We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Salberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

Once my co-founder Bryn Carter-Brown and I had solidified that “heck yes” we were going to build a referral platform for women + their businesses + their communities, we had to ask ourselves… now what? It’s one thing to have an idea, to see a problem, but it’s a whole other to actually get to work building.

So we got down to it, scheduling working sessions so we could pour out was was in our brains on to paper. We literally started with taping big pieces of paper on the wall and dumping it all out. What problems we wanted our platform to solve, what we saw her growing into, and almost just as important – what we didn’t want her to be. One thing lead to another and 100 huge pieces of paper later – we had a lot of the concept worked through, we had a name, and we they hype building.

But were we crazy? We had to run the idea by someone who understood technology better than us. Could this idea work? So we shopped it around to our developer friends, were told in fact we were not crazy and this could hit. So we got after it! Researching, building, growing, connecting to anyone & everyone we could to help us along the way. Because to make any big idea happen, you need to look outside yourself for resources.

We had to know – would women want it? So we launched the idea on social media. The immediate organic growth coupled with our research gave us the nod that this was in fact a problem worth solving. And had heaps of rewards behind it.

Then we needed resources & $$. So we applied to accelerator programs, started fundraising (like total newbs) and did everything we could to get traction & build a community along the way.

Did we mess up a bunch of times? Of course. Did I have cringe moments along the way looking back now that I can’t believe we said or did X? Of course! But that’s how you learn, that’s how you know how to pivot and you just *keep swimming.*

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I never saw myself as an “entrepreneur” or even an aspiring business owner. I had found myself in love with the event industry and working my way up the ladder at a production company in Denver, CO. Once that company sold off its event assets, I suddenly found out of job. What now?! I had only ever know working 9-5pm life & supporting someone else’s dream.

But in seeing that event clients wanted to follow me, and finding other freelancing event baddie women in Denver – suddenly I could see that building our company was not only possible, but could be successful. I took my event experience into also building a community group for women that wasn’t your typical stale, networking environment but really inspired connection. And in the meantime on the business side, we built an event consulting agency that took clients all over the world, until COVID hit…

COVID forced our company into a pause, and thus, me. It was during this time I was meeting with another woman in Denver that I had a ‘professional crush’ on from afar (my now Co-Founder in What She Said Bryn) to discuss how COVID had affected both our businesses (she had opened a women’s co-working space the year prior) and what we were working on next.

She poured out the idea for a women & non-binary digital safe space, where we could find what we need and refer who we love – all in one spot. I got it *immediately* and we got to work. Taking my expertise of operations, logistics and events and her expertise of branding, marketing and vision and combining them with both our passions for community, and making change at a higher level.

And here we are!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

My mother had always instilled in me a fierce independence. I have two sisters and we all agree, our independence runs strong and *sometimes* to a fault.

In building businesses, in building community – I’ve had to learn and am STILL learning that I can’t do it all on my own. Having amazing co-founders along my journey has shown me just that, that you can always go further together.

But also, jumping into the deep end of building a tech product at that, something I had no experience in, had to really force me to swallow my pride and sometimes Google ain’t it. And you have to reach out for real help, real resources, real mentorship & guidance. And that can be a tough thing for a fiercely independent, resilient woman who has had to fight her way to where she is. Help? What the hell is that? Lol.

But community is real, help is a leg up – and collaboration is a super power. Once you get out of your own way and you realize that, it’s a game changer.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

LIFE IS A PIVOT. I think of the show Friends every time I hear that word (anyone a Friends fan here??), but for real. Nothing is forever, and realizing that success can be just as much preparation as how you react when real grenades are thrown I your path is crucial.

Company you work for sold its successful assets you helped build up and now you’re out of a job? PIVOT.
Pandemic put your business on hold for who know’s how long? PIVOT.
Realizing your product isn’t what you thought and suddenly you’re inspired to move in a new direction? PIVOT.

Looking back, huge pivots changed my life. And always for the better.

Don’t pivot without facts and real data guiding the way, but what’s on the other side of the pivot can be just as good if not better than where you started. And I happen to be a believer that it could just be the Universe keeping you on path. Pushing you in a direction that’s fueled with growth. You’ve gotta embrace the pivot – or it’ll get the best of you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whatshesaidinc.space/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatshesaidinc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilysalberg/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXhA6BIN025_z–93tonFHw

Image Credits
Photos by Danielle Webster of Electric Lady Shoots