The Luxe Lawyer: Shermin Lakha on Personal Brand and Professional Success

The legal industry doesn’t have to operate the way it always has. In Episode 13 of Deal Flow Diaries, we sit down with Shermin Lakha, founder of LVLUP Legal, to explore how she walked away from some of the most prestigious institutions in law and finance to build a modern legal platform designed for founders, creators, and growing brands. 

Before the age of 30, Shermin left Goldman Sachs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and international Big Law behind to launch her own firm with a simple but unconventional idea: eliminate the billable hour, prioritize accessibility, and build genuine relationships before transactions. What began as a solo practice has evolved into a growing ecosystem spanning legal services, creator representation, community-building, AI education, and angel investing. 

From networking her way into her first opportunities in New York City to building a nationally recognized brand with virtually no advertising spend, Shermin shares the lessons, mindset shifts, and strategies that have fueled her success. 

Join us as we talk about: 

• Why authentic networking—not transactional networking—became the foundation of LVLUP Legal's growth 
• How Shermin built a thriving law firm by abandoning billable hours and embracing transparent pricing 
• The power of personal branding, social media, and showing up authentically in business 
• Building multiple businesses that complement one another, from LVLUP Legal to Tiger Tiger Creative Agency, The Connected Table, and The First Call 
• How AI agents are helping entrepreneurs reclaim time, scale operations, and focus on higher-value work 
• Shermin’s approach to angel investing, wealth-building, and empowering more women to participate in investing and entrepreneurship 
• Why hard work, resourcefulness, and a willingness to do the unglamorous tasks remain the ultimate competitive advantages

Whether you're a founder, creative, investor, or professional considering a leap into entrepreneurship, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to build a business, a personal brand, and a life on your own terms. 

Follow Shermin Lakha & LVLUP Legal: 

Instagram: @shermin.lakha, @lvluplegal,

@tigertiger.social, @the.connected.table, @the.firstcall

LinkedIn

 Email 

Questions and comments; reach out to us at inquiries@dealflowdiariespodcast.com

Find out more about the dealflowdiariespodcast.com 

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If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

Recorded at The Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center.

Thank you for listening.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

DealFlow Diaries, where the dealmakers talk. A podcast that takes you inside the minds of the Titans shaping today's global economy. I'm Alexandra Fairweather.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

And I'm Elaine Chamberlain. Together, we sit down with visionary founders, fund managers, and deal makers across private equity, real estate, fashion, tech, and beyond.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Each episode, we uncover the untold stories behind their biggest deals, hardest setbacks, and boldest bets. Lessons in strategy, risk, and ambition you won't find anywhere else.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Smart, unscripted, unfiltered. This is DealFlow Diaries. Today's episode is all about how Shermeen Laka walked away from Goldman Sachs, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and one of the world's most prestigious international law firms before the age of 30, built a law firm with zero advertising spends by abolishing the billable hour. She has since been named a 2024 Super Lawyers Rising Star, featured in Vogue Business and Forbes, is a faculty member at LIM College, an angel investor, a judge for female founder pitch competitions, and has founded a second and third company, Tiger Tiger Creative Agency and the First Call. She joins us here today.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Thank you for having me. Welcome. Thank you for joining. So I want to go back to you're living in Florida. And at 22, you decide you want to come to New York to be with the most ambitious people in the world. Can you talk about that decision?

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Yeah. So I was actually at school in Seattle. So I went to Seattle University. And Seattle's a great place to grow up, but definitely doesn't have the ambition or the grit of New York City. And so when I was in my last year of law school, everyone was like, You're crazy for leaving to go to New York. You know, your grades are going to suffer. What are you going to do there? And I was like, you know what? I just had this gut feeling that I needed to be here. So I picked up and I came to New York. And I came here with an internship. And I got that internship in a very interesting way. They always have these like career fair situations, and there were so many students going to all of these big law booths. And I was like, you know what? Let me go to this one guy who's in the corner. I think he has like some kind of marketing firm. And I went and chatted with him and he goes, Do you want to come to this Christmas party with me? The US attorneys are going to be there. And I go to that party and I meet somebody who is in asset forfeiture. And I give them a business card as a law student. And she's like, you know what, all of our internship positions are taken. So like maybe try next year. And then she randomly emailed me and is like, actually, whenever interns dropped out, would you like the position? And that kind of brought me to New York. So you never know when that happens, you know, if you just talk to everybody.

SPEAKER_02 3:04

I had a similar situation in law school where I also befriended the guy in the corner. Yeah. And it led me to where I am today. So I love that. I didn't know that about you.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Oh, that's like all I ever do. I always try to kind of assess the room. And anytime I walk into a room, I'm like, okay, do I need to go where everyone else was going, or do I just need to make one or two actual authentic connections and see where that goes? And now everyone in New York is always pretty successful and everyone's doing something. So it's you never know where that's gonna lead. But I didn't know that about you. That's how you gotten to where you are today. Everything that you do is so impressive to me. I feel like I should be interviewing you.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Oh my gosh, absolutely not. I'm so excited to delve deeper and to level up. I mean, you do know that I obviously abandoned my legal career as a lawyer. So I'm always super interested in how people make that pivot from starting off at such a prestigious law firm and then going out and doing your own thing. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and what emotions and feelings were attached to that?

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Well, I think I was honestly in a similar position to you. Had I not done what I did and started to level up, I would have just abandoned law. And I feel you on that because to be quite honest, I always say I'm a terrible employee, but I'm a great employer from what my team tells me. And it really is just about finding something you really care about. I can't care about things that I just don't. So no water cooler talk for me. I wasn't connected to any of the clients I was working with. And it was just a lot of hierarchy, and I just really wasn't for that. And so when I quit, I really just started to reach out to friends and people who I knew who I knew needed legal services. The best thing about starting your own practice is that you really just need your time, your brain, and a laptop. And so when I talk to people who start products, who have all of this inventory, like that's a lot more difficult. I was able to start, I was young enough, I was hungry enough. And so the pivot was pretty, I want to say it was actually pretty easy for me. And one thing I did is I had 24-hour consultations in the beginning. And that means my Calendly was open at all times. And I was like thinking about what are the things that startups care about? They don't want to go into an office, they don't want to work with anyone they don't relate to, they want to be able to take a 10 PM call. So I opened my books up that way, and that's how I grew. I do not do that anymore. But how did you find your first client? So I went to a ton of networking events and I joined a bunch of communities. So I first joined the Luminary, which is the women's workspace up on 28th. And Kate Luzio is the founder who I still need to introduce you to. She's incredible. She worked under Jamie Diamond, she took her bonus money, quit, and opened up the luminary in COVID. And I went in and she basically started to introduce me to all of my first contacts. She really supported me throughout my journey. And I remember one time she had an event there in a panel, and I raised my hand because she's like, always ask a question whenever you're in a room. And I start talking. She stops me and she says, Stop what you're doing, say your name and what you do, and don't ever introduce yourself like that again. And I never have since she told me that. So, what was the introduction? Uh, it was just I'm Shameen, I'm the founder of Level Up. We are a women-owned law firm. We work with startups and brands and do trademark and business law. That's a little wordy, but like usually I try to put that in into one sentence. But that's one of the best tips I could ever give somebody is that if you're gonna raise your hand, half the time people aren't gonna listen to the question you're asking unless it's very insightful. They really just want to see who you are and what you're doing. And sometimes even saying I'm a woman, you know, I'm an all-women law firm or women-owned, that's enough to be for people to be like, wow, okay. Like, I want to know more about her. So having those little nuggets is always good. What great advice.

SPEAKER_02 6:50

I love that. I want to talk more about the fear associated with going out on your own. Give us more insight into how you felt, what risks you were taking, and how you got over that.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

So I'm actually one of those people who has very limited fear in terms of when it comes to work and business. So the way I kind of thought about it, I was like, all right, at that time my rent was 2,200 bucks. And I had like a little bit of a student loan and I wasn't spending that much. I was pretty young. So I thought to myself, and this is not the way to actually scale a business, but I'm like, all right, all I need is like four or five thousand bucks a month to live. And then I can kind of figure out what I'm gonna do. How much is my website gonna cost? Great. I'm just gonna figure out how to do it on my own. Now with AI, people can do that. I was literally like clicking around, figuring it out. And I thought, all right, how am I gonna find clients? Social media, you know, it's free. I'm gonna advertise myself and keep posting and see what happens there. So that was really, I think that's one of people's biggest fears, just how am I gonna afford to do that? I didn't have kids, I didn't have a mortgage, I didn't have a lot of that. So time is a really big factor in when you do something like that. So I was a little bit luckier. Um, so that was one thing. And then my parents are very, very big on education. And my dad is an entrepreneur, so he told me he's like, all right, I mean, go ahead and try it. Worst case scenario, you just go back to a job. So I was literally already in the worst case scenario I could be in. And then if anything didn't pan out, I can just always go back and get a job at a law firm, in finance, whatever I wanted to do. So I think it's not even just about the fear of taking the risk. It's really the sadness of not taking that and always the doubt you can have and why didn't I, or why shouldn't, you know, I could have done that. Because as you get older, you have more responsibility. So yeah, it wasn't that much of a big risk at the time, but now I'm looking back and I don't think I'm as brave as I was back then. I don't think I could do it now if I went back in time because I was shameless when I started.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

How important was networking at that point in your life? And I mean, now you can speak to Connected Table and and everything that you do and first call and and everything, you know, connected to level up and who you are. But at that point, what type of advice would you give yourself?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

So I always knew that networking was the key factor in any kind of growth of business. And I know people don't like the term networking or it gives them anxiety, but like that needs to be put aside because how lucky are we? It's just all you have to do is show up and then you can meet someone who is willing to help you. I do think that we're in a city where people are more willing to help others, especially the environments that you create. So when I was starting to network, it was around COVID. So I started in 2019 and then COVID hit, which was a huge blessing to me because people quit their jobs and started their passion projects and they needed legal services. So that was awesome. And I was doing virtual consultations from the beginning. Um, but this woman, Jen Da Silva, she's the president of Berlin Cameron, had started this thing called Connect For. So she said, we're gonna connect four women every day. And it doesn't have to be something for yourself and you're not gonna pitch yourself. So we started this whole connect for, and I've continued that. So almost every day, I try to connect at least one person outside of my own interest. And the purpose of that is so that every time that my name is brought up in a room or in a situation, it wasn't that I was pitching them. It was, hey, have you heard of Shermeen? Oh, I got connected through her. Um, she helped me find my website person or someone to do my data. And so that every time you walk into a room, someone says something positive about you. You never really have to pitch if you're always giving. I'm in the business of services, right? So I'm asking for clients in a in per se, but if I'm giving and then people are just mentioning me, that's just an organic way to do marketing and networking. Um, and then that has now folded into the connected tables. So I started that a year and a half ago with one of my girlfriends, and one of the core features of that is no one is pitching anything. There isn't really much of a brand collaboration, and we don't require any posting. Because a lot of people go to these networking events and it's business for them. We want it to be organic. We want people to actually connect, and people have gotten advisory roles, investment, they've gotten collaboration deals, brand deals too. Um, and so that's a lot of the core of who I am: building an ecosystem for people to actually connect and just use any of my services because they kind of all align regardless.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Well, I you're always connecting me with everyone, so I'm shaking. I feel like I could do a better job. I actually, when I was walking here, I was like, oh God, I have to re I remind have to connect here with Kate and like a couple other people. No, I'm always so thankful. And it's true though, I always speak so highly of you in rooms that you're not in because of the way that you're so generous. I mean, just who you are as a person. I want to go back to level up, and you've really built a personal brand that crosses law, fashion, and lifestyle. And you call yourself the Lux lawyer, right? You have such a social media presence, and I'd like to learn a little bit more about how that has impacted your workflow and your reputation. And is that scary to be seen? And you post a lot about being seen, and I love it, but I'd love to hear how you overcame any obstacles in your way when you initially started that.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

So actually, when I was at Big Law, social media was a big issue at the time. People were not leveraging it for business. And so that was actually one of the things that drove me to even want to start my own practice, is because I always was like, okay, I'm gonna have my business identity and then I'm gonna have my personal life. And maybe they're not gonna be aligned, but I just didn't want to live that way. And so I always have been posting on social media my actual life, things that I'm doing. Um I've just recently decided to lean into the Lux lawyer because I am a Lux girl. I love fashion, I love all those things. But the big message of that is that you do not have to be one-dimensional. You have other interests that, especially as a woman, that doesn't make you less credible or less successful or confident in your abilities and your work. And I really want to eliminate that perception because transparently, I'm very good at my job. I'm very good, I'm very smart. I know how to I call myself kind of a femme fatale. I'm very feminine and I embrace that completely, but I know how to ask pointed questions, I'm very direct, and I do get what I want in business a lot, which is, you know, kind of the femme fatale. And then on the other side of that, I think it does take a little bit of guts to make sure that you know you're being authentic. But my clients that work with me, most of them follow me on social and they see the ecosystem that I'm building and they actually want to work with me. Not just because of the legal, but just because they know I can provide other resources outside of that. And I have so many dimensions. It honestly has taken years. I think as and now I'm getting into my mid-30s, I'm like much more comfortable. But also I'm not posting anything too crazy. But you know what? I do post when I go out. There's this whole shit. Exactly. Yeah, there's this whole theory about the party girl, right? I am a reformed party girl, not even all the way reformed. But all of my best contacts today are from like when I was out at like one oak on Sunday. But man, like those people are still my best contacts. And, you know, 10 years later, they're doing incredible things, but they know me from then. Yeah. They trust what I've been doing. They've been following my journey. And so, like, hey, the reform party girl, that's the real crux in how you build a business.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

The reason I asked that is I wish that I had someone to look up to like you when I was practicing in big law and I was modeling for Will and Mina at the time. And I remember feeling so like the duality was so confusing for me. I would go to sports illustrated casting, and then I would go back to my office and act like nothing just happened, and that was major. And I always wish I could have mixed the two lives that I was living, but it just wasn't a thing back then. And I feel like what you're doing for so many women, especially young women coming into their career, is so important. Someone needs to give you your flowers. So I'm getting that. Oh my gosh. It's really important. Yeah, no, I really mean that.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

So And I definitely feel the same. I I I think it was just the time where I do feel like it was much harder to do that then. And people just wouldn't take you seriously or they would judge you. But now I think it's just a little bit more accepted in a way, the duality. I think social media helps with that a little bit. I appreciate that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

I want to learn a little bit more about what the single most common costly legal mistake entrepreneurs typically make that you see.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

I would say the biggest mistake I think entrepreneurs make is when they start a business with someone that they know and trust for several years. They are a little bit loose on the paperwork. They want to go 50-50. It's okay, we'll figure it out. That is what I see, and that has time and time again struck people the wrong way. But that's why a lot of people, I tell them to come to me from the beginning. I do not mind being the bad guy. If you and a friend want to start a business, I'm the one to tell you we gotta figure out what happens once you guys decide to leave. And I frame it in a way what happens if one of you guys have a life decision, what if you something happens? What if you get sick? Just things that are not contentious. But people only come to me with the excitement of starting something or the stress of ending something. So when that happens, I see a lot of that side of the stress. So that would have to be the number one thing is just set yourself up in the beginning for anything that could potentially go wrong. Because a lot of times it does.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

I love that advice. I know that you're very good at AI and you're doing workshops at the NED and also in the Hamptons. Yes. Tell us about it and what have you been teaching?

SPEAKER_00 17:18

I'm so excited. And Elaine has helped coordinate everything in terms of helping us collaborate with the NED, who, like obviously, the members are incredible, the people are so smart. And so my friend Micah and I, again, we're doing this for the fun of it because we just love it so much. Him and I have been really interested in how to basically free up our time. And we're in completely different businesses. So obviously, I have a law firm, an agency, I have, you know, a community building with my networking dinners. And then he runs coffee and chill. But the core situation, and I think the big issue in today's world is that that whole girl boss, I'm gonna work till 10, I'm gonna crush it. That all is something that we need to kind of step away from. But how do we do that? Things are gonna be faster than ever. People are, you know, trying to connect, kind of collaborate. And it's like, how do we respond and have time for all of that? So we got really involved in creating AI agents. And now I have three. I have one, her name is Olivia Woods. So Olivia Pope and L Woods, she's my legal. And I have Sydney Sloan, I have no idea where that name came from. She's from my agency. And then I have a personal one that I'm building today at our AI workshop at the Ned. And she's gonna know my personal brand. And the beauty of having multiple agents is all I get to do is pick up Telegram or my phone. You can use other things, and I can tell them what I want in each sector of my life. And then they go in and kind of help me take some time off of my plate so I can focus on bigger picture things. And so what we want to do is just help other people learn to do that and really kind of see where it goes. I just think that there's so many amazing, successful people, but it's all about giving back. So I always say, like 80, 90% of the people in the world are takers. You're always asking for something. And one thing I always try to focus on is how do I give people tools or resources when it comes back to my businesses, they always end up hiring me in some kind of capacity because there's a level of trust built. They understand how I work and they know that I'm not just there to like always ask. So that's kind of the core in building these workshops for people. Most of the people who come to these events are seven to nine figure founders, creators that have businesses. So all people who kind of align with the net and the whole collaboration of the community there. And so it's a great way to get involved and get in front of those people and help be a resource.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

And then the summer in the Hamptons.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Do you know where you're going to do it yet? Yes. So we have a house in East Hampton, and then we are just going to do every Friday because people like to come in for the weekend. So Friday, people come in, we help build their agent as a first part. We feed them lunch, and then there's a second part where they're gonna help, you know, we're gonna help them with prompts and just organizing it. And then they get to go out and have a good time on the weekend. Oh, I'd love to come. Yeah, you have to. I'm really into AI and I'm always playing with so many different things.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Yeah, we have to go. Let's figure out a weekend that works for both. Yeah, we can do a week.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Yeah, imagine it's like, and then you can leave Friday and prompt your agent and just like go out and have a good time at the Surf Lodge or the the NES Club at the Surf Lodge.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

I know. I love that. Um can you talk a little bit more about Tiger Tiger and the first call?

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Yes. So I started Tiger Tiger in 2022, I believe. I have to look that up. It's been the time's flying. Um so I started the agency because I work with a lot of creatives on the legal side. And then I also help negotiate their brand deals. So some people don't want to have an agency because they don't want to give 20%. So what I have done is really deconstruct the whole agency model of taking 20% of anything of creator sources. What I do is I source deals for them and I negotiate their deals as a lawyer, not like an analyst or an intern negotiating these deals. And I help kind of close those out. I have to do that through an agency in order to take a 20% contingency versus the law firm because that's like a separate business. But as I was doing that, I also had a huge deal with Amazon Live, and that was a two-year deal, which was incredible. I managed a ton of creators sourcing that deal for them, and that was a really, really big part of my life. I'm still managing a few creators who have long term deals on Amazon, but now I'm really hyper focused on representing 10 to 15 really incredible thought leaders that also have social media presence. So that's been great. But the first call is as you can see, I do a ton of stuff. Thank goodness for AI. It was yeah, it it really came about because I was like, God, you know what it is? I feel so random because people invite me to host these different things or whatever it is. I'm like, I have a law for they introduced me, they're like, she's a lawyer, but she's much more. And she's an advisor, but she's much more, or she's a teacher. And so I'm like, I'm much more than just a lawyer, an agency owner, and a community builder. And so I was chatting with a friend and they were like, honestly, if I had anything, you're my first call. Like, whatever it is, you're the first call. And I said, that's what it is. I'm the first call. So it's actually like a holding company for everything I do, law, community, and creative agency. And whatever else comes, like AI workshops, super random. Like, I'm a lawyer, but I like to do that. So that's kind of where it came from.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

No, we talk about it a lot. Like, we don't like how people are often put into boxes.

SPEAKER_02 22:52

That's what I was trying to explain to Alexandra earlier. Like they're all interconnected, but I feel like that's how all businesses should be structured. Right. You should be double dipping in everything that you're doing. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that and how you always manage to make your businesses work together and there's always a common synergy rather than the businesses creating issues amongst each other.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yeah, I really think it's just about being super analytical, but also being able to see the vision in what people need and what people want or how to scale them. So I think that goes back to law school, just issue spotting. So when I'm planning a dinner, for example, I'm already like, all right, what does the venue want? What does the brand want? What's gonna get what do the people want? How do I really make this a value add for everybody there? From the law firm side, if I'm meeting somebody, immediately my brain starts thinking about what they need based on what they tell me about their life, their goals, their, you know, whatever it is. Somewhere in that, I could figure out a way to help them with whatever they're working on. But what's nice is that I think it just comes down to what we were talking about earlier, being fearless, being scrappy, and knowing that I can do it. And I have really supportive teams around me that, you know, help me turn everything to life.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

I love that you abandon billable hours. Can you talk about that?

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Yeah. So startups wanted to be able to talk at any time. They didn't want to come into an office. They wanted quick meetings. And everyone's biggest fear is I'm gonna get hit with a huge bill from this lawyer. I'm not ready to go and work with them. So my big key factor in the beginning was transparent flat fee pricing and free consultations. So that people were like, let me just take this free consultation. Once they got to know me and they trusted me, I did a flat fee. And it's actually honestly a little bit even more risky because the flat fee was non-refundable, right? So within the first consultation call, I had to get them to trust me and pay me right away. And so now we kind of work on bigger projects. So we'll take retainer. But with retainer, if you don't want if you want to fire your attorney, you get that money back. With flat fees, it doesn't work that way. But it's just about transparency. People just wanted to know that they wouldn't be getting this huge bill that they didn't know what they could afford. It was just something about transparency. Now we with bigger projects, we'll do a retainer, but again, we're super flexible. And everyone is always like, my clients all text me and call me. I'm not like billing them so they don't feel like they're on a shot clock. But when it is something where I'm like sitting down and doing tangible work, it's great. And then now a lot of clients that I work with, I have equity in their companies. If I do think that they're somebody that I already know I'm gonna be working with long term, I already know that they are gonna be successful. I have a couple now because I started eight years ago that I have some equity in, which I'm like, I could maybe retire soon and do like focused on whatever. But there's a couple that are like in the mix, which I'm like, just sell, just sell.

SPEAKER_02 25:56

There's probably also a level of trust that comes with you taking equity in these businesses because I think about my own brand. If you wanted equity, it's like, okay, well, I know that you're going to be doing the best work for this company and this brand, you know, you're essentially an investor. And so we talk a lot about angel investing. And I'd love to hear how you got involved in angel investing, any advice you would have for our listeners, and what you look for in your projects that you're investing in.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

Absolutely. So angel investing, I would say there's a couple ways you could do it. If you are a service provider and you want to be involved in having equity in companies, I mean, I offer my services in exchange for a point of the company. So that's one way to do it if you don't have the capital. With Angel Investing, my first investment was with Dream Ventures through an SPV, and it was within, which is an acupuncture company that's actually it's on 28th, and they have another location in Williamsburg, and they're expanding Upper West Side. And so I think my first investment was like five or 10,000, maybe even less. Like I think like 5,000. But it was something that really gave me confidence. And it also is really about putting money in a business, and then you get involved with the community. You get to understand how that business is growing. And then I mean, I saw that Jaclyn Johnson, I think she put like $10,000 in away, and now it would turn into like millions of dollars. I'm like, maybe that's how that would happen. But because of that first angel investment and learning that whole process, now I'm involved in a few more. And then also I got really comfortable in working with a financial advisor and investing my money in the market and just kind of really leveraging that. And I do think that that is such a big key for women. I introduce them to people all the time. I always joke. I'm like, I have an Indian accountant, like a white guy, Jewish CFO kind of guy. I'm like, I'm I got two guys behind me that are like both the finance guys, and I'm like a little small girl running it. Like I love it. But yeah, I think that's something women really need to do is it's great to see your money in your closet, but it's even more great to see it growing and seeing how it can compound and learning about that just to build institutional wealth within your families and what you do in the future.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

Yeah, passive income is incredibly important. It's something that I'm really passionate about. And I think, you know, women really for a long time have been intimidated by it and the terminology and just not knowing how to even start.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

I agree. And I think now people are more into it, especially with social media, but it's like the problem is you'll get a video and it's like, well, I made this much money by doing this. And you're like, well, just tell me how to do it now. Or make me understand. So I think that's our next course at the net. I know. Maybe all investing. That's one of the biggest things that I'm focused on right now is women just having more less limiting beliefs around money. I mean, we're good at spending it, we're very good at holding it, but it's all about earning it and just being comfortable with those, with those numbers, with the way that men invest. God, I go to these men VC dinners and the way that they talk about money and invest at the table, most women, I know you guys are exposed to that, but most women really aren't. And it's they like they're like, I'll ask for $10,000. I'm like, to do what? Yeah. What are you gonna do with that? These guys are like minimum check size. It's like 500K.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

I always like to hear a little bit more about the journey, right? That's always my main focus because I had such a unique journey and I love to hear about other entrepreneurs. I'm curious what your number one advice would be to entrepreneurs, anyone who's looking to change careers or switch up where they're at or take, you know, a big risk. What would you say to any listener that's in that position?

SPEAKER_00 29:47

I think that you have to just work really hard. I know that right now, if you are watching all of these people who are, I'm a founder, I'm an entrepreneur, and it looks really easy. It is day in and day out. You have to grind and you have to be open to that. And I see a lot of people who I've worked with or people who are like a little bit younger who have this desire to be an entrepreneur, but they're seeing the easy way that it looks. And I'm telling them, I'm like, the same job you would do, the reason I'm successful is because I'm a natural builder. I am never afraid to roll up my sleeves and get things done. If something needs to be done, I'm not above it. I will do it just to make it happen. And I do think that that mentality is how entrepreneurs are successful. I'm not above any job. I'll tell you that. I mean, like most things I don't want to do, but if it's necessary, it's gonna happen. And I'm not waiting on anybody else to do it for me. That is probably the biggest tip I would give to myself is that I need to learn to trust and delegate. Even my AI agents, I like have to like literally like sit there and I actually dedicate morning time to like talking to her. And I'm like, today I'm gonna copy you in on all my responses so that you understand how I speak. So I BCC her and then I ask her for a report on what she's learned. But like it's that because I think entrepreneurs are natural in terms of like, I'm just gonna get it done. But I think that's the biggest key to success. You just gotta do whatever it takes to get it done. And what did Kim say? Like, get like get working. Like get your ass up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

Get your ass up and work. Yeah. Like that's what nobody wants to work anymore.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Like, no truer statements. Yeah. I swear. So that's some internal work for you out there, all you listeners.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

Yeah. You're very good at making people feel welcome and you're warm and and you have a good presence. So I'm glad you added that because I think that's really important in all business settings.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

I feel like looking at your social media, you know, you are building this incredibly exciting brand. And I think that there's sort of this enthusiasm and vision, and everybody sort of can feel that. I mean, can you thank you again? Talk about like what you're hoping to build and around that brand.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

So, you know what? I'm always I'm never really thinking about what other people are like viewing. I think it's me being excited about the things that I'm doing, and I'm just wanting to bring people along for the journey, but actually giving them opportunities to come into the room. And I think that's exactly what it is. Not a lot of people are offering that. They're showing what they're doing or they're invited to something, but I'm a big person that likes to host and invite people along with me. And so that's what makes things really excited. And again, as long as I'm having fun doing it, that's what I care about. I want to make sure that everything comes across exactly like that. Like I really am excited about the things I'm working on. And I'm always grateful too. Like yesterday with a New York Fashion Week dinner, I'm like, what am I doing here? Like, this is nuts. But I just show up and I try to make it happen. And uh, it is really exciting. Everything is authentic. Like, I wish I was one of those cool girls who was like building it up and making it like a whole story, but I'm like, I don't even post half the stuff that's even cooler than what I did.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

So, our final question, and it's a question that we ask everybody why do you love what you do?

SPEAKER_00 33:06

I love what I do because I'm constantly helping people find their purpose in a way. I think my zone of genius is hearing what people want to achieve and being able to kind of zoom out and see what they need to do in order to achieve that. And that I think comes back to just my training and issue spotting. I'll hear people talk about all of their issues and the problems and the things they want to build. And I'm like, well, all you have to do is X, Y, and Z. And it's not that bad. And that's kind of how I started too. I was like, all I have to do is make 5,000 bucks a month to make ends meet. That's three clients. And if I'm pitching 20 a day, I can make my ends meet. So breaking it down in a way that you're like, it's not that bad, and it's really not that serious. Nobody cares as much as you do. And especially now, there's so much information up. No one's judging, everyone's happy for everyone. Maybe that's just the like bracket of people that are around me, but yeah, that's why I really love what I do. I love just being able to be a resource for people.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

And for people that are looking to get their legal matters in order, how should they find you?

SPEAKER_00 34:15

So I'm everywhere. Um, you could find me on uh Instagram, it's shermeen.laca. It's belt like Sherman. Blame my parents on that, but you know what? It is what it is. And I um we have a website, lvluppleegal.com or level up. If you want to join any of the events, I have a link in my bio for the first call. And then the agency, you know, you could reach us at contact at tiger tiger.social.

SPEAKER_02 34:43

Tremaine, thank you so much for coming today. You're such an inspiration to so many, and you should feel so proud of what you're building. Thank you. Every episode of Dealflow Diaries is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Audible. Search Dealflow Diaries. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube at Dealflow Diaries.