Last night, coworking entity Fueled Collective hosted Cincy Inno for its July State of Innovation event, focused on those women entrepreneurs and thought leaders making an impact in the Cincy startup ecosystem, and the state of representation in this space.
Candice Matthews, co-founder and executive director of the Hillman Accelerator, kicked off the event with a keynote, during which she shared insights from her own entrepreneurial journey, the importance of being honest about difficulties that individuals in this space must face and the ways in which growing one's network is both possible and incredibly necessary.
And, perhaps indirectly, Matthews inspired audience members to lean into their strengths and successes, when, describing her work with Hillman, prefaced her anecdote of self-achievement by saying, "I'm going to own my greatness."
A panel of six entrepreneurs followed Matthews. Together, Summer Crenshaw, co-founder and COO/CMO of tilr; Olga Yurovski, CEO of Shopperations; Kirsten Moorefield, co-founder of Cloverleaf; Nikki Ridenour, founder and CEO at Plantalytics; Robin Boue, executive managing director at BHS Connect; and Christi Brown, founder and CEO at iReportSource, Inc., took to the stage.
Yours truly moderated the panel, asking questions like, “How would you summarize the innovation landscape for women in Cincy?” and “What are some challenges and wins unique to those working within this industry?”
After explaining their own respective backgrounds, our panelists (and Matthews) shared such insight that I have a page full of furious notes. A few of my favorite tidbits?
- Listen to founders' stories and learn from then; amplify them, too.
- Grow that network. Study your LinkedIn. Whenever you meet with a potential or connection, always follow up by asking, "Is there another company or individual that I need to be talking to?" Force yourself to plug in.
- Tell people what your crazy dreams are. Articulate them, share them and find people who spur you to achieve them.
- Build relevant community with people — and women! — who can relate to your particular situation, speak your language and know the unique struggles of being an entrepreneur.
- Cultivate fearlessness, tenacity and resilience. It's important to do your own thing and not care about what people think as you pursue your business goals. You'll hear a lot of nos, you won't always succeed and that's ok. Keep going; success is just an indicator that someone didn't give up.
- Authenticity about the challenges you are facing is important, especially within your support network. In situations where you feel outside of your abilities or comfort zone? Fake it until you make it.
- "If you have to get it done, you'll get it done." For example: If you need to buy a $49 plane ticket to make it to an event where the perfect investor is speaking, buy the ticket.
- Don't be afraid to look outside of Cincy for resources and funding, although never be apologetic about being from Cincinnati, a smaller ecosystem or being a female founder.
- Finding a co-founder is hard, important work. It's like a marriage, and it's imperative that your founders are people with whom you can disagree and still respect.
- It's ok to move slowly, just move.
After this discussion, a brief Q&A followed, along with time for delicious food, drink and networking.
The fun didn’t stop there. This morning, thanks to the generosity of RedTree Art Gallery and Coffee Shop, we hosted a “Beans with the Beat” mixer, where readers hung out and talked all things Cincy startups over coffee and tea.
These events were a delightful opportunity to learn, socialize and meet our readers, and the whole Cincy team had a blast! To Fueled Collective and RedTree Gallery; our panelists and keynote speaker; and all our attendees, thank you! You made last night happen.
To those itching for another Cincy event to get on your calendar, good news! We’ll be back in town in two months for our 50 on Fire awards event. This September soiree will celebrate our coolest companies winners, and you can nominate your organization now.
