Vicki Saunders is Founder & CEO of SheEO, a radically redesigned ecosystem that supports, finances, and celebrates female innovators. 

Vicki has co-founded and run ventures in Europe, Toronto and Silicon Valley and taken a company public on the Toronto Stock Exchange. She was recently named as 1 of 30 “World-Changing Women in Conscious Business” by Conscious Company Magazine, one of the 100 most influential leaders of 2015 from “EBW – Empowering A Billion Women”, and in 2001, was selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum.

founder and ceo

vicki saunders

IN THIS EPISODE
Vicki shares stories of growing up in the farm version of Disneyland, her experience living in Europe when the Berlin wall fell, importance of finding your tribe, when she learned your environment will determine who you become, and her entrepreneurial journey that led to to start SheEO. 

Here are the highlights: 

Vicki explains how she “mashed together” microfinancing, crowdfunding, and other funding concepts to create SheEO (9:08)

Why SheEO give a 0% loan instead of funding the ventures and what happens when 500 women choose you, become customers, and become an influencer for you. (10:10)

The process of applying to be a “venture”

Her experience living in Europe when the Berlin wall and how she became a catalyst for entrepreneurship before telephones and email were a thing. (18:20) - 

Starting an incubator back in Canada and heading to Silicon Valley (22:05)

Everyone has something amazing to contribute, but what kind of environments stop you and what frees you. (23:05)

How she is seeing women rise to the occasion. (38:05)

The SheEO companies Vicki mentioned were:  
- Abeego food preserver wrap made of beeswax
- Alinker walking bike for those with limited mobility
- Loliware disposable straw made of seaweed