Female Founders: Sarah Benvenuti of Benvenuti Arts On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

People told me “you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before,” but what they didn’t tell me — and I wish someone had — was that you’re going to love it more than you’ve loved anything else. I recall being so anxious to start my company because all I heard over and over again was that it was going to be so hard. But it’s so, so, worth it. And if you have healthy boundaries, you can avoid burnout and be happy for a long time.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Benvenuti.

Sarah is the founder of Benvenuti Arts, an organization dedicated to helping “small and mighty” arts organizations secure funding, support artists, and enhance their communities. Her clients include progressive innovators in the arts such as Kinetic Light and Parity Productions. Having graduated from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) with a Master’s degree in Arts Management in 2006, she has firsthand experience in leading organizations, hiring, business management, creating and motivating a successful remote team, and growing a personal dream into a successful company.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I started out as an artist myself — I’m a vocalist and a pianist. My passion for music at a young age inspired me to earn my bachelor’s degree in music education. While I maintained a love for learning and the arts, when I reached my senior year, I realized that I didn’t want to be a teacher. I loved music, and the truth was, I was a perfectly adequate musician, so performing wouldn’t have been the right choice either. I was considering earning a master’s degree in music theory, when a conversation with one of my professors changed my career course. I shared my thoughts with him on where I’d like to go in my career, and he said, “Sarah, you like people, right?”

I said, “Yes, I do.”

And he said, “Then you can’t become a music theorist — you’ll never talk to people again. It’s an anti-social existence. You should look into arts management.”

I had never heard of arts management as a career path, and then, (in 2004), there wasn’t a lot of information available online about it. There weren’t too many schools that offered master’s programs in arts management, but Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), in my hometown of Pittsburgh, offered the program. It seemed like a perfect fit, and history would prove that indeed it was.

During my time there, I had the exhilarating and validating experience of running an interdisciplinary arts space, which exposed me to visual arts, theater, and so many artists and media beyond my music world. That experience solidified my career path. I knew I wanted to work directly with artists, get my hands dirty, and do a little bit of everything the arts world has to offer. I discovered I had a propensity for fundraising and general management, and had some wonderful opportunities early in my career as a managing director and director of development for mid-sized theatre and dance companies.

Over the years, as can happen in many careers, I realized that the bigger my title got, the further away I was from the actual art and artists. I missed that early experience of working directly with independent artists and feeling as though I was really making a difference for them. It was then that I set out on my own and began freelancing for individual artists and very small arts organizations. It became clear rather quickly that there was a significant need in the arts world for consultants who can mentor, advise, and coach the smallest organizations and individual artists in whatever their unique goals and challenges are, for a fee that was actually affordable to them. That drove me to create Benvenuti Arts — a business model that allows anyone to access those services regardless of the level of income they get from their art or their organization.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

One really interesting thing that’s happened since I started Benvenuti Arts is my experience with the Indie Theater Fund in New York. This particular organization was formed in reaction to the 2008 economic crisis. Their mission was to create a model whereby theaters in New York could “pay it forward” to smaller theater companies that were doing a lot of research and development in the field.

Think of it this way: All the big Broadway shows had to start somewhere. Oftentimes, that was in a basement theater in downtown New York. Those little theaters don’t have a lot of money. The Indie Theater Fund set out with the idea that theater could give back to itself.

Right around the time I decided to start freelancing and consulting, I got a fortuitous email from the Indie Theater Fund’s founder, Randi Berry. She said the organization was trying to increase fundraising efforts and grow their programs. They were looking for consultants who could work with them for essentially nothing, as money was tight. This was precisely the type of mission and organization that spoke to me — a “small and mighty” organization helping other organizations. I wrote her back immediately. To this day she and I joke about it, because “Please come consult for me, I have no money” isn’t a great pitch, but it worked on me! In those early days, we worked together to secure a lot of grant money and do great things for their organization, but those wins were always incremental.

The really fun part of the story comes several years later, in 2020 when COVID hit. As we all know, New York suffered immensely from the pandemic, and arts organizations halted all their productions. Artists had no way to make money, pay their rent, or buy groceries. These aren’t people who can easily get severance pay or simply start working remotely to solve the problem. But by then, the Indie Theater Fund had made great connections with foundations and funders, and while all the usual funders and foundations had literally been locked out of their offices and couldn’t retrieve their checkbooks, the board at the Indie Theater Fund sprang into action and launched a Facebook campaign to immediately allow artists who were out of work to apply to receive $500 for whatever they needed. There were no hoops to jump through, no red tape to cross, and no friction for artists or those who could fund them.

I have to say, I don’t know any other funders nationwide who moved as fast as they did. Because of that, big funders began to take note and give much larger sums to the Indie Theater Fund because they proved they could make a big difference with lightning speed, and get money directly into artists’ hands when bigger funders’ hands were often tied by their internal bureaucracies.

Today, the Indie Theater Fund is a much bigger organization with a multitude of programs serving indie artists and theater companies across NYC. I’m so proud to have been a part of that and to watch that organization take off the way it has. Helping organizations succeed like that is precisely why I founded Benvenuti Arts.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s been a kind of funny learning experience to help arts organizations secure funding because sometimes it goes a little off the rails. For example, I started working with a small company in New York that consisted of a group of actors who performed readings and smaller works at public libraries. They had a very small budget, but because their performances were in public libraries, they drew a diverse and unique crowd including the homeless and other marginalized groups who might not otherwise be able to experience the arts in such a way.

We wrote a grant for them, and fortunately, we were successful in our efforts. We focused heavily on the public library angle, which resonated with the reviewers and helped us win the grant. It was a small amount of money, but for an organization of their size, it was the biggest grant they had ever received. Unfortunately, the first thing they decided to do with the money was to use it to produce a show in a theater that was going to be ticketed. It went against the spirit of the grant, (and realistically, the amount of the grant wouldn’t come close to the cost of a theater, so it wasn’t a savvy idea anyway).

I learned a valuable lesson through that experience — I know now that I need to be critical and discerning of the clients I choose to take on. Benvenuti Arts is a values-driven organization. To this day, I’ll stop working with clients if I see that start to happen again (using funds contrary to the spirit of a grant, or other misinterpretations of arts values). It taught me the importance of having aligned values.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There have been so many! I would have to say, though, that Jerry Coltin, who was the head of the Arts Management program and my advisor at CMU, leaps to mind. As I worked my way through graduate school, I knew I wanted to go to New York City and start working with arts organizations there. I was lucky enough to be offered an internship with the Lincoln Center Festival in New York, which seemed like the perfect opportunity for me. I was so honored and excited to embark on the adventure, and I excitedly shared the news with Jerry. To my surprise, instead of joining in my excitement, Jerry just looked at me and said, “No, you’re not going to New York. You’re going to stay here in Pittsburgh and run Future Tenant.” Future Tenant was a small art gallery in Pittsburgh run by the CMU arts management program.

I said, “No, I’m going to New York City because I’ve always wanted to.”

Jerry replied with, “Okay. Think about it for a week and come back to me.”

I thought about it for a week. Would I rather be editing programs, making copies, and being a general “go-fer” at the Lincoln Center Festival, or would I rather take over the entirety of an art space and serve as its Director — making all the most impactful and crucial decisions for the space?

I hated to admit it, but Jerry was right. It was a no brainer. Running Future Tenant with my co-director, Julie, gave me immeasurable experience. We wrote grants, selected and produced artists, managed staff, programmed events, and gained the experience of a lifetime. It was a dirty little art space that didn’t have a bathroom, but it really was my heart and soul. That experience remains at the core of who I am and why I started my own business.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

Is “the patriarchy” too simple an answer?

Let me put it this way. I’m a 40-year old single woman without children. That means I’ve had the freedom to work incredibly hard to found a company. But in my opinion, it shouldn’t require that level of sacrifice. I have friends in other countries around the world who own their own companies, but they have spouses and families and other commitments, too. They didn’t have to decide between having a family and starting a business because other countries’ governments support business owners and support families with childcare and healthcare. To them, founding a company doesn’t mean having to choose between staying home with a child and taking care of a business. To them, founding a company doesn’t mean going without health insurance for a little while (which I did, by the way).

Those things truly hold women back from founding companies. There’s a very real fear and insecurity around founding a company, particularly if you want to have a family, as many women do. While men may also face this choice, the reality is that so many women are still the primary caregivers for their families, and cannot take on the uncertainty and risk of also starting a business.

It’s not just me as a founder that I think about, too. Many of the arts organizations I work with are founded and/or run by women. It’s a reality for so many. My clients are trying to be a caretaker, an artist, and a businessperson. It’s not easy, and there isn’t a lot of support for that. Women have to make choices that men simply don’t traditionally have to make.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Yes! We all should push our representatives to revisit family leave, family medical leave, parental leave, and healthcare policies. We need to push for a more universal solution to healthcare and childcare in our country. The pandemic has shown us that people cannot be expected to watch their children and work for you in the way that companies are demanding they work for them right now. I’ve worked incredibly hard to achieve what I’ve achieved, but it shouldn’t be that hard, and I don’t expect my team, my clients, or the rest of the workforce to sacrifice that much. I’m proud to be building an organization where we’re really focused on redefining what a full-time work week looks like and supporting each other as a true integrated team. When mental health or personal life challenges arise, organizations need to be supportive and have a network of colleagues who all work together to ensure an organization’s success. It’s a component of company culture. Eliminate cutthroat competition between employees and foster an atmosphere of support, understanding, and helping each other from the heart. Create an organization where staff aren’t expected to “do it all, all the time.”

It’s also important for us as an organization to set that expectation with our clients. We are not robots. We have bad days. We have great days. We don’t expect employees to give their lives for their organization, and we don’t expect clients to treat us that way either.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

One reason for women to become founders is to be a material part of redefining the workforce. Female founders are truly, materially creating change that impacts how we do business. An amazing woman founder I’ve worked with is Kat Bloomfield at the Arts Business Collaborative, and she talks often about creating workspaces that embrace mental health, physical health, and neurodiversity needs. Alice Shepherd, the founder of Kinetic Light (a client of mine), is a disabled dancer who’s doing amazing work to push the field towards re-examining ableism in the arts. There are many consulting colleagues that I am lucky to collaborate with and call my friends–we don’t compete with each other; we support each other. We send work to each other. We call on each other. We ask each other for advice. We call out each other’s privilege. We learn so much from each other and the varied experiences we’ve all had to get us to this point.

Work environments would change dramatically if there were more female founders, I have no doubt.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

One myth that comes to mind is, I think when people think of founders and “startup culture,” they think of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley, and it’s certainly not all like that. So many founders are just grassroots organizations like mine that aren’t heavily funded by venture capital. We aren’t out here living lavish lifestyles or scaling up quickly to sell for a lot of money. It’s a goal of mine at my company for our organization to operate fairly and equitably, and for my team and me to enjoy the good work we do. We’re values-based, so scaling up or increasing prices just because we can is not my goal.

Another myth is that starting your own company means being “on” all the time. It’s an easy trap to fall into, because founders are passionate about what they do. It’s easy to become obsessive and consumed by it. Personally, I didn’t hire staff quickly enough because in the early days I did it all myself and was always “on.” That was a mistake. But if you’re cognizant of it and set boundaries and business expectations, you can be successful and enjoy downtime. I have good boundaries with my clients; I don’t take unscheduled calls for example. Time with me is carefully scheduled. I don’t always respond to every single email within minutes. You teach people how to treat you, and you teach people your own boundaries. If you do it right from the start, you can have great work-life balance as a founder.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

There isn’t a job out there that “everyone” is cut out for. I would say, though, in order to be a founder, you have to understand and be prepared for the unexpected. Business could stop coming in at any time. The pandemic taught all of us that everything we do on a daily basis, and everything we thought was a normal part of life can change in an instant. Entire industries can change without notice. You could lose your health insurance. Founders have to accept a certain level of risk. The risk factor alone makes it inaccessible or at least a bad idea for some people. If you’re prone to anxiety, or have a lot of layers of people who depend heavily on your income or benefits, it might not be for you. If you’re trying to just put in your time now and retire early, maybe you’re better off having that lucrative 401K. If you’re worried about cash flow, that could be a problem. There have been plenty of times when I had to pay people and I didn’t have as much money coming in as I’d expected. I had to dip into my own savings to pay those people, and that can be stressful. These are all really valid reasons why someone might not be cut out to be a founder. There are just some considerations like those that founders have to be ready to make.

Another thing, and I think this one can be hard for women in particular, you have to be comfortable with selling yourself. You have to put yourself out there, so to speak. Talk to people. Network. Tout your successes. Share testimonials. Tell people what you’re doing, why you love it, and why you’re good at it. I love it when I have answers for people. I love helping artists work through their problems and challenges. That’s one of my favorite things. But if the thought of marketing yourself seems intimidating, you might be miserable as a founder.

Finally, accept and embrace early on that you will need to manage people. I was lucky to spend time as a managing director before setting out on my own. I had the experience of hiring and managing people, and I knew what to look for in good employees. I was also managing people at a young age, which meant that I had no choice but to trust and support my employees, because oftentimes I didn’t have all the answers myself. It’s helped me to learn to empower staff and trust them. Everything is a learning experience and of course everyone makes mistakes. But if you educate employees and give them the tools to be successful, they’ll almost always pleasantly surprise you, all while making your life easier.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. People told me “you’re going to work harder than you’ve ever worked before,” but what they didn’t tell me — and I wish someone had — was that you’re going to love it more than you’ve loved anything else. I recall being so anxious to start my company because all I heard over and over again was that it was going to be so hard. But it’s so, so, worth it. And if you have healthy boundaries, you can avoid burnout and be happy for a long time.
2. Get an assistant, and get one early. I tried hiring a few different positions before I realized that the thing I needed most was administrative help. Having a competent, reliable assistant changes everything. Doing that helped me take on more grant writers and grow my business. It was worth every penny. You can start small — just 5–10 hours a week — but you do have to start somewhere with administrative help. It helps you achieve your goals so much faster.
3. You don’t have to follow everyone’s rules. I knew early on that I wanted to spend more time abroad, and I realized that I’d have some downtime from the business over the summer, simply due to the way fiscal years tend to work for arts organizations. I figured maybe I’d go to Italy or visit family around the world. I planned a two-month trip and traveled all over Europe during that time. It opened up an entirely new way of living for me, and a huge new community of digital nomad friends and colleagues. While I have a home base now, I was fully “nomadic” for three years and I made it work really well. There are companies that told me they couldn’t work with me because of that, but that never hurt my business. We’re not the right fit for everyone, and that’s okay. We work with the clients who are the right fit, and everyone’s better for it. The funny thing is, that expertise in working remotely became a huge asset once COVID hit!
4. Have a computer with a big enough screen, and get a second monitor. I learned this one the hard way. Sure, it’s better for your vision, your posture, and your health. But beyond that, it makes me look better and more professional. Having a good setup makes my Zoom calls look better. It’s a more ergonomic setup. You can’t put a price tag on that. It makes your work style sustainable.
5. Lastly, figure out how you work, and invest in learning how your staff works. I’m a naturally early riser and a morning person. I think most clearly in the early hours of the day, and my staff know that. The whole organization knows that I’m going to get the most meaningful “heads down” work done in the morning, and my energy dips in the afternoon. One of my staff members has learned that she starts out the week with great energy that wanes throughout the week. So we work together to make her most meaningful work on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Take breaks when you need them. Figure out how you work and adapt.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

One of the most rewarding things about what I do is the gratitude I feel from my client base. It’s not uncommon that I have a call with an artist who gets really emotional because they haven’t found anyone who can help and understand their challenges at a price they can afford. Or they’re incredibly grateful because we clarified a process for them. We’ve been able to raise millions of dollars for really small arts organizations. We had a day recently when we had over half a million dollars of grant money come in, all in a 24-hour period. That was a huge celebration day across the team. We work with organizations who are doing values-based work in their communities. They’re educating students. They’re making their communities more beautiful and more meaningful. They’re doing social justice work. They’re fighting cultural injustices. They’re changing the way things are done and doing meaningful advocacy work. Being able to make it easier for them to do their important work is our important work.

I’m proud that Benvenuti Arts is mission-driven at our core, because the clients we serve are mission-driven themselves. I’m so grateful to have found so many amazing people who want to do this work with me every day. We’re making the world a better place by making it easier for these amazing artists to do the work that’s most meaningful to them and their communities. It’s incredibly rewarding that so many groups trust us to be a part of their work.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I’d love to start a movement whereby more people start from a place of trust. One of the greatest things about the Indie Theater Fund is that they aren’t asking artists to justify why they need money. They don’t need to cut through miles of red tape to get the help they need. The Indie Theater fund knows that so many artists were suddenly out of work, they had the means to help, so they helped. Requiring artists to spend hours upon hours filling out forms and creating detailed reports takes them away from their noble purposes. It’s not a good use of their time. By coming from a place of trust, we can empower artists to do their work the way it’s meant to be done.

I’ve never once seen an artist take grant money and fly to Tahiti. More often than not, they won’t pay themselves and instead ensure all of that money goes to their collaborators and programs. They apply for grant money to be able to serve their communities and create amazing, impactful art that people enjoy. We need to come from a place of trust to let them do that and enjoy their work.

We also need to come from a place of trust in understanding marginalized people and communities. We need to understand and acknowledge their challenges. Trust the disabled artists who tell you the truth about ableism and how it’s placing undue burdens on people. Trust BIPOC artists when they voice concerns about funding roadblocks or unfair business practices. Coming from a place of trust is the first step toward fixing those injustices.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Michelle Obama, if you’re reading this, you pick the place, and I’m buying.

Seriously, though, she sets such an amazing example for literally everyone. She’s interesting, she’s smart, and I just can’t hear her talk enough about her experiences in life, in the White House, in her career, and in her role as a mother and caretaker. I respect her so much.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.