Women of Impact: ‘Bad Bitch Empress’ Lisa Carmen Wang on building successful businesses for women

By Paula DeLaurentis and Sophia Forlenza

You’d think that the woman who created the aptly named and rightfully deserved “Bad Bitch Empire” would display a fearless nature and unapologetic ambition. And Lisa Carmen Wang does.

But Wang was not necessarily born a force to be reckoned with. Coming from an immigrant background and an abusive past relationship, there is no shortage of  guilt — or “brainwashing,” as Wang puts it — in her life that she’s learned to overcome. And she is no stranger to the effects of internalized misogyny in the investment world.

“The moment you strip away [the brainwashing] is the moment that you’re going to bloom,” says Wang, a four-time U.S. national champion and Hall of Fame gymnast.

Wang discusses how these core parts of her experience and identity influence the way that she and other women work as entrepreneurs, forcing them to have to “tiptoe around … the fear of being a greedy, selfish woman who actually wants money.” 

She highlights how this fear is multifaceted: “the fear of being called a bitch when you’re assertive and direct” is yet another insidious hindrance women face not just in the investment industry, but also as they navigate their daily lives.

In overcoming those obstacles she now feels she has created an entrepreneurial “reign” for herself and “rules” as a business coach dedicated to empowering women to reach their greatest potential as business owners so that they can “collectively invest together in the next billion-dollar female-led business.” 

That’s why she launched the BBE Venture Fund to empower women to invest collectively into high-impact female-led startups

Wang explains that women tend to fall victim to the often false narrative of the American dream: that everyone should strive to build a billion-dollar business by seeking venture capital funding. In this ambitious pursuit, many women’s efforts are ultimately fruitless because they end up unable to fundraise when they build “highly unprofitable businesses.”

“What you get is a burnt out and broke entrepreneur who’s jaded and can’t raise money,” Wang asserts. 

Wang has discovered that the key to women’s success actually lies in “building a cash-flow-positive business that doesn’t require a loan or any sort of debt to survive,” instead of pursuing high growth and funding, as is typical of beginner female entrepreneurs. 

This is precisely why Wang has developed a group coaching program for women entrepreneurs to build their own empires, which she believes is “the core of what [she does] really well.” Wang describes her “feminine business strategy” that wholly changes the way women conduct their businesses: monetizing their own passions, expertise, and skills by leveraging the power of social media platforms.

Wang explains that she often works with people who express that they feel like something in their life is missing. Her program targets that absence and uses it to create a positive cycle for women everywhere — when women are able to capitalize off of the very things that fulfill them, they are, in turn, inspired to invest in other women-led businesses.

Read more on Women of Impact: Veris Wealth Partner’s Stephanie Cohn Rupp and her 100% commitment to ESG | Kelly Ann Winget on her alternative investment fund and gender bias | more articles in this series here.