This year, ICA is partnering with Social Venture Institute (SVI) Women for its 2021 virtual convening in April. SVI Women is a highly curated and intentionally convened two-day online conference that offers women identifying and non-gender conforming entrepreneurs an opportunity to share their challenges, successes, and experiences with peers in an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. This year’s Institute is happening online from April 28th to 30th.
Our partnership with SVI Women is a natural fit. SVI Women’s ability to create a dedicated and thoughtful space to address the needs of woman-identifying business leaders is well-aligned with ICA’s mission of accelerating great businesses through mentoring and investments to uncover value in new markets and transform communities. This year, ICA is a sponsor, program content partner, and has been able to offer full scholarships to thirty ICA alumni and entrepreneurs that our ecosystem partners at The Alliance for Community Development, FS6, Latino Business Foundation Silicon Valley, Evolve Oakland, and ESO Ventures support. Members from the ICA team, including ICA CEO, Allison Kelly, will be in attendance.
ICA Chief Program Officer, Dianna Tremblay has been working closely with Pam Chaloult of Practical Feet and SVIW Exec Producer, to feature an ICA company in one of SVI Women’s signature Interactive Case Studies. Accelerator alumna Carley Sheehy, CEO of Global Grub, will join as both an attendee and a featured case study. Global Grub’s line of DIY food kits help home cooks handcraft globally-inspired specialties so they can embark on cooking adventures with loved ones. With support from facilitator, Martha Belcher, Carley will be presenting a specific strategic business challenge to a panel of experts who will provide real-time feedback and strategic next steps.
No stranger to public presentations or live feedback, Carley pitched Global Grub to an online audience of investors and funders at the the 2020 Pitch Event. The SVI Women Interactive Case Study will give Carley the opportunity to deep dive into her business’s growing product offering and the challenge of maintaining brand consistency – a topic that many growing businesses encounter. The April 29th session will provide insights from a panel of experts as well as the collective expertise and experience of 200+ attendees. As a peer-to-peer event, the Case Study is designed to be a powerful way for the entire group to work collectively and gain a wealth of invaluable solutions to deal with the challenges of running a social enterprise.
Carley will not be the only business leader presenting at SVI Women. The conference is intentionally designed to allow for attendees and participants to learn from each other and share their ideas in a constructive setting. Other notable presenters and attendees include BE Alink from the Alinker, Rue Mapp of Outdoor Afro, and ICA advisors, Martha Belcher, Sherri Pitman Howard, and Esther Park.
If you are interested in joining the event, you can read more here and apply to attend SVI Women, which kicks off on April 28th, below.
