My journey from the heart of a family business to the creation of Equati and Global Collective has been a gritty saga of resilience, adaptation, and unyielding determination in honour of an unwavering flame of entrepreneurship that has burned within me since childhood.
Early Experiences in a Family Business
Our home imbibed the essence of family business and entrepreneurship from the early age of one. Growing up, my father was a generational small business owner, and my mother, an entrepreneur.
My mom was a beacon of fortitude. Moving from a large city to a small town, knowing no one else, while raising a child and supporting her husband as he started his journey of taking over the family business. For more than 40 years, she was behind the scenes to ensure a smooth operation. If that wasn’t enough, as teenagers, she started her own business.
My father’s dedication to his craft left a lasting impact on me. He put in long, laborious days, from sunup to sun down, often working six to seven a week for more than 40 years. What I didn’t fully grasp at the time was that my father’s determination went beyond just providing for our family. It encompassed ensuring that his employees and their families also had food on their tables. His actions and words matched his belief.
Family was not just a destination (noun) but a continuous journey of action (verb).
Following in the footsteps of a man who toiled through bitter cold and sweltering heat or a woman who juggled the household duties, while raising children, making a go of her own business and the operations of the family business. It was no easy feat for either of them. However, witnessing the toll that the family business took on my parents, I chose to exit stage left.
Challenges in Traditional Corporate Settings
As I moved beyond the comfort of my family business, I encountered the challenges that often accompany corporate roles. The corporate world had its own set of obstacles, stepped in a cocoon of its tradition.
While immersed in climbing the corporate career ladder, I married into a family business. Determined to leverage my familial wisdom to create a life and support a generational business owner, the marriage barely got started before it ended.
In the meantime, my corporate experience evolved between industries, roles and projects always with the throughline: I was a visionary who saw opportunity and a woman with a fire for a better way of doing and being in business. From groundbreaking technology and innovation, to new businesses, departments, products and services in Financial Services to Telecom to HealthCare, I was determined to make my way.
The Life-Changing Trip to London
After more than 26 years in corporate, we broke up. I was burnt out, unfulfilled and desired something big and bold. Shortly after the corporate break-up, a life change and a new challenge fanned my ever present desire to do something different (in business), I set off to London. The bustling streets and diverse culture of London served as the catalyst for change and inspired me to return to my roots as an entrepreneur.
The Birth of Equati and Its Mission
What first started through the lens of Global Collective; has evolved and is a sister to Equati.
Global Collective leads with co-creation and the collective experience that allows women and men to benefit from the strengths of each other. Leading with emotional intelligence as a solution to the inequalities in business. As a management consulting company It was founded on the principles of innovation, inclusion and integrity.
Equati is the fusion of 3 key principles: legacy, stewardship of opportunities, and innovation. It is the first intelligent impact investing legacy platform for Family Offices, harnessing AI for value-aligned alternative investment strategies that sustains wealth across generations.
Our mission is clear: to help family offices and family businesses wield the power of data-driven intelligence (AI) to unearth investments that not only align with their core values but also act as catalysts for generational wealth and societal impact.
Equati is changing the way alternative investment is done.
My journey from the heart of a family business to founding Equati exemplifies the essence of opportunity, innovation, and determination. It’s a story of breaking free from the confines of tradition and daring to dream of more through the lens of innovation in thought, mind and action.
Through Equati and Global Collective, I aspire to be a model for others who seek to make a similar impact in the world of investment, family business and beyond.
We are writing a new narrative, ensuring lasting legacies and global impact.
Interested in learning more about Equati? Click here for a demo.
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