Girls In Tech

If you are located in the Bay Area and interested in getting more involved, please join the SF Chapter at 7 pm on January 31st at Sandbox Suites in Southpark (SF) at 404 Bryant Street. We will discuss ways to get involved at all levels of commitment including leadership roles. We have needs in event planning, social media community management, blogging, website and graphic design and partnerships/biz dev. Please RSVP to sanfrancisco [at] girlsintech.net and bring a friend!

The meeting will begin at 7 and last until abut 8 – please feel free to drop by for part if you can’t stay for the whole thing. And if you’re unavailable to attend but would still like to be involved in our chapter, drop us a line at sanfrancisco [at] girlsintech.net.

Special Thanks to Sandbox suites for hosting our meeting!

Posted in Girls In Tech, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | 2 Comments »

A Guest OPINION by LARRY CHIANG,

CEO of Duck9 and Stanford University EIR (Entrepreneur in Residence)

 There is a gap between female founders and male ones.

I seek to close that gap in under 700 words or 20 minutes. Whichever comes later.

Here are:

 “7  Things Females Can Do Now to Prepare for Entrepreneurship”

-1- Scream at Your TV

Men scream at their TV.

They expect results. They even correlate their attendance watching a game to the outcome.

Seriously.

Men think and value themselves so much that they feel their watching from  Section 9, Row G, Seat 4… will actually alter outcome.

Men believe this so deep in their soul that they will contact coaching staff with their revelation.

For example:

Dear Jim Harbaugh,

Every time I step away from the TV, your defense gets a turnover (a football change in possession from defense to offense). Can you, Jim Harbaugh, finance my microwave burritos so I can step away from the tv more??

Your fan, assistant coach and arm-chair quarterback,

Larry Chiang

Be ostentatious! And value yourself more, the men you’re competing with, even the losers, value themselves highly.

-2- Have Pretend Sexual Angst and Frustration

Look at me.

I’m a supermodel. Do you think as a 5’11″ 11 year old, I ever had sexual angst or frustration?? Heck, I went to prom Freshmanyear and dated Stanford undergrads from my Vespa.

Be like me and get some pretend sexual frustration that you can channel into entrepreneurial energy. Many entrepreneurs have angst. Some of the best entrepreneurs have angst that is sexual in nature. Did you see the fictitious movie ‘Social Network’? Art mimics the cliche (but not necessarily the truth in Zuck’s case).

-3- Let Your Enemy Know They Have an Enemy

There is this philosophy that I’ll summarize. It’s from the secret brotherhood of jerks.

They think: “Make an enemy of a woman and you have a housewife. Make an enemy of a man and you have an enemy for life.” Executive level men AND WOMEN sometimes have this philosophy.

Let’s get a countermeasure.

Who is your enemy?
Let’s pick a male enemy.

Ya know what. Let’s not pick your enemy. Let’s pick mine and pick on Chalmers Sechrist. He was my engineering advisor and he was frustrated, malicious, negligent when I was an undergrad. He was jealous of student athletes and thought they should have more barriers, not less. Chalmers Sechrist was/is an asshole.

Your future enemies will eff you over much more carefully and cautiously, and think twice before doing so, if you make it clear that you hold grudges for life.

Tell ya what. You order me, your executive assistant, to execute a grudge and I’ll do it. Text me! 650-283-8008.

-4- Hug Me in Public From Behind

Ok, you know those guys in dance clubs that just grab your butt and just start grinding?? Men think this is a dating strategy.

Ok, well don’t do that. Don’t do that even though grinding is the new ballroom dancing.

Be ostentatious and just hug me from behind at a networking party.

It won’t really help or be one of the “7 Things Females Can Do Now to Prep for Entrepreneurship”, but it will feel good for me. Thanks in advance.

Ok, back on track…

-5- Ask for VC Money

Men will ask to be funded when they are ill-prepared and have zero plan. In fact, prematurely asking for VC money  is a time-honored Silicon Valley tradition.

Do this and if the VC does not listen to your pitch with their head cocked and tilted like a Shih Tzu, text me and I’ll be your air traffic controller. In networking, an air traffic controller text messages both airplanes to be near each other but not hook up.
-6- Risk Compartmentalization

Men are pigs. They can cheat yet have the outlandish wherewithall to say, “How does my banging her mean I am unfaithful to you?!”

Men can do this because they are expert compartmentalizers.

We need to compartmentalize the risk we take by isolating our entrepreneurship exercises to something outside of us. I recommend that you try entrepreneurship on your vacation. For example, I did study abroad in Shanghai University of Technology and experimented doing sales for a local store selling to foreign US tourists. Another example is this Christmas break where I am taking Stanford engineers and making them promote in and around the Fiesta Bowl in Scottsdale Arizona.

One or two hours spent doing something entrepreneurial while you’re away from your hometown can do wonders. Our friends come back from vacation with a tattoo, new hairdoo or UTI (urinary tract infection)… You will come back to Silicon Valley with a new flexibility to perform entrepreneurship.

-7- Watch a Movie About Entrepreneurship by Disney

Do you have a niece or nephew that is 2-5 years old?

I do.

I have like 30. Ya know what they wanna do?! Pop in a dvd on the 108″ screen. My lifehacker philosophy is to kill five birds with one stone. So, when I babysit (I know I am actually nurturuing!) I pop in the best entrepreneur movie ever: Monsters Inc.

No, Uncle Larry, not again. Not Monsters Inc AGAIN!!

Yes, Monsters Inc again. Here is why
- Witness five different examples of mentorship
- Experience how Sulley minimizes his entrepreneur celebrity and kisses ass downstream
- Witness a business pivot

My mentor prodded me and nurtured me to try entrepreneurship before I immersed in entrepreneurship. I encourage you to dabble. I encourage  you to try a li’l, and experiment with entrepreneurship. I do not want to be a motivational author or speaker to you. I want to be a motivational listener. Text or email me your thoughts and I will respond with questions my mentor would ask you if he were alive.

Or just text me and I will send you a copy his NY Times best selling book: “What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School”

Posted in Girls In Tech, San Francisco | No Comments »

The Intersection Event, a one-day conference that will provide a select group of participants intimate access to people who are using creativity in business innovation to profoundly change the world, today announced the speakers for its inaugural event, set for Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, CA. During this unparalleled day-long experience, some of the most respected innovators in the world converge with leading social change agents to tackle some of the greatest issues of our time.

“The Intersection reflects a change in how philanthropy is being delivered to the world,” said Randy Haykin, founder of The Intersection Event. “Rather than following the old model of charitable giving, we will explore new social entrepreneur model where the best of business innovation meets and accelerates social change.

The Intersection Event will forge an “intersection” of ideas and commentary between leading innovators from academia, entrepreneurship, technology and entertainment with the goal of uncovering new ideas, tools, and “intersections” that can be applied to attendees’ personal or professional projects and inspiring the birth of new social impact projects. Speakers will spend the day prior to the event, January 13, 2012, together as a group, considering topics that will be shared with the audience at The Intersection Event.

Headlining this year’s gathering are: actress and UNICEF ambassador, Susan Sarandon, technology expert and CTO of Walt Disney, Greg Brandeau; the entrepreneurial founder of AOL, Steve Case; passionate leader and VP of Google, Marissa Mayer; global change agent and President of Ashoka, Diana Wells; social activist and SVP of Word Vision International, Dr. Chris Pitt; computer scientist and President of Pixar Animation Studios, Dr. Ed Catmull; Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Paul Rieckhoff; design connoisseur and CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown; business strategy authority and director of Deloitte Center for the Edge, John Hagel III; education expert and professor at Harvard Business School, Linda Hill; young entrepreneur and Chief Executive Partner of Ashoka Changemakers, Benjamin Wald; innovation facilitator and Chief Solver of KILN, Gregg Fraley; collaboration specialist and author of The Medici Effect, Frans Johansson; teacher, minister and third generation yogi, Guru Singh; and moderator Randy Haykin who is a professor at UC Berkley and UC Cambridge, as well as founder of Haykin Capital, The Intersection Event and The Gratitude Network.

The Intersection Event will be the first of its kind to utilize a format that includes a pre-event for speakers to strategize on the topics to be discussed at the conference, as well as a one-day conference with proceeds from the event being donated to The Gratitude Network, a new foundation that supports social entrepreneurship.

Future announcements about The Intersection Event will be made regarding other guests and event updates.  To learn more about The Intersection Event or The Gratitude Fund, visit www.intersectionevent.com.

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, girls in tech, Intersection Event, Philanthropy, Social Entrepreneurship, women in tech
Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco | No Comments »

Silicon Valley-based Venture Capital firm, KPCB and Girls in Tech cordially invite you to attend “Net Effect: The Impact of Women on the Web – Start-up Edition”. KPCB partner Aileen Lee talks with four distinguished female execs who recognize women as not only influencing the overall tech landscape, but increasingly leading it. Join Aileen and her industry-shaping guests on Nov. 9th as they discuss how women are breaking the glass ceiling. The panelists will share their distinct insights on leadership and how businesses across the social web, e-commerce and advertising are achieving success with the female demographic.

Please click on the following infographic to purchase a ticket to the event:

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, eCommerce, girls in tech, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, KPCB, Startup Founders, women in tech, Women in Venture Capital
Posted in San Francisco, Silicon Valley | No Comments »

On Monday, the annual entrepreneur-focused conference, FailCon, took place in San Francisco, to a near sold-out crowd.  I was fortunate enough to attend a couple of panels, and two workshops, one of which left me with a spark of an idea (check out a design firm) the other which shed light on a much-opined and passionate interest of mine (customer satisfaction and how to achieve it).  All  in all, it was one of the best spent afternoons I have had in my conference-going days – on both sides of the table.  (Trade show table, that is!)

Here are some key take aways for me, from the sessions I attended:

In Workshop with Solana Crawford of Design About Town:  “Expand Your Brand (Without Fail)” – Solana and her team are behind such familiar brands as TechCrunch Disrupt, VSP and yes, the FailCon logo!

* She leads with: There are 3 things that matter in choosing or determining what your design should be:   1) audience, 2) context,  and 3) content

* Branding is ultimately about communication … And, “the person on the other end!”

* Success in good brand design = a good user experience.  Including:

- Good execution (of your business plan)  – engagement  – image  – recognition (making a good impression)

* She kept coming back to something that is reminiscent of Dieter Rams’ work:  Keep it simple! –  Also, be clear about what makes you different from your competitors.

* She emphasized creating a “system” — using color, this could be a common thread that goes throughout all your assets: your website, twitter presence, your blog, and all print collateral.

* She listed 3 main steps to always include in your brand design planning:

1) Engagement:  Tell a story; create a personality; build trust; and inspire to take action

2) Consistency: Use a consistent voice and message; and again, be consistent with color schemes

3) Recognition: Show good design; have a good promotional strategy.

In his workshop: “Show Your Customers You Care” – Evan Hamilton of UserVoice  had these points to make:

* There are 3 options for gaining & sustaining users for your app/site:  1) Make it cheap to acquire; 2) Make more money off initial transaction; and 3) Make customers stick around longer to pay more in the long run. — Of these #3, he suggests, is the easiest.

* Always tell (broadcast, really) your customers what you’re doing to improve your site — while you’re doing it — this will increase their likelihood of sticking around, rather than leaving for a competitor.

* Some solutions to retaining customers and making sure they are happy?

1.  Transparency:  Tell people about how you’re needing to improve, even if they don’t notice it.  “Uncovered issues can be ten times worse.”

2.  Show you Care:  Always post when, how, and where you are open to supporting them.  Make it really, really easy to find your contact info.

3.  Empathy:  Take time to understand.  (Especially for those who email in to complain/comment.)  Realize that: “People who demand things, love your product.”

4. Scaling Contact:  Set up automation, set up a forum, set up a ticket system.  Anything you can to get your customer contact streamlined and avoid potentially ignoring customers.

Joe Gebbia - airbnb

From Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder in his case study keynote: “How We Survived the Trough of Sorrow”:

* One notable point he led off with was:  “A spectacular failure is always better than a mediocre success!” also:

* “Fail faster, so you can succeed sooner.” — (He borrowed this quote, but believes it to be true.)

*  After telling the story of their very popular ‘Obama O’s’ & ‘Cap’n McCain’ cereals:  Joe’s point was that – You have to be willing to do whatever you need to in order to stick to your idea.  And that even if you’re not doing your business plan exactly the way you set out to, this did, for example, attract the attention of investors, (in their case Y Combinator).  (after their ‘trough of sorrow’ lasting 18 months)

* Lastly, he emphasized:  Solve your own problem and that way you will stick with it, because you believe in it.

Then, there was the panel:  “The Failure of Business Models” moderated by Adriana Gardella of the New York Times. — But, that is a subject for another day’s post!  Thanks to Cass Phillipps for putting on such a wonderful,  information-rich event, that I am sure everyone who attended will likely return to next year if given the chance.  And, if you were an attendee, yourself, and wish to share your best take away(s), please leave us a comment, below.

 Demos were by several, varied-product start ups, for example: from Let’sListen (social music sharing) to Bizee Bee (yoga studio schedule streamlining and enhancing)

(Photos credit: FailCon)

Tags: entrepreneurs, FailCon
Posted in All Chapters, Girls In Tech, San Francisco | No Comments »

Date/Time:  Wednesday November 2, 5:30-8:00pm

Location:  Andreessen Horowitz, 2865 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park CA

Panelists

Angela Benton, Founder/CEO at Cued Labs / CEO Black Web Media

Freada Kapor Klein, Founder Level Playing Field Institute

Marissa Mayer, VP Local / Geo at Google

Padmasree Warrior, CTO Cisco

Sandy Jen, CTO Meebo

Vivek Wadhwa, Columnist Washington Post

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, Andreesen Horowitz, girls in tech, iridescent, mentorship, venture capital, women in tech
Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | No Comments »

Good news:  Several of our very own Bay Area executives and women-owned businesses have been named as finalists for the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business.  The nominees come from all categories, such as:

Best Entrepreneur – Service Businesses – Up to 100 Employees – Business Services
Betts Recruiting, San Francisco, CA USA: Carolyn Betts, founder and CEO
DRT Strategies, Inc., Arlington, VA USA: Susan M. Kidd, Founder and CEO
Dynamic Office & Accounting Solutions, Danville, CA USA: Tiffany Stuart, President
Gagen MacDonald, Chicago, IL USA: Maril MacDonald, thought leader and industry pioneer
Going Global, Mobile, AL USA: Mary Anne Thompson, Founder & President
Human Resource Essential, LLC, Tempe, AZ USA: Stephanie Angelo, Founder and CEO
Staging Diva/Six Elements Inc., Toronto, Canada: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva, President, Six Elements Inc.
Suzanne Evans Coaching, LLC, Murrells Inlet, SC USA: Suzanne Evans, Owner & Founder
Vaco Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA USA: France Moreno, Partner
VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA USA: Janine Popick, CEO and Founder

Best Entrepreneur – Service Businesses – Up to 100 Employees – Financial Services & Insurance 
iFinance Canada Inc., Toronto, Canada: Ann Kaplan, President & CEO
Mercury West Associates, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom: Katie Small, Owner & Managing Director
Your Equity Source, LLC, Cour DAlenem ID USA: Sandra J. Wach, Vice President

VerticalResponse, San Francisco, CA USA

Best Overall Company of the Year – Service Businesses – Up to 100 Employees – Business Services 
DRT Strategies, Inc., Arlington, VA USA
MyCorporation, Calabasas, CA USA
Sage Consulting Associates, San Francisco, CA USA
The Omnia Group, Tampa, FL USA
Integrated Archive Systems, Palo Alto, CA USA

Best Overall Company of the Year – Non-Profit or Government 
Athena International, Chicago, IL USA
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA USA
Women Presidents’ Organization, New York, NY USA

Winners will be announced at an awards dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on November 11.  The complete list is available at the link below.  We wish all the local nominees good luck; and congratulate all those who are nominated!

http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/women/awards/414_2252_21305.cfm

Tags: entrepreneurs, Stevie Awards, Women-Owned Business
Posted in All Chapters, Chicago, Girls In Tech, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley | No Comments »

FailCon 2011 is just 2 weeks away!  And the FailCon crew is excited to announce their incredible Demo Competitors for this year’s SuccessCon-test.  Twelve new startups will be trying to win your vote as “Most Likely To Succeed.”

Demo Competitors Include:

• Repost.us - an instant syndication platform that makes digital content embeddable.
• SaverMint - a smartphone based loyalty and referral program for small and medium businesses.
• BAMM.tv - provides free HD video creation, global distribution and payments for artists.
• 2600hz - a scalable, open-source VoIP platform that supports many telecommunication services.
• Dolphin - a customizable, touchscreen-specialized Android browser.
• Who’s Here Now - an event application to help you connect with the best people.
• Overstat - robust website analytics and landing page optimization, with no programming required.
• Passing Green - helps businesses receive qualified leads and better manage the process.
• CardFlick - the easiest way to create and share business cards with your phone
• MoreDays - a mobile app to make planning and designing your life easier and fun.
• Let’s Listen - a cloud music locker that lets you chat and listen to music with friends in real-time.
• GridSearch - the easiest way to navigate videos on a mobile device.

So, come out and demo their apps, cheer them on, and vote your favorite to the top!

Join 500 founders, investors, designers, and developers at this year’s incredible FailCon.

Details:

October 24^th, 2011  |  8:30 AM – 7:00 PM

Hotel Kabuki

1625 Post Street

San Francisco, 94115

Register:  here.

Tags: Allison Strouse, Cass Phillips, entrepreneurs, FailCon, startups
Posted in Girls In Tech, Palo Alto, San Francisco | No Comments »

Girls in Tech are giving away 3 tickets to the World’s Largest Crowdsourcing Conference, CrowdConf2011. How would you apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way?

Jeff Howe of Wired Magazine first coined the term crowdsourcing. Howe explains that because technological advances have allowed for cheap consumer electronics, the gap between professionals and amateurs has been diminished. Companies are then able to take advantage of the talent of the public, and Howe states that “It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.” A less commercial approach was introduced by Henk van Ess in September 2010: “Crowdsourcing is channelling the experts’ desire to solve a problem and then freely sharing the answer with everyone”. More >>>

Girls in Tech would like to offer 3 tickets to our members. To be considered, simply post how you would use crowdsourcing (crowdfunding, crowdwisdom, crowdvoting, or crowdcreation) for your business or any other business out there. It doesn’t have to be a a large submission, simply comment to this post with a few lines of how you would apply the crowdsourcing principles in a unique way. Get creative, think of how the fashion world and television has utilized its concepts, non profits (like Kiva) and how crowdsourcing could possibly grow an organization like Girls in Tech… you can post as many ideas as you’d like. If you do, please post each idea in a separate comment. Post away!

More about CrowdConf2011 >>>

Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | 3 Comments »

Silicon Valley-based Venture Capital firm, KPCB and Girls in Tech cordially invite you to attend “Net Effect: The Impact of Women on the Web – Start-up Edition”. KPCB partner Aileen Lee talks with four distinguished female execs who recognize women as not only influencing the overall tech landscape, but increasingly leading it. Join Aileen and her industry-shaping guests on Nov. 9th as they discuss how women are breaking the glass ceiling. The panelists will share their distinct insights on leadership and how businesses across the social web, e-commerce and advertising are achieving success with the female demographic.

Please click on the following infographic to purchase a ticket to the event:

Tags: entrepreneurs, Female, girls in tech, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, KPCB, technology, VC, venture capital, women, women in business
Posted in All Chapters, San Francisco, Silicon Valley | No Comments »