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October 04, 2021

Michele Ruiz: The problem solver

By Genny Hom-Franzen

Michele Ruiz’s bio reads like one of a modern-day Renaissance woman. She’s a mother, bestselling author, female tech entrepreneur, social media influencer and keynote speaker.

She is CEO of two successful companies, along with an online mentoring program, Possibility Architect©. She is an adviser to senior executives at Fortune 20 multinational corporations, as well as some of the highest profile thought leaders and elected officials.

And, before becoming an entrepreneur, she enjoyed a lengthy career as an award-winning broadcast journalist, receiving 16 Emmy nominations, five Emmys, four Golden Mikes and one Los Angeles Press Club award.

These days, Ruiz is the CEO and co-founder of BiasSync. The company is the first science-based assessment and training software solution with proprietary data and analytics methodology designed to help corporations reduce the negative impact of unconscious bias. She is also the CEO of Ruiz Strategies, which provides business consulting services to large corporations, government agencies and mid to large-sized professional services firms. She is among a few females and minority tech entrepreneurs who are investor-backed.

“My two companies work together well…Ruiz Strategies is a consulting company with respect to change management. It goes hand in hand with BiasSync,” she said.

Juggling her varied hats, personal responsibilities and executive leadership roles doesn’t seem to faze Ruiz one bit.

“I don’t focus on the concept of balance because frankly, it’s unattainable,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s such a thing as equal balance among the different roles. It’s a function of being hyperfocused on how you spend your time and having buckets of time set aside for areas of focus. I have buckets of time set aside for one business and other buckets of time for my other business … When it’s important to be present for my family, then I make sure I have time carved out for that. So, it’s being hyperfocused on calendaring everything that’s important.”

Besides exceling at time management, Ruiz has been successful thanks to her ability to find and pursue opportunities. She encourages minority-owned businesses to think about being federal contractors and marketing to the federal government. There are several reasons. First, she said the Biden administration signed an executive order mandating that all federal agencies buy more products and services from small and women-owned businesses. Next, the federal government is the largest purchaser in the country.

“The federal government needs everything from office supplies to architectural services — even landscaping, [information technology] and marketing,” she said. “The federal government buys a significant number of products and services. The key is to get certified as either a small business or a woman-owned business,” she said.

Another plus: The government tends to buy in large quantities, Ruiz said.

The biggest challenge affecting minority businesses today is scaling, she said. “Scaling requires revenue and financial resources — not just debt vehicles, but investment for the right kind of businesses. If you can scale efficiently, there are many, many opportunities — both in [the] federal government and corporate — for minority-owned businesses.”

Looking back on her entrepreneurial career so far, Ruiz cited two of her proudest moments. First, recently, she was awarded a contract by the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and Executive Office of the President. “That’s pretty cool,” she said.

And, she never thought she would be a tech entrepreneur. “But here I am,” Ruiz said. “I am the founder and CEO of a science-based tech company. I am very proud of that because it demonstrates that you don’t have to be an expert in all things. You just have to be an expert in how to solve problems in the marketplace and how to develop solutions that the marketplace needs and wants.”

To learn more about Biassync, visit biassync.com.