It’s not how you start life, but what you do with it, that counts
Taking a rare break from the sports world to share a story that everyone should read.
In our day job we recently had the opportunity to cover a talk by Candace Klein, founder of Bad Girl Ventures and current CEO of SoMoLend. The two companies alone are impressive as they are dedicated to helping female business owners find funding and training for their start-up companies.
Since 2010 Bad Girl Ventures, with offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and soon to have one in Akron, has received more than 400 applicants, educated more than 250 businesses, financed 26 female entrepreneurs with $700,000 and helped create more than 150 jobs statewide.
SoMoLend, which launched in 2011, gives entrepreneurs the tools and financing they need to create jobs within their community, while also giving lenders the opportunity to invest in the things, ideas and people they care about the most.
Klein is just as impressive. She is the oldest of five children whose mom was 17 when Klein was born. The family lived in a trailer park and was on government assistance until Klein was 5 years old. But Klein overcame that because she doesn’t “believe in the word failure and knows how to deal with the word no.”
It was while working toward her law degree (after earning four bachelor’s degrees in four years at Northern Kentucky University) that Klein realized that she could make a difference by helping female entrepreneurs find funding for their dreams, which led her to found Bad Girl Ventures.
Klein is an example of how, with hard work and determination, you can be successful and make the world a better place, no matter how you start off in life. And the fact that she is doing it in Ohio makes it that much better, naturally.
You can read the full story of Klein’s talk here or watch a video of the presentation here.
And if there is a female in your life looking for help in starting their own company who lives in Ohio, pass along the link to Klein’s companies. We’re sure they will appreciate it.
(Photo courtesy of Alan Doe/Western Reserve Academy)
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