Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Teri Sundh, CEO/Co-Founder of Podfitness at the first Women Tech Council event in Sandy, Utah. (I highly recommend all Utah women in tech to join –membership is free until the end of the year). I really enjoyed the event’s panel which included Teri and Carol Fineagan the CIO of Energy Solutions.
During the panel, Teri introduced herself by saying, “I’ve taken companies public and I’ve also failed miserably.” She says that the failures add to your success and that often when she interviews new employees she asks them about their life challenges and how they recovered from them–she says that it tells you a lot about their character. When asked what made her so successful, she answered that it was her unique ability to execute. She always believed she could be an executive and planned for it since she was young. The key is “hard work, a lot of consistency of moving forward.” She also emphasized the value of following like-minded progressive companies and watch what they are doing so you can learn from them and see the direction of technology and innovation.
She shared a desire to ‘give back’ and voiced a concern that we need to be more informative about the available resources for women in business, build solid support systems for them (particularly in Utah), share more and help each other succeed. As she said these things, I knew she’d be a great Fairy Godmother and would be drawn to our objectives. She was delighted when I asked her and we’re thrilled to have her speak at an upcoming event and be involved. Teri’s raising a Startup Princess, her 15 year old daughter has already started an innovative product…wonderful!! Great job, Teri. Welcome to the Kingdom of Women Entrepreneurs!
Teri’s profile page coming soon!
Carol Fineagan was very inspiring as well…I loved her plea to “take personal responsibility in all you do” and take advantage of every opportunity to progress and grow your talents. She emphasized that we should all “get used to change” and said, “even if you’re just walking through the grocery store, go a different way than you usually do”, see things in a new way. She also encouraged us to go into the schools (even if it’s just our own child’s class) and teach children what is possible, what they can do, who they can become. 
Thank you Carol!
Wow, what a great post! Teri’s words and insights were astounding for a fellow apsiring startup entrepreneur. I think that the challenges, while often disheartening at the time, always prove to be useful in your travels. Thanks for making Teri a Fairy Godmother, I’m sure she’ll bring lots of advice to women trying to follow in her footsteps. I also found this great contest for women trying to launch their startups called “Make Your Dreams Come True with Mirassou.” They are awarding one aspiring business woman $50,000 plus a team of highly professional consultants to help kick start your business. Check it out here http://www.mirassou.com/women_in_business/dreams.asp for more info and to enter. It would be a great asset for you future female leaders of tomorrow. I work with them, so I have the inside scoop. Best of luck to everyone, and I look forward to the next Fairy Godmother.
Welcome to Startup Princess, Pat! Great contest, thanks for showing us a super opportunity.