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| Xenia Bogarad, Lally Rementilla, Jacoline Loewen, Leslie Gouldie, Elizabeth Suske, Maira Milanetti |
Imagine my surprise when I looked at
the UBS Unlimited social networking site and found the leading article was
about my friend Vicki Saunders featured as the UBS
Wealth Question – Are women changing the
way we see wealth? I was surprised
because UBS has the choice to
feature any successful woman around the world through the UBS supporting women initiatives. They
chose to shine the spotlight on a great Canadian entrepreneur - Vicki Saunders.
Vicki and I are on OCAD University's business catalyst advisory board together and we share a common interest in being passionate
about supporting entrepreneurs. I
have always admired Vicki's ability to get traction for female entrepreneurs.
Just as UBS discusses in this article, Vicki is changing the definition of
wealth with VC investing. Here
is the UBS article talking about wealth
and VC investing:
Vicki
Saunders came to start the SheEO because she saw that current funding models
for young women entrepreneurs were broken––not only were women receiving just
4% of venture capital, but economic models optimized for growth at the expense
of everything else disadvantaged women. Here is an excerpt from the article:
“What I
have seen is that from a VC [venture capitalist] point of view we look at women
and see all the things that are wrong with them,” said Vicki when I spoke to
her, before listing many of the gendered criticisms she’d heard while working
in Silicon Valley: “women aren’t bold enough; women aren’t confident enough;
women don’t take enough risks…” Vicki, however, turned the meaning of these
insults upside down; what she heard instead was that women don’t overpromise on
what they can deliver, that they do what they say they are going to do. Studies
have shown that women often extract more value and profit from capital than
men, giving Vicki the confidence to pursue SheEO.
Surveying
the state of our economic system, Vicki argued it was time for a change. “What
if we were optimizing for wellness, or for quality of life? We made up this
current model, and it is no longer working for us, so we need a new one.
Providing women with funds and a network is the best way to bring that about.”
In my
view, Vicki Saunders took the criticisms of women entrepreneurs and understood
there is a flip side to look at women’s qualities. She had seen the perspective
of many women entrepreneurs and this experience gave her the confidence. She is
now helping women across the world create wealth. Women need to be the change they
want to see and Vicki shows that my favourite saying is true - action speaks
louder than words.
UNLIMITED* is a new venture powered by UBS, bringing together – from across geographies, sectors and
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provide a completely fresh perspective on topics that are truly significant,
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We work with an extraordinary group of entrepreneurs and investors, and we
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life’s big questions to ensure our clients succeed. You can also join Jacoline Loewen on Twitter
@jacolineloewen
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