Legacy of the Fairer Sex

Five high-powered businesswomen help build an 'oldgirls'' network.

by Jennifer Croll

Our crack styling team glams up one of our other uber-businesswomen, Catherine Winckler.

They love their achievements but no more than they love helping other female entrepreneurs realize their full potential. Writer Jennifer Croll profiles five high-performance Vancouver businesswomen invested in the success of the “sisterhood.”

Women helping women. Call it the Old Girls’ Club—or perhaps the “Women of a Certain Age” Network. One thing is certain: there’s a growing trend toward highly successful female entrepreneurs dedicating time and energy to mentoring other women business owners. At the centre is the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs B.C. (FWE), an organization providing support, mentorship, and training to those with new and growing businesses. FWE gives businesswomen a structured source of mentorship that has been seen informally in the “old boys’” network for ages. In these pages we introduce you to five of the outstanding professional women who have made mentoring a central focus of how they “give back.”

Christina Anthony

Revelling in Others’ Success

Christina Anthony thinks it’s strange anyone would question putting in time for free. “You’re paid in so many other ways than money,” she says. And she knows a thing or two about money, having become one of the youngest directors in the 85-year history of Odlum Brown. She’s a star at the venerable investment firm and has remained one of its top portfolio managers. Last year, at 32, she was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40.

But personally, her passion is supporting other women in their chosen professions. “You’re paid in a good feeling of being able to help someone else. I really believe you have a responsibility, when somebody has helped you, to turn around and help somebody else.”

With three kids at home, she’s used to nurturing, but Christina takes it to new heights with her mentoring work. She coaches students at UBC and leads a free seminar, Wall Street 101, on finding jobs in the financial sector.

Her dedication to seeing others excel has been amplified in her role as founder and president of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs of B.C. “I just get so inspired by women who are running and driving their own businesses. And I looked at this market [Vancouver] and felt that there weren’t enough mentoring or educational programs geared toward helping women entrepreneurs.” In fact, she couldn’t find any.

With FWE, an “old girls’’’ network of sorts was born. “A lot of people who I’ve mentored I’ve been able to hire,” Christina remarks. “So I’ve benefited by having really great people join my team at Odlum Brown or at FWE.”

Nicole Stefenelli

Finding Her Mentoring Feet

As a university student, Nicole Stefenelli wasn’t sure how to react when friends encouraged her to follow her passion for recycling. “They said, ‘Nicole, you need to do something about this.’ And I actually didn’t know what that meant.” But she soon figured it out. Today, she’s the founder and president of Urban Impact Recycling.

Started as a university project in 1989, Urban Impact has grown into a Lower Mainland success story. Nicole confesses she’s surprised by how far the company has come. “When I started, one of my best friends said, ‘How many businesses do you need to make a go of it?’ And I said, ‘Oh, 25?’”

Nearly 20 years later, Urban Impact has 4,500 pickup locations. Amid all this eco-friendly success, Nicole’s desire to give back prompted her to introduce Urban Impact’s charitable giving program, which provides free recycling services to charities. The company has also recently taken on the task of going carbon-neutral.

Seeking to strengthen her entrepreneurial chops, Nicole approached the FWE in 2003. “I was just so lucky because the fit, the match, was ideal,” she says of the mentor assigned to her. Still a mentee, Nicole’s unofficial mentoring duties, plus a turn assisting Christina Anthony in organizing the FWE’s e-series entrepreneurial training sessions, suggest that she’s up for the challenge.

In the meantime, Nicole has some sage advice for women entrepreneurs. “Whatever you choose, make sure you absolutely love it, because you will work harder than you’ve probably ever worked,” she says. “But if you do love it and you do feel the passion every time you go to work, it’s easy.”

Lisa Palleson-Stallan

Born to Lead (and Mentor)

“I like to be busy,” says Lisa Palleson-Stallan. That’s an understatement. Lisa is the CEO and co-founder of local activewear company Lotuswear. In her personal life, she devotes time to the Minerva Foundation (an organization dedicated to empowering women) and the Centre for Exceptional Leadership (which fosters leadership development for companies). “Oh, and I’m involved with the Coaches Association of B.C. and Women in Sport,” she adds. And the mother of four still finds time to participate in events at her kids’ school.

Lisa also makes room for mentoring with FWE. “I think the personal reward is seeing people two or three years down the road, and seeing that you may have had some part in helping their business to grow,” she says. “Part of the mentoring process is that both parties are learning all the time. You’re always getting something out of it.”

As for her business, Lisa has enterprising plans for Lotuswear, including expanding across Canada and eventually, into the U.S. But her ideas for future not-for-profit activities are equally ambitious. “Have you heard of Operation Christmas?” she asks. Lisa wants to use Lotuswear stores as collection points for this Christmas charity, which ships presents to poor children in Africa.

Her ties to the continent are deep. “My plan this year is to take my two older sons to Africa, where the Centre for Leadership runs a leadership camp for AIDS orphans.” And perhaps that’s her best plan yet: guaranteeing that the next crop of Palleson-Stallans benefit from the help of one generous, motivated, and invaluable mentor.

Catherine Winckler

A-Ha Moments

Catherine Winckler has achieved many things, but she admits that work/life balance isn’t one of them. “I have no balance. I absolutely don’t,” says the vivacious creative director of Switch Interactive, a new media firm she founded and then sold to Fleming Creative Group. “I’ve tried really hard to do up those little pie charts… but I can’t compartmentalize my life.”

As a businesswoman and partner in Fleming, Catherine knows she wouldn’t be where she is today without help. “Mentoring, for me, has been everything. I’ve had a mentor from the first days I left university… an absolutely amazing woman.”

Catherine became a mentor herself in 2005. “I was six years into Switch, and [I] wanted to push my business internationally and didn’t know what to do. I became an FWE attendee and saw huge value in myself, so I became a mentor.” She’s adamant that mentoring is a two-way street. “Every time I’m talking to one of my mentees, I have an equal if not bigger ‘a-ha’ to help me with my own business. It’s just amazing, because they’re smart women, and they’re giving back to me in the same way that I’m giving back to them.”

When asked what she would change if she could do it all over again, Catherine takes a long pause. “When I was young, I would have tried out New York or San Francisco; I wish I’d been a little braver to go into the big pond.” Then she laughs. “But it’s not too late. Maybe I can go volunteer at an agency in New York. So you see? There—I just had an ‘a-ha’!”

Sandra Wilson

$30 Million Later

“Oh! I just have a whole lotta fun.” Sandra Wilson laughs. And so she should: two years ago, Sandra sold Robeez, the children’s shoe company she started in her basement, for $30.5 million.

Sandra launched Robeez in 1994 after she was laid off by the now-defunct Canadian Airlines. She saw her new business as a way to make money while still being around for her one-year-old son. “Yes, I put in a lot of hours,” she concedes, “but I also didn’t miss very many of my son’s hockey games or soccer games. Ever. I was able to set priorities.”

Since selling Robeez in 2006 to American shoe giant Stride Rite, she’s had a lot of time to play: with family time, golf, and a recent cycling trip in Bhutan. But for Sandra, part of the fun of being independently wealthy has been sharing the secrets of her success with other women entrepreneurs at the FWE. “I learned a heck of a lot over those years, and it’s nice to be able to share with other women who have earlier-stage businesses. I know, having been there, that you can often shorten the learning curve significantly.”

So how do the rest of us expedite our journey to good times and good fortune? Sandra ultimately thanks mentoring for steering her in the right direction. “I think one of the reasons I was successful in the early days is that I didn’t ever hesitate to ask for help or ask questions. And you know, it’s amazing: it’s very rare to have a door slammed in your face. People usually do want to help.”

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