Building A Brand With Heart w. Betsy Neptune

[00:00:00] Betsy: We help students become CEOs of their own lives. 

[00:00:02] Courtney: my name is Courtney, and welcome to How They Scaled It, where scaling is done with both sides of the brain. On this show, we sit down with growth stage businesses and speak to founders and industry leaders in e com and SaaS sectors. We showcase their journeys, unpacking pivotal moments, marketing strategies, and key decisions that shaped their success.

[00:00:22] Courtney: Today’s show is a little different, because we are talking with the executive director of a nonprofit that focuses on powering youth from under resourced communities by teaching them the essential skills to become successful entrepreneurs. I’m actually lucky enough to be a BUILD coach, which means I get to mentor a class of students each year.

[00:00:41] Courtney: Betsy Neptune is the Executive Director of BUILD Boston, with over 20 years of experience in economic development, empowering high school students through entrepreneurship, and creating equitable opportunities for future leaders. I wanted Betsy to join us to help us understand how Gen Alpha is thinking about entrepreneurship and how nonprofits can grow because it’s a pretty difficult time to do that.

[00:01:03] Courtney: Betsy, it is so great to see you and welcome to How They Scaled It.

[00:01:07] Betsy: Thanks so much for having me, Courtney. And I just want to say thank you for being a business team coach. We can, we can talk about it more, but you know, how do we scale? We scale through people like you, um, who help us support our young people and show them what’s possible. So people like you who dedicate time every week, and I know you’ve really enjoyed the experience so far, but thank you for making that time.

[00:01:25] Courtney: Amazing. Yeah, no, it’s, it’s been really cool and honestly just having an opportunity to talk to young people who are about to go into the business world or about to enter the job market is really valuable for me, like in my own work. Um, But it’s also, you know, it feels good too.

[00:01:41] Betsy: Good. Good.

[00:01:43] Courtney: Um, can you start by sharing a little bit about the core mission of BUILD and how you approach teaching entrepreneurship to high school students?

[00:01:50] Betsy: Sure. Um, and I’ll actually, I’ll just start with a story of kind of how we started and then where we’ve evolved. Um, so, so the legend BUILD goes in 1999, there was a woman in, um, Palo Alto out in Silicon Valley who was approached by a couple of young people who said, hey, um, if we drop out of school, can you help us start a business?

[00:02:11] Betsy: And she said, I’ll help you start a business, excuse me, if you don’t drop out of school. Um, and so that then was the genesis of this program to say is there something about entrepreneurship that will help our students not only be successful in school, but also be successful throughout their careers. Um, and so it started in California in 1999.

[00:02:30] Betsy: Came out to Boston in 2010, and now we have six sites around the country. So we’re in California, two different sites there. Um, we’re in Pittsburgh, so I oversee Boston and Pittsburgh. Um, we’re also in, uh, New York City and DC. Um, and so the whole idea as we’ve evolved is we say we ignite the power of youth, um, in under resourced communities, as you mentioned, to BUILD career success.

[00:02:55] Betsy: It’s Entrepreneurial mindsets and opportunity. So that’s our cheesy way of saying CEO. Um, so we help students become CEOs of their own lives. And, you know, we can, we can talk about it more, but it’s really the skillsets and the networks that are important for us. The majority of our students are probably not going to go on to be entrepreneurs themselves.

[00:03:15] Betsy: Maybe they will be, but the, as you know, as an entrepreneur yourself, just thinking about the entrepreneurial skillset, they’re going to need it. Right. You know, one, to pivot from different jobs in the future, or two, to come up with their own ideas within their company so they can be an entrepreneur within their company, how to pitch themselves, and we can talk about it more, but that’s really the idea.

[00:03:35] Betsy: Our approach is that we partner with teachers in primarily public schools. We are charter and public school agnostic because we care about the population. So, we focus on. Communities where over 50 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. And the reason that we do that, frankly, this could, this could be successful anywhere.

[00:03:57] Betsy: Um, but we think about our students in terms of the opportunities to high quality education and also to the networks that we provide through business team coaches and others like you. Um, and so our whole model is partnering with the teachers. So we, Identify a school, or they reach out to us based on interest and alignment in the curriculum.

[00:04:17] Betsy: And then our classes are an elective for high school students, 9th grade to 12th grade. And then we train and, and BUILD the capacity of the teacher to implement that curriculum. So you’re at New Liberty High School in Salem. So Robin, who’s our teacher there, along with support from Jamal, who’s the principal, were identified.

[00:04:36] Betsy: They approached us, actually, Jamal approached us to work with BUILD, and then we have a staff, Shannon, who goes up and coaches Robin, and provides support for her so that she can implement the curriculum. Um, and the reason why we do it that way is many organizations focus on one on one direct support to students.

[00:04:55] Betsy: That’s incredibly valuable, and incredibly hard to scale, and also We started thinking even four or five years ago, but COVID really brought this to the forefront That our teachers one are in one of the hardest jobs ever. I was a teacher myself Um, especially during covid. So what’s the support that we can give to them?

[00:05:17] Betsy: But two they are with our students way more than we could ever be or our business team coaches could and so if we help them implement the curriculum with fidelity Think about more creative ways to engage the students, then what would happen both to the quality of the BUILD class, but also the other classes that they teach.

[00:05:36] Betsy: Uh, so that’s kind of the overview of the 

[00:05:37] Courtney: Yeah, no, it’s, it’s amazing. And, you know, just from my experience working in these classrooms, the way that high schoolers think is so different from when I was in high school and they have different problems. I mean, like, I worked when I was in high school, but a lot of these students are already working, like, A lot of hours, a lot more hours than I was working at least.

[00:05:56] Courtney: And sometimes they have to miss school because they have to work, which is just like a totally different concept. And so a program like BUILD that’s teaching them business skills and like life skills, I think it immediately impacts their life. Cause they’re immediately learning things that they can apply in their day to day life, which is really helpful.

[00:06:13] Courtney: And just the program itself is so interesting. I mean, maybe you can talk a little bit about kind of just like on a basic level, like how BUILD works and Kind of like what that process looks like for the students.

[00:06:24] Betsy: So, as I mentioned, it’s an elective. Um, so all of our schools, you know, you teach the basic math, science, et cetera, um, but then all of our students throughout Massachusetts have options to take elective classes. Um, the reason why we like that it’s an elective is students opt in, so there’s a higher probability that they want to be there, um, and be engaged with the curriculum.

[00:06:46] Betsy: And actually something that you just said earlier, we were previously an afterschool program. But, exactly the challenge that you just mentioned, our students, many of them are working after school, or doing sibling childcare, or have other responsibilities, and so we did not want to only access those students that had the luxury of not having to do those things.

[00:07:09] Betsy: Um, and so that is why, over the past four or five years, we’ve shifted everything. Everything into the school day. Um, there’s other challenges working in complex school systems, but for us it’s so valuable for our students to be, you know, have the opportunity during the school day and to get credit. So we start out with what we call year one, which is generally ninth grade, sometimes 10th grade.

[00:07:28] Betsy: And this is the whole business ideation process. So we use design thinking. Um, so we help our students start out by empathizing. And so I’ll give an example, which is the other day I visited a class in Hyde Park in Boston, a freshman class, year one, and they were learning how to interview and how to do, you know, elicited interviews.

[00:07:50] Betsy: So how do you ask the right questions? It’s not just Do you have problems? But what type of problems do you have and how do they make you feel? And so, I was actually interviewed because I was a guest. I was interviewed by two students , Destiny and Anaya, and, they asked me, hey, what’s a big problem that you’re facing?

[00:08:09] Betsy: I have two little kids. And I can never get out of the house on time. Um, and so that was my problem. And what I loved about their questions was they started asking me more about it. And then they said, how does that make you feel?

[00:08:20] Courtney: Yeah.

[00:08:21] Betsy: I said, you know, I used to be on time. It makes me feel like, You know, so angry when I’m late.

[00:08:28] Betsy: And so helping the students come up with better ways of asking questions, we think is not only going to make them a better entrepreneur, but a better employee, a better sales person. If they’re in a sales job, right. It’s like that whole kind of, how do you confidently ask questions and BUILD empathy then on the basis of that.

[00:08:49] Betsy: Really identifying problems, they’ll start to come up with solutions. Um, and so one team one year went through their day and said, what are the moments in my day? The moments where I say, I wish this were easier. And one of the young women said, you know, every time I wash my face. The water drips down my hand.

[00:09:08] Betsy: So they designed, um, I think they called it drip no drop, um, little like wrist cuffs that you could put on while you’re washing your face. Right? So simple, but innovative product ideas that they can create within a year. So the whole first year is the business ideation process. And one of the other elements of the class, which you can appreciate in terms of entrepreneurship is trying things out.

[00:09:31] Betsy: And trying them again and failing and getting back up and doing things again. And, um, especially for this generation, we find it so important for them to be resilient and to learn feedback and, and the value of feedback. Um, and so one of our principles is grit, which is. I’m going to, you know, you know what, that idea didn’t work.

[00:09:51] Betsy: I’m going to try it again. And the way we do that is by bringing in folks like yourself who are business team coaches who can BUILD relationship and then also give expertise from your life. But we also have a series of milestones where we bring in guest judges. Um, and so our year one students have an idea pitch at the end of the first semester where they pitch their idea.

[00:10:13] Betsy: To folks in the business community and get real feedback. And one of the things we say to our, you know, the folks who judge or coach with us is, Yes, these are 14 and 15 year olds, but we believe in high support, high challenge. Which means, you know, be encouraging, be empathetic, help them, you know, reword the question if they don’t get it, but don’t go easy on them.

[00:10:37] Betsy: Because they will rise to the occasion and we’ve seen that. So year one ends with what we call our pitch competition, which is where we have a series of competitions across our schools, um, and then we narrow it down to three teams that pitch on, on stage in front of a big audience, um, for cash prizes.

[00:10:56] Betsy: And so it’s kind of like a Shark Tank style competition. We actually did have Kevin O’Leary, um, one year. Um, because he, he spends some time in Boston, but we’ve had other celebrity judges who have come, uh, to help us, you know, support our students. And so, that’s kind of all of year one. Then year two is how do you make the business a reality?

[00:11:16] Betsy: And so, we work with our students on marketing. And they do a marketing pitch, and this is where we say to them, No, just putting it out on social media is not going to work. Like, who’s your target audience, and what’s the message, and how are you going to reach them? Um, how do you do market research? Um, so how do you talk to people about your product and improve it?

[00:11:35] Betsy: And then we give them seed funding. So this is 50, um, and up to 150 for them to, um, create the product. And so one of the goals of that process is for them to learn how to manage their finances and then how to actually work together to create something. So it is a constraint in that You know, a lot of our students want to, you know, they start with these big, big ideas.

[00:12:02] Betsy: Um, and so we never want to say no, but we also want to ask some questions about, Can you do that within a year? What is the, what are the resources that you need for that? Um, but we’ve had all different kinds of ideas from laser cut, Customized keychains to, um, one school created a box that you literally have to physically open.

[00:12:22] Betsy: You put your phone in it so that when it goes off in the morning, you actually need to get up and do something to turn off the alarm. So different kind of creative things. There’s always, you know, food based businesses, but we’re really trying to drive more creativity and also empathy to say, what’s the broader kind of social impact?

[00:12:43] Betsy: And then the last piece, and we can talk more about, is junior, senior year, we pivot from BUILDing your business to BUILDing your career. Um, and so, how do we help our students access different, um, internships and networks, how do we help them learn financial literacy, and then what support do we provide them so they can be successful in college.

[00:13:01] Courtney: Yeah, no, it’s, it’s such a neat program to, I think what’s unique about it is that it’s so hyper focused on the process of from ideation all the way to like creating and selling a product and it’s kind of focused and the students get so excited as they get deeper and deeper into the process and they really take ownership of it.

[00:13:22] Courtney: And. What’s really neat is that they’re doing it in a really safe space. Like most people figure all this stuff out when they’re like out in the world trying to actually make money and pay their bills. And these kids get a chance to do it when they are like totally safe and it’s okay if they fail and they can like fix it.

[00:13:38] Courtney: And it’s like very low risk, but really high reward. And so I think that’s what makes BUILD so valuable is that you’re teaching them these skills that You kind of have to learn by trying and failing in the real world, you know, in a much safer spot, which is

[00:13:52] Courtney: kind of 

[00:13:52] Courtney: nice. 

[00:13:53] Betsy: that’s exactly why we do it. And so we actually are, um, our second year, year two, there are sales bazaars within the schools. And you can just envision, I mean, these are all the teachers come down with money. Like they are just going to buy, they’re going to buy the products, the principal is going to buy the products.

[00:14:09] Betsy: We do invite external folks to be secret shoppers, so they go around and then give feedback to the students. But we actually partnered with Black Owned Boss, um, a couple years ago to have our students sell at their marketplace in 

[00:14:22] Betsy: the 

[00:14:22] Betsy: seaport. Um, and so we selected a few teams. And one of the teams got really frustrated because people were coming by and not buying.

[00:14:30] Betsy: And we said, this is the real world, right? This is, so when they did make sales, we, you know, it was like this, you actually made a sale with somebody that was a stranger. So you’re right. We kind of BUILD them up to, you know, Hey, how can you take risks in a safer environment so that then when you get out into the real world, you can be more comfortable with taking calculated risks.

[00:14:54] Betsy: Yeah.

[00:14:54] Courtney: Yeah, amazing. Um, I know there’s kind of like these key skills that you are really focused on. So every step of the way, they’re trying to kind of hit on these different skills that you’re teaching. Can you talk about what those key skills are within BUILD?

[00:15:09] Betsy: Sure. Um, so, and I’ll talk about it from the business process, um, because we do have, you know, several skills or like principles that we help our students learn. So it’s collaboration, communication, problem solving. Innovation, grit, and then self management. So those are the principles. And when our students pitch their businesses at the end of the year, they’ll say, here’s how the spark skills showed up in our process, right?

[00:15:38] Betsy: We. Did this prototype and it didn’t work and so we had to solve a problem or you know, I was the CEO I was a CFO of this company that we get we you know Give them the chance to give each other titles and we didn’t see eye to eye and how much we should charge right those things Um, but when you apply that to the real world, right?

[00:15:58] Betsy: What are the skills? It’s really, you know, how do you identify problems? Right? And how do you come up with unique solutions? And one of the things that we’ve been thinking a lot about with our, with our students and with ourselves, frankly, is how do we ask really, really good questions and stop talking

[00:16:15] Courtney: Yeah.

[00:16:16] Betsy: so that we can get more out of the conversation?

[00:16:20] Betsy: Instead of approaching the conversation with, Hey, have I got something for you? Um, and so that’s what we’re trying to do here at bill too, is to, with our partners is to ask really good questions. What does partnering with a nonprofit mean to you? What are the barriers? What impact are you hoping to make as a business team coach or as a company?

[00:16:37] Betsy: Right. And then creating shared solutions. Um, and then working with people to, to BUILD relationships. Get those solutions out into the world. And then I, you know, one of the things I always say about entrepreneurship, it is the quickest way to get feedback because selling something, people buy it or they don’t, um, or they give your, you their opinion about it or they don’t.

[00:16:57] Betsy: And so getting immediate feedback is really healthy for our students. Um, and then how do you prototype again and again, and then how do you pitch? And so for, you know, 14 year olds, some of them are terrified to get up in front of a class.

[00:17:13] Betsy: Right. And this is what, 15, 20 students, sometimes 30. And so we coach and work with them through the support of our teachers and folks like you, so that they can pitch in front of an audience of 400 or 200. Um, and there was a story actually of a couple young women a few years ago, who one of them was so anxious. Um, before our final pitch, she was one of the finalist teams, that she almost didn’t do it. And that year we were fortunate to have Devin McCourty, um, who’s a former Patriots player, as one of our VIP judges, and he said, I always feel nervous before a game, because it’s a sign to me that I care, and that I really want to do this well.

[00:17:50] Betsy: And I’m so proud of her, because she pulled herself together, got up on stage, and they won.

[00:17:56] Betsy: Uh,

[00:17:56] Betsy: because they just nailed the presentation. And so that gives me, it still gives me chills because it’s like, this is, and, and the, the learning element of it is, oh, I presented in front of 20 students and I survived.

[00:18:10] Betsy: Okay. Maybe I can present in front of, you know, my whole school. Maybe I can present in front of, right? So like just BUILDing that muscle or even, Hey, I presented and I messed up a bunch of times, but I didn’t die, right? I’m still here like that kind of, cause that’s how it can feel to some of our young people.

[00:18:27] Betsy: Um, and then helping them get feedback. So, um, I coached a couple of young women my first year when I started in 2021 and they made it to the finals and, um, Renee and Rihanna, and they were very opinionated, very confident young women, which is great. They got feedback from guest, um, folks as they were, you know, working on their pitch for the finals.

[00:18:52] Betsy: And I, I and some other staff had to really talk them down to say, You know, you’re going to need to please listen to what they’re saying. I know you don’t agree with it, but please listen to what they’re saying. Because they were like, what do they know? And we’re, you know, we’ve been working so hard and are they saying that we don’t?

[00:19:10] Betsy: And, and so, and frankly, I, you know, I can respond like that. Adults respond like that all the time. So, and one thing I was so proud of was they kind of took a step back, took them a few days, But then they implemented the feedback and they did so well. So that kind of like, if we can help our young people learn how to receive feedback and give each other feedback, they’re going to. They’re going to be way ahead. Way ahead of most adults 

[00:19:36] Betsy: that we know too.

[00:19:38] Courtney: that’s so true. I I’ll say like, because you’re as a business coach, you’re there with them for like a full year. And you see them grow because they have to do these pitches at the beginning, 

[00:19:48] Courtney: like personal pitches. 

[00:19:49] Courtney: So they have to get up and talk in front of a class and then over. The months they get in front of the class several times, and it’s so cool to see them grow.

[00:19:59] Courtney: And then at the end, they’re like different people. And that’s because, I mean, also you’re talking to, like, high school students, like teenagers, or their brain is developing so quickly that, like, 

[00:20:07] Courtney: they’re totally different people by the end of the year. 

[00:20:10] Courtney: And you’re able to kind of, like, help them guide just a little bit, just kind of, like, correct course when you can. 

[00:20:17] Betsy: It’s a great point because we had a team, um, so this was the laser cut keychains. And they won, um, in 2022. 

[00:20:25] Betsy: And, um, During the final pitch competition, one of the 

[00:20:28] Betsy: guys got up, I can’t remember what role his was, 

[00:20:31] Betsy: maybe CEO. And he got up, you know, they all wore matching vests, and like, they just had this swag, swagger, 

[00:20:37] Betsy: and like, confidence.

[00:20:39] Betsy: And he said, you know, I 

[00:20:41] Betsy: hated talking in front of people. And, uh, several of our donors and board members pulled me aside after, and they were like, we’re gonna go. 

[00:20:49] Betsy: We’re gonna say that that’s not true. 

[00:20:50] Betsy: Like he must have been lying and I talked to the teacher after and he was like No, he’s not lying.

[00:20:56] Betsy: He did not and his 

[00:20:57] Betsy: mentor said the same thing He was like head down on the desk Wearing his hoodie like not looking at us pulling it down over his 

[00:21:03] Betsy: face Like he just didn’t want to engage and then slowly through relationship and through being like, oh I can do this.

[00:21:09] Betsy: He Transformed so

[00:21:11] Courtney: Yeah, no, and I think that’s why, um, when you look at, like, entrepreneurs and, like, business leaders, Every business leader I know is obsessed with transformation. Like, that’s what they care about. They make products to be transformational. They have services to be transformational. And so that’s why I’m such like a proponent of BUILD because like you as a business leader can come into these classrooms and like transform these students.

[00:21:34] Courtney: Like it’s such a transformational experience for them. It’s really cool to see and it’s like very inspiring and fulfilling. But, um, so from the coach’s role, So you have these teachers and they kind of teach all like the core aspects. They’re teaching them cogs and they’re teaching them how to do pitches and all that stuff.

[00:21:51] Courtney: And then the coaches come in. What are the roles of the coaches as they come in? And cause these are what, you know, people would be volunteering to do.

[00:21:59] Betsy: Great. Um, Yeah.

[00:22:00] Betsy: Thanks for asking. So we call them business team coaches and these are, you know, if you can think of a coach, right? So coaches, I think are successful for a couple of reasons. One is relationship. And that is the most important, right? So these young people, some of them, you know, we want to honor that they have their own social networks and people who are in their lives, but it’s just one more adult, one more person who can, you know, talk to them about their career experience or just be a positive, encouraging force in the, in the class.

[00:22:31] Betsy: And we do say to our coaches, these are, these are teenagers, um, with lots of feelings and emotions and thoughts and things going on. And so you might have an off day. Or they might not really engage for the first few times. There’s going to be a moment where it’s going to, it’s going to click. And, um, and so we have, you know, three to four per class depending on the size.

[00:22:51] Betsy: And they generally rotate, they come in once a week. And so this is where I want to thank you for making that commitment. We, we went back and forth about what’s the right level of commitment. Um, and, you know, we, one of our principles is keeping students at the center. And. We said, you know, we tried what every other week and Life happens and coaches have doctor’s appointments that come up or business meetings that come up And so we found that actually kind of shifted out to maybe once a month or and it was just hard to BUILD that relationship And so we said, all right, we’re gonna challenge our business team coaches to come weekly What it means is we have a slightly smaller pool, but they’re deeply committed And so most of our coaches from last year have come back this year, which is such a good sign for us.

[00:23:38] Betsy: Um, and so every week in the classroom, um, we ask the teachers to give a little, like, heads up about, Hey, here’s what we’re talking about today. Um, but then, you know, we, and we provide coaching and training for the coaches themselves. Here’s how you engage with young people. Some of our coaches have said, I don’t know anything about 

[00:23:55] Betsy: working with young people, you know, it’s been 20, 30 years since I’ve been in high school.

[00:23:59] Betsy: We have a couple folks who are retired and have said, yikes, but they’re the ones actually that the students oftentimes gravitate towards because they’re like grandparent figures and just so loving and encouraging. Um, and then the coaches just provide support to the teacher too, and, and that’s another element of it.

[00:24:17] Betsy: Not only do we want our students to know that they have people behind them, but we want our teachers to know that. That there’s so many people that are pushing you on and cheering for you because teaching is also a lonely job. So the coaches go all the way through the year, um, and then if a class has a team that’s in the finals, right, that coach for that, for that class might be more significant in terms of helping the students prep for the, for the end of the year.

[00:24:41] Courtney: yeah, amazing. No, I I think that like, when I first started, 

[00:24:45] Courtney: I was really nervous about, you know, what I’d have to bring to the 

[00:24:48] Courtney: table and like, if I’d have to like, study beforehand or whatever, but ultimately, like, if you 

[00:24:53] Courtney: are in business and you just 

[00:24:55] Courtney: walk into the classroom, they’re not asking questions that are like, crazy hard or anything.

[00:24:59] Courtney: These are 

[00:25:00] Courtney: really basic things. and 

[00:25:01] Courtney: it’s more just about like, yeah, Meeting people where they’re at. And so you don’t have to like prepare to 

[00:25:06] Courtney: go in. You just walk in and the teacher will kind of tell you what to do. And the 

[00:25:09] Courtney: students ask you 

[00:25:10] Courtney: questions and it’s pretty straightforward, which, um, so it’s a very low pressure situation for the coaches But I do think they can make a pretty big impact because 

[00:25:17] Courtney: it’s just like they listen to their teachers all day and to 

[00:25:21] Courtney: have someone who’s like actively in the business world, like say, yes, your teacher is right. I think that probably helps a lot.

[00:25:26] Betsy: That’s a great, that’s a great point. Right. And, and we’ll see, you know, you see it at the end of the year and our 

[00:25:32] Betsy: pitch competitions and the, the business team coach will come up with the team and it’s just this like, you know, they did it with me. Right. They were behind me. They did it with me. And, and we do look for folks in the business community, but we do have some folks that are not You know, they’re, or they’re out of the game, maybe they’re retired, and so the most important thing we look for is people who can understand and love our students, um, and encourage them, and, and also BUILD a relationship to the point that they can give feedback, because ideally, it’s not just about their business, but also, hey, how did you, you know, get here?

[00:26:05] Betsy: Go in your career. What were the decisions you made? Hey, I’m thinking about studying this in college. Hey, I, I don’t know if college is right for me. What do you think? Like those kind of conversations we hope will happen throughout the year, too.

[00:26:15] Courtney: Yeah. And are you expecting these students to be the future leaders of business? Or if they’re not going into entrepreneurship, what kind of do you expect from the students after they’ve gone through the BUILD program? 

[00:26:27] Betsy: great. Great question. And this is where, you know, even over the past 10 15 years, I think the thinking is changing. And this was something that I did earlier in my career where I, um, led regional economic development efforts. And we talked a lot about workforce training and what does that look like?

[00:26:41] Betsy: But, you know, I think previously it was. for your college all the way. Um, and I want to say this carefully, which is that college obviously unlocks lots of opportunities. And so, we want our students to have college as the North Star. I want to, I want to go there. And also, we want to expose them to as many opportunities as possible.

[00:27:02] Betsy: So, for some of our students, they’re going to say, you know, I really want to learn a trade. I, that I’m really passionate about working with my hands, or, um, I, you know, I love having immediate impact with something that I’m BUILDing, and we know that some of the trades actually are very competitive, um, in terms of their salaries.

[00:27:21] Betsy: And so, great, can we help you go to, um, the Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, which is a fantastic college, but it’s focused on the trades, um, and is an excellent school right here in Boston. Or can we, you know, for some of our students, hey, I want to take a year off and figure out what’s next, and then I’ll, then I’ll, um, explore from there.

[00:27:39] Betsy: So, we want to make sure that we’re exposing our students to the widest range of possibilities. So that, you know, we know that there’s people in their lives that might be limiting them. Saying, you absolutely have to do this, or you absolutely cannot do this. And that, we don’t want to be. Um, and so, I’ll just give you some, like, sense of where, where our students have ended up.

[00:27:59] Betsy: Um, many of them have gone on either to two year or four year institutions. Some of them have stayed in Massachusetts, some have gone to Georgia, um, then we have a student at Emory University, or, you know, out in Ohio or other places. Um, and, um, And then some of them have also, as I said, gone on to, you know, a trade training program.

[00:28:17] Betsy: Um, and then the, what they study varies. A lot of our students do study business. Um, so we have a student who’s at Babson, um, and wants to really be in investing. And that, that is exciting for us because, you know, he’s really interested in like, you know, could I be part of an investment fund? Um, and so he is talking with folks at Mendoza Ventures, which is, um, the first fund in Boston for minority and women owned, uh, businesses specifically.

[00:28:45] Betsy: And he was really interested in that, you know, hey, how can I get into investing and supporting these businesses? Um, we have another student who’s at Northeastern and he’s studying marketing. Um, Um, and he did an internship, uh, actually at the company of one of our board members, um, Acceleration Partners, and they adored him and said, Hey, can you come back, like, come back, and, um.

[00:29:06] Betsy: But then we also have a student who just became a teacher, um, at Excel, um, not at the Excel high school that we work with in South Boston, there’s another Excel in East Boston, so she’s a teacher there. So, 

[00:29:16] Betsy: the range, you know, it’s a wide range. Um, but what we do expect them to become 

[00:29:22] Betsy: is, as you mentioned, leaders, because 

[00:29:24] Betsy: they’ve mastered self management, they know how to 

[00:29:27] Betsy: collaborate, they know how to communicate, they’re great problem solvers, they know how to think creatively, and they have a lot of resilience.

[00:29:34] Betsy: Um, but then many of them do go into business. Some of them have gone on to own, you know, to have their own companies, um, or, you know, we’re, um, we 

[00:29:42] Betsy: have one alumni actually who’s at Berkeley studying the business, uh, or 

[00:29:46] Betsy: the business of music. Um, and And so he really wants to go in that direction. He’s an artist himself.

[00:29:51] Betsy: And so we do have that, that mix. So it’s a, it’s a pretty wide range, but they’re bringing that entrepreneurial like skillset and mindset to whatever they’re 

[00:29:59] Betsy: pursuing.

[00:30:00] Courtney: Yeah, no, I think, um, just one perspective as like a coach is so like as, you know, a CEO and someone who has to like hire people a lot. I, and I have this conversation with their business leaders all the time where, like, the hardest part of running a business is the people. It just is. It’s just hiring the right people, getting people who, like, understand and can think creatively and all of that.

[00:30:21] Courtney: All of that, like, it’s really, really hard. And so one great opportunity for business leaders is to go help with BUILD because in BUILD, you are creating the next generation of workforce and you’re having an impact on that. And so, like, I know that in five or 10 years, when these kids are like really joining the workforce and like moving up in their career, that’s gonna be a great hire because they’ve, Already started with this great foundation.

[00:30:48] Courtney: Um, so I know that they might not all go into business. They might not all go become entrepreneurs, but they’re all going to join the workforce at some point. And so these skills are so helpful for them, 

[00:31:00] Betsy: Yeah. And I love that you say that. So that is one of the ways we, you know, we work with companies, a lot of corporate partners who support us financially and through 

[00:31:07] Betsy: volunteering. Um, and one of the things that we’ve said is we think about shared value. Is, you know, we can help 

[00:31:15] Betsy: you access a network of highly trained, like, very well composed and thoughtful young people and that’s gold.

[00:31:25] Betsy: Also, the majority of our students are students of color and so for companies that are saying we really want to bring on diverse perspectives, this is You know, our young people are well equipped, um, and also bring the unique perspectives based on their experiences. And, um, it’s not the only reason why we want the companies to hire them.

[00:31:45] Betsy: We want them to be hired because of all of the things that they bring. Um, but that is one of the pitches that we give to our companies is like, you know, we have this excellent, excellent cohort of

[00:31:54] Courtney: Yeah. Amazing. And we talked a lot about kind of 

[00:31:57] Courtney: what BUILD does, but I want to talk more about like your role and BUILD itself and how you guys are scaling. So I know you have a background in economic development. How has that shaped your approach to guiding these students in their journey through BUILD? 

[00:32:13] Betsy: Yeah. sure. So, um, I, so I’m an entrepreneur myself. Um, I have an executive coaching business. Um, and so I resonate with what you said about the people side being one of the challenges that, um, for profit and nonprofit, um, uh, entities have. Um, so one of, you know, My role at, when I was working at the city of Boston was to coach entrepreneurs.

[00:32:35] Betsy: Um, many of them were in, you know, businesses with much smaller margins, right? These are, you know, main street businesses, mom and pops. Um, and one of the reflections that I had is that for many of these business owners, this was their, like the way that they were feeding their family. And many of them frankly put their kids through college with these businesses.

[00:32:54] Betsy: And so it, it, it meant that risk taking was very hard. Because it, there’s so much riding on it. And so, as I was working with them, I was thinking, you know, man, if, if only this person 20 years ago or 30 years ago had had someone when they were a young person say, here’s how you can take a calculated risk.

[00:33:14] Betsy: Um, and here’s, you know, here’s the way that you can think differently, and this is, you know, they are doing the best that they can, and frankly, some of these, some of these convenience stores and restaurants are, are doing very, very well, um, and putting their, you know, their kids through college, et cetera, but that was one of my reflections, um, and then the second was, I did, um, so I, I was the chief of economic development at a regional planning agency, um, actually, Right before Cove it and then during Cove it.

[00:33:41] Betsy: And so our strategy had to completely change. But one of the things that we talked about was workforce development and what does it look like to help people access quality jobs and what is the whole system around that so that young young people, especially can access quality jobs. So that means where are schools teaching?

[00:34:02] Betsy: Uh, where is the affordable housing? Where is the transportation, right? So all of these things that go into, it’s not just hiring one person for one job. Um, and so there’s a lot that can be done in all of those pieces, but the education piece is really exciting to me, um, to say, can we start earlier?

[00:34:24] Betsy: Helping our young people access college credits, so one 

[00:34:27] Betsy: of our classes at Charlestown High School is part of an early college program with Bunker Hill, so our students just can get college credit and prove to themselves that they can do it. Um, and then how do we help prepare our students for many more opportunities through networks.

[00:34:42] Betsy: Um, so that’s some of it. And then, you know, as an entrepreneur myself, the, all of these same principles around, like, how do I take risks and how do I ask good questions and how do I really think about what’s the value that we can create here together, right? This person’s coming to me and says they have a problem, but what’s the problem under that problem?

[00:35:06] Betsy: That if we solved it together, there actually might be a much bigger opportunity. Um, so that, all of that kind of comes into my work at BUILD.

[00:35:14] Courtney: Yeah. And how did you end up with the BUILD.

[00:35:17] Courtney: team? Like, how did you join up? 

[00:35:18] Betsy: Yeah. um, so I was, as I said, I was the Chief of Economic Development for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. So we serve, served, um, 101 communities in greater Boston. And, um, You know, I always say this to people who are thinking about their career. Some of it is like, how quickly do you want to make an impact, right?

[00:35:37] Betsy: And what type of impact do you want to make? And that work was long range planning, which is incredibly important, right? So this is, we need to plan 20 years out. So that we can make decisions about what type of businesses can come in this community and we need much more housing And so we have to figure out how to change the zoning law so that we can get that right So that was a lot of the work was long range planning.

[00:36:00] Betsy: So I led the master plan process for the city of Revere So how is the city of 53, 000 people going to change over the next 20 years and what’s needed and I loved that And also got an itch for more immediate impact. Um, so that was one. And then also an opportunity to apply my entrepreneurship bent to an organization.

[00:36:24] Betsy: Um, because when I started, we were in six schools. Um, and the pitch that the board gave me when I was a candidate was, you know, how would you help us scale? Um, and so that was an exciting challenge to say, can I bring that thinking and some of the relationships I have with the incredible strength of our team to expand?

[00:36:46] Betsy: And so we have expanded to nine schools. Um, and some of that was due to shifting our model away from the individual one on one student success. to teacher coaching, which allows us to serve more schools in a more, you know, more comprehensive way. We’re really supporting the teachers. Um, we can get into challenges.

[00:37:07] Betsy: It’s challenging to scale, um, and so we can get into challenges, but I think all of those things excited me, and 

[00:37:12] Betsy: then the last piece that I just love, Is the idea and I did this in my previous roles too, but bridging communities. So bringing people together across difference to advance impact for these young people, right?

[00:37:27] Betsy: So people like yourself, or people like business leaders who come into a classroom and Randolph and, um, you know, teachers who connect with other, you know, with other folks. So just. The breadth of experiences that can come together and to BUILD these really meaningful relationships that were all changed.

[00:37:46] Betsy: I mean, most of our business team coaches say, like, I think I get out more than I give, um, and so that’s that’s so valuable for me. and, that’s a role. I love. I love to play.

[00:37:56] Courtney: Amazing. Yeah, I 

[00:37:57] Courtney: I think what’s so neat, and I think this is a big challenge for people who are in either non profit or community BUILDing spaces, is that most A lot of times the work that 

[00:38:06] Courtney: you’re doing is it takes so long It’s like you’re planting a tree that will you know grow in 20 years And so like that’s like great and it’s important work 

[00:38:14] Courtney: to do very important work to do But 

[00:38:16] Courtney: that immediate impact is like sometimes you just need a little hit of that you’re like I need to do something and be able to see 

[00:38:22] Courtney: it within a year how it’s changed something and Um BUILD definitely does that and it’s also like planting those seeds with these kids who are going to grow up and be huge trees in the future, 

[00:38:32] Courtney: hopefully.

[00:38:34] Betsy: Absolutely.

[00:38:35] Courtney: Can you, um, talk a little bit about the challenges of 

[00:38:39] Courtney: scaling BUILD as a non profit? I know it’s kind of tough, 

[00:38:42] Courtney: huh? 

[00:38:43] Betsy: Yeah, sure. Um, yes. Um, you know, and one of, one of the things that, yeah, so the challenge is like you’ll hear from any nonprofit, um, are how do we have the right level of impact? Um, both the depth and the breadth, and we talk about this all the time, um, because some of our funders or ourselves included, you know, we say, man, this, this program is so valuable.

[00:39:11] Betsy: Let’s serve thousands of students. Like, why can’t we do that? Um, and that is, there’s just different ways. That people, you know, will do that and will come to, like, what’s the trade off? So, our model is, is pretty, uh, human resource intensive. Um, some of which is our, is our staff that are working one on one with our teachers, but some of, some of it is you all.

[00:39:34] Betsy: Um, and so we’ve had to wrestle with that to say, you know, if we were to scale to 20 schools, um, we want to make sure that we have people like you who are really the heart and soul of the program. Um, we have launched some digital tools and they’re valuable enhancements in the classroom, like incredibly valuable.

[00:39:57] Betsy: And they’re only as good as the in person interactions that the students are having in the class. And this is where we think about like, Yeah, because our students could access an entrepreneurship game at home, but they’re not going to learn, you know, oh, Courtney just gave me some feedback about my pitch.

[00:40:14] Betsy: Or, right, so the magic happens in the classroom. So that has been something that we’re thinking about is how do we how do we reach more students, but not compromise the quality and so Scaling to nine schools. We wanted to be really really thoughtful About making sure that we had the staff capacity to support those schools and also the business team coaches and business team coach recruitment In some places it’s easy.

[00:40:40] Betsy: We have a base of, of folks that are coming into the city or going to work, et cetera, and in other places it’s a little bit harder. Um, and so that has been something that we’re thinking about. Um, and then the other piece is just to, to be frank, is the financial resources as well. Um, and you know, perhaps because of my framing as an entrepreneur, I think a lot about how do we create shared value?

[00:41:03] Betsy: Um, how do we understand what this person wants across the table and not say. Hey, we have this great program. Don’t you want to support us? Um, or give them a standard sponsorship package. Here’s the three ways you can support us. So, we actually were incredibly fortunate, um, to work with a company called Win Without Pitching, um, a woman named Shannon Lee, who, uh, does, um, sales training for creative businesses, um, and I, um, We had actually found her online because of some like YouTube videos that she and her business partner put out.

[00:41:39] Betsy: And it was so transformative for me in my business that we said, can we, um, see whether she’d be interested in working with BUILD. And so, and she was, and so she did training for our students on LinkedIn and also on how to ask really good questions. Um, and then also did a training for our team because I think.

[00:42:03] Betsy: A non profit sales is a, is a dirty word.

[00:42:07] Courtney: Yeah. 

[00:42:07] Betsy: Um, and, and that is because if we think about sales, we think about I’m trying to convince you, I’m not being, maybe not being truthful, or I’m trying to force something, you know, down your throat. But what we’re trying to teach our students is how do you be the expert?

[00:42:25] Betsy: that’s bringing a solution to someone. So for us, we are the experts in creating volunteer experiences that are meaningful and move the needle on, you know, youth development. And so when we talk to these companies, we start by saying like, what’s most important for you in terms of your impact? Um, and for example, there’s a company that we’re working with right now that has a beautiful new BUILDing.

[00:42:50] Betsy: And so when we talked with them, they, it’s clear that they want people to come to their beautiful new BUILDing. And they care deeply about workforce development. Um, and they really want to demonstrate that they’re doing work around workforce development. Great. So, would you be willing to host an event for us at your space?

[00:43:07] Betsy: We need that. Right? That’s it. We’re always looking for great space that’s centrally located that we can get in kind. But also then it’s a huge benefit for them. Right. Because now you’re gonna have lots of press on your space and lots of people in the BUILDing and things like that. So I think that framing for our team, it takes more work to have those conversations at the front end, right?

[00:43:31] Betsy: Instead of saying like, Hey, here’s our sponsorship packet, but it creates much more meaningful relationships where we can really understand, you know, Oh, that company actually really doesn’t care about it. You know, for, or not care, but they’re, they’re, they’re not as interested in sponsorship because they don’t really want to get their logo out, but they really want their volunteers to engage.

[00:43:53] Betsy: Or, in this case, they really want people to come to their BUILDing. 

[00:43:56] Betsy: Right. So, so it’s, it’s slow going. Um, we are working on BUILDing those partnerships and, you know, you’ve seen, um, you’re an entrepreneur, you’ve seen the ups and downs in the economy and 

[00:44:08] Betsy: different, you know, priorities for foundations that support us to an individual donor.

[00:44:13] Betsy: So it’s, it’s hard work. Um, but I think that that framing is going to help us be more successful. And then the other is, Similarly, with our company is tapping into the like the the benefit and the motivation of our advisory and associate board members. So we’re going to do a series of house parties in the in the early part of 2025.

[00:44:39] Betsy: Because some of our associate and advisory board members have said, I love expanding my network and this is a great way to do that to say, I’m working with BUILD. Can you come here about BUILD? I get to expand my network 

[00:44:52] Betsy: and also I get to support this great organization. So. Leveraging them and 

[00:44:57] Betsy: saying, like, what are the ways that this actually fits within your business goals?

[00:45:00] Betsy: Um, and being very upfront with the fact that, yes, people care deeply and 

[00:45:05] Betsy: also they want to get something out of it, which is true for all of us. I’m 

[00:45:09] Betsy: I do this work because I want to get something out of it. Um, not just a paycheck, although that’s important, but also like the I want to make an impact. I want to learn.

[00:45:17] Betsy: I want to learn how to lead my team. And so X person on our advisory board is here. Because they care deeply, they’re deeply invested financially, and also it’s a great talking point for them in meetings with, you know, potential new clients to say, Oh, and by the way, I support this great organization. So, so that’s kind of some of the strategy that we’re working towards.

[00:45:37] Courtney: Yeah, I mean, the networking side of it is kind of an interesting additional benefit. So, like, I learned about BUILD through a networking event, like I had mentioned earlier, and so, like, obviously that’s effective. But also, when you’re a business coach, you’re also connecting with other business coaches.

[00:45:53] Courtney: So there are all these events and stuff that BUILD puts on. So, even as just a coach you, Get additional networking opportunities. You’re teaching the kids how to network, but you’re also doing your own networking, which is kind of an interesting additional benefit. Mm 

[00:46:09] Betsy: we want that, right? We want to BUILD a community, 

[00:46:13] Betsy: because I think if we’re, if we’re Only saying 

[00:46:16] Betsy: it’s just for the 

[00:46:17] Betsy: kids that create some weird dynamics of like, 

[00:46:20] Betsy: you know, we’re also because we’re also getting something from them. 

[00:46:23] Betsy: But also, like, we’re creating this whole community.

[00:46:25] Betsy: And so if we can help solve multiple goals,

[00:46:29] Betsy: right at the same time. It’s a win for everybody, and I think about that 

[00:46:33] Betsy: for, um, I’m really fortunate to lead an excellent team and to think about how do we 

[00:46:38] Betsy: align the work that we’re doing with everyone’s professional goals as well to say, like, how do we help you become the best version of the professional self here that you can be?

[00:46:50] Courtney: Yeah. 

[00:46:51] Betsy: Because we acknowledge that, yes, we’re doing good work, and also you want to grow and you want to BUILD your own professional network and stretch yourself. So.

[00:47:00] Courtney: Yeah, exactly. Um, So.

[00:47:02] Courtney: I know BUILD is not, so you mostly work with, um, BUILD Boston and Pittsburgh, you said, right? But you guys are a national, um, organization. What other cities, can you repeat the cities that 

[00:47:14] Betsy: Sure. Yeah. So we’re in the Bay Area in California and LA and we’re also in New York and D. C.

[00:47:20] Courtney: Okay, perfect. What is, are you plan, or is BUILD as a greater organization planning to expand to more cities? Um, and what’s next for BUILD Boston? 

[00:47:30] Betsy: Yeah, thanks for asking. I think we’re, we’re in the process of figuring that out, um, right, because the world is shifting and we’re trying to figure out what is the best way to deliver support to our young people with the resources that we have and the networks that we have. So we’re in the process. So right now it’s really focusing on going deep, um, with our current schools, but we are in conversation with schools in Boston, greater Boston, Um, this year we launched a new program in Cambridge, um, with an organization called Just a Start, um, which does alternative high school education for students.

[00:48:03] Betsy: And so it’s a really neat program because it’s career training plus academics plus BUILD. Um, so it’s a really great program. Great program. But then we’re talking to some other schools. The other thing that we’ve done this year, um, is some fee for service work, um, not with schools. And I, I, I should add that our schools pay us a small amount, and this is based on the idea of putting skin in the game.

[00:48:27] Betsy: Um, it’s, it’s small compared to the cost of the program, but demonstrates skin in the game and, um, and helps it, um, you You know, I found consistently in my work that when people 

[00:48:38] Betsy: pay for something, there’s more investment in it because it shows it’s a 

[00:48:41] Betsy: priority. Um, but we’re partnering with an organization called the Academy Group, um, that approached us.

[00:48:47] Betsy: They have a really interesting model of supporting high performing 

[00:48:51] Betsy: students, um, of color in Boston through high school and beyond. And they said, hey, we want to develop a business model. component of the program, can you be that business component? Uh, so for us, and this actually happened, I was out on parental leave, so the team did it, and I’m really proud of them for doing it, um, because they identified this is a great opportunity to, we already have a curriculum, we’re gonna tailor it to what they need, and then it was a, you know, fee for service opportunity for us.

[00:49:16] Betsy: So, we’re exploring what does that look like, what new schools can we take on, and then also how do we go deeper,

[00:49:21] Courtney: Yeah,

[00:49:22] Betsy: the schools that we’re already in.

[00:49:23] Courtney: yeah, I really, and you kind of talked about this a little bit earlier, where you, you need to have all the pieces in place for it to be an actually an effective program. So you need the coaches, you need the teachers, you need your own staff, you need the schools to be bought in. So going deeper within the schools that you have and, and really serving them to the best of your ability 

[00:49:41] Courtney: before expanding out to a bunch of schools and giving people a less, um, Good experience.

[00:49:48] Courtney: I really love that. I appreciate that because it’s, 

[00:49:51] Courtney: it’s hard to have that restraint when you have something that you’re so excited 

[00:49:53] Courtney: about and you’re like, I want to, I want to give this to everybody, but to be able to pull back and be like, let’s stay with quality and we’ll grow when we’re 

[00:50:02] Courtney: ready to grow.

[00:50:02] Courtney: And when we have the resources to grow. Um, so that’s, that’s a really brilliant 

[00:50:07] Courtney: way of looking at it. 

[00:50:08] Betsy: And I, I appreciate you saying that because it is, it’s, it’s hard. And also, you know, 

[00:50:14] Betsy: from a funder perspective or 

[00:50:16] Betsy: partner perspective, I get that they’re also saying, you know, looking at cost per student or, um, looking at impact. And so 

[00:50:23] Betsy: this is where I really, really appreciate our funders and 

[00:50:26] Betsy: partners that have said, You know, again, we’re pushing ourselves to grow thoughtfully.

[00:50:31] Betsy: Um, so we’re not just, hey, we’re, we’re good with the numbers that we’re serving, right? Um, but I really appreciate that they have said to us, we know that you’re delivering quality. And I would be much more comfortable, one of our donors said this the other day in a meeting, I would be much more comfortable serving the number of students that we are now well than expanding and not nailing it.

[00:50:51] Betsy: Um, and, you know, from a business perspective, we know lots of companies that have scaled and too quickly, and then just the quality goes down or that, you know, it just doesn’t 

[00:51:01] Courtney: Right. Right. Yeah. Um, well to wrap up here, uh, and again, thank you So,

[00:51:07] Courtney: much for joining. I know you’re very busy. Um, but, um, if you could give yourself one piece of advice, um, when you were just starting out your career, what would it be? 

[00:51:16] Betsy: uh, yeah, I was thinking about this question. I, you know, I, I’ll say something that, um, my professor shared with me, um, that Which really helped me, and I wish I had taken it a little more to heart, but, um, it’s been helpful for me. Which is kind of looking at three things when you look, look at a job.

[00:51:36] Betsy: Which is like, what’s the content of what I’m doing? Do I enjoy what I’m actually doing? So in my role as the Regional Executive Director, I’m doing a lot of like, Donor meetings and presentations and networking, but I’m also coaching and developing the team. I love that What is the context that you’re working in right?

[00:51:55] Betsy: Are you working by yourself? Are you working on a team? Are you working remotely? Are you working in the office? What does that look like? And then What’s the concept like and you know for people who? You know, is it a business concept that I really am passionate about, right? Or is it, I’m, I love working with young people or I love solving healthcare problems.

[00:52:17] Betsy: And then what I love that he said 

[00:52:18] Betsy: is you’ll get two out of three.

[00:52:20] Betsy: Pick two. Yeah.

[00:52:25] Betsy: helpful advice. And I still think about that. Um, and obviously you try in a role to like nudge on the side, that’s not,

[00:52:32] Betsy: you know, quite 

[00:52:33] Betsy: where you want it to be. Like, if I get this job, 

[00:52:35] Betsy: can I change a little bit of like, You know what 

[00:52:37] Betsy: I’m doing or work on the context or add in concepts that I’m passionate about, but I love that 

[00:52:43] Betsy: advice because I think it helps to inform my career has been somewhat windy, 

[00:52:48] Betsy: although there’s threads that make sense all the way through.

[00:52:51] Betsy: And so that’s also helped me to feel more comfortable with some of my career moves and decisions by saying, like, there, there is this thread of these things that I care deeply about, or things that I love doing, but I don’t have to get it all 

[00:53:03] Courtney: Yeah, no, that’s such a great lesson on compromise. So, saying like, get two out of three and you’re good. So that, that allows you to not compromise too much because you don’t want to lose two of them. But it does give you permission to say like, you know, I can compromise on one of these things. In your life, you’re going to have to compromise, like, there’s no perfect job.

[00:53:24] Courtney: Um, you know, there’s, there’s always going to be some kind of challenge. That’s, that is really, really good advice.

[00:53:29] Betsy: Okay, thank you.

[00:53:30] Courtney: Um, if someone is interested in BUILD, um, to either join as a coach or otherwise, maybe for funding, how would they do that? Where can they find you?

[00:53:39] Betsy: Great. The easiest places to go to our website BUILD. org slash Boston, but if you just remember BUILD. org, it’ll get you there because then you can see a link to click on Boston. 

[00:53:51] Courtney: Amazing, amazing. Thank you so much for being on the show, 

[00:53:54] Betsy: you. 

[00:53:54] Courtney: was a really good conversation.

[00:53:56] Betsy: Great. Thanks, Courtney. So much. 

[00:53:58] Courtney: Awesome. And thank you everyone at home for listening. Um, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, please make sure to subscribe and share it with a friend, leave us a review. And if there’s anything you’d like to hear on an episode, um, coming up, please let us know.

[00:54:11] Courtney: And for more insights, uh, follow us on LinkedIn or visit rightleftagency. com. We will be back next week with more stories of success, innovation, and marketing strategies to help you grow. Thank you.