EBW’s Why.

AFTER: 12% higher revenue, 35% higher ROI average

Working together leads to more opportunities & better results.

Dr. George Kozmetsky, “Dr. K”

Founder of Teledyne, Michael Dell’s mentor, and my first mentor—played a pivotal role in my early entrepreneurial journey, helping me raise my first $7M at just 26 years old.

I first met him in 1993 when I joined his MBA program at The Kozmetsky School of Business (which later became the McCombs School of Business). We began working together in 1996, and his guidance shaped the foundation of my career.

1996

Red McCombs

When Dr. K passed away in 2003, I received a call from one of his closest friends—self-made billionaire Red McCombs, who would later have the UT business school named in his honor. He had heard about me and offered to “take me under his wing.”

I shared with him my vision of creating a television show based on the kinds of mentoring conversations I had with Dr. K—who had always told me to “just do it.” Red believed in the idea and helped fund the show’s creation. From that moment on, ”Big Red” helped me learn, navigate and grow my mindset around “big business” until his passing in 2023.

2003

The Connal Family – Patriarch, Scott Connal, Founder of ESPN

When I landed my television series on CNBC in 2006, I had no experience in TV—just a passion and determination to share the lessons I was learning from Dr. K with as many people as possible.

To get started, I filmed a “trailer” for the show and reached out to my college friend, Scott Connal—son of Scott Connal, the founder of ESPN—remembering that his family was deeply rooted in the television industry. Scott made a few calls to family friends, and as they say—the rest is history.

2006

Steve Felice

In 2011, while on a dirt road in Dallas, Texas, I felt a deep spiritual calling—to take everything I had learned and “Empower a Billion Women” (originally by 2020). I knew that to make this vision a reality, I needed a global tech partner.

Although I had met Michael Dell through Dr. K, I didn’t know him well. But after meeting Steve Felice, then President of Dell and a champion of the Dell Women’s Entrepreneurship Network, I knew I had found the right person to approach. I secured a meeting with him, leveraged my “Deal-Making Mindset” (which you’ll learn in the ONE Ecosystem), and successfully became Dell’s first Entrepreneur in Residence.

My years at Dell provided invaluable corporate and investment insight at scale—insights we still apply at EBW today. Steve was EBW’s first outside investor and remains with us to this day.

2011

Why Be The “ONE”

Admiral Bobby Inman

Working collaboratively together so that we all win.

At the heart of everything I do is a promise I made—to my mentors, and to one man in particular: Admiral Bobby Inman.

Admiral Inman was the first person to believe in me as an entrepreneur—not just with words, but with action. He wrote the very first investment check for the very first company I ever started.

I had no experience raising money. None. All I knew was that I had to ask. So, I reached out to people I heard might be investors. He was friends with Dr. K and the Admirals son Tom and I were in the UT MBA program at the same time and were friends. It was through Dr. K and Tom that I secured my meeting with him.

When I met with him, he listened carefully and then asked me a simple but powerful question:

“How much do you want, and what are you willing to give?”

I was desperate for cash at the time (you’ll read more about that in my book). I had no idea what I was doing, so I blurted out the biggest number I could think of—$50,000—and offered 33% of my company in exchange.

Sounds like an episode of Shark Tank, right? But what happened next changed my life.

The Admiral could have said yes. He could have taken a third of my company for his money, and I would have been grateful.

But instead, he paused. Then he said:

“Tell you what. I’ll invest the $50,000—but I want you to sell me just 3%.”

With one sentence, he single-handedly revalued my company from $150,000 to $1.67 million.

I was speechless. I asked him how I could ever repay him.

He said, “IV, I only ask for one thing. When the time comes that you can mentor and help someone else in the same way, that’s all I ask. That, and just be successful.”

I have never forgotten that moment. That promise. That lesson.

It was the first of many times that men—leaders, visionaries, champions—would step forward, take a chance on me, and Be The ONE who helped me rise.

Had they not stuck their necks out for me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

And now, it’s my turn.

We already know that less than 3% of women-owned businesses ever reach $1M in annual revenue and that less than 2% of women ever raise venture capital.

I had the privilege of learning from the best. But it wasn’t just privilege—it was responsibility.

Then came 9/11. That company—the one Admiral Inman invested in—didn’t make it. We lost everything. None of us, including the Admiral, made money on that deal.

But what I did gain was an unshakable belief in perseverance, grit, and keeping your word.

And today, I have the honor and blessing to make good on that promise from all those years ago.

Because of Admiral Inman and many other mentors, I now have the technology, the platform, and the network to give back to millions—no, a billion—women around the world.

They were the ONE for me.

Now, if you will allow me, I would be honored to Be The ONE for you. God Bless.