Changing Attitudes Through Fearless Entrepreneurship (with Valerie Freeman)

Bigger Than Business

How can following your instincts when presented with the challenges of new strategy, new technology, and inequality in the workplace create an opportunity that transforms the business landscape of a city? How can collaboration take you further than sole pursuits and grow your business exponentially? And how can you take what you’ve built and do even more for others? Listen as our guest shares with us how she went from a respected teaching career to fearless entrepreneurship, fighting through decades of chauvinism and constantly evolving technology to become one of the most influential women in the state, changing attitudes and providing opportunities for women in Texas and beyond.

Valerie Freeman grew up in Houston, Texas, and became a teacher at El Centro College in Dallas, Texas, where she wrote the first curriculum and taught the first classes that trained people to use word processing technology. In 1982, Valerie started a business called WordTemps to train and place people into technology jobs, which eventually became Imprimis Group. In 1985, she founded the Dallas chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Valerie and three partners started Texas Women’s Ventures in 2005, the first venture firm that invested solely in women-owned businesses, and have just completed their third fund, raising and investing $20M. Valerie also help found ANSERTEAM, a woman-owned national staffing firm. She has been honored as one of the 25 most influential women in business by the Dallas Business Journal, is a Former Girl Scout Woman of Distinction awardee, and received the Athena Award from the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce. Valerie has earned places in the Dallas Business Hall of Fame, Tech Titans Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame. Valerie has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business education from the University of Houston, and currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, her college sweetheart.

Bigger Than Business is the show where you’ll discover real-world stories of business owners living their purpose. You’ll encounter men and women all over the world who draw strength from understanding why they do what they do and how they remain true to that purpose through the ups and downs every business owner will face. www.thecapitalchartroom.com