Latinitas’ Startup Chica Conference Inspired Girls to Turn their ideas into Business
Latinitas’ 4th annual Startup Chica Conference presented by eBay took place Saturday, October 20th, at the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business, Robert B. Rowling Hall.
We had a great turn out, with 45 girls ages 9–18 from diverse backgrounds who worked in groups through the stages of starting a business, received the guidance of mentors, interacted with our career presenters during lunch and pitched their business idea to a panel of judges. The girls got to meet with professionals from companies such as IBM, Dell, Google, Indeed, and more to learn about career opportunities.
The girls got to hear from teenage keynote speakers Layla Renee and Mya Parish, founders of Suga Babes Beauty, a plant-based bath and body product line for teens. They shared their experience founding their business and inspired the girls to pursue their passions and turn them into profits.
Parents of Startup Chica attendees had their own workshop on how to help their daughters start a business by becoming their partners and investors. The workshop was conducted by Jacquie Parish, mother of Startup Chica Keynote speakers and featured Josh Sawyer & Johnny Ramirez from eBay.
Nine teams prepared pitches for the panel of judges were they showcased their companies logo, business plan, and predicted revenue. The business idea called “The Green Machine” took the win as they created a solution around environmentally friendly public transportation and earned a VIP experience at Capital Factory, the center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas.
We would like to thank our stellar panel of judges Michael Petersen (Head of Customer Service Risk Operations at eBay), Savannah L. Barker (Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator at Capital Factory), Denise Hernandez (Co-founder of Hustle for the Cause), Nelly Garcia (Co-founder of Rocheli Patisserie).
