218: Women in Supply Chain, Lisa Morales Hellebo

In today’s episode of Women In Supply Chain, I’m joined by Lisa Morales Hellebo: a truly inspirational VC, entrepreneur, product strategist and community builder, with 25 years of experience working with start-ups and Fortune 500s alike. After beginning her career in graphic design, Lisa pulled together her talents for creativity, product design and innovation and set her sights on tech. After successfully founding her own start-up, and being named one of the Top 10 Women in DC Tech, Lisa realized the impact she could have helping other start-ups. Her passion and commitment to the acceleration of technologies that advance the industry has only grown and now, as well as advising others, she is also the co-founder of two organizations, that focus on funding innovation and revolutionizing supply chain. Today, Lisa will be talking to us about her career so far; her love for fashion tech and passion for innovation; her reflections on the corporate world’s approach to sustainability; and she’ll be sharing her words of advice for all of the women following in her footsteps.   SHOW SPONSOR: Apex Logistics is proud to sponsor Let’s Talk Supply Chain’s Women in Supply Chain podcast and blog series. Our leadership team actively works to empower an industry as diverse as our workforce with a focus on inclusion, and we’re passionate about promoting the voices of women leaders to drive visibility around their achievements. Find out more over on the Apex Logistics website.   IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS: [06.06] How Lisa’s creativity took her on an ever-evolving journey from graphic design to fashion tech, supply chain and sustainability. “My entire career has been obsessed with data, customization, personalization, on-demand – and it’s led me to what I’m doing now.” [11.17] A closer look at REFASHIOND Ventures – what it does, what ‘refashioning supply chains’ means and the power of supply chain digitization. [12.59] Why REFASHIOND Ventures is needed, the complex and fascinating journey that led Lisa to found it, and the many things she learned along the way. “I learned that VC’s don’t know anything about fashion, or retail… so I decided to found and build a fashion tech accelerator – the one that I wished had existed when I had my fashion tech company.” [24.39] Lisa reflects on some of the key challenges she’s faced when it comes to industry change, mindset and sustainability – and the opportunities that have come from that. “We produce 4 times the textile waste of any other country in the world, and so we don’t need to produce or grow another fiber for generations – we’re sitting on mountains of waste that could be generations worth of regenerative textiles.” [35.35] Lisa’s experiences as a Latina woman, in childhood as well as moving through the industry. “My entire career, my entire life, every choice I’ve made, has been about proving my worth.” [41.52] Lisa’s words of wisdom for all of the women looking to follow in her footsteps. “You have to go through a growth process to learn that your differences are your super powers.”   RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED: You can find out more about Lisa over on her website, or you can connect with her on LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter. Head over to REFASHIOND’s website to find out more, or connect and keep up to date with the latest over on Twitter. Find out more about REFASHIOND OS on their website. Learn more about The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation over on their website. Head over to Assembly Fashion’s website to find out more, or connect and keep up to date with the latest over on Instagram. Check out our other podcasts HERE.