Julie Castro Abrams is the founder and Managing Partner of How Women Invest, an early-stage venture firm focused on high-growth, tech-enabled women-founded enterprises. With over twenty years as a CEO and board director, Julie brings extensive experience in supporting and identifying early-stage entrepreneurs. As the CEO of Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, she helped launch a network of over 6,000 successful women-owned businesses. Julie is also the founder of How Women Lead, a network of over 24,000 top women executives who are driving change at the top and together they drove CA’s famous board diversity legislation as part of an overall strategy to drive women’s board representation. Her organization trains and places women on hundreds of corporate boards. Julie is also involved in promoting corporate board diversity and has been a key player in driving legislative initiatives for women’s advancement. Julie has received numerous awards and recognition for her work and has been featured in several books and media outlets.
Company: How Women Lead
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Julie Castro Abrams: How Women Lead is the country’s largest network of corporate influencers and female leaders: 25,000 top executive women come together to activate their individual and collective power to achieve equity for women. Founded in 2012, the organization fights for change at all levels by affecting systems reform, mobilizing movements, education, research and access to opportunities like board seats and investing. The organization focuses on women in their pivot years—early 40s to 70—who are seeking to have an impact and break through in their leadership journey with other women. We focus on women as leaders, givers, friends and investors. From elevating your brand, to more influence and impact, boardroom training and matches, unveiling and coaching women through their pivot and programming on how to build your leadership, we meet women where their greatest edge for impact can be found. How Women Lead’s philanthropic arm, How Women Give, provides grants, support for executive directors and board leadership for women’s and girls’ organizations on the frontlines of today’s most critical issues. The sister organization, How Women Invest, invites women to play big and powerfully in venture capital, making meaningful investments and propelling high-potential, women-led companies forward at scale.
How has the significance of networking evolved over the past decades?
Julie Castro Abrams: Women leaders, especially ceiling breakers, are often isolated from women at the same level of accomplishment and life experience. They are frequently the only woman in the room, and they are likely called on to mentor other women on their journey. Moving up the career ladder, raising a family and all of the demands that are unique to women leaders often results in sparse networks of influence. Getting a board seat is 85% word of mouth, building a portfolio career and moving up into the C-Suite require significant networks. Women leaders must be intentional about their power networks, with other women and other leaders at their level and above. This is the only way women will break through to new levels of impact.
Can you share a personal story where one networking interaction led to unexpected doors opening, and how it highlights the ripple effect of networking?
Julie Castro Abrams: I have been highlighting and connecting women innovating in financial services for the last few years. Because of my effort to network them with each other, my value has been recognized and I have been invited to serve on the boards of three financial services companies as a result.
What are some common networking mistakes people make, and how can they pivot to turn potential missteps into learning experiences?
Julie Castro Abrams: Networking is best considered an effort of generosity, building deep relationships as opposed to transactions. If you want someone to think highly of you for a board role, they need to know that you are more than just a one-way transaction but rather someone who thinks of the big picture, knows how to maintain relationships through challenging times and has networks they can leverage.
How do you see the future of networking evolving with the rise of AI, VR, and other technologies?
Julie Castro Abrams: I hope the new technologies will make networking with the right people even easier. How can I get through the noise of my 25,000 connections and find people who need to know each other? New technologies offer great promise for my own networking as the value add I bring to others.
