Tapping Into the Economic Opportunity of Women Entrepreneurs - Challenges and Implications
Join us for this exciting webinar!
5:00pm, WEDNESDAY 19 July 2023
Start-ups are a catalyst for economic growth, promoting innovation and driving employment opportunities. However, women are significantly underrepresented in entrepreneurship around the world. There is clear evidence of a funding disparity between women-founded and men-founded business ventures. What challenges are faced by women entrepreneurs? What has caused the funding gap? What does the data say about the performance of women-founded start-ups in comparison to men-founded start-ups?
In this webinar, we invite a panel of entrepreneurs, investors and business mentors to provide their insight on these issues. The panel will also discuss the implications for the start-up and investor communities, and what needs to be done to leverage the economic opportunities offered by women entrepreneurs.
Register now for this informative and thought-provoking panel discussion, please note there will be limited capacity for in person attendance at the UTS Business School (Building 8, Ultimo Road, Ultimo).
Event Recording
About the Panel
Nicole Cook, Executive Director & CEO of SBE Australia
As Executive Director & CEO for SBE Australia, Nicole is responsible for leading SBE Australia through its next phase of growth as it continues its mission to accelerate and support women founders through programs, services, resources and a highly valuable network of global industry experts.
A passionate and experienced thought leader, she is committed to driving innovation through growing Australian businesses in order to transform industries, create jobs and advance the workforce of the future. Nicole has held senior executive roles within startups that grew to be global powerhouses, is a trusted management consultant, has deep expertise in developing technology solutions and is known for taking a transformational approach to unlock the next stage of growth for organisations.
Prior to SBE, Nicole was the CEO of Jobs NSW. After commissioning the monumental Jobs of the Future Report in 2015, Jobs for NSW initially focused on backing job creation through support for startups and SMEs in both regional and metro areas. Funding also led tothe establishment of the Sydney Start-up Hub, the regional innovation network and the AgTech Cluster in Armidale.
A dual-citizen, Nicole originated her involvement in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Boston, MA prior to moving to Sydney with herfamily over 17 years ago. After landing in Sydney, she joined Australian based startup HRX Pty Ltd in 2006 as the Head of Client Servicesfor the technology business, becoming Managing Director, APAC in 2016 after the business was sold to global recruitment outsourcingcompany PeopleScout Pty Ltd in 2014. Prior to joining PeopleScout, she worked as an executive in Boston based startups, Celarix Incand Nexus Energy Software.
Nicole also has a background in software engineering having worked as a consultant at CSC Consulting in Boston and a background inmanagement consulting having worked for PWC in Washington DC with federal government and defense clients.
Nicole is passionate about innovation, growing businesses that can make a difference to our communities and addressing the changingnature of the workforce as job augmentation and reskilling become a reality. A graduate of the Catholic University of America, Nicolealso has a senior executive MBA from Melbourne Business School where she won the 2016 scholarship for Women in Management. Sheis a Graduate of the Australian Institute Of Company Directors, a Certified Advisory Board Chair through the Advisory Board Centre andis an experienced ASX Non-Executive Director. Nicole served as a Non-Executive Director for AMA Group Ltd where she
was the Chair of the People Committee (People, Culture, Rem and Nominations) from 2019 to 2022.
Dr. Anna Wright, CEO & Founder of BindiMaps
Anna Wright is the CEO and founder of BindiMaps, Australia’s leading accessible wayfinding app. Anna developed the idea for BindiMaps after undergoing years of major surgery to save her eyesight. This daunting experience led her to ask, “How can we make the world more accessible for people with vision impairment?“
Before launching BindiMaps in 2017, Anna had over 25 years in the finance industry, working as a management consultant to firms from early-stage through to IPO and trade sales. She also holds a PhD in finance and has lectured and researched in the valuations and corporate governance fields.
Anna is a recognised leader in the startup ecosystem, lighting a path for non-technical founders to start and build tech companies that can change the world. It is her passion for impact that has seen Anna nominated for 2019 Australian of the Year. Most recently Anna and BindiMaps have been recognised as Global Champions in the United Nations World Summit Awards 2023.
Caroline Tran, Co-Founder & CEO of Hello Clever
Caroline Tran, the Co-Founder and CEO of Hello Clever, is at the forefront of revolutionising the payment industry with real-time solutions. With a strong background as a qualified accountant and over a decade of experience, Caroline has played a pivotal role in establishing Hello Clever as Australia’s leading real-time payment platform.
Under Caroline’s leadership, Hello Clever has emerged as a trusted platform that enables merchants to embrace the power of real-time payments. By eliminating the delays associated with traditional payment methods, businesses can now offer their customers instant payment experiences, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Caroline’s entrepreneurial journey with Hello Clever has been marked by success and recognition. Her dedication to providing unique real-time payment solutions has earned her industry acclaim, and Hello Clever has been featured in prominent publications such as The Australian and Australian Fintech, and received accolades, including the recent “Emerging Fintech of the Year” award at the prestigious Fintech Awards 2023.
Caroline’s commitment to innovation and her ability to understand the needs of both merchants and customers have been key drivers in Hello Clever’s growth and success. Through her leadership, Caroline has created a dynamic company culture that fuels innovation, attracting top talent from around the world with offices in Sydney, Singapore and Vietnam.
As Hello Clever continues to expand its reach and impact, Caroline remains at the forefront, driving the company’s vision and ensuring that merchants can thrive in the evolving fintech landscape.
Eric Chan, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Aura Group
Eric is a Managing Director and Co-Founder at Aura Group, an alternative funds management firm with $1.5B+ of assets under management across venture capital, private equity and alternative credit.
At Aura, Eric focuses on Aura Ventures and leads early-stage investments across Australia. Aura is a thesis-led investor with a focus on seed stage companies. He led the firms seed stage investments into Shippit, Catapult Sports, Harvest B and many others and currently serve on the boards on various portfolio companies. He is an active advisor, connector and mentor to the venture ecosystem.
Before starting his founder journey in 2010 with Aura, Eric was a lawyer at Clayton Utz specialising in Private Equity and Credit. Eric studied a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and a Bachelor of Laws (UTS).
Webinar Moderator
Dr Hayley Ma, Senior Lecturer at UTS Business School
Dr. Hayley Ma is a Senior Lecturer at Accounting Department at the University of Technology Sydney Business School. Her research expertise is corporate innovation. Her research studies business incentive systems that motivate innovative and risk-taking activities, the impact of innovation strategies on firms’ short-term and long-term performance, the financial reporting and disclosures of innovation-driving intangible assets and its implications for business valuation in the capital market. Her other research interests include entrepreneurial financing, business and financial analysis, and the information environment of capital markets.
Hayley's research is transdisciplinary in nature, integrating knowledge of different disciplines to obtain comprehensive understanding of real business issues and provide practical solutions. She received the UTS Business School Early Career Research Achievement Award in 2021 and several internal and external competitive research grants.
Hayley teaches business analysis and valuation at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at UTS. Hayley obtained her PhD in accounting from University of Sydney in 2017 and was a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management in 2020.
Future Events
This webinar is the first episode of a three-webinar series that discusses gender equality issues in business, organised by UTS Accounting Department.
Enquiries
Please direct general enquiries to:
Associate Professor Roman Lanis
Accounting Department
UTS Business School
Email: Roman.Lanis@uts.edu.au
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