Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson on Entrepreneurship and Self-Doubt

In this interview with HBR's Women at Work team, entrepreneurs are sharing hard-won lessons from starting and running three companies together. When trying to scale a new product, they were surprised by the cash-flow and other issues. They reflect on what made their long-term partnership work well and how they have come to understand and manage self-doubt, guilt, and the repercussions of underrepresentation. They share tips for networking, hiring and retaining employees, learning the ins and outs of finance, and when to walk away from the company you built.

The two business partners met in the lunch line at the conference. They started three companies together, in professional services, manufacturing, and FinTech. Along the way, they learned a lot. They share a lot of hard-won lessons in their new book. They hope to smooth the path for other entrepreneurs by describing their successes and failures.