Meet Laurel Glass Lees & Jessa Spainhower | Entrepreneur, Co-Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laurel Glass and Lees Jessa Spainhower and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laurel Glass Lees, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As entrepreneurs, starting our own business demands we trust ourselves and are confident in our capabilities when others may view it as risky. Risk-taking is built into the nature of the A STELLAR CO business and aligns with our core value of courage, which means we choose to do what is right even though other options seem easier. As stakeholder capitalists, we choose to focus on long-term rewards for ourselves, society and the environment even when a short-term return is tempting. And being a part of the regenerative business movement has its own challenges and risks but standing up for this feels good for us — and we consciously choose to go for it. We trust it’s all “figureoutable.” This mentality carries through our business ventures together and in our personal lives, which are so interconnected and mutually beneficial that it’s hard to separate them!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are A STELLAR CO, a business consulting firm where entrepreneurship meets social innovation and environmentalism. Based on our combined 20 years of experience in executive management and environmental consulting, A STELLAR CO specializes in working with stakeholder capitalists to plan and implement regenerative business practices that generate value for all stakeholders, take care of our environment, and reach sustainable profit metrics. As entrepreneurs, we understand businesses want to balance time and resources while focusing on the activities they do best. We help by being a resource for strategic planning and implementation through the lens of sustainability. When working with A STELLAR CO, you will have access to the knowledge and resources you need to make holistic, successful business decisions. And you are participating in A STELLAR CO’s 3% For Good giveback business model. Year to date, we have donated over $1,000 in cash and contributed over 5% of our time to startups pro bono. We are proud of our ORION Podcast and stakeholder network of Conscious Constellations – individuals and companies with shared values and approaches to business. And our team of female entrepreneurs at Runway to Regeneration help us bring sustainable events to life in a way that is fun, meaningful, and on purpose. Each of these channels help build our client roster on referrals, which brings us pride and joy because it is a testament to how valuable our services are to the community. In developing our business, we create space to allow for new opportunities to come in that align with our values and drive our professional growth. It can be intimidating to try something new, but we believe in being resourceful, coming from a place of “Yes, AND”, and ultimately “everything is figureoutable” – credit to Marie Forleo. It is challenging and rewarding for us to be part of the change we wish to see in the world. Our goal as leaders is to find and enjoy the flow – it is difficult when a client or project is at odds with our values, and it takes courage to know when to walk away and free up space for more creativity and fulfillment. At A STELLAR CO, we feel good having a positive impact in our work through our clients, donations, pro bono services, and events. We want the world to know that you don’t need to sacrifice who you are to be successful in business.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Jessa – I always recommend a stop at Balboa Park, eating in Little Italy (love Born & Raised) and walking around the piazza, decompressing at Eco Chateau with an infrared sauna experience, and a hike Torrey Pines. And if you a have a pup, Fiesta Island dog park is a must! Laurel – Start off with morning Pilates, followed by breakfast and coffee on the terrace at La Valencia, decompressing with an infrared sauna and massage at Eco Chateau, throw the ball for our dogs at the park, relax at Sunset Cliffs for sunset and twilight, and finally, watch the stars and the moon over the ocean.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to David J Ferran, CEO and Founder of Torrey Project. Dinosaur Dave, as we affectionately call him, is our mentor and introduced us to the philosophy of stakeholder capitalism. This helped us launch A STELLAR CO as a stakeholder-focused business after graduating the first of his many successful Torrey Project cohorts. He graciously mentors us in our other ventures as well. Shout out to the Runway Regeneration team, a group of women business owners who host regular events featuring minority-owned sustainable fashion and entertainment brands. A STELLAR CO is grateful for our partners Mavis Carolina Herrera, Sasha West, Isabel Wen, and Lauren Goldberg.
 Shout out to Joe and Cyrus of XQ Innovation, who taught us that self-awareness is crucial to leading a successful business. They believed in us from the start and have helped us grow from the inside out.

Website: www.astellar.co
Instagram: @astellarco
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astellarco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/astellarco
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCKpnXJOJkolZQLBSUFJ0BuA
Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/6cdr0vD6SfSRbojBpPsrsP?si=lhLTGc_WTt6tTOY0HDp_XQ