A moment like this
Leveling The Playing Field
Happy Thursday!
Coming off our hoops-themed GIST HQ offsite last week, we’re feeling fired up to move the ball forward for women in sports — and that’s why this week’s episode of How I Got the Call Up hits especially hard.
We chatted with Natalie White, founder and CEO of Moolah Kicks, which makes high-performance basketball sneakers specifically for the female foot form (did you see their October drop? Obsessed). She talked about how overpreparing for the big moments helped her bring Moolah into existence, and her wisdom will have you ready to run through a brick wall.
P.S. If you have a sporty job posting, send it our way to thecallup@thegistsports.com, and we’ll share with our smart, passionate audience. For instance, the Boston Athletic Association is taking apps for a new role — if you’re in Beantown, you know what to do.
- Love, Ellen & Jacie
👏 Show some hustle
Natalie White was born ready: She had the idea behind Moolah Kicks as a senior at Boston College and willed it into being, learning everything from startup finance to biomechanics to build the company from the ground up. Come for her wild story about pitching Mark Cuban in a hotel gym at 10 p.m., stay for the motivation to believe you can do anything you set your mind to.
💡 The takeaways: White’s advice is especially useful for anyone starting their own company, but there are takeaways for any job. If you’re looking to climb the ladder or push your org to the next level, take a founder’s mindset — and hustle like one, too.
- Overprepare — or, in other words, know your sh!t. Get the specifics on the stuff you do know, and have questions about the stuff you don’t. “I'm doing everything I can think of under the sun. Some might say it's wasted work because I've done countless exercises in things that have never come to light. But that's what has given me the confidence to feel like I'm ready.”
- Struggling with negative feedback? Have a mentality of service to others — you’re putting yourself out there to accomplish a mission, so don’t make it about yourself. “The more you make it about who you're serving, why you're serving, and what that goal is, the easier it is to not think about it as, ‘That's a ding on me.’”
- There are some soft skills that make White a great founder (think grit, authenticity, and being a quick learner), but part of being prepared is learning hard skills like accounting, marketing, and art. For non-founders, take that energy to grow beyond your job description.
🎤 Mic-drop moment: “I think so many of us are in women's sports because we want to build a brighter future for women moving forward. And that purpose and that sense of service is what drives me. Anyone who's giving feedback is helping us get there.”
🏈 You’ve got opinions, why not put’em to work? In partnership with the NFL, our free-to-play Weekly Pick’ems game is your chance to call the winners, compete with fellow GISTers, and vie for season-long prizes.
- Just ask our Week 3 winner, John, who quipped "I guess not thinking too hard as a strategy worked!" Enough said.
💌 Consider this your official invite. Nothing to lose, lots to learn, and a whole NFL community to gain. May the Hail Marys be ever in your favor — make your picks now.
📖 Read “The Disruptors” by Sally Percy, where a leading business journalist examines 15 innovative companies who blazed their own unconventional path to achieve market success.
📰 Did you know Moolah Kicks are Stud Budz approved? This article from Forbes details why Minnesota Lynx star Courtney Williams was willing to incur fines for wearing Moolah Kicks and the resulting explosive growth of the company.
🎧 Subscribe to the Business of Fashion Podcast for in-depth episodes on luxury brands and athleticwear, as well as the creative minds shaping what we’ll all be adding to cart next.
🤔 Welcome to the Coach’s Corner, where we answer reader-submitted questions about working in sports. This week’s question comes to us from Katie — she asked:
- Who are some of the people you turn to while making big decisions around founding the company? How have you cultivated a professional network that has helped you as a founder?
From when she was designing the shoe’s interior as a college senior until now, White has asked for brutal honesty from the people closest to her, especially seasoned industry peers.
“I think having folks who know more than you is invaluable,” said White. And on top of that, she isn’t afraid to use their experience to poke holes in what she’s doing. “You have to have people around you or that you can reach out to and not be afraid.”
- She urged entrepreneurs to always come to those conversations with a strong idea of what they want, but be open to feedback. And when a mentor or someone you respect is willing to give you their time, use it intentionally.
🏆 Shoutout to GISTer Amanda Wilson who recently published an essay, Range Is Valuable. Most Organizations Still Don’t Know How to Evaluate It, reflecting on what she learned about the value of transferable skills from a career spanning sports, tech, financial services and more.
🏅 And let’s give some flowers to Millie Watson for pulling off a huge career pivot, moving from partnership activation with the Philadelphia 76ers into corporate partnership sales with the Detroit Pistons and secured a major, multiyear deal after just four months. Congrats, Millie!
Submit your recent sports career win here, and you might get a shoutout in this newsletter.Today’s email was brought to you by Katie Foster and Rachel Fuenzalida. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam. Managing edits by Molly Potter. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.