Women entrepreneurs everywhere have proven you don’t have to wear a suit and tie to be a successful leader. We spoke with two women who have made their marks in St. Louis at the helm of their own companies. They leaned in and are justifiably proud of their achievements, but they also admit that finding balance between the professional and the personal is an ongoing process.
Jennifer Ehlen didn’t become a business owner by chance; she says she was born with an entrepreneurial spirit. The founder and CEO of Prosper Institute, an organization with a mission to advance women-led companies, says because her parents had limited resources, if she wanted extra things as a child, she had to find the money herself. “I made elaborate lemonade stands and employed kids from the neighborhood,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to continue my grandiose ideas.” As a wife and mom, she accepted only positions earlier in her career that fit into her lifestyle without imposing inconveniences. “I kept choosing jobs that brought me closer to entrepreneurship without actually taking the leap myself,” she admits.
Her path provided quite the learning experience, however. After finishing undergraduate degrees at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, she earned an MBA in marketing from Saint Louis University. Her impressive director roles at Boeing, KETC/Channel 9 and Saint Louis University all provided useful insight into how companies operate. She ultimately landed at Thompson Street Capital Partners, where Ehlen says she learned how to grow companies at an accelerated rate.
It was in this industry that gender inequality became very noticeable. “Roughly 95 percent of venture capital partners are men,” Ehlen states. The push she needed to finally step out on her own came in 2011 when the Kauffman Foundation and American Express published separate reports showing an enormous gender gap in entrepreneurship. American Express produced a ranking of every state and the top 25 metro regions based on how well each did to support women entrepreneurs. St. Louis came in dead last, tied with San Francisco (Silicon Valley). Missouri was ranked 41st.
The dean of the business school at SLU at the time, a former boss who also is passionate about women in business, called Ehlen to discuss the unfortunate results. “She suggested I start an initiative, so, along with a group of female entrepreneurs, I dove in head first and in January of 2014, we launched Prosper Women Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit that focuses on mentoring, training and educating women,” Ehlen explains. Six months later, they founded the for-profit PWE Startup Accelerator. “For the accelerator company, we raised a $3 million fund to invest in 10 to 12 women-led businesses from all over the world each year,” she says, adding that they have an equity stake in each company. “We seek companies out or they apply, and we bring these women to St. Louis to connect them with mentors, customers, experts and thought leaders in the hope they will grow.”
And they have. “We’ve invested in 16 companies so far, and many are growing tremendously. Several outside the St. Louis area even are looking to relocate here because of our resources.”
Ehlen notes the biggest struggle has been encouraging women to apply for Prosper’s programs and other grants; first they have to overcome their self-doubt and gain confidence. “I tell women to flex their fear muscle,” she says. “I read a quote that says when you feel fear, it means you’re doing something really cool—and that’s so true. As women, we’re rule followers, but that’s sometimes a detriment. We shouldn’t fear failure.” Ehlen hopes more women come to Prosper for its office support groups (Ehlen calls them “entrepreneurial tribes”), seminars and more. The company plans to launch in other cities early next year, including two more in Missouri, and will host a symposium in April 2017 with internationally known speakers. “We want women from all over the world to come here to learn how to accelerate their companies. It’s all about growth.
Mayda Barsumyan understands growth. As president and CEO of Business Escalation, she has done what her company’s name implies: grown her business, and those of numerous clients, to success. Her company helps small to large corporations with system implementation, also helping them grow organically through expansion and acquisition.
Barsumyan says she has the mentality needed to compete in this male-dominated industry. “There is a perception that women have to be like men,” she says. “But I’ve learned that as long as you’re honest and straightforward with men, they will appreciate and respect you, and doors will open.” She immigrated from Bulgaria to the United States on her own in the ‘90s to pursue a college education, eventually receiving an accounting degree from Montclair State University in New Jersey while working at Prudential. “To support myself, I worked and went to school at night,” she says. “I started as an intern, and after a year, they hired me on as manager, the first one in the company’s history without a completed accounting degree.”
Her tenacity and intelligence got her recruited by Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the oldest and most respected management consulting firms in the world, where she was in charge of such massive special projects as the Y2K bug and creating a systematic approach for converting European and U.S. currencies into each other. “My goal there was to work through the channels and become partner, but I started my own business by mistake,” she laughs. When she became a mom of twins, she says her whole perspective changed. “I didn’t want to travel all the time, and my job was a 24/7, high-pressure gig,” Barsumyan says. Like so many working moms, she wanted a balance between work and family. With a new position at Covanta Energy, she says she was fortunate to work with people who supported and appreciated her talent, but she ended up with the same demanding schedule.
She took a break to do contract work, but after a five-year project brought on even more business, she had to get help. “I had so much demand that I couldn’t do it all by myself,” she recalls. “So I started hiring here and there and all of a sudden, I said, I think I’m running my own company!” What started by happenstance now is an influential financial management solutions company. “I can’t think of one company I’ve helped with implementation that hasn’t grown from my assistance,” she says proudly. And that balance she tried so desperately to achieve? She’s still trying. “You can’t find complete balance,” she says. “You have to go where you’re needed, which constantly changes.”
She is obviously doing something right. Business Escalations is opening a second office in Washington, D.C., soon to work on a large government project, and in the near future, she plans to expand to Los Angeles. “My success is based on listening, a trait that works with both my kids and my clients.
Pictured: Jennifer Ehlen
Photos: Bill Barrett
