Girls In Tech

Christine Kirk can be reached via e-mail at christine@socialmuse.com or on Twitter @LuxuryPRGal.

Tags: Dress for Success, Fashion Week, Fashion's Night Out, LA events, Rock and roll, saks fifth avenue
Posted in Los Angeles | 1 Comment »

StartUp Weekend is like test-driving the car you’ve been lusting over without committing to the monthly car payments
Tinkering with the idea of starting a business is exciting, freeing, and an uncertain commitment.  StartUp Weekend allows people flirting with the idea of starting a company to gain an intense 3-day immersion into the startup world and to actually create a company in a period of 54 hours. The experience gives you a sense of the components needed to conceptualize and establish a successful startup.

It is one of the rare places where “competition” means helping other teams
One of the things I find truly inspiring about StartUp Weekend is how teams intermingle and extended one another expertise and resources.  In reflection, I think this observation is very telling of the startup climate in Southern California.  I’ve never once came across another startup and/ or startup founder that wasn’t freely offering information or leads for resources. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: San Diego, southern california, startup weekend
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Posted in San Francisco | 1 Comment »

In an article in the San Jose Mercury News (08/08/10) Mike Cassidy recalls a recent tech conference he had attended, where the moderator of a panel discussion complained that it took him quite a while to find 6 women CEO’s to be his speakers.  The audience as well as moderator agreed that it was a shame this was so .. But at the same time, there is the hope that this is changing very soon.  He goes on to say that, there are encouraging signs that there is a new wave of female entrepreneurs, who are set to make a difference to this statistic in the tech field.  According to Carol Realini (who was one of the six women on stage at the conference) it is better for women now than in the past 10 years, and that she sees them being “taken more seriously and doing serious things.”  This we like to hear!

The question now becomes:  exactly what will it take for more women to become business founders and CEO’s?  “The challenge of being a woman CEO is, one: you’ve got to get in the game.  So, you have to be willing to try,” says Realini, who is the CEO of Obopay, a mobile payment company out of Redwood City, CA.   Realini is a good example of this new wave, as someone who has taken one company public, sold another company, and has started her third in Obopay, raising $140 million in the span of five years.  She says that the key to women breaking in with the same numbers as men, where start-ups and company leading is concerned, is two: to know how to raise funds – - in other words, how to work the venture capital world.  Thirdly, she also notes the importance learning how to hear “no” and moving on, of asking for help from those who know more about a given area than you do, and being able to give up your personal life for a long period of time.

Cassidy also points towards another source of encouraging news in this arena, for predicting the new wave of women entrepreneurs.  A recent white paper by an Oakland venture capitalist, Cindy Padnos, which elaborates on the fact that “women are increasingly positioning themselves in the same way men have historically.”  She demonstrates this by the list of women who are starting companies, taking companies public, and giving investors returns on their investments in bigger ways than before.  (To view this paper, you can access it at www.illuminate.com/white paper.)

So, we see that this new slate of women entrepreneurs is inevitably coming up.  In addition, as these women dominate their marketspace and companies and, in turn, sell them or move on to other things, we might see them going into the VC arena — where they will ultimately help other women to win funding for their new ventures.  For women in tech, this is a promising and much overdue trend.

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(quotes courtesy mercurynews.com)

Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | 1 Comment »

Thursday, August 19, 2010
6PM – 9PM

This is an annual favorite, with a big turnout. So register early!

Use member discount code: GITLA

http://www.witi.com/regforms/chapter_meeting_registration_form.php?id=2370

Join us for a fun evening of networking and socializing with the tech savvy community of Los Angeles! Come one, come all, bring your business cards, and schmooze with us as we enjoy the summer weather and good company!

Men are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Complimentary Hors d’ Oeuvres. Cash bar. Bring a light sweater/jacket as the event is outside.

ADP to raffle off an Apple iPAD 16GB Wi-Fi with 3G
iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G offers superfast data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps over 3G cellular networks around the world. It’s perfect when you’re out and about with no access to a Wi-Fi network, because you can still get a fast connection for surfing the web, sending and receiving email, or getting directions. Since iPad seamlessly switches between 3G and even faster Wi-Fi, you always get the best connection available. And with AT&T data plans, you’ll have access to over 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.

Cornerstone OnDemand will raffle off a dinner for 2 people at the Penthouse, the Huntley Hotel’s Rooftop Restaurant, in Santa Monica. Enjoy The Penthouse, LA dining and nightlife soars to breathtaking new heights. Venture into the Santa Monica restaurant and ultra lounge that pulses with excitement 18 stories above the California shore.

Event Date and Venue

This event will be held from 6PM – 9PM on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at:

Shanghai Red’s
13813 Fiji Way
Marina Del Rey, California 90292
Map

Tags: girls in tech, laurel kaufman, Los Angeles, networking, shanghi red, technology, WITI
Posted in All Chapters, All Chapters, Los Angeles | No Comments »

Mountain View based start-up, Bizzy, is a new way for local businesses to share deals, events, tips and news with their customers.

Today they announced “What’s Happening” in San Francisco which provides us (consumers) with a listing of great offers, events and promotions from businesses in their city at any given time – all in one place.

On Bizzy, you create a customized list of your favorite local businesses and once you’re connected, your Bizzy homepage acts as a feed of updates, highlighting special deals and events from the businesses you’ve selected. All of the feed items are shareable on Facebook, Twitter and via e-mail providing an easy way for new customers to discover local businesses by learning from their friends’ experiences or from people with similar taste.

What I love about it is the fact that my inbox isn’t being bombarded with 20% off deals and the like. When I am ready to make plans for the weekend, want to shop, or whatever – I can go to Bizzy to see whats going on in San Francisco.

Wondering what to do this weekend? Take a look at “What’s Happening” in San Francisco: http://bizzy.com/happening/sf

Bizzy is also available in NYC and Dallas and I can’t wait for it to launch in Santa Cruz

Tags: bizzy, coupons, crm, deals, Events, San Francisco, start-up
Posted in All Chapters | 1 Comment »

Every year, not just the tech community, but the wider business community (not to mention music & film) gets together for South by Southwest in Austin. This year, please help support our Girls in Tech charter by voting for our panel to be selected and represent you and all women in tech next March!

This year’s proposed topic is: “Bridging the Geo-Gap to Empower Women in Technology.”  Groups supporting the increase of numbers of women in technology have sprouted up and are tremendous.  working to improve that situation. If you’re a woman in a developed country, groups and organizations for women in tech are everywhere.  However, in many parts of the world, these types of initiatives are either just starting – with varying levels of organization and support – or they’re non-existent.  But, we all now they are just as important — if not more important — in bringing these areas of the globe up to the level to be able to adapt and even compete with their counterparts abroad.  Thus, by connecting women in tech on a global level, we can begin to make in-roads to start making things happen in these disadvantaged areas as well.  The panel will address following questions:

1. What’s the current state of women in technology both “home” and abroad?
2. What have been current obstacles in some parts of the world for these initiatives, and what are some solutions?
3. What are some of the ways we’ve been able to bridge the geo-gap to connect women in technology around the world?
4. What are some ways we hope to improve the geo-gap to empower women in technology?
5. What are some specific examples/case studies of this being successful?

So, cast your ‘thumbs up’ now, as voting closes soon. Now it’s our turn to start to “pay it forward” in a big way!

VOTE here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/7848 (Panel Picker closes Fri., Aug. 27th at 1 minute till midnight)

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, Christine Oneto, South by Southwest, sxsw, SXSW 2010, SXSW panel picker, women in technology
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Technology use in the workplace is a double-edged sword.  On the one hand, it allows for increased efficiency and flexibility because we can communicate with co-workers and clients instantly from wherever we are through numerous mediums from a single handheld.  On the other hand, it has given us all a serious case of ADD.  And more importantly, it has blurred the line between what’s personal and what’s work.

We use our Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, Droids, and HTC-2s to send an email to a client or boss on our  companies’  systems one minute, and then use the same handheld to send a personal email to a  friend,  accountant, or lawyer  on our personal email account the next minute.  The same happens from desktops and  laptops.

The privacy issue arises when that handheld, laptop, or desktop is provided by a company to one of its  employees. Do the employees have a right to privacy in their communications when they send a  personal  email  over the company’s email system? When they use a company’s computer to send an  email from a  personal account  using the company’s Internet service? When they send text messages on employer-  provided phones and handhelds?  What is considered a reasonable personal use of company-provided devices in a world when employees are expected to answer emails from home and from handhelds and when they are expected to work 10 to 12 hour days?

These are just the sort of issues that are currently making their way through the state and federal court systems.

In a recent decision involving text messages sent on government-employer owned cell phones, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to make a broad ruling on the issue of “privacy expectations vis-à-vis employer-provided technological equipment” because of thepotential future impact such a ruling could have in an area where “rapid changes in the dynamics of communications and information transmission” are affecting both the technology itself as well as “what society accepts as proper behavior.”*

Because the legal analysis in privacy cases centers on a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy,” what we accept as a societal norm affects what is considered “reasonable” from both an objective and subjective point of view.**

Despite the Supreme Court’s refusal to provide a broad ruling on this issue, it did not find that the City violated the employee’s privacy rights when it reviewed the content of his text messages.  The factual grounds supporting this finding were that: there was a workplace policy which indicated that text messages could be reviewed; and there was a legitimate work-related purpose for the review (i.e., determining whether text message overage charges required the City to increase its phone plan).

The implications of this decision are huge – even without a broader ruling and despite the differing privacy analyses that apply to public vs. private employers – because it essentially says that so long as employers properly craft their workplace policies regarding technology use, they can significantly erode employees’ privacy rights.  This is particularly troubling in an age when technology is trending toward the increased availability of a one-size-fits-all devices and when the distinctions between one’s personal and work life are being significantly blurred.

Meredith D. Williams is an employment lawyer in Los Angeles, California and a partner at Miller | Williams LLP, an employment litigation and counseling law firm, providing businesses of all sizes, as well as selected employees, experienced and cost-effective legal services in a wide range of employment-related litigation and counseling matters, including matters involving employee privacy, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues.  Contact her: mwilliams@millerwilliamslaw.com or @MerEsqLA

*See City of Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. ____ (No. 08-1332, June 17, 2010).
** The “reasonable expectation of privacy” issue is relevant in the context of Fourth Amendment privacy cases involving public employers as well as in the context of common law “intrusion on seclusion” privacy cases involving private employers.  See Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc., 201 NJ. 300, 990 A2d 650 (N.J. 2010).

Tags: ADD, blackberry, Droid, girls in tech, HTC-2, iphone, LA Chapter, Meredith D Williams, Miller Williams, Personal Use of Company Technology Devices, Quon, right to privacy, Supreme Court, Text Messages
Posted in All Chapters, Los Angeles | 2 Comments »

Driving out of foggy San Francisco and into the phenomena that is Bay Area weather, I begin removing my scarf and coat as I enter sunny Mountain View. Mint.com, acquired by Intuit, resides in the Intuit campus which is beautifully lined with greenery, fountains, and meandering pathways. Aaron Patzer, the only Founder of Mint is an unassuming 29 year old whose brains and hard work led him to be named as one of CNN Money’s six Money Heroes in the US in 2008, and Inc. magazine included him in a list of the Top 30 US Entrepreneurs under 30.

“Back in 2005, while using Quicken to catch up on his personal budgeting, Aaron Patzer realized that he was in for an afternoon of tedious accounting-type work: poring over his statements, filling in gaps in entries, and categorizing dozens of purchases. All this effort just to get to the answer to one, seemingly simple question: How much did I spend this month? And on what?

After a couple of hours, when Aaron couldn’t get that answer (and he holds Masters degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from Princeton and Duke) he started to wonder if there wasn’t a better way. So instead of finishing his Quicken update that day, he began thinking about building what would become Mint.com.” -Mint.com

In asking Aaron what his biggest obstacle is in obtaining users, Aaron notes two things. The first and possibly the most obvious is security. It was the first thing I questioned when asked to check out Mint.com. As security goes, Mint.com offers bank-level security, the inability to move money and the ability to register anonymously. Even more so, Mint’s alerts actually notify you of fraudulent transactions on all accounts. Click HERE to learn more about Mint’s security.

The second hindrance people may have in joining Mint.com is fear of the truth. Some of us, especially us ladies, do not want to be reminded of how much we spent at Nordstrom’s annual sale. Ignorance is bliss in many cases and although it may be a hard pill for some of us to swallow, in the long run it will prove to bring much more confidence in one’s spending and peace for what the future could hold.

Many of Mint user’s testimonies have uncovered a treasure chest of information. Some say they had NO idea that they spent that much at Starbucks, or that an old gym back in college was still charging them, or that a certain transaction with their bank results in a $10 fee, and even that their average monthly savings could have awarded them an extra 5% if they had set up an ING account. Mint not only helps analyze and manage your money, it also recommends different ways to save, invest, and build wealth as well.

Mint just launched a new feature that is right up our alley! As women, we have a number of fantasy items that we would love to run out and buy… but as smart, efficient, and cost conscious women, we do not do it. Many women today are smarter and savvier and are [hopefully] not running up their credit cards to buy Jimmy Choo shoes they can’t afford because they were inspired by Sex and the City. They can, however, use Mint.com to help them reach their Choo goals the right way!

At Mint.com you can set a goal, play with how much you’d need to set aside each month to reach your goal by different deadlines and monitor your success rates.

There’s no excuse, get on Mint.com and get in the know about your finances. Start planning for the things you really want in life… whether it’s the designer wedding dress of your dreams, the Land Rover that can’t fit in your San Francisco garage, or even simply a new set of cashmere for the upcoming winter. As a Girl in Tech, everything else is online, why wouldn’t your finances be too? It’s worth a go, check it out!

Tags: aaron patzer, intuit, jimmy choo, Mint.com, money, savings, Terra Khachooni
Posted in All Chapters, All Chapters, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | 1 Comment »

Will You Be in Seattle for Gnomedex?

The Conference of Inspiration and Influence – where we showcase how Technology is changing the world! Read theGnomedex FAQ and then Register Now!

• How? Here: Register now! – Gnomedex is also partnering with pii2010, so join Geek Week and buy your ticket to both.
• Who? Influencers, Entrepreneurs, and Tech Enthusiasts!
• What? A confluence of leading bloggers and new media!
• When? August 19 – 21, 2010
• Where? Seattle, WA
• Why? Its the Social Media event of the year!

And…

• The Schedule is ever-evolving!
• Tags are simply “Gnomedex” and/or “Gnomedex10″
• The pre-registration party will likely be Thursday, August 19, at 7pm.

How is Gnomedex Different from other Conferences?

• An intersection between technology and community
• Technology that transforms and extends the human experience
• Social Media stories that inspire and empower
• Conversations that become the stage: the backchannel is the frontchannel
• The Science and Mathematics of our Real Lives

Why Attend Gnomedex?

• It’s a Whos Who of Social Media leadership
• Meet Movers, Shakers, & Deal Makers
• We’re tapping into the Conversation Economy
• Gnomedex is the most affordable conference of its kind
• Important for new or existing company strategies

Tags: conference, event, girls in tech, gnomedex
Posted in Events, Girls In Tech | No Comments »