An Open Letter to Our Community
We want to take this opportunity to share our philosophy about WeFestival, our application process, future events and plans for our online community.
Our History
When WeFestival formed in 2010, we were working in partnership with NYU’s ITP department. We set out to celebrate female entrepreneurs. The first few events were intimate gatherings of women at all stages of their business. We knew from the first panel that we had created a unique event where women could connect and be heard. There was a void in the many events out there, and we had filled it.
We knew from the first panel that we had created a unique event where women could connect and be heard.
2016 marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in WeFestival history — more cities, more events, more engagement. But our goal of aggregating a unique mix of women entrepreneurs in an intimate setting remains the same. Big enough for diversity yet small enough for creating true connections. Everything designed to help women entrepreneurs move their business forward.
Our Application Process
From the first event we have required that everyone submit an application to attend. The reason was twofold. We wanted people to be thoughtful about why they wanted to attend, what they hoped to achieve at the event and what they could contribute to the conversation. We also wanted to ensure a diverse mix of women in age, stage of business and industry.
As we’ve grown, we now better understand the types of founders and businesses we can most help at our events. And these are women who are building scalable businesses. The content we curate — speakers, panelists, agenda, sponsors — is designed to support these women, because it is what we know how to do. This focus does not diminish our respect for what it takes to build other types of business. We encourage women entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes and that is why we created an online community where all of us, regardless of the company, can learn from each other.
We support and applaud any woman who goes out on her own — regardless of the type of business she is creating.
This year we stepped on the gas to raise awareness about the event and have been inundated with applications. The number we received surpassed our wildest expectations, and the quality of our applicants have been truly outstanding. Our process to review all the applicants was long, thoughtful and difficult. Far more excellent candidates than we have the physical space for.
While we are thrilled with the interest and support, we could have been clearer about the limited physical spots and our review criteria. More transparency on our part might have put expectations into better perspective.
The Good News… We have more spots open. This week you may receive a new notification, inviting you to come to the event — and we hope you do. You are included because we believe you have experience and expertise to share, and will benefit from the content and resources available.
Our Online Community
Our events are small, but the community is big. We created our Slack community to act as an extension of our event experiences. A year-round support system. Any woman entrepreneur and/or an investor is welcome. While this community is only 3 months old, the interest and engagement is already phenomenal. As we learn more about what this community wants and needs, we will continually adapt and grow, to provide resources, information and connections online and off.
Upcoming Events
We’re in the midst of planning two new events. WeFestival Los Angeles in November 2016 and Berlin in June 2017.
Thank all of your for your support.
Our mission is to create a community where women can connect and be heard. We are building a community at WeFestival where we can learn from each other because the future is all about women entrepreneurs.
