Networking brunch welcomes more than 100 businesswomen from across North Texas
Capital One, in partnership with The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC), presented the WEDallas Mompreneur Brunch last month, hosting more than 100 women entrepreneurs from across North Texas for a meal on National Small Business Day.
The event, hosted at The Riveter in Dallas, sought to inspire, empower, and connect women who balance being a mom with running a business–and featured speakers who addressed the essentials every “mompreneur” needs to have in her toolbox to be successful in business while also being present in motherhood.
Monica Shortino, director of social innovation at Capital One Financial Services, kicked off the event, and was followed by Shelly Slater, co-founder of a new all-women coworking space called The Slate, who discussed how to get what you want as a woman-owned business.
“A lot of times women don’t ask questions,” Slater said. “You need to know what you want and what you need, and ask how others are going to hop on board. Keep in mind the two most powerful words are ‘you’ and ‘your.’ Talking about yourself is not going to get you what you want. Questions will.”
Kamilia Smith spoke on launching her own women’s healthcare practice, Charleston House. Mandy Price, co-founder and CEO of Kanarys, a social enterprise that works with organizations to build more inclusive cultures, continued the conversation by proving why culture can make or break one’s business. “Diversity and inclusion is good for business, but right now it’s devalued. We can’t improve on D&I until it’s a top business priority.”
Bree Clarke, founder and creative director of The Iman Project, sat down with Alyce Alston, CEO of The DEC, to talk about how she’s helping women find happiness in their homes and communities. And Melissa Youngblood, co-founder and partner of Venn Ventures, spoke to the audience about investing in their small businesses.
One of the female entrepreneur attendees, Kady Sidlauskas, co-founder and CEO of Quill and Ink Creative, shared, “Going to events like WEDallas is crucial as I get ready to launch my business. Making one-on-one connections are huge because we are all here to help each other with our business needs.”
Capital One is the title sponsor of The DEC’s WEDallas initiatives and has a five-year partnership with The DEC. This partnership with The DEC aligns perfectly with Capital One’s Future Edge initiative, which aims to help more Americans get the skills, tools, and resources they need to succeed in the 21st century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub and nurture leaders of tomorrow.
• Learn more at CapitalOneInvestingForGood.com/FutureEdge and TheDEC.co.
COURTESY: Nelli Tokleh/Dala Communications, PHOTOS: Capital One
