Stacy Since - Fractional CRO and Entrepreneur
Thirlby Co. Leader to Learn From: August 2024
August 14, 2024
In January of 2017, Stacy Since launched RISE Collaborative Workspace in St. Louis, a coworking space to foster greater connection amongst female entrepreneurs. After selling out before its grand opening, Stacy decided to bring RISE to the Denver market in 2018.
After building two thriving communities, RISE suffered the economic impact of the pandemic. “Our team had fought for two years to keep the place alive,” Staci explained. “We got a government loan in Aug of 2021, and even started planning for my next location. But then Omicron hit - it was the most contagious strand of the virus and the nail in the coffin.”
Since closing RISE in April of 2022, Staci has become a mom, TEDx speaker, author, and fractional chief revenue officer (CRO). She’s used her experience at RISE to fuel her leadership and how she supports communities. “No one remembers your failure but they remember how you treated people,” Stacy shared.
Read on to learn about Stacy’s lessons in business, the importance of empathy and curiosity, and her journey to becoming a first rate version of herself.
OUR INTERVIEW WITH STACY
You have a unique professional background of having started your career in education and later launching a coworking space for women. What inspired you to take that leap?
I first became a teacher out of college and interned as a principal at the age of 25. I realized quickly I didn’t want to hand out detentions - I wanted to be the person that helped the student make better choices. So I got my masters in school administration and then school counseling.
But after interning again, I realized I didn’t want to pursue either of those paths. I was feeling a bit lost but met a successful and young entrepreneur who inspired me to start my first business called Girls Dreaming Big, a tutoring and coaching company for high school girls. This gave me the confidence to leave education.
I eventually started doing coffee meetings with impressive women to better shape how I worked with the young women. After interviewing over 300 women in my first year as an entrepreneur, I realized I was accidentally doing qualitative market research. I found that all of these women wanted to give back to the next generation and connect with like minded women.
So I decided to launch RISE Collaborative (my coworking space) in St. Louis in January of 2017. All of our offices were sold out by the grand opening and because of our success we started working on national expansion. In February 2018 we set foot in Colorado and signed the lease in September 2018.
As an entrepreneur, I’ve had memberships at three different coworking spaces. RISE had the most engaged and impressive community. What contributed to these strengths?
My talent is building community. I put a lot of intentional effort into our programming and as an educator at heart, I attacked this from a teacher’s lens. Every month at RISE had a theme. We were really strategic thinking about when and how we had events. We spent a lot of time communicating with our members and had a weekly digest featuring members and signage at the space.
We got to know our people and remembered things about them. Part of our onboarding process was asking members what they needed and wanted, who they wanted to meet. We got to know them on a human level.
Unfortunately, like many coworking spaces across the country, the pandemic had a negative impact on RISE and you eventually had to make the hard decision to close your doors. What did you learn from that experience?
Our team had fought for two years to keep the place alive. At one point we really felt it was coming back. We got a government loan in Aug of 2021, even started planning for my next location. But then Omicron hit - it was the most contagious strand of the virus and the nail in the coffin.
It was a hard chapter of my life. I was fighting a good fight at work while doing IVF and on my 8th round of egg retrieval. I said enough’s enough. What kept me up at night was thinking about protecting my members and our staff. I told the staff after making phone calls to potential employers for them and also gave them three months notice. Then I told my members in March of 2022 and officially shut our doors in April of 2022.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter that we closed. What matters is that I could hold my head up high and feel good about how I ended things. I didn’t want to run out of cash. I would rather make a decision in business I could feel really good about and do right by people. I’m really proud of that. No one remembers your failure but they remember how you treated people.
You are one of the most courageous women and leaders I know. What do you think makes you so brave?
I always chuckle when I hear that because I don’t feel particularly brave, but people view my actions as brave or courageous. Honestly, I often feel quite fearful and anxious when doing some of the things I have done. I really think the only difference for me is I have learned how to take action and keep going even when I feel scared or have no idea how things will work out. I believe that ability is a muscle and something I have built up over the years.
Switching gears to our seven leadership questions - how would you define confidence?
Confidence is your willingness to get back up and get after things even when you aren’t so you are ready. It’s being willing to do things when you are not perfect.
What is your mission or purpose in life?
It’s all about making an impact and changing lives.
What is your greatest superpower as a leader?
Connecting dots and seeing the bigger picture and building community while making connections. Both the strategic piece and the human side.
What do you think is the most important skill a leader must have to successfully manage people?
Curiosity and empathy, and a willingness to grow as a human and doing a hell of a lot of self work.
What is something that might surprise people about you?
I have terrible social anxiety and don’t really want to leave my house. I am a true introvert at heart.
What advice would you have for someone who is struggling or feeling stuck right now in their life or career?
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you’re feeling stuck, I want you to think about who you are spending time with, and spend time with people who you admire and want to be more like.
What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
Stop trying to be a second rate version of other people and become a first rate version of yourself. Once I figured out who I was, I felt better, functioned at a higher level, and attracted the right people.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
As leaders it’s really important to remember the and focus on the “and” instead of the “or.” There are so many binary messages: You are either a success or failure, something is good or bad.
If we’re being honest, two things can be true at the same time. Your employee could be having a tough time - and there are ways to support them and help them perform so your business can still thrive. Business is nuanced and it’s important to live in the “and”.
About Stacy Since
Stacy (Taubman) Since is a respected business leader, change agent, and community builder. During her time as Founder/CEO of three successful startups, Stacy was recognized by NBC News, USA Today, Good Morning America, Bloomberg, and ELLE Magazine as a leader in the multi-billion-dollar coworking industry, and received countless awards for her innovation and leadership. Stacy has a proven track record of inspiring ideas and action in others.
A highly sought-after speaker and moderator, Stacy captivates audiences large and small through authentic, vulnerable, and insightful discussions. Among her most memorable engagements were moderating Sisters First Book Tour with Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush and facilitating a fireside chat with fashion designer and business mogul Nicole Miller.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Stacy Since now calls Denver home, where she lives with her husband, young son, and their new puppy. While she loves to travel, these days you’ll often find her enjoying quality time with her family closer to home. They particularly enjoy taking walks and hanging out at Crestmoor Park. Follow Stacy’s journey and stay connected on LinkedIn.
About This Feature
Leaders to Learn From is a standing feature in The Thirlby Company’s monthly newsletter that recognizes outstanding leaders in our community who demonstrate our company’s core values. You can learn about our other honorees here, or subscribe to our newsletter to receive this feature and more inspiring content in the future.
