Leigh Christie has a lot ahead of her.
She's preparing for a half Ironman race in September. She's raising two teenage girls. She's planting in her garden. Her family recently got a puppy, adding to their other dog and two cats. And on June 14, she'll take the helm of Beam, one of Austin's most important organizations supporting women entrepreneurs.
So there are workouts, thrift shopping, plant rescue and a lot of listening and homework to be done.
While her voice rings calm, she repeats from topic to topic that "we've got to do the work." That means doing the work of encouraging diverse founders to launch businesses and raise funding, highlighting the work of exemplary leaders and building toward a more inclusive startup ecosystem.
Christie, who recently left her post as senior vice president of global tech and innovation at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, is also an original Austinite who often gravitates back to old school country music that she used to hear on 8-tracks in the car with her dad — think Waylon Jennings and the like. But you also might spot her at a "Weird Al" Yankovic show.
How do you envision Beam evolving over the next year or so? With the perspective of not being fully on board with them yet, I think what excites me about Beam is under Jess Gaffney's leadership, and then of course having Jan Ryan on the board, Mellie Price, Dan Graham and Lisa Graham ... I know this board is ready to strategically move forward. They have really built a foundation for being an angel network, and the opportunity is so ripe to build on that. It's how do you continue to grow and bring Beam along and continue to showcase the women founders — and not only showcase them; we've got to do more funding.
It's already been released that Beam is going into San Antonio. That will be an extremely important next step. So I'm looking forward to helping build that and launching that. There are a lot of successful entrepreneurs women founders, and it's just a budding location for women-owned companies, and I think that will be phenomenal. I also know that Beam will be doing some strategic planning. So what's next? I can only imagine it'll be great. I'm looking forward to diving in and learning more, listening more, and then to leading.
Where do you think Austin's tech and startup scenes are at currently, in terms of providing opportunities for women founders? Hands down, there's always more we can do. I think Beam brings to the table a brighter spotlight on the importance of that — and making sure that we're bringing those founders along. I think everyone at the heart of all that Austin is wants to do more for women founders. We've just got to do more than talking and do more of the doing. So I do think there's more work to be done. And I think everyone would agree with that. And to be honest, I think because of Beam, more of these leaders will get behind leading with women founders.
What do you think are the biggest barriers are for both women founders, which might speak to the funding you've mentioned, and women in tech, generally speaking? It's difficult. If you don't see someone in a leadership role like you, it's harder to raise your hand. I also think that it's often the case that men have deeper networks in leadership roles. I also think we are used to hiring men, we're used to promoting men. I do think that's changing. But I think it's changing because we're seeing more role models to showcase how women can play a leadership role. And, quite honestly, more women are still juggling with supporting family, growing families. I think that's a wonderful opportunity to be doing that, but I do think it can be seen as a barrier to moving forward.
Where do you think Austin's at, in terms of racial inclusion and equity? I'm sure you've read Joah Spearman's welcome to Austin. So I think if we could just copy and paste that in here, that would be great. That would be a great answer. We have so much work to do, and I know people are committed. But we do need more Black founders, we do need more Hispanic founders and Asian founders, and we need more LGBTQ founders. And I think until we have that we can't really say that we're a diverse community and we have diverse leaders. A lot of people are talking about it, and I say it every time I've been asked — we have to do the work. I think we have to have more diversity, gender and race on every panel we do. I think we have to have that on boards. I think we have to have that in portfolios. It's not just the right thing to do, we've just got to do it. So I hope we improve. I know we can improve. We just have to do the work.
It's really easy to sign a pledge and I think leaders are truly signing the pledge because they believe in it. But I think it's a lot harder to do when you have to do the work. It's kind of like when people say 'Well, I only have these members on a board or these members on a panel, and these are the only people I could find.' If you don't have diversity on your board or you don't have diversity on a panel or in your leadership, you are not reaching outside your network to find those leaders. They exist, but are you doing the work to go out and bring those individuals to the table? It takes time. And we're all so busy. And I think we sometimes use that to kind of hide behind the fact that we have a lot of work to do. I don't think it's intentional. I just think if you're not intentional it can get away from you.
What was your first job and what was that like? When I was in high school, in order to pretty much do anything for myself, buy clothes or go out with friends, I had to have a job. So I first worked at a clothes shop off Bee Caves Road that doesn't exist anymore. I worked afternoon and night shifts and on the weekends. It was a great experience. It was hard, but it was also fun. I was able to, at a really young age, run a clothing store and manage the cash register. It really made me fall in love with working, and just the power behind earning your own dollars. That was probably my sophomore year in high school that I started working.
What's the most influential book you've read? When my husband and I were dating years and years ago, he gave me the books of Tao. "Tao of Pooh" and "Te of Piglet," by Benjamin Hoff. Oh my God, they're so good. And they're these small books that really talk about how to think and opportunities for that. And it really shaped my thought. It's probably the first time that I had read a very philosophical and intellectual book outside school.
When you're not involved with tech or at work, what are your go-to hobbies? It's definitely training right now. I'm also into gardening. Also, my girls are at the ages of almost 15 and 17, and they're into sustainability, and so spending time with them and thrifting and having fun — that's a huge part of my life and brings me a lot of joy.
Title: CEO, Beam; board member, SAFE, Mobridge Foundation; advisory board member, Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs advisory board
Hometown: Austin
Family: Husband and two teenage girls
Education: St. Edward's University, Seattle University Law School, University of Texas School of Law
Contact: lfchristie@gmail.com
