What Women Need to Know About Money and Starting a Business | with Ilaria Rawlins, Ep 199

In this episode, Bri Conn, CFP® sits down with Ilaria Rawlins, CEO of Fortuna Bank, to talk about why female entrepreneurs are denied business loans three times more often than their male counterparts, what it actually took to build one of only 15 women-owned banks in the country, and what every woman building a business needs to know about finding a banking partner who is genuinely in their corner. Fortuna Bank is only the second bank in U.S. history ever intentionally created to be women-owned, and Ilaria spent 30 years in banking before making it happen. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why female entrepreneurs are denied commercial loans three times more often than men and what the network gap between male and female business owners actually looks like in practice What questions to ask when interviewing a banker, why community banks are often a better fit for startups than large national banks, and how to find a lender who will look at your business holistically rather than running your application through an AI underwriting system What it actually takes to start a bank from scratch, including raising $20 million in capital, navigating a 500-page regulatory application, and launching in the same month that SVB and First Republic failed Why Fortuna dropped its minimum shareholder investment from $50,000 to $10,000 and how 350 shareholders -- 75% of them women -- came together to build something that had almost no precedent in the industry Out of 4,300 banks in the United States, only 15 are women-owned -- and why that number tells you everything you need to know about where the gaps in capital access actually live Resources Mentioned: Building Your Bench with Maddy Roche and Bri Conn, CFP® https://childfreeinsights.com/resourc... Episode Guest: Ilaria Rawlins is the CEO of Fortuna Bank, a newly launched women-owned de novo bank dedicated to expanding access to capital, fostering community impact, and supporting entrepreneurs who have historically faced capital barriers. With over 30 years of banking experience and recognition as 2025 CEO of the Year by Columbus CEO magazine, she is a leading advocate for women in business and financial empowerment. Connect with Ilaria on her website: fortunabank.com Episode Host: Bri Conn, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Childfree Wealth Specialist® at Childfree Wealth®, and Customer Experience Manager at Childfree Trust®. About Childfree Insights: Childfree Insights is a trusted resource for life planning without children. It explores financial planning, estate planning, relationships, and long-term decisions for adults building a future without kids. Home of Childfree Wealth® and Childfree Trust®. Connect with Us: Ready to work on building better financial habits? Connect with our financial planning team at childfreewealth.com or learn more about estate planning at childfreetrust.com. Follow Childfree Life by Design on your favorite podcast platform and join the conversation on social media: Instagram:   / childfreeinsights   Facebook:   / childfreeinsights   LinkedIn:   / childfreeinsights   YouTube:    / @childfreeinsights   Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational & entertainment purposes. Please consult your advisor before implementing any ideas heard on this podcast.