Overheard: Houston female entrepreneurs share advice and experience
Eavesdropping in Houston
Hundreds of women gathered for the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce's annual Greater Houston Conference for Women. The full-day event on April 18th shined a spotlight on the work women are doing in business in the Bayou City.
One part of the programing included a panel of three Houston entrepreneurs who told their stories and meant to inspire the next generation of businesswomen.
"Innovation is critically important to our city," says Tandra Jackson, KPMG's Houston office partner and moderator of the panel. "Having an ecosystem where we bring innovative capabilities, solutions, and organizations to our community is absolutely paramount to the longevity of our city."
If you missed the event, here are some powerful quotes overheard at the panel.
“I look for a passionate entrepreneur with a point of difference — there’s got to be a reason for you to be doing this company. What are you bringing to [the industry]?”
—Janet Gurwitch, founder of Laura Mercier Cosmetics and private equity investor focused on cosmetics companies, when asked if there was a difference between male and female entrepreneurs. "Other than biologically, no," she says.
“It’s extraordinarily important that you find an investor who basically gets it — whether it’s the financial [concern of] how to you do revenue recognition in the software world, or how do you capitalize and understand the valuations. It’s important that you get the right player.”
— Samina Farid, founder of Merrick Systems Inc., an energy software company when asked about advice for young women interested in starting their own company.
“One of the things I see is [the importance of] really knowing the problem that you solve. When you’re early on, [you have to know] what is the core market that you’re going to serve and is the market large enough that you’re going to attract enough customers to solve that problem.”
— Janette Marx, CEO of Airswift, an international workforce solutions provider. Marx contributes as a mentor in GHWCC's office hours and advises entrepreneurs to look into the program.
