs and
reducing the double digit health care
increases for a single private equity
firm, then we could apply the
strategy on a grander scale. With
encouragement from several business
contacts and the support of my
family, I started HR Metrics, which
later became Alteritythrough a joint
venture with another benefits
consulting firm which was also
having success in the private equity
space Alterity became a gold
standard for consulting in private
equity HR and benefits. It is still a
highly regarded private equity
consulting firm as part of the NFP
family.
Give a brief overview of your
background and your role in NFP
Corp.
As Chief Diversity and Inclusion
Officer, I continue my career’s work
of supporting strategic empowerment
programs. I lead a variety of
integrated initiatives to ensure NFP
attracts, engages, and retains an
innovative workforce dedicated to
empowering and celebrating diverse
perspectives for the betterment of the
entire organization. Prior to
transitioning to this new role in
January 2019, I spent six years as
NFP’s Chief Human Resources
Officer, creating a unified, people-
centric culture throughout NFP. One
of my major initiatives in this work
was crafting a program known as
PeopleFirst, which underpins NFP’s
efforts to make people the priority. I
was also appointed to the NFP board
of directors, allowing me to
contribute to the success of NFP at
multiple levels. I joined NFP through
the acquisition of the company I co-
founded, bringing entrepreneurial
benefits consulting and high-level
HR design expertise from the private
equity space. Prior to NFP, I spent
over 20 years building and leading
HR teams within large companies
such as GE, Carlson Wagonlit Travel,
MCI, Equity Residential, and Icahn
Enterprises.
What is the biggest challenge for
you as a woman in business?
For me, its feeling comfortable with
my accomplishments. Call it
imposter syndrome or any other
name, but as a woman who is a
successful entrepreneur and C-suite
level executive, there are times when
I still struggle with feeling worthy of
the success I have achieved. I know
that confidence and acceptance of
myself are key and work externally
to always bring those to the
conversation, but that doesn’t mean
Tell us about your first
entrepreneurial venture: How did
you come up with the idea and
how did you start your business?
In 2000, I joined the private equity
firm Icahn Enterprises. I managed
portfolio-wide HR and benefit

there aren’t times when seeds of doubt creep in. I do have to take a step back
sometimes and remind myself that I deserve to be where I am given my hard
work and accomplishments. It’s also critically important to remember that my
voice as a successful female executive and entrepreneur is a vital part of the
business conversation today and for the future businesswomen who come
after me.
How do you maintain work-life balance? What helps you in being diligent
in business?
I think that telling people you can have work-life balance all the time and still
become a senior leader and successful entrepreneur is not honest. I think you
can have balance on any given day or week or year but that comes with
tradeoffs where sometimes work has to come first and sometimes family.
There are definitely more opportunities in the business world today for
flexibility and work-life balance but it isn’t easy and requires thought,
commitment, and family support.
What have you learned about entrepreneurship, leadership, and guiding
others?
I think some of the most important lessons I have learned in my career are to
value your time and that of others, and to be willing as an entrepreneur to take
on any role needed at any given time. You have to provide guidance and share
knowledge and experiences willingly, but then get out of people’s way and let
them do what they do. You have to stay inquisitive about how things work,
ask questions of people who think differently than you and consider those
ideas when creating or innovating.
How is temperament critical to success in business, according to you?
If you want people to listen to you, collaborate with you, support you or
believe in you, you have to be consistent with your words and actions.
Remember that other people’s life experiences are different from yours, which
means you must be patient and strive for mutual understanding. I believe that
anger will quickly disassociate you from others (even if they don’t show it to
you) and won’t make trust or progress sustainable.
What strategies do you undertake to make your employees resourceful?
You have to engage employees with what’s happening in the business and
show them how their work and their success can be directly related to the
business’ success. Provide people with the tools and resources to think
creatively and learn new skills or technologies. Employees need
communication tools and the time to network, and that also helps to create
long-term relationships and foster
team building, belonging, and
commitment. With those practices
and a fierce pace of acquisitions,
NFP has become one of the top
global insurance consulting firms
with over 5,800 employees each
making a difference in the success of
NFP and our clients.

What are some of the vital
attributes, in your opinion, that
every leader should possess?
Honesty, authenticity, strong
communication, passion, dedication,
accountability, and a desire to
empower everyone around them. All
of that and a side of humor helps!
How necessary is it to align
business with technology and what
are its outcomes?
Technology is in every aspect of our
lives today and being both
comfortable with it and using it in
business is critical for competitive
advantage. It can increase
productivity and operational
eﬃciency, improve communications
with employees, customers and
vendors, build business culture,
provide access for research and
innovation and oﬀer security for
business and client information.

“Feel passionate about your work
so it isn't work, its part of who you
are and what you believe in.”
How do you sustain your
entrepreneurial spirit in this
changing technological era?
Always being curious: willing to
learn new technologies, ask
questions of others on technologies
they’re using that are improving their
work, and identify new products that
better serve the client.
What advice would you like to give
for other young women who would
like to start their own business?
Look around at your daily life, the
work you are passionate about or
areas that are in need of
improvement. Next, consider what
solutions may be better, more
efficient, or more sustainable, and
determine the best delivery. If you
understand your abilities you can
then look for the resources and/or
people who can help you to get your
idea tested, piloted, or on to market.
You should feel comfortable and
confident in the commitment of time,
energy and effort that starting and
running a business can take. It is also
important to plan your self-care so
you can sustain your physical,
mental, and financial health during
the startup phase. With all of that
said, planning doesn’t mean you
must be absolutely 100% "ready" in
every aspect; take a chance, believe
in yourself, don’t give up, and know
that you can make it happen.

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Just today I had a young and enthusiastic women call
me up asking for advice and maybe some pointers on
how to bring her vision to life. During the call I could
almost see her deflating while I piled up the list of
challenges that came with fundraising, developing tech
products and gathering the right team. I know exactly what
that feels like because I, myself, have experienced it many
times before. The mountain of work that faces an
entrepreneur is sheer unfathomable, and that’s probably a
good thing: who knows how many companies would still be
out there if the founders had known what awaited them!?
That feeling in mind, I did leave the call on an uplifting
note (I hope), but what I also did was send her a list of
female founder groups as well.
Having a female led and populated ecosystem that can
absorb some of the pains any female entrepreneur has to
face can be the difference between succeeding and giving
up. I choose the words ’giving up’ on purpose, because we
can all fail, but it should be for technicalities all start-ups
face, and not because we are lonely, overwhelmed and
unsupported women.
From experience I have recognized three sorts of female
ecosystems that are important for different challenges
within the journey, each adding their own individual value,
and I am grateful for each and every one of them:
Ÿ The Community: these groups are more motivational
and empowering than having an actual impact on your
business. Especially at the beginning of founding a
company they are important. You get to meet other
women, hear their stories, recognized that it’s not only
you and make friends along the way. I think these
groups are very important for your mental health,
especially when your new company also means a
change of lifestyle. You can meet other women and have
a tea or a drink without feeling like you should be
working because you ARE. Panels with talks, meetups
and even workspaces distinguish these groups from
strictly social events. My favourite one: Blooming
Founders.
Ÿ The Educators: these groups offer talks, workshops and
one-on-one’s with highly successful men and women in
the start-up world. Here you need to bring your pen or
laptop and stay on top of what is being said because the
lecturer/guest speaker will dump large amounts of
wisdom on you. Sometimes there are drinks afterwards,
but the emphasis is on learning from and networking
with the speakers. I have made the best out of them by
targeting events with speakers that could be important
for my business and that I would otherwise have
difficulties accessing. To my greatest sorrow many
events are early morning breakfast meetings at 7 or 8,
where I pretend that it’s a normal hour to be about for
me. My favourite one: SheWorx
Ÿ The Platformers: These groups offer mostly awards and
events. While on the surface you often don’t win
anything tangible like prize money, the award itself ads
huge value because it is highly respected in the field and
opens doors. During the events you get to network from
a privileged position which is invaluable for companies
that are fundraising. It is also one of the few visible
social markers that all your hard work, blood, sweat and
tears has been acknowledged and rewarded - something
you can show to your painfully neglected friends and
family. My favourite one: TechWomen100
During the development, the fundraising and the pivot of
my digital mental health company with our emotional
fitness game, eQuoo, there have been multiple times that
these groups were there at the right time and place, offering
me support, information and a platform. Women are still
vastly underrepresented in the tech world, and while the
#MeToo movement has unearthed many of the people
abusing their power against women, it can still be a hostile
environment if you’re unlucky. And statistically speaking
you will be unlucky a few times.
The VC world is slowly starting to understand that a
mentally health founder is a productive one and having
communities that support us is a vital ingredient to our
wellbeing.
It takes a village to raise a child? Well, it takes a city to
build a start-up.
Ecosystem for
Women
18 | November 2019 www.insightssuccess.com

Silja Litvin is the Psychologist, Founder and CEO of PsycApps
Digital Mental Health, a company that uses AI, gamication and
psychology to help people help themselves. She is a developer of the
multi-award winning eQuoo – the Emotional Fitness Game.
Silja was born in Germany but moved to southern California early in
her life. Exposed to many diverse cultures early in life, she developed
an insatiable curiosity for the human condition leading to her pursuing
a degree in psychology. During her 17 years of international
modelling she began her Masters at the Ludwig Maximilian
University in Munich, graduating in Clinical Psychology and
Systemic Family Therapy in 2013. Alongside her education
as a Systemic Family Therapist in 2015, she
began her PhD in Clinical Psychology.
A child of the digital generation, Silja was
looking for ways to use apps and social
media to help people suffering from
mental issues. She went on to create a
psychological mobile app that helps
users identify and self-manage
depression. With this idea, she undertook
her PhD thesis, thus ensuring it to be
evidence based and ethically sound.
Now she is venturing into the world of AI,
gamication and chatbots to nd a way to be
able to help people help themselves,
launching her emotional tness game eQuoo
in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. The
game has been featured in major news
outlets such as Forbes and TechCrunch
and she won multiple prizes with
PsycApps such as THE EUROPAS Pitch
Awards and Pitch@Palace on Tour.
About the Author
Silja Litvin
Founder & CEO
PsycApps Digital
Mental Health
Leader’s Desk
19 | November 2019www.insightssuccess.com

Evelina
Lavrova
Helping Startups Grow and Evolve
Learning certain set of skills is purposeless, unless one doesn’t
put them effectively into practice. Similarly, an idea is merely
a thought, until a certain action is not taken to turn it into a
successful business. However, a new venture has to go through
different challenges, undulating moments, and enlightening failures.
One who learns from those dilemmas and moves ahead, ultimately
climbs the ladder of success. Meet Evelina Lavrova, an avid
entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Decrypto PR, who
exemplifies the true essence of being an entrepreneur. In an interview
with Insights Success, Evelina shares her challenging journey of
becomingabusinesswoman.
Belowarethehighlightsofaninterview:
Tell us about your first entrepreneurial venture: How did you
comeup with theideaand how did you start yourbusiness?
I had some job interviews and realized I didn’t want to work as an
employee any longer. Every job was the same. I suggested to some
friends that we work together, but we didn’t find the right project.Then
I decided to launch my own company. I felt that I was ready to do
something new. I’m a perfectionist and when I worked with other
companies, I wanted everyone else to be as well – but everybody has a
different attitude. Sometimes it interfered and held me back in my
goals and tasks. If people don’t want to go the same way as me, I won’t
wastetime.
Give a brief overview of your background and your role in
DeCrypto PR?
I’m founder & CEO of Decrypto PR, CMO of Waves World and an
Expert at CV Labs - a blockchain incubator in Zug, Switzerland. Prior
to that I worked for around 2 years at Waves. I was named one of the
Top 10 Females in Crypto 2017 by Core Magazine. Before this I also
promotedPay-Me,Yell,Gett,andothers.
What is the biggest challenge for you as a businesswoman? How
do you dealwith the challenges?
To sell myself! I can easily sell other people and companies, but I’m a
little bit shy when it comes to selling myself. Maybe it’s a Russian
habit. Almost every day I have new challenges and try to solve new
problems–it’s alongto-dolist.
How do you maintain a good work-life balance?
What helps you inbeingdiligentinbusiness?
I work with people in different time zones.
Sometimes I get requests at the weekend or on
public holidays, because it’s a holiday in one
country, but a workday in another. I traveled a lot
during the last year. I try to combine business goals
such as conferences, meetings and holidays in one
trip. If I visit a new place, I try to take a few more
days tovisitpopularlandmarksandexplorethecity.
What is your learning experience of
entrepreneurship, leadership, and guiding
others?
Managing people is not an easy process. In my
experience it is better to find people with the same
vision as you than to try to change ones with a
differentvision.
How critical is temperament to success in
business, inyouropinion?
14 years ago, I broke the stereotype about the
character of a sales manager. Our commercial
director wanted to find an extravert Sales Director.
It was a long process and took a lot of time, but
without any positive results. I had joined this
company a short time earlier and wasn’t the ideal
candidate for the position. But finally, my
persistence won out, and I became the best sales
manager – I made 80% of the company’s sales.
Actually, you can be successful with any
temperament, but depending on the kind of person
you areyou mightgo aboutthingsindifferentways.
What strategies do you undertake to make your
employeesresourceful?
I have a small team, but we share the same
principles so it’s very easy to work together. I think
it’s important to maintain a friendly and
comfortableenvironment.
What are some of the vital attributes, in your
opinion, that everyleadershould possess?
Determination,persistence,andconfidence.
What advice would you like to give for other
young women who would like to start their own
business?
Try to practice your entrepreneurial skills step by
step. In modern life practice is much more
important than education, and especially so in
business.
You will always hear a lot of criticism. Stay
confidentandkeepgoing.
2The Successful
To Watch
BusinessWomen
Most

Play with a strong
competitor and you
become stronger. Or
do a more difﬁcult
task and you grow
quickly. It comes
from sport and I
think it's very similar
for business.
‘‘
Evelina Lavrova
Founder & CEO

The Glass Ceiling Effect:
Another Perspective on
Women and Leadership

he glass ceiling is a barrier so subtle that it is
Ttransparent; yet so strong that it prevents women
from moving up the corporate hierarchy”
---Ann
Morrison, American Author
The term “Glass ceiling” can be defined as an
unacknowledged upper limit in corporations and other
organizations, above which it is difficult or even
impossible for women to reach out to the highest
ranks.“Glass ceiling” is a popular metaphor widely used
for the hard-to-see informal barriers that prevents women
from getting promoted or achieving further opportunities
in leadership positions. The metaphor of “glass ceiling”
has also been used to describe the limits and obstacles
faced by racial minority groups.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s 1991 definition of glass
ceiling is “those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or
organizational bias that prevents qualified individuals
from advancing upward in their organization into
management-level positions.” (Report on the Glass
Ceiling Initiative.)
Famous American actress cum author Ann Morrison
defines the concept of the Glass Ceiling as:
“The glass ceiling is not simply a barrier for an
individual, based on the person’s inability to handle a
higher-level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to
women as a group who are kept from advancing higher
because they are women.”
The Elements behind the Glass Ceiling:
It is pretty obvious that women are facing a lot of hurdles
to break through the glass ceiling and reach to the
highest leadership position throughout the ages.
Preventing both women and organizations from reaching
their full potential, the invisible “Glass Ceiling” denies
us all of the maximal benefits of gender diversity in
leadership. Some of the most common barriers are
highlighted below:
Job isolation:
Women are offered the same kinds of job roles like staff,
public relations or occasionally finance specialties that
rarely lead to the more powerful management positions.
Over time, women are eventually excluded
from jobs in the mainstream of business, the route taken
by CEOs and presidents.
Expert’s Advice

Old-boy Network:
There are many instances when men gets the managerial
powers in an organization who manages greater numbers
of people, enjoys more freedom of hiring and firing, and
controls the company’s assets directly while women are
deprived of such authorities and powers.
It is the “Old-boys” of the organization that makes all the
policy; where the women are kept virtually absent.
Sex Discrimination:
In a recent survey, working women were asked about the
greatest obstacle they had to overcome to achieve
success; “simply being a woman” was the most frequent
response. In another survey by the Wall Street Journal,
women leaders quoted their most serious obstacle in
their business careers to be “male chauvinism, attitudes
toward a female boss, slow advancement for women, and
the simple fact of being a woman.” These instances are
enough to prove the prevalence of sex discrimination in
the workplace.
Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment remains one of the biggest barriers
for women in managerial roles. A corporate environment
that tolerates sexual harassment intimidates and
demoralizes women executives. Even after the adoption
and enforcement of numerous laws against sexual
harassment, women do not feel sufficiently encouraged
and empowered to speak out for fear of compromising
their work.
Benefits of Women in Leadership:
Studies found that inclusion of women in business
leadership has significantly improved such factors as
firm value, financial performance, economic growth,
innovation and social responsiveness and philanthropy.
The additional benefits of women in corporate leadership
include stricter monitoring and supervision and fewer
legal infractions such as fraud and embezzlement. A
better balance among women in leadership positions can
create a more diverse team of leaders with different
perspectives and a greater ability to contribute new ideas
and thus enhancing the profitability. The
transformational leadership style often used by women
tends to be a good option for contemporary
organizations, as it encourages employee morale,
motivation and performance.
Overcoming the Barriers: Strategies
Women’s progress up the corporate ladder is still limited
by the “glass ceiling” despite the myriad of Government
policies and programs which have been introduced to
ensure that their talents and skills are recognized and
accepted.
Women can help themselves to overcome this career
hurdle by:
Acquiring appropriate business skills and know how;
Taking up line‐management positions rather than
management service roles;
Gaining the necessary experience through
“apprenticeship” and “acting positions”;
Seeking career counseling;
Volunteering for leadership and executive positions;
And lastly, acquiring the ability to measure their
operating effectiveness in the workplace.
An awareness of the emergence of new barriers to their
progress is also worth considering. The current
socio‐economic situation is creating different “glass
ceilings” in the form of the downsizing of organizations,
new differentiated and self‐directed career paths, the
advent of the contractual worker, and the care of aged
parents.
Conclusion:
th
Since the latter half of the 20 century, women have
made great paces in increasing their representation in the
work force. However, a considerable gap remains in
achievement of leadership positions across different
fields. Renowned feminist Gloria Steinem stated it best:
“Clearly no one knows what leadership has gone
undiscovered in women.” It is far past time we strive to
find out and finally shatter the glass ceiling.

Rachel
Brownlow Lund
tarting a business is like starting a family. It’s new and
Soverwhelming, and there’s almost never a perfect time to
start. You’ll have thoughts like, ‘I’m not old enough’or ‘I’m
not young enough’or ‘if only I were better prepared or knew such-
and-such ﬁrst.’And it’s so easy to doubt yourself, get trapped in
feelings of fear, or to feel like an imposter. But if you can embrace
the newness, the I-don’t-know-ness, and go for it anyway, then
you’ll open yourself up to so much growth and opportunity.”
These encouraging words of Rachel Brownlow Lund smartly portray
the essence of entrepreneurship, which is all about taking action.
Empowering Women to Step Up
”

From Freelancer to Entrepreneur
An avid entrepreneur, Rachel began her
entrepreneurial career by starting a
ghostwriting company during her last
semester in college. She called it Rachel
Brownlow Ghostwriting, and for the first
couple years, she made a go of it as an
independent freelancer, hustling to generate
new clients and leads.
“I knew next to nothing about
entrepreneurship, but I was dating someone
at the time who was interested in
entrepreneurship, and I had several friends
who had started up small businesses and
side-hustles,” says Rachel. Without those
connections, she suspects she would have
continued on to grad school or applied for a
job, as many of her fellow college graduates
were doing at the time. Fortunately, after
some encouragement from her
entrepreneurial friends, she took a leap and
registered for her first DBA.
Over the next few years, she grew from the
solo Rachel Brownlow Ghostwriting into a
boutique ghostwriting company called Your
Written Word, where she and her team
worked on nonfiction books, blogs and
articles, helping small business owners
position themselves as thought leaders.
Becoming a freelancer and then an
entrepreneur has been a series of big
challenges and growth opportunities for
Rachel. To this she asserts, “No one is born
knowing how to network or hire staff or
write copy or be an effective saleswoman.
But you stretch, and you grow. You pivot,
and then you grow some more. And all the
while, you continue to impact more and
more people.”
An Idea of Me2Lead
Currently, Rachel runs her company
Me2Lead, where she helps women grow
their businesses through strategic power
positioning and business leadership
coaching. She mentions that if she had
created a 10-year plan for herself when she
started her first business in 2009, it probably
wouldn’t have included Me2Lead. “At that
point, I was still figuring out a lot of

Focus on the lead
indicators and the inner
work, and success
becomes inevitable. Most
people focus on lag
indictors, but this is
a mistake.
““
Rachel Brownlow Lund
Business Growth Coach
Me2Lead

fundamentals around business and leadership for myself,”
she says. “I never dreamed I would be in a position where I
could help other women grow their businesses.”
Yet that is precisely where her entrepreneurial journey led
her. After years spent honing her business acumen through
hard lessons, mentorship, coaching, business incubators,
masterminds, hundreds of business books, workshops,
online courses and more, she began helping friends fast-
track their own successes in entrepreneurship. Discovering
that she had both talent and passion for helping women
grow their businesses, confidence and visibility, she started
the coaching company Me2Lead.
Initially, Me2Lead began as a side-hustle to prove out the
concept. When Rachel discovered that she was helping
clients achieve some really extraordinary results in their
businesses and as leaders, she enrolled in a coaching
certification program and then went full-time.
“If someone had told me back in 2009 that what I do today
was an actual job, I would have been like, "wow! Can that
person coach me?” she jokes.
Challenges Are Part of the Process
For Rachel, impatience has always been one of her biggest
challenges. “I want to do more than I have energy or hours
in the day to do it all,” she says. Even with diligent
planning and prioritizing, things almost always take longer
than she would like.
With growth, also come challenges. In Rachel’s opinion,
challenges aren’t so much eventual as they are a daily part
of business. “New levels, new devils,” if you will. To
overcome her own challenges in business and life, Rachel
finds it helpful to work with her own business coaches and
to stay plugged into an environment of entrepreneurs who
are further along than she is. Often, they’ve already seen the
challenges she is encountering in their own lives or through
working with clients and can either offer advice or assure
her that what she is going through is all part of the process.
Keep Track of Everything
According to Rachel, work-life balance hardly exists.
Instead, she tends to feel that everything comes in cycles.
She has cycles where she feels supercharged, productive
and on top of her game, and then there are times when she
needs a day or two to zone out, watch Netflix and just not
think. These days tend to come after a big speaking event or
a conference, so she has started to build them in to her
calendar. “Perhaps that’s its own form of balance,” says
Rachel. “Because everything evens out in the end.”
The two things Rachel has found that have worked wonders
in keeping her playing at a high level are what she calls her
“morning formula”, a document she has created around her
goals and ideal self that she reads each morning, and her
daily trackers. She tracks everything, from sleep, meditation
and gratitude to her diet, output and how much she reads
that day. She also has another tracker for business metrics.
“I realize that for some people all that tracking may sound
excessive,” she says, “but it keeps me accountable.”
It’s All About a Desire to Help
According to Rachel, a growth mindset, a grateful heart, a
desire to help, and the belief that there’s a solution to every
problem are vital attributes every leader should possess.
Secondly, when it comes to selling information, whether
that’s through coaching, consulting, writing a book or
creating an info product, one often hears the advice to
“make your mess your message.” Rachel also finds it true,
as she believes most people tend to teach what they have
personally gone through themselves. “It’s because they
went through those struggles and learned how to adapt that
they now have valuable information to share with others”
she says. Through her lens, this is what entrepreneurship,
leadership, and guiding others is all about.
2The Successful
To Watch
BusinessWomen
Most

Martine Niermans is the Owner at
Q10 Consultancy, a company that
focuses on helping companies to
create the best customer
experience and journey. She
founded Q10 Consultancy because
of her passion for Customer
Success and the growing Saas
industry. Due to her international
upbringing she came in contact
with diﬀerent cultures from an early
age. She took the best of all worlds
in terms of service and this is how
she takes customer success to the
next level.
About the Author
Martine Niermans
Owner
Q10 Consultancy

been lucky enough to have been brought up by my
parents who made me believe that I can be anything I
want, without any limitations. My father even made sure
I was able to maintain my own car, cause he always said,
you do not need to rely on anyone unless you choose to.
I lived and travelled all over the world which gave me a
different and amazing perspective to life which helped
me grow in my confidence and independence at a young
age. That is a wonderful start in life and a luxury to be
raised this way I found out later in life.
I feel we (women) are our own worst enemy. You are
only limited to what you think you are. Not, what anyone
else thinks. So be confident. Believe in yourself and your
business.
Trusting your Gut
You are given this beautiful thing called soft skills which
entails your gut. In the past I have tried to ignore it but it
always proved me right. So be in touch with your inner
self and trust your gut. It is always right. Even if it
makes the path you travel on for a moment more
difficult.
Create a team around you with expertise on things you
are not as good at. I’ve learned very early on you cannot
do it all. No one can. So make sure you hire people with
the right mindset and a skillset different from yours
which is complementary.
In 2016 I left my job as the CCO of a very
successful tech scale up. I wanted to start a journey
by myself in this great big world and on my own
terms. I had the classic struggle of finding a balance
between my personal life and my passion for my team
and my customers. Before that, even when I worked at
large corporates like Apple, I always felt I was in control
of making my own choices and I wanted that feeling
back.
Many around me including some of the people closest to
me said I was crazy starting my own business. But I had
nothing to prove to them. I’ve never been someone who
stays on the path of traditional expectations. I had to
follow my gut. I wanted to help tech companies become
customer centric and contribute to the world by
evangelizing my obsession for customers.
Now 2 years later, I am still in the middle of the journey,
but loving every minute of it. I am the proud co-owner of
2 other tech companies that I co-founded along the way,
next to my first love Q10 Consultancy.
For the like-minded women, I would love to share how I
sustain my entrepreneurial spirit.
Be Confident
I truly believe confidence is the most important aspect in
any entrepreneur. Ever since I was a young girl I have
Ways to Sustain the
Entrepreneurial
Spirit
inWomenWomen
Expert’s Outlook

Stay positive. Positivity is lifesaving. Learn from
failure and take the best of it and grow. Positivity is
an important trade of any leader, it equals that you
have problem solving skills, something everyone
needs. This in combination with confidence (note this
is not arrogance) is a killer combination for a female
entrepreneur.
Embrace Your Soft Skills
We don’t need to become men. It is important we
embrace our soft skills. Female entrepreneurs spend
more time in business on things like empathy,
relating to their customers and actually bringing that
vision to the market.
Today in Tech, where we are living in the ’age of the
customer’; meaning the customer has (almost) all the
power and the vendors need to listen to them, it is of
most importance to have a customer centric company.
This is what women are so amazing at. This will
distinguish your company from most competitors and
eventually it will grow your business tremendously
over the longer term if you take care of your
customers. They will come back every year and grow
their business and tell other potential customers.
Recurring revenue is essential nowadays, so use this
strength!
Find a Mentor & Network
As an entrepreneur in Tech but also as just someone
in the working world I always love to have a mentor.
Someone I can bounce ideas off. This can be an
expert in your field or other female entrepreneurs or
both. And think outside the box on this. I have a
mentor who has nothing to do with my line of
expertise, but is a great business woman and does not
even live here in Holland. With the internet the world
is your playground. I mentor as well. Find someone
or a group you can connect to, that you admire and
make it a win-win situation. Advice and mentorship
needs to work both ways and once you find that safe
space to unwind and share experiences you will find
quickly you will be learning from each other.
Work/Life Balance
It’s been said enough time, but it’s important, make
sure you have time for yourself. Don’t lose sight of
your priorities.
As a single mom of a 4, 5 year old with my own
businesses, time management, a great backup
network, and making priorities is of the essence.
Luckily nowadays we can all work flexible. If I need
to be home I choose to be home. But sometimes it
does not work, then don’t sweat it. Give yourself a
break and think ’I do the best that I can’. Meditation
is great and what I always try to do is go outside a
lot, for fresh air and moving. So after lunch I always
take a walk when I can, to clear my head and
prioritize my afternoon. I like to talk to people while
walking. You create better high quality conversations
when you take people out of the business
environment.
Women are natural entrepreneurs and leaders because
of their attention to detail and their ability to
multitask. It’s very easy for us to look at the little
things, and that’s what matters to being an
entrepreneur. All we have to do is believe
in ourselves.

Sophie Slavin
Director

Leading with Experience and Skill
Sophie Slavin
ophie Slavin, the Director of SAS CONSULTANCY SERVICES is a proficient business leader who
Sboosts brand awareness, promotes campaigns, assists/runs social media pages for both individuals and
businesses through her excellent consultancy skills. In an interview with Insights Success Sophie shares
her inspiring entrepreneur journey through her experiences and achievements.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between Insights Success and Sophie Slavin-
Give a brief overview of your background and your role in SAS CONSULTANCY SERVICES.
You could say I have a rather varied background! I started my first job at 17 in Estate Agency and had a
multitude of roles over the following years, from being an entertainer on a holiday park to invigilating exams
within a Young Offenders Institute! I always found enjoyment when I was able to use creativity within my jobs
and finally felt settled when I became a PA which incorporated internal communications and social media
aspects within the role. I was made redundant after 9 years and pretty much decided instantly that I would have
a go at setting up my own business. I was a single Mum who luckily had a great boss that let me do the school
runs and work from home once a week- I wasn’t sure I’d find another company who would let me still have that
flexibility so that I could spend time with my daughter. I also enjoyed Social Media, not just the creativity of it

but the ability it gave you to connect with people and I
could see many businesses were not using it to their
advantage. SAS Consultancy Services was then born.
Describe some of the vital attributes that every
businesswoman should possess.
Some of the attributes I consider to be vital are
positivity- no matter how bad a day it's been, how
demanding a client may be or how it may feel like some
things are taking a while to gain fruition, reminding
yourself of the good things go a long way. Think about
the wins, the gains and the progression you have already
made. Be courageous- try out new ideas, ignore those
who don't think you can do it- if you don't have the guts
to keep pushing forward, no-one is going to do it for
you!
What were the past experiences, achievements or
lessons that shaped Sophie's journey?
In my first few months of being in business I gained a
rather large client- at the time I thought I was equipped
both technically and mentally to take them on. It was a
lesson to learn that I shouldn't run before I could walk,
however as in all types of business we learn a lot along
the way and I took it as a valuable experience. I have
also understood the importance of embracing your
strengths but also acknowledging your weaknesses and
taking action so that they don't become a hindrance. As I
progressed and improved both myself and my business I
was then really pleased to have been shortlisted for a
number of awards before being announced as Best Social
Media Management Company UK and Leading Female
in Consultancy Services at the Influential
Businesswoman Awards.
What were some of the primal challenges and
roadblocks that Sophie Slavin faced during the initial
phase of her journey?
It has been a huge and fast learning curve! I started my
business having spent most of my working life in large
businesses so it was quite an adjustment. Nobody could
prepare me for what it would be like being your own
manager, accountant, administrator, sales person,
marketer, researcher all in one! I was a bit too eager to
make a go of it - (I hadn't even drafted a business plan in
the beginning). In the early stages I suffered slightly
from imposter syndrome however this could have
stemmed from the initial lack of preparation. Thankfully,
I learnt quickly and can safely say skill and experience is
now firmly in the mix.
Where does SAS CONSULTANCY SERVICES sees
itself in the near future and how will you catalyze the
change?
We have already had a great year to date, highlights of
which included winning Best Social Media Management
Company UK and Leading Female in Consultancy
Services 2019 and we are now looking forward to our
next period of growth. Currently, work is taking place on
expanding our training offering and liaising with
associations to build our clientele as well as developing a
multi media Anti Bullying initiative to educate children
on how to stay safe on social and to not live their life by
likes. Plus – you heard it here first – we are soon
launching a section of our business, tailored specifically
for high profile business people and individuals in the
public eye. Needless to say, this is a really exciting time
and we are also keen to welcome more people to our
team to join us on the journey!
What is your advice for emerging women
entrepreneurs?
Do your research, believe fully in both your idea and
yourself and go for it! There are so many opportunities
available out there- don't be the person who spends
forever waiting for tomorrow or the "right time" because
someone else will go out and grab those opportunities
before you do.
2The Successful
To Watch
BusinessWomen
Most

I have a
‘professional
with
personality’
approach to
business with
an enjoyment
of being
proactive and
acting as an
ambassador for
my clients.
“
“

The Fuss
about AI
start looking at ways to incorporate new technologies I
mean it.
For enterprises there are certain imminent crisis that
demand that they change rapidly and market is not at all as
forgiving as it was a few decades back, someone is
constantly rooting for you to make a mistake.This is leading
enterprise to transform under the integrated environment of
Digital Transformation
Voice Technology has lately become a stable AI process and
would completely change the way we interact with
technology in the future. Visualization will remain at the
heart of it however with conversational technology, we can
expect a shift to more verbal ads, like radio, but more
personalized and actionable, but still to make a decision on
which product to buy you would want to see it visually.
Also search will become more specific and hyperlocal,
where we will be prompted to give verbal feedbacks, that
would amount to popularity of products and places, how it
happens with mobile applications today.
Siri, Cortana, Alexa have brought conversation technology
to people for some time now. They come bundled up with
smart phones and can be used to do basic searches, to look
up certain things, cue up songs etc. Speech technology has
come much further than that. With its advancement we can
now control our oven, tv and other house hold devices, can
search complex data from cloud or can make phone calls
for ourselves. It can change the way we function in our
daily lives, our time with our family, services we receive
and the jobs we do. It can eliminate learning curve of
devices, repeatable chores, and compiling excel sheets. And
it will not happen eventually, it’s happening now.
Developers will innovate to create more audio centric user
interface, there will be discovery period for them to find out
how to minimally prompt user to give inputs and implement
Ihave been a strong advocate of conversational
technology (VoiceTech/NLP) and AI and have pitched
for it in various conferences, Guest Lectures at leading
business institutes and to corporates and I am often being
asked what will happen to our jobs? So this is true that
Artificial intelligence seems like a big untameable monsters
to most, and everyone is little anxious about future.
And that could be true sitting in 2010, but past few years
new old research and young progressive companies and
devision of enterprises are willing to make it their sole
purpose that the infuse digital transformation in their
company and provide assistance to others. But, with the
prevailing reputation that comes at a cost of educating
everyone, really everyone.
They see it as a risk and any have burnt their hands trying
to tame novice early stage AI models. But thats fine, thats
how we grow. I believe that we are intellectual beings with
curious minds, why would we want to do repeatable jobs
which machines can do with greater efficiency. We can
delegate these chores and teach the machines to help us
better and imitate human decision making, innovate at
personal level and “Democratise Artificial Intelligence”.
Democratising AI through platforms for like voice
technology - Natural Language processing so the technical
algorithms can stay with specific user base while use of the
AI algorithms can be made as simple as conversing with
machines. Thats a sure shot way to upskilling resources for
example: Team of Analysts can train dashboards and
Business Intelligence tools to map business KPIs and
generate Compelling Business Stories and Insights in
natural language for everyone in the organisation to benefit
from, and then keep building the training over it through
machine learning. We are personally running trials with
Fortune 50 companies on this, so when I say you need to

voice modulated visual commands. We can see
speech approaching a point where it would
become so reliable that we can just use it, like
how we do it with other humans, and not even
think about it.
I am personally inspired to bring acceptance
for conversational technology globally and I
believe that the real success for this would not
be when big corporations and industries would
be using it but when every small and medium
business and every household would be using
it and help us to get a hold of our receding grip
on reality from visually attractive and
distracting screens on our tv, on out laptops
and our smart phones.
We have seen this kind of a shift with
automated technologies and processes which
has led to reduced laborious work, eﬃciency
increased and averted accidents. Smart phones
brought technologies closer to the end user. So,
I took side with Artiﬁcial Intelligence and
Machine Learning technologies, that will aid
seamlessly while co-existing in our realities.
And impact is not just on us in our personal
capacity but for businesses too and
professionals who spend endless nights
collating data and make pretty ppts to show to
the bosses.
I believe that spreading the word on changing
technological demography is not our
responsibility or our burden. But you know
why I make it my purpose??
Because it is a major step in evolution of
technology and I know we need to harness it,
shape it now, before someone else does it
for you.
Preksha Kaparwan is the Co-founder, CMO, V.UX Designer of Realbox.AI .
The versatile IHM Pusa graduate initially served as the chef but got inclined
towards technology and business analytics and founded RealBox in 2015.
Within three years of its inception, they have raised $300k for Realbox and,
their customers include fortune 50 and big 4 enterprises. As a thought leader
she has been part of TEDTalk talk shows. She was awarded 'The sparks 2018'
by your story for tech services for her exceptional contribution
as a Tech Evangelist.
Preksha Kaparwan
Co-Founder & CMO
RealBox Data
Analytics Private Limited
About the Author
Preksha Kaparwan

goals, she mentored several service-disabled veterans and
women-owned businesses.
Empowering and Inspiring People
After completing her Masters in Computer Science and
graduating from Rapport Leadership International,
Paradise, Texas, Usha began her career working as a data
scientist/consultant in Fortune 500 companies where she
acquired in-depth digital knowledge & experiences. With
her quintessential leadership quality & technical expertise,
she entered the entrepreneurship field and started Esolvit
Inc. in 2006. Since then, there was no turning back in
Usha’s career.
Usha Bodappu is currently serving as the President and
Artificial Intelligence Scientist at Arytic, Inc. An Artificial
Intelligence predictive hiring platform presented before the
Department of Defense. She is one of 36 advisors in the
world serving in the Forbes Artificial Intelligence Executive
Advisory Board, Serving in the City of Austin advisory
Board, The Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors, and serving in the Policy Committee.
When asked what had helped her to remain successful for
decades, Usha says, “I have always kept my focus on
leading by example. To do that, I had to continually
upgrade my skills, overcome all the problems along the
way, and inspire people by empowering them to reach their
fullest potential. And I think that’s the reason behind my
continued success.”
Moreover, she has been awarded the most influential
women in Central Texas by Austin Business Journal in 2019
n a market governed by technology, products see rapid
Ievolution and transformation. Businesses are
increasingly undertaking network infrastructure
initiatives to improve efficiencies and to lower the cost.
Software companies, therefore, constantly seek to launch
new product enhancements with agility and efficiency. The
competition for experienced IT workers and leaders in this
market is relentless. Leaders require IT professionals to
help drive and support goals related to storage,
virtualization, unified communications, and security. To
ensure success, entrepreneurs need to attract and retain the
talented resource pools required to build, manage &
optimize applications. With over 23 years of solid
experience in the tech industry, Usha Bodappu has become
one such successful serial entrepreneur who is currently the
Founder and CEO of Esolvit, Inc. Usha is an
accomplished tech executive, and with Esolvit, she has a
platform for helping other female entrepreneurs & for
funneling some of the company’s success back to
nonprofits.
Awareness of Strategic Business Opportunities
In this fast-paced competitive world, being an entrepreneur
is not an easy thing. But Usha Boddapu, with her
persistence, business acumen, and exceptional leadership
skills, overcame all the obstacles along the way and
established Esolvit, the fastest-growing IT company. She
attributes her success to a keen awareness of strategic
business opportunities and the ability to technically keep up
with the evolution of the Tech industry. Usha says, “My
goal is to mentor as many entrepreneurs as I can to lead
successful businesses with the right Mentors.” To attain her
Failure is
not an option when you
seek right guidance at
the right time by
right mentors.

Usha
A True Entrepreneur Focused
on Providing the IT Solutions
Bodappu

and honored the Winner of Profiles in Power award in 2019.
She has been honored the National Top 5 Executive
Leadership award for Innovation at Engage 2019 “The
Power of People”, City of Austin has awarded “The
Excellence award for giving back to community” in the
presence of respected Mayor Steve Adler, Federal
Government has awarded the “USA Emerging Leaders
award” in 2018. She holds Women of Substance award in
the presence of Miss India, The Greater Austin Asian
Chamber of Commerce has awarded Economic
Development Engine award to Esolvit, Inc in 2017. She has
been in the National news of USA Emerging leaders team
appreciation at City of Austin Excellence award. She is
currently serving on the Board of USA Emerging Leaders
CEO Mentoring groups of Master Minds in the Austin Area.
She has mentored Service-disabled Veteran-owned Business
SDVOSB, Incubator programs for High School Students,
Mentored Women-owned businesses and minority-owned
businesses. She is the product owner for the Mentor Protégé
program of Esolvit Edu and Artificial Intelligence AI
Predictive Hiring product and Cyber Security Product.
End-to-End Solutions to Customers
Today, Usha Boddapu has established the company as
leading IT services and solution providers in the country
that provides end-to-end solutions to customers by
employing new-generation technologies such as AI, Big
Data, Cloud, Cyber Security, Robotics and Internet of
Things (IoT) in business. To make the company stand out in
the market, she has introduced strong business models with
swift & smooth scalability, cutting-edge technology with
quality engagement, and innovative tech-oriented solutions.
Her dream is to mentor and serve the community and be
part of the Economic Development of the great nation
United States of America.
Transparent and Employee-friendly Culture
Being a dedicated follower of ethics and values, Usha
Boddapu cultivates an influential organizational culture. By
bringing people together from various backgrounds, she
creates a diverse and inclusive environment within the
company. Usha always gives priority to her employees. She
treats employees as a part of Esolvit Inc. And hence, she
cultivates empathy, understanding, and two-way
communication within the company to make its culture
transparent and employee-friendly. Famed for her
exceptional leadership skills, she was selected against the
five criteria: degree of innovation, bottom-line impact,
compelling evidence commitment to agency, and industry,
compelling evidence of creating a thriving and positive
workplace culture and employee feedback & anecdotes.
Usha explains, “Esolvit believes in Empathy,
Communication, Diversity, Inclusion, Core Values, and
Ethics, which we lead by example.” She further adds, “Our
core values are Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Social
Responsibility, and Excellence. Our values are in our DNA,
which always raises our employees above expectations.”
One-Stop Digital Solution Provider
Initially, Usha launched Esolvit Inc. as an IT service
provider, intending to solve IT-related problems for large
and small businesses. However, to match the increasing
pace of customers’ demand and advancement in technology,
she transformed the company from an IT service player to a
one-stop digital solution provider with a repertoire of
offerings in technology, consulting, analytics, digital
intelligence, and operations. Based in Austin, Texas, today,
Esolvit Inc has its physical presence in the U.S and
globally, including Colorado, Virginia, and India. The
company is serving both local and global customers. “We
work with the world’s top brands, fortune 1,000 companies,
Multinational companies, and innovative start-ups. We have
offices in the United States and India,” states Usha.
Confident towards a Bright Future
In the near future, Esolvit Inc. aims to create a huge impact
on the nation’s economy and development. By embracing
modern technologies and innovation in business, the
company intends to give back to society and create
thousands of jobs in the USA and the region around. As
Esolvit Inc. consists of the right people, technology, and
culture, the company is confident to move towards a bright
future. In a nutshell, Usha Boddapu concludes, "I am
excited about the future of Esolvit, Inc. how we can
empower our clients through the next-generation
technologies.”
Usha Boddapu is working on Taskforce for Homelessness
in Austin Texas with Austin Leaders. Her major social
responsibilities are Public Safety, providing education to
under Under-Privledged children, STEM education to girls
and Reducing the Homelessness in USA.
2The Successful
To Watch
BusinessWomen
Most

Attributes
of a Good
Leader

Leadership is about using the
power of a position to
empower a group of people in
order to attain a common goal. A
leader’s task is to implement the plans
that usually look good on paper,
through a delegated team, in a specific
time with an ongoing motion. She/he
may use the traditional method or may
think out of the box. It depends on the
leader as how to do it; the ultimate
motive is to get the job done.
Although, each and every individual
has a different approach on leadership,
some might say it is about setting
examples, some might say it is about
sharing the authority; what matters is,
taking the right decision when it is
most needed.
Leadership varies from one
organization to another. An
organization is a dynamic body and
creates new probabilities every now
and then. And with new probabilities,
come new challenges.
Although, it is impossible to overcome
every challenge, the business
environment has adopted certain
leadership styles for the efficiency of
business:
The Participative Leader
Participative Leadership is the process
of sharing authority with the work
force in order to get optimum
efficiency. The team, after getting
access to certain powers, works
responsibly to accomplish the goals set
by its leader. The shared leadership
also helps in case of any requirement
of change, as the employees adapt
quickly in such environment.
Incidentally, this style of leadership fits
best in a scenario when there is a
limitation of time.
The Transformational Leader
A transformational leader inspires the
team through effective communication
and an intellectual environment.
However, these individuals require
more detail oriented managers to
when it comes to leadership, there is no
scope for lack of communication. A
Leader who fails to develop this skill is
looked up as incompetent, because it is
his job to send the message loud and
clear. Although, it is also important to
listen as it is an integral part of
communication.
Ÿ Integrity
C.S. Lewis said, “Integrity is doing the
right thing, even when no one is
watching.” Be it giving credit to one of
the team members or be it admitting a
mistake, a leader wears integrity as a
badge of honor. They do what is right,
no matter what.
Empowerment
As mentioned earlier, Leadership is
about using the power of one’s position
to empower a group of people in order
to attain a common goal. A good leader
shares his authority with the team in
order to get the job done. By doing
this, he shows confidence in the team
and obliged by the gesture, the team
works with full enthusiasm to
accomplish the goal.
Ÿ Decision making
There is risk in decision to making.
Great leaders take great decisions
when the stake is high and it is the
success of those decisions that make
them great. To add up, a good leader
takes right decision at the right time.
In conclusion, a good leader can be
defined by the dynamics of his style in
leadership, the values that he brings to
the organization, the methods he uses
to make the best of the resources, and
the kind of decision he makes in the
given situations. At the end it is about
the attitude of an individual to bring
the change for good.
successfully implement their strategies.
Transformational Leadership is
considered among the most effective
employees of the organization. One of
the examples of this type of leadership
is when a leader is assigned on a higher
level for effective environment.
The Transactional leader
The transactional leadership, as the
name suggests, enables the leader to
incentivize the team corresponding to
their performance. The team gets
rewarded when it attains the goals and
the Leader has the power to review the
results and act accordingly when the
team fails to do the same. The goals
and the strategy to attain them are
decided by the leader and the team
itself.
The Situational leader
Situational leadership is a theory that
the best leader will adapt to the
required leadership style according to
need of the hour. A Situational leader
may adopt democratic style while
discussion business with senior
executive, but may switch to
transactional at the time of team
review. However every individual has
a natural style of leadership and it may
be difficult to switch roles at a certain
point of time.
Qualities of a good leader
There is an old proverb that says,
“Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed
Him for a Day. Teach a Man to Fish,
and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” So
is the case with leadership. One of the
basic qualities of a Leader is to pass on
the leadership skills.
Following are some of the qualities of
a good leader:
Ÿ Communication Skills
Communication is the basic
requirement for efficiency in a
business. As the level of hierarchy
elevates, the requirement of
communication grows. Especially,
The Art of Leading

A Calm and Stylish Business Leader
Picture everything you expect from a hair
salon! Then think again and make it more
about you.
Yulia Rorstrom
Founder & CEO
Duck & Dry
2The Successful
To Watch
BusinessWomen
Most

hic, fun & fast with a prosecco bar and a private
Cevents lounge, Duck & Dry is one such world
where the traditional rules of hairdressing do not
apply. Having created beautiful hair for thousands of clients
since its launch, the company has introduced its own range
of blow dry essentials fusing modern science with natural
active ingredients. It all began with Yulia Rorstrom, the
Founder and CEO at Duck & Dry. Passionate about beauty
and entrepreneurship, and with a desire to create an exciting
new brand, she left her career in finance and set out to
create a modern styling destination. With the goal of
professionally styled hair to become part of an everyday
beauty regime. Uncompromising on quality, yet affordable
in a fun and vibrant environment.
Experience in Different Sectors
Yulia Rorstrom didn’t have a beauty background at all!
After finishing university, she knew she wanted to work in
Management Consulting & gain experience, and utilize the
skills that she learned during her studies, within different
sectors while also getting involved in high-level projects.
But then coming from a family which is immersed in the
world of business, she quickly realized that she wanted to
set up her own business. So, Yulia hadn’t planned to set up
a blow-dry brand, but it all kind of happened! She identified
a niche in the market and set about creating a distinctive
brand within the industry.
In the 5 years, since Yulia started Duck and Dry, she also
gave birth to 2 children – her eldest is 4, and the youngest is
2. She decided to not pick one or the other, or wait for the
right opportunity for either one of them. "If you just throw
yourself in it, you will battle your way through", says Yulia.
She does think that a support network around oneself is
very important, especially if you’re a "single" entrepreneur
as opposed to co-founders, and that support network looks
different for different people. Yulia has got a very
supportive Ukrainian family. Her mother came to London
for 6 months each time she had a baby, and she would never
be able to do it without her, along with a full-time nanny
and a very hands-on & understanding husband. Her
weekends are spent as much as possible with the family, so
she’s not missing out.
Finding Managerial Style
Working in the services industry means Yulia Rorstorm has
a really big team, and for her, one of the biggest learning
experiences has been finding her managerial style. Yulia
was not a readymade product, she is still not, but she has
made leaps and bounds of improvement. One thing she also
tries not to do is shield her management team from the
bigger picture and how they’re going to get there, "because
engaging people in the broader scheme of things is what
galvanizes them and gets them to follow you." says Yulia.
She also adds, "It’s so important to be patient when things
might not be going your way, extremely determined to
ensure things get done, flexible and adaptable as things
don’t always work out the way you plan, and you have to
constantly self-motivate yourself – it’s mostly all on you, so
if you’re not pushing yourself regularly, then it’s hard to
achieve what you envision for your brand and business."
Cultivate Relationship with People
One of the things Yulia has learned which is most poignant
is that very often people don’t work for a brand or a
company, they work for a person. Yulia says, "It doesn’t
have to be me, it could be their direct manager, but I do try
to cultivate that relationship where people think of how
their performance and attitude affect each other." It’s
important to connect on a human level. She also adds, "I’ve
also learned that it is important not to let your emotions get
to you too much, especially in front of the team, and to lead
instead with enthusiasm and happiness."
Establishing and running your own business is an extremely
challenging journey. As CEO, the main challenges involve
the daily grind of dealing with various issues, difficult
questions, assessing your successes and failures, as well as
seeking new opportunities. Most challenges are
encountered during the first 3-5 year initial set up phase.
Quality Styling in a Fun Atmosphere
Yulia Rorstorm comes from an entrepreneurial family. Her
parents have always had different businesses and in the
back of her mind, she always wanted to create something of
her own. Yulia was interested in the power of a brand and
what it can create and achieve. At the time, she was doing a
lot of traveling for both work and pleasure. The US, of
course, is huge for blow dry bars, and what struck her most
about them was the experience aspect. "It wasn’t about
quick and cheap styling; it was the buzz, energy, and the
excitement surrounding the whole visit", says the leader.
Yulia was also inspired by Japan, not from a blow-dry
perspective, but there is a huge concentration of salons in
Tokyo, and each one of them has a different personality.
They don’t feel like your traditional UK hair salon.
Whether they had quirky uniforms or a coffee shop or art
gallery, she liked this concept and wanted to combine
something that was brand and experience-led, but done in a
London style.
That was how Duck & Dry was born. The company is all
about quality styling in a fun atmosphere. It is more of an
experience rather than just a quick in and out. The company
positions itself as a destination—a must on your to-do list!
Rather than going for a cocktail with a friend, you can come
for a Prosecco and a blow-dry. The organization has taken
something which could be considered as a functional
service and created an experience around it.

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The 20 most successful businesswomen to watch 2019

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The 20 most successful businesswomen to watch 2019