Ep 93 | Sallie Krawcheck

Written By Yasmin Nouri

All Things Women, Money & Mindset

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Sallie Krawcheck is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, a digital-first investment platform working to help close the gender wealth gap by “redefining investing for women.”

Sallie’s professional mission is to help women reach their financial and professional goals… or as she says to get more money in the hands of women. She’s definitely on her way as Ellevest recently announced they have $1Bn under management. 

Before launching Ellevest in 2016, Sallie was one of the highest-ranked women ever to have worked on Wall Street: She was the CEO of Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, US Trust, Citi Private Bank, and Sanford C. Bernstein. She was also CFO for Citigroup. Prior to that, Sallie was a top-ranked research analyst covering the securities industry.

Sallie is widely recognized as one of the most influential women in business. She has been recognized by Inc. as a "Top Female Founder", called "The Last Honest Analyst" by Fortune magazine, and was named the seventh most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. 

We’ll chat with Sallie about her journey leaving her small hometown to high-powered positions in Wall Street, how she dealt with two public firings and the many career pivots that led her to start Ellevest. We'll also discuss why women need to talk more about money and start investing in order to close the gender wealth gap. 

Show Notes:

  • What Sallie’s childhood, growing up in a small town in the South, was like. [5:03]

  • Sallie’s experience of school, difficulties she faced, and how this made her resilient. [6:22]

  • The impact that being bullied had on Sallie’s will to succeed in life. [7:19]

  • How Sallie landed in investment banking after going to school for journalism. [8:13]

  • The shame and guilt Sallie felt around hating a career she thought she wanted. [10:37]

  • How Sallie carved out time to find out what she truly wanted to do with her life. [11:41]

  • Why a research analyst position was a catalytic moment in Sallie’s career. [13:42]

  • Dealing with rejection and the power of a growth mindset to keep pushing. [15:22]

  • Sallie’s take on why being a woman on Wall Street helped her in many ways. [16:47]

  • What happens when women are seen to be looking for power and attention. [18:14]

  • Sallie’s two public firings and the lessons she learned from both of them. [20:25]

  • How Sallie, whose identity was attached to her career, dealt with being fired. [23:42]

  • The realization that Sallie came to before she founded Ellevest. [25.02]

  • Women have been socialized into believing men are better at money. [29:00]

  • The stress that comes with running your own business and the loneliness you face. [30:14]

  • How Sallie led her team, many of whom have never been in a recession, through the pandemic. [31:37]

  • Sallie’s experience raising funds for Ellevest and why it differed from other startups. [36:21]

  • What Sallie wishes they had done differently in her company. [39:32]

  • The value of networking and why women need to do a better job of it. [40:38]

  • Some first steps women who have not invested can take to get started. [43:30]

  • If you feel nervous about investing, start small and watch what happens. [48:40]

  • Why Sallie does not like the idea that women have to strive for work-life balance. [49:35]

  • We need to normalize failures because striving to be perfect puts extra pressure on women. [55:11]

  • The reason that men are better at taking risks, according to Sallie. [56.39]

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Yasmin Nouri
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