Mel Strong on Life After Nike: Pathological Optimism and Financial Empowerment

For The Love Of: Trade-offs we make in pursuit of our passions

Like it or not, we live in a capitalist society– so, what can we do to benefit ourselves and the world?

Mel Strong started her career as a first grade teacher and journalist. A fateful interview with her long-time running hero Joan Benoit Samuelson led to a long-shot interview for an entry level job at Nike — a process that included running twice around Nike campus with her future manager.

Mel spent 17 years at Nike, working on the Running, Soccer, Women’s, Snow and Skateboarding businesses. In 2017, she started angel investing and advising early stage founders, and in 2019, Mel co-founded venture capital firm Next Ventures.

We talk about…

• Mel’s childhood and early career leading to a personal mission to increase access to health resources for communities that need them
• 17 years at Nike: the ups and the downs and the self-identity of working for the brand
• The wealth creation gap: Historical female disempowerment around wealth and finances
• Are women holding themselves back financially, or is it the system?
• Three things women can do in the next month to become more financially empowered
• “Soft skills,” “breadwinner,” “wearing the pants…” EWWW, these terms suck!
• Convincing Angie why she should invest and care about retirement funds
• Short and long term visioning and planning around wealth in order to maximize your positive impact on the world
• Leaving Nike and co-founding a venture capital firm
• When Mel realized she had to examine diversity in her investment base
• The trade-offs of being your own boss: when things go sideways, that’s on you– which is terrifying but wonderful

How to connect with Mel:

• Next Ventures (Mel's VC firm)
• Hood River Mountain Bike Adventures (Mel and her husband's business)
• YouTube video to inspire you from Mel

👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:

• Jeni on Instagram
• Angie on Instagram
• Angie’s website
• Angie on LinkedIn
• FTLO on Instagram

⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:

• On Apple Podcasts
• On Spotify

Shout-Outs:

• Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins
• Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.

Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/

For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com

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