RISING ICON #66: Michelle Maryns
photographer credit: Uzoma Obasi
What name do you prefer to be called?
Michelle
What are your pronouns?
she/her/hers
Where did you grow up?
Kansas
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Hi, I'm Huggleberry's mom.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I'm always up for an adventure!
Who do you help?
Underestimated entrepreneurs--especially women of color
What are you building now?
Building We Sparkle, a social enterprise that provides AI Assistants to underestimated entrepreneurs and the organizations who support them
What were you building ten years ago today?
A semantic search engine that leveraged AI, machine learning, and natural language processing to deliver personalized search results to various personas (e.g. clinical practitioner, researcher/academic, patient etc.)
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
That I'll be enjoying learning from my nieces what teenagers like to do :-)
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Women of color are the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs, but their revenues are not on par with their peers. If we could close that gap, it would add 4 million jobs and $981 billion in revenue to the U.S. economy.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Supporting women of color entrepreneurs is one of the best ways to overcome the racial and gender wealth gaps that exist in our country. Studies have also shown that investing in women helps everyone in our communities.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I have many mentors but one of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard was to not worry about the things you can't control--instead focus your time on the things you can actually influence.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Proud to be featured in Forbes
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
New York Times
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Oprah
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
What We Can Learn From the Four Sacred Animals
What award would mean the most to win?
The MacArthur Fellowship
What makes zero sense to you?
Why can't we come together on policies that ensure everyone has access to the healthcare they need, and that we can sustain a healthy planet as our home for many more generations to come?
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Failure
What game are you changing?
The game where some people win and some people lose
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Join the We Sparkle community at www.wesparkle.co
Where can we follow you online?
www.wesparkle.co (www.instagram.com/wesparkleco)
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Listening
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your story!
LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. For nearly a decade, we’ve helped leaders build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in key opinion leadership and go-to-market strategy for emerging brands. To follow along with the RISING ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly email newsletter. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to elevating your leadership profile, FIT(lite). RISING ICONS is made possible by grant funding from Knight Foundation.
“Supporting women of color entrepreneurs is one of the best ways to overcome the racial and gender wealth gaps that exist in our country.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting innovation leaders. We’re convinced, the future is bold.
