Girls In Tech

If you know amazing women entrepreneurs involved in new startups, please encourage them to apply to TechCrunch Disrupt (official deadline is Sunday, August 8, though we accept late stragglers for 1-2 weeks after that date.)

Every year it seems that the women’s conferences do recap posts where they cite the low number of women founders at TechCrunch events. This year, we’d really like your help getting ahead of the curve… help us find amazing women to put on stage and let us write about how you helped us surface important new talent.  We can only put things on stage if we know about them.

Application details are here:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/apply-techcrunch-disrupt/#comments

Specific suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.  Thank you and best,
Heather
310.871.4351 cell / heather@techcrunch.com

Tags: Adriana Gascoigne, Disrupt SF, Female Entrepreneurs, Heather Harde, start-ups, TechCrunch
Posted in All Chapters | 1 Comment »

Friday, July 30, 2010
9 am – 4:00 pm
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, Stanford University
326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94305-6105 || Twitter:  #crunchup

About the CrunchUp:
Tickets through Eventbrite: $295 includes:  admission for one (1) to the August Capital party and expedited fast-pass door entry. You do not need to purchase a separate August Capital Party ticket if you purchase a CrunchUp ticket.

As early adopters of technology, we’ve all grown accustomed that our opinions and product uses are not indicative of the average consumer.

• So what happens when we hit an inflection point and the masses matter?
• Do we really know what local merchants / SMBs need to support their businesses?
• What do we need to know about consumer psychology so our digitally delivered discounts resonate with consumers?
• What retail rules of the road do we need to honor to close a sale? How do we blend the best of virtual and real currencies to entertain consumers?

That’s what they’re going to explore at the Social Currency CrunchUp. They’re going to mix up real-world consumers and traditional retailers and marketers alongside the hottest new startups to shake things up and debate the future.  For their full line-up of speakers and panelists, including Groupon CEO Andrew Mason & Foursquare Director of Bus. Dev., Tristan Walker, go to: http://techcrunch.com/social-currency-crunchup-and-summer-party-at-august-capital/

To register, click on their Eventbrite link:: here.

Tags: CrunchUp, Foursquare, Groupon, Social Currency, TechCrunch
Posted in Girls In Tech | 32 Comments »

In an article by Roxanne Varza, Girls in Tech has been spotlighted in TechCrunch, Europe as we get ready to launch our Paris, France Chapter.  As Varza puts it,”In France, the spotlight perhaps doesn’t get any brighter than that of the Minister of Digital Economy, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet.   Kosciusko-Morizet is presently tasked with the responsibility for Forward Planning, Assessment of Public Policies and Development of the Digital Economy of the French government.  She is only one of the many female role models for women in technology in France.  So it’s hardly surprising that numerous groups are popping up to support and encourage women in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology – including Silicon Valley-based Girls in Tech…”

The article goes on to point out that what started as our founder, Adriana Gascoigne’s vision of encouraging the advancement and entrepreneurship of women and their innovative contributions to technology has grown to a current membership of 7,000 women. With several chapters abroad now, including in the UAE, India, and China, the Paris chapter becomes the second European chapter after Greece. Girls in Tech has now truly become a global movement.  (Not to mention, 3 local chapter celebrated with launch activities in as many weeks, including Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.)  Now that’s a steady pace of growth…

Proud to count Paris as a new European chapter, we are also humbled to know that France is no stranger to a women-in-technology initiative.  They formerly have launched chapters of Girl Geek Dinners and Girlz in Web, a community for women in the web space, among others.  Moreover, Girls in Tech Paris also wants to stress that they are not a “No boys allowed” organization (like its sister chapters, elsewhere).  They, in fact, encourage male participation; and as Roxanne states of their upcoming launch event:  “this is pretty much the opposite of a girls-only event to talk about fashion and babies; the idea is to unite the crème de la crème of local women in tech to highlight their achievements, experiences and thoughts on today’s trends.”

The Paris chapter launch is set to highlight three well-known women entrepreneurs:

• Amélie Faure, serial entrepreneur at: Bonitasoft, Augure and QuelleEnergie
• Eliane Fiolet, the San Francisco-based founder of Ubergizmo, and
• Céline Lazorthes, the founder of French start-up Leetchi
  

The event is currently already sold out.  (Pretty great for their first event!) However, with generous support from local sponsors like Microsoft Bizspark and Spotify, more tickets may become available soon.  The Paris chapter will be headed up by Varza and Mounia Rkha.   We look forward to hearing more about the evening; and will look forward to a post-launch write-up, as well.  Félicitations, dames!  et Bonne chance!

(credits to Roxanne Varza/TechCrunch EU)

Tags: Amélie Faure, Céline Lazorthes, Eliane Fiolet, entrepreneurs, girls in tech, TechCrunch
Posted in All Chapters, Paris, San Francisco | No Comments »

Fred Wilson, VC and principal of Union Square Ventures (the investment firm most famous for backing notable companies like FourSquare, Twitter, and Etsy), has long argued that the New York tech startup scene is booming.

Chris Dixon, the co-founder of Hunch and personal investor in early-stage technology companies, has the same feeling.

We couldn’t agree more.

To witness – or participate – in the New York tech scene’s rich history in the making, we suggest you check out an upcoming NYC event that’s sure to be a microcosm of the boom that’s taking place all around us.

The 1^st annual TechCrunch Disrupt conference takes place May 24-26 at 570 Washington Street, an enormous 100,000 square foot event space in SoHo.

Each morning of this 3-day conference is dedicated to a series of panels and discussions hosted by an impressive list of key players in the startup world. In between sessions, attendees are invited to browse “Startup Alley” – the conference demo floor where early-stage startups can showcase their businesses and products.

Interested in demoing your business? $1,995 will get you 2 tickets and an entire day to demo in Startup Alley. Click here for details.

The bread-and-butter of the conference, however, is no doubt the “Startup Battlefield” competition. (And let’s be honest. With a name like “Startup Battlefield,” I kind of secretly wish this competition was part of a reality show – a’ la Simon Cowell’s now cancelled nail-biter, American Inventor. Oh, the drama.)

In this “March Madness-style” contest , a slew of carefully-selected applicants will take part in a pitch tournament where they’ll be asked to demo their business or product over several rounds. The winner receives a $50,000 cash prize – not to mention TechCrunch-sponsored bragging rights.

Interested in attending TechCrunch Disrupt? You’re in luck, my friend. We’re thrilled to announce that TechCrunch is offering all Girls in Tech members who sign up before April 30 a hefty discount.

So click here to get your GIT promo code and buy your tickets. And if you’re a student, TechCrunch is also offering an additional $200 off the ticket price. Not bad.

Hope to see you there!

Tags: entrepreneurship, event, New York City, social media, TechCrunch, technology, venture capital
Posted in New York | No Comments »

I should be getting my Mary Lou Retton Halloween costume on right now, but instead, all I can think is — “Wow, I’ve never seen a conference end like that before.” Today marked the 3rd annual Virtual Goods Summit put on by Charles Hudson and David Sachs.  The last panel of the day was on the topic of Payments Infrastructure for Virtual Goods, and Anu Shukla, founder and CEO of Offerpal Media, was an obvious choice for the panel of experts.

Towards the end of the discussion, Charles Hudson, the panel’s moderator, opened up the floor for Q&A.  Michael Arrington of TechCrunch was the first person at the microphone.  He questioned the ethics of offer providers like Offerpal and game publishers like Zynga and accused them of 1.) Knowingly engaging kids who steal their parent’s credit cards to accept offers, 2.) Facilitating scammers who accept offers from Netflix and other advertisers with no real interest or intention to follow-through on the offer, and 3.) Taking advantage of an ecosystem where Facebook and everyone else is going along with the fraud since everyone benefits from it except for the advertiser.

Arrington’s question/accusation splashed water on the faces of the end-of-day crowd, and Anu Shukla jumped at the opportunity to address his points, which she referred to as “shit, double shit and triple shit”.  She stated that 1.) In her two years of managing customer service calls, she had received roughly five complaints from parents whose children accepted offers without their consent and were charged for an offer as a result. 2.) Netflix and other savvy advertisers have been using offer payment systems for years and continue to do so because it has shown to be an acquisition source with high retention rates.  She further stated that advertisers know their metrics better than a journalist would.  And, 3.) Anu defended Facebook and stated that Facebook is all about the user experience, and as recently as July, issued new advertising guidelines to clean up the companies who were clearly taking advantage of the system.

Anu received the biggest and most enthusiastic round of applause I saw in my two days at the event.  And that ladies and gentleman, was the very lively end to VGS09.   This will be a fun one to watch on YouTube when it’s up.

Tags: Anu Shukla, Michael Arrington, Offerpal Media, show down, TechCrunch, throw down, Tina Tran, VGS09, Virtual Goods Summit
Posted in All Chapters | 34 Comments »

Originally posted on the Geeks on a Plane blog.

The Geeks on a Plane team has been trying to get over jet-lag by staying out all day and all night. This was definitely the case during the festivities, parties and start-up activities at Seedcamp in London. There were some compelling presentations and new technologies presented, in which GOAP’ers served as mentors to teach and provide advice on how to optimize the launch and core value of a start-up.

TechCrunch UK provided a solid synopsis of all of the Seedcamp finalists. You can check out the article here.

Following is a little more information on Seedcamp:

At Seedcamp, we believe Europe has the talent, the role models, and the capital founders need to succeed. We want to provide a catalyst for the next generation of great entrepreneurs and help you take risks, think big, and succeed. Participating in Seedcamp will give you enormous validation and access to a world-class network of advisors to help you with every aspect of your business, plus a direct route to seed and venture capital.

Tags: Geeks on a Plane, London, Seedcamp, TechCrunch, UK
Posted in London | No Comments »

This month’s TechCrunch UK event sparked a fierce debate about women in technology that has continued to spread through online and offline channels as men and women alike discuss the past, present and future of women in technology, and address certain barriers or perceived problems with what is undeniably a dearth of women in the field.

As we launched the Boston chapter of Girls in Tech, we had just this debate within our own team. Do we discuss the lack of and decline of women in technology and address gender biases and perceived skill-set issues? Do we argue that there are limitations placed on women in technology that should be broken down? Or do we stand as proof that there ARE wonderfully talented women in technology, that the barriers are simply ours to break down or dispel, and that women are just as armed for success in this industry as anyone else?

This is a tough call, tougher I think than many imagine. By continuing a line of argument that is founded in calling out reasons that women are not as plentiful in the technology field, what are we saying? That male dominated offices intimidate or discourage women from getting involved? That, as Cate Sevilla of BitchBuzz argues, women are sick of male-dominated networking events, scantily clad girls on tech magazine covers and equally as scantily clad women working booths on trade show floors, so they simply choose not to get involved in the field?? That women are discriminated against, underpaid, held back from promotions or even not hired when a comparable man is available for the job?

Are these reasons, or excuses?

Alternatively, do we argue that women who want to be in technology and enjoy that kind of work ARE in the field? Do we showcase their talents, applaud their achievements and call out their expertise as proof that if so desired, women can be just as successful as men in technology? Do we use positive reinforcement to set examples for other women that technology can be a rewarding field with many advantages, get involved in community events to encourage young women to study math and science, foster the inner geek in our daughters when they want a lego set rather than a barbie, and recognize that barriers exist in many professions, it is more productive to address affecting change on a personal level and within our own organizations than to bitch about skimpy outfits at trade shows and offices with a predominance of male peers?

There have been excellent arguments made on both sides, and I do believe somewhere in the middle we’ll find the answer, and that a certain recognition and acknowledgment of existing problems is necessary. But I also think that this should be a quick initial first step in a larger program to promote the great work of many women in technology. Education about exciting careers in technology and great examples from women who are leaders in this field is the best way to grow our numbers, not continued complaining about why our numbers are low. Many women feel that they have suffered in a male-dominated workplace, so it is not with an aim toward dismissing those sentiments that I make this call, but rather to acknowledge that the key to a solution lies not in continuing to harp on those experiences, but to look toward constructive steps we can take to affect change.

It’s time we take responsibility for the growth of women in technology, and not continue to look for someone to blame instead.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why shouldn’t there be more women in technology? (guardian.co.uk)

Tags: Boston, TechCrunch, technology, women, women in technology
Posted in Boston | No Comments »

September 8 – September 10 TechCrunch50

San Francisco Design Center 635 Eight St. San Francisco, CA
http://www.techcrunch50.com/2008/get-tickets/

TechCrunch 50’s goal is to find the best start-ups and launch them in front of our industry’s most influential VCs, corporations, fellow entrepreneurs and press.

September 16 – September 19 Web 2.0 Expo – New York City

Javits Convention Center 655 West 34th St. New York, New York
http://en.oreilly.com/webexny2008/public/content/home/

As large as the crowd was that gathered at the inaugural Web 2.0 Expo last April in San Francisco, the majority were from the Bay Area and the West. In order to serve the thriving web community on the East coast, interwoven with the financial, advertising, and consulting industries headquartered in New York, we’re building a vibrant event for the developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and other web professionals who’d like to learn and network with like minds in the Big Apple.

November 7-9 Web 2.0 Summit

The Palace Hotel 2 New Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA
http://en.oreilly.com/web2008/public/content/home

This summit is known for its interactive format, encouraging audience interaction and participation. Web 2.0 Summit brings the intelligence, innovation and leadership of the Internet industry together in one place at one time. Attendees will learn what business models are working, what’s next on the horizon, and how all of this will affect your own business.

Tags: Events, TechCrunch, web 2.0 expo, web 2.0 summit
Posted in San Francisco | No Comments »