The Diligent Observer Podcast

Episode 52: "Film Changes Culture" | Show Her The Money Executive Producer Catherine Gray on Film as Impact Investment, Vulnerability with Persistence, and the Power of Like-Minded Capital

Season 1 Episode 52

Today's episode explores three ideas that caught my attention:    

  1. Film investment isn't always about ROI maximization – Many of Catherine's investors measure success by impact and community, not returns.  
  2. Fundraising is a community-driven exercise - "You're not asking for yourself" reframes the entire process as mission-driven rather than personal. This is a powerful shift in perspective that stood out to me. 
  3. Connection-making is a superpower - Catherine's emphasis on being a connector as free value creation made me realize how undervalued this skill is, yet how often I see it on display in some of the best people I’ve interacted with.  

Catherine Gray is the Executive Producer of Show Her The Money, a documentary that has screened in over 200 cities worldwide, and CEO of She Angel Investors, where she's hosted over 400 podcast interviews with female founders and funders. A veteran media entrepreneur, Catherine brings storytelling expertise with thoughtful venture capital strategy to help address the 2% funding gap facing women entrepreneurs.

During our conversation, Catherine shares: 

  • The three-part funding structure for independent film projects
  • A practical approach to film investment evaluation 
  • The "connector superpower" methodology 

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Catherine Gray: [00:00:00] And I'm a big believer it's film and television that helps change culture by raising awareness and educating in an entertaining way.

I think there's a real superpower in learning how to connect people

whatever change we wanna see in the world, we need to vote with our money. And that's a very powerful thing. 

Some people measure success by how much money did you make? And others, measure it by how much impact did I make?

How much fun did I have on this project? 

Andrew Kazlow: Welcome to the Diligent Observer, where we help angel investors see what most miss. I'm your host, Andrew, and every week we explore what works, what doesn't, and why through conversations with experienced startup investors and operators.

My guest today is Catherine Gray, executive producer of the documentary Show Her The Money, TEDx speaker, and founder of She Angel Investors, a multimedia platform connecting women, founders and funders through film, books, events, and my personal [00:01:00] favorite, the Invest in Her podcast with nearly 500 episodes live as of Fall 2025.

After 15 years as a top cable TV advertising exec, Catherine set out on a mission to address the funding gap for female entrepreneurs by encouraging more women to invest in female founded VC funds. In this episode, we explore her journey to preferring VC funds for better diversification. Discuss the power of voting with our money to create systemic change and unpack key traits of successful entrepreneurs, including being vulnerable yet persistent and mastering strategic connection building.

I hope you enjoy learning from Catherine as much as I did.

Catherine, thank you for being with me today.

Catherine Gray: My pleasure, Andrew.

Andrew Kazlow: Well, I would love to start with amidst everything you're working on, what are some of the things you're most excited about right now?

Catherine Gray: I think what I'm most excited about, besides the continuation of showing the film, Show Her The Money, uh, is [00:02:00] our book. We just launched our book, also called, Show Her The Money, which, uh, you know I realized everybody involved in the film, but also all the people that invested in the film that we call the associate producers all had such extraordinary stories.

I'm like, oh my God, this compilation of 30 stories is going to be amazing. And, uh, everybody seems to be loving the book. We already hit number one on Amazon bestseller and uh, yeah, everywhere we've been going it's been selling out. So, uh, we're really proud of that. 

Andrew Kazlow: Well, I'm certainly, uh, glad to hear that. I personally enjoyed flipping through. it. It's such a unique read. I love the way that the way you guys structured the, the content, it's almost these 30 short stories, these kind of bios on each of the contributors to the film. And one of the things that I loved was that you included a QR code that takes the reader to their bio or to their LinkedIn, you know, some way to contact them that I thought that was such a nice touch and it [00:03:00] made the book feel so much more organic and like relatable.

'Cause I could be like, oh, this person's interesting. You know, let me connect with them. I loved that

Catherine Gray: Right. Thank you. And, and I agree with you. Sometimes, you know, we'll read about extraordinary people and we're like, gosh, I wish I could connect with them. So, thanks for that shout out.

Andrew Kazlow: Yeah. And, and also the resource kit at the end and kinda throughout. You, you guys have clearly spent a lot of time and attention to equip anybody that's interested in this asset class with the resources that they need to get to get going, you know, trainings, communities, all kinds of stuff. Uh, that's really well, well surfaced there.

I just as, as a creator in the space, I can appreciate the, uh, the value of providing good content to the fingertips. So.

Catherine Gray: And you know, Andrew, you know, I've seen so many documentaries and books that I think, oh, I'm really interested in this topic. What do I do now? And so we, we wanted to have that actionable resources available [00:04:00] to the movie viewer, to the reader of the book of people that are interested in what is venture capital?

How do I get involved, how do I find out about it? How do I step into this exciting arena of people that are innovating the future products and services that we're gonna see, and how you get to be a part of that community. It's really a fascinating one.

Andrew Kazlow: Well, I have to ask, um, you mentioned in the book that your original goal was, I think to do 50 locations kind of a, a tour of the country, perhaps the globe. Uh, and, and you mentioned in the book that you guys exceeded a hundred. Is that right? I'd love to hear. What's the current kind of, uh, city count and just like, how's that that journey been for you personally rolling this out?

Catherine Gray: Thank you. Great question. 

Uh, so, yes, when we started on this, we first did the, uh, film festivals and we won about, uh, 10 or 12 best documentary feature awards. [00:05:00] So that was a great way to kick it off. And, uh, in fact, we kicked it off to be, uh, just tell a little story backstory. We kicked it off in Philadelphia at the Women's Film Festival and, uh, we didn't really know what to expect.

Uh, we walked into the audience, uh, to the, excuse me, to the theater and it was about 300 people and, uh, they were super excited to see the film. Uh, it was opening night of their festival and then at the end of the movie, the director of the, uh, festival said. "Oh my God. I've never seen a documentary where people clapped and cheered through the whole thing."

And we were like, oh my God, this is amazing. So, me and the director, Ky Dickens, we looked at each other, we said, wow, is every city gonna be like this? And basically it has been. Like, the, the room energy in the room has always been palpable. Um, and that's been super exciting to us. We knew we were onto something, uh, [00:06:00] having told a story that had never been told before in a film, and that was about the underfunding of women getting only 2%.

But doing it in a storytelling, engaging way that people really felt connected to the characters and the stories so that you got to learn about it, but in a captivating storytelling way. 

Um, and so that was our first step was the film festivals. Then, uh, we did a theatrical release in LA and New York, and that was to get on the Academy Awards consideration list, which we did. Um, and that was exciting. Um, and from there I wanted to take it on, like you mentioned, a 50-city tour. Didn't really know how that was gonna happen. 

And what happened was it was so organic. Once we did the week in LA and New York, we were deluged with requests to do it in different [00:07:00] cities all around the world and every single week we would get requests and we use the Kinema platform for people to, um, be able to license it and, or put on an event and sell tickets to it. And so we have kept with that formula. Up until now, uh, we will start streaming it on a network, um, streaming service next March, uh, during women's history month.

But up until right now, the reason we've done it where you can only see it in person is we think there's a certain magic in that. Getting a group of like-minded people together who are interested in learning about this and seeing it on the big screen and being able to talk about it after. 

So, Andrew, we've called it a movie and a movement, so we've coined it a "moviement" and that's really what it is.

It's been a moviement all around the world picking up momentum to this day. So yes, we ended up, the 50 cities end up being [00:08:00] over a hundred. I think at this point we've had well over, uh, 200 screenings. Uh, and, and so, we've done that through the Kinema platform. People can actually still go to our website, uh, showherthemoneymovie.com, and there are the screenings to see if they're in your city.

Or you can book a screening, uh, if you don't see one there. Yeah, it's been a, a fun ride and continues to be. And, uh, the most important thing is that we are, we're making a difference. We're educating people in a fun way about what is this fascinating world of venture capital? How do you get funding from it?

How do you invest in it? Um, how do you work in it? And so that's really what the film is about. The exciting stories of several entrepreneurs and their journey in fundraising and their, their challenges and their triumphs. And I think a lot of people really relate to these stories.

Andrew Kazlow: I love it. Well, this is something you've clearly spent your career building expertise in is amplifying [00:09:00] story. I mean, your podcast alone, over 400 interviews with excellent entrepreneurs, investors like I've just been so encouraged by the work you've done and one of the things we've talked about on this show is the very problem that you focused on.

We've, we had Dr. Silvia Mah on the show previously, Marcia Dawood, both of whom are featured in your book. So, uh, love seeing those chapters in particular talk often about this funding gap in the space. And so, I love that you've represented that in a theatrical way to help the audience connect a bit more.

At the soul level with the story and the problem as opposed to just a, you know, a stat on a slide or in a, in a report somewhere.

Catherine Gray: Right. And, and I'm so glad you mentioned Silvia Mah and Marcia Dawood, both, like you said, featured in our book, uh, both with extraordinary stories. Uh, Marcia and I actually met because we both had a TED Talk that was similar, and so my TED Talk is called [00:10:00] Fund Women-Save the World, and it's about how research shows that people tend to invest in people they identify with. So, if there's no women sitting at the table deciding who gets the money, it's why women aren't getting the money. And how with this film and this tour we've been trying to accentuate that women need to be investors in venture capital, that's what's going to cha move that 2% needle.

And of course, men wanting to invest in their daughters and wives, and friends, and sisters and, and so that's really what the moviement is about. And, Silvia Mah has a Stella Foundation Women's Venture Summit that's coming up that both Marcia and I will be speaking at in September. And, and does amazing work all over the country for women with Stella Foundation.

Great resource for your, your listeners. And, and Marcia Dawood, also, great podcast, great book out. Her podcast is, um, The Angel Next Door and talks about, uh, her book [00:11:00] also talks about how she got started in angel investing. And her wonderful story is in our Show Her The Money book, uh, that's on Amazon. So, both have extraordinary stories. I won't give it all away, I'll let people read about it. But, um, two of my favorite people that have just accomplished so much in this realm for women. So, thanks for mentioning them.

Andrew Kazlow: Of course. Well, and I appreciate you adding some more color. I, I love just the give first mentality. It's so clear even in the way you talk about, you know, those around you, it's just, you just have this knack for amplifying story. One of the things I'm curious about is. Over the last several years as you've built this reputation for really investing in others, amplifying stories, the podcast, the media that you've produced, like I'm curious what your personal investment strategy has looked like, how that's evolved as you've sort of built this network.

I imagine that you get outreach all the time around. Hey! I heard your podcast, or I saw the thing, or I read your, you know, whatever [00:12:00] that is, is just driving ridiculous access to incredible deal flow. And so I'm, I'm curious to hear kinda how your angel investing journey has progressed since beginning to invest in this kind of media conglomerate.

Catherine Gray: I think most people start off in angel investing. I know I did that and I think it's because it feels simpler. Uh, but what I've come to realize is what a fan I am of venture capital, and that is in angel investing, you typically have to vet them yourself and maybe this isn't your forte, and so you might invest money in an angel investor and it's a long shot, and so, uh, 

you might lose and then say, oh, this doesn't work. And you have to have a lot of knowledge, and I think this might not be everybody's wheelhouse, but we get excited about somebody's idea or product. And we don't know what to look for really. Um, and so what I like [00:13:00] about venture capital is you're finding general partners that have a fund and they, it's like a mutual fund.

You're pooling your money with other people and then they're going to deploy that money into several portfolio companies. So, you there might be 20 or 30 different companies now in your fund and that way you are diversified. So, I feel like it's less of a risk. 

Uh, yes, you might make more money if you invest in a specific company and it becomes like, of course a unicorn.

Well, you could make a hundred times your money, 

but it is more risky, I feel. And the interesting thing is, people will put money into a mutual fund on the public market and think nothing of it, not even knowing who really runs that fund. Who they're putting deploying capital to. And so what I like about venture capital is you probably have a chance to, in many cases, especially with women founded [00:14:00] funds that are smaller, you get to know the general partners and you get to know what they are investing in.

You can literally pick a fund that's investing in what you care about. It might be one that, like the one featured in our movie, like Emily Ventures, who is investing in women's health. So, if that's important to you, then invest in a fund like that one. And another plus is you will probably never on the public market meet the founders that you're investing in through that fund.

But in venture capital, you will often have an opportunity to actually meet the founders and have even maybe an impact on them. Maybe you have a connection for them, maybe you can mentor them so it can be more interactive. If you're in a really huge venture fund, that might not be the case. But in these smaller women founded funds that are from five million to a hundred million, you probably do have that [00:15:00] opportunity, and I think that's a really cool opportunity to have is to get to meet the brilliant founders and the brilliant general partners that are deploying the funds.

Andrew Kazlow: So, say more about how that affects you personally and kind of your strategy has evolved. It sounds like you started out perhaps really excited about individual opportunities. I read in the book, um, I think it was Lafreeda if I remember correctly, that invited you and you were like, this is amazing. That was kind of your starting point.

Walk me through your journey of going from there to, sounds like now primarily focusing on, on funds and, and others that are allocating.

Catherine Gray: So, the journey was that I was putting on a, a, a, pitch fest called She Angel Series. I filmed it, it's actually still on YouTube. She Angel Series. It started off as She Tank. I wanted to do like a Shark Tank for women where it women investors. Thank you.

Andrew Kazlow: You're, you're all over the punny takes on things. It's, it's just so fun.

Catherine Gray: Yeah. [00:16:00] I did get a cease and desist on that, so

Andrew Kazlow: No kidding. Yeah, so that's Mr. Wonderful sent you a note and said

Catherine Gray: There you go. Somebody from there, uh, Mark Burnett or somebody. And the funny thing is, I had Mark Burnett's ex-wife on my panel, uh, who produced of course, and created Shark Tank. But anyway, maybe that's why I got the cease and desist.

I don't know. Uh, had all women on the panel and all women pitching because I, I thought after I'd read that research, it's so important that women are pitching other women as well, uh, and not just men, uh, because they would relate more to them and maybe relate more to their products. And so, uh, filmed that.

And in doing that along the way, I met some women that were in venture capital and had learned that. You know, women were only getting 2%. And I'm a big believer it's film and television that helps change culture by raising awareness and educating in an entertaining way. And so, that's what happened. I found out that [00:17:00] we only were getting 2% and I thought, how could there in venture capital?

And I thought, how could there not be a movie about this? And I felt, you know, I think in life we get a download and we follow it or not. And I felt like I was meant to uh, produce that film and it kind of all fell into place. I met other people and investors who believe that this also was a great tool to educate more people and, uh, was able to attract some like-minded people to help get behind it.

So that's when I started, investing in venture capital and encouraging others to take a look at that, that maybe 2% to 5% of their portfolio or their pension fund or IRA, uh, they might consider making this type of investment. One, because it could be very lucrative, and two, because it can make a tremendous impact in the world.

So, if women aren't getting enough funding, then we're not seeing the proper funding for [00:18:00] products and services that serve women, which, this is crazy by the way, women impact 80% of the buying decisions. So, we should be deciding, well, what products and services are we gonna be buying, right? And so that really fueled me to, uh, put this team together and cast it with the people that we thought were the right fit for this.

And, uh, we really lucked out. They all have such incredible stories that makes for a really wonderful film.

Andrew Kazlow: Well, I'd love to ask more about sort of the mechanics and the, the financials of the investment in, in film. You are better than just about anybody I could think about to kind of educate us on the financials and the, the investment strategy in kinda the film space and perhaps even more specifically in sort of these, these smaller sort of, uh, more niche projects.

We're all familiar, you know, with the big box shows, and those get reported on publicly pretty, pretty deeply. But I'd love to learn more about [00:19:00] maybe your take, you know, think of it as Catherine one, Catherine's 101 on like investing in small niche media plays like Show Her The Money for example. I'd, I'd love to just learn more about how this works.

Like how, how would I invest how to, in as much detail as you feel comfortable sharing either this project or others like it, like how do you think about, what's the investment cycle, what kind of ROI are we looking at? How similar are these to the standard tech angel investment versus being completely different, like react to any of that.

Catherine Gray: It is totally different and it is difficult to get people who invest in things like tech to understand the importance of investing in, uh, the arts because the arts are what helps change culture. You have to find like-minded people who understand value of investing in whatever it is your focus is on. For your documentary film, for your, uh, you know, theater play or whatever. [00:20:00] Um, it is about going out there and meeting investors who are like-minded and it is about building connections with them and having, and finding people that understand the importance of in investing in the arts. So, that's what I had to do.

Um, and we tackled it three different ways to raise the money. So, the first was equity, giving people equity in the film. The second was, uh, we aligned with something called From the Heart Productions, which I highly recommend doing. Uh, they are a fiscal sponsor for filmmakers. It provides you an opportunity to be represented by a 501(c)(3), so you can accept donations, uh, this way, you're not always utilizing your equity for your funding, so it you're, when you allow, allow for donations. Then you're keeping, uh, from diluting your people who [00:21:00] invested in it and have equity. And then the third is finding corporate sponsors, which, you know, when I was at Sundance last year, they were talking about, especially in the documentary in indie film field, it's more and more popular now to get corporations behind your film. we were lucky that the corporation got behind our tour and not having an impact on the content of our film. 

So, we had Wells Fargo, uh, fund our hundred city tour.

Andrew Kazlow: So, you're able to raise equity capital, but also provide donor capital. How, help me understand, that feels like a con, a conflict to me. How does that work?

Catherine Gray: The equity and donation part isn't a conflict, but that's a good question. The reason it's not, is some people would prefer to make a donation. Uh, maybe they have a DAF, a donor advisory fund, or a foundation, or they just want a tax write off. So sometimes, um, and, and what it is, is we had closed out the equity round, so it [00:22:00] wasn't even an option.

So, then I went back to some people that said, uh, you know, hey, do you wanna make a donation? Uh, it's tax deductible. Because we have this fiscal sponsor. And, we also did a like event around the film wrap party, uh, where people could donate and come to, the wrap party of the film. They of course, got credits their name in the credits. They got to attend a wonderful rap party where they got to meet the cast, food, drinks, music, you know, 

I love putting on a good event. And that way they felt like, okay, I donated to this, but I got so much more. And not just being part of the moviement but also the credits and the opportunity to meet other people in the circle.

And also some of those people are also featured in the book, so there was a lot of pluses to being part of the film family, as I call it.

Andrew Kazlow: You know, it's funny, Catherine, as you're talking I'm, I find myself seeing [00:23:00] a number of connections to healthcare investment where it's often, deeply emotional-driven, deeply, connected to the problem or the, the presenting issue that, that, that company is focused on serving. And that is ultimately what drives much of the investment interest.

I'm seeing a lot of that thematically applied here. How would you assess or maybe walk me through, like, let's say that, you know, next year someone came to you with a docuseries or some kind of a film project similar to what you're working on. 

At show, show her the money, but you know, maybe an adjacent space.

Let's say you're excited about it. What would be some of the questions you would ask them or some of the unique things that you would poke on to be able to understand if that's a good investment opportunity? 'Cause it feels to me like I get hit with media opportunities all the time that I just don't know how to process personally.

Catherine Gray: I think the easy answer is that if it speaks to you, like if someone calls you up and [00:24:00] you know they're creating a film about, uh, you know, cures to cancer and that happens to be something that you and your family are, um, you know, concerned about. Or just like, uh, my director, uh, she just started creating, uh, the Telepathy Tapes.

Uh, this is about people with children that have autism, so she found like-minded people who cared about this topic and wanted to see a film or a film series about this topic. Um, and that's how they got the funding. So, I think it's just finding people that, you know, care about what your film is about.

This might be easier with documentaries than if you're trying to raise for a horror film. Uh, so that might be a little tougher. You know, a lot of people though, in those genres, you know, look at crowdfunding. Crowdfunding seems to be a, another popular way for people to be doing that. And we did do crowdfunding, by the way, in our [00:25:00] raising of money with, um, with, uh, from the Heart Productions.

Uh, we also did a crowdfunding around that. That is an opportunity to raise money also, especially for independent films.

Andrew Kazlow: That's fascinating. So, how does the payout work like typical, you know, venture investment kind of in the tech space, you know? Okay. You're hoping for an IPO or an exit. We're not gonna IPO Show Her The Money. How, how do investors get paid back? Like what's the kind of end goal here? There's certainly the cultural impact, but from, I'm curious from a financial perspective, what's the, the ROI driver?

Catherine Gray: So this is what I would say about it. Uh, I was recently listening to, um, just trying to think of her name, Mel Robbins. And she was saying, you know, some people measure success by how much money did you make? And others, uh, they, measure it by how much impact did I make?

How much fun did I have on this project? And I will say the investors in this [00:26:00] project have told me this has been their most fun investment ever. They've not only gotten to tour the world, be in the book, but we've done fun things, created music videos. They've met people that they otherwise wouldn't have met.

They're doing business with them. We got to go to special events, like we were just with the senators in California, uh, Sacramento, uh, the California State House members. We were at the Department of Homeland Security, uh, doing, uh, uh, an event there. Uh, these type of things that they never otherwise would've had an opportunity to do.

And they've all done business now with each other. So, our film family's very tight. It's created a wonderful community of like-minded people who enjoy doing things with each other. So, I would say the biggest payoff has been that the return on investment, uh, financially will be seen in the long term, um, because we still haven't, you know, gone [00:27:00] on video on demand and things like that.

But the real most important return is are we making an impact and did we have fun doing this project? And so for many people, that's what they wanted to get out of it. And so that's a win-win.

Andrew Kazlow: You know, it's fascinating to think about the perhaps counterintuitive or counter-cultural take in that profit maximization isn't the primary outcome, but this impact and this cultural shift and seeing kind of the macro evolution is in fact the greater objective. And even for those participating.

Thinking about these other objectives? Honestly, I think this is one of the things that I love so much about angel investing is that oftentimes profit maximization isn't the core or even primary motivation if we're honest with ourselves. It, it is often, so often the, I care about this and I want to be involved in this, and so I'm voting with, you know, I'm buying access to this thing with my [00:28:00] dollars.

Catherine Gray: And I am glad you said the word voting 'cause I think we do vote with our money. Whatever change we wanna see in the world, we need to vote with our money. And that's a very powerful thing. Women are getting only 2%, oh, hello, let me vote with my money and that will help change this. So I like that terminology, Andrew.

Andrew Kazlow: Uh, I, I completely agree. I, I'd love to hear, Catherine if there are maybe one or two select stories or select examples of this concept of vulnerable, yet persistent. Uh, you mentioned this in the book and I just feel it kind of thematically being around you. I, I wonder if there are a few specific stories that immediately come to mind of entrepreneurs or investors that really represent this, this quality and this ethos.

Catherine Gray: Yeah, that quality and ethos I think is essential to an entrepreneur who's out there fundraising or a filmmaker is that, uh, I, I always [00:29:00] tell people, you have to remember, the biggest thing about fundraising is you are not asking for yourself. You are asking for this greater picture of what's important.

And so, you have to be fearless about that. And I think removing yourself from it and knowing that what you're asking for the money for is something so much bigger than ourselves that's so important to impacting the world, that it makes us be fearless. And so, I think that's something that they have to understand.

You know, an entrepreneur gets an idea. Uh, of, I know some woman that's creating a product that could help, you know, 

with detecting lung cancer. Well, hello, she should be asking for that money fearlessly because she got that download, that gift from something much greater than [00:30:00] ourselves, and it's important to raise the money, to put that out in the world. And so, um, that's what I would say is you're not asking for yourself. You're asking for that download. You got your purpose on the planet I call It.

Andrew Kazlow: I'm curious, in your several hundred podcast interviews, all the networking that you've done. Are there other themes or patterns that you've begun to recognize in some of the more effective, more successful entrepreneurs, uh, female entrepreneurs that are perhaps distinct, to, you know, this world?

Like, I'm just curious, what are the other patterns that you're seeing that most people you feel like just don't get?

Catherine Gray: Yeah. Well, I know, and I know you're referring to the 400 episodes I've done with my podcast called Invest in Her. And you're right. I have gotten to meet the most extraordinary women through that, uh, ability to talk to both funders and founders. Brilliant, brilliant women. Um, [00:31:00] and what I have found is. I think there's a real superpower in learning how to connect people and sometimes you're connecting for your project and sometimes you're just connecting because you know someone else needs something that you have a connection to and there's a karma in that. And so it may not even be something that relates to your particular project, um, but it's, but it's a gift. And it's also super fun, uh, to connect people. And I always say it's free. Uh, you know, it doesn't cost you anything. You know somebody that needs this particular thing and you know, someone over here who could deliver that, why not put them together? And I think really successful entrepreneurs are good connectors.

Andrew Kazlow: I love that. Vulnerable, yet persistent, excellent connector. What else would you add to the, top three list of traits?

Catherine Gray: I think we have to build our confidence, especially in our [00:32:00] culture. Women don't have a lot of confidence. They're just not born with it. They don't, the, culture doesn't cultivate it. Um, I'm lucky I came from some entrepreneurial parents, so, 

um. I, I always felt pretty confident about what I was doing. Um, nobody does a hundred percent, but you know, I did grow up in that kind of a culture, but I think a lot of women don't.

And, I think it is something we have to cultivate. And, uh, there's programs out there. I always recommend one called the Quinn Essentials. Andrea Quinn puts on, I think it's a workshop that it's, uh, a workshop called, uh, 9 Tools to Accomplish Anything. And I do think that, that workshop helps women to cultivate confidence.

So, I think you have to find a book or a program or a coach that helps you build that confidence. I think confidence is really important.

Andrew Kazlow: Catherine, I'd love to hear more about what's next for you. Um, obviously continuing to [00:33:00] amplify the show. The book recently launched. Did I see that you're working on a broadway opportunity?

Catherine Gray: Yes. So, first with regard to our moviement, um, also working on an education program so that, uh, young women and men can learn about venture capital and, you know, the high school and college level. I wish I had had that opportunity. So, I wanna give others that opportunity. So, working on developing that, looking for a sponsor for that, a corporate sponsor or foundation.

Um, and then also I would like to do a docus spinoff series. Also, again, it's all about finding the right partners to do that, but I do think more of this content, um, on networks like, uh, that we're teaming up with, getting it out to millions of people will be a game changer for the future. So, education and reaching more eyeballs, uh, both with our film, show her the money, um, and a spinoff docuseries.

So, that's all, in my [00:34:00] future, uh, focus. Meanwhile, yes, I'm a co-producer on a, um, show headed to broadway. We say it's Broadway Brown. It's gonna be here in LA in the spring. And it is done by my friend, uh, Nico Juber. It's, uh, by a woman, about women, for women, which is really unusual, believe it or not, on broadway.

And I never knew that. I've always been a broad, broadway fan, but I never realized that there were very few women allowed into that space to be the creators. And she not only wrote the show, but she wrote the music and the lyrics. It's called, Millennials Are Killing Musicals, and it is absolutely sensational.

She is brilliant. Uh, she comes from an entertainment family. Uh, you could look her up at her grandfather's, uh, famous TV producer. And, uh, her dad also amazing, played for, um, Paul McCartney and Wings and, uh, her [00:35:00] sister's a a pop artist, as well writing music for, top pop artists. So, she's from that DNA, just super creative, super smart business woman as well, which is a rare combination.

So, yes, my wife and I are co-producing that show, uh, along with many others, some of them from, uh, the film, uh, family. And so, we're super excited to see that get some, um, acceleration, uh, because it's nice to see things that are game changers in certain genres that will help propel women forward.

Again, such a small percentage of broadway producers, directors are women, and we do have a broadway, Tony nominated broadway, uh, woman director as well. So, a lot of women involved in this particular production and, uh, it's really a fabulous show. Very poignant yet very funny and, uh, excited to get that out there.

So thanks for asking about [00:36:00] that.

Andrew Kazlow: Of course. Well, we'll be sure, sure to leave a link in the show notes. We are live, when? When we go live? First in LA and then, what's the, what's the timeline?

Catherine Gray: So, 2026 for LA and then be fundraising to, uh, get it into broadway in probably 2027. So it, it's always, uh, a little bit of a road, but an exciting one. Super exciting to see how it all unfolds and be a part of it. Uh, we were already at the off-broadway show, uh, that was held there.

That's typically how broadway shows start. They start off broadway, uh, in a public theater, very competitive, hard to get into. This is how Hamilton all of these popular shows started. Then they usually go to regional to fine tune it, build the set, work it out. Um, and that's for us, which is again, very competitive uh, is LA and then, um, from LA, uh, onward to, uh, uh, broadway off, you know, could be, on broadway or off [00:37:00] broadway. But, yeah, it's an exciting path, exciting journey, and once again, it's a great, fun investment, that I, I really say we've already had so much fun working on it and seeing it grow and, uh, looking forward to where it's headed.

We're all focused on a Tony.

Andrew Kazlow: I love it. 

Catherine Gray: Why not? Why not?

Andrew Kazlow: That's right. Aim, aim high. Well, Catherine, this has been so fun. Any final thoughts that you would leave our listeners with as we consider kinda the world of investing early stage founders, uh, particularly female founders? Any final thoughts you'd leave our, our listeners with?

Catherine Gray: Uh, our final thoughts would just be, you know, please visit our website, showherthemoneymovie.com. We have upcoming screenings on there. You can also book a screening. And of course our website has, like you had mentioned so many resources, uh, workshops and groups to learn about the exciting world of venture capital.

Once you step into it, you'll be so glad you did. [00:38:00] Rather, it's the investors in it or the founders in it. They're all such brilliant people. And you have an opportunity to just meet the most incredible people on the planet and learn about what are the future products and services and how you might even be able to invest in them.

So a, a very exciting arena to step into. And, uh, yeah, visit us. Check out my, uh, uh, other websites, uh, which is, sheangelinvestors.com. Uh, lots of resources there. And you can also catch our, uh, podcast, uh, called Invest in Her. So Andrew, thanks so much for having me on your podcast. I appreciate the platform and, uh, appreciate your listeners tuning in today.

Andrew Kazlow: Well, thanks for the time and for the 101 on the, the media space as well as what's happening in, in your world. So I look forward very much to our next conversation.

Catherine Gray: Great. Me too. And, uh, of course we're on LinkedIn, uh, so I'll see everybody there as [00:39:00] well.

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