Women 2.0 » Media

Women Techies Unite at SXSW (March 12-16, 2010)

Updated on March 20, 2010 — Baat Enosh from Women 2.0 shares her story from SXSW.

“It was quite the attraction. There wasn’t a woman who walked by (and lots of men too) who didn’t stop to see what it’s all about,” said Baat. Ranging from research to mailing lists, the organizations who participated provide a wide spectrum of tools to raise awareness for women in technology (or lack there of..).

Conversations on the topic of women in tech (both spontaneous and at the panels) addressed the entire pipeline — from teaching K-12 about creating technology (”Duh, it’s like tech for girls”) to finding out “What guys are doing to get more girls in tech”. Some were more useful than others, but at least it is clear that there is a discussion taking place. And many are involved in it! It was refreshing to see the collaboration by the different “women in tech” organizations.

Special thanks to Kaliya Hamlin for such a great initiative. Echoing the thoughts of Sharon Vosmek of Astia: We are all a part of a movement. No one is going to move the needle alone. We need to work with each other to get big results.

Also posted in Community Service, Events, Mixers Comments (7)

“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, Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, Community Service, Debriefing, Events, In Conversation, Media Training, Mixers, Savings, Startup Weekend, Workshops Comments (3)

Register for Women 2.0 Startup Weekend: August 28-30

Women 2.0 joins forces with Startup Weekend this August 28th - 30th, 2009! We provide the space and brain fuel — you bring the energy and innovation to build something big over the weekend. Sign up now for your spot at Startup Weekend!

Maybe you have an idea, maybe you don’t?
Maybe you started a startup before, maybe you haven’t?
Maybe you are a developer, a designer, a do-er?
Please join us for Startup Weekend August 28-30, 2009.

What is Women 2.0 Startup Weekend? Much like a bar camp, you build something exciting over the weekend. Come to Startup Weekend to find an idea that resonates with you, join a team, and build! Startup Weekend is a place to test ideas, contribute to ideas, and meet potential founders. We are bringing together the most innovative, talented, and out-of-the-box entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. How it works: Teams form Friday night, companies develop product(s) and/or service(s) through Saturday, and company pitches are delivered on Sunday.

Also posted in Business, Debriefing, Media Training, Mixers, Startup Weekend Comments (21)

December 2008 BizSpark Launch Party

With over 400 in attendance at the swanky Microsoft BizSpark Launch Party on December 16th, 2008 in San Francisco, Women 2.0 came out in full force to join the celebration!

At the San Francisco BizSpark Launch Party, Shaherose announced onstage to the startup community the new Women 2.0 workshop series Jumpstart Your Startup and the Women 2.0 Startup Competition - Pitch 2009. Deadline to enter is April 10th, 2009!

Did you know that as a BizSpark Network Partner, Women 2.0 can sponsor your startup to receive development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses through Microsoft’s BizSpark program? Here’s how.

Also posted in Community Service, Mixers

Music Makers and Technology Shakers - October 15th

Women 2.0 proudly showcases artists and entrepreneurs in the music space at our “Music Makers and Technology Shakers” event on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 from 6pm to 9pm at Slide in San Francisco.

The panelists will discuss current trends in music and alternative business models. An event for technology entrepreneurs with an interest in music startups - both women and men are welcome!

Panelists:
» Angelina Moysov (Singer / Songerwriter, Persephones Bees)
» Lucia Iman (top-selling artist, SellaBand)
» Pim Betist (Founder and Creative Director, SellaBand)
» Celia Hirschman (Commentator, KCRW’s “On the Beat”)
» Cecily Mak (Senior Counsel, RealNetworks and Rhapsody)
» Jay Durgan (President, Raiden Holdings; Former Head of Bus. Dev. at Warner Music)

Moderator:
» Elise Nordling (Music Director and DJ, Indie Pop Rocks!)

The music and technology panel onstage on October 15th, 2008 at Slide in San Francisco.
Mingling with delicious eats and wine in hand.	Volunteers from RockYou helping for the night.
Thanks to Splurge-a-licious Desserts for the delicious snacks!
Pim Betist (SellaBand), Kristina Hakola (Women 2.0).	Best-selling artist Lucia Iman performs live at Slide.
Kristina Hakola (Women 2.0) with the music and technology panel she curated for the October 15th event.

More pictures from the event are available thanks to the gracious support of Induztria D’Imagem.

Lucia Iman blogged about the event and has some fun photos to share.

More Sponsor Love:

Also posted in Events 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, Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, Business, Community Service, Debriefing, Events, Investors, 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, Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, Business, Debriefing, Events, Investors, Media Training, Savings

Win a FREE ticket to GigaOm’s MOBILIZE Conference!

“How do you plan to take advantage of the mobile web?”

Leave a comment by Friday, August 29th and the best answer to the question “How do you plan to take advantage of the mobile web?” wins a FREE MOBILIZE conference ticket valued at $595! You must leave a valid email address so we can notify you if you win.

MOBILIZE is looking for the 12 most promising mobile web startups to strut their stuff at the MOBILIZE Startup Launchpad. This dynamic dozen will focus on the emerging technologies that are the foundation of the mobile web era. Think your startup has the right stuff? Get in touch with MOBILIZE here.

MOBILIZE (Sept. 18, 2008 in San Francisco) will explore the advancements driving growth of the mobile web and what they mean for entrepreneurs and their investors. One of the keynote speakers is Padmasree Warrior, CTO at Cisco — Three cheers for women speakers!

Also posted in Savings Comments (9)

Shaherose on KQED!

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 — 10:00 AM
Muslim Women Entrepreneurs
Forum talks with a group of local Muslim women who have started social or business ventures. We find out about their lives and careers — and common misconceptions about their faith. Download MP3.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guests: Amra Tareen (venture capitalist and founder and CEO of Allvoices, a new social media site), Dian Alyan (founder and president of the GiveLight Foundation, a crisis relief organization seeking to create durable orphanages in response to natural disasters), Farhana Khera (executive director of Muslim Advocates, a charitable organization dedicated to advocacy and education), and Shaherose Charania, director of product strategy for the telecommunications startup JAJAH, and founder of Women 2.0, an organization promoting the collaboration and growth of women in entrepreneurship.

Women 2.0 Competition Makes ABC 7 Morning News

Shaherose Charania (Women 2.0 Co-Founder), Pokin Yeung (entrepreneur), and Esther Dyson (investor) talk to the ABC 7 Morning News.

The women discussed the importance of the Women 2.0 Business Plan Competition and the ideas behind it - Watch the ABC 7 Morning News Segment report on how entrepreneurs share ideas with Women 2.0.

» Watch Women 2.0 on ABC 7 News!

(Original Air Date: March 26, 2008)

Comments (1)

1st Women 2.0 Conference Debriefing

The first Women 2.0 Conference on “Starting a Startup” brought in more women than I had ever seen at an Entrepreneur27 conference, or any entrepreneurial/tech event that I’ve ever been to, for that matter. The conference covered all topics from the Web 2.0 bubble, to how to get funding, to the personal challenges each of the speakers faced. Basically, the conference was a three hour crash course in being an entrepreneur.

If any of you didn’t get the chance to attend the conference and want to meet some cool girls (or if you did attend and still want to hang out with us), Women 2.0 is planning another social for the month of June so keep checking back if you’re interested!

We would like to thank all of the speakers and discussion leaders for their support and participation. All of them were truly inspirational and enjoyable to listen to, talk with, and meet. A big thank you to our speakers - Sandy Jen, Elaine Wherry, Mary Hodder, Emily Chang, Jessica Hardwick, and Joyce Park; and to our discussion leaders - Cathy Kirkman, Patricia Nakache, Indu Navar, Kristin McDonell, Barbara Rybka, and Elizabeth Bastiaanse.

There were a bunch of people that helped with this conference. Many thanks to: Wen-Wen Lam, Angie Chang, Shaherose Charania (my co-coordinators); Holly and Malika for getting us a room at AOL; Jennifer Chen for posting to the Intel mailing list and bringing us some attendees; Noah Kagan
for helping out with whatever was needed; Keshav Malani, Zachary Zarate, and Melissa Mendavia for helping out with registration and picking up food; the GeekEntertainmentTV team for videotaping the conference and taking cool pictures; Limelife, Meebo, LinkedIn, Yelp, and Zazzle for getting us promotional items; all the people that blogged about Women 2.0; the Meetro and Stirr guys for attending the conference and being just a few of maybe the 10 guys at a Women’s Conference; Luke Murray for attending the conference even though he’s from Kentucky; Gwen Tan who will be working on W2.0 in Singapore; Bert, the security guard that opened the doors for us at AOL and helped us set up; Ambika Sopory and Tram Tran for taking pics at the conference; all the people that rolled out of bed on a Sunday morning to attend a conference; and tons more people. Also, we would like to give a special thanks to The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) for sponsoring the event.

Also posted in Debriefing, Media Training, Savings

Media

Women Techies Unite at SXSW (March 12-16, 2010)

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

Register for Women 2.0 Startup Weekend: August 28-30

December 2008 BizSpark Launch Party

Music Makers and Technology Shakers - October 15th

The Finance Crisis and Your Startup - Oct 7th

“Speak with Angels” - Women 2.0 September event

Win a FREE ticket to GigaOm’s MOBILIZE Conference!

Shaherose on KQED!

Women 2.0 Competition Makes ABC 7 Morning News

1st Women 2.0 Conference Debriefing

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