High-Growth Women Entrepreneurs Nurture Talented Teams

“Build an incredible team, give them the right tools, then get out of their way.”

By Geri Stengel (Founder, Ventureneer)

Perhaps it’s women’s natural instinct to nurture or maybe high-impact entrepreneurs know that you can’t sustain rapid growth without employees who deliver excellent products and customer service. It’s both, according to Marsha Firestone, President of the Women Presidents’ Organization, which compiled a list of the 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies in North America sponsored by American Express OPEN.

These companies were already substantial Read More »

Gender In Tech: No Longer A Silent Issue

Ellen Pao’s lawsuit allows our community to discuss these “women in tech” issues as real problems.

By Cristina Cordova (Business Development, Pulse)

TechCrunch reported that Kleiner Perkins Partner Ellen Pao sued her firm for gender and sexual discrimination. A friend immediately told me “Well that’s career suicide” and I can’t say I didn’t think the same thing. While few can comment on whether the allegations are true, this news does highlight some of the reactions the media and tech community have had to gender issues in the past.

Over the past few months, many have been engrossed in the Valley gender gossip on “brogrammer culture”, sexist comments at tech panels and the general lack of women in tech. Many Read More »

Engineering An Adventure, An Experience, An Opportunity To Grow

“I was only 22 and… the second engineer of a deepwater exploration project… in offshore Angola.”

By Griselda Cuevas (Product Manager, Liquid Elephant)

The timer had started running 30 minutes ago. I was sweating from the exertion of rigging up a 500-pound tool string with my crew and the nervousness of being responsible of running a $2 million exploration job in an offshore oil platform in Africa.

I was multitasking – looking at one of the many monitors in our unit controlling the speed of the tool string, looking at the data that was being collected and displayed in another monitor, and trying to keep an eye on my crew and give them instructions on what to do next.

I was only 22 and it was one of the most satisfying moments of my life. Read More »

Women 2.0 Brings PITCH To New York This Fall, Opens Applications, Announces Prizes

PITCH NYC 2012 is now accepting applications for the startup competition – deadline to apply is August 31.

By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)

We’ve celebrate five years of PITCH here in the Silicon Valley. Remember our 1000 conference attendees on Valentine’s Day at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View?

At PITCH 2012, we enjoyed a full day of product innovation leaders speaking about building companies, and watched the finalists of the startup competition present to investors for feedback and prizes.

Now we’re taking PITCH to New York City!

That’s right, Women 2.0 is coming to New York this fall. Read More »

Triptrotting Founders Raise $1.8M For “eHarmony For Like-Minded Travelers And Locals”

Golden Seeds and Chinese VC firm WI Harper join previously announced investors for the seed round.

By Michael Carney (Writer, Pando Daily)

Proud of their home in Los Angeles and of their early success as women entrepreneurs, Shana Zheng and Aigerim Shorman were adamant that they wanted to bring onboard investors that represented these strengths.

This latest funding announcement adds the Los Angeles chapter of the women entrepreneur-focused angel network Golden Seeds and the Chinese VC firm WI Harper to the previously announced seed round investors, Google Ventures, 500 Startups, IdeaLab, Safa Rashtchy, and Eric Chen.

Triptrotting has now raised a total of $1.8 million including Read More »

Facebook Is Missing Something Obvious

Companies with women on their boards have been proven to lead to a higher ROI.

By Shaherose Charania (Co-Founder & CEO, Women 2.0)

To continue its explosive growth, Facebook needs to innately understand and cater to their most lucrative user: women. The best way to do that is to add a woman to their board.

Let’s look at the facts about how women rule the web: 71% of Facebook’s daily active users are women (58% of total users are women). That’s almost three-fourth’s of their user base. Women are clearly Facebook’s #1 customer.

And, it’s not just on Facebook. Women are driving activity on Twitter (59% are women), women dominate Pinterest Read More »

Applications Now Open For PITCH NYC 2012

Women 2.0 now accepting applications for the first NYC PITCH 2012 startup competition.


After hosting the successful 5th Annual PITCH 2012 in the Silicon Valley, Women 2.0 is excited to launch the inaugural PITCH NYC Conference & Competition 2012 (PITCH NYC 2012).

Open to early-stage high-growth ventures around the world, PITCH NYC 2012 invites companies with at least one female in the founding team to apply. Applying companies must be in beta stage and have received less than a million in funding. We’re looking for the most disruptive web/mobile ventures, connected device companies, double and triple bottom line ventures, etc. Prizes include $25k cash, services and more!

Deadline to apply is August 31, 2012 @ MIDNIGHT (EST). Read More »

Meet Your Founder Friday Hosts For June 2012

11 cities will be hosting Women 2.0 Founder Friday events on June 1, 2012 – find one near you!

By Sepideh Nasiri (Director of All Things Offline, Women 2.0)

Join us for Founder Friday networking events on June 1, 2012!

Founder Friday is a Women 2.0 networking event promoting the creation of new networks among aspiring entrepreneurs, current entrepreneurs and investors in innovative cities around the world.
Read More »

The Key To Starting A Startup: Determination

“I realized disappointment was simply an opportunity to develop my own plan of action and recourse my life.”

By Lindsey Port (Founder, GLO Gaming)

Determination: it is the key to developing a startup, especially when you’re breaking into the technology industry.

A determined woman is a force to be reckoned with. Once you have ignited that drive and intense passion for success, a woman is boundless. Your dreams are boundless. But somewhere close by, creeping up on you is fear and more importantly, failure.

Besides being determined, having an understanding of failure is crucial. It isn’t that you failed, but rather you opened the door for a new possibility. It’s an important key when building a startup. Read More »

Michigan High School Girls Visit Silicon Valley, Women 2.0

“Visiting Women 2.0… showed me that women can make it in the startup world.”

By Jillian Waun (Freshman, Academy of Sacred Heart)

I have recently returned from a trip to San Francisco with 11 other girls from my school. At my school, we call this experience Project Term. For Project Term, there are many options for trips. One trip goes to the Amazon, another to a farm in New York, or you can stay back home for local trips.

We are asked for choices to where we want to go; San Francisco was my first choice!

On our San Francisco trip, we visited many companies like Pinterest, Pixar, Twilio, and also Women 2.0. Read More »

How Women Can Get Ahead: Advice From Female CEOs

“Be open to opportunity and take risks. In fact, take the worst, the messiest, the most challenging assignment you can find, and then take control. – Angela Braly, CEO of WellPoint.

By John Bussey (Contributor, Wall Street Journal)

Along the career path, the CEOs say, pursue new skills relentlessly.

Change jobs after you’ve mastered the current one. Be willing to tack sideways on the career track, or even backward, to pick up key expertise or command a business unit.

“I knew from an early age that I wanted to lead a company,” says Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup. “I developed a strategic process for my career plan that set the final destination, developed the career track, identified skills to build, took line positions Read More »

Partner Event: IP & Employment Matters (May 22 In Palo Alto)

The event will identify the most common IP and employment law mistakes made by startup entrepreneurs.

Procopio and SV Forum present “IP & Employment Matters – Common, Costly Mistakes for Startup Entrepreneurs to Avoid” on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 in Palo Alto, CA.

If you do not avoid the most common IP and employment law mistakes made by many startup entrepreneurs, your company’s pre-money valuation could be significantly diminished when it comes to funding, which could result in the loss of potential investors during due diligence or worst of all, your company might become unfundable.

Join us for an interactive workshop that will help you Read More »

New Study Reveals Gender Leadership Biases

“Bias against top-level female executives seems entrenched despite strides women have made…”

By Melissa J. Anderson (Contributor, Evolved Employer)

A working paper recently released by researchers from the University of Utah and Washington University in St. Louis suggests that female led IPO firms do worse than male ones.

The study says, “Despite identical personal qualifications and firm financials, female Founder/CEOs were perceived as less capable than their male counterparts, and IPOs led by female Founder/CEOs were considered less attractive investments.”

Moreover, the researchers say, even though prospective investors were presented with identical information Read More »

How Walmart Is Localizing Its Stores With Facebook

A local-social strategy to make big-box stores more relevant to their communities.

By Clara Shih (Co-Founder & CEO, Hearsay Social)

Long before the digital age, all business was local and social. Customer engagement was paramount. Shopkeepers, barbers and Avon ladies alike intuitively knew that their ability to connect with customers would often determine whether a purchase would be made. They understood that building long-standing relationships with customers would result in repeat visits and loyalty.

For many successful proprietors, this meant knowing customers by name, remembering their likes and dislikes and being on hand to answer product questions. Read More »

Partner Events: Tech Cocktail Mixers In Seattle, Washington DC And San Francisco

Join Tech Cocktail in Seattle at the Seattle Mixer & Startup Showcase on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6:30pm at PNK Ultra Lounge in Seattle, WA.

Or join Tech Cocktail in Washington DC at Sessions: “Relationships Matter: Harnessing The Power of Your Network to Build Your Startup” on Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 6:30pm.

This event features Scott Case (Founding CTO of Priceline, now CEO of Startup America) and Read More »

Don’t Relegate Date Night To The Weekends

Make time for shared meals, from romantic picnics to lunch plans during the workweek.

By Becky Cruze (Co-Founder, BeCouply)

It seems there is never enough time to do all the things we have to do, much less the things we want to do.

Often we end up prioritizing work above all else, causing our personal relationships to suffer. And, for women in romantic relationships, the one who suffers the most is likely your significant other.

Here’s how Cindy Krischer Goodman put it in a Miami Herald column: “Today is my 23[rd] wedding anniversary. I have to admit that making time for my husband is the trickiest part of the work life balance equation. Deadlines I can’t blow off. My kids, they need Read More »

New Project, Roominate, Offers A Fully-Wired Dollhouse For Kids

This article has been syndicated from TechCrunch.

By John Biggs (Writer, TechCrunch)

Teaching kids – especially little girls – about electronics is a hard job. First, there’s the electricity. Then there’s the sense that soldering, wiring, and lining up LEDs is considerably less fun than watching Tangled. This project, called Roominate, aims to change the way girls think about electricity.

The kit consists of a set of tiny furniture with built-in wires and switches. You can wire up your dollhouse however you like, adding lamps and switches. $49 gets you one regular room and $95 gets you a “duplex.” Read More »

iPhone And iPad App Measures Acupuncture Stress Reduction

Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide. Here is an affordable tool to monitor the heart.

By Adam White (Contributor, HealthCMI)

The SweetBeat App for the iPhone and iPad has the ability to measure stress reduction as a result of acupuncture treatments. This App measures both the heart rate and HRV (heart rate variability). HRV measures the change in time interval between heart beats and is an index of the body’s ability to maintain control of the heart beat rate and rhythm through vagus nerve activity. Reduced HRV is linked to mortality after myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure and diabetic neuropathy.

HRV and Health

New research on acupuncture points CV17 and Ear Shenmen shows that Read More »

The Gospel According To Sheryl Sandberg

Regardless of where you stand on Sheryl Sandberg, she wields tremendous influence for many women.

By Leah Eichler (Contributing Writer, Femme-O-Nomics)

It’s been a big week for Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, often credited for increasing the social network’s revenue and growing their user base exponentially in the years since CEO Mark Zuckerberg whisked her away from Google.

Ms. Sandberg appears to have it all: an impressive title, a work history that includes being chief of staff to the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, TED talk videos that generate over a million views and a celebrity status that sees her share a podium with the world’s most influential businessmen at Davos Read More »

Female Founders Who Celebrated A Startup Acquisition

Startup acquisitions make news! Celebrate the women starting and exiting companies in technology.

By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)

We at Women 2.0 are often asked for names of notable women for magazines (lists), newspaper articles (press), conferences (speakers), etc. We catalog lists of women entrepreneurs to watch each Friday, putting out a fresh list each Friday (and asking you to help us finish the list!).

This Friday, we celebrate women who have started technology companies and celebrated an exit in recent memory. Whether this is a merger or acquisition, these happening make news – they get on the newswire, the acquisition makes headlines, and women in technology everywhere cheer on the success of female founders Read More »

How An Electrical Engineering Ph.D Made Her Fortune Running A Chinese Restaurant

How a PhD in a Electrical Engineering made her fortune by running a Chinese restaurant.

By Sophia Viklund (Partner, BackCode) & Esther Nam (Web Developer, Self)

Currently co-chairman and co-CEO of Panda Restaurant Group, Dr. Peggy Cherng got into the restaurant business with her husband, who started their first Chinese restaurant. Prior to that, she had worked in the aerospace industry for 5 years, witnessing a lot of innovation. She brought to the restaurant business an important change – the adoption of portable computers for processing orders. Today, every single check and order has to be digitalized and portable computer terminals are everywhere in Panda’s restaurants.

Panda Express’ management keeps track of every single transaction that goes through the restaurant’s system daily and analyzes the data. Read More »

Women Founders Of Orange County, It’s Time To Sit At The Table.

Sheryl Sandberg’s TED talk rings through women’s heads – “Sit at the table.”

By Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal (Attorney, Esse Law Group)

My passion is entrepreneurship. Nothing beats the feeling of taking the risk to follow your passion and make an impact on the world on your own terms. So when I was invited to join Tech Coast Venture Network, a non-profit committed to empowering entrepreneurs, as a Board Member, of course I was excited. And then I went to the first meeting.

When I arrived, I was the only woman amongst 15 older Caucasian men. I wanted to run out the door, intimidated that my voice would go unheard in a setting like that. But a line from Sheryl Sandberg’s TED talk rang in my head: “Sit at the table.” And so I did. Read More »

How I Won First Place At My First Hackathon

I am really amazed that we had completed a working product in less than two days.

By Kimberly Hsiao (Co-Founder, Piggyback)

Friday, May 11 was the first day of my first hackathon. Myself and Andy Jiang, co-founders at Piggyback, heard about the Chartboost Hackathon from Startup Digest and decided to check it out.

The first night was the launch party – an event meant to help developers and designers meet, mingle, and form teams to compete in the mobile game hackathon over the next two days.

I slapped on my “developer” name tag in collaboration with Andy’s “designer” label and walked in with the intent of meeting and mingling. Actually participating in the hackathon was a huge “maybe” for me. Read More »

5 Things To Know About Your Hormones For Your Career

Hormones make you more powerful, more awesome, and more likely to succeed in the workplace.

By Tatiana Josephy (Co-Founder & CEO, MobileCurious)

I’m about to embark on a risky venture. My goal, in the next 3 minutes, is to completely change the way you think about your hormones.

The mass media story on your hormones - PMS (read: cattiness, weakness) is the main attraction, a central component of what makes you feminine.

The real scoop… Hormones make you more powerful, more awesome, and more likely to succeed in the workplace. It’s a lesson that changed my personal and professional life, and Read More »

Raising Money While Pregnant And Launching My Startup – With A Newborn

I wanted a baby and I wanted a startup, so I did both. In parallel.

By Orit Hashay (Founder & CEO, Brayola)

The title says it all, though no tricks are to be found in this post. This is my story – the story about a woman who decided she doesn’t have to choose between professional greatness and having a family. As far as I’m concerned, you can do both. A little hint – it’s not easy, but I promise you – you have no idea how strong you are – until you live it.

I am a coder who seven years ago discovered the world of entrepreneurship. I wrote the code for my own little projects. Over two years ago, I went to the dark side and joined a leading Israeli venture capital firm Carmel Ventures. Technology was always Read More »