podcast 017: when women flourish, everyone wins
In this deeply personal conversation, Deb sits down with longtime collaborator and friend Andrea Mac, founder of Prequal, to unpack a truth that’s both obvious and routinely avoided: you can’t build a flourishing society without women having real economic agency.
“Women aren’t the audience of change. They’re the mechanism of change.” - Andrea Mac
Andrea brings the room from tailgates to tectonic plates sharing her mother’s story of rebuilding after divorce, what she learned watching women in professional services, and why the “women’s networking” playbook often fails to produce real outcomes. Together, they name the myths, the gaps, and the uncomfortable accountability: sometimes the system blocks women and sometimes women are unintentionally trained to block themselves.
If you’ve ever felt that “money conversations” are too political, too heavy, or not your lane—this episode reframes wealth as what it really is: freedom, options, and autonomy. And then it gets practical: the mindset shift, the mechanisms, and the simple containers Andrea is using to help women actually do business together.
Key Highlights:
Why women’s economic agency is a flourishing issue, not just a business issue
The data point that stops you cold: women own ~half of businesses, but capture a tiny fraction of revenue
The myth of the “spa day strategy” and what drives outcomes instead
A cleaner frame for “wealth”: not money, but freedom
The real reason networking disappoints: we’re not message-ready
Andrea’s “Give/Get” sessions: a practical container for needs → action → accountability
What to do if you don’t have the community: build it (even if it starts with two people)
About Our Guest:
Andrea Mac is the founder of Prequal, a consultancy focused on revenue growth for professional service providers and on advancing economic empowerment for women as a serious business strategy. Andrea’s work sits at the intersection of growth, equity, and agency: helping individuals and organizations connect their talent strategies to revenue outcomes that actually create autonomy.
About The HX Collective:
The HX Collective is a movement to elevate the human experience—at work, in relationships, and with ourselves. Through honest conversations and strategic insight, we explore how connection, context, and compassion can create a more flourishing world, starting right where we are.
