Show Segments
- Show Her The Money: Filmmaker Carherine Gray's film highlights the under-representation of women in venture capital, featuring interviews with female investors focused on funding diverse women entrepreneurs. Premieres at the Fargo Film Festival.
- The Anticipation Town: In his Plains Folk Essay, Tom Isern discusses the history of land speculation in McIntosh County, focusing on the transient success of Hoskins versus the strategic rise of Ashley, reflecting on the speculative spirit and its lasting impacts.
- Great American Folk Show (excerpt) Summer Peterson: Chef Summer Peterson from Fargo talks about her culinary journey, from childhood beef stew inspirations to a unique North Dakota-inspired duck and beets dish, sharing her dream of opening "Northern Comfort" restaurant.
- Senior Community Service Employment Program: A segment on the SCSEP, a job training initiative for low-income seniors aged 55 and older, aimed at enhancing their employability through part-time work and skills development. Our guest is Veronica Crawford.
Interview Highlights: "Show Her The Money"
- Nationwide and International Tour: Catherine Gray is taking her film "Show Her The Money" on a 50-city tour across the United States, Europe, and New Zealand to foster a grassroots movement for change in how women entrepreneurs are funded.
- Venture Capital Education and Awareness: The film aims to demystify venture capital and raise awareness about the stark disparity in funding, with women receiving only 2% of venture capital. It seeks to educate and inspire action towards more equitable funding practices.
- Focus on Underrepresented Founders: Gray highlights the importance of diversity in the investment community, emphasizing that funding should be more accessible to women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to reflect broader societal diversity and innovation.
- Inspirational Stories of Women Entrepreneurs: "Show Her The Money" documents the journeys of visionary women who have started successful businesses with the support of female investors, showcasing the potential of investing in women-led initiatives.
- Community Engagement and Resource Sharing: Through screenings, Q&A sessions, and a robust website, the film project encourages discussion, networking, and sharing of resources among aspiring women entrepreneurs and investors interested in supporting gender diversity in the business world.
"Show Her The Money" Interview Transcript
Main Street
Catherine, welcome to Main Street.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Thank you. So happy to be on Main Street with you today. Let's have some breakfast together.
Main Street
I like that idea, Catherine. This film will be screened tomorrow, that's Tuesday night, as part of the Fargo Film Festival in Theater One at the Fargo Theater. Catherine, have you ever been to Fargo?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
I have never been to Fargo and actually I'm super excited to go. I have my long johns ready.
Main Street
We've had a very mild winter, so I hope that that continues. But the reason I ask you that question is because touring with this film is a very important part of what it is that you're doing.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Absolutely. We are going on a 50-city tour. I think Fargo is like city number 12, I want to say.
We're going around the United States as well as to Europe and New Zealand, taking the film on the tour because I feel it's so important that it's not just a movie, but it's also a grassroots movement. Because as you and I were just talking about, you had a friend seven, eight years ago having trouble getting funding, a woman friend of yours that was a business owner, and it has not changed in the past decade or two and really thought, wow, we don't just need a film, although I do believe it's film and television that help change and shape culture, but we really need a grassroots movement and that we felt it was really important to go in person, talk to people, engage them, let them ask questions because a lot of people don't know what venture capital is and they don't know why women are only getting 2%.
In fact, they don't even usually know that women are getting only 2% of venture capital. So it's a whole educational process that the film brings to the table, but it also does it in an engaging and inspiring way because let's face it, if you're going to get people fired up about something that needs to be changed and corrected, you have to do it with heartfelt stories, right? Nobody knows that better than NPR.
Main Street
Despite what I've learned, how great an idea is for women, it's just flat out more difficult to get interest from investors than men. Why do you think that is?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
You know, I did a TED Talk called Fund Women Save the World, and I have to say that one of the biggest reasons that women don't get funding is people tend to invest in people they identify with. If there's not one woman sitting at the table deciding who gets the money, and that goes for BIPOC and LGBTQ as well, then they're not getting funding because they're not seeing themselves sitting at the investor decision-making table. So the purpose of the 50-City Tour is to enlighten people that the only way this is going to change for those underserved sectors is for those underserved sectors to become the investors.
And so we're really encouraging women and people in those sectors of BIPOC and LGBTQ to sit up and be aware of how important venture capital is to the future of the planet, and to wealth building, and how they need to be a part of it. They need to educate themselves about it, put a part of their portfolio into it, so that we are investing in our own kind, because that's the only way it's going to change. Now, the interesting part is with the movie, when we've taken it on the road, is many men have come to the screening saying, oh my God, I didn't know that women only got 2%.
We want to help out. We understand that your money is actually safer investing in a women's founder. The research shows that they tend to be more successful business people and scratch a dollar more.
And so they're stepping up to the plate and starting to invest in women. And that is what it's going to take to change it.
Main Street
Tell me about the moment that you had, Catherine, that caused you to say, I need to make this movie.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
I think it was like a couple of moments. One of them was I was putting on a conference. And when I heard that we only got 2%, I said, you know what, I'm going to add an extra night and call it the She Angels Pitch Fest.
And I'm going to get women to invest in women, to show how this works, to inspire more women to invest in women. And I followed their journeys and made an online series called She Angel Series. And it really proved that when women get behind women, they tend to be super successful.
It gives them confidence, not just money, but also contacts and connections that help build their business. After doing that, I thought this needs a broader audience and decided to create a documentary. I was at a friend's Beverly Hills home and met with a woman that said to me, hey, you have to meet this big producer who just won a Lifetime Achievement Award and tell him about your documentary.
And I'm thinking, is this guy really going to be interested in a documentary about funding women? So anyway, I tell him the whole story. And at the end of it, he looks at me and he says, you know, you know about something nobody else knows about and you need to tell that story.
It was just confirmation from this very accomplished, you know, Caucasian man that he believed that this was a story that needed to be told. And he actually, when I left there, he repeated that to me again. And I kind of got goosebumps like, wow, this is really a divine message that, yes, you're on the right track.
You need to keep moving ahead. We need to tell this story. This is actually a story that's never been told.
Main Street
You document the stories of several visionary women. How did you choose those women? I'm guessing that you had many to choose from.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
We did. And, you know, it's like anything when you're working on something that's purposeful, you kind of get a download and you get the people put in your path. That's kind of what happened.
Somebody told me, hey, if you're doing a film about venture capital, you need to talk to the woman who was the youngest woman ever to start a VC fund out of USC, University of Southern California. Her name's Pocket Sun. And so I had a heck of a time getting a hold of her, but I finally did.
And then through her, she had invested in several women businesses and we wanted to tell some of their stories. And we decided to pick ones that we thought would be good on film. In other words, they had visuals and interesting stories to tell.
We ended up adding a couple of others that I think were really the cherry on top. And they just happened to evolve as we were making the movie. I happened to connect someone to get funding and I said, oh my gosh, this is going to really add to the richness of the story.
So like anything, you know, you start off with one concept and then as you're going, things unfold and you end up adding them and making it even richer.
Main Street
One of the concepts that you really work to add, and I think you did a great job is demystifying really what venture capital is. What do you hope, Catherine, that people take away regarding what is venture capital? Oh, that's easy.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
I hope that they walk away saying, wow, this isn't as complicated as I thought it was. This is something I need to be investing in. And boy, is it fascinating.
It's so interesting learning about all the innovations that are coming and having an opportunity to invest in them before they go to the public market. It really is just an incredible world to step into. And I hope that they feel that when they see the film.
Main Street
We're enjoying our conversation with Catherine Gray. She's a filmmaker. Her film, Show Her the Money, will be screened as part of the Fargo Film Festival Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Theater One at the Fargo Theater. Catherine, I've read where this film has been described as both educational and inspiring. I think those two words are different. Let's talk about the educational piece first.
Your film now, I guess, wants to be used in places like academia. Tell me about that.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Yes, we have had colleges and universities asking us to put it into the curriculum and actually add a curriculum to the film. And so that's what we're working on now. I also want to say that it's really important that I teamed up with director Kai Dickens, because she did such a great job of the storytelling.
I think it's what makes the film so great because a lot of times documentaries can be a little dry, a little tedious. You're talking about something like venture capital. It could have been boring, but instead we made it filled with heartfelt stories.
I think that's why people find it inspirational. But the underlying factor is that it is educational as well, and that combination seems to work really well.
Main Street
Okay, Catherine, we're sitting here in the middle of North Dakota, rural North Dakota. Why should I be worried about things like venture capital and women investing in companies? Why should that concern me?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Well, this is about the future of the planet, the environment, healthcare, all of these things. And this is 50% of the brainpower that's sitting on the sidelines that needs to be deployed. And that impacts people in every town, rural or city.
So it's about our future. What does the future look like? What are the future products and services?
They're being created by both men and women, and they both need the funding in order to see that. And it will impact the economy of everywhere, all of the cities, like I said, rural or otherwise. So it definitely impacts.
And I was so lucky to actually meet someone from Fargo, Julie Peterson Klein, and she is an associate producer on our film. And that's why we had the fortunate opportunity to come and screen it in Fargo. So we're super excited to be coming to Fargo.
We never wanted to just reach like New York, LA. We wanted to hit all of the places in the world. And there's a lot of investors out there in the middle of the country that can be investing in this very lucrative asset class.
You know, people make billions of dollars before it ever reaches the public market. And people that are just investing in the public market are missing out on all of that. And so they need to be aware of that and how to get involved.
Main Street
You said, Hey, don't join a book club. Look at this as an opportunity. Look at this as an opportunity to learn, not just throw money at a charity, throw money at this movement.
Talk more about that.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Sure. Sure. I've said that, Hey, this is the new book club.
Wouldn't it be more exciting to go and look at the presentations of women with innovative, cutting edge ideas and share them and talk about them and invest in them and make money from it while also making an impact. And so that's the charity part. You know, women are really great about giving to charity.
But what a lot don't realize is you can also give to for profit women companies that are helping change the world. So you're still using your money to impact, but you also can make a profit from it. And that's okay.
And so that's the narrative that we want to continue to impress upon women, especially because women are the ones that put so much money into charity and they need to realize they can be putting it into impact investing without getting deep into politics.
Main Street
It's something I don't want to do, but I want to ask this question. Does your film play better in certain parts of the country versus others, Catherine?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
You know, honestly, I feel like it's been really well received, no matter where we have gone. So I don't think there's a lot of politics that play into it. You know, even in areas where, let's say, they're taking away rights of women.
In those areas, because we just came from Texas, there are many, many women that are wanting to be empowered with funding. And of course, they want their rights about their choices of their body. And so those are obviously considered red states.
But the film has been really well received, and the women are really rallying around it. I think they think of it as giving hope to empowering more women rather than taking rights away.
Main Street
Tell me, Catherine, how principles of diversity and inclusion, which really are central themes of your film, guided you in your approach to filmmaking?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Well, I don't know if this answers your question, but I will say there's more women than ever starting their own venture capital funds. And the beautiful thing that I found out is that most of those are focused on funding women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ. And sometimes people say, what is BIPOC?
And that is Indigenous People of Color. So Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. So it kind of covers any non-white people.
And so those people have not been represented in getting funding. Neither has LGBTQ. And of course, as we're talking about today, women in general.
So that's where we tackle that. We say putting your money in women-founded funds is addressing all of those sectors being underfunded. And by investing in those funds, you are helping solve the problem, and it can be a very lucrative investment for you as well.
What could be better than that? An investment that creates that impact. I'm a woman.
Main Street
I have a great idea. I want to be an entrepreneur. Catherine Gray's advice to me at this moment is what?
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
My advice would be to find an accelerator that gives you the support or a community of entrepreneurs that give you support because you are not going to be able to do this alone. It takes a village. And you're probably really good at that one thing that you have had a download about that's your purpose on the planet and you want to create.
But you need to surround yourself with people that can do all those things that you can't so you don't burn yourself out and so that you're living a life where you're feeling energetic and empowered because you're living on purpose and doing your purpose. Go out there to the venture capital funds and find people to invest in your company that believe in you that see the vision the way you do. You have to surround yourself with your people, people that fuel you and lift you up.
You can do this.
Main Street
You've developed out a website around the film that will encourage discussion amongst people who have similar needs and desires. Tell me about that website.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Our website is ShowHerTheMoneyMovie.com. We purposely made it really robust with resources because we want to have it as a support system and we keep adding them every week so you can keep visiting and seeing more and more. But we have everything from workshops to communities, events, books, podcasts, everything to support both investors, women that want to become investors or men that want to invest in women and also women entrepreneurs that are looking to either start a business or scale their business.
Main Street
Besides watching the movie Tuesday night at the Fargo Theatre at 7 p.m., the movie of course is Show Her The Money, what else will you do I guess as part of the event? Will folks be able to visit with you and your team? Absolutely.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
So we'll have myself and others from the film there and we're going to be having a panel after the film, a Q&A. We will mix and mingle so people can ask questions and engage in this conversation of how we can create change together.
Main Street
Any current plans for follow-up projects or more initiatives from you to continue conversations like this, Catherine? Yes, absolutely.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
So at the end of this tour, we're also going to, looking at next year, doing a big national, international conference because we want to continue to keep bringing people together so that they can learn more about becoming investors in venture capital and how to access funding from venture capital. It's going to take us coming together and helping each other. This is not a solo operation.
This is a big movement and together, here's the thing, you tell women you're getting the short end of the stick on something and they're going to rise up and that's we're doing. We're out there lighting a match, Craig, and getting women on board and also getting men to say, you know what? This isn't good enough for my daughters and my sister and my mother and my wife.
Let's change it because we can change this.
Main Street
Show Her the Money. It's a documentary addressing the underrepresentation of women and other underrepresented communities about venture capital funding. This film will be screened as part of the Fargo Film Festival on Tuesday in Theater One at the Fargo Theater.
That's at seven o'clock and the group will be joined by filmmaker Catherine Gray who has joined us today on Main Street. Catherine, thank you so much for your time.
Filmmaker Catherine Gray
Thank you, Craig. What a pleasure and can't wait to meet you. To be a founder takes grit.
Dapper Boy is gender neutral clothing. I've been fundraising now for over a year. We're at a capital, I don't know what else to do.
I'll never forget one investor. Good to move on. Asked me if this was just a passion project of mine until I had a baby.
We connect breast cancer survivors to certified mastectomy fitters. So a joke that is like Warby Parker for boobs. This could easily be a billion dollar company.
A study by McKinsey shows that investable assets controlled by women are expected to rise to 30 trillion dollars by the end of the decade. What are they going to do with that money? We support female founders.
10 years from now we'll look like the geniuses, right? If these women don't get funding, what innovations are we going to be missing out on that could impact the planet?
NOTE: The transcript and show descriptions have been generated with AI tools. The audio of the show is the official record.