755: Knowing What It Is You’re Willing to Suffer For with Jennifer Gurecki Co-founder and Co-owner of Coalition Snow

Jen Gurecki is the co-founder and CEO of Coalition Snow, an outdoor equipment and apparel company pioneering the future of adventure and lifestyle for women. Simply stated, Coalition makes women’s skis and snowboards that don’t suck. She also founded Zawadisha, a social enterprise whose mission is to provide small loans to rural Kenyan women to finance their livelihoods. Zawadisha’s model is soundly pro-poor, pro-woman, and pro-environment. Jen has a master’s degree from Prescott College, was recently featured on the CNBC show Adventure Capitalists, and is a seasoned public speaker who delivered a TEDx talk in January 2016.

Entrepreneurial Role Models:

Yvon Chouinard – Patagonia Founder

When business started difficulties overcame:

“Understanding what you’re willing to suffer for and getting really clear on what you’re willing to sacrifice because it’s not easy, there’s plenty of incredible things about being an entrepreneur and honestly I would never do anything else, you’ll never find me working for anybody else clocking in 9-5 but it really is something where you have to understand the different sacrifices that go into starting a company and what you’re willing to tolerate”…[Listen for More]

Favourite Books:

The Unfinished Social Entrepreneur

Favourite Quote:

“You cannot destroy the master’s house with the master’s tools”

Recommended Online Resources:

• The Daily Carnage – Get podcasts, must read articles, and killer video content delivered to your inbox
• Startup Daily – The latest news and insights from the Australian and New Zealand tech ecosystems

Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:

“Know what it is you’re willing to suffer for”…[Listen for More]

More About Jen Gurecki:

Coalition Snow

Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:

“Genius not only diagnoses the situation but supplies the answers.” Robert Graves

Other Quotes From the Chat with Jen Gurecki:

• “You need to be willing to wake up every single day and suffer all over again”
• “Anyone who thinks they can do this alone, I don’t see how that’s possible and so really surrounding yourself with people who you respect and ideally who you think can answer questions and bring perspectives to the company in a way that you can’t can really help drive success in your company as well”
• “Embrace it”
• “Going in so many different situations with plan A through to plan G, anticipating change”

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