Business
Never tell Roshawnna Novellus, Ph.D. she can’t do something. At age 15, she raised $600,000 in scholarships to fund her education. And after being told by an educator she “couldn’t do math,” Novellus earned a doctorate in engineering with a minor in finance. So it’s no surprise that Novellus keeps breaking barriers today. Though she got her start in corporate America, Novellus realized her skills could be better utilized with underserved communities in Atlanta — and later in counterterrorism. Today she is helping to solve “the 2 percent problem” with EnrichHER, an SEC- and FINRA-approved lending and support platform for women in business. Novellus hopes to improve the paltry 2 percent of what women-owned businesses receive in angel and venture capital — women of color receive even less. So how did a shy girl learn to become a total boss? Novellus, who wins 50 percent of the pitch competitions she enters, provides tips on how to improve your pitching skills. Discover how an accelerator can help your startup — and how EnrichHer provides a community for women to learn and support one another on this episode of SheVentures.