You’ll Want to Add these Inspiring Speakers of the Inc Women’s Summit to Your Radar
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If there was one conference I could attend before the end of the year it would be the Inc Women’s Summit. By the looks of the knock out panel of speakers and impressive agenda, this one day event promises to serve up an inspiration overload. The summit is a meeting of some of the most influential female minds in business today. These women come from a variety of backgrounds, hold many different passions, and have achieved accomplishments from which we can all learn.
For me, the greatest source of motivation is seeing the success of others, particularly of other women. As millennial women I think there is a lot that we can learn simply by observing those whom we admire. When I had a look at the lineup of featured guests I was happy to see a mix of names I recognized along with a few that were new to me. In lieu of actually attending the event, I thought a reasonable alternative would be to learn what I could about these women and their lessons in success.
Though the full lineup consists of 11 speakers (including 2 men), four particularly stood out to me for the breadth of industries and experiences they represented. These women were:
- Jennifer Fleiss of Rent the Runway
- Juia Hartz of Eventbrite
- Angela Benton of NewMe and
- Leila Janah of Sama Group
Read on to learn more about each of these badass ladies and why you should pay attention to the trails their blazing.
Jennifer Fleiss
CO-FOUNDER AND HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, RENT THE RUNWAY
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Jennifer Fleiss is the Co-Founder and Head of Business Development at Rent the Runway, the company that gave us access to designer apparel and accessories we could have only once imagined wearing. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School where she started RtR with her co-founder Jennifer Hyman. (Promise I’m not biased because we share a name!). Rather than complaining about not having anything to wear, these two women turned their problem into a profitable opportunity.
This leading lady’s accomplishments have been recognized widely by the business world including be named to Inc’s “30 Under 30”, Fortune’s “40 Under 40” and Fast Company’s “Most Influential Women in Technology.”
Follow Jennifer @Jenny_RTR
Julia Hartz
CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, EVENTBRITE
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Julia Hartz and her husband Kevin founded Eventbrite in 2006. At the time Julie, had climbed the ranks of the entertainment industry and had a successful career going as a television executive. Despite the comfort her job afforded she took the leap of faith and chose to pursue entrepreneurship, a move that has definitely paid off for Julia and its millions of users.
Under Julia’s leadership Eventbrite has been voted one of the “Best Places to Work in the San Francisco Bay Area” for four years running. Her success lead Fortune to name her their “Most Powerful Entrepreneur” in 2013.
Follow Julia @juliahartz
Angela Benton
FOUNDER AND CEO, NEWME
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Just 3 years old NewME, founded by Angela Benton, has helped over 300 startups founded by minority and women entrepreneurs get funded. Angela serves of the founder and CEO of the platform which she started as a way to offer mentorship to those in San Francisco. Her business savvy has secured over $17 million in venture funding and helped realized the dreams of many female entrepreneurs.
Her impact has on the industry has certainly not gone unnoticed. At age 29 Angela was the then youngest person to be inducted into the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) Hall of Fame. In addition she has been named to Marie Claire’s 50 Women Who Rule, Ebony Magazine’s Power 150, Business Insiders’ 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology, and Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2013 among many other allocates.
Follow Angela @ABenton
Leila Janah
FOUNDER AND CEO, SAMA GROUP
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Social entrepreneur Leila Janah is the founder of Samasource a nonprofit that is helping to provide life-changing computer skills to those in poverty. By enabling people to educate themselves Samasource’s work provides a means for communities to generate income and rise above the poverty line. To date, Leila’s work has helped more than 3,800 families change their lives for the better.
In recognition of her achievements, Leila has been honored with the Templeton Freedom Award, the Secretary’s Innovation Award from Hillary Clinton, and the Prix Netexplorateur from the French Senate. She is also the recipient of the inaugural Club de Madrid Young Leadership Award, presented by President Clinton.
Follow Leila @leila_c
Eileen Fisher
FOUNDER AND CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, EILEEN FISHER, INC.
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Eileen Fisher is the founder of the women’s clothing line of the same name. She has built a successful brand known as much for its beautiful designs as the humanitarian work the company has done. Eileen is an advocate for women and girls and has brought this passion into her company’s way of doing business. The Eileen Fisher company even has a social consciousness team that oversees distributing grant’s for women owned businesses and developing community partnerships that support women.
Follow Eileen @eileenfisher
Who are the women that inspire you? Let us know who we should have on our radar by commenting below or tweeting us @SingleDiariesXO!
