Road to TEDx

Applying for the 15th time to TEDx seemed a bit crazy, but I knew I had one more TEDx in me. I wanted it to be purposeful, informative, an idea worth sharing, and rooted in a strong story of my faith-filled life as a mindful early-stage investor. This talk was my opportunity to bridge my personal journey as an investor over the past decade+, merge it with my family resiliency, and share broadly a greater message about intentional impact through investing. I envisioned it inspiring others to align their values with bold action, transforming how they approach the intersectionality of wealth creation, supporting sustainable businesses, and a well-lived life of purpose.

Belief in Your “Everything”

Belief is trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something. In this TEDx journey, that assurance in yourself is core. It's the unwavering confidence that no matter the obstacles, your voice, your story, and your purpose are worth sharing. When you truly believe in your "everything," you recognize that your unique perspective has the power to inspire and create meaningful change. Everyone’s everything is unique, so embrace it all. 

BELIEF, Part I: The Ambitious Application Journey

This is a three-part introspection on belief, spanning the application process, pre-talk preparation, and post-talk reflections. The application process was particularly grueling. As a perfectionist and impact-driven catalyst who thrives on action, I poured immense thought and effort into each application. Despite applying four times across different cities and themes, I received little feedback or acceptances. My confidence in my ideas faltered. Did I lack the ability to craft a compelling story from my experiences? Were my stories unworthy? I questioned whether my voice mattered. I am uniquely carved from a different stone of intersectionality where innovation meets creativity, internationality meets culture collisions of deep impact & empathy, and deep faith that is simple, prayerful, and the core of my being. All are placed in a capitalistic VC ecosystem. Yet, I clung to a fragile belief that hope remained. As someone with a nonlinear journey—a misfit shaped by life’s unexpected turns—I seized an opportunity through the support of a friend to apply for TEDxChula Vista in 2019. On my second attempt in applying, I was accepted. The theme, “Complexity” aligned perfectly with my identity as a Latina, and I felt a deep sense of belonging, speaking to a community that would embrace my culture and immigrant ideals. This experience reignited my belief in my ideas.  I felt very much at home. My belief in myself and my ideas was validated. The talk took off for a bit, I anchored my thoughts and actions into what I spoke about, Getting to Even for women across the venture table. 

Motivated, I applied to 10 more TEDx events, eager to share insights from my books, Servant Leadership in the Startup World (still in MVB (most minimal book) phase & updated research being conducted in Summer 2025) and The Startup Investor Mindset (published on Amazon). I wanted to present a purposeful perspective on investing—a field often dominated by capitalism—with wisdom, grace, and goodness for all. TEDxSan Diego embraced my vision. Their belief in my story validated my purpose and reminded me that I had something meaningful to say.

I dove in.

This was the first time TEDxSan Diego had an all-woman cohort. IMPRESSIVE.

I dove in.

The community & the leaders of TEDxSanDiego have created is grounding. AMAZING.

I dove in.

My sponsors believed in my TEDxSanDiego talk with gusto. BLESSINGS.

They dove in. I dove in deeper.

BELIEF, Part II: The Profound Pre-Talk Process

The journey, however, was full of highs and lows. Then, there is belief in the pre-talk voyage. What a procedure! Prepping for the talk was a monumental endeavor that took all of my energy & patience. Mind you, 6 weeks before my TEDx talk my last child, my only daughter, started college and 4 weeks before my TEDx talk my first child, my oldest son who made me a mom, got married. My mind and heart were torn apart & being filled all at the same time and my mind was overwhelmed & ecstatic for the opportunity that a TED talk brings. I rewrote my talk five times, with the final rewrite just four weeks before the event. One version revealed a deeply personal truth about my health journey and high school trauma, which I thought would be powerful. But it was rejected, the leaders urged me to trust the process and focus on crafting the right "gift" for the audience.

I felt defeated but pushed on, knowing I was being held to a powerful standard and coached by the BEST of the BEST. I was also immensely inspired by their vision of my talk reaching a single aspiring woman investor (aspiring or existing) who is waiting to board a flight and quickly goes onto YouTube to be inspired by a TED talk, finds mine, resonates, and can’t stop listening, yearning to learn more and enthralled to act on the new knowledge and passion around the topic of startup investing. I held that vision of this investor in my head to bring joy to the process—someone I imagined as "Marisol". Marisol’s direct translation is “sea” or “ocean” for “mar”, where I find solace in, “and” for “i”, and “sun” for “sol”, where I experience warmth. Marisol is also my most favorite name for a daughter if I had a second daughter outside of “Solimar” AND has huge connections to Venezuela. For me, the persona, Marisol, symbolized hope, light, and resilience. She became my anchor as I restructured my speech to resonate with broader, relatable themes of generational impact and resilience. My next two revisions aimed to distill the essence of the topic, weaving in personal narratives that resonate with common generational experiences and highlight the universal themes of resilience and triumph.

BELIEF, Part III: The Talk Tales

Taking the stage is easy for me but it’s the first time I froze. I typically speak every week—whether delivering keynotes, sharing insights as a motivational speaker, or engaging students as a lecturer. Public speaking has always been a natural fit for me, something I approached with confidence and ease. I knew I could do it with ease. Yet, this time was different. Despite my experience, I found myself unable to master memorization the way I used to—something that had always come effortlessly to me in the past. For TEDx talks, the process is meticulous and intentional. First, the content must be approved to ensure it aligns with TED's mission and values. Next, a full script is developed and undergoes a rigorous approval process. Once finalized, the talk is memorized to fit precisely within the allotted time, optimizing it for both the TED platform’s video standards and the engagement of the live audience. Finally, the delivery is refined, with a focus on polishing the oration to make it feel conversational, authentic, and effortlessly captivating.

It felt like my mind wasn’t cooperating and the usual flow I relied on seemed just out of reach. My multiple sclerosis was flaring up, throwing an unexpected curveball into what had always been a predictable process, and significant life milestones—as mentioned earlier, including my son’s wedding, my middle child’s first internship where we had to drive over 5 states and my youngest daughter’s transition to college—had left me emotionally and physically drained. Yet, becoming an empty nester gave me the focus I needed to push through. I wanted to be fully present, to savor and truly experience every moment of these milestones, supporting everyone around me with all my heart. Yet, the silver lining emerged when becoming an empty nester allowed me the gift of focus—three weeks of uninterrupted time to devote to memorizing. These are not excuses; that’s not who I am. I face the chaos of my life head-on, embracing the tight schedules and the ever-evolving dynamics of my family. I take what comes, adapting and pivoting as needed, finding meaning and purpose in all of it. The entire career-mom experience felt entirely out of my control, thrusting me to confront my limits and adapt in ways I hadn’t imagined.

After all of this preparation, I froze. Yes, I did. In the middle of my talk, I still don’t know exactly when it happened, or where in the sequence I lost my place—almost four months later, it’s still a blur. What I do remember is where I picked up and finished strong. My mind went completely blank. Just moments before the blackout, I was in a rhythm, feeling the flow of my talk. As I spoke, I thought to myself, Wow, I’ve got this. I’m in the zone, flowing and jiving. Let’s goooo! And then, suddenly, everything stopped. The words vanished, and I found myself in silence, trying to regain control. I looked out at the audience, and instinctively, I recalled the instructions: Don’t panic. Pause. Take a breath. Start again with the sentence you began with, as if you never missed a beat. We will fix it all in post-production. It's all about the recording. I reset in the moment, I knew where I could start again and even if I re-hashed what I had just spoken, the audience would still love the talk, I would get a clean recording, finding my way back to the flow.

Perseverance Sets the Stage for Purpose

During my journey of creating and executing my FIRST TEDx talk in 2019, Getting To Even, there were moments I wanted to quit—at least three times. After long, exhausting sessions filled with tears of disappointment, denial, and defeat, I found myself on the verge of giving up. My core belief in the possibility of achieving true equal representation was challenged repeatedly, with the assertion that we would never get there. This forced me to grapple with the question: How would I respond to such skepticism, even within the framework of my talk? You know those times when you draft an email or text saying you're done, ready to bow out, and then you sit on it overnight only to delete it the next day? I was in that space. But during those dark moments, I had a dear friend, Maresa Friedman , who helped me rise up from the metaphorical floor. She reminded me that my idea was valuable and worth sharing with the audience, and encouraged me to persevere.

At the time of my TEDx talk, the percentage of women investors in the angel community was still in the teens, around 15 to 17%. My coach challenged me to confront the reality that we may never achieve equal representation of women investors across the venture table. Five years later, I am proud and bold to say that we are nearly there—on the cusp of achieving parity. Women now make up approximately 35% of angel investors. The shift is real. The power of the purse is not just about wealth—it’s about purpose. A rising community of women angel investors is not only writing checks to founders but also backing underestimated fund managers. Many of them who are women. At the VC level, we are still at a dismal 2% of VC decision-makers are women. In my own investor journey, I’ve invested in 160 companies and supported over 15 emerging fund managers, contributing to a movement that is slowly but surely rewriting the narrative, one check or wire at a time. 

For my second TEDx talk, More than Money: The Mindset of Startup Investors, I aimed to push boundaries across several dimensions. I wanted to reframe the narrative of mindful startup investing as a practice for all genders, emphasizing that the return on investment (ROI) in early-stage ventures isn’t just financial—it’s multifaceted. While early-stage investors typically wait 5-7 years, sometimes up to 15, for significant exit events, the journey is about more than just wealth. It encompasses reputation, network, and thought leadership as a dedicated and astute investor who prioritizes quality due diligence, analyzing the optimal economic environments, and supporting others toward collective syndication. Beyond ROI, the second ROI, Return on Impact, has enormous ripple effects. This impact isn’t immediate; it’s a gradual process, akin to a needle and thread weaving through the maturing startup. It begins with a sustainable foundation (thread), guided by a clear focus (needle) on creating meaningful change for customers and the overall industry. Over time, this impact is strengthened through partnerships, collaborations, and key milestones, achieving the kind of transformative outcomes that both entrepreneurs and investors strive for.

The challenge, of course, is to surpass the stark “traditional” data: only 1 in 10 startups succeed. Strengthening founding teams to consistently gain traction and grow sustainably is a key part of the investor’s role and influence. The traditional statistics are bleak and often stifle innovation before it has a chance to flourish. However, a new approach—a mindset rooted in abundance—shifts the investor’s posture to one of nurturing through the Triple S Framework: Stewarding, Supporting, and Strategizing. This approach, inherently more feminine and faith-forward, aligns closely with my core values, actions, and mission; thus, the sub-themes of the talk. I sought to demystify early-stage investing while weaving together purpose, faith, and an inclusive mindset. This integration of all that I stand for felt profoundly meaningful and purposeful—a reflection of the type of change I hope to inspire in the investment landscape. 

Intersectionality of Faith & Career

Throughout my career, I’ve often heard people describe me as a “lasagna of opportunities,” referring to the many layers of roles and ventures I’ve been involved in. Others have suggested I “pick a lane,” implying that my journey—filled with varied and seemingly unstructured experiences of minimal worth and focused direction—resembles a tangled plate of spaghetti.

But I see it differently. I embrace it as living out God’s calling — a reflection of fulfilling the mission field He has entrusted to me. He commands and leads; I pray, listen, seek His guidance, pray again, and humbly obey, stepping forward in full faith. 

While some non-believers have accused me of having a “Jesus complex,” I’ve learned to embrace this complexity as part of the divine design God has planned for my purpose-filled life. And then, I found my community at Biola University. Among the students and leaders there, I finally felt seen for who I truly am: I am fearfully, wonderfully and beautifully made (Psalm 139:14). They understood me—masterfully messy, trusting God’s path, simply obeying (Proverbs 3:5-6), humbly confident & not subservient of earthly demands (Hebrews 10:35-36), and anchored in the peace (Hebrews 6:19) that comes from knowing God is good (2 Corinthians 9:8) and always has my back (1 Corinthians 9:8).

This TED talk became the intersection of my entire career, personal journey, and the foundation of my family’s origin story, intricately woven into a message that I prayed deeply over. Its power lies in its core invitation: to adopt a “More than Money” posture and embrace an abundance mindset as startup investors. 

The ultimate test of this message came when I practiced it in front of my Biola students and Biolan alumni. Watching their reactions—seeing them feel every emotion and connect so deeply—they felt all the feels—affirmed that I was delivering the right message at the right time. It was a moment of clarity and purpose that assured me I was on the path God intended.

Community Makes for Championing & Change

One of the most profound silver linings I experienced was the unwavering support from my cohort of fellow women speakers. Their tips, tricks, and constant encouragement helped lift me when I needed it most. They reminded me that belief is not only about personal conviction but also about the strength we gain from others—those who see our potential, even in moments when we falter. As we practiced our talks, sharing them in intimate rooms and gatherings, each of us felt empowered to become the best version of ourselves. We celebrated each other's progress, cheering one another on to push beyond our limits, to embrace our fears, and to embody the theme of the event: MOXIE.

For me, this group of women—some familiar and others strangers—became an unexpected source of renewal. The sense of connection we forged was invigorating, lifting my spirits and reigniting my energy. We weren’t just preparing for individual talks or rooting for each other’s success; we were bonded over a shared purpose. Each of us embraced the opportunity to claim our pasts and our present experiences, to own the intricate stories woven with strength, power, and challenges. Through this collective experience, we found ourselves emerging stronger, brighter, and more resilient than ever before. It was a powerful reminder that our stories, no matter how complicated or difficult, are what shape us—and together, we could shine even brighter in the face of adversity. When we finally took the stage, we did so as a united, confident group of women leaders, each determined to make a meaningful impact on the world. Together, we proved that community doesn’t just support change—it champions it.

Concentrated Focus Sparks Explosive Impact and Action

As I poured my focus into the content, the talk, and the delivery—ensuring my heart’s passion was captured for the TED platform—I found myself letting go of my usual mindset of making an immediate, massive impact through actions. Instead, I concentrated on the live & online audiences, hoping to inspire one person (my focus was on connecting with “Marisol”) with my message and ignite a desire to invest.

What I didn’t anticipate was the immediate emotional impact on several members of the physical audience. About a dozen people approached me afterward, sharing that they were inspired to consider writing their first investment checks. These were individuals who had never seen themselves as investors before, but my talk sparked a shift in their perspective, they wanted to explore & be open to the possibilities of early-stage investing. Their openness and enthusiasm were a vibrant, luminous gift, reflecting right back to me after I stepped off the stage. It was a true honor—I felt so blessed by their hearts and minds—a moment of profound connection, shared trust and unifying purpose.

Since delivering my talk, I’ve had more than a dozen follow-up conversations over coffee and calls, continuing the dialogue about investing. These discussions have centered on the how and what of investing—what traits define a mindful investor, how to recognize the potential in founders, and how to understand innovation and early-stage business opportunities. It’s been rewarding to see budding investors gain the confidence to conduct proper due diligence while being mindful and purposeful. They’re now ready to shepherd, strategize with, and support teams, ultimately empowering startups to thrive and investors to build sustainable portfolios.

When the TED platform published almost all the TEDxSanDiego talks except for mine and a few others, I was once again overwhelmed with a sense of uncertainty. Was my talk not received as well as I had hoped? Would it just take longer for them to release it? Why the delay? However, I was later informed that my talk was going to be highlighted as an editor's pick, and featured on the TED platform with an audience of 40 million. How amazing is that? Blessings beyond my wildest prayers; these godsends have been pouring in throughout this journey. Yet, my nerves were on high alert, especially because I had never seen the final version of my talk before it was sent to TED. I trusted the professionalism of the team and stayed patient (one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23) I am continuously trying to improve upon). The weight of that trust and anticipation had me questioning every part of the process. When the talk finally went live on December 4, 2024, I was beyond relieved and pleasantly surprised to find that I absolutely loved the finished product. Praise the Lord! It was a moment of joy, realizing that my message had come together beautifully and was now being shared with a massive audience.

As we move into 2025, I’m thrilled to share that my TED Talk has reached an astounding 20,000 views on YouTube—an achievement driven entirely by organic reach and genuine engagement; the heart of meaningful influence. This milestone, accomplished without any paid marketing or advertising, fills me with immense pride, as it reflects the power of a message resonating deeply with audiences worldwide. It’s a humbling reminder of how impactful authentic storytelling can be. The journey continues to surprise and inspire me, and I am filled with gratitude for this incredible response.

I couldn't have done this without my supportive sponsors: oku, Rose Bowlus Law, Sash Group Inc., She Invests!, Stella Foundation and of course, Wendy Gillespie !!

What has been equally rewarding are the thoughtful, heartfelt comments left by viewers. Each comment reflects a personal connection to the talk, showcasing how its themes and insights have touched lives and sparked meaningful conversations. Reading these responses has been both enriching and humbling, reinforcing my belief in the importance of sharing ideas that inspire action, foster growth, and create impact. I am deeply grateful for every individual who has taken the time to watch, reflect, and share this experience with me. 

The reach of this talk continues to be a source of joy and motivation as I look ahead to what lies in store for 2025 and beyond. I envision more discussions, educational opportunities, mentorship, and community-building efforts that champion action and amplify impact. I’m excited to see how many checks will be written to deserving startups because of this momentum.

To be honest, I’m a bit nervous. I’m bracing myself for a tidal wave of new investors who now see themselves as champions of change—people ready to invest in solutions that align with their values and vision for the world.

Community has always been at the core of my work. This is exemplified by the Stella Foundation, which represents a constellation of support, resources, and events. Over time, I’ve learned—often the hard way—that building community is my true strength. It’s not a linear process; it’s messy, dynamic, and beautifully diverse in its breadth and depth. Together, we’re creating something truly inspirational: a vibrant ecosystem of impact and collaboration from conSTELLAtions to GALaxies of connected BRIGHT-light leaders. 

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Hi there, I’m Dr. Silvia Mah, a business professor at Biola University, servant leadership enthusiast, and startup catalyst for investors and entrepreneurs who helps leaders be more innovative, seek impact and invest in themselves and others. 

A few of my offerings:

✨1:1 coaching (DM me)

✨My book: The Startup Investor Mindset (on Amazon)

✨2xTEDx Keynote Speaker (DM me)