Good morning! There’s an early voting gender gap, Female Founders Fund returned its first fund, and Savannah James built self-confidence while founding a new community for women.
– Confidence in community. Over the two decades that her husband LeBron James has played in the NBA, Savannah James, for a long time, stayed out of the public eye. She was focused on her private life and their three kids—so much so that when she launched a podcast earlier this year, some people’s reactions were, “‘Wow, I didn’t even know she spoke,'” the 38-year-old recalls. “I’m like, duh—just because I don’t want to talk to y’all,” she jokes.
But James’ slow entry into the public eye—especially in contrast to the world of professional sports, with its endless commentary and reality shows—was influenced by her own internal struggle to build self-confidence. A pivotal moment came three years ago when her now 10-year-old daughter told James that she wanted to be like her when she grew up—but mostly said she wanted to emulate her mom’s appearance. The comment got James thinking about the example she was setting for her daughter and about who she was on a deeper level. “I wasn’t super confident in who I was at the time, because I felt like I hadn’t accomplished much,” she says.
Meanwhile, James connected with friends including April McDaniel, founder of the agency Crown + Conquer, who had worked on projects with LeBron James for many years. Living in southern California, where LeBron James has played for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018, there was no shortage of wellness retreats and personal development workshops. McDaniel had participated in the Hoffman Process, an intense personal development retreat. She was also connected to the world of women’s networks—but those groups, from Chief to Lean In, often focused on networking and climbing the corporate ladder. James was interested in connecting with groups of women for personal development, but those types of organizations didn’t resonate. “I kind of felt like because I didn’t have a title, I’m not welcome in these rooms,” she says.
Together, the pair came up with the idea for a group that’s somewhat of a happy medium between those two styles. They founded Let It Break, an organization they describe as a personal development platform and community for women. In 2023, they raised an undisclosed sum from investors and named Porsha Ellis, who had worked with McDaniel at her agency, as Let It Break’s CEO. They launched the organization in June of this year with 100 members between their mid-20s and mid-70s, who pay $250 a month. They’re focused on in-person programming in Los Angeles and New York, with plans to expand in 2025, and classes like “living a conscious life,” coaching, breathwork, and manifestation.
Let It Break is part of a new generation of businesses that promise to create community around personal development. The founders of Soulcycle, for example, teamed up last year to launch Peoplehood, a place for people to work on their relationships.
Let It Break’s programming intentionally leaves titles at the door—James says she doesn’t want to make anyone else feel the way she did—but McDaniel expects that women will be able to apply these personal development lessons to their professional lives. “These are tools you can use when your kid is acting crazy and having a temper tantrum in the supermarket, or when an employee is having a breakdown,” McDaniel says.
For James, the process of building a community like Let It Break, which she acknowledges is her first project “of this magnitude,” has helped to build her own self-confidence. “Building this business has been very different for myself and my family,” James says. “It’s definitely been stretching myself in ways that I hadn’t before. It’s an adjustment for all of us, but I took that time, selfishly, to grow, and I’m super happy with my decision.”
Most of that work has been internal—and now she thinks about her daughter’s comment differently. “I realized that it was a really huge accomplishment for a young girl to say, ‘I want to be like you,'” she says. While now James has the title of “cofounder” for the first time, she mostly learned that “everything was fine before.” “You’re just building on the tools you really already had.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Out there early. More women are voting early than men, with a 10% gender gap in a few battleground states so far, including Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Of course, this data does not reveal which presidential candidate women are voting for and how their early turnout will impact the election. Politico
- Share sale. Canva, cofounded and led by Melanie Perkins, shared that its valuation increased almost 20%, or $6 billion, to $32 billion following a share sale. The graphic design platform is Australia’s largest privately owned technology company and a bellwether for Australian startups. Financial Review
- In context. Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, addressed the New York Times article that accused her of having “a pattern of lavish spending” that may have broken IRS rules. Ellis said the story lacked necessary context about GLAAD's work, a claim that the Times rebuked. Variety
- First fund. Female Founders Fund returned its first fund of $5.85 million, a milestone that not all new venture capital firms reach. It reached that milestone thanks to a secondary sale in the women's health startup Maven. Now, the rest of the fund’s investments and exits will generate pure profit for its limited partners. Fortune
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Jack Cooper Transport, a vehicle logistics and transport provider, named Sarah Amico chairman and CEO. She was previously executive chairperson of the board.
Blue Shield of California, a health care plan provider, appointed Deneen Vojta executive vice president for health solutions. Vojta previously served as president of the Arctos Foundation.
Camco, an RV technology developer, appointed Lisa Schoder as chief marketing officer and Danielle Conner as chief operating officer. Schoder was previously VP, integrated media and partnerships at Lowe’s. Conner previously served as COO and SVP, operations at Spinrite.
Myrobalan Therapeutics, an oral neurorestorative therapies biotech, named Robin Kleiman chief scientific officer. Most recently, she was VP of CNS biology at Alkermes.
Tavus, a generative AI video research company, added Effie Goenawan as head of product and Julia Szatar as head of marketing. Most recently, Goenawan was principal product manager at Roblox. Szatar was head of product marketing and lifecycle marketing at Loom.
Wolverine World Wide, a footwear company, appointed Susie Kuhn as president of the company’s active group. Kuhn was most recently Foot Locker’s president of Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
ON MY RADAR
The group chat that secretly runs Congress Elle
The most powerful fashion designer you don’t know about Washington Post
At 50, Hello Kitty is as ‘kawaii’ and lucrative as ever AP
PARTING WORDS
“It was a 100% male team, not even in fashionable clothes. Like, come on. This is what you’ve got to offer?”
—Chanel CEO Leena Nair on prompting ChatGPT to show a picture of Chanel senior leadership visiting Microsoft
