Women Entrepreneurship Week a Hit with Students, Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders

The second annual Women Entrepreneurship Week, celebrated with three events at Montclair State, was a success by many measures. More than 400 people, mostly women, attended the kickoff event on Oct. 19 featuring Bobbi Brown as the keynote speaker, plus a panel of entrepreneurs from the beauty and fashion industries: Samantha Myer, celebrity fashion stylist and designer (clients have included Alicia Keys and Lindsay Lohan); Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, co-founder and CEO of GLAMSQUAD; and Sara Wolf, co-founder and CEO of HydroChic. The moderator was Allison Dorst, founder and CEO, Pinks & Greens. Recap of Bobbi Brown event by American Entrepreneurship Today.

See photos from the “In Style” event.

The signature event was the all-day WEW Conference on Oct. 21, with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno as the lunchtime speaker and former Wall Street executive Sallie Krawcheck as the evening keynote. Panel and workshop topics ranged from “Is Power a Dirty Word?” to “Marketing 101 on a Shoestring Budget.” Recap of the WEW Conference by Meg Fry at NJBIZ. Recap of Krawcheck’s speech, as reported by NJBIZ.

Guadagno was a popular hit among attendees, including senior Marketing major and entrepreneurship student Brittni Landers who texted the lieutenant governor after the event, and received a reply. Read Landers’ recap of the conference.

Each panel and workshop during the conference included valuable tips for the 300+ attendees, wherever they are on the spectrum of being, or aspiring to be, an entrepreneur. Junior Economics major and entrepreneurship student Ashley Zahabian shared some lessons she learned from the entrepreneurs on the “How to Grow Your Business” panel. Read Zahabian’s update.

NJTV captured reaction from WEW Conference attendees, as well as the flavor of the entire event. Watch the NJTV coverage.

See photos from the afternoon sessions of the WEW Conference.

See photos from the evening sessions of the WEW Conference.

WEW at Montclair State closed with the Oct. 22 event, “Future of Health Care,” which featured a keynote by renowned futurist Edie Weiner and a panel discussion with Julie Bauer, president of Panasonic Consumer Corp. of North America, Louisa Roberts, associate partner at IBM Watson Life Sciences, and Tina Garyantes, VP of Innovation at Chromocell. Read NJ Tech Weekly’s coverage of the event.

Attendees at all three events shared their reactions on the Montclair Entrepreneurs Meetup page:

“Excellent session, great keynote and moderator, informative discussion with knowledgeable panelists. Very interesting, and great Q&A,” wrote Anita Allen about the Oct. 22 “Future of Health Care” event.

“Lots of great information and an extremely candid recollection of Bobbi’s rise from obscurity. Sincere and approachable. I was really impressed and thrilled. I took plenty of notes,” wrote Cathleen Mallett about the Oct. 19 “In Style” event.

“The conference was very inspirational. Entrepreneurship can be isolating at times, and programs like this one help you feel connected and supported. I will definitely attend again,” wrote Pamela Petracca de Waal about the Oct. 21 WEW Conference.

Yasmin Bendror commented about the WEW Conference: “The round up of keynotes, speakers and moderators was really top level! Such smart, powerful, successful and at the same time modest women! I learned a lot and connected with unbelievable women entrepreneurs. The top take away for me was how powerful NETWORKING is for entrepreneurs and business! It’s about the power of your network!”

Read the comments on Twitter #WEW2015.

The three WEW events at Montclair State would not have been free to the public without the generous support of all our sponsors. The Presenting Sponsors were Archer & Greiner and KPMG. See full list of our WEW sponsors.

The second annual Women Entrepreneurship Week was a statewide celebration this year, with 20 universities and nonprofits all over New Jersey holding events. See the full list of WEW partner organizations.

Women Entrepreneurship Week will return in October 2016 — our third annual. Don’t miss it!

Want to know more about these free events that are open to the public? Join our Montclair Entrepreneurs Meetup group.