Episode 158
May 16, 2023

Harvard, Health, and Hormones

with Allie Egan, Founder and CEO of Veracity

About this episode

Sharing their Stairway to CEO story today is Allie Egan, a passionate brand-builder and the Founder and CEO of Veracity. Offering personalized solutions based on its at-home hormone testing kit, Veracity’s uniquely data-driven approach and clean skincare products help you take your health into your own hands. In this insightful episode, Allie sheds some light on her journey from her first job as a waitress in a retirement home outside of Philadelphia to earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and becoming a two-time CEO. In her first stint as CEO at Cynthia Rowley, Allie began experiencing issues with her skin, which led her to learn more about hormonal health imbalances and sparked the idea for Veracity. Join us as we discuss micro-journaling, her partnership with Meridian Street Capital, and why she believes you should talk about your ideas early and often!

This episode is sponsored by

Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:

  • AWESOME CX by Transcom provides high touch, personalized customer experience services to consumer brands of any size! Email Lee at lee@stairwaytoceo.com to learn more about their award-winning services and Awesome Coffee Chats. 

In This Episode, You’ll Hear About:

  • [03:21] Allie’s upbringing in suburban Philadelphia and her early pursuits of independence.
  • [08:58] What a childhood health scare taught her about the fear that clouds optimal health.
  • [12:33] Insight into her formative roles in investment banking. 
  • [17:37] How Allie came to realize that she wanted to “build something” as a founder.
  • [29:41] Personal struggles with her health that gave her the idea for Veracity.
  • [32:13] Some of the holistic wellness products and services that Veracity offers.
  • [39:10] The highs and lows of launching a business and raising capital!
  • [45:09] Exciting innovations that you can expect from Veracity in the future.

To Find Out More:

Veracity

Allie Egan on LinkedIn

Allie Egan on Instagram

Lee Greene on LinkedIn

Stairway to CEO

Stairway to CEO on Instagram

AWESOME CX by Transcom

Quotes:

“I wanted to work. I wanted to make my own money. I wanted to have that independence [from very early on].”  [0:07:03]

“That [childhood health scare] experience has taught me how so many people think about their health. Instead of being proactive and [thinking] ‘What could be going on in my body? How can I make it better?’, how they think about optimal health is clouded in fear.” [0:11:20]

“I feel fortunate that I ended up getting interviews at [L Catterton], which is 100% exclusively focused on consumer retail. I didn’t know if I’d love [investment banking], but what I ended up loving was the consumer retail world.” [0:15:09]

“Like a lot of folks, I had been on this path of ‘This is the paved path. Keep going that way.’ [I liked what I was doing], but I really started to soul search and think about: what could I be uniquely good at? What could I bring to the table?” [0:17:53]

“Part of what you’re doing in building a company is being the conductor of all these things, whether it’s ideas, expertise, products, or people.”  [0:18:30]

“If you knew everything you were going to learn [as an entrepreneur], you’d probably make different decisions!” [0:21:59]

“Here I was, someone that worked in skincare, was seeking a doctor, and not only did I not have the tools to solve my aesthetic issue, but I also didn’t have this important information about my underlying health.”  [0:31:07]

“One piece of advice I always like to give to [entrepreneurs] is to try to talk about your ideas early and often, even when they’re not perfectly formed.” [0:39:36]

“Raising capital is always hard. It is such a slog. I listened to the founder of Coinbase, [who said]: a successful fundraise is 9 out of 10 people telling you no. And that’s in really good times!” [0:42:03]

“Being an entrepreneur is like, every day, either getting an acceptance or a rejection letter from your favorite college, but getting both accepted and rejected multiple times a day, every single day. Dealing with that elation down to the dumps is something that has become the norm.” [0:43:03]

Read the transcript

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