Halcyon’s Kate Goodall Reveals What Entrepreneurs Don’t Want You to Know

It’s past time we remixed the entrepreneur archetype. The tried-and-true definition of an emerging or aspiring business owner feels tired. The modern entrepreneur is a mover, shaker and doer who’s not content with simply breaking all the rules. Our 52 trailblazers featured in the October issue are rewriting the rules, tearing them up and doing it all over again. It’s creation at its purest, because the fruits of one’s hustle are not actualized overnight or by following one jet-lagged recipe. It’s no longer adequate to measure entrepreneurs by the brick-and-mortar spaces they manifest or the jobs they create. Those are all important elements but fall short of what it truly means to build something — often with blood, sweat and tears. Whether you’re revamping the vintage clothing industry, introducing a fresh dining concept, cultivating an advocacy-focused creative agency or advancing the cause of equality for the LGBTQ+ community, the only thing that matters is freedom — the freedom to march to the beat of your own badass drum. Read our full rundown of trailblazers here. 

As co-founder and CEO of Halcyon, Kate Goodall takes paying it forwards to the next level.  Halcyon provides scholarships, fellowships and guidance to impact-driven ventures and businesses. By investing in entrepreneurs who are also focused on improving society, Goodall’s work ultimately creates a ripple effect for positive social change.

Advice that keeps you hungry
If the door is closed, look for a window.

What your day is incomplete without
Coffee, and I hope you don’t mind if I plug one of our amazing Halcyon Fellows, because my coffee of choice is the Ethiopian blend from Southeastern Roastery, a fantastic local impact-driven business founded by Candy Schibli, who was a fellow in 2020.

Your power outfit remix
At risk of sounding trite, a power outfit is whatever makes you feel authentic and confident – for some this means a crisp blazer and for others it’s a T-shirt and jeans. Personally, I’m glad these rules are getting rewritten, because when more people can wear what they want, more people can feel powerful, and that’s a good thing.

What every entrepreneur needs
Entrepreneurship has a great deal to do with luck — a factor that some don’t like to acknowledge. But what distinguishes a great entrepreneur is that they will make that luck. They control their responses to things by shaking off the bad rolls of the dice, figuring out how to improve their odds and focusing on circumstances they can turn to their advantage.

Early bird, night owl, or in-between
I wish I could answer that I’m an early bird. But Halcyon fellows have shown me that it’s okay to be any of these things or all of them at different times — as long as you find the space to be focused and productive, and also the space to recharge — it’s okay not always to be “on” at the same time.

Burning question for an iconic trailblazer
I’d ask some of the most highly visible leaders — people like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or Richard Branson — if they would have been anything at all without an incredible team. We’ve got to bust the myth of the solo genius entrepreneur or the hero CEO and elevate the voices up and down the org chart that bring vision to life. It’s all about the team.

The current soundtrack to your life
Listening to the same album on repeat is a torture technique — variety is the spice of life.

@halcyoninspires // halcyonhouse.org

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