In this interview with Stephanie D’Angelo, former Big 4 consultant and founder of HerClub, we explore how she turned an unfulfilled corporate career into a mission to help women build confidence, community, and opportunity through golf. Stephanie shares her perspective on success, the power of asking for help, and why stepping into uncomfortable rooms is often the first step toward extraordinary growth.
When Your Work Finally Feels Like Your Purpose
What is a life that you love, Stephanie? And are you living it?
Yes, I am living it, or I’m on my way to living it. A little more financial stability would be great, but yes.
It’s easy to work hard for somebody else. I worked at a public accounting firm for 10 years, and I stayed there for 10 years. I knew in the second week that it wasn’t for me, but I stayed anyway. I was always talking to people and looking for other jobs. One of my best friends used to say to me, “You’re always so lost, Stephanie.” And I was. I just didn’t feel like I’d found it.
Then all of a sudden, this happened. I had that interaction with my partners and felt like I was missing out. I immediately felt this spark. I built a PowerPoint, proposed it to Deloitte, and said, “Hey, can I do this internally? What can I do?”
It just feels like I’ve always been this loudmouth advocating for the quieter girls in school. Now I get to professionally be a loudmouth for women, essentially. I get to advocate for them and cheer them on. What’s better than that?
It’s so fulfilling. I used to work until 10 or 12 o’clock at night for the firm. I’m not working that hard now because I also need balance. But when I do have those nights where I’m working and grinding like that, I don’t care because I’m happier. It’s for a greater purpose.
Success Is Balance, Fulfillment, and Lifting Others
What is your definition of success today?
Success is a hard one because it’s something I talk about all the time. It’s always changing. As soon as we achieve something, we’ve checked it off and we’re adjusting again.
For me, success is personal and financial fulfillment. It doesn’t mean I’m not working hard, because I am. But there has to be balance. I don’t want to be one of those people who burns out. Of course, that happens sometimes. We all go through those periods. But generally speaking, balance is really important to me.
Ultimately, I just want to be amplifying and empowering other women in any way that I can.
The Village Behind Every Bold Dream
When you think about community, how has community shaped your journey so far?
Community has been invaluable.
The mentors, the women championing HerClub in rooms that I’m not even in, especially in the beginning, have been quite surprising.
I say it in LinkedIn posts and to people all the time. It takes a village. I always want to thank my village because I couldn’t do it without those people. The mentors who have brought me into their companies, let me use their workspace, and let me pick their brains.
I have a mentor who simply told me, “Raise your prices.” Wow. How incredible is it to hear that from someone who’s almost a stranger?
People have seen the vision for HerClub, sometimes even bigger than I saw it for myself. Strangers have taken the time to get involved.
We created a leadership council made up of volunteer women who simply believed this was something worth helping to grow. It’s exceptional, the number of strangers you meet over Zoom or coffee who end up helping you more than you ever expected. Your everyday people are still your rock, but then these surprising people come into your life too.
I could probably name 25 people right now, easily. I’m sure you could too.
It doesn’t happen alone. HerClub is mine. I’m a solopreneur, but it never feels like that. It can be lonely, but it’s gotten less lonely because I’ve realized that if you talk about it, ask for community, and seek it out, there’s always someone willing to help you along the way.
It’s critical. I can’t say enough about it. I wish I could articulate just how important it is.
Purpose Is the Habit That Never Runs Out
What are the habits that you have that have allowed you to get to your definition of success?
I don’t actually think it’s a habit. I think it’s the passion that drives me, honestly, day in and day out.
Being able to impact women in a way where they walk in one way and leave with a different energy is incredibly inspiring. That feeds me. It motivates me to keep doing this because I think it’s so important to reach more women, help them grow, and let them step into their own amazingness.
That’s what feeds my soul.
Of course, I work out and go for walks, and those things are important. But what truly drives me every day is creating change for women and seeing it happen.
Growth Begins the Moment You Stop Waiting to Feel Ready
What is it that keeps women from leaning into an opportunity that could be huge for their career?
It’s sad because I think there are a lot of external factors, but I also think we hold ourselves back.
We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we’re going to sit at the table, we need to have all the answers, be fully prepared, and feel completely confident. But when you talk to women who are really successful, we’re all just walking into rooms a little blind and figuring it out.
For me, that meant taking a leap professionally, taking a leap on the golf course, and simply putting myself into new situations. We’re not doing that as much anymore.
Helping women feel more comfortable taking those chances is so important because that’s how we learn, grow, and change.
We’re living in a pretty frictionless world right now. You can’t get good at something until you’re willing to be bad at it first. But everyone wants to be good immediately.
You weren’t good the first time you spoke in public. You developed that skill.
Yes, some people have a huge fear of public speaking, but others just do it and figure it out. Golf is the same way. People are incredibly intimidated by it, and honestly, that feeling is justified. But put yourself out there. Do it. You can.
Asking for Help Unlocks Bigger Possibilities
What is a hard lesson that you have had to learn on your journey so far?
Asking for help.
That was the number one thing I wasn’t prepared for.
When I quit Deloitte, I wasn’t planning to build a company and grow HerClub. I thought I’d quit, figure something else out, be unemployed for three months, and then move on.
During that first year, asking for help was debilitating. If you’re really trying to build something but refuse to ask for help or communicate your needs, there’s no way it’s going to happen.
I’m not naturally good at that. I’m an independent, self-sufficient first child, so it’s really hard.
Asking people for their time, their expertise, resources, or just admitting that I needed help was incredibly difficult. Sometimes I didn’t even know exactly what I needed. I just knew I couldn’t do it alone.
That was the turning point. That’s when HerClub really started moving. I finally realized I don’t know everything, and I can’t build a company I’ve never built before without learning from people who have.
Create Success Worth Passing Forward
What is the legacy that you’re hoping to leave?
That’s an intimidating question.
I think my legacy is about how I treat people and encouraging others to continue the generosity that people have shown me.
It’s a little cliché. I wish I had something deeper or cooler to say, but honestly, it’s about passing that forward.
These mentors took time out of their incredibly busy days, while running hugely successful businesses, to help me and my tiny little company.
You have to pass that on.
I believe karma is real. But it’s not just about karma. We all see people struggling, growing, and trying to become better. Why wouldn’t we help them?
I want to be someone people can count on. That’s really important to me.
I want to keep pouring into the future, whatever that ultimately looks like. I’m still figuring out exactly what that means.
Meet Stephanie D’Angelo
Stephanie D’Angelo is a former Big 4 consultant and founder of HerClub, empowering professional women how to use golf as a business tool. She works with companies to help women build the skills and confidence to show up, network, and sell — on and off the golf course.
