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Prosperity Candle’s Triple Bottom Line Approach To Business

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We don’t hire women to make candles. We make candles to hire women. By Siiri Morley (Founding Partner, Prosperity Candle)

"Born or made?"

This was the question posed to me at the end of a panel discussion where I was speaking about my work with Prosperity Candle. The question asked whether I believed I was born or made an entrepreneur.

As I answered, I realized that I didn’t become an entrepreneur because of an inherent interest in business. I became an entrepreneur because I am a social justice and human rights activist at heart and found that business was the right tool to achieve my goals of empowering women.

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How Startups Really Survive (The Short And Long Of It)

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Weathering long-distance moves, moving in with parents, long commutes, tight budgets, pregnancy... By Elizabeth Yin (Co-Founder, LaunchBit)

Last night, I was at Google on a panel talking about women in entrepreneurship. Afterwards, I chatted with an attendee about the very early days of LaunchBit.

I mentioned that one point, I'd lived at my parents' house to save money. This shocked her and she replied, "Oh...I could never do that." And that was just the beginning of all the sacrifices that many people have made in order for LaunchBit to work.

There is so much that goes on behind the scenes of a startup - beyond actually running the core business.

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I Can Has Co-Founder: A Tale Of Cheezburgers And K-Pop Stars

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“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one." - C.S. Lewis By Joyce Kim (Co-Founder, Simple Honey)

I first met Eric in Tokyo (where Eric was living) on the inaugural Geeks on A Plane trip over two years ago.

We quickly connected on our shared entrepreneurial history – both of us had co-founded passionate community sites that were not born from a business plan. They developed from a personal interest on a random topic that just exploded: lolcats for Eric and K-pop for me.

We both had experienced growing pains from trying to monetize fast-growing sites that were initially passion projects.

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Meet Maria Carolina Cintra, Founder Of Kingo Labs In Brazil

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You should constantly be asking people about salary. Go ahead - ask. By Rania Anderson (Co-Founder, Women's Capital Connection)

Maria Carolina Cintra always wanted to have her own company. Knowing there are only a handful of Brazilian female tech entrepreneurs, she has used her internet savvy to change that.

Cintra is the founder and Innovation Director of Kingo Labs, the first company in Latin America to develop its own reality mining applications, collecting and analyzing data through mobile devices.

In efforts to support other women entrepreneurs, she and a group of like-minded, trailblazing girlfriends started

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Why Banking Is Broken – And How It Can Be Transformed

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Pictured: The most powerful women in banking. By Carol Realini (Author, BANKRUPT: Why Banking is Broken. How it can be Transformed.)

The book "BANKRUPT - Why Banking is Broken. How it can be Transformed" was a decade in the making. It started when I was traveling in Africa in 2002. I was taking a long needed break from being a technology entrepreneur and was supporting a non-profit working in central Africa.

It was my first time visiting a place where the infrastructure was severely lacking; transportation, roads, electricity, water, and health care – nothing worked. Yet even in 2002, many people had cell phones.

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10 Competencies Of Successful Women Entrepreneurs In Developing Countries

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Empretec’s formula for success is built around 10 Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies. By Rania Anderson (Co-Founder, Women's Capital Connection)

Melissa De León, founder of Panama Gourmet, a company which produces gluten-free foods, just won the 2012 UNCTAD Empretec Women in Business Award. This award honors businesswomen from developing countries who have founded successful firms, created jobs, and become role models in their communities. The finalists for this year’s award were women from Brazil, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Jordan, Nigeria, Panama, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

A focus on 10 key entrepreneurial competencies was key to her success.

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Woman Entrepreneur: Are You An Athlete Or An Artist?

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Do you have the scrappiness of an athlete or the creative vision of an artist? By Cheryl Yeoh (Co-Founder & CEO, Reclip.It)

I’ve come to observe that there are usually two kinds of founders - athletes or artists. Ideally, you’re some composition of the two. And even if you’re not a real life athlete or artist, there are interesting comparisons to be drawn from these groups that will make you a better entrepreneur.

Athletes

Athletes have to go through long, brutal hours of training. They have to be so focused when competing and mentally strong.

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The Power To Persuade: Use Your Body

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Adjust your attire and body language to elicit the kind of reaction in people you desire. By Gargi Nalawade (Founder & CEO, Sepalz)

Have you ever sat in a meeting room full of people and suddenly noticed how when certain people begin to speak – the room sits up and takes notice, waits patiently for the next words out of their mouths?

While others are cowering, diminishing entities, fighting for their place in the sun? The former who assert power and command people’s attention – could do so on the hierarchy of their rank or title, the authority of their knowledge or the societal respect for age and such. And yet there are those who may not have any of these and yet command an air about them that makes people sit up and listen, almost

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5 Career Insights From An I-Banker Turned Entrepreneur

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What I know now that I wish I had known in my 20somethings. By Christina Vuleta (Founder, 40:20)

These five insights come from a 40-something woman who went from investment banking to starting her own business in her mid thirties. Her thoughts on what she learned as an investment banker that continues to help her and her business thrive today:

Tip #1 - Learn On The Job

“Approach your job as an education. If you look at it as a job it is a missed education. If it’s not an education, move on. In investment banking I learned how to be a great professional, a trouble shooter. I learned how to interact with CEOs. I learned

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What Does Fashion Tech Mean For Fashion?

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The opportunities to connect and generate revenue through new models is a game changer. By Christine E. Creamer (Attorney, RK ADLER LLP)

It’s not really just ‘disruption’ if you’re on the cutting edge of establishing an entirely new industry, is it?

A few months ago I received an email from a trusted friend linking me up with a film producer. He wanted to create a digital video series on something related to fashion, but wasn’t really sure of the topic beyond an industry focus. Having worked with startups and emerging designers for the past few years, I truly believe those in fashion tech are at the beginning of a revolution to the fashion industry and

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Bootstrapping The Subversive Big Idea

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Make sure that you build in adequate time for market validation if you are bootstrapping. By Yan Heim (Co-Founder & CEO, Froomz)

How far can passion take you without the fuel of money? Technology has driven down the start up costs, social media also offers extremely cost effective marketing channel.

Why the need for external funding for an Internet startup? To answer this question, you will need to understand the nature of your product/service.

First, what is the big idea? I found that Danielle Fong’s Trade Trade Secrets summed up the two kinds of revolutionary ideas

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Man (And Then Procopio) Gets Women (2.0)

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Women 2.0 supporter Procopio in San Diego sponsors and hosts the May 4 Founder Friday Launch! By Roger Rappoport (Founder, StartUp Info & Partner, Procopio)

Although not scheduled to be in Silicon Valley on Valentine's Day 2012, a confluence of events prompted me to rearrange my schedule and fly to the Bay Area for the Women 2.0 PITCH Conference, and I am so glad that I did! I experienced a lot that day, which you can read about in my blog “Man Gets Women 2.0: 4 Lessons Learned From Women 2.0: PITCH 2012 Conference.”

As a result of my attendance, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP (the law firm at which I am a partner and leader of the firm’s Emerging Growth & Technology practice), decided to sponsor Founder Friday in Silicon Valley, and become a sponsor

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