Tuesday, January 22, 2013
at Stern School of Business, NYU
Paulson Auditorium
40 West 4th St, New York.
5:30pm
Doors open
Arrival and Registration
6pm
Keynote Speaker: Liz Neumark, Great Performances Catering
In 1979, Liz Neumark, graduated from Barnard College and ready to launch her career as a photographer, conceived of Great Performances as a waitress service – a way for women in the arts to support themselves. Today Great Performances is not only one of the largest off-premise catering companies in New York City, but also the most unique. Liz bought 60-acre organic Katchkie Farm that supplies local produce to the company’s special events, cafes, and line of artisanal products and founded The Sylvia Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring children to eat well. She was honored as one of Crain’s New York’s 100 Most Influential Women and Ernst & Young New York’s Entrepreneurs of the Year. Liz blogs for The Huffington Post.
7-9pm
Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
at NYU Kimmel Center for University Life
60 Washington Square South, New York
10th Floor Rosenthal Pavilion
9am – 9:30am
Breakfast & Registration
9:30am – 10am
Opening Remarks
10:15am – 12pm
Morning Sessions
There will be four sessions, each hosted by a panel of experts to answer your questions, outline a roadmap to success, give specific advice, guidance, and information for the critical issues at four different stages of a company’s life.
1. Before You Leap – (Room 803) You have an idea. Where do you start? This session is devoted to the earliest stages of a business. Our panel of entrepreneurs will cover an array of topics such as: how to research a market, how to test your assumptions, where to find co-founders, when to leave your day job, and more.
Panelists:
Lynn Perkins CEO and Co-Founder, UrbanSitter
Laura Yecies CEO, SugarSync
Ellen Diamant Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer, Skip Hop
2. Launching – (Room 405) You’re ready to launch a product into the market. What do you do next? This panel of experts will address the following: how to build buzz, how to pitch media the right way, what to do on launch day, and more.
Panelists:
Cindy McLaughlin Co-Founder and CEO, Style for Hire
Amanda Steinberg Founder, DailyWorth
Heather Hiles Founder and CEO, Pathbrite
3. Getting Traction – (Room 802) You have users and you are up and running. How do you keep this early traction going? During this session, our entrepreneurs will discuss: how to evangelize your early adopters, how to decide whether you should bootstrap or raise angel money, how to stretch your marketing dollars, and more.
Panelists:
Lori Steele CEO, Everyone Counts, Inc.
Julia Pimsleur CEO and Founder, Little Pim
Caren Maio CEO and Co-Founder, Nestio
4. Going To Scale – (Room 406) Your model is working. How do you elevate your company to the next level and scale? The entrepreneurs in this session will address the following: how to raise capital, how to outline your company roadmap, where to find the best talent, why company culture is critical, and more.
Panelists:
Alexis Juneja Co-Founder and VP of Strategic Development, Curbed Network
Limor Fried Founder, Adafruit
Emily Hickey COO, Lolly Wolly Doodle
12:15pm – 2pm
Working Lunch; Food for Thought
You will be seated at a table of 10 women at similar places in their careers or life. You’ll find an envelope there with a discussion topic for your group. And for dessert… time to share your conversation with the rest of the community.
2:15pm – 4pm
The Art of the Pitch
One of the most critical and essential parts of starting a business is also the most difficult: the pitch. How to make your idea seem so real that you and your customers, your investors can taste it. A panel of seasoned veterans of both making and listening to presentations will tell you what the elements of a successful pitch.
We have selected 8 brave entrepreneurs whose companies are in different sectors and at different stages. They will each make a 5 minute pitch. They will get feedback from the panel members, and you can learn a lot from other people’s cleverness and creativity… and even more from their mistakes.
Companies:
Carrie Rich Co-Founder and CEO, The Global Good Fund
Christy Prunier Founder and CEO, WILLA
Corie Hardee Founder and CEO, Little Borrowed Dress
Marci Harris Co-Founder and CEO, POPVOX
Lizzie Owens Co-Founder, Highland
Umber Ahmad Co-Founder, mah•ze•dahr bakery
Lily Szajnberg Co-Founder and CEO, GAGE
Amanda Eilian Co-Founder and President, Videolicious
Investors:
Shana Fisher High Line Venture Partners
Kirsten Green Founder, Forerunner Ventures
Deborah Buresh Jackson Founder and CEO, PlumAlley.co
Joanne Wilson Festival Co-Chair, Gotham Gal
4pm – 4:30pm
Coffee break and dessert
4:30pm
Wrap-Up and Farewell
