Am I Aiming Too High?: An Interview with Ingrid Vanderveldt
Dress by VALENTINO, Earrings by ALEXIS BITTAR
FACT FINDER
Ingrid is the founder of EBW (Empowering a Billion Women), a charity built to activate, accelerate and ascend women in business
She was the first entrepreneur-in-residence at Dell
She is an Emeritus member of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council
Big ambitions are often accompanied by even bigger doubts – from others and ourselves. As Ingrid Vanderveldt followed a vision her faith led her to – to empower a billion women – this was a truth she quickly confronted. Ingrid shares how she's ensured grit, faith, and authenticity have eclipsed the questions and underestimations from those around her.
A MOULD TO BREAK
You’re the founder of EBW, a charity with the mission to empower a billion women. Where did the passion to uplift women begin?
I won a scholarship to an art school and ended up studying architecture. One night, I was in the studio, and my male professor came in and said, ‘Ingrid, why are you doing this? It's not fair for you to be in this class. You’re probably going to get married and have kids, so you're taking the space of a guy who could be here’. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Being a female has nothing to do with my capabilities’. At that moment, I decided on two things. One, I was going to excel. Two, I needed to make sure this wasn’t happening to other women.
Practically, what did achieving those goals look like at that time?
I ran to become treasurer of the American Institute of Architecture Students at our school, and my platform was the role of women in architecture. While I was in that position, they nominated me to be the national student representative. So, I found myself in meetings with city leaders and politicians talking about how we can build stronger communities that inspire people to be great. I had no idea what they were talking about half the time, so I thought, if I went to law and business school, I would know.
While I was in business school, I ended up in Texas and I saw this young entrepreneur making millions of dollars selling computers out of the trunk of his car. That person was Michael Dell. At that time, the internet was starting to take off, so I was inspired by Michael, and I wanted to make the internet an easier place for anybody to create opportunities for themselves. That's what got me started down the tech track.
What challenges faced you in the early days, and how did you navigate them?
There was only one other woman in town helping to build tech companies, so I had a lot of experience being told I would never raise money. I was told I didn’t look, act or sound like any of the other CEOs, so I should give up and get a job before it's too late. I was blessed to have amazing mentors who saw the possibility of women leading in the future. I ended up becoming a business television host on CNBC, and that’s what inspired me to start EBW; I wanted to share what I learned through my job at CNBC, especially for women.
‘I was told I didn’t look like any of the other CEOs so I should give up and get a job before it's too late.’
When the industry you’re in doesn’t feel like it’s backing you, where has your confidence been nurtured?
When I was younger, I was failing school and in our family, education is huge. The principal called my parents in to say I could no longer go to school there, and that they thought I had a learning disability. So, from the fourth through the sixth grade, I was sent off to a special school. I would come home and I would talk to my parents, explaining the kids were making fun of me, calling me the ‘special kid’. My parents said, ‘You are special.’ They turned negative words into positives. So by the time I came out of sixth grade, I felt amazing because my parents were pouring out love and prayer. It was around that time they realised I also had hearing disabilities. Through that, I learned the power of our words and the power of prayer.
Dress by STAUD, Ring by ALEXIS BITTAR
A DEFINING MOMENT
Seeing the success of someone can make us forget about the journey it’s taken to get there. What moment has defined your journey?
In 2011, I came out of an experience in business that wasn't great. After CNBC, I got involved with green energy companies where I was CEO of one and an executive at another. We raised money and when it was time for me to get a payout, the founder called me into his office. When I went in, he had the other execs in the room with him. I sat at the table, he got up, leaned across the desk, put his face in front of mine and said, 'You are going to have to sue me to get the money you're owed’.
What emotions defined the aftermath of that for you?
I was so devastated. The way the other guys just sat there watching it happen – and I knew a couple of them really well – was like a dagger in my heart. I was seriously depressed. I was so embarrassed and full of shame. I was thinking, ‘Do I sue this person? I have to stand up for myself’. I'll never forget my parents saying, ‘You can go after him, but do you really want to spend your time doing that? Instead, you could pray about it, ask God to take it and keep moving forward’. That's what I decided to do. It was my faith and family who got me through that. It's almost like God had to architect something so dramatic, all I could do was pray and listen.
‘It's almost like God had to architect something so dramatic, all I could do was pray and listen.’
It can be hard to get back up after being knocked down. What was the practical process like to move forward professionally and personally?
Following that time, I was in Texas, and I just was praying about what it all meant because it just felt like a roller coaster. I remember I was in the car, looking at this tree, sitting there like, ‘God, what is it you need me to do?’. At that moment, it was so clear. I heard Him say, ‘Ingrid, your entire life has been preparing you for what you need to do now: empower a billion women by 2020’.
I lost it. I was like, 'This is the craziest, dumbest idea I've ever heard'. Then I settled down into the feeling that God promised me He would guide me. At that moment, all of these experiences from my life started flickering by; business, technology and media. I remember thinking, ‘Okay, I'm gonna build this platform, but I need a global technology partner to execute at scale this fast’. All of a sudden, the answer came to me. Dell needed to be my partner.
When we’ve been given a vision by God, it can be hard for others to understand it completely. How did you stay true to what God had called you to do?
I told my friend that I was called by God on a dirt road in Texas to empower a billion women, and I needed Dell as the global technology partner. He joked to me, ‘Please do not admit that to anyone, they’ll think you’ve lost your mind’. I secured a meeting with the president of Dell, and leading up to it, I was getting so anxious because I was trying to figure out what I was asking for. Was it a job? A partnership? I prayed over it and concluded the only thing I could do was be completely authentic and share exactly what happened.
A 30-minute meeting turned into a three-hour meeting. Dell had created the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network, and I said to them, ‘I can help you figure out how to turn that into something that'll generate more business for Dell and, in that process, it'll help me empower a billion women’. That's what led to me becoming the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Dell.
Dress by VICTORIA BECKHAM, Ring by JENNY BIRD, Earrings by ALEXIS BITTAR
A FAITHFUL AMBITION
With such a big mission, how do you keep focused on what you’re ultimately trying to achieve and not get overwhelmed by the space between where you are and where you want to be?
EBW has reached 700 million people, but prior to Covid, we weren't doing great financially. In May of 2019, I sat down with my team and said, ‘Guys, if we don't have money, we don't have a mission’. And they said, ‘Well, if you don't have a mission, you don't have money’. I was like, ‘You're right. We need both’. It brought me to a place where I was like, ‘Okay, let's get our costs down, and let me ask God where is all of this supposed to go’.
Then Covid hit and all the women we were supporting were losing their businesses. Half my family's in healthcare, so at the same time, they were asking if I could help them with supplies using the global network of women we had. I said to God, 'Is this something we can do? Help me figure this out’. Eventually, we used our network and experience in technology to create a new supply chain. We launched our distribution business and became the 28th fastest-growing company in America.
Starting out with little resources but a big goal can mean it’s hard to envision ourselves getting from point A to B. What has your experience been with this?
My first mentor said, ‘It's easier to execute big than it is small, but most people won’t let themselves’. When I started my first company, I was told I would never raise money. Another mentor could have written a cheque, but I didn’t want to ask. I kept getting no’s. He kept saying, ‘Refine your idea’.
I was about to completely go broke when I landed on the right business idea. I was on a plane when I wrote it down and knew I’d figured it out. When I landed, I called that mentor and said, ‘Can I see you right now?’. He saw the idea and wrote a cheque. He wanted to see, did I have that grit to push through when everybody else was saying it was impossible? Following what you're authentically called to do is for everyone, but not everyone lets themselves go there.
‘Following what you're authentically called to do is for everyone, but not everyone lets themselves go there.’
How are you able to balance doing the hard work whilst also trusting that God will also answer your prayers?
I can definitely let my ego get ahead of myself, which looks like, ‘I'm gonna push through’ – and that's part of that grit thing. When I let that take over, the why of what God needs me to do fades. It's when we take that step back and breathe that God can give us the answers and direction. But the Bible also talks about actually having to take action, so I start every day by taking an hour to sit in prayer and read the Bible. I ask God, ‘What is it that you need me to hear today?’. That's the thing that grounds me every single day. I go into a day with my game plan and I ask God to guide me through that process.
Having worked side-by-side with so many women through EBW, what’s the main thing you see that holds women back, and what advice do you give to them to counter it?
Lack of confidence. Women will often say it's lack of access to capital, but it’s not entirely true. When I started EBW, I teamed back with Dell and launched a hundred million dollar fund by and for women entrepreneurs. For three months, not one woman applied. The guys applied. I was like, what is going on? I had to say to God, ‘You've asked me to do this, what does all of this mean?’.
I rolled up my sleeves and came to understand that because women haven't had access to the same opportunities as guys, we don't know how to gain access. So when I talk about lack of confidence, we build confidence through action, and we take action with know-how. That’s our thing at EBW now; teach the know-how, and inspire women to take action to be able to get that access.
AS TOLD TO Ellie Dalton
CREATIVE DIRECTION BY Ruth Yimika Afolabi
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Francois Joseph
STYLING BY Katie Peare
MAKEUP BY Manuel Espinoza
HAIR BY Jenn Lagron
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