Callie England’s latest venture has no name or website; When odds are you’ll die next week, you learn to prioritize, she says

Sometimes hypothetical questions become all too real, said Callie England, a serial entrepreneur who frequently posed a speculative query to herself and clients: “If you were going to die next week, what decisions would you make?”  It was a question she was forced to answer honestly in July 2021, when the veteran Kansas City startup…

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Callie England opens up on why she stepped down from Rawxies

Editor’s note: The following piece by Callie England sheds light on why she stepped down as CEO of the vegan snack company Rawxies. It contains explicit language. [divide margin_top=”1″ margin_bottom=”1″] The other day I found myself frozen in panic; what the fuck just happened!? And when I say “just happened” I’m referring to the past six years: From…

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The impact and challenges of cultivating champions of your startup

I recently wrote about the importance of building a close relationship with a champion of your company. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, notes that “women have twice as many mentors as men, but half as many sponsors.” A mentor can provide advice and perspective, but a sponsor or champion…

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Funding roundtable: ‘You can’t fake it’ and more funding advice from KC founders

Your company is steadily growing, but it looks like you’re nearing a plateau. [pullquote]“It also takes grit. It takes an unbelievable amount of fortitude just knowing that you’ll never give up. It’s possible.” – Brock Stechman, co-founder of DivvyHQ[/pullquote] Perhaps your startup is doing just fine, but a well-heeled competitor just entered your market and slapped a…

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