Ashley Lynn Priore Featured on Built For This: Stories of a Maverick

Ashley Lynn Priore, Founder & CEO of Queenside Ventures, was recently featured on Kinship Kollective’s Built For This: Stories of a Maverick podcast for a conversation about chess, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the decisions that shape what comes next.

In the episode, Ashley shares how learning chess at a young age became the foundation for much more than competition. The game taught her how to recognize patterns, think several moves ahead, navigate uncertainty, and make decisions with intention - skills that would later influence how she approaches leadership and builds organizations.

“Chess is a blueprint for your life. It can help you think differently and make better decisions,” Ashley shares during the conversation.

The episode traces Ashley’s journey from growing up in competitive chess environments to founding Queens Gambit and, later, Queenside Ventures. She discusses building credibility as a young entrepreneur, creating opportunities for youth and women through chess, and expanding chess-based strategic thinking into professional sports, business, and executive leadership.

A central theme throughout the conversation is decision-making.

Leaders are constantly asked to move forward without perfect information. Chess provides a framework for slowing down, assessing the position, considering multiple possibilities, and understanding that choosing not to act is itself a choice.

As Ashley puts it, “Not making a decision is making a decision.”

The conversation also explores the role of confidence, representation, and access - particularly for women entering spaces where they have historically been underrepresented. Ashley discusses why early exposure matters, how supportive communities can change what people believe is possible, and why learning chess does not have to be about becoming a competitive player.

Instead, the value is in learning how to think.

That philosophy has become central to Ashley’s work with athletes, executives, teams, and organizations. By translating lessons from the chessboard into real-world situations, Queenside Ventures helps people strengthen their strategic thinking, approach pressure differently, and make clearer decisions when the path forward is uncertain.

The episode also touches on Ashley’s work bringing chess into professional sports, her approach to helping athletes strengthen patience and mental performance, and her broader mission to make chess more accessible to women through Project D4.

Across each part of the conversation, one idea remains consistent: strong strategy begins with understanding the position you are in and thinking intentionally about the position you want to create.

This conversation reflects the work of Queenside Ventures - using chess as a framework to help leaders, athletes, and organizations see the full board, strengthen decision-making, and move forward with purpose.

Listen to the full episode of Built For This: Stories of a Maverick featuring Ashley Lynn Priore on the Kinship Kollective podcast.