Elisa Stampf is a former banking and insurance industry professional. An unexpected entrepreneur, her experience is in sales, training, underwriting, and project management. In 2021 her whole world changed when she experienced an unfortunately frequent outcome: workplace discrimination. After over a decade in insurance, Elisa didn’t know what was next. Emboldened by her conversations with other industry professionals, she worked with a team to co-found a non-profit focused on creating a path forward for the industry and the people that work within it.
Elisa lives in Chicago, IL, with her partner Kevin and their pets Ender, Bean, and Bodi. Elisa loves having deep conversations with people, playing board games, and going to the dog beach in the summer.
Please tell us a little bit about your business – what is Insure Equality all about?
Insure Equality (IE) was born in 2021 after a debilitating workplace discrimination incident. I started having conversations with other people in insurance, and the more I talked about what happened to me, the more I realized how widespread this process has become in the industry. Once I knew about it, I started talking to everyone. I asked, “What do you think should change?” “What would make a difference to you?” We aim to create more conversation around these issues and bring more voices to the table to work on a solution together. At IE, everything we do is in three buckets: accountability, community, and transparency.
- Accountability is our tech platform that lets employees weigh in on how the culture feels at a company.
- Community means providing resources for companies to make their practices more inclusive and for individuals to heal and level up their careers.
- Transparency is about creating a space for people to anonymously share their experience in the industry and asking companies to sign a pledge to profess their values.
Overall, the goal is to bring more action to a sector that is typically not discussed in terms of employee satisfaction, representation, or overall culture.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I spent over a decade in insurance after a quick stint in banking. Most of my roles were on the carrier side of the industry. In 2020, I decided to make a move to the agency side. There are very few women agency owners, and I wanted to change that in my small way. Within the year, all of my plans changed. I was considering leaving an industry in which I had made a home for over ten years. With the encouragement and support of mentors and friends, I started down the path to co-found IE. In a few months, we gathered enough support to find Insure Equality.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
Every business will require something different out of you, but the themes that work(ed) for me are resilience, vision, and audacity. It is so much work to get something off of the ground. You will not be able to solve everything.
- Having resilience in your journey is paramount to your success: you must believe in what you’re doing enough to stick with it. Even more so, you’ll need to be able to keep going in the face of adversity or naysayers.
- Vision means so much more than this, but you need to be able to see the big picture, then pull in all of the little pieces to put it together. It’s like building a house. You can see the final product, but you need to know the foundation and the order of every part – including which materials you want. Again, you will not be able to do all of this alone. Find people to help you fill this part of the process in for you. You will want and need detail too. I smile, thinking about audacity because I was used to the word’s negative connotation. You often see it used when someone disrespects others or takes up all the air in the room.
- Audacity as an entrepreneur is boldness. It’s taking a significant risk, betting on yourself, and asking others to do it too.
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to grow this company?
Where do we begin! We have so many projects and so many exciting programs to talk about. Our tagline is “Your story. Your voice. Your industry shaped by you.” Our plans focus on bringing as many voices and stories to this industry as possible. I’m excited to share that we’ll launch a podcast network and create an online community soon. Creating a place where people can talk about issues concerning business, insurance, and the workplace, in general, will develop more visibility and allow for more action, and for that action to have more reach. In our short time in operation, we’ve expanded nationwide and are now in Canada.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
We started working amid lockdown and the pandemic. Many of us were in different states coordinating via text, chat, and other online platforms. We learned very early that we needed to over-communicate and get organized. We were not always successful at either, but it is a practice, and we’re excited to learn more as we go. We were finally lucky to meet in May 2022, and it was an incredible experience to meet people with whom you created something meaningful.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We’re different because we focus on industry and marry other products and programs to customize that experience for our constituents. We noticed early on that many companies focus on a specific affinity like women’s rights or LGBTQ+ rights. We knew that our industry faces all types of discrimination, not just some. Our focus at that point was to create space for every kind of person but do it with an insurance-focused lens. All but one of our board members and one of our teammates has worked in the industry. We see this as a significant advantage for speaking to the issues and knowing what our audience needs to hear.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
Mistakes are difficult to relive, but we’re grateful we made it past each moment. The top three mistakes that come to mind are initial communication, setting boundaries, and learning more about how each of us worked and what motivated us. I alluded to this in the question about operating during the lockdown, but communication initially was a big one we didn’t get right. We were all operating at different speeds and in different directions. If we had it to do over, we’d get more organized and intentional about our conversations internally.
Setting boundaries is one of the big ones startups always encounter. You start this beautiful business, and all you want to do is see it succeed, so you sacrifice every bit of your time to make it happen. While it may work, it’s certainly not healthy for your mental health or your physical health, for that matter. Nearly all of us experienced burnout that halted production on something we were working on. We’re doing better about saying no. We even had a roleplay exercise during our meetings where we would ask each other questions and politely decline.
The last one is a big one, and I’m grateful we’re making space for it in new ways. Again, in a startup environment, this energy makes you want to dive head first into something and not come up for air, but this can cause a slew of issues if you don’t know how you operate as a team. We’re spending time creating our own set of rules of engagement.
Learning what motivates each of us, what sets us off, and opening the conversation to discuss what makes sense for us as a group is a major focus. It’s how we’ll find more success in the future with a lot less frustration.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
As a non-profit, we had to be picky and financially savvy about how we marketed ourselves. We did not have the funds to purchase traditional marketing streams, so we focused where we knew we could shine: our website and social media. Knowing that we’re targeting an industry about workplace issues, our first social media platform was LinkedIn. It certainly will not be everyone’s first place, but it worked for us, and as we built momentum, we found that we reached the most significant audience there. Most of our marketing outside of social media has been word of mouth and strategic partnerships we’re creating for companies and individuals. Coming together with other organizations gave us a level of validation we needed as a new company. At the same time, we built our brand, showing others our willingness to bring a helpful service or capability to our audience.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Is it too easy to say everything? If I had to narrow it down, it’s funding, funding, and more funding. The startup world is complex enough, but we found ourselves in this funky Venn diagram of a startup, non-profit, and tech company where we weren’t giving any equity. Lending is unavailable from traditional banks, and VCs aren’t typically interested without a stake in the company. We were in a bit of a pickle. We searched until we found a local non-profit that funded startups. It wasn’t a large amount of funding, but it was enough to help us get a few projects off the ground. The other item for us that was super helpful here was our 501(c)3 designation.
As a non-profit, it can take six to nine months to be formally approved by the IRS. We started that process with our initial business filing. That designation early in our history also validated us and allowed interested parties to write off their donation.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
I didn’t do anything with my first ever business idea. I still think about it. I wanted to create a subscription box or service for new and emerging artists called Startist. You could pick out your style and color preferences and meet artists just beginning. I thought how cool it would be if you could have a piece of an emerging Frida Kahlo or Monet. I was tired of getting commercialized art, but I couldn’t afford the prices of unique and handmade art. Who knows, maybe one day!
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m learning something new every day. It’s exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. What I’m practicing the most is a piece of advice given to me by a dear friend and partner. She told me, “Starting a business is like being on a rowboat in the ocean. You’re going to feel everything – good and bad. Your job as a leader is to know that both the good and the bad are coming and find the balance in the middle.” This quote resonates deeply with me because it speaks to resilience and boundaries. Both are necessary to honor yourself and the business you’re building. Without them, you’ll be in the middle of the ocean feeling every wave.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
Without a doubt, I would communicate more, learn more about the team, and set better personal boundaries. It’s easy to let all of that go at the beginning. You’re filled with this new energy that makes you feel like you can take on the world. But many know, that starting a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Creating and maintaining rituals around a company that honors people and the process will make it easier in those everyday moments where you need to be quick. If you can do the tough stuff first, it becomes less challenging over time.
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
Canva, Hootsuite, and Hubspot.
Both Canva and Hubspot have non-profit pricing and resources, making it much easier to maintain a small budget. Hootsuite is free up to a certain point. Without a doubt would recommend this suite of resources to anyone looking for something easy to use and easy on the budget. We use Canva for our social media posts and presentations. Hootsuite is for posting on multiple social channels at once, and Hubspot allows us to maintain records of who we’re impacting and reach them professionally and with style.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
If I’m in a funk or have to complete a task that I find draining, I’ll pop on my favorite music playlists to keep my energy high. Sometimes the best way to do something is to make it more enjoyable, and music creates that space for me. My favorite genres right now are lo-fi hip-hop and electronic music.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
Each of these suggestions changed my thinking about leadership and entrepreneurship. I highly suggest them.
- Grit by Angela Duckworth is a phenomenal read. It’s a book that makes you realize you can do it; you just have to keep going. When I was younger, I thought CEO was the most intimidating title; as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there is a difference between a CEO and an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs have grit.
- Jay Shetty’s podcast is a perennial favorite for me. I don’t listen to every episode, but I truly appreciate his ability to make space for his guests. My favorite episode is with Adam Goldston – the 2/21/22 podcast. There are so many moments, but my favorite quote is from Adam, “There’s a difference between fear and danger.” As entrepreneurs, we have many fears, but not all are worthy of the space and time we give them.
- The last resource is free and very niche but super-useful if you’re getting into the non-profit space. Northwestern University partnered with The Allstate Foundation to create a Non-profit Leadership Center. We use this resource for our team and our board. I truly appreciate that it delves into DEI topics as well.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Your website is the first look someone has at you and what you do. One of the first items people point out to me in my initial conversations is our website. It landed us instant credibility, and it pulled more people in. It is your marketing before you have marketing. Spend the money. It makes it easier to sell yourself and your product.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
I feel as if being a non-profit makes this question easier to answer because it’s our mission. As a team, we are so deeply focused on why we exist, and what we are doing that even in the most challenging moments, we can return to our ‘why.’ I think it’s also important to surround yourself with people that believe in you and what you’re doing. It’s unlikely to think that even in the best scenarios, you’ll constantly be feeling excited about it. There are some real lows when you start. Keep people around you that remind you why you started, why you exist, and what your end goal is.
What is your favorite quote?
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt.
When I was in college, this quote kept me going through every bump in the road and detour along the way. It’s how I remind myself that doing new things is scary, but it’s the best way to learn and grow. This quote took on even more meaning to me as I got older. I’m bisexual and came out later in life. I learned Eleanor was bi, giving me even more inspiration. I was learning from a “bi-con” all along.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
There will never be a perfect time or scenario to do anything. Furthermore, you’ll not likely get everything right. So knowing both of those items, what is holding you back? I had the privilege of meeting business owners and entrepreneurs early in my career. It always struck me that the people I met weren’t necessarily the most intelligent, most educated, or best at what they were doing; they just dared to try. I think that more than anything, led me to start IE. I knew I wasn’t the best, the smartest, or the most experienced, but I knew I could try – sometimes, that’s all you need.
Who should we interview next and why?
Jana Morrin from Speakfully – she too endured a workplace incident and launched a company to make it easier to report these issues at work anonymously. It’s invaluable tech for the modern age.
What is your definition of success?
Success is the knowledge that you made an impact in your endeavor. It’s about accepting that the effect you wanted or expected may not be the outcome, and that’s ok. Success is knowing you cannot control everything and still be excited about what you do.
How do you personally overcome fear?
When I was younger, I plunged into something regardless of the fear. I remember cold-calling when I was in banking, and I would start dialing the number before I could back out. Now, I operate a bit differently, but it’s still similar. I try to remember that much of life (statistically) works on a bell curve and that the best and worst cases are not nearly as likely as something average. If I can accept the worst-case and know I can rally, I can tackle whatever makes me fearful. If you’re more of an action-oriented person and need a tangible to-do, I find that meditation and journaling are beneficial for overcoming those intense moments.
How can readers get in touch with you?
Please find me on LinkedIn. I love making new connections. It’s also the platform on which I’m most active. I’m always happy to learn from others and to meet awesome people. I am looking forward to meeting you!
