NETWORK-HER Conference 2020 by Encubay
By: Encubay Collaborat-Her
Tags: Collaboration, Women In Business, Entrepreneurship, Networking, Connection

With a passion to drive diversity through entrepreneurship, our founders Deeksha Ahuja and Eashita Maheshwary kicked off what they felt was a much needed conference for women entrepreneurs — Network-her Conference 2020. The 27th and 28th of November 2020, 2 days of learning and networking with 35+ speakers, 30+ partners and collaborators and a global participation of 100+ entrepreneurs.

The conference encapsulated experiences and upskilling sessions by some of our partners and experts from the industry like HSBC, Eximius Ventures, Zoho and LinkedInLocal India. This unique networking focused conference for female founders reiterated the importance and impact of networking for an entrepreneur.

The Day 1 was dedicated to workshops, the first for the day being on ‘Women in Commerce’ by our partners HSBC and Eunimart, was centred around the opportunities women have in B2B and B2C Commerce businesses in 2020 and how they can leverage uncertainties to succeed and scale up. Which was followed by workshops on Personal Branding on Linkedin by Preeti Chaudary, Founder LinkedInLocal India, A fireside chat with Diksha Nigam from Startup India and a session on Softwares for Scaling Up with Kuppu and Akshadha from ZOHO. A truly fruitful series of sessions addressing the obstacles faced by women in business and solutions to those issues. The essence of the workshops was engagement, interactions and candour. In one such candid sharings with Preeti Chaudhary some hacks on building connections on Linkedin were exposed-

90% of the connection requests sent with personal notes get accepted. So make sure you send personalized invitations. Reaching out to second or third degree connections can boost your reach infinitely. Get on a call with your close connections and network every once in a while. That solidifies your professional relationship.

Staying true to the ethos of the Conference, a one-on-one virtual networking session followed on the ‘Virtual cocktail Party’ feature on Run The World where one of our attendees, Taapsi Ramchandani, Co-Founder and CEO, Poocho commented saying-

“I learned a lot, came away with tips and tricks that I will be using asap and most of all, loved, loved the format of the “speed-dating” style Virtual Networking event I just came out of. I have to say, I have made more industry contacts through this one conference than I have through any other I have attended this year.”

This stimulating and productive break was followed by our concluding workshops on ‘Pre-product fundraising: Building your messaging, relationships & drive’ by Helen and Haley, Co-founders of Diversely and Become Tech Literate with Nelly Yusupova, Founder Techspeaks . The curtains were drawn on Day one with another speed networking session.

While upskilling was encouraged and enhanced on Day 1, we believe in the power of learning from others’ experience. Day 2 began with a powerhouse session by Shaya Deaton from OneValley on ‘What Silicon Valley means for Women’ highlighting the difficulties women face in Silicon Valley through her personal journey as an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist in the valley. A high energy session ensued with some of the most delightful women entrepreneurs and investors on ‘Networking Enhances Leadership and Growth’. Lots of hacks and tips on networking were shared along with constant interactions with the audience. The barrier of an ‘online’ event slowly blurred into seemingly casual in-person conversations. Some of the hacks and takeaways that entrepreneurs could find useful are-

To remember names, use mnemonics or ask them to spell it for you in case you forget. Get connected on their social media handles and engage with their content by commenting. A strong network makes for an integral part of leadership growth. So, instead of “Faking it till you make it” rather just “Believe it till you achieve it”

The following panel highlighted the importance of comparing one to oneself and scaling up accordingly. ‘Making Your Business Better than Yesterday Everyday’ was all about scaling up and taking business to new heights with the power of networking followed by ‘Experiences of Investing and Raising’ to debunk all the myths and assumptions associated with raising funds conducted by some of the most accomplished and experienced female investors in the industry. As the speakers shared the prejudice they faced, one attendee Kitty Mahapatra remarked-

“While it was sad to learn about the hardships and gender bias the women entrepreneurs have gone through in the past, the emerging number of leaders in every sector today clearly depicts transformation in the mindset. Learning straight from the speakers on why & how they began, setup, raised/invested funds and prospered in their venture fighting all the odds, was highly inspiring and encouraging.”

Covering another important aspect of the entrepreneurial journey was the panel on branding titled ‘Network and Networth can Increase even Virtually’ . Our Panel by HSBC was Anuj hosting an insightful conversation with the founders of Suta and Spottle on e-commerce businesses and the current challenges faced by founders in 2020. The concluding panel for the day and the event was moderated by our very own co-founder Eashita Maheshwary on ‘Essentials of Building a Corporate-Start-up Connect’ discussing the importance of engagement between women in business and corporate to collaborate and learn from each other.

Networking being the core of the conference, one final speed networking session with all the attendees and speakers to connect and collaborate was initiated on popular demand. We would gladly say, Network-her Conference 2020 was truly a successful initiative lauded by the partners, attendees and speakers alike. But this was just the start of transformation for women entrepreneurs to communicate, support and empower each other across industries globally. So, watch out this space for more such exciting news and events!

Keep the network-her in you alive!