Why we built FSB as two women, side by side

When we started working together, I was nervous. Dyane has so much more experience than I do — decades of it — and I wasn't sure what it would look like to build a business with someone that far ahead of me. What I've learned in the years since is that experience gaps aren't the obstacle people think they are. The right partnership turns them into the thing that makes the work better.

Eye-level, even when it isn't equal on paper

Dyane has been on stages, in newsrooms, and in front of cameras for longer than I've been working professionally. By any traditional measure, that's an "unequal" working relationship — the senior partner and the younger one. In practice, it isn't.

From the start, Dyane made me feel confident about my qualities, my experiences, and what I bring. She is always open to try new things out. That flexibility and openness is what enabled us to truly build a business together — not me joining hers, not her mentoring me, but actually building something jointly.

We give each other open and honest feedback. We value each other's perspective. We disagree when we need to. None of that would work if either of us was performing seniority or shrinking into deference.

She cheers me on (and means it)

Dyane has this thing she says when I'm doubting myself. She'll look at me, do a dramatic hand gesture, and say:

"If I were as good as you at 30…"

It's half a joke. It's also one of the most generous things a more experienced woman can say to a less experienced one. It's the opposite of the dynamic many of us were trained to expect from senior women in the workplace — competition, gatekeeping, the unspoken sense that there's only room for one of us at the top.

Dyane refuses that script entirely. She isn't holding the door behind her. She's holding it open and pointing at the room.

A collaboration at eye level

That's the phrase I keep coming back to. Eye level.

We connect on both a human and a professional level. The work is more fun because of it, and the work is also better because of it. When you're not spending energy navigating power dynamics, you have more energy for the actual thing — building public speaking trainings that genuinely help women find their voice.

Dyane is the queen of storytelling. She gives her 200 percent. She works from a full and honest heart. I learn so much from her, and I know it goes the other way too — that's part of what makes it work.

Why this matters beyond us

There's a reason we're a women-led business specifically. It isn't a marketing position. It's a structural one.

When we host workshops for women only, something shifts in the room. Women get the chance to connect on another level, share experiences, and build natural support and community. The same thing that happens in those rooms is happening between Dyane and me, every day, behind the scenes of FSB. Empathy, honesty, openness — combined with our mission — sit at the heart of what we do.

We can't ask the women we work with to support each other across difference if we aren't doing it ourselves.

Representation isn't decoration

I think a lot about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Every time she speaks, I cry — not a joke. The confidence, emotion, and fearlessness of her go straight into my soul and touch me deeply.

It's not just her speaking skill. It's seeing a woman in a position like that. It makes me realise how much representation matters — and how much responsibility we have when we are visible. We need to show the next generation of girls that there are no limits. When we support each other, our opportunities are limitless.

That's why we do this work. Not because public speaking training is a market gap (although it is). Because every woman who steps into her voice makes it slightly easier for the next one to do the same.

What this means for the women we work with

If you've ever wondered why FSB feels different from other public speaking trainings — this is a big part of it. The way we work with you in a workshop or a coaching session reflects the way Dyane and I work with each other. Eye level. Open feedback. No performance of expertise. Real human respect across whatever differences exist.

Two women, side by side. That's not a brand story. That's the operating principle.

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