This Founder Wants To Help Alzheimer's Patients Restore Memory. Plus: Stop Spinning Your Wheels

Forbes

02-05-2025

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When was the last time you really embraced imperfection? This newsletter talks pretty regularly about how perfectionism can be bad for our wellbeing and even our workplace culture, but it can feel far easier to read and write about the power of imperfection and failure than it can be to actually live it.
I was reminded of this during an event for Ms. President US Wednesday night. The organization is one that prepares young girls (fourth through eighth grade) for civic leadership, and the New York City Ms. President chapter leader and founder, high school junior Sofia Sahai, had invited me to interview entrepreneur Reshma Saujani about her career and the ways she's taken action even after significant career setbacks.
In recounting the political losses that preceded her founding of Girls Who Code, Moms First, and PaidLeave AI, Saujani talked about how publicly losing two Congressional races liberated her to fight even harder for women's equality without fear of messing up or looking stupid. For Sahai—and I think for a lot of us, which is why I'm writing about it here—it's an important reminder that a setback isn't necessarily the end of a story. In many cases, it's the beginning.
'I think a lot of times, with girls, once a girl faces rejection—I'm speaking from personal experience—it's really hard to keep going, because you feel like one shutdown can be the end of the world,' Sahai told afterwards. 'But really, a no is just opening so many doors to other yeses.'
Cheers to that!
Maggie
P.S.: Last week, we reported on President Trump's comment that a $5,000 'baby bonus' to encourage more people to have children could be a 'good idea.' Today for a Know Your Value segment on 'Morning Joe,' Mika Brzezinski, Huma Abedin and I analyzed whether such a policy is actually smart—and I also gave an update about 50 Over 50 nominations. Tune in here to see our discussion!
Stella Sarraf founded drug discovery company Spinogenix in 2016 with a goal of finding a better way to treat neurodegenerative disorders—particularly Alzheimer's Disease. Her approach looks at the brain's synapses, which are the structures that allow our neurons to, effectively, talk to each other. 'We have a small molecule drug in clinical development working at restoring those synapses, those connections that can stop working,' Sarraf told ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath in a recent interview. 'When you restore those connections, you can regain function. So our hope is that we can restore memory.'
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty ... More Images)
Since 2013, the Malala Fund has distributed $65 million through more than 400 grants across 27 countries. Now, as gender equality and girls' rights backslide around the world, the fund has announced that it is accelerating its impact and committing to distribute another $50 million over the next five years.
For the third year in a row, Forbes scoured the country to determine the richest person in every state across the country. In Wisconsin, ABC Supply cofounder Diane Hendricks (net worth: $21.9 billion) is one of 10 women who are the richest residents of their respective states, up from nine last year.
Last year, women's health startup Midi Health became one of the fastest-growing companies in its space by reaching some $100 million in funding, earning a spot on Forbes' Next Billion Dollar Startup list. ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath recently caught up with Midi cofounder and CEO, Joanna Strober, to hear about why she's hiring 'an army of nurse practitioners' and how she plans to increase Midi's reach.
We're not monkeying around with this one: Two new studies, one focused on bonobos, the other on professional women, underscore that female alliances can be game-changers. In the wild, researchers found that female bonobos form coalitions to suppress male aggression and maintain social power. Women in the workplace are doing something remarkably similar: By building supportive networks, they're pushing back against gender discrimination. The lesson from both studies is that when females back each other, they gain power.
1. Move beyond a period of stagnation. Working nonstop but feeling like you're going nowhere? In order to stop spinning your wheels, it might be time to reevaluate your priorities—and put deeper, more creative work on your to-do list.
2. Figure out when you're being gaslit. Gaslighting is a form of emotional and psychological manipulation, and it can occur in personal, professional, political, and medical situations. Not sure whether you're being gaslit by someone? Here are seven warning signs to consider.
3. Understand your employees' empathy expectations. A recent Deloitte study finds that Gen Z workers consider empathy one of the top two most important qualities in a boss. But what does this mean practically? Here's everything you need to know.
In the latest online discourse about men and animals, social media users this week began debating which side would 'win' in a fight between 100 men and one gorilla. The last time a similar debate arose, women debated whether it's safer to encounter a man in the wild or a…
A. Snake
B. Lion
C. Bear
D. Tarantula
Check your answer.