Entrepreneurs, business professionals and students met at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Feb. 20 and 21 to learn from a power-packed lineup of business and media experts, to network with leading executive men and women and to become part of a global economic revolution geared toward women and girls at the Third Annual Phoenix Women Investing in Women Summit. Our founder, Anu Bhardwaj, noted that it was “the largest Women Investing in Women Summit after having expanding our Global WIIW Summit Series across North America, Asia, Europe and Africa over the past 12 months. In the true spirit of Women Investing in Women, we are extremely thrilled that a large portion of our revenues will be supporting the official launch of The State of Women Radio Network, the “Women Investing in Women and Girls” radio show, and the Girls Rule Foundation.
A large portion of the summit's revenues went toward supporting WIIW's “Women Investing in Women and Girls” radio show, as well as the Girls Rule Foundation, an Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and empowering girls ages 12 to 18.
Aspiring and established entrepreneurs alike learned from business, technology and media experts; who spoke on topics including crowdfunding, negotiating, managing finances as a small business, educating girls in STEM fields, the Girl Scouts' amazing business model, international business and philanthropy, the LGBT community and more. Through talks, presentations, breakout sessions and networking; entrepreneurs and professional women of all interests and experience levels came out of the summit enriched and invigorated with new contacts, expertise and inspiration.
Seed Spot, a nonprofit incubator focused on social entrepreneurship, hosted a pitching session at the summit. Founder Courtney Klein discussed pitching and the importance of building a community of mutually supportive entrepreneurs. With hundreds of alumni who have raised $1.7 million in capital and created 160 new jobs, she made a strong case. The incubator and office space boasts a network of over 350 mentors and runs a four-month program twice a year to assist new entrepreneurs.
We were especially excited to feature our inaugural WIIW Phoenix Private Equity Roundtable, especially focused on helping local women investors understand due-diligence as it pertains to making angel, venture capital, and private equity investments. As a women-focused private equity roundtable it offered a unique and often unexplored perspective.
Guests were also able to treat themselves. Mini-headshot sessions hosted by Get Image Ready helped interested attendees add professional and eye-catching flair to their professional profiles on social media and other business networking channels. Guests received tips on putting a good face forward in business and beauty, as well as hair and makeup touchup and a finished digital image.
The summit also hosted a “Pink Carpet Reception” sponsored by Get Image Ready to celebrate the launch of international bestselling book “Success in Beauty.” as part of a launch party to benefit the Girls Rule Foundation. The party featured a panel discussion and book signing by six local co-authors; event photography by Style Image Studios’ Stella Crowl, voted Best of Our Valley by Arizona Foothills Magazine and swag by local dessert and beauty vendors. Special presenters included:
- The “Women Investing in Women and Girls” radio show; a show produced and broadcasted by teenage girls in the Valley engaging listeners on global women’s issues, entrepreneurship and investing; that is produced locally in Phoenix by the Kidstar Corporation for Voice America Kids with an estimated reach of 5.6M worldwide.
- Lisa Stone, SheKnows Chief Community Officer and Co-Founder of BlogHer
- Douglas Ellenoff, from Ellenoff Grossman & Schole, a leading law firm who was involved in the inception of the crowdfunding Industry
- Barbara McAllister, Director of Global Strategic Initiatives, from Intel Girls and Women
- Anu Bhardwaj, Founder of Women Investing in Women Digital
- Courtney Klein, Co-Founder, Seed Spot
- Kate Darling, Senior Digital Advertising Manager, American City Business Journals
- Gloria Feldt, Founder, Take the Lead
- Heidi Jannenga, Co-Founder, WebPT
- Aly Saxe, Founder and CEO, Iris Software
- Dr. Ann-Christine Langselius, Founder, Maya Global Invest
- Candace Klein, Chief Strategy Officer, Dealstruck
- Cindy Christi, Founder and CEO, CXI Media
- Jennifer Mannino, EVP, Director of Investigations at Subrosa Investigations, LLC
- Poonam Ahluwalia, Founder, Youth, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
- Anila Arthanari, Director of Development, Infusionsoft
- Angela Hughey, Founder, ONE Community Media
- Kathy Sacks, Founder, Fearless Ventures
- Kathy Bass, Founder, Ladies Who Brand