2020 Summit: Belfast, N. Ireland
Once again, Belfast enthralled, and third time was certainly the charm! Word of the night here was CONFIDENCE. This was a tenacious group of ladies, who shared significant and vulnerable moments from their professional and personal journeys.
Even with the discussions of under representation in funding for UK women, the many nos from investors to get to those yes moments, the weight on families and personal health, the spirit was one of grit, tenacity, and willful optimism.
Opening Keynote: Emma Mcilroy, CEO WildFang
We kicked off the program in style with Emma McIlroy: CEO and Founder of Wildfang who only knows how to live life in full technicolor. Emma is a unique founder, building a brand based on her own experiences of wanting to see her style and swagger reflected in a more androgynous clothing line. Her advice on building partnerships resonated:
Know your value - women often forget that the bigger brands need something from you too, so don’t forget that when you’re negotiating;
Be prepared to walk - when deals don’t feel right, they usually aren’t;
Most successful partnerships work out well when you have someone on the other side who cares as much as you do.
A Passion for Business: Building and Nurturing Your Brand
This panel, led once again by the inimitable Katie Doran, brought together a strong intersection of professional services, retail and B2B. First our #notyouraveragelawyer Dorcas Crawford talked about creating a unique marketing opportunity to engage with entrepreneurs on Twitter with #BelfastHour.
Next up, Karen, the founder of Taylor Yates (who doesn’t love those beautiful bags!). Karen created this brand from a gap she found in her own life, something that we see over and over again from our amazing female founders. We love that she’s built the brand alongside her daughter and together they have nurtured Taylor Yates and over time, grown it into the well known brand it is today.
Finally, Edel Doherty of Beyond Business Travel, stepped up to the conversation, goals first; she’s determined to grow her revenue from £16M to £50M! Her advice - “What is written down gets done. It’s ambitious to put it out there like that, but full of confidence, we will achieve.” Edel we like how you roll...Business Woman of the Year, anyone?
Show Me the Money: Business and Financing Strategies for Founders
This is always a much needed discussion in any room of entrepreneurs, but as the stats in the UK VC and Female Founder report show, in a room of women entrepreneurs, this discussion is vital. Jayne Brady kicked us off as our fearless and expert moderator. Vicky Dummigan, was quick to note that based on having Jayne, Deirdre Terrins and herself all presenting at the event, you would think that N.Ireland is full of women in investing. The reality though, was LWL had just cornered the market. Her advice on funding, make sure you explore multiple routes:
Self funding (if possible)
The Three F’s - friends, family, and fools 😬
Seed money: business angels, N. Irish co-investment funds (e.g. InvestNI) and depending on your type of business and needs, Series A: VC’s.
From the financiers and professional helpers we moved to the creators. Dr. Ava Eagle Brown is a coach, mentor, podcaster, and body butter bastion (ok we stretched for the alliteration!). Ava talked about the need to be nimble and flexible, while also taking strides forward with confidence and optimism noting that “someone once taught me to be a hedgehog and not a fox” [for reference: The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing]
Finally, Annie Irwin told the journey of Suki Tea beginning from £300 of investment to now exporting to 20+ countries worldwide. Her sound words of advice included knowing when it’s the right time to take investment and second, to know what your investors are bringing to the table (word to the wise, money is the least of it).
Closing Keynote: Alyson Hogg, MBE
It was quite an end to our amazing program as we welcomed our closing keynote to the stage, given by the formidable Alyson Hogg, MBE with her main message being all about CONFIDENCE and survival “you have to survive in order to succeed.”
You have no barriers to launching your business, you just need the confidence to go out and get it done: (1) Age is no barrier (she started her business in her forties); (2) Gender and geography aren't barriers; (3) Education is not a barrier
After four years and three business failures, her assistant asked her for a fake tan that didn’t turn her orange - yes we’ve all been there! This was the lightbulb, this was the white space (literally). Something that was in need of real improvement. Building the Vita Liberata business cost her her home, her health and she missed many moments with family. However ten years later she had a very fruitful exit. From her experience, she spoke to the need for a Plan B: The ability to pivot on a dime. Always have a Plan B.
She continued her reflections in conversation with the powerful and impressive Deirdre Terrins. They both advised on “getting to know your sources of funding before you need the money” as well as “People always say “follow your dreams” - but dreams are for sleeping! Have a vision. And make a clear plan...”
Thank You
We owe so much gratitude and thanks to Lisa Strutt for sending us into the networking mix and mingle hour with determination and enthusiasm and it seems like it worked given the buzz in the room!
Special shout out to the lovely folks at AllState, our gracious and generous hosts for the second time around. Cheers to John Healy for once again being the only man to grace the #LWLGlobal stage and to Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, who joined us for the kick off and welcomed us back to Belfast with grace.