Amanda Pouchot

Bio:

Amanda graduated from UC Berkeley in 2008 with a B.A. in Sociology and moved to New York for her first job at McKinsey & Company. Her interest in Organizational Psychology and academic business research on women’s issues has led to her pursuit of elevating women into the leadership pipeline.

Amanda decided to utilize this knowledge and her technology skills to help create an online community with a multi-dimensional approach to elevating women to top executive positions by removing barriers often faced in their careers. Her favorite aspects of the New York environment include the ability to ask questions and make connections to superstars in the industry, and the fun, supportive community of dedicated hard-workers.

• Title: Co-Founder & CIO, The Levo League
• Age: 26
• Location: Upper West Side
• Contact: @amandapouchot

How did you guys come up with the idea of the Levo League? How did you find the right support group/mentors for Levo League?

The Levo League came out of that time in our lives where we were transitioning from college life to the real world without really anywhere to turn for advice, guidance or support. We've created Levo as a solution to the needs we faced as young women trying to follow our dreams but not necessarily knowing how or who we needed to connect with. Levo solves that problem by encouraging women to be confident, ask for what they want and help one another.

I think that we were and still are able to attract such a powerful group of supporters and mentors for Levo because we are addressing a need that all women have faced (and men) at a point in their career: the feeling of being overwhelmed, uncertain about your future or plain lost. And even if you are an overachiever, you still face challenges every day to get to the next stage of your career. The women and men who have succeeded and have their perception of it all want to help our generation succeed too and Levo gives them the platform to be able to just that.

Who are your women role models and why?

My mom. University Professor and Nurse. She's overcome so many things in her life, from giving up Olympic dreams because her family couldn't afford for her to go to college and keep training and there were no college scholarships for women because it was pre title ix to becoming one of the most well respected Nursing educators in the country while balancing raising a daughter who is now an entrepreneur. Oh, and she's managed to always be positive through it all.

Pattie Sellars. Fortune Editor at Large. Pattie is a connector and enabler. She has created something beyond words with the Fortune's Most Powerful Women's list by bringing together a community of high powered women and encouraging them to be comfortable with their power and helping one another. She goes after stories and she also sticks to her guns and she does all of this while developing a community of women who are changing the world.

Joanna Barsh. McKinsey Director. Joanna is a thought leader on advancing women in society. What I admire most about her is her fact based approach to this problem. She has used both qualitative and quantitative research to understand why women are able to reach the top and also the motivations behind them. From the research she is then able to extrapolate actual tangible suggestions for how we change the status quo.

Do you have any quick tips for young female grads looking for a job?

Face the fear. APPLY! Don't be afraid of rejection or of taking a job that doesn't seem like your dream job. Your first job will most definitely not be your dream job, but you will learn skills and can use it as a stepping stone to the next phase of your career. And don't be afraid to ask for help. The worst thing you can do is go through the painful job search process alone. Ask others for advice, introductions and help.