What drives an entrepreneur to turn personal adversity into impactful ventures? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, we explore this question through the lens of Diana Greshtchuk's compelling journey. Following a profound personal loss, Diana found herself re-evaluating her legacy and impact on the world, leading her to become a passionate advocate for financial literacy and empowerment, especially among women and marginalized communities. Diana Greshtchuk is a seasoned financial expert who brings a wealth of experience from her background as a CPA and financial services professional. Her career spans over two decades, during which she has worked for one of the big four accounting firms and various asset management companies. Currently, she is committed to fanning the flames of potential for individuals and organizations as a financial literacy coach and executive producer of the impactful documentary, "Show Her The Money." Throughout this episode, Diana shares insights into her transition from finance to impact investing, emphasizing the importance of a positive money mindset and financial literacy. She discusses her work in helping founders, particularly women, to view themselves as worthy investments and cultivate an empowered relationship with money. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to transform their financial mindset and understand the intersection of personal growth, entrepreneurship, and impact investing.
What drives an entrepreneur to turn personal adversity into impactful ventures? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, we explore this question through the lens of Diana Greshtchuk's compelling journey. Following a profound personal loss, Diana found herself re-evaluating her legacy and impact on the world, leading her to become a passionate advocate for financial literacy and empowerment, especially among women and marginalized communities.
Diana Greshtchuk is a seasoned financial expert who brings a wealth of experience from her background as a CPA and financial services professional. Her career spans over two decades, during which she has worked for one of the big four accounting firms and various asset management companies. Currently, she is committed to fanning the flames of potential for individuals and organizations as a financial literacy coach and executive producer of the impactful documentary, "Show Her The Money."
Throughout this episode, Diana shares insights into her transition from finance to impact investing, emphasizing the importance of a positive money mindset and financial literacy. She discusses her work in helping founders, particularly women, to view themselves as worthy investments and cultivate an empowered relationship with money. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to transform their financial mindset and understand the intersection of personal growth, entrepreneurship, and impact investing.
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Bluesky: @fanyourflamellc.bsky.social
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Marcia Dawood
Diana, welcome to the Angel Next Door podcast. I'm so excited to talk to you today about everything, money, especially show her the money. Also, since you are an executive producer on the film, so why don't you start out, just tell us a little bit about your background and how did you get involved with Catherine Gray and show her the money.
Diana Greshtchuk
Well, thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here. I met Catherine Gray through a mutual friend and we had lunch one day and she told me about this fantastic documentary that she was pulling together and they were looking for investors in the documentary. And I just knew that I was going to know her and that I needed to invest in this project. And really the reason that I got started in this and what compelled me to work with her is actually in 2020, in May of 2020, my mother unexpectedly passed away. Not due to Covid, but right after Covid started. And I received a little bit of a lump sum distribution from a life insurance policy that allowed me to actually start investing in a material and meaningful way. And I also faced a dark night of the soul where I really started thinking about my legacy.
Diana Greshtchuk
This was my second parent to pass away and I didn't have any kids and what am I leaving behind, what am I doing with my life and what is going to be here after I'm gone. And that thought about legacy really led me to the impact that I want to have and impact investing. And I simply wasn't seeing in the market the opportunities to really support women, minorities, marginalized communities and the causes that were near and dear to my heart. So Catherine Gray was a hub for a lot of amazing opportunities that have come my way since and I'm excited to be involved with her. I joined she angel investors as well, which she helped co found and the rest is history.
Marcia Dawood
Amazing, I love that. So tell us a little bit about your background before you got into investing.
Diana Greshtchuk
Sure. So I am a CPA in the state of California and I worked at one of the big four accounting firms who shall remain nameless on this podcast for about 12 years in San Francisco and in Sydney, Australia. I actually was the leader of their Northern California LGBT group and I helped co found the group in Sydney, Australia as well and worked shortly in their diversity office down there and beyond that. I then got into private industry so I was an auditor with them and I audited financial services companies and mainly asset management companies. So so I went into asset management and I currently work with a private equity firm, but I worked at a boutique firm in Seattle and I've worked with all sorts of Investments for 20 years, working with institutional and private funds and being a founder myself, working at those asset management firms and being a funder, I have this holistic view of seeing all sides of the financial services industry and the asset management space.
Marcia Dawood00:03:18 - 00:03:25
Wow, that is very interesting. And so is that what led you then? Tell me more about Fan youn Flame and how you.
Diana Greshtchuk
Yeah, so part of me wondering what my impact was going to be was I started working with a life coach shortly after my mother passed away. And I found it also was an incubator for founders, female founders of businesses. And it was accidentally that way. And lots of females and non binary folks getting into the coaching space. And I found these entrepreneurs, while they were really great when they were in their wheelhouse, not a lot of them had the financial acumen or the business knowledge that they really needed to get their companies going up and off the ground. And I realized this need to democratize access to financial information for people who didn't major in it. In college. We look at the curricula that are at schools, even elementary, middle, high school, even colleges.
Diana Greshtchuk
You don't get much of a financial education unless you major in finance and accounting like I did. And what they do teach you is very often around spending rather than saving, investing, credit scores, debt, all of those things that you really need to know about and make your own financial plan so that you can live your best life. Do people even know what their goals are besides not being in the hamster wheel for the rest of their lives, just getting enough money to pay the bills next month?
Marcia Dawood
Right. So what did you find in talking to people were some of the differences in how women think about money and how men think about money?
Diana Greshtchuk
And that's such an interesting question because I think money mindset is the key differentiator. I think a lot of men will walk in the room and assume that they already know and have a power and a confidence. And I think that's even when they may not know everything. But women who may know the same amount walk into that room. But they come in with a lens of, well, I don't know everything, so I'm maybe not qualified. I'm not great at math. Oh, maybe I'm not so good at technology. And these disempowering thoughts lead them down this rabbit hole of talking themselves out of that confidence and energy lights up a room.
Diana Greshtchuk
You can feel someone's energy before they even start talking. And so I think a lot of women end up shrinking themselves because they don't feel like they know everything. And you don't have to choose empowering thoughts. Like, even though I may not know everything, right now, I'm learning. I'm on a journey where I. I'm building my financial literacy. I'm listening to podcasts, I'm reading articles. I'm starting to look at my own finances.
Diana Greshtchuk
But I can do this. And believe in yourself. That's the most important thing. You just have to believe in yourself.
Marcia Dawood
And how do you get people started in that? Like, how do people even know that it's something that they need to do? Because I've talked to so many women, and they say things to me like, oh, well, my husband handles the finances. I don't really do that. But then there could be, like, some kind of major life event, like, they get a divorce or somebody dies or something happens, and then all of a sudden, they're responsible and they don't know what to do.
Diana Greshtchuk
Yeah. So a lot of people are in relationships. Right. They have a significant other. What a lot of people don't recognize is they also have a relationship with money. So I like to bring awareness that every person has a relationship with money. Money is their partner. And so I like to do this exercise where I like to have my clients personify money, because when they realize they're in a relationship with money, even if their husband or their spouse or their partner did the finances, maybe they were divorcing themselves from that relationship.
Diana Greshtchuk
But as you said, major life events can force you into realizing you have a relationship with money, and you have to get up to speed really quickly. And so that relationship with money, just like you would foster a relationship with a spouse or a partner, you have to foster your relationship with money. And when you personify it and you think about how you're relating to it, I like to frame it as well in the terms of attachment styles so you can have a secure relationship with money. I feel like I have a secure relationship with money. I know it's a tool. It does great things for me. I'm comfortable. I'm abundant.
Diana Greshtchuk
I know what I can do with it. I know how it helps me. I'm grateful for it. I say thank you. And that gratitude allows more of it to come into my life because, like, a partner wants to be recognized and feel needed and feel that gratitude. And so being in the relationship with money, for me, feels great. But there are some people, for example, who have anxious or avoidant attachment styles with money. So maybe they have the best intentions, but they're so micromanaging their money, they just aren't getting it right.
Diana Greshtchuk
Or they're avoiding their money entirely. They're not looking at their credit card balances, they're not checking their bank balances, and they're digging themselves into massive holes that are having repercussions later. And they just think, well, I won't have to deal with the consequences, so I might as well let it go. Or there can be folks with disorganized attachment styles, and that's a mix of both of those. So you can be all over the place. So your behavior with money shows how you're in a relationship with money. And I think that determines a lot then of where we go next with your money mindset.
Marcia Dawood
That is really interesting. So tell me more about some of the exercises then that you have people do you?
Diana Greshtchuk
Yeah. So when you personify money, I like to have people close their eyes and do some deep breathing because I'm what's known as a trauma informed financial literacy coach. So the first thing I like to do is create safe spaces. And when I say trauma informed, all I'm trying to acknowledge is that everyone in this life has sustained big T or little T trauma. And especially in the frame of financial trauma, that can be the reason behind why people avoid money, why people are anxious about money. And they may have inherited that from their parents, for example, or the role models in their lives. And so part of this is creating safe spaces, calming your nervous system. If you need to place your hand on your heart, if you need to do some deep breathing, you create a safe space.
Diana Greshtchuk
And I have you go on a money date, but also with your personified money. So I'll tell you, in this visualization exercise, I like to visualize money as Alfred Pennyworth, the butler from Batman. That's my relationship. He's always there for me. He anticipates my every need. He's a faithful servant. And I can't have the impact that I want to have in this world without him in my Batcave helping me. And so that's the relationship that I foster with him.
Diana Greshtchuk
And it's very respectful. But I've had some of my clients say, I visualize Diana Ross up on stage with her flowing hair and she is wealth. And I've had other people personify it as Ursula from the Little Mermaid because they only have had exposure to going into debt and facing deep loss. So it's a villain in their story. It's really interesting to personify money and see what comes up for people in their psyche. And that will help you figure out your relationship with money.
Marcia Dawood
That is so interesting.
Diana Greshtchuk
Yeah.
Marcia Dawood
Because when we talk about investing, and this is something that is near and dear to my heart because I've just watched so many entrepreneurs struggle and struggle to raise money. And I'm just so excited that you have been a part of the film, that you have helped Catherine to get the film to where it is today. But when I'm talking to a lot of women, they'll say, ooh, investing, that's something that I don't do. I just. I work on the charitable side of our family. My husband does investing, because that's just not for me. How can we start to get those conversations happening where women will feel more empowered, they'll feel more comfortable? I think there just is such a disconnect there, and I'm trying to figure out, how do we put that back together?
Diana Greshtchuk
Well, the angle that I take is, I think, along with forming a belief around your capabilities with money and a belief in yourself, I think women need to see themselves as investors. Which means, when you think about it, at least as a kid, for me, I was always told, you're going to college. And I knew my parents were going to do as much as they could to invest in me because I was the asset that I was going to go to college. And so after college, I think a lot of people get so focused on going into that rat race and getting a job to pay off student loans or pay rent and do all the things, they forget that they're the asset and that they're worthy of being invested in. And so I think for a lot of women and other people out there, they forget that they're the asset. Like when I became a cpa, when I became a coach, I invested money for a qualification. I took tests, I took courses. I invested in myself because I saw myself as the asset.
Diana Greshtchuk
And in the simplest terms, in accounting, an asset is something that you have the rights to that generates future cash flows. And so when you see yourself as the asset worthy of being invested in, it creates this new lens where you're like, oh, my gosh, I need to invest in me Before I can invest in anything out there. I have to believe in myself to be an investor in myself. And that's how I try this on. When I was in college, I started learning investing by playing in the stock market, and I took what little money I had from a business. I started in college doing bookkeeping and payroll for small businesses, and I took what little money I had, and I started buying shares in the stock. I started researching and in doing that, that allowed me to learn really quickly about the stock market. And I invested in myself by creating my business to generate cash flows to do that.
Diana Greshtchuk
And so that opened the door for me to try my hand at investing. And when you start small, all that matters is that you start right.
Marcia Dawood
I love that. So an asset, you have the rights to that asset that's going to generate future cash flows. And that is so true. And I think as women we're socialized not necessarily to think about it like that. We're taught like, oh, make sure that you have enough. There's always this whole thing about having enough or having this scarcity mindset that instead of turning it into it sounds like what you're talking about is more of this abundance mindset.
Diana Greshtchuk
Yes. So you mentioned it before in your example. Oh, I do more in the charitable giving space. But abundance and energy, especially financial energy, it's two sided. It's like breathing. For you to give, you will run out of things to give, of resources to give. Financial and non financial time, energy, money, attention, you will run out of all of that unless you pour into your own cup. You need to inhale, to exhale in order to give, you need to receive.
Diana Greshtchuk
So receiving is the key that a lot of people forget about in abundance. And that by flexing your receiving muscle, by allowing yourself to receive, which so many women don't do, they're totally socialized to give and just keep giving. And it's not about them and it's about the other person and that's not sustainable. So you really have to allow yourself to receive, fill your own cup in order to pour into someone else's.
Marcia Dawood
Wow, that is very powerful. And I know our mutual friend Andrea Quinn definitely talks about receiving. I did her workshop, it was phenomenal. We'll put some links to the in the show notes to her book and her workshop, which are amazing. And she definitely says that we have to learn as women to receive, which we're not good at. And so what are some exercises or things that people can do to change their mindset around this, do you think?
Diana Greshtchuk
Well, I think for example, a lot of people may be uncomfortable receiving a compliment. And so the next time someone gives you a compliment, practice saying I receive that thank you and acknowledge it. Building that awareness that someone is giving you something. If someone yields the right of way in traffic and lets you in, say thank you, I receive that and it's really building this gratitude muscle. And when you realize what you already have and you Mentioned it as like a scarcity mindset. That's for people who are chasing what they don't have. Right. An abundance mindset is looking at everything that you do.
Diana Greshtchuk
And so also a simple mindset shift I love with people is, let's say, for example, you need to buy a new laptop and you're just thinking to yourself, I can't afford this. A simple shift is from I can't afford this to how can I afford this? And that changes and opens up creativity for you to think about how to finance a laptop. You may not have the cash right now. You could go out and get a business loan. You could go out and get a loan from a family member or friends. You can take on some extra hours on your shift at work. You can work on an extra project for some side cash, create a side hustle. You could sell an asset that you're not using, that's just sitting around your house to make money.
Diana Greshtchuk
And by doing that, opens up these ideas of how do I get the money? Instead of I don't have the money. So you shift from scarcity to look at all these opportunities I have to make money.
Marcia Dawood
Yes, and that is such a good point. So we have been talking a lot about investors, and of course I would love to see there be so many more, more women and underrepresented investors so that we can help all these underrepresented founders. But this mindset shift, it needs to happen with the founders too, right?
Diana Greshtchuk
Absolutely. And I think founders especially, they will break the bank. In the film it highlights, one of the founders is the couple who founded Dapper Boy. And in the film, they talk about selling their house to finance their third child. That is their business. And that's the thing, the mindset shift that they embodied when they did that and turned it around was they know what it's like to invest in themselves. And so they know that they are a good investment. That is the best pitch you can make to another investor is when you have invested in yourself as a founder.
Diana Greshtchuk
You and nobody but you knows that how much that motivates you to make money. No one wants to make this business successful like you. And you will work hard for other investors that come in and invest with you too, because you have the most experience investing in you. You know what it's like, and you can share that with other investors. That is powerful. So taking how much you put into your business and showing people that your money is where your mouth is important, it is key. And that is what's going to open up doors for more financing for you like they did in the film. They got lines of credit.
Diana Greshtchuk
They got other investors. I'm an investor in Dapper Boy now, and that was super powerful for me to come in.
Marcia Dawood
That is awesome. So, as we're taught as we're talking to investors, and we know that they're going out and they're mentoring and their advisors to a lot of different companies, and many of which are led by underrepresented founders, what are some of the tools that they should be taking with them to help these companies to grow?
Diana Greshtchuk
I think a lot of folks can take coaching from industry mentors if they're in a particular industry, like consumer goods. I think to the extent investors can bring financial literacy, that really resonates with me because, like I mentioned, a lot of founders are in their wheelhouse and they know their businesses really well. But I think where a lot of businesses start, they don't always have the resources for a good cfo. They don't have a great tax accountant. They don't have a great bookkeeper. They don't have an operations person. And all of that comes online as you go and you get more financing. But having that financial literacy is going to help you tremendously, both to grow your business for its financial needs, but then to also give you the information you need for pitch decks, for pitch conversations, to get investors to come on board, to find a board to even advise you, to build marketing strategies and how you speak to people.
Diana Greshtchuk
It permeates all sides of the business. As a founder, you can't divorce yourself from financial literacy. And there is some level that you need to have. And I. That's where I, as an investor, like to come in and really bring my expertise to those companies that I invest in.
Marcia Dawood
Amazing. Yeah. I see a lot of times where I'll start talking to a founder. And they're relatively early in their journey, but they've been doing some hard work and they've grown the business a little bit. And they were just trying so hard to keep the lights on and keep their head above water that they didn't look at the bookkeeping, the numbers. They were using some software that maybe didn't work for them. Or it. It ended up where as the company started to grow and there were some other serious investors who.
Marcia Dawood
Who would come in who maybe didn't know the company as well as some of their early investors. And then they're like, oh, dear, this is a hot wreck.
Diana Greshtchuk
Investors speak the language of finance, and so these founders need to be able to speak Speak that language of finance fluently enough to get investors the information they need to make that commitment to your business. Because as when you invest in someone, it's a long term relationship. It's not a one night stand. We want something that's long term. We want someone who is aligned in our values, who wants the same impact that we want to have. When I started thinking about my legacy, the impact that the founders have in the world that I invest in is my legacy. And so I want to be aligned with them and I need them to speak the language of finance to make the numbers work for me to invest.
Marcia Dawood
So then tell us more about Fan your flame. Who works who do you want to have working with you? How can we make sure that your message is getting out and able to be used by the people that need it the most?
Diana Greshtchuk
Sure. So as a financial literacy coach, you can find me online at www.fan your flame. Com. I make a lot of investments, but not in a domain name without hyphens. And on there you can see how to work with me. I work with individuals, I work with founders, I work with funders, I work with just about everyone. I also work with nonprofits. I can talk about all the topics we talked about earlier like credit and debt investing.
Diana Greshtchuk
We can also look at money mindset. I have a nine week program called Spark that looks at just building your mindset outside of the financial space altogether. Because to get the outer work to work, you need to do the inner work. And so a lot of us need to look at things like disempowering thoughts and mindsets and passions and values and what we're bringing to this world and elevating our consciousness to do. And so I work with just about everyone and it really fills my cup so that I can give in other ways.
Marcia Dawood
Oh, that's awesome. Well, we'll make sure that we put all that information in the show notes about how people can find you, how they can find this nine week course, which sounds amazing and I would love to have you keep in touch with us and let us know how things progress. So thank you so much for coming on to the podcast today and giving us all of these pearls of wisdom.
Diana Greshtchuk
You're welcome. Thanks again so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.