Every so often, I’d like to post an interview with a female entrepreneur who happens to also be a mom. I recently interviewed Teresa Phillips, CEO of Graspr, an “instructional video network.”

Graspr is an online video community offering instructional content on a wide range of topics, from dancing to skateboard tricks, from quilting to PhotoShop tricks . The site’s mission is “to make the world a smarter place by bringing together people who possess different kinds of expertise, and helping them share what they know with others.”

Teresa Phillips, CEO of Graspr

1. Why did you decide to start your company? What was the inspiration?
The decision to create my own start up was triggered by the premature birth of my son. The support I received from therapists, nursing staff and doctors made me realize that I was lucky to live in such proximity to a great hospital, but not everybody is so fortunate. I founded Graspr to empower people to more readily discover the answers they seek from those who are either experts or share a similar experience from which they can learn.  Through the broad reach of the Internet and more specifically, the power of video, people all over the world are able to share their wealth of knowledge more freely.

2. What were you doing before starting your company?
I held VP-level positions at both Yahoo! and Time Warner, as well as worked in a several start-ups in product and operations.  Prior to that I spent 7 years in the U.S. Army supporting many high-ranking general officers including a former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former NATO commander.

3. Why an online business versus a traditional (offline) one?
Online is the only way that people can efficiently share their knowledge to such a wide audience. In Graspr’s market, offline means that these experts effectively have to put in more hours or clone themselves if they want to reach more people. Experiencing exponential growth in a business is exhilerating and more realistic in an online businesses.

4. What were the main steps you had to take to start your online business?
I had to create a product that worked to prove to the VCs that I was able to execute my vision. Thereafter, I had to raise money, which I was lucky enough to do so from DFJ, one of the premier VCs in Silicon Valley. It was then all about finding the right people and inspiring them to take ownership of and advance the Graspr vision — my 7 years in the military came in real handy for that task.

5. What have been your greatest business challenges to date and how have you overcome them (or how are you working to overcome them?)
My vision for Graspr is to empower people who have expertize to easily package it and share it through what I like to call “connected learning”. And if they can make additional money doing so, all the better!  If this is accomplished, it has the potential to revolutionize the service sector.  That’s not a small vision! So to execute on such a big vision, I continually need to keep myself and my team focused on creating small pieces that will eventually fit together to form our grand plan.  Also, the individuals and small businesses we’re helping to monetize their know-how are so excited about what Graspr is doing for them and forget that we’re also a startup.  It requires finesse and constant calibration to balance our customers’ short-term needs with building sustainable infrastructure to support long-term growth .

6. What is a “typical work day” like for you?
There are very few “typical” work days; things are moving so fast that it is essential to be nimble. One common thread is that my work days are quite long. We also have a team in India, so the time difference keeps me awake late at night and rising early!  I do take breaks in-between “shifts” to spend time with my family.  Despite the pace, I seek to provide routine to my employees, which means finding time for team meetings and activities and always contextualizing what we do on a day-to-day basis against our overall vision.

7. What advice would you give to other women looking to start an online business?
Do it! There are still too few women in the online world, although that is changing fast. I created Graspr out of something very special and important to me - people say follow your passion, I say do what you really believe in.  Dream — Dare — Do!

If you have any questions for Teresa Phillips, leave them here in comments, and we’ll get the answers and post them in comments as well!