Tiffany Pham, the creator of Mogul, brings girls a book that shares about Pham’s story and success but also includes productive ways that they too can succeed in the business world. Suited to female readers, Girl Mogul guides women as they enter the difficult world; it gives tangible methods of how to bring their own ideas and views out into the open to share their innovations with the world. Pham encourages her fellow entrepreneurs and gives women the confidence to be bold and vocal as she has been with her success with Mogul.

Follow my conversation with Tiffany Pham as we cover female voices, her inspiration to write for teens, and what steps women can take to follow in her footsteps:

First off, what first inspired you to pursue a career in business and technology?

I was first inspired by my family—most notably my grandmother, who was an amazing maverick of her time. She was an incredible woman who ran businesses across industries, and I wanted to be exactly like her. The day that she passed away—when I was 14—I made a promise to her and myself that I would create this company one day and follow in her footsteps.

I’ve always had a passion for learning, which is how Mogul was first built. I taught myself how to code so that I could build the platform that I envisioned would one day help women all over the world.
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Describe for readers your journey from the initial stages of Mogul to being named one of Forbes’ “30 under 30 in media”?

I was honored in Forbes’ “30 under 30” in 2014, and immediately after the fact, I was inundated with messages from young women all over the world asking for advice, encouragement, and guidance on how to be successful in their careers and personal lives.

I wanted to do whatever I could to help and would respond to each of their notes, one by one, with the hopes of helping someone become that much closer to accomplishing their goals. I thought, “What if there was a platform where millions of us could share our challenges and struggles, reaching our goals and realizing our full potential in this way?” From there, Mogul was created.
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Mogul is described as a networking site for women, but what does your company and site offer young women and professionals?

Mogul is empowering women to do the impossible. We are an ecosystem that enables women globally to reach their goals and realize their full potential.

We are launching our Mogul app to users in June, which provides users with the ability to become their most productive selves.

Beyond our app, our users can also access our resources across our web platform, email channels, social channels (@OnMogul), books (such as Girl Mogul), and events (including Mogul X, now the 3rd largest women’s conference in the US, where users can connect in person and learn from each other as well as top celebrities and CEOs about how to reach their goals and realize their full potential across work, finance, relationships, travel, and health & wellness).

We subsequently partner with Fortune 1000 companies and top-tier startups to attract, retain, and advance diverse talent—our users. Incredible job opportunities from our partners, webinars for learning and development, and employee engagement resources are all available across our ecosystem for our users to search and access.

For every $1 we earn, we regularly provide free educational resources to women in need through international partners, such as the United Nations.
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What first influenced you to write for young adults? Was it difficult maneuvering from business and technology to writing a novel for young women?

Reading and learning is a very big part of my life and that of Mogul. I wanted to be able to offer my learning experiences to young adults by helping them overcome the struggles and doubts that kept them from becoming their best self in every aspect of their lives. I thought writing down and sharing my own experiences with the world would be the best way for someone to relate and ultimately make the appropriate steps to better their career.

For me, the early years of my life were critical for absorbing information and developing a plan for what I wanted to achieve—with Girl Mogul, young adults are given the tools to help them succeed early. Everything Mogul stands for is about empowering women and young adults, so maneuvering from business and technology to writing two books that ultimately have the same mission was fulfilling.
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What can readers take from Girl Mogul, and how do you hope your own story impacts girls wanting to join the business and technology world?

Girl Mogul is meant to serve as a guide for teens, women, and young adults who are really ambitious and motivated but don’t know the path on how to accomplish their goals on getting their careers off the ground early. Readers will find tips and advice on how to receive mentorship, make tough decisions, and forge healthy friendships in both their personal and professional lives. The book highlights not just my own experiences but also those of other prominent female entrepreneurs, “Mogul Mentors,” to help readers navigate the often confusing career landscape that so many of us face daily.

I want girls to realize at an early age as I did that your dreams can come true. When you have an idea, just get started and go for it. Don’t be afraid to take on a new skill, and find your passion, even if it’s not perfect at the beginning.
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What have been your biggest influences during your journey and the process of establishing Mogul?

Apart from my grandmother, I’ve been fortunate enough to work with and meet amazing business leaders and mentors over the years. Girl Mogul highlights “Mogul Mentors” who have helped me over the years, such as Suze Orman, Ariana Huffington, Nastia Liukin, Kristen Visbal, Danielle Panabaker, and Monica Raymund. I try to encourage people to reach out directly to their mentors and build friendships from collaboration and to approach it from “what can I bring of value” versus “what can they do for me.” This is not only a great learning opportunity but also a chance to build long-lasting relationships.
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For aspiring entrepreneurs, what advice do you have to offer in regards to innovation, creativity, and making it in both the realms of business and technology?

As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly learning and growing. My book Girl Mogul tackles challenges that aspiring female entrepreneurs will deal with and how to navigate them. Here are a few mantras to try:

• Find your mentors and grow your network: Don’t just reach out to your inner circle. Reach out to your entire network, especially role models and peers who have been in your shoes before.

• Get experience in a variety of fields: If you’re going to run a business, try to familiarize yourself with every facet in advance through internships, jobs, and side hustles.

• Treat every small task as a chance to excel: Overdeliver on every task, no matter how small.

• Fail forward: Failures can be successes; so long as you’re learning, you’re succeeding. Keep persisting, keep going after that yes. After all, any “no’s” you receive are ultimately “not right now’s” that you can turn into “yes’s.”

• Value your voice: Your voice matters. We need businesses run by leaders of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to service the world and create a positive impact for all, so it’s important that your voice be heard and that you speak up.

• Be kind, authentic, and generous: Give, give, and give because that’s the energy you’re giving off, and that is the energy you’re going to get back.
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How has your time as a YA writer differed from your experiences managing and creating Mogul? What were the positive and negatives of both fields?

With Mogul, we elevate our community’s ideas and insights and enable our users to reach their goals and realize their full potential through each other and more.  With Girl Mogul, I was able to share my own learnings, mistakes, and insights throughout the journey of building Mogul. It has been incredibly rewarding to be able to share these lessons and enable readers to apply them to their own lives, personally and professionally, so they can become moguls right away today.
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What are you doing now? Are you working on any new projects or advancements for your site that you can share with readers and fans?

Mogul is growing and thriving globally, which keeps us busy. We are especially excited to launch our Mogul app to our users worldwide. It will go live on June 1st.
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What has been most memorable (difficult or humorous) about working as a writer or in business/technology?

Traveling for the Girl Mogul Book Tour and meeting in person with the women, of all generations from across our community, who have been most impacted by Mogul has been one of the most memorable moments for me. To be able to know that the book is serving its purpose of setting young adults up for success early in their lives and careers is something that I will cherish and take with me for years to come.