In this inspiring episode, Sarah Dusek, CEO and Co-founder of Enygma Ventures and Few and Far, shares her life story of scaling businesses with clarity and purpose. From her early days as a non-profit leader to founding the wildly successful Under Canvas, Sarah’s path to the top was defined by her unwavering commitment to what she truly wanted in life.
Now, through her venture capital firm, Sarah is empowering women entrepreneurs to think bigger, build scalable ventures, and access the resources they need to succeed. Her new book Thinking Bigger serves as a powerful guide for women who want to unlock the capital and strategies needed to scale their businesses.
You’ll discover how Sarah transitioned from a small business mindset to building a global empire and how she now channels her passion for helping women think bigger. Sarah’s inspiring insights into the world of venture capital, risk-taking, and entrepreneurship will encourage you to embrace your full potential and expand your vision for what’s possible.
If you’re an entrepreneur or someone looking to scale your business, this episode is packed with actionable advice on how to shift your mindset and build businesses that make a lasting impact.
Key Takeaways:
- The Power of Clarity: Sarah reveals how getting crystal clear on her goals helped her scale her business and inspire others.
- Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Discover how Sarah’s venture capital firm and book are providing a roadmap for women to achieve big dreams.
- Thinking Bigger: Gain insight into the mindsets and strategies that allow women to scale their businesses with confidence and purpose.
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Highlights
The key moments in this episode are:
[00:00] Introduction to Beyond Barriers Podcast
[00:19] Empowering Women and Mindset for Success
[00:47] Interview with Sarah Dusek: Journey and Achievements
[01:17] Sarah's Book: Thinking Bigger
[05:54] Challenges Women Face in Business
[11:10] The Importance of Community and Asking for Help
[18:15] Pivotal Moments and Transformations
[21:51] A Life-Changing Encounter
[22:34] Empowering Female Entrepreneurs
[23:13] The Power of Community and Self-Belief
[25:05] Balancing Ambition and Personal Life
[26:16] Effective Time Management Strategies
[27:20] Making Guilt Your Friend
[34:18] Finding Clarity and Inner Peace
[38:39] Lightning Round: Getting to Know Sarah -
Lightning Round
Q: What book has greatly influenced you?
A: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth GilbertQ: What is your favorite inspiring quote or saying?
A: If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together - African ProverbQ: What is one word or moniker you would use to describe yourself?
A: InspirationalQ: What is one change you've implemented that made your life better?
A: Listening to myselfQ: What power song would you want playing as you walk out onto a stage?
A: “Something big girl power” (Sarah did not provide an actual song) -
Quotes
Your confidence in yourself and your sense of what’s possible expands, opening the door to bigger dreams and new perspectives on your life and its potential. That shift is a true game changer.
Sarah Dusek
Sometimes we just need people to help us re-orientate ourselves and help us get back up when we can't get back up ourselves.
Sarah Dusek
I use guilt as a tool to check where I’ve gone off course, whether in self-care or how I’m treating others. Instead of letting its negativity consume me, I flip it into a helpful reminder to make adjustments.
Sarah Dusek
There's always this pressure to be the smartest person in the room. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room. You just need to bring the smartest people into the room and let them help you make your vision a reality.
Sarah Dusek
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About
Sarah Dusek is a managing partner and co-founder of Enygma Ventures, a private investment fund dedicated to supporting and investing in women-led businesses in Africa. Since Enygma’s inception in 2019, over 5,000 entrepreneurs have gone through Enygma’s investor-ready programs to learn how to build valuable companies. Sarah aims to demystify the complicated and often inaccessible world of funding. Making capital accessible for women, helping them to both deliver outstanding outcomes for their own businesses and drive economic and social progressive change. Her new book, Thinking Bigger: A Pitch-Deck Formula for Women Who Want to Change the World (Georgetown University Press, September 2, 2024), positions women to get the financing they need to scale their endeavors and change the world.
In 2009, she founded the leading upscale outdoor hospitality brand Under Canvas, which sold in 2018 for over $100 million. Under Canvas received a spot on the coveted Inc. 5000 list in 2017, and in the same year Sarah was also named to Ernst & Young’s EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women list as a forward-thinker and changemaker. In 2024, Sarah launched her latest venture Few and Far, a sustainable eco-travel company enabling guests to have incredible outdoor experiences whilst contributing to protecting and preserving the planet.
Sarah believes in the power of leveraging challenging circumstances to propel forward change. At the helm of Enygma Ventures, she led the development of a special program in 2020 to help redefine systemic issues for female leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company selected 11 female entrepreneurs from a pool of 9000 applicants, ultimately investing $10 million to women-led startups in the Southern African Development Community region.
Sarah is a contributing writer to Forbes, The Telegraph, and TRT World. She is chairwoman of the Women’s Giving Circle for The Global Good Fund, a social entrepreneurship leadership development program, and sits on the board of 10 and rising startup companies in Africa. Sarah has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Exeter U.K. and a master’s degree in Missiology from the University of Manchester (MA). She divides her time between the U.S. and South Africa with her husband, Jacob Dusek, and their two children. In her free time, Sarah enjoys traveling and spending time in nature. For more information, please visit https://www.enygmaventures.com.