In this empowering episode of She’s Interesting, Rashel Hariri engages in a motivational dialogue with Fatima Zaidi, tracing her remarkable journey from HR to Sales and ultimately, to the Founder of one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies, Quill Inc. Together, they delve into the unique challenges faced by women of color in the Canadian VC world and explore the strategic utilization of Government funding and grants as alternative avenues for business support. Fatima candidly shares the inherent hustle and obstacles of being a startup founder, offering valuable insights to advocating for your business, how to pitch to journalists, and navigating the current economic climate. The conversation unfolds to cover the early days of Quill, highlighting pivotal moments such as the transition from a marketplace app to a podcast agency and hosting platform.
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Episode 9
SUCCESSFULLY SCALING WITHOUT VC FUNDING: HOW FATIMA ZAIDI BOOTSTRAPPED HER BUSINESS TO MILLIONS IN REVENUE
Fatima zaidi
founder and ceo of quill and cohost
this episode covers
WHERE TO FIND Fatima
Fatima Zaidi is the CEO and Founder of Quill Inc., a full-service podcasting hosting platform and production agency which supports brands in launching their podcasts.
As a member of the National Speakers Bureau, Fatima has spoken at various events around the world on media trends + the importance of creating a diverse and inclusive culture, leading her to keynote on world stages alongside speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Arlene Dickenson, and most recently, Richard Branson.
In addition to being a commentator for BNN Bloomberg on tech trends, she is a frequent contributor to publications, including The Globe and Mail and Huffington Post. Her company Quill has also been featured in publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Inc. Over the past few years, she has won two Top 30 Under 30 awards, Veuve Clicquot’s Bold Future Award, The Women in Content Marketing Award, has been named as Young Professional of the Year by Notable Life and one of Flare Magazine’s Top 100 Women.
- Life as a third-culture kid and creating a diverse culture in business
- Transitioning careers from Human Resources to Sales
- Different sales strategies and the influence of marketing on sales
- Making the shift from Corporate to Startup life to Entrepreneurship
- How to raise funding for your startup, from government grants to VC funding
- Pivot or DIE! Evaluating your business idea in order to survive
- Fatima's money mindset for her business and her personal finances
check out the list of grants available in canada here
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