Natasha Hoskins

Natasha Hoskins is in the process of building ALLCALL, a brand new platform for millennial travelers. She was gracious enough to host me in NYC and connect me to other entrepreneurs. From my couple days with Natasha, I learned so much and am thrilled about what she is doing. 

The way ALLCALL began drips with an entrepreneurial narrative. Natasha wasn’t feeling challenged by her job at Indiegogo, realized that was an opportunity to direct her creative energy elsewhere, and started to conceptualize ALLCALL. With her love for travel, she noticed a gap in the millennial participation with travel agencies. Thus, the first iteration of ALLCALL was born—a traditional travel agency with a millennial face and language. This was designed to test if the travel agency model worked for millennials when presented specifically for them or if they wanted something new entirely. Natasha found that a reimagined model for millennial travel was actually what that market is looking for. She is now in the process of building that new model and raising her first round of funds for ALLCALL to launch this summer. 

 Challenges of being a Female & Entrepreneur: 

As Natasha and I were discussing the future and possibilities of ALLCALL, she brought up alarming statistics on the amount of money female entrepreneurs raise from VC, specifically in the tech space. Women received only 2.2% of all VC raised last year. She desires to play a role in changing that statistic as she is raising her seed round. The passion, for her, comes from being a voice in the room and being a part of the solution. If male entrepreneurs are the most funded, they continue to be the future employers which perpetuate the existing cycle that excludes diversity. 

She mentioned having to evaluate self-doubt versus sexism. Having self-doubt has the potential to lead to projecting that doubt on how she thinks the other person views her. We discussed this in the context of men having so much confidence, even in things they’ve never done. She is adopting that confidence and learning to get comfortable being bold about things she doesn’t know how to do. When I asked if she’s come across direct sexism, she said, “There is a level of respect that you have to fight for. You have to come off 10 times smarter…There is not a given belief that you are smart and capable.” She also mentioned that she is often asked if she has children. She wonders how differently conversations would go if she were a man.

 Perks of being a Female & Entrepreneur: 

 As our conversation continued, men dominating the workforce came up again. This time in relation to toxic masculinity and the unhealthy expectation that emotions don’t belong in the workplace. However, as Natasha has been building ALLCALL, she has found that each day is full of emotion as she tackles new challenges that open to her up to vulnerability but also reward. She admits to being someone who has taken pride in her ability to not be emotional. She has realized how deeply she bought into the construct around emotions being weak. She is now reframing her emotions as a strength because having feelings about her business is essential to what makes her a good founder. Emotions do give her an advantage as a woman. A female entrepreneur is positioned to be attuned to the needs and wants of women. Due to the lack of women in leadership in the past, there are many unmet needs that are opportunities for female entrepreneurs to take advantage of. 

Advice:

Natasha shared advice that the other entrepreneurs emphasized as well. That is to find people who understand and do what you do. That could look like people in the same industry, creating in the same space—people who have experienced what you have. It’s easy to isolate yourself. However, when you find the people who’ve done what you’ve done, had the same struggles, questions, and stressors, you can share in those experiences. They become the people you can call on a really good day or on a really rough day because they understand the specific highs and lows. Natasha found this also opened up another avenue for vulnerability and learning to be open about the struggles of being a founder.

Womanhood:

 Without a doubt, Natasha considers herself a strong woman. She doesn’t take BS and she doesn’t let anything stop her. “The moving forward is not optional for me. The not knowing along the way is inevitable.” She has chosen the path she is on and she is committed to seeing it through. When I asked her about about her thoughts on the social climate around women, she was excited. The social movements have taught her that there is something inherently special about being a woman and celebrating that. Because we have had to work harder for the same opportunities, there is inherent strength in that. On the flipside, It’s easy to take blame and doubt ourselves. Gender roles have caused dynamics and lack of access to knowledge. The hardest part of being a woman is figuring out when to ask for help in those things and when to just pretend you know. It’s also knowing which hills to die on and what to stand up for. 

 Faith:

A key element of our conversation was how Natasha’s faith interacted with all of those things from her prayers about her work to the role of women. The most impactful thing she said was, “God is rooting for women.” She explains that equality is a deeply Christian belief even if that doesn’t play out in our institutions and churches. She has been able to claim that equality and belief. She knows that it is true, and that is the narrative she chooses to operate within. This is so vital when it seems that faith and feminism can be at odds, but they don’t have to be. 

My conversation with Natasha was so enriching. She is clearly whip-smart and ambitious. She has the capacity and drive to create the changes she wants to see. I’m excited to see where she takes her business.