How to Scale and be Valuable in the Competitive Industry of Technology?

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I have faced unimaginable challenges as a female minority Engineer, Inventor, and Small Business Owner, but maintained the right attitude and stayed-the-course that led me to victory. I have been ignored, rejected, and pushed into the rubble of non-existence, but I maintained an exhilarating presence in the community as I continued to polish my skills and expertise, to remain relevant to the new trends of technology. My inspiration ignited during the 2020 Microsoft Inspire Conference as I attentively listened to the motivational presentation of Gavriella Schuster.  I was truly inspired to learn how she faced her challenges and embraced her victories.  I immediately connected with Gavriella Schuster through the online portal, after her presentation, of which she in-turn introduced me to Chaitra Vedullapalli and the Women In Cloud community. Since my membership with Women In Cloud, I have been extremely elated to be among such an elite group of women in tech.

The Women in Cloud community opened the door wide open for me to participate, collaborate, and contribute to the growth of women in the technology industry. With this opportunity, I hope to make the following achievements:

  1. I desire to break down the barriers that many Women in Cloud may experience with regards to rejection; non-inclusiveness; prejudging their ability to deliver robust solutions; and not receiving adequate resources to deliver exceptional products and services that would validate their value and worth. While this problem is bad among many women in tech, statistics prove that the problem is worse among female minorities in tech.
  2. I hope to show the Women In Cloud how they can remain valuable, even when faced with fierce opposition.
  3. I desire to empower and inspire our youth to embrace innovation, along with obtaining a heart and passion that is needed to maintain value and competitive advantage.
  4. I desire to partner with Women in Cloud to make a notable investment in the less fortunate communities that hold great value. Talented and smart women have been buried by the system due to lack of resources, opportunities, and the prejudging of their ability to deliver exceptional products and services. I hope to change the image with how many women in tech are seen and embraced as second class citizens, to being embraced as valuable, profitable,  and key players to the team. 

Furthermore, I would like to collaborate with Women in Cloud and push for policy advancement in the following directions; 

  1. Representation: A policy that would yield percentages in lieu of ratios, meaning that a percentage of women are required to occupy various roles and leadership positions within organizations.
  2. Equal Access: A policy that would ensure that women receive the same resources as men to build their businesses and products.
  3. Mentorship: A policy that would encourage men and women of great power and leadership to mentor at least one woman per quarter, allowing them to sit on boards of successful companies, to learn how to operate a successful business.

I think every single person needs to be given a fair chance to explore technology. Collective Power means to unify different skills, abilities, and resources, to achieve that common goal; inclusion and economic opportunity.  But how do you stay at the top of your game?

I invite you to attend my talk at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 if you can identify any of the following:

  • Rejection
  • Your contribution to the team/project was not taken seriously
  • You were talked over / You were not heard
  • Your suggestion/recommendation was not considered
  • You were made to feel like you didn’t belong to the group or department
  • A male team member took your idea and made it seem as though he conceived the idea
  • You were given the menial work rather than the tech work 
  • You like being a woman, but you are a beast (force to be reckoned with) when it comes to tech
  • How to achieve your goal(s) when surrounded by male chauvinist men
  • How to be great in tech  and not make the men feel inferior to you
  • How to deliver an exceptional product/service as a collective team
  • Haven’t experienced any of the items that are listed, but would like to sit in my session to hear what I have to say

Through this talk, I want to educate and help women navigate the roadblocks to increase their value and worth. The three key takeaways would be;

  • Learn how to embrace the culture, without losing your identity
  • Learn to deliver greatness, without intimidating your peers with your abilities
  • Learn ways to be a team player and recognize the team for their contributions

While many women have faced horrific challenges, we are also women who will embrace great victories. This session will help you get one step closer to your victory.

“Soon after the completion of Disney World, someone said, ‘Isn’t it too bad that Walt Disney did not live to see this?’ Mike Vance, Creative Director of Disney Studios replied, ‘He did see it. That’s why it’s here’. Vision is seeing the invisible” – Johnathan Swift

Your vision will drive you. Come join me at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021; bring your vision and unlock access to achieve that vision through collective power. 

Book Your Spot today with a 15% discount, and get on board to witness the Collective Power of Women in the technology industry from around the world! 

I highly recommend the following Interactive Experiences for you to participate in and expand your network: 

  1. 28 January: Learn about Tech Industry at their opening plenary with Former Prime Minister of Canada, Rt Honorable Kim Campbell and Corporate Vice President Gavriella Schuster 
  2. 28 January: Explore Cloud Jobs at #CloudJobs Fair & Recruitment Lounge
  3. 28 January: Meet Black Founders
  4. 29 January: Master your pitch at #RockYourPitch Experience
  5. 29 January: Get access to mentorship from Cloud Industry leaders
  6. 30 January: Get your kids to participate in Youth Mentorship Circle
  7. 30 January: Make New Friends at Scavenger Hunt 

Also, join WIC Digital Network to be part of the global economic access movement.

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Executive Mentorship Made Accessible at WIC Digital Summit 2021: Now is Your Chance to Access and Expand Your Network Connections

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We are witnessing a transcending transformation in the world of technology. The landscape is dynamic and complex, hence, steering through the change can be complex. 

A mentor is an essential asset to navigate, learn, and accomplish in today’s society. 

At the Women in Cloud, executive mentorship is one of the most popular and requested experiences.

The advantages of having a mentor are commonly known and very often cited. As a mentee, you will witness the fine minds of the industry sharing their experiences and learnings helping you develop leadership qualities and apply them in an organizational setup. The relationship of a mentor and mentee is symbiotic in nature, where insights from discussions ought to benefit both parties to grow. 

It is with great enthusiasm that we at Women in Cloud invite you to join us for the Executive Mentorship Experience to Unlock Leadership and Executive Power at the upcoming Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021, between January 28 – 30, 2021! You will have the opportunity to interact with our experienced mentors at the Digital Summit 2021. 

Why Would You Want Access to Our Executive Mentorship?

As a mentee, these two-hours will be an interactive experience where you will have exclusive access to mentors like Gavriella Schuster, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft; Kim Smith, Global Vice President, Cloud Innovation Services, IBM; Gina Fratarcangeli, Managing Director, Market Unit Sales Leader, Accenture; Suchi Srinivasan, Vice President, Dell Corporation; Sherleander Lani-Phillips, Vice President, Microsoft and many more industry rainmakers who will inspire and help women-tech founders succeed.

Top Five Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Miss the Executive Mentorship Experience?

  1. Executive Mentorship Access: At the Digital Summit 2021, we handpick industry experts with vast experiences to guide, educate, and help you in your journey to help you realize your ‘North Star’ goal. Through this experience, you will be able to unlock new opportunities for yourself, your company, and embrace different perceptions resulting in long-term benefits. 
  2. Expanded Network: It is a fine opportunity to expand your existing network from the comfort of your home. Meet industry leaders, policy-makers, and business owners and form new connections. 
  3. Real-time Insight into Industry Trends: As our mentors are existing industry change-makers, you are presented with a unique opportunity to access industry trends and patterns that will help you plan for a better tomorrow. You will be able to identify and bridge gaps in generic skills and knowledge through this experience. 
  4. Empowerment & Confidence: The Women in Cloud mentors bring high EQ to the table along with their industry knowledge, helping to boost your confidence and personality for overall growth as a person, leader, and business owner. 
  5. Broad Career Opportunities: This experience will leave you with greater knowledge and unlock broader career growth opportunities in the industry. 

The Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 will be a virtual experience and our digital interaction will be hosted on Remo networking lounges. We are also providing a Digital Workbook for all attendees to capture the summit experience, an idea, or revolutionary thought. The live interactive session with your mentor will be accessible with a click of a button with Remo! Here is a glimpse of what the platform will look like;

The digital summit gives you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to access executive and industry leaders from around the world from your homes. It is the best of both worlds! So, sign up today and block your seat to be mentored by the leading women of the technology industry. 

Book My Spot!

We are also excited to announce the annual Summit hosted by the Women in Cloud themed “Collective Power.” For more information on the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021, and to register for the Summit, click here.

Check out other interactive Experiences at WIC Digital Summit 2021

Join the Women in Cloud Digital Network to get connected with us.

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The Women in Cloud: A Billion Dollar Economic Access Movement

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What if female technology entrepreneurs and leaders created over $1B in global economic impact? The audacious dream is Women in Cloud’s mission and purpose. 

Three years ago, Women in Cloud was an idea on a tissue paper, drafted by women of Corporate America exhausted by the lack of female figures they could call role models. The idea was to create an empowering community of female technologists, entrepreneurs, leaders, and policy-makers to ensure an inclusive technology industry. 

Time and time again, women are told there is not enough pie to go around for all. So what? We will just make a bigger pie. Women in Cloud has taken action with global leaders and policy-makers to help women entrepreneurs create $1 Billion in economic access by 2030. The community focuses on creating Access to customers, funding, and resources, to drive Action to create innovative solutions, partnerships, and communities and helps businesses Accelerate with policy resources and readiness. 

The community organization hosts over 100M women from all over the world through global partnerships with organizations like UN Women, SHEROES, EQUALS Global, Microsoft Alumni Network, WIT Network, and 18 other global organizations. This allows all the parties involved to access various resources, some unique to a particular organization, and build a strong dynamic global community of women.

Currently, the Women in Cloud Global Expansion plan is underway focussed on bringing women technologists and entrepreneurs from all over the world to the table to create an inclusive, sustainable, and transformative technology industry. India is one of eight countries where Women in Cloud will expand its initiatives to further our mission. 

On this journey, we are extremely happy to call SHEROES as our strategic partner in India. We are looking forward to achieving the following joint goals:

  1. Launch The Women in Cloud India Accelerator to boost economic access in the enterprise sector through inclusive procurement strategies.
  2. Host CloudInnovateHERxIndia Pitch Challenge to showcase enterprise-ready solutions.
  3. Inspire women to participate in the Global Solution Marketplace for generating customer leads.
  4. Engage women to join #EmpowHERAccess campaigns to create awareness about women’s contribution to the economic prosperity in India and across the globe while advancing and modernizing economic empowerment policies.

We are looking forward to connecting with all of you on this platform to transform the technology industry. Join our digital network today to get exclusive access to technology leaders and entrepreneurs from all over the world! 

Meanwhile, let us know ‘What does Economic Access and Empowerment mean to you?’

Join the conversation below. 

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A Woman with a Goal: Gavriella Schuster Receives the ATHENA Global Leadership Award!

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It is a special day to celebrate female leaders and entrepreneurs in technology! Today, Gavriella Schuster was awarded the ATHENA Global Leadership Award, previously bestowed upon icons like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Condoleezza Rice, and Christina Koch, just to name a few. One among us broke the “glass ceiling” and is carving a path for women in the technology industry and we could not be more excited about this. 

Gavriella Schuster is the Corporate Vice President of One Commercial Partner at Microsoft. Over the last 24 years, she has held 14 roles across six disciplines – Operations, Marketing, Sales, Training, Enterprise Services, Licensing, Product Management to now leading Partnerships at Microsoft. While her professional accolades are remarkable, she is constantly trying to bring her personal mission to make the technology industry an accessible space for women to explore. Gavriella guides communities like Women in Cloud, and The WIT Network to ensure women are given a seat at the highest table in the industry.

“My inspiration to incorporate and advocate inclusivity, equality and equity in technology was my daughter. It was a simple dream, to be her role model. However, as time went by, my journey was not just about her, but thousands of women who I realized were held at bay despite their capabilities. Today, I am honored that what started as a personal mission is my ingrained passion which impacts women around the world” said Gavriella, while receiving her award at a virtual ceremony. 

We at Women in Cloud are honored to have Gavriella Schuster as our executive and founding sponsor, a mentor and a team member. On this day, we celebrate Gavriella and all her achievements and are proud that she represents our community and millions of women from the technology industry across the globe.

“The times are crucial and it calls upon all of us to #BeTheChange. I request everybody to step up, take on challenges, drive inclusive conversations and be the change in our society,” Schuster added in her closing statement. 

On the powerful note, we urge you to join us to congratulate Gavriella and join our movement to be the change today!

Read more about, Gavriella Schuster’s incredible contribution to the tech industry here.

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Ready. Set. Accelerate!: Announcing the 4.0 Cohort of the WiC Microsoft Cloud Accelerator

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Women in Cloud’s Microsoft Cloud Accelerator is back! The Women in Cloud team is immensely happy to announce Cohort 4.0 after three successful cohorts which have expanded knowledge, access and inclusivity of entrepreneurs, while adding dollars to the economic system in the technology sector. 

Since inception, Women in Cloud’s mission has been to create Access for Acceleration to promote Action. Women In Cloud’s Microsoft Cloud Accelerator is designed as an immersive 6-month program to assist women-led tech companies to co-build, co-market and co-sell with Microsoft and their distribution channels. This program is expertly designed to help women entrepreneurs win enterprise opportunities, get access to Azure credits, an advisor community, and a global stage to showcase your business.

The 4.0 Cohort Immersive Kickoff session held on on Friday, August 28, 2020. The first session featured curated speakers, Chaitra Vedullapalli, Co-Founder and President of WiC; Karen Fassio, Marketing Director of Microsoft OCP and Co-Founder of WiC; Rahul Thakkar, Director – Advanced Services Development, Digital Enterprise, IT & Digital of Boeing; Allie Knull, Founder & CEO of Resume Free Inc.; and Patti Dobrowolski, CEO & Creative Activator of Up Your Creative Genius. The speakers consisted of founders, industry leaders and previous cohort entrepreneurs who set the tone for the new class about the current industry landscape, how to vision their cloud businesses, along with deliverables and takeaways by the end of 6 months. 

The cohort 4.0 is different from the previous editions for a number of reasons. The 4.0 cohort in the time of global pandemic requires us to depart from in-person programming for the immersive kickoff session. This cohort program, as usual, empowers entrepreneurs to more effectively connect as a community and access necessary resources to ultimately grow their business. COVID-19 has had a direct impact on our accelerator program and the way we conduct the program itself, but the pandemic has not stopped us. We have creatively found our way around it using effective digital tools to achieve more efficiency. The connection that we have found by conducting the Accelerator in a completely digital platform has built a family of women tech entrepreneurs to work together to achieve success in the enterprise space. Our weekly office hours, monthly live chats with industry leaders, and continued access to industry stages, has elevated our programming to an unmatched scale.

Our previously conducted in-person kick-off session will be conducted digitally. Going digital has let us expand our horizon and open this program to people from around the world rather than just a region. Cohort 4.0 boasts a diverse participation of companies from the United States, Canada, and Germany. The Digital Cloud Accelerator online course launch is on the agenda next. There is a positive shift in the attitude of entrepreneurs to continue learning, working towards growing their companies and bettering themselves in this time of uncertainty. 

This year’s WiC Microsoft Cloud Accelerator is more than just an effort to make economic contributions to the system by empowering entrepreneurs. It is about embracing the new normal and moving forward with a sense of community. It is about adopting self-empowerment and finding comfort in knowing where to turn for support with a community at your side. Most importantly, it is about collective growth and learning.

The cohort 4.0 will continue with various digital lessons, live speaker interviews, weekly digital office hours, and monthly team working sessions with everybody involved. The syllabus is shaped in a way to make it easier for entrepreneurs to seek answers and find success individually. Until we are safe to meet our leaders and entrepreneurs in person to celebrate the progress we will have made, we are all committed to taking part in this journey together. 

The flexibility and commitment to launch the program by our entrepreneurs during this turbulent time is greatly appreciated. We will become the force for change by building solutions not crippled by this chaos. We continue to look forward to this journey with this great group.

Presenting the Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator Cohort 4.0:

  • Priyansha Bagaria, Inviz AI
  • Tiasia OBrien, Seam Social Labs
  • Susan Sanders, Velaku
  • Emily Craven, Story City
  • Isabelle Lopez, MySmartJourney
  • Emmanuelle Tavernier, Oxia initiative inc.
  • Janice Omadeke, The Mentor Method
  • Joycelyn David, AV Communications
  • Kiyeon Nam, Smart B’zT LLC
  • Maret Thatcher, Argyle Inc.
  • Lisa Brown, PUG Interactive
  • Carmen Nazario, ELYON International
  • Linda Holliday, Citia
  • Katina Kenyon, Applaudo Studios
  • Humaira Ahmed, Locelle Digital Inc.
  • Heidi Watson, Canadian Electronic Health Information System Inc
  • Nataliya Tetruyeva, eKidz.eu
  • Garnette Weber, itracks
  • Yuan Karppanen, UNpkl

This year, Global Affairs Canada underwrote 50% of the accelerator fees for 8 Canadian companies that were approved to participate. Their generous support has allowed 8 of our 4.0 entrepreneurs to have the opportunity to scale their businesses to become co-sell and co-market ready with enterprise partners.

Economic Access is the tide that lifts all boats. Together we rise.

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