Collective Power For Women Entrepreneurship!

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“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein

This year’s Women in Cloud Summit theme, ‘Collective Power’ leaves me intrigued and hopeful. I feel like collective power is the trust and bonds created between individuals part of a community. In the context of economic inclusion, it means the fluidity and quality of communication, and the ability of all to learn from each other. Collective power is the ability to combine talents, ideas, and forces to solve complex challenges or crises and to fulfill new goals. As women entrepreneurs, we will reach economic inclusion by collaborating with each other. The collective power of people to create change, even as a virtual community, has never felt more meaningful and necessary today.

I joined Women in Cloud in the year 2020 because the community force appealed to my personal goals. I wanted to meet and learn new things from fellow women entrepreneurs. Joining the Women in Cloud community helped me come up with creative ideas to improve illuxi’s business model and lead #teamilluxi to success. Hence, this year I will be sharing my experience at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 on the topic, ‘The Direct Link Between Business Development and Personal Growth.’ Keeping a company up and running and profitable is a huge task, especially for women in the tech sector. And I want to highlight some key observations I have made through my personal journey. 

One of my main goals with Women in Cloud is to reach out to women entrepreneurs from around the world to share and learn about the industry challenges but also about the positive role we can have in enabling women’s economic inclusion. I want to contribute to increasing the participation of women in the tech sector. Why? Because more women in tech are proven to boost the economy with creativity and new ways of making business.

This January join me at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 and let us collectively join forces to enable economic access for women to boost the global economy and growth. 

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 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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What Is The Deal With Containerizing?

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The Women in Cloud Community and I share similar core values; Equality. I am a strong advocate for equality, and being a woman working in the technology industry with my cloud niche – I had to join Women in Cloud! 

I have several personal stories of being denied opportunities just because I am a woman. While money isn’t everything, I strongly believe it enables everyone to get on an equal footing. When I learned about the history of women being denied loans by the bank without a man’s signature, I couldn’t help wonder, ‘Is it happening today too?’ The opportunities held back today, without our awareness, hamper the growth of the future Indra Nooyi or Oprah Winfrey of our industry. With my association with Women in Cloud, I hope to connect women who traveled a similar path I did and join them to change the course for the future.

In this effort, at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit, I am talking about Containerizing. While many do not understand what containerization means, it can save a large amount of time while deploying production code. It also makes the process easier and less miserable. I am all for packaging and containerization – and I will be there at the Summit to tell you why! I will start with the basics, no pre-requisites or assumptions about your knowledge. I will make a quick deep dive into what docker entails and we’ll try to understand if it fits your use case. As this year’s Digital Summit is themed Collective Power, I want to come together to uplift the economically non-inclusive to allow them equal access to all tools needed to succeed in their ambitions. 

My journey in this industry has established one sure shot lesson; things need to change, especially for women. Going forward, I want to be the change and drive change in the tech sector with Women in Cloud. As a woman who wants to bear children in the future, I fear its negative impact on my career. Because in ancient times, women were expected to create value to society only via child-bearing, I believe policies do not grant any equal footing to mothers. I believe we need policies in place to respect the time off needed and pay standardization would benefit women in any industry, not just technology. 

As the Jogging Baboon from BoJack Horseman said, “It gets easier. Every day, it gets easier. But you gotta do it every day – that is the hard part. But it does get easier.”

So let us pledge to make the technology industry accessible for women everyday! Join me this January at the Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021 to find ways you can contribute to the community and industry, every day. 

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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#CollectivePower: WiC Community Gratitude in Action. Join Me In Recognizing People Who Make A Difference

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“No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”– Alfred North Whitehead

After the harsh year 2020 has put the world through, our society needs healing. More than ever before, we need to show gratitude and appreciate all the positives we hold close to our hearts. What are you thankful, and grateful for? Who do you want to say ‘Bravo, you did it!’ to?

I know my answer. I am thankful for the 25,000 women in the Women in Cloud community; I am grateful for the 100M women we can collectively impact through our work. And I want to say Kudos to all the women and men of this global network!

Why? According to Forbes, the TrustRadius survey revealed that women in tech are 1.6x more likely than men to be laid-off or furloughed. They found that 8% of female respondents had lost their jobs, as opposed to 5% of male respondents. This was consistent with results of a much larger survey of the general US population conducted by Langer Research, which found that 37% of women vs. 28% of men across industries have been laid-off due to coronavirus. TrustRadius speculates that more women have been let go because, according to the Harvard Business Review, they generally have less seniority than men.

Within our community, the Women in Cloud Covid-19 Impact Survey reported that the average loss of revenue in the next 24 months, across 57 women-led companies, expanding 16 industries, is $500k – $1M per company. An additional $1M – $5M per company is expected in opportunity loss in the next three years.

The global pandemic and social injustice impacted women in the most severe and unpredictable manner. But what happened next?

Well, we didn’t give up! Despite the tough times, we banded together. We built a 100M Global Network of Women with organizations like UN Women and Microsoft Alumni Network. We carried 2 cohorts through the Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator, ONLINE. And now, we are hosting the first 100% virtual three-day Women in Cloud Digital Summit 2021. 

Despite the harsh realities, women and men of the technology industry chose the mission; $1B in economic access and opportunities by 2030 for female tech entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers. This makes me immensely proud to call Women in Cloud my community. 

So kudos to everyone who continues to support the Women in Cloud mission and contribute to UN SDG 2030. Kudos to all the men who are dedicated to changing the technology landscape for a domino effect. And kudos to all the women who fight daily for their spot at the table.

Join me to give Kudos to women and men all around the world who are affecting real change.

Click here for the KudoBoard and share your gratitude, kudos, or thoughts!

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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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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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