In this insightful discussion, Wendy Diamond, a serial entrepreneur and founder of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization, shares her journey from trading designer surplus to advocating for women's empowerment. She highlights the power of impactful initiatives like microloans for women and the importance of integrity-driven entrepreneurship. Wendy also emphasizes the significance of passion and collaboration, while sharing lessons learned from failures and successes that underscore the impact of supportive relationships in business.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Honduras Trip That Sparked WEDO
A volunteer trip to Honduras exposed Wendy to microloans empowering women and the scale of global female poverty.
She founded Women's Entrepreneurship Day in 2013, launching with the U.S. State Department at the UN and expanding to 100 countries.
insights INSIGHT
Curiosity Unlocks Early Opportunities
Embracing innovation and remaining open composes a founder's superpower in fast-changing markets.
Wendy credits curiosity and adaptability for discovering opportunities like Bitcoin and pet genomics early.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Invest In People First
Invest primarily in people, not just ideas, because founders determine execution and pivots.
Look for high integrity, passion, responsiveness, and willingness to pivot when investing in startups.
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In this episode of The Exit, Wendy Diamond, serial entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO), shares her extraordinary journey of weaving profit with purpose.
Wendy’s entrepreneurial spark began early, trading designer surplus in Turkey and Russia before moving to New York. There, volunteering for the homeless shifted her focus toward impact, leading to celebrity-backed cookbooks that raised millions. Her love for animals sparked Animal Fair Media, where she pioneered “Yappy Hour” events and primetime pet programming, spotlighting adoption at a time when millions of animals were being euthanized annually.
A volunteer trip to Honduras in 2013 was another turning point. Witnessing the success of microloans for women entrepreneurs inspired her to found Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, now celebrated in 100 countries. The initiative brings together governments, investors, and business leaders to empower women globally.
As an investor, Wendy champions integrity-driven founders. She backed Basepaws (the “23andMe for pets”), which exited to Zoetis, while also experiencing failures that underscored her belief that “it’s always about the people.”
Her advice: build strong teams, embrace collaboration, and enjoy the journey. Today, through joinwedo.org, Wendy is helping a million women and girls gain AI and entrepreneurship skills—continuing her mission to create change from the ground up.
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Wendy Diamond is an internationally renowned social entrepreneur, impact investor, humanitarian, bestselling author, and media personality dedicated to using innovation and disruptive technologies for positive global impact. She is the Founder and CEO of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO)/#ChooseWOMEN, a movement with chapters in 144 countries and 112 universities focused on empowering women and alleviating poverty. As CEO of LDP Ventures, she invests in impactful companies and funds while serving on boards that advance sustainability, women’s leadership, and animal welfare. A keynote speaker at the UN, Harvard, and the World Economic Forum, her work has been featured by Oprah, NBC, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Forbes. Through her ventures and ten books, Wendy continues to champion innovation, entrepreneurship, and the underdog worldwide.
Websites: https://www.joinwedo.org/
- www.wendydiamond.com
Wendy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendydiamond/
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