Eps 35 - Small Business ESG – Here’s the Scoop with Christy Cook

Erin Austin: Hello everyone. Welcome to the Hourly to Exit podcast. I am very excited for my guest today. Christie Cook. Hi Cristy 

Christy Cook: Hi, Erin and everyone . 

Erin Austin: I'm super excited for this episode because you know, all the topics are very timely, but this one is particularly so because of some current events around,Christie's expertise.

Erin Austin: So we're are going to dig in. But first Christie, would you introduce yourself to the audience? 

Christy Cook: Yeah, sure. So Christie Cook, as everyone has just been notified. Yes. I've been in the sustainability, corporate sustainability space for about 20 years now, working with large corporates,consulting, and I have really found my passion here recently.

Christy Cook: And, and my goal is really working to help startups and small, medi business. To incorporate E s G, it's really important. They're less resourced and,hugely important. And so I, I'm excited to get to use that expertise to help folks. And,my company is named Investor Strategies, so yeah, 

Erin Austin: you'll find this audience is also, we're kind of full of x.

Erin Austin: Kind of big company people, refugees I'd say, who are using our expertise that we learn there and translating it for a different audience,who doesn't have, you know, in-house people either in-house council or in-house e s G experts, which is,what I love to do with these episodes. So, e s G, just to repeat it for the audience that stands for Environmental Social, go.

Erin Austin: So in my former life, you know, working with public companies, E S G was a big topic, and certainly something can be covered in, you know, public filings and the like. Mm-hmm. great. And that's something we hear a ton in this smaller business entrepreneurial world. , but it's certainly in line with the mission of this,podcast, which is to create a more equitable economy.

Erin Austin: And so we're gonna talk about the concepts as they apply to this. But first is a bit of background. Tell us how E s G shows up in those larger public 

Christy Cook: companies. Oh my goodness. The large public companies, huge. And, and, and in many cases they've been working on this for some very long time, some 20 years, you know, it's evolved from the words corporate responsibility, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and, and, and while each of those are actually different.

Christy Cook: Basically the common thread is that large corporates have been doing things around the environment and diversity and the governance of those issues for a long time. , in many ways, and where it's showing up now specifically too, is a lot in supply chain that's mostly related around carbon as well as, you know, han capital, how people are being treated.

Christy Cook: , and so those are some very common ways. It's showing up right now. . , and, you know, e s G really started how, how it emerged. Really a framework for looking at,, risk and performance really from a financial standpoint. So, you know, what are the, if you're going, if someone's investing in a company, what are the risks associated in those three categories?

Christy Cook: And it gives 'em a framework to really look at. , . And what we're seeing now too is just an evolution of that, of,doing it for many reasons. One's political pressure,political meaning from their board or even from customers. And,so that's one way that, that, that companies are experiencing that right now a lot of regulatory compliance is happening and,again, The war for talent, you know, attracting and,retaining those employees and also really looking at growing your business.

Christy Cook: , it's right now if you're gonna grow your business, you've gotta be prepared to talk about the things you're doing around E S G. , it's starting to be required in ROIs or RFPs, excuse me. , so request for proposals. If you're, if you're gonna bid with a large corporation, you can see that as well. So those are a couple of ways.

Christy Cook: It's showing up in the world right now and a little history of how we are, where we are in a high level. 

Erin Austin: Yeah. Well that leads me to recount a story that I heard recently from a friend, and I'll make sure I don't get it wrong. He said this,this was about his decision to change his major from economics to English.

Erin Austin: Mm-hmm. , he said the great Milton Friedman came to my college and addressed the economic club. He was bragging about his pivotal role in Nixon's wage and price controls. I'm, I'm a woman of a certain age,which addressed the problem of inflation by intentionally throwing the country into a recession in the q and a.

Erin Austin: I asked him, since the government intentionally caused the recession so as to benefit the men, the many, what was the go? Moral obligation to those who lost their employment due to the recession. His answer was there was no moral obligation. I knew then that economics was not for me. And you know, this was the seventies I'm thinking.

Erin Austin: But today, more than ever, you know, consers care. Yeah. Employees care. All the things you just said. And for better or worse, you know, we, we,,our co, our corporations and our employers kind of reflect the way that we view the world, right? Yes. And, and to share our values. So one, why is this still. Kind of controversial.

Erin Austin: h, and two, you know, do you think that corporations, as he was talking about the government, do corporations have a more obligation regarding the externalities of what they do? 

Christy Cook: Great questions. Great questions. It's so exciting too, by the way. You know, I think one of the things that's happening right now, obviously you're, you used the word controversial and it's true, but why is it controversial?

Christy Cook: It's controversial because we're hearing things and, and you know, we're seeing 'em in the news. We're seeing things on social media, and the biggest takeaway to know is everyone can have. Agenda and different agendas, but the takeaway, the solid takeaway, no matter what, E S G is not going away. Okay? That's the bottom line, and that's what people need to know.

Christy Cook: There can be different,people in groups that, you know, are supporting a certain interest here or there, but please know it's not going away. , a couple of things about why it's not going away and why you need to prepare, because you. I always, look, I've been in, I've been in sustainability, corporate sustainability for a little over 20 years, and.

Christy Cook: When I'm looking to see what's happening in the us I start looking abroad and what I normally see is there's about a three year lag time between what's happening in the UK or the EU and it coming here to the us. and we are in that timeframe right now, and the EU has some strong regulations that have been in place for some time.

Christy Cook: And 2024 is the first year of reporting that these large corporations are going to be doing this for 20, 25 year. So,. And frankly how we see that showing up here in the US is really in two ways. One is large corporates, they're global. They have to comply with these regulations, and what that means is that it comes here in the US and it impacts others all within their supply chain.

Christy Cook: So if you're working with a large public, which is where it really starts in most cases. It's there, you're going to have to be prepared for it. So the opportunity that I see for small and medi companies right now is, it's not required, but you're gonna start to feel pressure, particularly from these large Publix, get ahead of it, get ahead of it, figure out what you need to do, and you're gonna be better for it and stronger in the long run.

Christy Cook: So that's really the first thing of how I see things happening. I think the second part of that, Is, and how we're seeing this come to fruition though, is we now have,this, this carbon accounting, this, this carbon disclosure requirements. It's in the s e C right now. It's a rule that has been out for,a while now.

Christy Cook: It's still in comment period. But what it's going to require is very similar to what's happening with the eu, where large publics are gonna have to disclose. , and likely that'll start about 2025. And, you know, everything's a little bit of a guess, but that's where it's coming. So again, it's not going away.

Christy Cook: Yes, there's a lot of people that have a lot of different opinions on it, but the takeaway is to get prepared,because it is coming and we have an opportunity to do some really cool things. I asked myself this like, like one of the things is I think if you ask someone, Hey, do you want your company? Do you want the economy to do well?

Christy Cook: Do you want people on the planet to thrive? Yes, is the answer. So the, these are, this is why e s G matters. It's why sustainability matters and why people in companies can take part in this. And,one other part, kind of to your question. You asked about companies, and I really touched on that a lot. , But you're also seeing this in government and it's really a, a crossover of how it impacts,corporations as well, because we've got executive orders that are out requiring this.

Christy Cook: So if you're a company that's looking to work with the government, you're gonna be required to do this as well. So,multi-pronged approach that's happening here in the us. . 

Erin Austin: Yeah. I mean, you, you mentioned a couple of things. You know one about how the EU and are, is leading the charge on a nber of issues.

Erin Austin: You know, we saw this with data privacy. Yes. Where they had much, you know,greater data, privacy issues over there. Over here. Still, you know, taking your information, doing whatever the heck we want to with it. And finally, that caught up with us. , and we really haven't caught flatfooted, frankly, because we have all these, you know, we don't have a nice federal law.

Erin Austin: We've got all these different state laws, which are a bit of a mess. , but to be able to, you know, say that you can comply at that highest level is, you know, definitely gives you a leg up and. . And then the other thing is being part of that supply chain, you know, as someone who reviews, you know, contracts from, you know, big corporates to,smaller service-based businesses and the size of them, I actually.

Erin Austin: I think it was today, I, I wrote a, a piece about the, the emergence of the 100 page M s a, which is Oh yes. Cause of all these things that they want you to comply with and it will be not, not at all unusual to have. Entire exhibits about ethics, compliance and all these things and these, and as they are more required, I'm sure,at the public company level to report,their E S g,initiatives that they will wanna make sure that everyone in their supply chain is clean.

Erin Austin: You know, nobody wants to get caught. I'm thinking, I think it was, was a Cambridge Analytics that was a couple years ago who Facebook was using and Cambridge Analytics. You know, doing all sorts of crazy stuff with data and you just don't want, they don't wanna get caught up with that because you know, the people will be canceled.

Erin Austin: Right. We know that the, that , that information and,spread so quickly and people do. , protest with their wallets. And so yeah, it just, it just,just be ready for that, you know, be ready for that. 

Christy Cook: For sure. Yeah. And I, I think you bring up two points I'd like to kind of comment on is,I've, I've worked also with,an environmental tech company and one of our large enterprise clients,is a large global,Web-based technology type company.

Christy Cook: The very first master services agreement we had with them was three pages. When we went through the renewal process, just the data and security was 18 pages. Yes. . And,yes. It was part of,you know, some of the, the more stringent. Things around data and privacy and security of course, which is also part of E S G.

Christy Cook: Mm-hmm. , by the way. Mm-hmm. , not, not everyone thinks about that, but that is actually part of e sg is data security, the protection of,identifiable personal information for people. Yeah. Mm-hmm. . , but yeah, for sure. So I just think that's so interesting and,if you really. And part of it is my feed, my newsfeed, right?

Christy Cook: The algorithms work. But I probably see two to three stories every day about another company that has, you know, been fined or been identified for,not meeting some regulations that they thought they were meeting or perhaps it was intentional. There's a lot of different ways this happens. Mm-hmm. . , but it's way more commonplace.

Christy Cook: It really is. So gotta pay a. 

Erin Austin: Yeah, yeah. Speaking to the three page versus the, you know, a hundred page m s a, you know, I, I've been working with this one professional services firm for about 10 years, and at the very beginning, you know, most of their clients, like 99% of them would just sign the quote. Like they'd send over a quote and they'd sign it and they'd go and do That does not happen.

Christy Cook: Not anyone, not any longer . 

Erin Austin: So, so speaking of the controversy, I just read an article,, about the co-founder of Home Depot,who was complaining about woke diversity in his words,because it doesn't benefit the bottom line and that pursuing these ideological agendas is, is at the expense of solid financial returns.

Erin Austin: So do the nber support his contention? E S G doesn't benefit the bottom line. 

Christy Cook: No, is the short answer, but you know, I think that the important thing that anybody should take away is, I think you can find a fact and an argent to that fact. everywhere. Right? You can,I think in some ways it's, it's the quality of the assessment.

Christy Cook: What are you, you can make data do almost anything if you want to, right? But at the same time,I think that the , the clear answer is, again, if we want people in the planet to thrive, obviously we have to do it in a way that makes financial sense because businesses have to be in business in order to do good.

Christy Cook: So in no way is this saying that you should, you know, you should do something that the expense of, you know, your, your business being sustainable in itself, that's definitely not what it, what it should be. But yes, the nbers show,That you're going to attract more talent. You typically will retain that talent.

Christy Cook: You are going to attract the customers that, that you want. Yes. You've gotta,these nbers just prove it. And another area that I would say that's, that's, Emerging even more. And as, as important as you're scaling up, I think, you know, that's a lot of what you tell you talk about. Right? And And I do too.

Christy Cook: But when you're scaling up, it's important to realize and understand that financial institutions are looking at E S G. 100% they are. And. 78% of companies that have E S G are more likely to get funded. And, and what I mean by the spec specific statistic is that 78% of investors are looking to ensure that you have E S G in the foundation of your business.

Christy Cook: And again, that's important because. If you're trying to scale up, you're likely trying to get funding. You need to scale a team. Let's attract and retain that talent. You need to have consistent revenue and growth. Well, let's make sure customers wanna buy. And you know what? Let's avoid that regulatory risk and fines.

Christy Cook: So have your E S G practices in place. I know it's complex and it can get even more complex. It can't, but you know what, it doesn't have to be that way. So do something. One other point, I would just say, you know, and maybe this is my high horse, but I hate this term woke and, and how it can be used in a lot of different ways, but ultimately, don't we all wanna know more, more information is is powerful.

Christy Cook: Mm-hmm. so. I hope I continue to learn more. And you know, if you're going to call that term woke, I just think it's intelligence,, and, and wanting to strive to always learn something because I learn something every day, frankly. And,it's one of the journal questions that I ask myself every day too.

Christy Cook: What did I learn today? Whether it's a statistic or something personal, but I think we should always be striving to learn. . 

Erin Austin: I love that. I love that you journal about what you learned each day. I think that's, I try to,journal about gratitude. Cause I, yes, but, but I like, but I learned today. I like that one.

Christy Cook: Sometimes they're surprising

Christy Cook: but it's a quest to,to,Know myself better, be better, and do better. And,you know, if, if you're not asking yourself those questions,you can miss it. And I think it's important. It's been really eye-opening for me, so that's fantastic. 

Erin Austin: So let's talk about what you do specifically with your clients.

Erin Austin: So who are they, what pain are they feeling that they say, I need to talk to Christie, and how do you work with them? 

Christy Cook: Great question. , you know, the pain is in some ways what we've talked about already. You know, I, I'm really focused right now on startups that are scaling. And the reason why is, you know, in a perfect world, I would love to see more women and people of color receive more funding.

Christy Cook: , even. Typically, these are businesses that are focused more on people in the environment, which I care deeply about. So it really aligns,to what I'm trying to do. But ultimately, E S G is important for everyone. So I am focused on startups and helping them build that fabric of E S G in their company as they're scaling.

Christy Cook: And again, I think it hits four business issues immediately. , better prepares them and positions them to get funding against others and get more funding. , you know, revenue growth through customers attracting and retaining talent, and also that regulatory compliance. And the way I try to work with these companies, especially the startups and the small businesses, is, you know, They may not have the technical knowledge, they may not have the expertise.

Christy Cook: They're very focused on their core of what they're trying to accomplish. So I try to make things as simple as I can by helping them understand the most important issues that they need to focus on and how to implement those. And what I have found is if you start your business in that way,it creates and fosters growth in those areas in the future, which is also important.

Christy Cook: So that's kind of like, you know, thinking about this, you don't have to be doing this for 20 years. We all start somewhere. So start where you are. And that's what I help clients do, understand where they are, what the most important issues are, how to address those. And where that comes down is it helps 'em understand.

Christy Cook: How to talk about E S G,fluently and how it relates to their business. Exactly. Again, what to focus on, how to measure performance, because that's really important. You've gotta be able to talk to your customers, your clients, even reporting on what you're doing, why as well as the investors and report progress over time.

Christy Cook: So I try to simplify that for them and provide a model and process that can be repeatable for them. , in a way, again, understanding the amount of time they have to focus on E S G. , it's not separate, but it's often viewed that way. So I start by educating and it becomes a, a real fabric of who they are and what they do as a company that's, 

Erin Austin: Yeah.

Erin Austin: Yeah. Integrating it as part of their operations and not exactly doing this thing over there that you do. Yes, yes, yes. 

Christy Cook: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. You know, you mentioned something earlier,the, the switch from,the major from economics and one of the things that's happening right now that's really impacting particularly small and medi businesses, but,you know, 20 years ago when I started in this, there really wasn't a degree.

Christy Cook: And sustainability or E S G. Mm-hmm. . And a lot of it was learning in your operations. , you know, and applying that. Well, there's a lot more of that today in that, that you can get different, more certifications and different programs. But what we're seeing is a lot more,College students coming at this from a data standpoint and that that's great.

Christy Cook: That's great. It's given the, especially with the amount of reporting and the requirements, it's imperative, frankly, but what I'm seeing and how that happens, and especially in small and medi companies, is. You get these college graduates, they know some things, don't get me wrong, but now you've put them in an organization where perhaps the C-suite and board want E S G.

Christy Cook: They don't quite know what that means. They can't provide the, the. the guidance on that. And you have this, this, this, this person that's typically passionate about this topic, but without guidance and leadership and where to go. And so that's one of the gaps to some degree that I've, I'm seeing mm-hmm. . , and you know, it, it's, it's unfortunate because also that that person who's doing the work,is a little,, you know, it's a disconnect in the organization.

Christy Cook: They feel like they're not quite accomplishing what they want. Mm-hmm. . And in the long term, if that person isn't successful, if they can't manage a complex organization where you need all these, this buy-in, but no one reports to you and it's not their day job. Right. It's difficult and it, it actually leaves a mark in the company of maybe this E S G doesn't work.

Christy Cook: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. kinda thing. So that's one of the things I would. Say that I'm seeing, I'm gonna be interested to continue to watch that and see how it, it progresses over time and. That's one of the, part of the reasons why I like to work with the, the companies. I think mentoring the small and medi companies, mentoring these folks, helping them understand,some would even call it soft skills, but how you navigate an organization,how you create buy-in at a C-suite level and, and what you push for and how you have different conversations are skills that aren't always taught.

Christy Cook: And,it, it's something that's incredibly valuable to the work and the impact of the. 

Erin Austin: Yeah, that there's definitely a transition that I've been seeing for the last several years about the unsiloing of different departments. You know? Yes. The legal departments just siloed. You only talk to them if something goes wrong.

Erin Austin: Communications is siloed. You only talk to them if you need, you know, you got some messed cleanup or, or you know, or for your social responsibility group, you know, they're over there. You know, sponsoring some kind of charitable thing, . Right. But,but bringing them all in at the earliest stages. Yes. So that they're all working towards the same goals like that, you know, there's definitely a lot of that happening, which is great to see.

Erin Austin: And I think that's more, but you know, the 21st. Century model than the absolutely century model. So that's great to hear. Absolutely. Well, that, that brings us too,you know, the Hourly Exit podcast, you know, helping to gr build a scalable and saleable business. And so there are a lot of ways you've talked about.

Erin Austin: That would be instrental in helping an expertise-based business. That's mostly, you know, IP-based business scale. Right. , so, so there's a lot of 'em you can cover. So, so talk us through like three of them, the top three that you think might, might top 

Christy Cook: three actions that you would suggest. Absolutely.

Christy Cook: You know, the, the nber one thing that I hear is often, well, I don't know what to do or how to do it . So,You know, I, so first I would just say I, I actually have some resources,free resources for that. So folks can look at that on my website if they like. But ultimately, you know, you've gotta do something, right?

Christy Cook: So what do you do? I think if I'm, let's just say, we'll, we'll talk about one item in each category. You really, for the environmental standpoint, you've gotta look at carbon. ,because you are likely in someone's supply chain somehow, whether you're service-based or goods based business, it's gonna be required.

Christy Cook: So you've gotta start thinking about that. , and you know, in the social area, always diversity, you know, we've gotta look at that and, and some of the biggest ways, especially if you're looking at scaling, I would say make sure your board repre is representative of a diverse organization as well as your.

Christy Cook: Mm-hmm. . But,that's important. And governance,you know, governance is how do you make sure you continue to do things,in the way you're intending, you get no surprises. The risk and, and,you know, the thing 

Erin Austin: that, but can I, can I stop you on the governance piece Please? Like, what is the connection between governance, which I think is just like kind of corporate governance minutes and stuff like that.

Erin Austin: Yeah. And kind of sustainability, like what's, what's. 

Christy Cook: Here. This is what I think. I think,FTX has been in the news a lot. Ftx is,Sam Bankman Fried, right? Yes. And he is the guy who is in jail now, currently as I, I, or I think he's actually home. , yes. Jail. But, but he's been arrested. And part of this all has to do with.

Christy Cook: How he managed the business. Governance oversees the safety of that business. Essentially, if there is good governance, those things wouldn't have in theory happened. Now how this applies too, the and, and that's like, you know, bribery laundering, money laundering, all these things are, should be basic. You know, of how you run an operation, a company 

Erin Austin: not, not committing crimes.

Erin Austin: Yes. 

Christy Cook: It's not committing Fundamental, yes. Is definitely part of sg. , and, and the governance is really some, some overseeing of that. And so, That's a very businessy way of looking at that. But the way it's evolving for E S G and, and there's a lot of risk and, and I'll keep talking about supply chain because it's one of the top risks that people are thinking about right now and looking at again, for, because of carbon and because of, of han capital,how people are treated,throughout the supply chain.

Christy Cook: But if you set a standard, you have to be able to. Oversee it. You have to have something that's measurable and you have to report over it. And that's part of the governance and the oversight that happens. , and it's really an agreeing upon this is how we're going to do business and, and understanding that that is your, those are your guiding principles of it.

Christy Cook: That's how I think about it and the importance of governance. You'll also see a lot of,data security,in, in, in governance as well. It kind typically falls under that, but,again, that's, that's important. Yeah. Yeah. 

Erin Austin: Thank you for that. So, You know, this is a very meta podcast. You know, I am the female founder of an expertise based business, and I am growing to hopefully sell someday.

Erin Austin: So I must ask you, as the female founder of an expertise based business, are you thinking about,selling it someday? Is that anywhere on your radar? Do you have an idea about what you might do if you weren't doing this ? 

Christy Cook: , so interesting. I, I, I definitely do. And, and. I believe that, you know, folks don't always agree with me because E S G is very complex and.

Christy Cook: I just think sometimes we overcomplicate things all right? And I think it varies by where companies and people are in their maturity, but I think that,part of what I am creating is this process and this, this repeatable,way of doing things that can really simplify things. , and frankly, no one else is doing it right now.

Christy Cook: No one else is helping the startups in small and medi businesses. Maybe people don't think that's where the money is at, but my gosh, that's where our, our, our world is and focused on, and that's a large part of it. So let's do that. So it's so interesting in that yes, I am very interested in continuing to grow because I do think that.

Christy Cook: Approach is slightly different in my processes. , and my biggest thing is impact. So how can we have exponential positive impact? And you can't do that without look, in my opinion and the way I like to guide myself, but is looking to the future. And part of that is,how do we, again, scale into a a, a large saleable business and really excited about,just recently approached by an organization that's really focused on that.

Christy Cook: And so it's kinda exciting to mm-hmm. think about it in that way, and even potential perhaps sooner than later, but yes. 

Erin Austin: Wow. That is exciting. Well, you talking my language. , increas increasing impact by creating a scale of business. We know that there's only so much we can do on a one-on-one basis, right?

Erin Austin: And so at some point we have to expand beyond ourselves, whether it's through employees, if that's your thing, or through some sort of,products or other ways of,kind of leveraging our, our talents. And,so that's, yeah, that is,, I love to hear that. That is great. So as we wrap,three final questions.

Erin Austin: Sure. , so,creating a more equitable economy is something that is very important to us here. And so is there a person or organization that is doing work in this area that you'd like to share with the 

Christy Cook: audience? Oh, absolutely. So,, the organization that I, I wanna talk about is called Bandar. Nlu and it well before this 

Erin Austin: in the show notes, everyone, so we can, 

Christy Cook: yes.

Christy Cook: Awesome. You'll see the website. It's, I love the organization for many reasons. One, The founder is, is also a former boss, so I know her very well. Mm-hmm. and, and I know what she's accomplished trying to accomplish and do. So it's just really great. But her name is Deborah Hecker and she founded Bandar and Belu and she founded it because she wanted to do, the organization really does two things.

Christy Cook: One,, they, there's waste reduction component. And what I mean by that is,85% of all clothing in the US either goes to the landfill or is incinerated. Mm-hmm. , it's huge. Mm-hmm. . So,and what she does is repurpose sorrys. So sorrys are a traditional Indian and other culture,garment that is worn.

Christy Cook: And she takes these garments and with a group of volunteers, they. Animals and jewelry and purses. Just really cool things that are repurposed that you can buy. And it goes in support of improving graduation rates for girls in India. Wonderful. Because we know that if girls succeed, community succeed, families succeed, they're, they're higher levels of thriving in the world.

Christy Cook: And so it's a great organization. , I would just encourage everyone to go check it out. , . And , you know, I, I think one of the kind of cool things that's happened recently in some ways is,, Tamara Hamlin, you know, he had,I think a GoFundMe for a couple of thousand dollars. That's now over 9 million.

Christy Cook: Yes, this is a small organization with dreams. How about that? So help, help,girls in India and reduce waste and check out Bandar and Belu. 

Erin Austin: I love that, that that directly hits our kind of our,theme, which is, you know, wealth in the hands of women can change the world. You know? Cause women provide more for their families, for their communities and, and,and you know, they don't,some people don't take space flights and with, with their , they, they fund,school programs.

Erin Austin: So that's another story. , so,so I love that. So,

Christy Cook: so. What 

Erin Austin: is happening in your, anything new happening in your business? And is there any kind of offer that you'd like to share that would be of 

Christy Cook: interest to, to the client? Oh, great, great. I'm so excited. I forgot about this. This is exciting. So, yes, I do have a, it's new, it's here in the spring.

Christy Cook: , and so I am, I have a course. That is available particularly for startups. Mm-hmm. ,to, to really help them implement the e s g practices they need in order to get funding. So check out my website, invest her strategies. That's invest. H e r mm-hmm. . And I know the links will be Yes. We'll be here Erin. So thank you for that.

Christy Cook: , but that's, that's really what I'm focused on right now because,you know, I just saw an article this week, typic basically over the last several years. 3% of funding, a little less than 3% has went to women. That's now down below 2%. And so at 1.9% now,is, is an article I just saw. So let's let, let's, let's do some good things here.

Christy Cook: Yes, let's implement some E S G practices. Let's make sure that companies with, with good ways of working are thriving. So check it out and,I'd be glad to, to chat with anyone. Yeah, the clients. 

Erin Austin: Right. Clients that care about E S G are the clients that you wanna work with. Those are the ones that Absolut great partners for you.

Erin Austin: So yes, that is great. So,we know we can find you@investorstrategies.com. Where else can people find you? 

Christy Cook: You can find me on LinkedIn. , that's probably the best place to find me if you're looking to, to chat and,of course my website, so, yeah, absolutely. 

Erin Austin: Awesome. Thank you so much for being with us Christie.

Erin Austin: So much wisdom shared. Much 

Christy Cook: appreciated. Thank you so much fun. I hope that,the listeners get something out of this and,it was fun. Thank you Aaron Aaron. Hundred 

Erin Austin: percent. Thank you.