Vestpod - Emilie Bellet, Women and Money

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Going Above and Beyond to Economically Empower Women With Sharmadean Reid

Veronica Morozova

👩🏾‍💼Sharmadean Reid is the Founder and CEO of The Stack World — a platform that helps women monetise on their micro-communities, and equip women with the tools they need to excel in their field.

⭐As one of the 10 Black female entrepreneurs in the UK this past decade who's raised venture capital, Sharmadean is undeniably a force to be reckoned with. Committed to her personal values and helping women reach their full potential, she is the prime example of someone who is amazing at bringing her ideas into action.

💥 Today on The Wallet:

1️⃣ Sharmadean talks about how she came to be conscious of the many obstacles that women face in trying to reach their full potential, how this inspired her to create The Stack World, and the importance of aligning her personal values with the company’s culture.

2️⃣ Running a tech business isn’t easy, but Sharmadean says that she’s learned a huge amount in the process, so she shares her experience of fundraising and being a founder in general.

3️⃣ Growing up, Sharmadean didn’t have a sense of financial security, which impacted her money mindset in adulthood. Sharmadean tells us about the work she’s put in to make a shift in her relationship with money.

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  1. gender equality through a holistic approach

  • After finishing school, Sharmadean moved to London where she attended Central St Martins. This is when she first became aware of the fact she was ‘Othered’ as a Black female stylist. At university, she set up WAH magazine, which sought to encourage women to enjoy hip hop and be themselves.

  • Sharmadean founded WAH Nails as a side project in 2009. The salon completely changed the beauty landscape with its feminist attitude and innovative salon space. But the true value of running WAH was the data that Sharmadean began to gather data on the women that attended her salons, as well as her employees.

  • It quickly became apparent that women faced numerous obstacles when it came to fulfilling their true potential, and that the problem of gender equality required more than just one thing to solve it.

  • Sharmadean therefore has developed a missionary approach to her entrepreneurship. For her, it’s much more important to have the longer-term view: it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

  • She sees The Stack World’s approach as a pyramid, with money at the top. The top of the pyramid is supported by knowledge, confidence, networking, team building and mental health — to name a few.

  • Being a mission-driven founder might mean that you sacrifice some things (namely money), but Sharmadean feels like it gives her purpose and that seeing the bigger picture is simply in her DNA. That’s why her values are very much entwined with the company culture.

  • You have to know what you stand for and know what your end-game is. The vision/mission/purpose has to be set to help you maintain a path and not get distracted. Curbing social media use isn’t a bad idea, either.

2. the ups and downs of fundraising

  • Having a clear thesis to the business and a good understanding of the macro-problem in the world that she wanted to solve helped Sharmadean raise funds.

  • It’s also important to have a nugget of insight that investors don’t have because they’re not on the ‘shop-floor’ talking to your user. Lay out this insight like an essay or a white paper.

  • Build a relationship with a select 10-15 potential investors and mentors and go deep in the relationships, rather than focusing your energy on building a network of hundreds of people.

  • Fundraising is difficult, because you’re putting yourself and your ideas out there and opening yourself up to rejection. That’s why you have to have an unwavering belief in yourself and your idea. Without complete conviction in what you do, you will crumble after receiving continuous ‘no’s’.

  • On the brighter side, the process of fundraising forces you to do the strategic work in your business to see if it’s viable. The frameworks and metrics that the fundraising process forces you to do will be useful for your business no matter what.

3. a money mindset evolution

  • For Sharmadean, money is important because it allows her the freedom to pursue whatever she wants. Raised by a single mother on benefits, Sharmadean remembers the hardships she faced as a child and how she was determined to carve out a different life for herself as an adult.

  • From a young age, Sharmadean learned that having money gave her options, and those options could help her thrive. At university, she realised that the cost of not having money was missing out on learning opportunities.

  • Sharmadean ended up making good money as a stylist, but she had no idea how to hold or keep her money. A lack of financial literacy meant that whatever she earned, she would spend.

  • That’s why now, Sharmadean is focused on retaining and growing her money — which is a big mindset shift that required her to put in the work.

  • Discipline, austerity, consistency and reliability — those are the theme words that Sharmadean wants to hone in this year.

  • Sharmadean sees money is an ever-moving energy, and you can store your energy up and release it back as a fireball.

  • Experiencing wake-up calls and learning from them has been another part of Sharmadean’s money mindset journey. She has recognised the emotional blocks that have prevented her from doing certain things she subconsciously thought she was unworthy of.

RESOURCES: 

You can follow and connect with Sharmadean at:

Resources mentioned in the episode:


*** Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. ***