CGTN America
The fifth annual Forbes Women’s Summit kicked off in New York City with a performance by Lennon & Maisy.
CGTN’s Karina Huber reports.
Among the celebrity guest speakers, TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, who was there to talk about branding. Actress Kerry Washington discussed her work with domestic abuse victims.
From the world of business there was Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, as well as executives from Facebook, Pfizer and more.
As Forbes is a business magazine, it’s a given there’s an abundance of female entrepreneurs who attend hoping to grow their business through networking. But many say the biggest draw is inspirational, meeting other successful women to give them the courage to continue to forge forward with their dreams.
“Sometimes you can get really bogged down on the predominantly male venture capitalists that are in the industry, saying what you are doing doesn’t matter,” Saheedat Abdulwahab, founder of The Posh Net said. “This is a great space for us women to come together and really support each other.”
“We hear so often from entrepreneurs that, while it’s never been more of an exciting time to strike out on your own and start your own business, it still can be a really lonely experience,” Moira Forbes, executive vice president at Forbes Media said.
Forbes said one of the summit’s goals is to help create a community for female entrepreneurs.
Aditi Malhotra owns a gourmet chocolate shop in New York. She’s been a part of that community for a few years after being a featured chef at the Forbes 30 under 30 Food Festival.
“Every time I leave an event like this, I feel more confident to accomplish anything that I’ve ever set my mind to or I’ve always wanted to do for the shop,” Malhotra said. She is also CEO of Tache Artisan Chocolate.
The hope is that more women will feel inspired to take the plunge like Malhotra to become their own boss and an agent of positive change.
Anu Duggal talks about the growth of women in business
CGTN’s Karina Huber spoke tiwh Anu Dugga, a venture capitalist and founder of Female Founders Fund and asked her what made her want to go from being an entrepreneur to an investor.
