Women 2.0 » Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners

Join us February 14-16 for mobile mania in Europe

Will you be at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona? Follow Shaherose Charania’s plancast to see where you can find Women 2.0 while at the congress.

Find Women 2.0 and Ellas 2.0 in Barcelona at:
- Mobile Sunday (Sunday, February 14th, 2010)
- Mobile Premier Awards (Monday, February 15th, 2010) Honoring the Winners for Best Female Entrepreneur in Mobile
- Mobile World Congress (Monday, February 15th through 18th, 2010)

Here is the final program of this years’ Mobile Premier Awards which is coming up this Monday, February 15th, 2010 in Spain. Besides the classic MPA in Innovation live 3-minute pitches, this year the awards will announce the winners of the other awards in collaboration with partners like Women 2.0.

For this year’s event, the keynote presentation is on the story of Admob. The event host will be Mark Palmer, Founder of Maverick Planet Ltd. Check the jury that will choose the winners among the 20 finalists. So what are you waiting for? Book your seat now!

Also posted in Awards

“Will It Launch” Startup Idea Workshop (Feb 6-7)

Join Women 2.0 for a Startup Idea Workshop “Will It Launch?” February 6-7, 2010.

Also posted in Awards, Community Service, Debriefing, Events, In Conversation, Media, Media Training, Mixers, Savings, Startup Weekend, Workshops Comments (3)

The Finance Crisis and Your Startup - Oct 7th

Busy running your startup but wondering how the financial crisis will impact your business? How does the future for startups seeking funding? Is this a good time to launch your dream venture? We will discuss the current financial crisis and its impact on the startup world at the Institute for the Future (IFTF) in Palo Alto on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. IFTF will demo the Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Game: Superstruct before the panel event.

Panelists:
» Shai Goldman (Director for Venture Exchange, SVB Capital)
» Rebecca Lynn (Principal, Morgenthaler Ventures)
» Prasanna Krishnan (Associate, Draper Fisher Jurvetson)
» Betty Kayton (CFO, high tech startups & early stage firms)
» Greg Schmid (Director, Managing Uncertainty Group)

Moderator:
» Jill E. Fishbein (Partner, Carr & Ferrell LLP)

Event sponsored by SVB Capital:

From left: Jill Fishbein (Partner, Carr & Ferrell), Prasanna Krishnan (Associate, Draper Fisher Jurvetson), Shai Goldman (Director for Venture Exchange, SVB Capital), Rebecca Lynn (Principal, Morgenthaler Ventures), and Betty Kayton (CFO, high tech startups & early stage firms).

The event was blogged at Wall Street Journal as “VCs Ask Start-Ups: What’s Your Worst-Case Scenario?”. Blogger Gwen Bell turned her live Tweets from the event into a blog post titled “Economy Got You Poppin’ Pills?: VC Advice for Your Startup (+ 5 Strategies for Thriving!)”.Gwen Bell also live-Tweeted the event.

Also posted in Awards, Business, Community Service, Debriefing, Events, Investors, Media, Media Training, Mixers, Savings Comments (2)

“Speak with Angels” - Women 2.0 September event

Looking for funding so you can take your venture to the next level?

Join an intimate conversation with angel investors on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at the Angels’ Forum office in Palo Alto. Patricia Roller (co-founder of frog design and member of the Angels’ Forum), Georges Harik (angel investor and former Director of Googlettes, a start-up incubator that operated inside Google), and Carol Sands (founder and managing member of the Halo Fund) will answer questions and help you learn everything you ever wanted to know about early stage funding.

If you’re interested in attending, please email us your answers to the following questions:

Why do you want to attend this event? Why should you be selected to attend this event?
Do you currently own/run your own business, or have an idea for a business? What stage is it in?
Please describe your business.
How do you plan on making money?
Do you plan on participating in Pitch 2009?
If you had the chance to ask only one question to a VC, what would it be?

Deadline to apply for a spot at this exclusive event is September 12, 2008. To apply, send us an email to women2.0@gmail.com with your responses to the above questions. Selected participants will be notified by September 19, 2008. Cost of the event for selected attendees is $50 a person.

* * * * *

UPDATE: Debriefing and Notes from the September 30th, 2008 “Speak with Angels” Event

Angel investing is risky business compared to venture capital, but as Patricia Roller said — it’s about giving back AND making money. Both Patricia Roller and Georges Harik stressed the importance of following up on the introductions or referrals an angel investor gives you bcause even if the angel investor does not invest initially, the interest/investment of their peer(s) may lead them to invest at a later time. Georges Harik stressed the importance of finding a good angel with a strong network to be your first investor, because other angels will be more inclined to follow. Patricia Roller provided a helpful hint that even if an angel investor does not invest, consider asking them to become an advisor and do take their advice, and maybe later, their financial investment will follow their personal/professional investment. Both angel investors spoke to the entrepreneurs about keeping your angel investors and advisors updated — keep your regular reports concise and focused on what’s important. Afterall, your angel investors and advisors are there to help.

A handpicked group of entrepreneurs met with Patricia Roller and Georges Harik to talk about angel investing.
Carol Sands meets the entrepreneurs.	Networking is of the essence.

More pictures from the event are available on Flickr.

Thanks to everyone who came out. The next angel investment event will be in March 2009 — stay tuned!

Also posted in Angel Investors, Business, Debriefing, Events, Investors, Media, Media Training, Savings

Beyond the Spark Conference Wrap-Up

Stanford, California - May 10, 2008 - Entrepreneurs and VCs gathered on the grassy lawn of the Stanford Golf Course for the 2008 Women 2.0 and Stanford Women in Business Conference Beyond the Spark: Entrepreneurship Redefined. The conference included panel discussions, an interactive lunch with Silicon Valley movers and shakers, and an afternoon session with Pitch 2008 Finalists. We boasted 300+ entrepreneurs, investors, students, and a special visitor - June Sarpong, top television personality and producer from the UK (MTV UK, T4, and more) and campaigner for the HRH The Prince’s Trust. She is building an influential political and lifestyle platform and will be joining the entrepreneurial ecosystem in LA.

Team Koollage won the 2008 Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition, scoring a private meeting with Esther Dyson and business services worth over $15,0000. Team Gaiagy walked away with the People’s Choice Award, as voted by the audience with their cell phones. TechCrunch covered Pitch 2008 here.
Podcasts of all panels, speakers, and competition finalists are available here.

The vision of the conference was to ignite and inspire - to expand what we know and what we expect from ourselves and our peers. Through the stories of an esteemed panel of speakers (Google.org, d.light design, Market For a Change, allvoices, and many more), we learned how to think and execute beyond Facebook apps and social networks to find NEW ways to make millions while positively affecting change.

Inside the white tent, napkin submissions for the Business Plan Competition lined a wall. Chris Shipley asked aloud: “Business plans or prayer flags?”

Chris Shipley (Guidewire Group) has an early morning fireside chat with Rachel Payne (Google.org).	Rachel Payne (Google.org) fields many questions from the audience about Google.org.
Dr. Maggie Haersch (VOICEMAP), Dr. Jwala Karnik (JawalCo), Pat McEntee (AuxoGlobal), and Amy Love (Protégé Performance Group) are on the morning’s panel assembled by SWIB.	Amy Love (former CEO of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs) encourages entrepreneurs to be proactive and be heard.
Afternoon panel: Erica Estrada (d.light design), Amra Tareen (allvoices), and Leila Chirayath (Market for Change).	Erica Estrada (d.light design) holds up the $25 solar-powered flashlight that illuminates homes in developing third-world countries.
Melanie Swan (MS Futures Group) moderates the afternoon panel.	Erica Estrada (d.light design) inspires the audience to do good. She regularly conducts field work in places like India, China, and Burma.
At lunch, each table had one or two “lunch leads” — entrepreneurial movers and shakers in the Silicon Valley.
Karen Hartline (CommunityNext), Katherine Barr (Mohr Davidow Ventures), and Angie Chang (Women 2.0).	Jeni Diaz and Roseanne Wincek (imthemusic) with Mary Wallace (Wallace Productions).
The judging panel lines up in front of the stage to hear the pitches from the five finalists of the 2008 Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition.
Mythili Sankaran (Koollage) pitches.	Margot Eiran (Gaiagy) pitches.
Debbie Cheng and Lindsay Tabas (Skill Shop) pitch.	Hope Schultz and Bill Zaccheo (WebVet) pitch.
Kristyn Heath (Passive Devices) pitches.	The judges voted Koollage winner of the 2008 Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition!
The audience used Mozes to vote for the “People’s Choice Award”, which went to Gaiagy.
How to vote using Mozes.	Winner of the People’s Choice Award - Gaiagy!
Hope Schultz (WebVet) talks to Joanne Wan (GigaOm).	Shannon McClenaghan (Jimmyjane), Sharon Vosmek (Astia), and Dana Florescu (Oracle).
Dr. Jwala Karnik (JwalaCo).	Artise Hardy (Strategic Analytics), Aihui Ong (Women 2.0), and June Sarpong (The Prince’s Trust).
Lindsay Tabas and Debbie Cheng (Skill Shop).	Tiffany von Emmel (Dreamfish).
Rachel Payne (Google.org) and Leila Chirayath (Market for Change).	Patricia Roller (frog design) is also a member of the Angels’ Forum.
Maya Baratz (MochiMedia) and friends.	Marleen McDaniel (Women.com).
Audree Halasz (dutchy) with friend.	Leila Chirayath (Market for Change) and Alice Wang (FTVentures).
Susan Lucas-Conwell (SD Forum).	Mitchell Tsai (Spiritual Business Companions) and Amra Tareen (allvoices).
Aihui Ong and Shaherose Charania (Women 2.0).	Current SWIB girls with the founder of SWIB.
Despite sharing the same last name, Angie Chang and Annie Chang (LOLapps) are not related.	Pokin Yeung and Shaherose Charania (Women 2.0) with Alka Gupta (Ojas Group).

Pictures are from the photo galleries of Shirley Lin, Mitchell Tsai, and Angie Chang with permission. Please go to their galleries to find more pictures from the event. If you took pictures from the event and would like to share them, please use the tag women2.0 on Flickr or leave a comment below.

Also posted in Awards, Community Service, Debriefing, Media Training, Mixers Comments (11)

Your regularly-scheduled commercial break.

We’ve been busy planning Pitch 2008, and Angie Chang (one of our co-founders) launched the first Bay Area Girl Geek Dinner last night (January 31) at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. There was much food, drink, and schwag to be had — and plenty of girl geeks with their invited guests.

Over 600 people celebrated girl geeks and watched the panelists discuss building credibility and reputation in technology and business. Katherine Barr (Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures) moderated a discussion between Leah Culver (Co-Founder and Lead Developer, Pownce), Sumaya Kazi (Entrepreneur and Social Media Manager, Sun Microsystems), Irene Au (Director of User Experience, Google), and Rashmi Sinha (CEO, SlideShare).
The panelists’ jobs and roles were diverse, and the variety in personalities and attitudes toward work and life made for a very interesting panel discussion.

If you’re interested in attending future Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, check out the website or join the group on Facebook for updates. Questions? Email angiechang@gmail.com

Also posted in Mixers Comments (1)

Intrapreneurship event wrap-up

Thanks to our esteemed speakers Nina and Cynthia, and our moderator Indu, we learned that intrapreneurship is about lobbying, pitching your efforts, getting allies, leveraging resources, exuding empathy, etc.

Practicing intrapreneurship within your organization is a way to gain credibility and a track record - all the tools are at your fingertips, from colleagues to materials. Below are pictures from the event:

Women 2.0 Intrapreneurship Fireside Chat

Women 2.0 Intrapreneurship Fireside Chat

And thanks to Annie Chang, we have notes from the event! You can find them after the jump.

Also posted in Community Service, Debriefing, Media Training, Mixers

Winners Declared for Napkin Business Challenge

The Women 2.0 Pitch Night was a smashing success! Over 150 people came to CNET to support women entrepreneurs who pitched their businesses to venture capitalists and successful women executives. The finalists fielded tough questions from the judges and in the end, only two teams received grand prizes of $1500 each, pitch coaching from Guidewire Group, and meetings with Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital.

The winning teams were Laser-Seal (envisioning faster, cleaner wound closures in the operating room with laser technology), and O’Light (O for Organic!) which aims to create fashionable, OLED lighting concepts. The audience voted with their cell phones using Mozes to determine O’Light as the crowd favorite, making O’Light the recipient of the People’s Choice Award.

Laser-Seal team wins Napkin Business Challenge O Light wins twice - the Peoples Choice Award

Tags for Flickr: women20, upcoming:event=150336

More pictures after the jump »

Women 2.0 extends another big THANK YOU to our sponsors who made this event possible. We also thank everyone who helped out, from volunteers to bloggers. To Annie Chang for coordinating the event and being a superb hostess. To all the participants in the Napkin Business Challenge. To the Women 2.0 community of entrepreneurs, tech mavens, and the business-savvy. To us, the movers and shakers. Congratulations, and cheers!

Also posted in Awards, Community Service, Debriefing, Media Training, Savings Comments (8)

Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners

Join us February 14-16 for mobile mania in Europe

“Will It Launch” Startup Idea Workshop (Feb 6-7)

The Finance Crisis and Your Startup - Oct 7th

“Speak with Angels” - Women 2.0 September event

Beyond the Spark Conference Wrap-Up

Your regularly-scheduled commercial break.

Intrapreneurship event wrap-up

Winners Declared for Napkin Business Challenge

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