Two women entrepreneurs share their journeys and tips for success

“You can't grow, you can't expand if you don't have allies. You have to go out and find them.”

Those words of advice for women entrepreneurs are from Clara D. Lewis, who founded Brown Diva Dolls in Montreal. The former social worker saw a need for dolls that would more accurately represent many children and launched her company to meet that need.

Lewis got help along the way in building her business from The Scotiabank Women Initiative, a comprehensive program that aims to break down barriers to give women entrepreneurs, investors and leaders increased economic opportunity and empower them to be in control of their futures.

Since its launch in 2018, The Scotiabank Women Initiative has been focused on providing unbiased access to capital and tailored solutions, specialized education and advisory services and mentorship. All with the goal of increasing economic and professional opportunities for women now, and in the future. 

The program offering has expanded every year since it launched. It has deployed over $5.9 billion in capital to women-owned and women-led businesses in Canada, supported more than 70 women in their career journeys and path to board governance, and helped over 2,400 women and their families manage their wealth during major life transitions. The Scotiabank Women Initiative has also launched chapters in Jamaica, Costa Rica, Chile, and most recently, Peru.

Lewis is one example of how The Scotiabank Women Initiative empowers women entrepreneurs. Read her full story below, as well as that of Pina Romolo, who founded a gluten-free bakery in Winnipeg with her mother.

Brown Divas Dolls – Clara D. Lewis

What is your business?

At Brown Divas Dolls, we specialize in Afro dolls and dolls with atypical features. We have albino dolls, vitiligo dolls, dolls with special needs in wheelchairs. We have a redheaded doll. We are working on the physical bodies at the level of morphology so that it is representative at the level of the children.

What inspired you to start your company?

Through my professional experience as a social worker, I really wanted to make a positive impact on the development of children. As a social worker for 28 years, I saw children with low self-esteem and children who are victims of bullying. So, I think that by having dolls or using this medium from a young age, we immediately raise awareness, counteract racism, counteract bullying, because they are in contact with the difference between people from a young age.

Thanks to Brown Divas Dolls, children are able to have dolls that look like them with frizzy hair, curls, skin tone. Because before, yes, there were Afro style dolls, but the skin tone was sometimes gray, the hair was Caucasian, so that's why I wanted to create something that was more representative. So I used the medium of dolls to help educate children at a young age about difference.

What drew you to being a part of The Scotiabank Women Initiative?

My first contact with the Scotiabank Women Initiative was when I participated in a pitch contest and among the members of the jury there was a representative of SWI. Afterwards, I participated in different networking activities where I was able to meet people who were able to help me or could possibly help me in the future. I was able to develop contacts and I have a very privileged connection with my financial advisors who support me, and The Scotiabank Women Initiative also supports me in terms of my plans for international expansion.

Diversity and inclusion are a big part of the values of the collection, tell us about that.

What I love about my business is creating a product that brings representation. It's meeting a need for representation. It's having a positive impact on children's development and of course fostering a more inclusive society. I believe that playing with my dolls could reduce racism because our mission is based on two key words: inclusion and representation. For us, that's what makes the difference.

Through games, we can work on many things, we can work on fine motor skills, we can work on awareness, so that's why we used this medium. But of course, the goal is to impact the children, to impact society, to make a difference. We consider ourselves an inclusive company because our goal is to promote a more inclusive society.
 

What is next in terms of your growth and innovation?

We were pleasantly surprised to see that there were schools that ordered our dolls and these teachers explained to us that they used our dolls to do training, workshops on living together, on how to raise awareness about bullying and discrimination. We are working on an educational tool, an educational box with a 12-inch doll and a book with a proposal for schools, and we intend to bring this product to school boards and daycares.

What I like about seeing young people play with my dolls is to see the joy they get from them. It confirms me in our mission, that they identify with this toy. And it's like a legacy that I leave. When you look at me you see the businesswoman, but before the businesswoman, there's the social worker. My legacy is seeing that this product impacts society, brings a change to society. As our slogan says, we change the world one doll at a time. And I believe it. Because I believe that the younger we introduce children to how people can be different, the better it will be later. So it's really the social impact that it creates, that I appreciate.
 

Do you have any advice or tips for other women entrepreneurs just starting out? Something you experienced when launching your business that you think would be useful for others?

First of all, I would tell them to go for it and take all the opportunities that are available to them.

We have to get out of our comfort zone. We have to network. Because you can't grow, you can't expand if you don't have allies. You have to go out and find them.

I would tell them first of all to go for it, to act, to take action. Make your place!

Piccola Cucina – Pina Romolo

What is your business and who runs it?

My mother and I founded Piccola Cucina 13 years ago. It’s multi-generational, women-owned and operated, dedicated to providing Italian-inspired, healthy and indulgent creations that are certified gluten free.

What inspired you to start your company?

Food and sharing is very much a part of our culture and our heritage and our background. We really wanted to find a way to feed people wholesome, good-tasting food that we would feed our own families that is made with real ingredients, and really bring it back to the basics.

What drew you to being a part of The Scotiabank Women Initiative?

I’ve been a part of The Scotiabank Women Initiative for four years. When I saw the press release come out from Scotiabank, I was very proud because I've been a Scotiabank customer for a very long time, both personally and with our business. And so I immediately connected with the branch manager and said, how do I get involved? Because this is a great initiative and I want to be a part of it. Soon I was invited to speak, I was invited to be an attendee at different events on behalf of Scotiabank. I am grateful for all the opportunities the initiative has given me. 

What are some of the barriers you've come across in your career and how did you navigate those challenges?

Being in business is full of barriers on a daily basis. Being a mother of young children and raising my family as I'm trying to also raise my business, that has certainly been a challenge. But really, rather than looking at the barriers or the issues or problems that may come up as challenges, I really try to look at them as opportunities for what can I do next or how do I navigate around this or how can I be better at whatever it is that we're trying to do so this doesn't occur again, really learning from those mistakes. Learning how to overcome and use those as stepping stones for growth.

What is next in terms of your growth and innovation?

I'm so excited. About six months ago, we launched an almond flour wrap that functions very differently than traditional wraps. It doesn't break, it doesn't get soggy. It's vegan all the way to keto friendly, high fiber, high protein. So all of the things that people are looking for as they're eating on the go. You can fill it with vegetables all the way to meat and it doesn't break or crack.

And so that original wrap we launched on Costco.ca and then just a few short weeks ago, we created an amazing, very complex flavoured, really nice flavour profile, tomato herb wrap. So it's got some tomato, some basil, oregano and onion, and it tastes amazing, makes a great alternative crust to a pizza and that launched just recently on Costco online.

And then in about a month or so, we've got a black pepper kale wrap to round out the mix of our wraps. I’m excited that we've shifted from having very niche products, which was our macaroons and pie crust, to something that people will consume in their every day and hopefully become a household brand name of food products that people consume on a daily basis.

Do you have any advice or tips for other women entrepreneurs just starting out? Something you experienced when launching your business that you think would be useful for others?

I would encourage them to get involved in as many opportunities available that are focused on helping and empowering women-owned businesses. And I would also encourage them to have a mentor or mentors. You know, we don't know everything.

Finding mentors, in finance perhaps or legal, or areas where there's a bit of a struggle, it can really help to round out your team through mentorship. People you can bounce ideas off, get thoughts on your strategy or your plans. Being able to bounce that off those that have done it before is really an important part of the journey.

These interviews have been edited and condensed.