Ask any female founder. The entrepreneur journey is far from all rainbows and kittens. Each month can feel like a game of Frogger as we dodge hurdles in our paths. We probably just dated ourselves there with the video game reference. The sparkling lining is some of our hairiest challenges have led to dream partnerships. Since December is the height of NFL season, I’m calling this roundup Fantasy League: Female Founders Edition.
Alaina Wastl, Commercial Real Estate Broker
Here is how I tell the story. It was January 2022 when I presented Andee with the Vogue magazine article, “Booze Free Bottleshops Are Making Dry January Easier Than Ever.” Andee jumped on the phone the NEXT DAY searching for a commercial real estate broker. The “next day” part is accurate, but I typically leave out the part where no one called us back. Fast forward and someone eventually passed us on to Alaina, and our first meeting was magic. Alaina, who had adopted an alcohol-free lifestyle long before it became a celebrity power move, instantly understood the concept. She has a gift for translating leasing documents into comprehensible language, and we are excited to partner with her again as we investigate expansion with a potential third retail location.
Being ghosted sucks. I’m not a fan of the s**** word, but sometimes there is no better way to describe something or an experience. That was us in the summer of 2023. We had been repeatedly emailing our accountant with questions about QuickBooks and the Indiana Dept. of Revenue online portal with no response. Months went by before we learned that he had left the practice. Oof! We contacted a few female founder friends for referrals. They both replied with an enthusiastic, “Brittney!” We arranged a ½ day learning session, and she got us back on track. Brittney could win awards for her detailed step-by-step directions. She also untangled some accounting knots that our previous accountant had gifted to us. Her mission is to help female entrepreneurs generate wealth. Say less!
Trezanay M. Atkins. Esq.
It was early 2024 when some clown in a neighboring state started threatening us about trademark infringement via email. Looking back, his claims were laughable and not legitimate. But the experience shoved us toward pursuing brand protection. Andee and I contacted our beautiful Indy Maven network, and several recommended Trezanay M. Atkins. We are so fortunate to have her in our circle of collaborative superwomen. We left our initial call with Trezanay vibrating with excitement about the future! She is a teacher at heart, and her training and client support materials are flawless.
Andee and I don’t see ourselves dedicating our Sundays to NFL viewing any time soon unless, maybe, it involves queso and mocktails. We’re confident, however, that our Fantasy Dream Team would dominate no matter the league.
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