Gosh Maren, you’re such a girl. Being all vulnerable and open. How can you expect to compete in a man’s world?

(Only, sign me up for your next venture, ’cause I like authentic leaders that know to ask for help.)

People have to adopt a leadership style that works for them. Not everyone is built like John Wayne. In fact, nobody is, except in the movies. If there were more women starting ventures, there’d be more vulnerability and openness, and it would lift up all new CEOs. We only learn by failure. Success teaches nothing we don’t already know. Gotta say, if I was doling out venture capital I’d way rather give it to a leader with a few failures under their belt who could articulate the lessons they had learned, that a brash self-promoter who had never shown evidence of learning.