This past weekend, Torrey Project team members Michael Chick, Katy Sperry, and Lindsay O’Boyle attended the sixth annual Women’s Venture Summit hosted at the University of San Diego. Over 200 women and men from across the country attended to promote and support each other in their business ventures.
The Summit works to provide women in business with the tools to close the gaps between men and women in the corporate world. "Get To Even" was the mantra for the weekend. This was encouraged by speakers such as Jasmine Crowe, founder and CEO of Goodr. Her business redistributes surplus food from restaurants and grocery stores, among other places, to feed local communities. Goodr embodies the ideals of stakeholder theory. It acts as a steward for the environment, for local communities, and for all affected by its actions.
While there, we at Torrey Project interacted with many people who are as passionate about socially responsible business as we are. It was truly inspiring to be in the presence of such driven and dedicated entrepreneurs. They all provided insight into the struggles and hardships which are a reality for many women in business, whether they are starting out or have years of experience.
Samantha Urban, CEO of Urban Translations, discussed the struggles she experienced as a woman starting out in business. She detailed how the Women’s Venture Summit helped connect her with investors and fellow entrepreneurs, allowing her to grow her business into a leading software provider. She came full circle with her talk at this year's summit. It allowed her to inspire a new wave of eager women entrepreneurs whose shoes she was in a few short years ago.
One of the Summit’s primary objectives is to help connect start-ups with investors and provide them with insightful advice. This includes how to build a successful company while focusing on bettering the community, environment, and society as a whole.
Something that stuck out to us was Crowe’s call for more socially-minded businesses, ones that have a purpose to help people and improve the communities which they are in. “We have enough scooters. We have enough social media apps,” says Crowe. She went on to discuss how the world needs more socially-minded businesses that help address problems our local communities and environments are facing today. This resonates with a more conscious form of capitalism that we at Torrey Project strive for.
Lindsay O'Boyle, a Torrey Project marketing intern and student at USD wrote this post.
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