Mirrors: Ivy Walker, Tech Founder
The AdaMarie Mirrors reflect back to us the many roads (often winding, never smooth) to success! Real stories of real women to see yourself reflected in. At first, you’ll see Ivy in this mirror, but eventually, we hope you’ll see yourself.
Welcome, Ivy Walker!
A serial entrepreneur, author, multi-tech founder & CEO, philanthropist - and, to put a cherry on top, an AdaMarie advisor!
Getting to Know You:
Field of Work: Founder in Tech, Ethics and Staffing Industries
Your STEM letter: T
Expertise In: SaaS, Ethics, Staffing
Current Company: Helios Digital Learning Inc, AskCoda LLC, Purpose Workforce L3C
Job Title: CEO
One-liner about what you’re working on: Creating tech products that will make life easier for business owners.
Currently geeking out over: AI
STEM hero (alive or dead!): Timnit Gebru for her work in the ethics of AI and facial recognition software
Tell us about your professional journey – how did you get where you are now?
I have always been fascinated by the idea of starting and running a business. Like many entrepreneurs, my first go-at-it was before the age of 10, when I would purchase cookies and candy from the neighborhood candy store and resell them to my friends. In the third grade, I drew the future company that I wanted to own on a sheet of white paper. It was a class assignment. I wrote down that my future business was IW inc--a "conglomerate". I only vaguely knew what that word meant at the time. I'd read it in a book, a Sidney Sheldon novel (and yep, I was way too young to be reading one of his books at that age, but c'est la vie!).
Before I launched my first real business, I spent time working in Corporate America because I wanted to learn about process, business infrastructure, and organization. I also wanted to explore multiple industries because I didn't have one in particular that I was passionate about. As a result,
My professional journey has had lots of forks in the road.
I've worked as a consultant, a corporate finance investment banker, a non-profit leader, a private equity professional, and a "business-starter" for hire. I've spent time in the healthcare, business services, ethics, staffing, and tech industries. I ignored the advice that one shouldn't hop from one thing to the next because it looks bad on one's resume. I made strategic decisions, always starting a job with an understanding of what I was there to learn, and how long I was going to invest there to learn it before moving on. And for me, it paid off in spades. I am doing work that I love in a way that honors my life path and desire for self-determination. And, I did end up with a "conglomerate" of sorts. I have three great businesses in different industries.
We’re also curious to know your personal story and upbringing. What has made you “you”?
What made me "me" is simple.
I grew up with parents who believed I could be whatever I wanted.
They didn't have much money, but the little they had, they invested in my education. I was fortunate that my parents chose a Montessori education for my early childhood years and then a classical education for most of elementary school. The self-direction and self-management I learned in the Montessori school instilled in me that I had autonomy and agency. The classical education exposed me to great literature, mythology, and poetry across cultures, places, and time. This vastly expanded my view of the world. I am a product of the poor neighborhood: I grew up in the West Side of Chicago, with a loving family who believed in me. Through my exposure to great minds who lived long ago, I've gleaned the wisdom of the ages.
We know that real life isn’t a smooth and linear journey. What was your initiating moment that led you to your calling - can you tell us about that moment, what helped you move forward, what you learned/discovered?
Even though I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, having grown up in a situation of financial lack made me very cautious about walking away from what I saw as the stability of working for others. I didn't want to struggle the way we had while I was growing up, and I didn't want my child to know that kind of struggle. This made it very difficult for me to quit my job and strike out on my own. My initiating moment came while having a conversation with my boss about a direction in which he wanted to take the company. I didn't agree and I was going to be the one who would be tasked with executing the strategy. I was frustrated. We'd had the same conversation multiple times about why what he wanted to do was a bad move. He didn't care about my perspective.
On this particular day, the very core of me had had enough.
I heard a voice say, "You know what--I quit." I realized that voice was mine!
I hadn't planned to do it, but every fiber of my being was on board with it. The thought that was firmly planted in my mind was 'why am I fighting for someone else's dream? I should be fighting for my own.' I never looked back.
You’re a working woman in a performance-driven industry. Where do you find balance?
Two things have been game changers for me when it comes to finding balance. First, I learned the power of the word 'no'. Two-year olds have the right idea. They are in love with the word no.
'No' is a boundary setter. It's also agency and power.
You can't have balance if you aren't comfortable with that word. There is always more to do. Someone always wants something from you. As women, we often believe that it's our job to serve the needs of others. And, that it's mean to say no. Saying no doesn't make us mean. It's sanity-preservation. A mentor once told me that 'No' is a complete sentence. In other words, you are not required to explain why your answer is no. It's just no, no thank you, or my favorite version: Nope!
The second thing for me is framing everything as a choice. 'I have to get this proposal done today.' No, you don't. You don't have to do anything. You always have a choice. You may not like your options and/or you may not want to deal with the consequences of not doing the proposal, but that's a choice. Not doing the proposal may cost you your client and you may not want that. So in reality, you choose to do the proposal because you want to keep your client. Now, that's a much better reason to do the proposal than 'because I have to'. I've found that framing things properly really helps me hone in on what I want, and why I want it. Which, in turn, makes saying 'no' much easier when I choose to do so.
If you were something in Outerspace, what would you be?
Our sun. It's a literal ball of energy (who doesn't want more energy?): powerful, mysterious, and essential.
We’d love to feature your work! How can we spread the word about what you’re doing?
Organization • The Gateway Foundation – a substance-use disorder provider helping individuals and families recover and get on the road to happiness
My Book • Twelve-Minute Risk Management – Strategies and Tools Business Owners Need Right Now to Navigate Today's Business World
Weekly Content • I publish an article weekly on LinkedIn
