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Sheena Brady
Founder of Tease and Founders Fund, Advocate for Women Entrepreneurs
Sheena Brady is a prominent entrepreneur and the founder of both Tease Tea and the Founders Fund. Her journey began with Tease Tea, which she established to merge her passion for high-quality tea with a commitment to women's empowerment. This venture has evolved into a significant social impact organization, supporting underrepresented women and non-binary entrepreneurs through accessible funding, mentorship, and community resources.12
Background and Career
Brady's career in entrepreneurship was catalyzed by her experiences in the hospitality industry, where she implemented Toronto's largest tea program at a luxury hotel. This role led her to become a certified Tea Sommelier, inspiring her to create Tease Tea in 2013. The brand focuses on wellness and self-care through tea and botanical-infused products.34 Under her leadership, Tease has launched innovative products, including the world's first fully biodegradable and refillable wellness tea collection.2
In 2019, Sheena founded the Founders Fund as an extension of Tease Tea's mission to support women entrepreneurs. The Fund operates as a digital accelerator that provides mentorship, education, and non-repayable funding to women at various stages of their business journeys. Since its inception, the Founders Fund has supported over 600 women and distributed significant funding to numerous startups.13
Achievements
Brady's work has garnered recognition for its impact on women's entrepreneurship. Through the Founders Fund, she has facilitated over $200,000 in micro-grants and mentorship programs aimed at empowering women founders during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.25 She emphasizes the importance of community support among entrepreneurs, advocating for collective efforts to close the gender gap in business leadership.12
Personal Insights
Brady describes her proudest accomplishment as becoming a mother, which has influenced her perspective on work-life balance and personal fulfillment.2 She believes that success is about achieving harmony between work and personal life while creating meaningful impacts through her ventures.3
In summary, Sheena Brady is not only a successful entrepreneur but also a passionate advocate for women's empowerment in business, leveraging her experiences to foster growth and support for others in the entrepreneurial community.
Highlights
"You buy yourself flowers?" "I sure do."
Treating myself to flowers has become a regular ritual. It all started on a particularly tough day for my business—a costly mistake weighing heavily on my mind.
Passing a florist, I hesitated:
"Buying flowers now? Shouldn't you be tightening the purse strings?" Yet, something drew me in and I left with an arrangement that brought a moment of peace and brightness to a dark day.
I soon realized their impact.
Flowers symbolize beauty and growth. Like us, they go through seasons of change in the wild—blooming, withering, and blooming again. They remind me to savor the little things and carve out time for self-care - Even when I question if I deserve it.
They remind me in moments of my own feelings of ‘withering’ there is an opportunity to bloom around the corner. Just weather it out.
In a world where we often wait for external validation, I don’t wait anymore. So, whether it's flowers, treating yourself to a massage, a hike, or a moment of quiet reflection…
I encourage you to discover what brings you joy and make it a cherished part of your routine.
Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I came so close to quitting and giving up on Tease.
All because of lunch with a prominent man in the tea industry.
He was a founder with a vast retail footprint and I was honored he took the time to meet me for lunch to learn more about my new business.
Tease was barely 2 years old at the time, I was about 25.
Hoping for mentorship, I instead received massive discouragement:
→ He labeled my efforts as insignificant. → He dismissed my market as oversaturated. → He told me I was too late to make an impact in the tea industry.
Despite feeling crushed and spiralling into a mini existential crisis on the inside, I somehow maintained my composure.
We wrapped up lunch with him commenting that my passion was a “good hobby” and offered me a job at his company.
I left feeling defeated. But I eventually dusted myself off, and reminded myself—I started with nothing but determination, unlike his privileged start which included massive family connections and investment.
This wasn’t just a cute hobby for a girl. This was my life’s work.
And no one had the power to stop me from bringing it to the world.
Years later, I found out he was ousted from his own company. (And, ironically, went on to start a new tea company.)
Meanwhile, I celebrated a huge milestone: Launching Tease to a major retailer in every location across the country.
As I visited a store to marvel at our beautiful products displayed on the shelves - I noticed they sat right next to that guys new tea brand of products.
I could have felt robbed of joy in that moment. But instead, I felt so damn proud that I kept believing in myself.
This experience taught me the power of resilience, tenacity, and trusting in my vision while staying true to myself and my vision. No matter the setbacks or naysayers, staying true to your passion and values can lead to remarkable, sustainable growth.
Your dreams and goals came to you for a reason.
Protect your dreams and let’s lift one another up.
No one, and I mean no one, has the power to crush your dreams if you don’t let them. ✨
