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Ep.51

Leaving Wall Street to Become a 5-Time Founder and CEO

with Divya Gugnani

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Welcome!

I’m thrilled to welcome the prolific, beautiful, and brilliant Divya Gugnani on today’s episode. Divya is known as a fearless founder, deeply committed investor, and incubator of brilliant ideas. In this episode, we explore her inspiring journey from a shy child growing up in Long Island to becoming a serial entrepreneur and founder five times over.

 

We kick things off by diving into Divya’s early years, where she shares intimate stories of her introverted childhood and the foundational experiences that shaped her entrepreneurial DNA. She candidly talks about how her career in finance helped her build the confidence to kickstart her first successful business, leading to multiple startup launches and significant exits.

 

We also explore the dynamics of navigating a predominantly male finance industry and the hard lessons Divya learned about self-advocacy and financial management in a highly competitive industry. She also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her personal life — balancing motherhood, money in marriage, and being a mentor to many in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

 

Tune in to this episode for high-value insights from one of the most dynamic women in business. You’ll learn about the power of persistence, the importance of community, and strategies for financial success.

Key Topics

  1. How being a shy child helped shape Divya’s inner entrepreneur
  2. What inspired Divya to pursue finance and a career on Wall Street
  3. Learning what not to do around money from her parents
  4. Treat money well, and it will treat you well
  5. Navigating a dramatic pay gap between men and women in finance
  6. Getting the inspiration to start her first business
  7. Riding the high of selling her first business and the lessons she learned as a first-time entrepreneur
  8. Lacking positive reinforcement from family and how that affected Divya
  9. How Divya invests the money she made from selling her business to support other entrepreneurs
  10. The biggest mistake Divya made in her money journey
  11. Navigating financial convos and money lessons with kids
  12. Leaving a legacy of support, kindness, and generosity for other entrepreneurs

Connect with Divya Gugnani

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