In 2020 we celebrated IWW in-person, and only a few short weeks later the world was turned upside down – but if the past year has taught us anything, it’s that resilience + inspiration is around every corner in this community. IWW 2021 has been a perfect display of that.
With a lineup of virtual events happening each day we knew we had to make this SaaSChats one to remember! Our amazing panel of leaders, experts, and community champions made our job easy.
Meet our panel!
- Sonya Shorey, Vice President, Strategy, Marketing and Communications at Invest Ottawa (@sshorey)
- Victoria McGlone, COO at KNBA (@TorMcGlone)
- Manuela Bárcenas, Marketing Manager at Fellow.app (@ManuelaBarcenas)
- Sabrina Fitzgerald, National Private Company Services Leader at PwC (@sab_fitzgerald)
- Elza Seregelyi, Director @LSPARKGlobal, (@ElzaSeregelyi)
- Lindy Ledohowski, Founder of EssayJack (@DoctorLindy)
- Ashley Somchanh, National Sales Driver, Private Company Services at PwC (@ashley_somchanh)
- Jessica Ward, Corporate Associate at Dentons (@jessw613)
- Kathleen Kemp, Manager at @uOttawaEHUB, (@katevkemp)
- Katie LeClair, Communications Team Lead at Invest Ottawa (@LeClairKatie)
- Marianne Bulger, Founder + CEO of Prospect (@marbulger )
- Vanessa Griffiths, Co-Founder of Gift Better Co. (@ItsJustVanessa)
- Olivia Villalta, Co-Founder of Gift Better Co. (@lifewithlivxo)
- Maxine Gisèle, Marketing Officer @uOttawaEHub (@maxine_gisele)
- Naina Kansal, Associate Manager, Innovation and Entrepreneurship @AlgonquinColleg (@kansal_naina12)
We’ve highlighted a few answers for you below, but we didn’t include the entire chat because, what’s the fun in that? You have to check it out over on Twitter to get the full gif/hashtag/tweet experience. (PS you can click directly on the tweets below to be brought over to the full thread of responses.
ENJOY!
A1. There are honestly so many but I would love to highlight two. First is always my mom who broke stereotypes by dropping out of school and pursuing her passion for social good. I have always seen her balancing time between home and work, and still acing at everything gracefully
— Naina Kansal (@kansal_naina12) March 4, 2021
A2. Think big, be bold and fearless. I think this is so important for women as we often believe we must have all the expertise & experience to pursue a dream. With confidence, vision, determination and a strong ‘tribe’, we can achieve anything. #IWW2021 @SasSChats @LSPARKGlobal
— Sonya Shorey (@sshorey) March 4, 2021
This is such a good way of phrasing it, to “pull others in” rather than feel like we’re either all alone or pushing our problems onto someone else.
— Dr. Lindy Ledohowski 👩🏻💻🇨🇦📚 (@DoctorLindy) March 4, 2021
Q3. What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?#IWW2021 #SaaSChats pic.twitter.com/3zQuwK8KLE
— L-SPARK (@LSPARKGlobal) March 4, 2021
Oh my god, a thousand times YES to this. It’s the damned if you do, damned if you don’t conundrum. A bit of generosity goes a long way.
— Dr. Lindy Ledohowski 👩🏻💻🇨🇦📚 (@DoctorLindy) March 4, 2021
A4. Leading by action. Women are competing w/ men in almost every sense of the word. Jobs, salary – you name it!
I think we need to actively practice taking up space that is inherently ours and do so boldly. We need more e-intros, recommendation letters, mentorship. #SaaSChats pic.twitter.com/qo1Z2ieaeR
— Maxine Gisèle (@maxine_gisele) March 4, 2021
A5. Take a look at careers you aspire to be in and find people in that field! Ask to chat and let things grow from there! #SaaSChats
— Kathleen Kemp (@katevkemp) March 4, 2021
A6: Inform yourself before the ask! Find out your market rate through online research, asking others in similar roles/jobs, or talking to a recruiter who specializes in your field. Presenting an informed request should give you confidence and help guide the conversation pic.twitter.com/4wMpmE1GrT
— Marianne Bulger (@marbulger) March 4, 2021
A7. 90% is 100%. Perfection only slows us down and stands in the way of us getting to where we need to be. You can always improve as you go, but if we wait for perfection before putting ourselves or our work out there, we’ll never get going.#SaaSChats pic.twitter.com/iauoXAlKJj
— Liv (@lifewithlivxo) March 4, 2021
A8. Know that you deserve to be in whichever room you’re in! Your perspective is unique and valuable– don’t be shy about voicing it. #SaaSChats
— Vanessa (@ItsJustVanessa) March 4, 2021
A9. My ✨ Must-Have ✨ list about everything & anything! #SaaSChats
The Defining Decade – #MegJay
White Fragility – #RobinDiAngelo
Rising Strong – @BreneBrown
Terrible, Thanks for Asking Podcast – @noraborealis
Purple Cow – @ThisIsSethsBlog
Be Our Guest – @DisneyInstitute— Maxine Gisèle (@maxine_gisele) March 4, 2021
Checking out the full thread of question 9 is a MUST – so many amazing resources were listed and shared (but while you’re there, check out the full chat because, why not? 🤷♀️ – we promise that you won’t regret it)
A big thanks to our amazing panel! Keep your eye open for our next SaaSChats 👀 🙌
Follow along @LSPARKGlobal
