Women in Entrepreneurship

Women in Entrepreneurship is back May 2024! Stay tuned for more information.

Women in Entrepreneurship 2023

Women in Entrepreneurship is an annual celebration to share business resources in parallel with a networking opportunity to bring together many of the Upper Peninsula’s incredible entrepreneurial spirits and small business owners. Hosted by Innovate Marquette, it features a number of local entrepreneurs, visionaries and business professionals from all across our communities.

When: Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 5:00 – 8:00 pm EST

Where: Northern Center at Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI

Agenda:

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Check-in and Networking

6:00 – 8:00 PM: Women in Entrepreneurship program

  • Welcome
  • Cash flow presentation featuring a live Q&A
  • Panel Discussion featuring a live Q&A
 
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Introducing: Free Onsite Childcare

Innovate Marquette SmartZone, in partnership with EPIC: Educational Partnership in the Community, is ecstatic to offer FREE onsite childcare to Women in Entrepreneurship attendees. EPIC, a component of Med Pros Share, offers licensed and insured multi-age educational childcare. Event childcare is free, but does require registration. 

Childcare registration is a two-step process:

  1. Register for Women in Entrepreneurship here. 
  2. Register your children for free childcare here.

Speaker Lineup:

Jenn was born and raised as a Yooper in Wakefield. She graduated summa cum laude from Northern Michigan University in December 2006, when she joined the team at Tailored CPAs. Jenn became a CPA in February 2010 and was welcomed as a partner in January 2014.  In her free time, she enjoys mountain biking, camping, and watching sports, especially hockey.

Anne White has a passion for addressing complex problems by applying common sense solutions. With over 25 years of experience in the environmental field advising large businesses and national and international government enterprises her career has taken her around the world doing what she enjoys most…solving problems.

MJ Cartwright has led startup initiatives with disruptive technologies and positive social and business impacts. Her experience spans many different industries including manufacturing, education, healthcare, medical devices, and legal tech. Ultimately, she is a creative thinker whose diverse industry experiences catalyze the growth of the companies and teams she leads.

Nicole Gregory is the Co-Founder and CEO of Urban You; Modern Beauty and Wellness, multi-chain medical spa. She is Managing Partner of Urban Labs, an investment company in new technologies, most recently partnering with PinchGig. Nicole is the developer of Customs House, a luxury condominium complex located in downtown Marquette and Electric City, a mixed-use, efficient living experience currently in development for the local area.

Adela Piper is a communication strategist, entrepreneur, and Marquette resident. Her company, Siren, is a strategic communication firm serving economic development organizations, local governments, higher ed, nonprofits and professional service firms. Adela is co-founder and chief marketing officer, ensuring strategy guides the innovative work Siren does for its clients. Siren uses communication as a business tool, helping clients build trust with their audiences and communicate important information.

Women in Entrepreneurship is proudly sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the City of Marquette, and Siren.

EPIC: Educational Partnership in the Community is the official childcare partner of Women in Entrepreneurship. 

WOMEN IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP 2022

Our 2022 event featured an impressive lineup of local women entrepreneurs and business professionals who will discuss the challenges they face by being a woman in entrepreneurship, ways they have overcome these challenges, and how they have paved the way for other women in the community during three-panel discussions: Marketing 101, Financing Your Business, and Mentors in Entrepreneurship.

The Marketing 101 segment will feature Allison Harlow Clark, Interior Designer and Owner of Curio Design Studio, and Nicole Johnson, Director of Marketing & Communications for Innovate Marquette SmartZone. Brooke Quinn, Business Development Representative for Lake Superior Community Partnership, and Roxanne Daust, Chairman, President & CEO of Range Bank, will lead the Financing Your Business discussion.

To round out the evening, the Mentors in Entrepreneurship segment will feature Gina Jacquart Thorsen, President of Stormy Kromer, Michele Butler, President and co-owner of Vango’s Pizza, and Nheena Weyer Ittner, Director and Founder of the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum. Elizabeth Peterson, TV6 Morning News Anchor and Producer, will emcee and moderate the event. Audience members will be invited to ask questions during the live Q&A.

Couldn’t make this year’s event or want to revisit some of the programming? You’re in luck, click on the video to watch a full 40 minutes of our Marketing 101 and Financing Your Business panels.

To read more about our 2022 panelists and programming visit our Women in Entrepreneurship 2022 blog for details.

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