Episode 03: Mentorship, Passion, and Entrepreneurship with Heather Miller
Have you ever been told that if you stick to just one thing, you'll be more successful? For today's guest, Heather Miller, that couldn't be further from the truth. If you're multi-talented and know that your passions are an asset to your success, you're going to love this episode.
Tune-in to this episode to hear:
What it looks like to pursue your passions as a multi-talented entrepreneur
Democratizing mentorship: the importance of community, mentors, and role models in supporting your success path
The art of the pivot: from successful corporate career to entrepreneur and adapting to a new work/life balance as a working mom.
Inside the episode:
00:02
Hi, friends, it's Anastasia here. In today's episode, I'm sitting down with Heather Miller, founder and CEO of grasshopper, we are talking about how access to mentorship for women in business can uplevel their success, what it's like to pivot from a successful career into entrepreneurship, and what “doing it all” as a mother and business owner really looks like. That said, let's get right into the interview.
07:15
Okay. Let's go deep on the democratizing of mentorship. I love that idea, and that being one of the inspirations for the app. And bringing it to anyone and everyone in a more accessible way. So my question is what do you see mentorship being important for, at any stage of a career that you might be in. What is the edge that mentorship is going to give you when you have access to it?
07:59
Heather: For me, it all boils down to community support, confidence. When you do have access to those three things, you really feel better about your personal career journey… And I suspect more people out there are creative and really need to indulge those passions along the way, because I really do think that passion does lead to success. So bringing it back to democratizing the idea of making mentorship successful for everyone.
19:18
It’s always so interesting to look at the very beginning of how an idea for a business takes shape. Looking forward, what is your vision for Grasshoppher? Where do you see yourself as an entrepreneur and the company in five years or 10 years?
19:38
Heather: I really want to build a community. As I said, for me I see mentorship as this umbrella. And within that umbrella, underneath that umbrella is a community of openness of shared experience and support. So I think it's really important to build up those three things first. I want every women to feel like they have support in their back pockets. Which is where the idea of an app came from. If we're stuck, if we have a question, if we need support, if we need to know that somebody else has done something in a certain way, or can be done in a different way. We can just, you know, pull, pull our phones out of our purses, out of our back pockets and connect with someone who has been through the experience before. So, I really want to increase access to Grasshoppher.
23:37
That’s so good. As a founder, there's a bit of self-awareness that's needed to know where are your strengths or where do you need help in order to realize your vision and be successful. Mentorship can really help fill in any gaps. What would be your advice to someone who is looking for mentorship or sponsorship? Where can they start?
24:30
Heather: You're so right. That it does start from a place of self-awareness. And for me personally, it always starts in that place of, I need to do something, but I am procrastinating so hard on this one particular thing, because I just don't have the tools to do it for myself. And so, obviously, my first answer is where can people go? It's Grasshoppher. But other places that I look for for mentorship is, I try to scan my network.
30:40
Love it. I also want to talk to you about your experience in motherhood and work. Speaking of peer to peer unofficial mentorship, reminds me of this community of working moms that I’m building in the Mother Hustle Mindset Collective and how there’s so much opportunity that comes out of tapping into an engaged community with a common goal. So I wanted to ask you about your, experience as a mom, and an entrepreneur. And what that has looked like for you in building your business?
31:35
Heather: I feel like such a rookie in this motherhood area. My baby is now just one, actually. And so I kind of birth two babies at the same time, both Percy and Grasshoppher. So they came hand in hand. As I was leaping from my stable job at a consulting firm into motherhood, I was also leaping into this startup. So it's been a lot of trial and error in terms of scheduling, in terms of COVID, in terms of figuring out what is right for the family. Figuring out what's right for the business as well.
About our guest Heather Miller
Heather Miller grew up in Toronto and then in, what seemed like the other side of the world, San Antonio, TX. She trained at the National Ballet of Canada and the Boston Ballet, before touring with such artists as L.L. Cool J, Shaggy and Biz Markie. After obtaining a degree in History and French from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School, she indulged her love of sets and passion for designing environments with a degree in Interior Design with from Whitehouse School of Design in Sydney, Australia. After working at McKinsey & Company in Toronto and New York, she has launched a women’s mentorship app called GrasshoppHer, which challenges the traditional silos of mentorship and provides better access to a community of mentors. Heather hopes that GrasshoppHer will disrupt the status quo and enable girls and women alike to achieve more, together.