A panel of female founders and leaders shared their journeys and insights at the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute’s SHEspeaks event. Sharing anecdotes on milestones as well as road bumps in each woman’s career, the panel highlighted the non-linear path of entrepreneurship and business.
The “Failing Forward in Entrepreneurship” panelists included Jennifer Hyman (co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway), April Dominguez (founder and former CEO of HANDSOME App), Maggie Brown (founder and CEO of Recess Pickleball) and Rajaa Grar (a C-suite executive). The Oct. 16 event took place at the Crum Auditorium. Evelyn Garcia, communication specialist of KS WELI, said she appreciated the team’s deliberate decision to showcase a range of experiences.
“This was a great opportunity to show students that no matter how many attempts it takes, you can still achieve whatever dream you have within entrepreneurship,” Garcia said.
Student attendees heard from the influential leaders behind these well-known brands. Business freshman Arielle Silver said she appreciated the event as a unique opportunity for connecting with these women.
“I see (Rent the Runway) online all the time,” Silver said. “It’s a cool opportunity to get to see them in person and care about their company.”
This interactive environment allowed students to ask direct questions to the panelists. When one student inquired about how to optimize their undergraduate college experience while pursuing a business career, Hyman shared her insights.
“The only thing that’s important in undergrad is socializing as much as humanly possible,” Hyman said. “You are at a school with a lot of very, very smart people. If you build authentic relationships with those people, and you like them, and they like you, they will want to help you.”
The conversational atmosphere at the event encouraged open dialogue and connection, making it valuable for attendees navigating their entrepreneurial journeys. Avery Neale, an electrical computer engineering and finance junior, said that hearing from female leaders resonated with her goals of becoming a founder.
“Having a group that you come back to that inspires you is the most important thing because you can work on your project, but you need inspirational voices who are going through the same thing,” Neale said.
Garcia said the overarching theme of the event, “Failing Forward,” and the topic of overcoming failure, were based on data, ensuring its relevance to students. The KS WELI team then curated the diverse lineup of speakers whose experiences embodied the message that entrepreneurship is not a one-dimensional journey.
“April Dominguez, we knew of her app, and we knew that app wasn’t moving forward, so we thought she’d be a great speaker for someone who has had multiple ventures,” Garcia said. “Even though this one didn’t go her way, we knew she had a lot of things going for her.”
Garcia said KS WELI’s initiatives such as SHEspeaks bring together women seeking a place in the entrepreneurial world.
“She’s not letting that one setback affect her relationship with entrepreneurship,” Garcia said. “At the end of the day, we wanted students to hear from both the success side and also the not so successful side of entrepreneurship to demystify the word entrepreneur.”
