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We Own It

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Onward from sunny Florida to the baking Big Apple in the grip of a heat wave. New York is complex and layered and difficult to describe if you haven’t been there. Some of it is simply overwhelming, stunning, towering, and magnificent while other aspects are just grungy and tacky. It is the broadest continuum imaginable from extraordinary feats of transcendent architecture to the archeology of gum layers pounded into broken sidewalks; from the neat boxed hedges of the Upper East Side to the hodgepodge of cheek-by-jowl ethnic restaurants and ancient apartment buildings of Lower Manhattan. I adore New York.

New York buildings

I was in ‘the City’ for the We Own It Summit, a gathering of successful women entrepreneurs and the organizations that work to support and enable their successes. There was an intimidating array of entrepreneurial heroes and champions and well known academics who appeared in workshops and informal networking sessions, did presentations and cheered each other’s accomplishments. Entrepreneurs, funders, supporters and researchers happily shared their knowledge and insights. I attended the conference for the purpose of gaining first-hand the critical success factors that enable women to leap to the high-growth stage. Many participants were either seeking or had found the kind of venture capital support that they needed to move their enterprises into high gear. I did garner great takeaways to share with our clients that came from conversations with successful women business owners in high growth companies and the venture capital community that provides fuel for their fire.

Some of their suggestions:

Look for opportunities, not products; knowing what the market wants is the key to establishing a solid business.
Hire slowly, fire quickly; get the people you want to do the things that you need and be clear about what that is and who you need to do it.
Ask for and get the home supports early on. Without that, you’ll be running in circles; your family needs to know that you are building a legacy that will benefit everyone in the end.
Passion carries the day.
Use help wherever you can find it.

Some simple truths, but almost universal points in all of the answers I got to my questions.

Posted by Sandra Altner at 3:01 AM