Being Powerful Has a Different Connotation For Women.
By: Erika Lucas
Tags: Women, Impact Investing, Boundaries, Powerful Women, Venture Capital

Last week, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, walked away from the French Open after retribution from the sport’s top officials over her refusal to attend media events to prioritize her mental wellbeing. Backlash included fines, possible expulsion from the tournament if she continued to refuse to attend media events and of course trolls.

Many argued the clash was over Naomis disrespect to the sport and her lack of commitment. One of the greatest female tennis players of her generation and the highest paid in terms of endorsements, lacks respect for the sport and commitment?

The people mad at Naomi, are not mad at her for not doing press, they are mad she is powerful enough to say I’m out.

Naomi is not the only woman who’s faced retribution for setting boundaries. I have many powerful friends who often get dismissed and labeled as arrogant, selfish, ambitious, non-collaborative, not ambitious enough, just for knowing their worth and when to walk out. Saying no to meetings, turning down investments, asking for equal pay, having unapologetic focus and mission.

Take my latest track record pitching VEST as an example.

Remove “Powerful and Influential” From Your Pitch

When I describe VEST as a platform supporting women in the workplace, it puts people at ease. When I describe it as a platform expediting the pipeline and pathways for more women in positions of power, it makes certain people uncomfortable.

I’ve even been told I should stick to helping women in the workplace and ditch the words “power and influence” from the pitch.

We intentionally lead with it. It’s become a productivity hack since we can immediately tell how the meeting is going to go based on someone’s reaction to our elevator pitch.

Stick To Impact Not Profit

Same thing happens when I describe VEST as a for-profit venture instead of a non-profit organization. More than once I’ve been told “Just be a non-profit, it’ll be easier, less threatening and you are more likely to secure funding from impact investors.” This despite showing six figure revenues three months post launching.

I’ve spent the last four years connecting women entrepreneurs to capital, after raising institutional capital and operating multi-million dollar businesses in male dominated industries, so I wasn’t as surprised to hear this.

Women led companies and funds focused on investing in women are often labeled as “impact.” This despite the large sets of data demonstrating that women-led companies or companies with equal or higher representation of women in leadership are significantly more likely to generate higher profits and stock value. Women-led companies are also more likely to embrace employee-friendly policies and champion racial and gender diversity. Subsequently, they are more likely to retain the best talent and engage in decision-making that accounts for orienting to larger varieties of customers than companies with a more monolithic customer base.​ Creating more equitable workspace benefits everyone, not just women. Thus VEST’s thesis.

While VEST’s sole founding vision is to drive massive impact by growing the collective power of women, we are indeed a for-profit company. This is by design. To us it is very clear that developing a market-based solution (rather than relying on philanthropy) to help women in the workplace is a faster and more sustainable solution.



When it comes to creating more equitable workspaces, sustainability and self-sufficiency matters. We can’t afford to rely on funders who are forced to delay funding during economic downturns, when we need to support women the most as proven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Never mind rely on funders who don’t agree or feel uncomfortable with our mission.

Changing The Narrative

We should celebrate women’s power, whether it comes in the form of being a top performance athlete saying no to norms that don’t prioritize the athlete’s mental health, or in the simple form of acknowledging we all have the power to set our own boundaries and code of conduct.

We should also once and for all stand by the fact that investing in women is not charity. At VEST we are committed to changing the narrative, starting with ourselves. Our drive is centered around growing women’s power collectively. We know that by doing this, we’ll generate plenty of value, societal impact and yes, profits.

#VESTHer