Rana DiOrio
Rana is an intrepid force for empowerment and positive change. As a corporate and securities attorney, tech-sector investment banker, angel investor, and advisory board member, Rana has guided the development of strategy and catalyzed the financial, operational, and cultural growth of organizations for 29 years. During her career she’s worked for Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman), Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Alex. Brown (now a division of Raymond James), Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Securities, and North Point Advisors.
As an award-winning author and children’s media entrepreneur, she has helped to define the current zeitgeist in children’s literature and has been on the vanguard of emerging technologies. She is the Founder and CEO of Creative Mint, Inc., which launches and propagates purpose-driven brands in children’s media. She’s been featured in Duke Magazine, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, IBPA’s Independent, Publisher’s Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Vanderbilt Magazine, among others. She’s presented at industry conferences all over the world including the Frankfurt Book Fair, The Next Web (Amsterdam), Tools of Change (Bologna), Publishing University, RightsTech, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (both national and regional conferences), among others. She is currently Executive Producing a children’s special addressing citizenship with the Jim Henson Company.
Rana earned an AB from Duke University (with honors) and a JD from Vanderbilt University School of Law. Her personal pursuits include fitness training, practicing yoga, meditating, walking on the beach, reading non-fiction and children’s books, dreaming big dreams, and helping other entrepreneurs and creatives realize theirs. She lives in San Francisco, CA with her three children.
Recognized by
"My heart is full.
My biggest thank you for the creator.
"If we can all be kind to each other and ourselves, our world will be more loving, caring, and harmonious."
- Shiela (GoodReads.com)
What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur?
by Rana DiOrio and Emma D. Dryden
Part of the award-winning What Does It Mean to Be…?® series, What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur? is an accessible and understandable introduction to children of all ages to the concept of entrepreneurship and creativity.
When Rae witnesses an ice cream-and-doggie mishap, she’s inspired to create a big-scale solution to help get dogs clean. Rae draws on her determination, resilience, and courage until she—and everyone else in her community—learns just what it means to be an entrepreneur.
There’s a society-wide movement to instill entrepreneurial skills and motivations in young people. And this fun approach to a sometimes complicated concept is sure to inspire budding entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.
