VCWoman Achieve 2025 Mentor Spotlight – Julie Pinkerton

Posted on January 30, 2025
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Name: Julie Pinkerton | Business/Profession: Founder & CEO, Evozen, LLC

Please share a little about your background, personally and/or professionally.

I have enjoyed a 30+ year career in the financial industry in both client-facing roles and executive corporate leadership. During that time, I developed a nationally recognized expertise in professional networking and organic firm growth. In 2017, I formed Evozen, a networking community focused solely on independent advisors in tax, legal, investments, insurance and trust professions. Additionally, I am a contributing writer for U.S. News & World Report on financial topics. My husband, David, and I are the proud parent of three marvelous rescue dogs. I am passionate about connecting people, building things, traveling to interesting destinations and how photography memorializes experiences.

Please share more about your current position and place of work. How have you grown professionally/personally in this role?

As an entrepreneur, I have learned more in 7 years than I did in my previous 3 decades of work about how and why people connect. Connection requires trust and there are immense small ways to build trust. Additionally, start-up founders face different challenges than other self-employed roles. Creating a successful path has stretched so many capacities and introduced others.

What drew you to being a mentor for an entrepreneurial group curated for non-men? How has being a woman or non-binary individual impacted your professional journey?

Women face unique challenges and the entrepreneurial community is not always kind either to women in general, but especially to older generations. Women and minorities thrive in smaller firms, so it is critical that we provide support for them to achieve the gravitas necessary to endure. I was blessed to have had people reach out to help me, including VCWoman Achieve and want to pay it forward.

What are three things you enjoy doing outside of work?

Patio gardening, photography and find unique experiences.

What is your go-to piece of advice for professionals, entrepreneurs, or anyone looking to you for guidance?

Actions over words – what you do means so much more than what you say. When you get this right, you never have to worry about overpromising and underwhelming others.

What is a professional achievement that you are most proud of, and why are you proud of it?

Becoming a journalist for a major publication for the past 4 years. As a kid, I wanted to be a National Geographic photojournalist and this, alongside my award-winning photography, has helped me fulfill this dream.