We recently connected with Susanne Puerschel and have shared our conversation below.

Susanne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

R.I.S.E.’s origin story is a personal one that is rooted in the brand Pointe To Rise. After many years of being absent from the performing arts scene I realized how passionate I truly am about empowering artists worldwide to find their voices and create the much needed change. The idea behind Pointe To Rise was simple – to encourage artists to start by pointing at themselves, taking ownership of their art and current circumstances, and using it as a catalyst for social change. Out of this vision, R.I.S.E. was born. The name R.I.S.E. ( Re- Imagine Sustainable Entertainment) is a call to action, a reminder that we can rise up and create a more sustainable future through our art for this industry. Just as much as I am reminding myself everyday to RISE up to my potential and let fear be a passenger, but not the driver of my vehicle.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been ask so often about how I got into dancing. The answer is simple. I knew becoming a ballerina was my only path. And I confidently shared that knowing with my parents at the mature age of 2. And there was NOTHING that could hold me back. Not my fathers death when I was six, not the 2 hour commute 3 days out of the week to get to ballet classes, not the so bluntly addressed ” bodily inabilities ” when I left home at 10 years old to train professionally at THE best producing ballet school in East Germany, not the endless conversations I had to listen to that I was way to heavy and that I would not have a future as a professional dancer, not the emotional abuse of 8 years during my training, not the incredible hole I felt without having my mother close by and not even being bullied by my classmates for 2 years for being ugly, overweight and a 2 slices of bread for dinner eating kind of girl. All of this did not stop me. I graduated with honors and had my first engagement at the number 1 Ballet Company in Germany at the age of 18! What followed was everything but a dream. I had absolutely no idea how to function without someone breathing fear down my neck. Yes, I had lived on my own since I was 10 but all I knew was perfection and fear and emotional abuse. And functioning without it… well, I did not know how to do that. Alcohol, parties, showing up drunk or not at all for morning warm up classes…. that was my way of catching up with my life. And as you can imagine, it wasn’t received well by my bosses. And yet, over and over again, I received chances to perform center stage and I choose to manipulated myself just enough to stay where I believed I belong- small and unseen. I believed that leaving the company would fix everything. If I ran away far enough, everything would be perfect again. What I did not know back then was that no matter how far or for how long we try to escape, we always take ourselves with us. And after only dancing for 2 years in North America, I hit rock button. My body and mind were so sick that I had to stop dancing.

Fast forward to 2018. I was sitting in a hotel conference room. Surrounded by 500 other women. I really did not know how I actually got there. Back then, I was unable to hold any kind of relationships with women. In fact, I didn’t even like being surrounded by women. They always pointed out ( without saying, of course) what was wrong with me.
But I was tired of my old way. My marriage was rocky and our three boys deserved a better version of myself. So I started self development. I started digging up all of the old wounds and traumas and limiting beliefs ( if you are in that space you know that this is a never ending process). And I will never forget those three days in Newport, CA back in 2018….. it was the moment when I realized I had to get back into the arts industry because if there isn’t some kind of ” revolution” happening, my children’s children won’t have the opportunity to sit in an antic theater, being mesmerized by its beauty and being taken away by a story, told through music, dance, voices and emotions.
I started as a high performance coach, helping artists breaking through their own limiting beliefs and learned pretty fast that the industry I had left in 2003 had not changed in over 15 years. I saw how much the lack of money, the dependency of outside sources for survival still invited pain , abuse and depression into an industry that is here to deliver beauty and creativity. For over 250 years have we as an evolving society that now flies to the moon and creates self-driving cars, romanticized the idea of a “Starving Artists”. An artist that has no financial independency, stripped down of confidence, voiceless and fearful to find out who they actually are.
I was that person. Voiceless. A body that worked when the right commands were input. And I had lost my ability to be creative.
That is how RI.S.E. was born. I had grown so tired of hearing the same old story of ” not enough-ness” and blame that I started thinking solutions.
Web 3 is , in my personal opinion, a perfect match for a solution. NFTs can create new revenue streams for artists and organizations. Web3 technology can facilitate decentralized and community-driven artistic projects. Blockchain-based ticketing can reduce fraud , increase transparency and offer more creative and ” UpToDate” avenues to connect artists with their fans. It is our responsibility now to build the future audiences and we can do so by building that strong and not yet often enough traveled bridge between technology, business and arts.
R.I.S.E. is offering, besides turning your tickets into NFT’s, a variety of services.
We are soon offering a unique way to connect to influencer to promote events and performances, using AI to simplify marketing, performance streaming services to impact a larger audience, a web3 based social network that enables users to earn money without a centralized body. Furthermore, we are planning on launching an Artist fund. An investment fund, that provides artists with startup capital to launch projects or even their own business.
With all of this said, I realized that knowledge isn’t power any longer, it’s a commodity. Boldness is power. Individuals and organizations that are willing to push against the status quo, that take risks to differentiate themselves in order to build a brighter future….. these are the real superpower holders in our society.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Finding a Co-Founder was never on my radar. In fact, I did not want to have a Co- Founder. To much trouble, I don’t like asking for permission etc. I am certain that most of you have used these ” excuses” to stay safe. I was fixated on this belief until I started journaling every day, thanking the universe for all the manifestations, which included being presented with the right innovative person that would help me get R.I.S.E. up and off the ground. Long behold, only a few weeks later my Co-founder Nelson messaged me via LinkedIn , asking to connect and if I’d be open for a call. Sure, I had nothing to loose. And we started talking. First about how his company could help with the technology needs for R.I.S.E. and then he started asking all of these exquisite questions….. Have you ever considered having a Co-Founder ( I still hear my answer ” I don’t need support, I can do this by myself”). And this beautiful man, 25 years my junior, looked me straight in the eyes and said…” Listen, I don’t know what your past looked like, but you won’t be able to make the impact you desire if you do not ask for help.” I choked up immediately. In two sentences he had figured me out. And that is how we started working together.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I was never a fan of the term ” managing your team” Here is what I’d advice instead. Lead your team. Leadership isn’t telling others what to do. Leadership is about guiding and empowerment. Create an environment that promotes a sense of belonging and purpose. People that feel like they are working towards something greater than themselves are more likely to display motivation and engaged in their work.
Effective communication and building trust within the team is another key element to creating a highly effective team. Focus on listening to your people, ask more questions, and create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and opinions. When team members feel heard and valued, they are more likely to feel a sense of ownership and commitment to the team’s goals.
Leadership is a service. Focus on serving your team, rather than the other way around.
And be super clear on the companies vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.2rise.io
• Instagram: @pointe_to_rise @2r.i.s.e
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-puerschel-800364175/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/2rise-io/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/2RISE1111
• Other: To subscribe to our Newsletter, follow this link https://2rise.io/newsletter/

Image Credits
All image credits go to girlsquademedia