Full Transcript

Jason Kirby: Welcome back everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Today we have Julia joining us, founder and CEO of Million Dollar Women. Thanks for coming on the show, Julia.

JULIA: Great to be here, Jason.

Jason Kirby: Excited to have you. You have a very interesting background as someone that's raised venture capital many years ago, about 10–15 years ago, and basically doing it again now. Tell us a little bit about your background and what you're doing at Million Dollar Women.

JULIA: I'm not a typical entrepreneur—if there is such a thing. I started out as a documentary filmmaker and then decided I wanted to create a language‑teaching program for young children. That became my first venture‑backed business, Little Pim. The connection? I was home on maternity leave with my first son and wanted to teach him French. There was nothing on the market to teach little kids a second language—even though that's when they learn best. I grew up bilingual in French and English and felt that was one of the best gifts my parents gave me. I kept thinking, “Someone should create this,” and eventually realized that someone was me.

We made a multimedia series that could be seen on any screen, any size, anywhere. Started with six languages, grew to thirteen, and planted a flag as the leader for teaching young children a second language. In the first years we grew quickly to about $400k in revenue. Then the fact that I hadn't gone to business school or had a finance background caught up with me. I almost threw in the towel—I had two little boys at home (three and six), was putting in crazy long hours, weekends, and felt it might not be worth it. That’s when I got my first coaches and mentors and figured out how to take the business to $1M and then multi‑million through raising venture capital. That’s how I got started as an entrepreneur.

Jason Kirby: Amazing—throwing yourself into solving a problem no one else would. Since this show is about demystifying fundraising, walk us through raising capital back then—time period, amounts, details.

JULIA: When I decided to raise VC, it was a bit out of desperation: either shut it down or go big. That required a mindset upgrade. I had limiting beliefs about what was possible for me as a woman founder. I hadn't met women who’d built multi‑million‑dollar businesses or raised capital. I eventually met one woman who had raised VC—she shared her term sheet with me, which was game‑changing. I did a lot of inner work and research—sat down with tons of entrepreneurs (mostly men) who had raised, asked what they learned, and practiced my pitch with board members and advisors. I spent 9–10 months researching because you get one shot per investor. I wanted to be at least conversational in “VC.”

After lots of practice runs, I started going out and meeting people.

Jason Kirby: How did you find the right people to meet?

JULIA: Mainly through one person who believed in me—my best friend from high school's father, who worked in banking. My parents were academics. My father created the Pimsleur method for adults, but he passed away when I was eight. I grew up with my single mom, a teacher, in New York City—worked since I was 13, scholarships through school. I didn’t have many business contacts, but I had my friend’s father. I brought a printed Excel budget to lunch. He asked where I wanted to go. I said we'd made $158k in our first year—even before I quit my job—managing a part‑time team member from my Blackberry. There was so much potential. He was sold—loved French, it was personal for him, plus our relationship. He asked, “How much do you need?” I said, “I think a million,” and we went through the budget. Then he said five words that changed my life: “I can help you get it.”

I thought he’d write the $1M check—but he meant intros to people in his circles who had invested in startups. That was my first foray. That fall I met 40–50 people and raised a Series A. I’d raised a small friends & family round before—just enough to make the pilot and first videos. He also taught me how to pitch for the check, not just the meeting.

Jason Kirby: Getting the meeting versus getting the cash are different things.

JULIA: And as a female founder, you often get the meeting but not the check. Because there are fewer of us, VCs may be intrigued and take the meeting, but women don’t get the check as often. That’s something we work on at Million Dollar Women.

Jason Kirby: Why is that—women getting meetings but not checks?

JULIA: Unconscious confirmation bias and VC pattern recognition. There haven’t been as many successful women‑run companies, so the pattern match is weaker. In 2022, only 1.9% of VC went to women‑run companies. There are also few women VCs, so you're pitching people who don’t share your experience. In my case, I was building for moms who bought kids’ educational products—a big market that many VCs hadn’t personally experienced. Framing helped: “Rosetta Stone for little kids.”

Jason Kirby: Pattern recognition matters. What about your round sizes and timing?

JULIA: We raised $460k friends & family, then $1.1M Series A, then another $1.2M—ultimately $6M from 2008 to 2014. We raised valuation steadily, entered early‑education daycare centers, expanded internationally to 10+ countries.

Jason Kirby: Different era—seed wasn’t a common term then.

JULIA: Exactly—convertible notes straight to Series A. My early valuations were $3M to $6M—not today’s inflated numbers.

Jason Kirby: You sold the company—what led to the acquisition?

JULIA: Around year seven I wrote Million Dollar Women and realized we needed to go fully digital. I brought in a digitally native CEO to take it to the next phase and moved to the board. Later, with my board’s support, we explored a sale and chose a long‑time partner—Mango Languages—who took the company to new heights, especially in libraries. It was a great home for our IP.

Jason Kirby: How did you know you weren’t the CEO for the next stage?

JULIA: It’s personal. Our product was for ages 0–6; my kids were that age at first, and I was the target customer. As they grew older, I felt less connected. I wanted the company to succeed more than I wanted to run it. Founders sometimes hang on too long; I didn't want to be that founder. If you don’t wake up with make‑it‑happen passion, find someone who does.

Jason Kirby: Wise fiduciary call. And those investor relationships can be 5–10 years—make sure you want to see those faces for a long time.

JULIA: Exactly. Once you take venture money, it’s not just you. I was grateful the same board helped shepherd the company through to the sale. There are upsides to having strong board members and ambassadors—if you choose the right ones.

Jason Kirby: Bring us up to speed on Million Dollar Women.

JULIA: For five years after Little Pim I coached ~100 women a year through an online executive education program. Only 2–3% of women‑owned businesses reach $1M in revenue. When we hit $1M at Little Pim, journalists called—and I learned how rare it was. I wanted to close that economic gender gap. The pandemic hit women‑owned small businesses hard, so we built a learning and networking platform for women making $50k–$750k aiming to get to $1M. That “invisible majority” (about 98%) aren’t raising VC and often lack access to EO/YPO‑style communities. We’re making that accessible online at scale.

Jason Kirby: For listeners who know EO/YPO, what do peer groups actually do—and how do your groups compare?

JULIA: Running a business is lonely and your growth is in your network—deals, hires, capital. EO and YPO have revenue minimums (EO ~$1M; YPO higher), and only a tiny fraction of women qualify. I served on EO’s board for four years and loved it, but I wanted an online version accessible anywhere—for the millions who aren’t in the room. Post‑pandemic, many women are starting businesses and want flexibility. We’re seeing rapid growth there.

Jason Kirby: It’s a big jump from $50k–$150k to $1M+. Is that path right for everyone? How do founders decide?

JULIA: We attract ambitious women whose businesses work but need to scale. One grad, Shelly from Florida, ran a pole‑fitness studio and didn’t want to be in‑studio all day. In our 12‑week program we helped her build an app as a complement. She launched right before lockdown. Six months later she DM’d me: she made $108k in three months. Customers installed poles at home and used the app. She’s now at $2M revenue and considering raising capital. Often, no one has asked, “How else can you run this more scalably?” Our coaches help founders find that path.

Jason Kirby: Given your history and today’s market, how does fundraising now compare?

JULIA: Anyone raising now is fighting uphill. We just raised $400k pre‑seed and it was harder than a decade ago. Many investors are waiting to see traction. Unless there’s a compelling timing reason, investors prefer to wait. With Little Pim we needed funds by summer to bet on Q4 (40% of revenue in kids’ products), which got investors off the sidelines. But in tough markets, that’s hard to pull off.

Jason Kirby: Founders underestimate timelines—raising takes longer than “launching in three weeks.”

JULIA: When you meet the right person, it can go quickly—but usually it’s long and slow. I like monthly investor updates. And I treat it as friend‑raising, not just fundraising. Only a small subset will invest, but many become long‑term relationships: speakers, partners, amplifiers. A good outcome is a new relationship—even without a wire.

Jason Kirby: Read the signals: leaning in and probing is good; “sounds great, good luck” is usually a pass.

JULIA: Exactly. And remember—it’s a numbers game of finding “it.” If you’re not up for that, don’t fundraise. I only know one founder who got $5M on a first conversation—a yoga‑studio client whose student’s private‑equity husband wrote the check. It’s rare—especially for women—who often have to hustle across hundreds of conversations.

Jason Kirby: Sometimes it’s a boys‑club dynamic—existing, long‑standing relationships.

JULIA: Another difference: Many men get that call—“George is in for $25k; are you in?” Most women I ask—even grads from elite schools—say they’ve never gotten that call. We’re undoing socialization around money and asking for it. It’s on my generation and the next to set new precedents so women feel empowered to raise from their networks and use friends & family as the on‑ramp to Series A.

Jason Kirby: Closing thoughts—advice for women who think they have something big?

JULIA: First, map where capital will take you—and whether the opportunity is big enough for angels/VCs. If your plan caps at ~$15M in five years, that may not attract venture. Look for $100M+ outcomes, potentially $1B. Learn the game before playing it: talk to people who have raised, consider a coach, and get mentors. Get your numbers tight, pitch polished, and make the case that you’re the right team for a massive opportunity.

Jason Kirby: Where can listeners learn more?

JULIA: We’re excited to work with women from $50k up to $1M+, with programs to $3M. Visit millionwomen.com. I’m also on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter—follow to hear about upcoming online and offline opportunities.

Jason Kirby: We’ll link those in the show notes. Julia, this was a pleasure—thanks for joining.

JULIA: Thanks for creating space for this important conversation about women and venture capital—we’ll see a lot of changes, and your podcast will help drive them.

Jason Kirby: I plan to see it happen. With the resources and content available, hopefully more and more women who want it will get it.

JULIA: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Jason.

Jason Kirby: Awesome. All right, go ahead and stop.