If you’ve ever talked yourself out of applying for grant funding because you assumed you weren’t the “right kind” of business, this episode is your reality check.

In this breakdown, I'm walking you through exactly how the first Hey Helen Grant winner was selected — and more importantly, how she wasn’t. Industry favoritism? Nope. Revenue bias? Also nope. Platform size, niche appeal, or whether the business felt “cool enough”? Completely irrelevant. What did matter was something far less glamorous and far more controllable: the clarity of the application itself. If you’ve ever wondered what grant reviewers are actually scanning for once they’re 50 applications deep, this episode delivers the answer (at least for me!).

Resources mentioned:

1. Learn more and apply for the Hey Helen Grant
2. Learn more about the grant winner, CeCe Cheng, and her company, ShareWell
3. Access my grant training (no opt in required!)

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1. What I noticed almost immediately once she started reading applications — and how fast unclear ideas got eliminated
2. The real reason traction matters (and why you don’t need customers yet to prove it)
3. What most founders think impact means — versus how reviewers actually recognize it
4. Why saying [insert big flashy statement here] works against you unless you can back it up with receipts
5. The framework I use to evaluate grants that founders can reverse-engineer for themselves

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⭐️ Love this episode? We'd GREATLY appreciate a 5-star review! ⭐️

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

• Let's be friends on the 'gram – @visionariesonline or @adrianegalea
• Connect on Linkedin – with Adriane or Visionaries
• Visit us on the web at visionaries.co
• Come network with us in The Visionaries Collective

If you’ve ever wondered why some speakers land the mic (and the money) while others stall, I'm opening the curtains on how event hosts actually choose speakers, what “paid” really means in different rooms, and why the savviest entrepreneurs treat stages like a core growth channel. Behind every conference stage is an organizer balancing budgets, reputation, and the experience they want to create.

If you’ve ever stared at a call for speakers and wondered what’s really happening on the other side, this episode gives you the host-eye view. It’s equal parts reality check and opportunity map — because when you understand how the game is played, you can decide when to chase the fee, when to chase the audience, and when to plant yourself in the kind of room that will pay dividends in the long run.

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🌟 Have a specific question you want me to workshop on the show?

I set up this voice-note line so you can send context-rich questions I can answer for everyone’s benefit — and I can’t wait to hear what you’re building!

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• The quiet calculation event hosts run before they ever open your application — and how to tip it in your favor without changing your talk
• Why two conferences with identical audiences can make opposite decisions on speaker fees — and how you can build brand equity vs get paid
• The different types of talks and the reputational bar that changes who gets paid (and how much)
• How showing up in the room — even when you’re not on stage — compounds your chances of getting invited later
• The overlooked assets hosts are investing in for you — and how to leverage them for your visibility long after the event
• The most important things you can do to get your application to stand out and make it easier for the host to say YES to your application

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

⭐️ Love this episode? We'd GREATLY appreciate a 5-star review! ⭐️

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

• Let's be friends on the 'gram – @visionariesonline or @adrianegalea
• Connect on Linkedin – with Adriane or Visionaries
• Visit us on the web at visionaries.co
• Come network with us in The Visionaries Collective

When your membership or subscription hits consistent revenue, the question that sneaks in is: do you keep pouring fuel into lead generation, or do you stop and ask what happens once people are already inside? It feels easier (and faster) to keep the front door swinging, but the truth is, scaling sustainably rarely comes from piling on more new members. The real leverage is retention — the part hiding in plain sight.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

🌟 Have a specific question you want me to workshop on the show?

I set up this voice-note line so you can send context-rich questions I can answer for everyone’s benefit — and I can’t wait to hear what you’re building!

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

• The counterintuitive reason chasing top-of-funnel can stall profit — even when it spikes sales
• A simple diagnostic to decide if you have a lead gen issue or a delivery bottleneck disguised as churn
• My email tactics that I swear by to increase engagement and retention (this is a hill I will die on!)
• How offboarding works as a growth lever for higher ticket and/or term projects to multiplies referrals, alumni sales, and repeat buyers
• The cost of acquisition vs attention and why this should matter a LOT to you

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

• Let's be friends on the 'gram – @visionariesonline or @adrianegalea
• Connect on Linkedin – with Adriane or Visionaries
• Visit us on the web at visionaries.co
• Come network with us in The Visionaries Collective