TheBridge profile: Carolyn Rodz

Name: Carolyn Rodz

Current city: Houston, TX

Current job: Founder and CEO, Alice

Past job: Serial Entrepreneur

Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? I'm a addicted to chai lattes, so you can find me at a Starbucks almost every day.

Q. Describe one way how a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your new job. Financial modeling. As a former investment banker, I can work an Excel spreadsheet with my eyes closed, and it makes managing cash flow, budget planning and overall financial management for my business so much easier.

Q. Job advice in three words? Never stop innovating.

Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech? Alice advocates for underestimated entrepreneurs with policymakers at all levels of government. We share government funding opportunities relevant to entrepreneurs, build partnerships with institutions like the Small Business Administration, and have testified before both Congress and the Senate on the needs of small business owners. When government joins forces with the innovation of small business owners, there is incredible opportunity for systemic change across all sectors.

Q. Best advice you’ve received? Move when you're 80% ready. 

Q. Living person you admire? Melinda Gates. I appreciate her commitment, not only to solving the world's most challenging problems, but the time she takes to fully educate herself before determining how to implement solutions. It's a model we should all follow with the resources we have available.

Q. How do you unwind after work? I play with my boys, who are 4 and 6 years old. There is nothing more uplifting after a hard day, or more humbling after a great day, than the words of children. Then, once they're asleep, I follow up with a glass of wine and a good laugh with my husband.

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