With Women’s History Month coming to a close, it is important to keep up the spirit of ‘Choose To Challenge’ in our daily lives. Part of that comes down to where we decide to put our expertise and knowledge into with regards to work. By choosing to work for Stella Labs and Stella Angels, our team members are choosing to challenge the status quo of women in the entrepreneurial space. So, we asked our team:

What is each of your “why”s to working with a company that is, at its ethos, choosing to challenge?

“The value most central to my work and career is integrity. With each communication, action, and program that I am involved in, I ask myself: ‘am I showing up authentically?’ Having integrity is beyond being honest, it’s being true. Stella Angels is a place where I can do just that. It feels good to witness others showing up authentically, too. There is no better feeling than being in a community with powerful women who choose to challenge!”

– Lauren Rowley, Stella Angels Director of Investor Relations

“My mission at Stella Labs is to build and support thriving business ecosystems, based on inclusion. Women start life at an implicit disadvantage in our society and I want to do everything I can to support changing this. I hope my daughter will be able to feel confident that if she chooses to leave her future job to care for children, she’d easily be able to reenter the workforce and I want the future generations of women to be able to launch their businesses without the roadblocks female founders face today.”

– Raven O’Neal, Stella Labs Executive Director 

“My ‘why’ is to help people find the words to clearly and confidently tell their stories. At Stella Labs, we are securing a seat at the table for all women. We are inviting them in, as they are, so they can operate from a place of authenticity, and never feel as if they have to be someone else in order to receive opportunities. I #ChooseToChallenge because all people deserve a chance to build the life they deserve – and to tell their story about it!”

– April Enriquez, WordPop Public Relations Founder

“As a recent college graduate, entering the working world was a daunting task. Through Stella Labs I have been able to not only grow to my fullest potential without the inherent bias of the male dominated workforce, I am also working in a community that actively works to combat that bias for other women. I consider myself incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such inspirational and strong women that I can look up to and learn from.”

– Annie Wood, Stella Labs Marketing Coordinator

At Stella, our mission is to inspire, equip, and propel female founders to success, and that ethos has drawn in the likeminded individuals that make up our team. Though our reasons may vary, the core values of integrity, authenticity, and inclusion are what bring us together to work at a company that is choosing to challenge.