Radical Generosity, Resetting, and the Power of Asking
Reflections from Our Conversation with Vicki Saunders
Two weeks have passed since our Business Sisters Conference, yet the energy from that morning conversation with Vicki Saunders, Founder of Coralus (formerly SheEO), is still humming in my mind. I want to share the heart of what we explored together — because the ideas Vicki brought to our stage are the very ones shaping the future of women’s entrepreneurship.
First, in my humblest of opinions, this wasn’t just a keynote. It was a moment of collective remembering, unlearning, and imagining what business can look like when we put people — not money — at the centre.
Here are the five big themes that emerged from our time with Vicki.
1. Reimagining the Economy with People at the Center
Early in our conversation, Vicki shared a glimpse into her childhood on Saunders Farm — a place built not just on crops but on community, care, and hard work. She grew up asking big questions.
“As a kid,” she told us, “I kept asking my dad to explain how the economy works… It didn’t make any sense to me. People just decide something has value, even if it’s not based on anything. I wanted to redesign an economy that’s based on what we truly value — with humans at the centre instead of money.”
It was a simple truth delivered with the clarity of someone who has spent decades challenging the status quo:
We are living in systems that were not designed by people like us.
And as a result, they do not support the ways women naturally lead, work, and collaborate.
This thread ran through everything she shared — an invitation to rethink our businesses not as engines for extraction, but as living systems rooted in care, creativity, and community.
2. Radical Generosity: The Practice That Changes Everything
Many Business Sisters have heard me talk about “radical generosity,” but hearing it from Vicki herself — the woman who coined the term — brought it to life in a powerful way.
“What if we were surrounded by radically generous people?” she asked.
“What if we designed environments where people show up saying: ‘That’s a great idea — how can I help?’”
She reminded us that we all love to help, but most of us struggle to ask for help. When she asked the room to raise our hands — first for who loves to help others (nearly everyone), and then for who loves to ask for help — the contrast was striking.
This moment set the stage for one of the most electric parts of the morning: our spontaneous Ask & Give exercise. Women stood up to ask for:
- social media help
- YouTube strategy guidance
- a connection in the coaching world
- an introduction to someone in Toronto’s children’s rehabilitation sector
- and even a contact at DreamWorks !
Each time, someone — sometimes sitting at the same table — simply said: “I can help you with that.”
Three, then four, then five instant connections. No hesitation. Just generosity flowing freely.
“This is an unraveling of our scarcity story,” Vicki said. “We live in abundance all the time — we’re just conditioned not to use it.”
Get ready, Business Sisters: we’ll be doing more Ask & Give moments at upcoming events. They’re too powerful not to.
3. Building Community by Honouring Our Gifts
Another theme that lit up the room was Vicki’s approach to building communities where everyone has a role.
She shared how, for the organization of Coralus’ anniversary event, her team displayed the names of every volunteer on a digital board.
“We turned all the stickies yellow,” she said, “and the goal was to turn as many as possible to green — meaning we found a role for them at the event based on their gifts. Not a random volunteer task, but something we knew they were great at.”
That detail struck many of us deeply. Because so often, we walk through the world thinking:
- I shouldn’t bother anyone.
- I need to figure this out myself.
- I don’t have anything valuable to offer.
Yet the truth is the opposite. We all have something in abundance — something that’s effortless for us and transformative for someone else. As Vicki put it, “There are people who love spreadsheets. Really! And they want to help — because giving what comes easily to us brings meaning.”
That was the spirit behind our own Reflection Trees at the conference. And it’s something we’ll be weaving more intentionally into our future gatherings: roles, gifts, and meaningful micro-moments that help us truly see one another.
4. Resetting: Saying No, Unlearning, and Designing for Ease
Perhaps the most relatable moment came when Vicki talked about the importance of saying no — especially as we grow and evolve.
“My list of no’s is really long right now,” she admitted. “And that scared me at first… but then some yeses came through.”
She described her practice of “storytelling your no’s” to the people around you — not to complain, but to give others a chance to step in. “When you say it out loud,” she explained, “people understand its importance. They feel connected to it. And suddenly, things lift.”
This theme resonated across the room. Many of us — especially women — are wired to take on too much, to grind through, to do all the things. But Vicki reframed it beautifully: “Resetting doesn’t mean easy,” she said. “It means more flow of ease.”
This distinction matters. We’re not here to coast — but we also don’t need to build our businesses like punishment. Our bodies, our intuition, and our energy know the difference.
5. System-Changing Entrepreneurship in Action
Finally, Vicki shared examples of Coralus ventures that are literally redesigning sectors:
- GotCare, reinventing home healthcare by paying workers more while charging clients less, using flexible, community-rooted models.
- A media venture reshaping how stories are told.
- A food security project in Newfoundland preparing new models as current systems fail.
These aren’t “nice ideas.” They’re proof that women are building what Vicki calls “interventions on the way to new systems.”
And it’s not an easy path. “Most investment approaches are extractive,” she told us. “They want a big return — even from people creating a better world. We should be paying these people, not taking from them.”
Hearing her speak about these ventures felt like a call to courage. A reminder that changing systems isn’t about blowing up your business overnight — it often starts with one conscious shift, one redesigned practice, one act of generosity.
Closing Reflections
When our conversation wrapped, I felt — and many of you told me you felt — both grounded and uplifted. Vicki’s words brought clarity to something many of us already know in our bones:
We are not meant to build businesses alone.
We are not meant to measure our worth by productivity.
And we are not meant to accept systems that diminish us.
What we are meant to do is connect, collaborate, and design something better — together.
As Vicki urged us, “There is someone in this room who needs you. And someone you need. Don’t keep your abundance to yourself.”
You can learn more about the work of Coralus at coralus.world — and stay tuned, because at future Business Sisters events, we’ll be bringing even more Ask & Give moments into our gatherings.
Thank you to everyone who showed up with open hearts, brave asks, generous gifts, and a willingness to believe that a better way of doing business is not only possible — it’s already being built.
Together, we are weaving something powerful. Together, we are in.
Reflections from Our Conversation with Vicki Saunders
Two weeks have passed since our Business Sisters Conference, yet the energy from that morning conversation with Vicki Saunders, Founder of Coralus (formerly SheEO), is still humming in my mind. I want to share the heart of what we explored together — because the ideas Vicki brought to our stage are the very ones shaping the future of women’s entrepreneurship.
First, in my humblest of opinions, this wasn’t just a keynote. It was a moment of collective remembering, unlearning, and imagining what business can look like when we put people — not money — at the centre.
Here are the five big themes that emerged from our time with Vicki.
1. Reimagining the Economy with People at the Center
Early in our conversation, Vicki shared a glimpse into her childhood on Saunders Farm — a place built not just on crops but on community, care, and hard work. She grew up asking big questions.
“As a kid,” she told us, “I kept asking my dad to explain how the economy works… It didn’t make any sense to me. People just decide something has value, even if it’s not based on anything. I wanted to redesign an economy that’s based on what we truly value — with humans at the centre instead of money.”
It was a simple truth delivered with the clarity of someone who has spent decades challenging the status quo:
We are living in systems that were not designed by people like us.
And as a result, they do not support the ways women naturally lead, work, and collaborate.
This thread ran through everything she shared — an invitation to rethink our businesses not as engines for extraction, but as living systems rooted in care, creativity, and community.
2. Radical Generosity: The Practice That Changes Everything
Many Business Sisters have heard me talk about “radical generosity,” but hearing it from Vicki herself — the woman who coined the term — brought it to life in a powerful way.
“What if we were surrounded by radically generous people?” she asked.
“What if we designed environments where people show up saying: ‘That’s a great idea — how can I help?’”
She reminded us that we all love to help, but most of us struggle to ask for help. When she asked the room to raise our hands — first for who loves to help others (nearly everyone), and then for who loves to ask for help — the contrast was striking.
This moment set the stage for one of the most electric parts of the morning: our spontaneous Ask & Give exercise. Women stood up to ask for:
- social media help
- YouTube strategy guidance
- a connection in the coaching world
- an introduction to someone in Toronto’s children’s rehabilitation sector
- and even a contact at DreamWorks !
Each time, someone — sometimes sitting at the same table — simply said: “I can help you with that.”
Three, then four, then five instant connections. No hesitation. Just generosity flowing freely.
“This is an unraveling of our scarcity story,” Vicki said. “We live in abundance all the time — we’re just conditioned not to use it.”
Get ready, Business Sisters: we’ll be doing more Ask & Give moments at upcoming events. They’re too powerful not to.
3. Building Community by Honouring Our Gifts
Another theme that lit up the room was Vicki’s approach to building communities where everyone has a role.
She shared how, for the organization of Coralus’ anniversary event, her team displayed the names of every volunteer on a digital board.
“We turned all the stickies yellow,” she said, “and the goal was to turn as many as possible to green — meaning we found a role for them at the event based on their gifts. Not a random volunteer task, but something we knew they were great at.”
That detail struck many of us deeply. Because so often, we walk through the world thinking:
- I shouldn’t bother anyone.
- I need to figure this out myself.
- I don’t have anything valuable to offer.
Yet the truth is the opposite. We all have something in abundance — something that’s effortless for us and transformative for someone else. As Vicki put it, “There are people who love spreadsheets. Really! And they want to help — because giving what comes easily to us brings meaning.”
That was the spirit behind our own Reflection Trees at the conference. And it’s something we’ll be weaving more intentionally into our future gatherings: roles, gifts, and meaningful micro-moments that help us truly see one another.
4. Resetting: Saying No, Unlearning, and Designing for Ease
Perhaps the most relatable moment came when Vicki talked about the importance of saying no — especially as we grow and evolve.
“My list of no’s is really long right now,” she admitted. “And that scared me at first… but then some yeses came through.”
She described her practice of “storytelling your no’s” to the people around you — not to complain, but to give others a chance to step in. “When you say it out loud,” she explained, “people understand its importance. They feel connected to it. And suddenly, things lift.”
This theme resonated across the room. Many of us — especially women — are wired to take on too much, to grind through, to do all the things. But Vicki reframed it beautifully: “Resetting doesn’t mean easy,” she said. “It means more flow of ease.”
This distinction matters. We’re not here to coast — but we also don’t need to build our businesses like punishment. Our bodies, our intuition, and our energy know the difference.
5. System-Changing Entrepreneurship in Action
Finally, Vicki shared examples of Coralus ventures that are literally redesigning sectors:
- GotCare, reinventing home healthcare by paying workers more while charging clients less, using flexible, community-rooted models.
- A media venture reshaping how stories are told.
- A food security project in Newfoundland preparing new models as current systems fail.
These aren’t “nice ideas.” They’re proof that women are building what Vicki calls “interventions on the way to new systems.”
And it’s not an easy path. “Most investment approaches are extractive,” she told us. “They want a big return — even from people creating a better world. We should be paying these people, not taking from them.”
Hearing her speak about these ventures felt like a call to courage. A reminder that changing systems isn’t about blowing up your business overnight — it often starts with one conscious shift, one redesigned practice, one act of generosity.
Closing Reflections
When our conversation wrapped, I felt — and many of you told me you felt — both grounded and uplifted. Vicki’s words brought clarity to something many of us already know in our bones:
We are not meant to build businesses alone.
We are not meant to measure our worth by productivity.
And we are not meant to accept systems that diminish us.
What we are meant to do is connect, collaborate, and design something better — together.
As Vicki urged us, “There is someone in this room who needs you. And someone you need. Don’t keep your abundance to yourself.”
You can learn more about the work of Coralus at coralus.world — and stay tuned, because at future Business Sisters events, we’ll be bringing even more Ask & Give moments into our gatherings.
Thank you to everyone who showed up with open hearts, brave asks, generous gifts, and a willingness to believe that a better way of doing business is not only possible — it’s already being built.
Together, we are weaving something powerful. Together, we are in.
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