The Entrepreneurship Journey of Belonging & Innovation

We connect with Anne Cocquyt, CEO and founder of The Guild. She is a recent bestselling author of Dare to Launch, Anne has a wealth of knowledge having come from a tech background working in Germany, Switzerland and other parts of Europe.

In this episode, Jess asked her what she would put in a love letter to herself. She takes us through a story of how she launched her very first art business at a Christmas market in Switzerland, thinking her high vibe career and skills from consulting large accounts would translate to entrepreneurship. Spoiler alert, it didn't, not in the way that she thought anyway. We navigate identity and what it means to stay humble along your entrepreneurial journey.

We also talk about how to understand what you're good at, finding partners for the areas where you struggle, and ultimately, how to rethink setting up your business for an exit. Anne provides super actionable and tactical advice. Listen in, we know you're going to love this episode!

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What can you expect from this episode:

[3:44- 8:08] Anne gives us a 360 overview of where she came from to where she is today. She shares how she explored Europe, Asia and the US to find where she truly belongs while doing management consulting. She lets us know how her innovation journey began after falling in love and moving to the US.
[9:21 - 16:14] Anne takes us back to her early days and shares with us what she would write in a love letter to her younger self. Anne gets honest about what she didn’t know and the learnings she gained along the way.
[17:55 - 24:09] Anne brings great insight for early-stage female founders on starting a new business. She shares hands-on exercises that she does for her community at The Guild when working through those first steps. Anne, Jess and Mari bring to the conversation the topic of identity and how important it is to acknowledge “who am I.” Anne also brings up how critical it is to surround yourself with people who believe in you and can help pull you up.
[24:18 - 34-48] Jess asks Anne her thoughts on how founders can think bigger about what the exit of their company may or may not look like. Anne shares different ways someone can find connections to “think bigger” and have the potential to sell their business no matter the size. Anne also dives into fundraising and insight on what intrigues investors.
[35:18- 44:36] Anne tells us some pitfalls she has seen from founders when it comes to marketing and some recommendations for our listeners. Lastly, Anne tells us the why behind her book, Dare to Launch, and the mission behind it.