Experience The Black Founders Circle at Women In Cloud Summit 2021

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According to statistics, of the 25 percent of women working in tech, black women accounted for only 3 percent. Another report highlights the critical barriers that black female founders face, including access to accelerators, top investors, and mentors, and funding pipelines. The median funding raised by black women included in the study is $0. But the number of black female founders has more than doubled since the 2016 study.

This annual Summit, Women in Cloud hopes to increase these numbers by offering Black technology founders inclusive on men an opportunity to meet and engage with corporate executives during the Black Founders’ Circle sessions. The Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 will host the Black Founders’ Circle partner session on 28 January 2021 from 3.30 PM – 5.30 PM (PST).

This two-hour virtual networking experience will provide an exclusive opportunity for participants to interact with Women in Cloud Community partners, Black Women in Tech Talk community, and  Black Channel Alliance members, allowing them to expand their network and explore opportunities.

At the Black Founders’ Circle during the Digital Summit, we have some exciting news to share about Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator 5.0 along with other opportunities to explore with Women in Cloud, Black Channel Alliance, and Black Women in Tech.

The annual Summit hosted by the Women in Cloud themed “Collective Action” is now digital for the first time and is accessible to all bridging the traditional borders. For more information on the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021, and Register for the Summit, click here. 

Book Your Spot today and get on board to witness the Collective Power of Women in the technology industry from around the world! 

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

  • 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 
  • 28 January: Explore Cloud Jobs at #CloudJobs Fair & Recruitment Lounge
  • 28 January: Meet Black Founders
  • 29 January: Master your pitch at #RockYourPitch Experience
  • 29 January: Get access to mentorship from Cloud Industry leaders
  • 30 January: Get your kids to participate in Youth Mentorship Circle
  • 30 January: Make New Friends at Scavenger Hunt 

Also, join WIC Digital Network to be part of the global economic access movement. Learn more about Women in Cloud at https://www.womenincloud.com.  


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Underwrite Your Employees Through WiC Corporate Pass, 30% Discount!

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Women in Cloud is on a mission to change the pace and create access for female-owned tech companies, by committing to generate $1 Billion in new, global economic access for women-owned businesses in partnership with corporate companies.

Today, female-owned tech companies are awarded only 1% of $457 billion in the enterprise cloud market. If it was 50%, the world’s GDP could increase up to $5 trillion.

You have an opportunity to get involved now, and help play a part in rapidly creating gender equity across the globe.

This year’s Women In Cloud Digital Summit is taking place on January 28-30, 2021 which celebrates the collective achievements and actions towards creating $1B in economic access.

We invite you and your company to become one of the top 200 companies championing economic access and equity for women in the technology industry. Hence, we have developed a special corporate pass for you to create infinite access for your employees, partners, and customers to exclusive learning and networking opportunities at the summit.

Read the Press Release

Take Action: Purchase Women in Cloud Corporate Pass Package for $871.50 (30% discount) today and surprise 5 of your employees with infinite access.

Secure Your Corporate Pass Today!

Take advantage of this year’s Corporate Pass at a 30% discount ! This offer includes 5 premium passes, all year access to content, branding placement, and an opportunity to host a mentorship session as an executive mentor.

Through this partnership we hope to strengthen our global power as women in technology and spread awareness of your company’s brand and mission. We look forward to seeing you in January for the 2021 Women in Cloud Digital Summit and will be reaching out soon to talk in more detail about the advantages of becoming a corporate sponsor!

How will I receive my comp code to distribute to my team?

Within 48 hour of your purchase, you will receive email instructions with the comp code to access your 5 Premium Access tickets.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

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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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Karen Fassio is one of the top finalists of the FFA 2020 Champion Awards. Let’s support her with your votes.

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The Women in Cloud leadership is very excited to share that our Co-founder, Karen Fassio is one of the top finalist for the 2020 Champion Awards hosted by Female Founders Alliance.

Female Founders Alliance is a startup community and through their private network, investor community, and corporate partners they provide white glove experience through their programs. The Champion Awards recognize people and organizations that champion equity and diverse leadership across workplaces. There are seven categories for this award. 

Karen Fassio, Director of Partner Marketing & Channel Inclusion at Microsoft and Co-founder Women in Cloud, has been selected as a finalist in the Sponsor Category. A sponsor leverages their network and resources to help the women that they mentor advance and succeed in their career. 

Time and time again, she has always believed in helping women entrepreneurs and leaders and we would like to thank her for her continued dedication to help other women leaders and entrepreneurs realize their dream.

We would like to congratulate her and wish her all the best. 

Can everyone please take 5 minutes to do 2 things?

1.  Vote.  Please click here to vote and help Karen win!   

2. Share, and ask your friends (who have no clue why you are always going on about WIC and all this stuff) to vote:  https://www.linkedin.com/posts/female-founders-alliance_we-are-proud-to-announce-our-finalists-for-activity-6692546785854009344-kOiG

What our community is saying:

Karen has been an incredible leader in this organization, and a patient sponsor and advisor of Automaton since the day we met at the first WIC cohort.   — MH Lines, Founder of Automaton

Karen Fassio is such a wonderful supporter of SO many female-founded businesses, including Lions + Tigers this is a much-deserved nomination!! — Brea Stemer,  Founder of L&T

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