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On March 20th, 2024 the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) hosted a FounderHer panel discussion led by Shana Renwald. Renwald presented Mohini Tellakat, Chomtale Chitsakul (Ginger) and Alex Steele. Each of these females have founded their own business as part of the FounderHer Program Spring 2024 cohort. Mohini Tellakat is the founder of STEM EQ, which helps industry workspaces fulfill a positive environment amongst their staff. Chomtale Chitsakul’s business is Coco de Chom, a fashion brand she founded to show the “enjoyment of the ocean tides.” Alex Steele is the founder of Read Tree, a non-profit fighting against book bans and educating parents/teachers about these books. These female entrepreneurs are current students at the University of Texas at Austin or are UT alumni who were asked questions about how through their businesses they were able to make connections with others and build community.
The panel discussed how entrepreneurs leverage their connections in support of their businesses. Steele said that she “wants to network to feel energized ” within herself and for her non-profit. Ginger spoke about her experience as a full-time student at UT Austin. She joined a fashion organization on campus that led to an opportunity for her fashion line to be a part of the runway of Hook’d Magazine. She says to “put yourself out there because you never know what could happen!” This led into a conversation of different strategies these entrepreneurs have used to build community around their customers and clients.
Tellakat’s business is centered around community building within the workplace for different industries. STEM EQ’s founder reflected on the workplaces she has been a part of and that not all of them had an inviting environment. She made her value of community engagement a pillar for her startup STEM EQ, a business that offers assets to improve the workplace of a company. Steele mentioned how in her non-profit, she has a virtual book club that promotes the exploration of a “curious mindset [that leads] to kindness” and “brings people together.” Community engagement over literature and storytelling are one of Read Free’s goals.
Steele went on to explain how storytelling is “everything to her brand.” Steele’s favorite book was banned across the United States, which had a monumental impact on her. The podcast at Steele’s nonprofit invites her guest speakers to answer the question: “what was the book that changed your life?” Ginger’s story is very family-oriented, as she began her start up with her mother during COVID. This family oriented approach is seen through Coco de Chom’s process of gaining materials for retail, models, and customer service feedback. Tellakat embraced her journey as an entrepreneur by learning how to “tell [her] own story so it is unshakable.” Tellakat believes that storytelling is a place accessible to communicate who you are, in collaboration with other minds interested to know more about your persona.
The collaboration of businesses is an essential part of a start-up expanding in scale. However collaboration with other minds can start by breaking the barriers of “putting yourself out there,” as Steele said. She came up with this graph to demonstrate how to apply storytelling to collaboration:
Applying Storytelling to Collaboration | ||
Articulate? Engage with the listener by the telling your story | Why? How is the story uniquely important and applicable to your skills | How? How your story connects to the business or individual you are seeking collaboration with |
Tellakat added on to Steele’s tip about collaboration, saying that it is better to take an opportunity rather than never know how it would have turned out.
The panel articulated how building community is made possible by an entrepreneur using the skills they have to engage with others' expertise, which helps their business grow!
About the Author:
Alejandra Acosta '26
Art History & Nutrition Major
Web Communications Committee
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