Member Spotlight Series: Jenna Walker - SheSays Boulder | Women in Digital
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Member spotlight Jenna Walker

Member Spotlight Series: Jenna Walker

Jenna Walker on a bicycle Jenna Walker, in 2012 was part of a team that founded consumer photo brand Artifact Uprising. AU was born out of our desire to see business as a tool for good where we employed the use of otherwise waste materials into our products to include 100% post-consumer waste papers and beetle kill pine.

At the end of 2014, we were acquired by Bay Area art and technology company Visual Supply Co (VSCO). Post-acquisition I continued as CEO of AU while also serving as an executive to help grow VSCO’s global audience.

I recently joined the Techstars family as Managing Director of Techstars Sustainability in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. I believe in investing in those around us—including giving my time and energy to the Colorado entrepreneurial ecosystem that gave so much to us. I believe that the best ideas aren’t born behind desks and have a love for building lives and businesses grounded always in authenticity.

We asked Jenna a few questions…

Name a book or blog that changed your life?

This is going to sound funny, but honestly Paul Coehlo’s The Alchemist really hit home for me. There are many ways to interpret the book, but to me it has strong messages about following your dreams and listening to the world around you.

I love a few quotes from the book including—

The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.

Honestly, google the quotes—so many good ones. There are many themes that relate back to letting go of fear, having dreams, listening to your heart and of course, having some grit. Good stuff.

In 5 words or less, describe what has been most important to your success in your career?

I’m going to cheat and go with 7 words I wrote 12 years ago that have defined my personal and professional life…

Strive for significance and success will follow.

What are you working on now?

This past month, I joined the Techstars family as Managing Director of our first-ever Techstars Sustainability Accelerator in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. This accelerator will kick off in Denver in July and it’s incredibly exciting. This accelerator represents a rare powerful three way partnership between Techstars, The Nature Conservancy and smart mission-aligned investors.

We’ll be investing in 10 companies each year solving for questions such as—

  • How might we provide food and water sustainably in a future where there are 9 billion people on earth?
  • How might we use technology to tackle climate change?
  • How might we build solutions to support a world where both nature and humans thrive?

Applications are open now and you can learn more about what we are up to here.

If you could give your 20-year-old self-advice, what would it be?

I would tell the 20 year old version of myself to have a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity. I couldn’t see it at 20 years old but have since learned that when you have a powerful mindset of “there is more than enough to go around”—you bring that much more abundance to both your life and those around you. You approach life in service to others versus yourself. It’s a great mindset to help shut out fear as well.


Every month we spotlight an amazing woman who is part of the SheSays Boulder community. Some have shared their story as a speaker at our events. All are women who’ve inspired us with their work, heart, and vision. Want to connect with an amazing community of woman making a difference in the digital world? Follow us on MeetUp, sign up on the email list or find our next event on Event Brite and join the fun.

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