Nicci Take

Nicci Take wanted to fly fast jets for the RAF, but she was kicked out “for not having the right blood,” she says. So, she decided to make enough money to buy her own jet — by starting her own company. For more than 20 years, Take, right, seen her with her business partner Alice Felstead, has been in the business of winning. Her enterprise, m62|vincis, is a pitch consultancy that helps coach businesses into coordinating successful sales pitches that lead to profitable deals. The “complex and unusual” CEO and father of three shares her wisdom as a transgender woman and as a highly sought-after sales coach in more than 100 YouTube videos, three Edinburgh Fringe shows, and two books that cover topics such as women in the workplace, domestic and sexual violence, anti-trans violence, and church-sanctioned transphobia. She also helps charities supporting transgender kids and victims of domestic violence, coaches rugby, teaches makeup skills, and does stand-up comedy. Take’s latest venture, the memoir Prey, tells the story of how she went from “alpha male to yummy mummy,” a story she hopes will invite a “new type of gender debate.” Along with business partner Alice Felstead, Take advises businesses to remain authentic and clear about the vision behind their brands. But just as important to Take as what those companies sell is who their teams are as people. She filters clients based on diversity and inclusion, and her own gender expression has had a “profound” effect on her company’s profitability and success, she says. “If you treat your people badly, if you only promote straight, white men, we don’t want you to win — we want you to be our client’s competition, and we will help them beat you,” she says. “Game on.” —SEJ