Women’s Entrepreneurship Week kicks off on March 1 and is expected to triple in size again this year!
I recently sat down with the three organizers: Jackie Hermes and Jenny Weeden of Accelity Marketing as well as Christina Haidemenos, the WEW Community Organizer to learn more about the week and the state of women’s entrepreneurship in our city.
In the episode, we touched on some of the difficulties women entrepreneurs face: They tend to overthink getting started more than men and comparatively start smaller businesses that raise less funding. On the flip side, Jackie said, "I look at being a woman as an advantage, you stand out more, it’s something I’ve heard from VCs."
Women’s entrepreneurship may have a long way to go in our city, but if this event is any indication, it is moving in the right direction, fast. Last year, the week had 20 events and 400 attendees. As of now, 60 events are slated for the week and attendance is expected to triple!
Some highlights are the Kickoff Party at Merriment Social where Jackie will interview serial entrepreneur Kelly Fitzsimmons, who has an upcoming book, "Lost in Startuplandia," coming out this spring. There are several morning panels ranging from fundraising, how to hire top talent, personal branding and more. There are also daily lunch and happy hour panels, plus events and workshops throughout the week.
Jonny Haedt asked, "Are men allowed?" The week is not just for women; men are encouraged to attend and many will also be on panels, including myself. I’m looking forward to being part of the "How to Build a Personal Brand on LinkedIn" panel and, we will be hosting a live podcast at the GGMM HQ in the evening on Tuesday, March 5. The live podcast will feature Jackie Hermes, the founder and CEO at Accelity Marketing, and Ane Ohm, founder of Lease Crunch and Rashi Khosla & Founder of Mars Ventures.
I highly recommend coming out and supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Milwaukee – plus you can RSVP for our live podcast at GGMM Live Podcast: Women's Entrepreneurship Week.
Check out the full slate of events head to: wewmke.com
For the full episode, as well as topic and guest suggestions for The GoGedders Podcast, head to: ggmm.io/thegogedders
