Women & Entrepreneurship: ‘Go Against The Flow’ Screening & Discussion
March 3 @ 8:30 am - 11:00 am
at Cooley LLP
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Every Year for the past 30 years more women than men have graduated college. Women are entering the workforce in equal numbers to men, but women still:
– Earn 79% of their male counterparts
– Receive less than 10% of venture capital funding
– Make up only 18% of all start-up founders
– Run only 4% of Fortune 500 companies
– Only 2 % of women owned firms generate more than a million dollars
YET, research shows gender diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers and companies with more women on their board are more successful. On February 10th, join us for the screening of ‘Go Against the Flow ‘ and a post documentary roundtable discussion with Boston female entrepreneurs, investors and community organizers to discuss the role Boston and ALL OF US have in improving these statistics.
About the documentary:
Go Against the Flow is more than a documentary film, says its director, Charu Sharma. “It’s a movement that aims to inspire women to take intelligent risks, trust their vision, and develop leadership skills.” As part of the movement, Charu has brought together the wisdom of top women entrepreneurs who are making their mark in fields ranging from medical technology to video games. They include the female founders of CloudFlare, Getaround, Mightybell, Kabam, Zinepak, Women Who Code, Zady, Remedy and Rockhealth. These women range from college dropouts to Harvard MBAs to Shark Tank winners. The documentary also includes Boston-based HerCampusMedia.
The women of Go Against the Flow share their personal experiences with:
Walking away from the well-trod path, even when it means forfeiting scholarships, tempting job offers, and the approval of friends
– Following their passions in male-dominated fields
– Knowing when the moment is right to make the plunge
– Failing and using failure as a roadway, not roadblock, to success
#GoAgainsttheFlow aims to empower young women with the support of those that came before them to swim upstream and create their dream jobs.
There is no better time than now for women to pave their own paths to success.
Hackbright Academy lists #GoAgainsttheFlow under “5 Films for Women in Tech and Entrepreneurship.”
Introduction by:
Charu Sharma
Founder, Go Against the Flow
Diana Vertus is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Exquisite Design Concepts, an event production company whose mission is to influence, inspire, and improve the attendee experience through experiential events for non-profit and corporate clients. She has produced and designed many events for organizations like Boston Business Women, YWCA Boston, Girls Leadership, Organized Women, PUMA, HUBweek amongst many wonderful organizations. She is very passionate about working with organizations committed to the advancement of women and girls through empowerment, equality, and leadership.
Post Screening Discussion:
Betty Francisco
Latina Circle, Pipeline Angels, Re-imagine Play
Betty Francisco is an entrepreneur, business executive and community leader, and a passionate advocate for advancing attorneys of color and Latina professionals into leadership roles. She co-founded Latina Circle, a network that provides Latina professionals with mentoring, leadership training, and business partnering opportunities so they can achieve their potential. Betty is also an entrepreneur and an investor with Pipeline Angels, a network of new and seasoned women investors, changing the face of angel investing and creating capital for women and non-binary femme social entrepreneurs. Betty is also the founder of FitNation Ventures, a boutique consulting practice focused on fitness and lifestyle programming for youth in the Greater Boston area and launchers of Re-imagine Play.
Lynne Zagami Riquelme
She Starts, Shoobx, Inc.
Lynne Zagami Riquelme is the Director of Community Engagement at She Starts, an organization that supports women founders in Boston. She is a strong advocate for women entrepreneurs, and serves as a coach for the Babson WIN Lab, an accelerator for women-run companies. Lynne is also the Head of Customer Success at Shoobx , a technology platform for startups to manage their corporate legal activities. Prior to joining Shoobx, she created the role of Director of Client Engagement at Gesmer Updegrove, where she oversaw the firm’s marketing, business development and client service efforts.
Diana Vertus
Founder of Exquisite Design Concepts & Producer at Boston Business Women
Diana Vertus is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Exquisite Design Concepts, an event production company whose mission is to influence, inspire, and improve the attendee experience through experiential events for non-profit and corporate clients. She has produced and designed many events for organizations like Boston Business Women, YWCA Boston, Girls Leadership, Organized Women, PUMA, HUBweek amongst many wonderful organizations. She is very passionate about working with organizations committed to the advancement of women and girls through empowerment, equality, and leadership.Betsy Cowan
Neighborhood Business Manager at City of Boston
Betsy currently designs and implements small business assistance initiatives for the City of Boston. She also coaches emerging and existing entrepreneurs and has taught class sessions on community development and business development techniques at Harvard Business School, Simmons, Gordon College and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston.
Moderated by:
Giselle Rivers
Cooley LLP
Giselle Rivers has a comprehensive corporate practice with a focus on representing high growth companies from formation through exit, including in debt and equity financing, merger and acquisition transactions and public securities offerings. She also advises clients on corporate governance matters and US federal securities law compliance. In addition, Giselle regularly represents venture capital and private equity investors in connection with their investments and acquisitions. Giselle represents clients in various industries including technology, life sciences, media, consumer and e-commerce. Prior to joining Cooley, she counseled low-income entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations as a student attorney at the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau.
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