Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) Impact Report 2018-2019

BABSON’S CENTER FOR WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

IMPACT REPORT 18/19

IMPACT REPORT 2018–2019

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CWEL’S MISSION AT BABSON COLLEGE Preparing Women to Lead the World.

Preparing the World for Women Leaders.

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t Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, we are building an entrepreneurial world in which all people thrive by dramatically increasing the impact of female leaders in every sector, enlightening the global community about the value of women’s entrepreneurial leadership, and empowering women and men to transform themselves, nations, and generations while advancing equity, prosperity and progress for all.

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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he 2018–2019 academic year brought new programs, impact, and leadership opportunities to a wide range of leaders who engage with the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) at Babson College. From students and staff to executives and investors, stakeholders from around the globe work with us to invest in their future and help change the world. During the last 12 months, the CWEL team has launched new programs, hosted candid conversations, and disseminated important research in our continued efforts to enlighten the global community about the importance of female leadership and gender equity for prosperity and human progress.

Some notable highlights include:

++ Launched Diana Impact Day, the first global convening of investors, accelerators, policy-makers, researchers, women entrepreneurs, and other disrupters who are dedicated to changing the landscape of financing women entrepreneurs. ++ Hosted candid conversations addressing gender and leadership through Navigating the New Normal, a program that equips undergraduate and graduate students to be gender-enlightened leaders of the future. ++ Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab® became a global resource for women entrepreneurs through a partnership with SMART Liberia’s local startup accelerator, Girls Entrepreneurship & Tech (G.E.T.). ++ In collaboration with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Babson Executive Education, CWEL created “All in for Advancement” - a new program that works with leading-edge Fortune 500 companies to use entrepreneurial approaches to develop more gender-inclusive cultures.

Thanks to your support we are able to continue our core mission of educating, inspiring, and empowering women leaders to reach their full entrepreneurial potential, while advancing gender acumen as a growth strategy for all.

Sincerely,

Susan G. Duffy, Ph.D Executive Director CWEL Babson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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08 Maya Mutalik’21 10 Undergraduate Students 12 Graduate Students 14 Babson Collaborations 16 Melissa Castro MBA’19

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19 CWEL Mentor Program 20 Building Programs 21 Sharing Expertise 22 Sumeit Aggarwal MBA’05

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25 Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab 27 WIN Lab by the Numbers 28 Shiva Kashalkar MBA’11

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31 Entrepreneurial Ecosystem 32 Impact Through Research 34 Local & Global Impact

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36 Board of Advisors 37 Partners & Collaborators 38 Supporters

BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

IMPACT REPORT 2018– 2019

INCREASING WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP PARTICIPATION ACROSS BABSON’S CAMPUS

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he Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) launched the Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab in 2013 to address the lack of gender parity it was seeing across major accelerator programs and pitch competitions on campus. During the last five years, the Center has seen an impressive increase in women’s participation across each of those startup opportunities.

B.E.T.A.

ROCKET PITCH

200% increase in Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (B.E.T.A) Challenge graduate female finalists since the launch of WIN Lab® in 2013

18% increase in women founders participating in Rocket Pitch since WIN Lab launch

Women represented 67% of all finalists after WIN Lab’s launch versus 0% in B.E.T.A.’s inaugural year

ePITCH

SUMMER VENTURE PROGRAM

80% of semifinalists and 100% of finalists had at least one female co-founder

The average number of women in Babson’s Summer Venture Program (SVP) cohorts doubled after the WIN Lab launch

75% of semifinalists and 50% of finalists were CWEL Scholars or WIN Lab entrepreneurs

53% women entrepreneurs in 2018 versus less than 9% in SVP’s first year of programming

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IM PACT REPORT 2018– 2019

Gr

ad 23 uat % e

CROSS–CAMPUS PARTICIPATION student program event participation U n d e rg ra d 57%

u a te

Fac ult y/S taf f 6% A lu mn 7% i

ds ien Fr 7 %

total events

48

total event attendees

1500+ total alumni volunteers

74

total on-campus collaborators

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

MAYA MUTALIK ’21

Founder, Hope Sews CWEL Scholar, Boston WIN Lab, SMART Liberia Coach

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aya Mutalik has an affinity for management, creativity, and business experimentation that began at a very early age. In fact, she quickly became an elementary school entrepreneur after launching “String Bling,” her first venture that produced string bracelets, a wildly popular product with trendy third- to sixth-graders. And although the school’s strict non-commercial zoning rules caused her enterprise to be shut down shortly after launch, it sparked the beginning of a lifetime of entrepreneurial thinking and learning.

The idea for Hope Sews sprung up in 2017 after a service trip to Ghana. While there, Mutalik became inspired by the unique and colorful fabrics that made up the modern garments she encountered and began talking to a seamstress named Vida Sowah. Mutalik discovered that each piece was carefully sewn by hand or made with a manual machine, construction techniques used out of necessity because Sowah lacked the funds for a sewing machine. Moved to create a piece of her own, Mutalik got busy designing and worked with Sowah to bring the garment to life. After arriving back home, the emerging entrepreneur wore the dress and received an overwhelming number of inquiries about the unique fabrics and style of the piece.

That’s when the idea for Hope Sews was born.

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With that goal in mind, Mutalik decided to go to Babson College because of its ranking as the No. 1 school for entrepreneurship and because of its reputation as an institution that subscribes to the belief that creating social value is as important as creating economic value.

Today, Hope Sews sells modern clothing created with African wax prints, contributing 10% of the profits to provide microfinance loans to seamstresses facing financial barriers in rural areas of Ghana. It is rooted in its social mission of providing women with the tools they need to change the course of their businesses, and Mutalik has stayed on track to bring the business to life. Taking advantage of the numerous entrepreneurial resources that Babson provides, Mutalik became a Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) Scholar and a Boston Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab entrepreneur.

“The leadership skills I learned as a CWEL Scholar and the connections I made as a WIN Lab founder have been vital components to the scalability of my business. I love the community of individuals that CWEL has surrounded me with and am excited to continue building my business with the Center behind me as we launch online this fall.”

BABSON’S STUDENT L EADERS

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: NEW PROGRAMMING

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ach year, the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) develops dozens of new, innovative, programs to further our mission on the Babson campus. Here are three new programs launched during the 2018–2019 fiscal year, specifically designed for Babson undergraduates.

CWEL CIRCLES Each Thursday, CWEL invites experts to host an intimate conversation with students about gender, leadership, career development, and finding what you’re passionate about. Students bring questions and leave with strategies to advance themselves and make their mark as entrepreneurial leaders.

BRAND YOURSELF LIKE A CHAMPION Students, faculty, staff, coaches, and aspiring entrepreneurs joined Pasha Cook, personal branding expert and author of Brand Yourself Like a Champion, to learn to identify their individual value, style, and purpose, while assessing their personal strengths and promoting a brand designed for success in business and life.

FINDING A CURE THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP Cam McLoud, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation, shared her story of applying entrepreneurial thought and action to create life-changing drugs and royalties of $3.3 billion—aggressively funding research that has found multiple avenues to a cure.

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BABSON’S STUDENT L EADERS

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: CWEL SCHOLARS

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ach year a select group of undergraduate women students who have a proven leadership potential, demonstrate self-drive for continued personal and professional growth, and are committed to serving as ambassadors of the CWEL mission are chosen to receive financial support through the CWEL Scholars Program.

As a part of the program, the CWEL Scholars—along with all undergraduate students on Babson’s campus—are given a variety of opportunities to learn, experiment, and apply new ways to lead. Exclusive events, access to cutting-edge experts, and hands-on coaching empower young women entrepreneurial leaders to combine business acumen with passion and purpose.

SCHOLARS BY THE NUMBERS THE CWEL EXPERIENCE

CWEL Scholars 2018–2019

112

131

%

Scholars since the program’s inception

Increase over average students’ Net Promoter Score

399

millions awarded to date

$10.7+

8

%

9%

More likely to give back to Babson monetarily

7%

Higher overall satisfaction with their Babson experience

More likely to become involved in alumni events Babson post-graduation survey results data from 2018. Percentages reflect CWEL Scholars’ scores in comparison to that of average Babson students’ responses.

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

GRADUATE STUDENTS: NEW PROGRAMMING

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he Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) continues to create programming and provide resources to student-led organizations across campus to ensure strategic leadership development opportunities. In addition to the Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab intensity track, support for the Babson Association for Women MBAs (BAWMBA), and a robust mentor program, CWEL expanded its programming to include the Up Your Sales Game Workshop and Navigating the New Normal Parts I and II. Each of these programs was cocreated with graduate students to address some of the unique leadership challenges that they continue to face.

UP YOUR SALES GAME WORKSHOP Up Your Sales Game: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Selling Anything was created in collaboration with current graduate students, faculty, and alumnae in order to provide an invaluable opportunity to develop and leverage relational skills to position themselves for sales success.

From pitching a new venture value proposition to growing a corporate client base, strong sales skills are essential to success in every business career.

NAVIGATING THE NEW NORMAL Gender inequality in the workplace has been well documented: despite relatively balanced numbers of men and women in the United States labor force, men make up 95% of the CEOs in the Fortune 1000 and 92% of partners in venture capital firms. Yet despite broad commitments and lofty goals, economists estimate it will take 217 years to reach full gender equality. So how can we make this gender moon-shot a reality? We need to address the social norms and stereotypes that limit our expectations of women, and that starts with reimagining the conversation on gender.

Jason Rosario, founder of The Lives of Men (TLoM), hosted a candid conversation on Navigating the New Normal. Students, faculty, and staff were invited to open up about how they see gender impacting their everyday lives and long-term leadership potential, in order to increase awareness of the unique challenges they face and ultimately increasing gender acumen for those in attendance.

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BABSON’S STUDENT L EADERS

total grad student events

7

grad student event attendees

213

total grad student attendees at crosscampus events

323

“I feel a deep responsibility to use my voice to increase the flow of opportunity for women and underrepresented groups in higher education,” said Jason Rosario.

“As a former MBA student, I understand the importance of preparing students to lead in the boardroom, but I came to Babson to help think about the impact they want to have outside of it.”

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

BABSON COLLABORATIONS

THROUGH THE CENTER FOR WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP (CWEL) CWEL is one of the most visible and important ways Babson College supports women entrepreneurs and impacts the larger campus ecosystems in Wellesley, Boston, and Miami. Each year, CWEL participates in, sponsors, and supports a number of campuswide, cross-collaborative programs to educate and inspire both undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty.

ARTHUR M. BLANK CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FASHION ENTREPRENEURSHIP INITIATIVE

++

Admitted Students Welcome Receptions

++

New Student Orientation Panels

++

Founders Summit

++

Disruption Dinner

++

B.E.T.A. Challenge

++

Untitled Fashion Show

++

Ongoing student engagement

++

CWEL Circles: From Entrepreneur to VC

++

Ongoing cross-promotion

++

Golden Seeds Office Hours

++

Entrepreneurship Forum

++

Article: “Entrepreneurial New Year’s Resolutions”

++

Article: “GEM Women”

++

Ongoing cross-promotion

LEWIS INSTITUTE ++

Good Business Friday

++

MedTech for Women’s Health

STEPHEN D. CUTLER CENTER FOR INVESTMENTS AND FINANCE ++

Fintech Women & Allies

++

Live Case Study: Leadership in Family Business

++

The Other Gender Gap: Rocking Your Financial Future

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From Entrepreneur to Venture Capital

RICHARD SORENSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS ++

Empow(h)er Exhibition and Panel

OFFICE OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION ++

CWEL Scholars

++

Women’s Overnight

++

Women’s Preview Day

++

Launch Babson

UNDERGRADUATE CENTER FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT ++

Disruption Dinner

++

Forté Rising Star Kickoff Party

++

Ongoing cross-promotion

UNDERGRADUATE DEAN’S OFFICE ++

Forté Rising Stars Program

++

“Dear Men”: An Evening with Jason Rosario

++

Dean Lapp Speaking: CWEL Scholars Spring Soiree

FACULTY / STAFF

ACADEMIC SERVICES

++

Harvard Business Review

++

CWEL Scholar First Year Seminar Section

++

Diana Impact Day

++

Diana Research Conference

++

Scholars & Parents Ice Cream Social

++

Bank of America Research & White Paper Partnership

++

Meet Your Scholars Network Reception

++

CWEL Mentor Program

Annual Babson Scholars Luncheon

++

CWEL Circles

++

Up Your Sales Game

++

Boston Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab

++

INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

++

Advancing Women - CWEL Circles

++

Diversity Preview Day

++

Miami WIN Lab

++

Webinar: Women at Babson

++

Disruption Dinner

++

Live Case Study: Leadership in Family Business

++

Forte Fellows Scholarship

++

Forte National MBA Convention and Sponsors Meeting

++

Forte Women in Business

++

First Night in Olin

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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ++

Navigating the New Normal Parts I & II

++

Navigating the New Normal After-show

BABSON’S STUDENT L EADERS

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION

++

All in for Advancement

++

++

Women’s Leadership Program

++

Custom Corporate Program

++

Kenyan Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership

++

Women Leaders Activating Change

GLAVIN OFFICE OF MULTICULTURAL & INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION ++

CARE Week: “Dear Men” with Jason Rosario

++

Celebrate International Women’s Day Tea

++

Cross-campus curation and promotion

CENTER FOR HEALTH & WELLNESS ++

CARE Week: “Dear Men” An Evening with Jason Rosario

++

CWEL Staff Volunteer: Got Your Back Positive Consent Training

ALUMNI & FRIENDS ++

BAWMBA Women Connect

++

CWEL Mentor Program

++

Make Your Mark

++

CWEL Circles

++

Founders Summit

++

Babson Thought & Action

++

++

Forte Foundation

$1,000 Conference Sponsorship

++

GoldenSeeds

CWEL Scholars VIP experience package

++

Nic + Zoe

++

Paint Nite

++

Shoobx

++

Stacy’s Juice Bar

++

The Capital Network

++

TiE Boston

++

Victress Capital

++

Women Entrepreneurs Boston

++

Wolf & Company

BABSON ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN MBAS (BAWMBA) ++

BAWMBA Women Connect

++

Welcome Back Kickoff

++

Massachusetts Conference for Women

++

Biweekly meetings

++

Ongoing-cross promotion

BABSON ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORUM (BEF) ++

Brand Yourself a Champion & BEF Marketing Panel

++

$500 sponsorship

STUDENT LIFE ++

CARE Week: “Dear Men” with Jason Rosario

++

Midnight Breakfast

++

Orientation/Peer Mentors Interview Process

Akerman

++

Alix Partners

++

City of Miami

++

eMerge Americas

++

FedEx

++

Florida Funders

++

Google

++

Half-Moon Empanadas

++

HSBC Knight Foundation

++

Krillion Ventures

Alpha Kappi Psi and Delta Sigma Pi Women’s Leadership Panel

++

Las Olas Venture Capital

++

MDC Goldman Sachs 10K

++

Miami Angels

++

Miami Bayside Foundation

++

Miami Dade College IDEA Center

++

New World Angels

++

Norwegian Cruise Line

++

Radical Partners

++

Royal Caribbean

++

SUP-X

++

TD Bank

++

The Emery

++

The Jump Fund

++

The LAB Miami

++

The Venture City

++

Venture Cafe

++

Wyncode

++

Yahoo Finance

BABSON TEDx

++

Boston WIN Lab Finale & Venture Showcase

++

Miami WIN Lab

++

Back to Babson Annual BBQ

BOSTON ECOSYSTEM

++

SMART Liberia

++

AtTheTable

++

Bank of America Private Bank

++

BeautyLynk

++

Boston Chamber of Commerce

++

Brazen

++

Burns & Levinson

++

CIC - SheConnects

++

District Hall

++

F-Cubed

Navigating the New Normal After-show

++

++

Up Your Sales Game: Graduate Sales Workshop

++

Accion

HERCampus: I Have a Body cross-promotion

++

Navigating the New Normal Parts I & II

++

++

Disruption Dinner

++

500 Startups

++

++

BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

MIAMI ECOSYSTEM ++

++

$500 Sponsorship

++

Scholarship tickets for CWEL Scholars

++

Onsite Tabling and crosspromotion

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BABSON’S STUDENT LEADERS

MELISSA CASTRO MBA’19

Founder, La ConexiÓn CWEL Fellow, Boston WIN Lab, BAWMBA

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elissa Castro MBA’19 believes cultural knowledge can be expressed through culinary experiences.

Coming from a family of Dominican street vendors, caterers and cooks, Castro has always seen food as a way of expressing love and keeping a constant connection to her cultural roots.

Marking a multitude of moments throughout her childhood, Castro can conjure up imagined aromas by describing the scene of freshly cooked pastelitos in her childhood kitchen. As an adult, she tries to recreate similarly remembered food experiences, like that of the notorious moro de guandules con coco, by spending weekends cultivating step-by-step instructions from her mother who always made it best.

Though a strong affection for food has always been present in Castro’s life, it was never baked into her career. Postundergraduate days were spent tackling challenges as a financial services marketing executive, and while Castro excelled at her company she ultimately wanted to start one of her own.

Joining Babson’s 2017 full-time MBA program, Castro brought an entrepreneurial spark that was ready to ignite. There, she became incredibly active in the College’s community, building leadership programs for students as a fellow for the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL). Castro also took advantage

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of Babson’s many entrepreneurial opportunities, joining the Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab, moving through the Butler Launch Pad at The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship and connecting with Rachel Greenberger, director of Food Sol at the Lewis Institute, who acts as one of Castro’s most valuable mentors.

“My MBA education taught me how to look in the mirror and rebuild the parts of myself that were barriers to accomplishing my dreams,” said Castro.

“Above and beyond the many hard skills I’ve gained at Babson, knowing that I have the confidence to succeed is priceless.”

Today, Castro is the founder of La Conexión, an aspiring Latino marketplace (food hall) that will celebrate, build community, and provide a vibrant environment for food explorers who want an opportunity to enjoy fresh, authentic, and high-quality Latin food. The marketplace will focus on sharing the best-kept Latin dishes, ingredients, and goods with the public while serving as a retail and dining hub that connects local suppliers to customers and teaches others about Latin culture through an immersive culinary and shopping experience.

Castro knows that great food can bring people with diverse backgrounds together, and La Conexión is being built to do just that.

IMPACT REPORT 18/19 BABSON’S STUDENT L EADERS

Photo Credit: Alex Silva

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IM PACT REPORT 18/19

BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

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BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

CWEL MENTOR PROGRAM

CONNECTING ALUMNI & STUDENTS THROUGH MENTORSHIP

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he Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) mentoring program is an important cornerstone of the work we do to support the advancement of women at Babson College. The program is designed to educate our students on the value of developmental relationships and to provide experience in building a personal board of coaches, sponsors, and mentors—all of which are essential for career growth in today’s complex work environment.

Underpinned by Babson’s leading research on mentoring and entrepreneurial leadership development, CWEL offered three one-on-one mentorship programs during the 2018–2019 academic year, which were delivered at critical points in our students’ tenure at Babson.

graduate mentees 2018–2019

45

undergraduate mentees 2018–2019

56

alumnae participants 2018–2019

38

mentor pairs

83

coaching sessions

415

“Adrienne and I have a Babson experience that came full circle. I hosted her for an overnight on campus back when I was a freshman and reconnected through the CWEL mentoring program! I’ll be forever grateful that the mentor experience allowed us to pick right back up from where we left off. We continue to meet up to discuss our personal and professional development as we both look forward at our careers. I would encourage those who can, no matter how young, to find the time to participate in this program. It’s extremely rewarding.”

– Lauren Schoenadel ’18

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BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT BUILDING PROGRAMS

T

he Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) strives to continue our engagement with Babson students even after they leave the halls of campus. Through a variety of programs, events, panels, and content opportunities, undergraduate and graduate alumni are invited to utilize their expertise to empower, mentor, and engage the Babson community. Highlights of our alumni engagement include:

CWEL CIRCLES CWEL invites experts to host an intimate conversation with students about the intersection of gender, leadership, and career aspirations. Throughout the year, Babson alumnae take on these expert roles and connect with current students in their area of expertise. During the 2018–2019 academic year we were delighted to host Angie O’Donnell MBA’92, Catherine White MBA’86, Dandan Zhu’09, and Sumeit Aggarwal MBA’05.

FOUNDERS SUMMIT: THINKING OUTSIDE OF VC CWEL joined forces with The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship to bring a unique panel experience to life during the Founders Summit Centennial Celebration. Thinking Outside the Box: Funding Sources Beyond VC highlighted three Babson alumnae who utilized innovative ways to fuel and grow their companies. Danielle Babineau MBA’15, co-founder of Redemption Rock Brewing; Shiva Kashalkar MBA’11, founder of Green Piñata Toys; and Marisa MacClary MBA’99, co-founder of Artifact Health, shared their funding objectives, successes, and lessons learned to secure the capital their companies required.

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BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT SHARING EXPERTISE

A

s an important partner in Babson Marketing’s new Babson Thought & Action channel, CWEL is proud to work with students and alumnae to tell their unique stories about leadership, entrepreneurship, and overcoming obstacles as they continue to reach their full leadership potential. Below are highlights of CWEL content created in the 2018–2019 academic year.

FIGHTING THE GENDER INVESTMENT GAP “As the fight to close the gender gap continues, one Babson alumna uses entrepreneurship to take matters into her own hands.” A highlight on Women’s Equality Day, showcasing the work of Sumeit Aggarwal MBA’05, founder of Finhive.

CREATIVE WAYS FEMALE FOUNDERS FUND THEIR STARTUPS ”Women entrepreneurs are finding creative ways to develop diverse funding portfolios, allowing them to launch, build, and scale their startups without traditional angel and venture capital dollars.” Shiva Kashalkar MBA’11, founder of Green Piñata Toys; Emily Levy ’16 and Maria del Mar Gomez ’16, co-founders of Mighty Well; and Marisa MacClary MBA’99, founder of Artifact Health, come together to share their challenges in fundraising and what they did to ultimately scale their startups.

MENTORSHIP MATTERS From the Coaching for Leadership and Team Program to Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab, this alumna has taken full advantage of the mentor opportunities at Babson. Here Diana Yuan ’15 shares her 360-degree view on making the most of the mentor-mentee relationship.

Read these articles and more on the Babson Thought & Action site: entrepreneurship.babson.edu

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BABSON’S CWEL ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

SUMEIT AGGARWAL MBA’05 Founder, Finhive CWEL Circles Speaker, CWEL Mentor

S

umeit Aggarwal MBA’05 came to Babson because of its entrepreneurship ranking. She was determined to hone her already entrepreneurial mind in order to pursue her own enterprise. Little did she know that she would create a venture to empower women to take control of their financial futures.

“Women are told from an early age that they don’t need to worry about numbers,” says Aggarwal. “Research tells us that as girls get older they drop out of STEM classes, despite performing just as well as boys. Today, we see major initiatives focused on increasing girls’ interest in STEM. I want to see that happen in finance as well.”

In 2017, Aggarwal and her husband seized an opportunity to create change in their community and launched Finhive, a social enterprise that provides educational services designed to build financial capability.

Teaching middle school kids summer classes like Barter to Bitcoin, Aggarwal typically has only one or two girls sign up comprising about 10% of the class.

Talking to parents as their own kids got older, they realized that children aren’t taught about money in school. “I was lucky,” Aggarwal says. “Money was an open topic at my house, and my mother regularly took me to the bank and taught me about financial independence.”

She quickly learned that kids weren’t the only ones dealing with a lack of financial knowledge. Her female friends, particularly those recently widowed or going through a divorce, expressed interest in learning how to save and invest, ultimately wanting to take control of their finances.

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As she continues to educate kids about money in the classroom, Aggarwal has created a unique lineup of educational opportunities for women as well.

Choosing from investment workshops to social gatherings with a book club feel, women attending have a space to learn about a wide range of topics from managing your retirement portfolio to finding a financial advisor.

“These are very smart women who have been left out of the financial conversations. They just need to know where to start,” says Aggarwal.

18/19 BABSON’S CWEL IMPACT ALUMNIREPORT ENGAGEMENT

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IM PACT REPORT 18/19

BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

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BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

WOMEN INNOVATING NOW (WIN) LAB “Joining the WIN Lab was the best decision I’ve made to date for Koki. They pushed me to address the tough questions while providing a network that empowered me to move the business forward much faster than I would have otherwise. By the end of the program, I had experienced 400% revenue growth and knew I was headed in the right direction because the WIN Lab put me in business situations where I was forced to figure out how to move forward.”

– Tiara Miles, Founder, Koki Experience

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BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

WOMEN INNOVATING NOW (WIN) LAB

C

reated by the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL), Babson College’s WIN Lab is a venture accelerator designed by women entrepreneurs, for women entrepreneurs. Originally having created WIN Lab to increase the self-efficacy of women founders on campus, while addressing the unique challenges they face in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, CWEL is proud that women’s participation in all entrepreneurship programs and competitions at Babson has seen a vast increase since WIN Lab’s launch.

Entering its seventh year, WIN Lab now has roots in Boston and Miami. During the 2018–2019 academic year, the venture accelerator was the recipient of Color Magazine’s AllInclusive Publisher’s Award, was recognized as the top program for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, and was a finalist as a Top Specialty Program for Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship®.

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BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

founders since the program’s inception

184

founders in the 2018−2019 cohort

40

alumni engaged 2018−2019

WIN LAB BY THE NUMBERS FINANCIAL METRICS

244 %

65%

Revenue growth

Investment growth

33

184 %

content sessions 2018−2019

86

Customer growth

Growth experienced by entrepreneurs during the 2018–2019 WIN Lab program Based on 2019 WINner Survey data

experts engaged 2018−2019

206

SUSTAINED IMPACT ecosystem partners 2018−2019

42

total events

10

80%

242

$13M+

WINners still running their ventures

Jobs created by WIN Lab founders

Capital raised after joining The Lab

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BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

SHIVA KASHALKAR MBA’11

Founder, Green Piñata Toys Boston WIN Lab, Founders Summit Speaker, CWEL Mentor

S

hiva Kashalkar MBA’11, founder of Green Piñata Toys, came to Babson because of its entrepreneurial reputation.

Despite not having an idea to launch as she entered as an MBA student, Kashalkar quickly understood the resources that would be available to her when she was ready to jump into the startup world.

Five years later, Kashalkar launched Green Piñata Toys because of her struggle in finding eco-friendly, educational options that her daughter Aanika wouldn’t grow bored of. As Kashalkar continued spending hundreds of dollars on new toys each month, it dawned on her that there had to be a better option.

That’s when the idea appeared. What if Kashalkar could rent toys and, when her daughter was done, return them for another child to enjoy? Armed with determination and an entrepreneurial mindset, Kashalkar launched.

Utilizing her expansive network from Babson and her experience in enterprise product management, Kashalkar and her team built a scalable operation that delivered the highest quality toys to thousands of customers across the United States. The team at Green Piñata Toys brought together predictive analytics and an age-specific toy curriculum to help provide valuable insights, freedom of choice, and educated guidance on ageappropriate toys to encourage optimal learning. And, once the sparkle of the newly opened toy had faded, customers

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could send it back and wait for a new one to arrive.

As her journey evolved, Kashalkar came back to Babson and began participating in the College’s programs, including The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurhip’s Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (B.E.T.A.) Challenge and CWEL’s Women Innovating Now (WIN) Lab, venture accelerator.

“Babson was on speed dial for anything related to launching my business,” said Kashalkar. “While at the WIN Lab, I found so much value in the mentorship that came from my peers and invited experts.

These role models were integral to my success, both because they opened doors and because I worked with women who I could relate to, who had built the highgrowth businesses that I aspired to create.

I saw their success and believed that I could be successful too.”

Today, Kashalkar is a role model herself as a speaker, teacher, and mentor at Babson. She offered growth-marketing insights as a WIN Lab presenter, shared fundraising advice during the 2019 Founders Day Summit, and provided valuable mentorship to Babson students through CWEL’s mentor program.

“The network I formed at Babson has been a great source of strength, and I’m happy to share my experiences with those who might benefit from them.”

BABSON’S ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERS

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IM PACT REPORT 18/19

BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

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BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM ECOSYSTEM EVENTS

T

he Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) acts as an important bridge into the Boston, Miami, and global entrepreneurial ecosystems. Through the Center’s programs, partnerships, sponsorships, and coaching network, thousands of individuals are able to engage with the Babson brand all over the world. Two of the Center’s 2018–2019 ecosystem events include:

EMERGE AMERICAS, MIAMI Despite their track record for creating groundbreaking, triple-bottom-line solutions, female technology entrepreneurs are faced with unique challenges that make scaling their businesses significantly more difficult than for their male counterparts. To shift this paradigm, Babson’s CWEL partnered with eMerge Americas on its Women Innovation and Technology stage to develop a one-day summit where technology influencers, innovators, and consumers would convene to break new ground for women in tech.

DISRUPTION DINNER CWEL, Babson Fashion Entrepreneurial Initiative and the Hoffman Family Undergraduate Center for Career Development, celebrated Women Entrepreneurship Week with a trend-breaking evening of inspiration and discovery. Two CEOs in the fashion and beauty space spoke to a sold-out room about how they are disrupting and innovating within their own industries.

ecosystem events 2018−2019

ecosystem attendees 2018−2019

ecosystem partners 2018−2019

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2,890+

31

31

BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

IMPACT THROUGH RESEARCH

DIANA INTERNATIONAL IMPACT DAY

I

n 2018, the Diana International Research Institute, parent to the globally recognized Diana Project™, found a new home at the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership. As a core component of this new institute, CWEL launched Diana International Impact Day, the first global convening of investors, accelerators, policymakers, researchers, women entrepreneurs, and other disrupters who are dedicated to changing the landscape of financing women entrepreneurs.

Launched at the culmination of the annual Diana International Research Conference, Impact Day served as a vehicle to collectively explore practical solutions, develop best practices in acceleration and funding, and generate needed policy solutions to leverage one of the largest economic opportunities of our time.

Entrepreneurs

Policymakers (1%) Researchers Investors

13%

24%

18%

22%

total attendees

total speakers

218

23

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22% Ecosystem

Educators

BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

IMPACT THROUGH RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

C

WEL and Babson boast a lively, supportive, and growing community of faculty who do groundbreaking research on the economic value women that entrepreneurial leaders bring to the world. In 2018, CWEL worked with faculty to bring cutting-edge research to the broader entrepreneurial community through strategic publications and partnerships.

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Acting as a liaison between Babson faculty and the Harvard Business Review (HBR), CWEL took groundbreaking research by Dr. Lakshmi Balachandra and disseminated it through HBR. The article “Investors Punish Entrepreneurs for Stereotypically Feminine Behaviors” was released October 19, 2018, to its 10.15 million monthly visitors, identifying the unique gender challenges that entrepreneurs face when pitching their startups for venture capital.

BEYOND THE BUCKS As the source of the now widely recognized research statistic that women entrepreneurs receive less than 3% of venture capital funding in the United States, CWEL partnered with Bank of America Private Bank to understand what challenges female founders encounter as they grow their business, outside of capital. As lead author on the report, Babson Assistant Professor Lakshmi Balachandra discovered three genderbased impediments that women entrepreneurs face in addition to the strategies that they develop in order to overcome them.

Photo: Babson Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, Dr. Lakshmi Balachandra

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BROADER IMPACT THROUGH BABSON’S CWEL

LOCAL & GLOBAL IMPACT EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

W

omen can face increasingly unpredictable challenges inside of organizations of all sizes, including those that they are building on their own. The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) works with Babson Executive Education to build robust programs where women become more effective and impactful leaders by developing a personalized, strengths-based leadership action plan, while understanding how to expand their sphere of influence and gain tools and skills to make a positive impact on their team, organization, and community. This year, CWEL launched two new programs to open up Babson’s influence and impact in the greater Boston and Miami ecosystems, while continuing to educate and empower women from around the world through our existing executive education opportunities.

WOMEN LEADERS ACTIVATING CHANGE:

CREATING VALUE FOR YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION

Assisting in the launch of Babson’s Executive Education initiatives in the City of Miami, CWEL partnered on an open enrollment program; this program helps participants transform into more effective and impactful leaders by developing a personalized leadership action plan that emphasizes their strengths in order to achieve their professional and personal goals of making a positive impact for their team, company, and society.

programs 2018 – 2019

6 participants 2018−2019

130 program hours 2018−2019

4,228 countries represented 2018−2019

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ALL IN FOR ADVANCEMENT

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE To help Boston businesses address workplace issues that may be holding female professionals back, Babson Executive Education, the CWEL, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network collaborated on a new, yearlong, custom group leadership program designed to support organizations as they shape and shift their culture toward gender equity and inclusivity.

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BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

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BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

CWEL BOARD OF ADVISORS » Amy Bowen Consigli Construction

» Linne Kimball The Life is Good Company

» Joseph Ramrath ’78 Colchester Partners LLC

» Candy Brush Babson College

» Vance Loiselle ’92 Sumo Logic

» Lisa Schiffman EY

» Lori Cashman Victress Capital, LLC

» Elaine Mann ’91 The Baupost Group, LLC

» Cecilia Frerotte Wolf & Co., P.C.

» Smaiyra Million P’21 Babson College

» Len Schlesinger President of Babson College, 2008-2013

» Christina Giguere ’94 Project Glimmer

» Alicia Parker ’98 The Peninsula Hotel New York

» Pat Henriques Babson College

» Deborah Peckham Burns & Levinson

» Lisa Spadafora Thompson M’96, Chair Sturbridge Growth Partners » Mary Tinebra M’90 Mercer

MIAMI BOARD OF ADVISORS » Steven Bandel P’16 Babson Global Advisory Board

» Erin Kolmansberger Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel

» Magdalene “Magsie” Leborgne ’03 Country French Inc.

» Ruth Brophy H.I.G. Capital

» Florencia Jimenez-Marcos Biscayne Bay Group

» Melissa Medina eMerge Americas

» Carol Faber, Chair Akerman LLP

» Pam Johnson FedEx Corporation

» Raul Moas Knight Foundation

» Sandi C. Finn EdgeCraft Advisors

» RJ Joshi Botni

» John J. Sicilian 1848 Capital Partners LLC

» Alan R. Kleber JLL

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BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

PARTNERS

ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATORS ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

500 Startups Accion Alix Partners AtTheTable BeautyLynk Boston Chamber of Commerce Brazen CIC Kendall District Hall eMerge Americas Florida Funders Forté Foundation GoldenSeeds

++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Google HSBC Krillion Ventures Las Olas Venture Capital Miami Angels Miami Bayside Foundation Miami Dade College IDEA Center New World Angels Nic + Zoe Paint Nite Radical Partners Refresh Miami Royal Caribbean

++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Shoobx SMART Liberia SUP-X The Capital Network The Emery The Jump Fund Tha LAB Miami The Venture City Venture Cafe Women Entrepreneurs Boston ++ Wyncode ++ Yahoo Finance

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BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

CWEL SUPPORTERS

Thank you to over 300 donors who supported CWEL last fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. We are grateful for all of your support. Listed below, please find those who gave $100 or more. ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

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Princess Loulwah N. Abdullah ’05 Ackerman LLP Ms. Lara Maish Ackerman ’98 Mr. Ahmed Fouad Al-Falah ’01 Anonymous Alumni Mr. Steve S. Anderson P’22 Mrs. Jennifer L. Anderson P’22 Ms. Alexandra A. Araujo ’96 Mr. Steven Bandel P’16 Mrs. Minnie Bandel P’16 Bank of America Ms. Scarlet M. Batchelor MBA’06 Bentley University Ms. Fyllis Berg-Elton Ms. Martha A. Blake P’21 Ms. Teresita M. Bolivar ’84 Ms. Amy Bowen Ms. Ruth V. Brophy Ms. Amy E. Brownrigg ’96 Prof. Candida Brush MP’14 Mr. David Brush MP’14 Burns & Levinson Mr. W. Gregory Burrill P’04’04’06, MP’11’11 Mrs. Elsie Burrill P’04’04’06 MP’11’11 Ms. Karen Callahan MBA’79 Ms. Marla M. Capozzi MBA’96 Ms. Cheryl Hoffman Carner MBA’94 Mrs. Sally D. Carrier Mr. Edward S. Carrier ’50 Ms. Sandra Y. Castellon Fernandez ’89 Dr. Steve Chao P’11’12 Mrs. Aili Z. Chao P’11’12 Ms. Kara McCarty Chmielewski MBA’95 Ms. Penny Aivaliotis Christy ’99 Ms. Ashlee C. Chung ’05 Ms. Stephanie Thelen Clark ’04 Ms. Kate M. Cogswell ‘09 MS’09

++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Ms. June R. Cohen ’71 Mrs. Susan Coleman Mr. Matthew D. Consigli MBA’08 Consigli Construction Co. Inc. Mrs. Beth M. Conway M’20 Mr. Adam K. Conway ’98 Ms. Katherine Craven P’22 Ms. Maria Cristina Cruz MBA’15 Ms. Bronwen Cunningham MBA’84 Ms. Pauline Jun de la Mar ’06 Mr. William E. Deegans III ’68 Ms. Miranda Ditmore ’19 Ms. Catherine Wheatley Doran ’19 Mr. Konrad C. Dowling P’21 Mrs. Wendy Jensen Evans MBA’98 Mr. Jason P. Evans MBA’98 FedEx Corporation Ms. Sandi Finn Ms. Elizabeth Lunde Fitzula ’99 Mr. Christopher J. Floyd MBA’03 Ms. Nina Housel Gambling MBA’12 Mr. Lawrence P. Ganti ’97 Ms. Nelson Hill Garman ’91 Gesmer Updegrove LLP Ms. Christina C. Giguere ’94 Ms. Mara Riemer Goldstein MBA’97 Mrs. Jacqueline Sullivan Gosciak ‘94 MBA’99 Ms. Elaine S. Goyette MBA’89 Ms. Heidi Harvey Grady MBA’03 Ms. Antonina Liliana Guarino MBA’19 Mr. Timothy H. Harned Ms. Lauren Alexis Harris ’19 Mr. Peter J. Hayes P’15 Mrs. Nancy A. Hayes P’15 Mr. Adam H. Hennessey ’97 Ms. Artjola Huli ’19

BABSON’S CWEL SUPPORTERS

++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Mrs. Beth Kroner Humberd ’03 Mr. Andrew L. Humberd ’01 Mr. Jesus F. Infante P’20’22 Mrs. Patricia V. Infante P’20’22 Inner Spark Foundation Ms. Renee Inomata Ms. Florencia Jimenez-Marcos JLL Dr. Vandita Johari P’19 Dr. Piyush Johari P’19 Ms. Adrienne Renee Johnson ’19 Ms. Susan L. Jones MBA’13 Mr. Rajat Joshi Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Ms. Susan Silveira Kern ’87 Ms. Regina Kirschbaum ’05 MBA’13 Mr. Alan R. Kleber John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Ms. Laura Grace Kogen MBA’99 Ms. Erin K. Kolmansberger Ms. Alena K. Kotlan MBA’97 Dr. James Kryzanski P’22 Ms. Madeline Rose Lambert-Hoffstot ’22 Mrs. Gail H. Lamere P’08 Mr. Vernon C. Lamere ’76 P’08 Mrs. Cameron Larson MBA’06 Mr. Peter Latvis Ms. Gwenn R. LeMoine P’21 Mr. Vance M. Loiselle ’92 Mr. Joshua D. Marcus ’97 Ms. Julie Lundin Marcus ’97 Ms. Terry E. Marroquin Ms. Barbara Martinson P’22 Mr. Ross T. Martinson P’22 Ms. Rosemary McLaughlin MBA’10 Medina Family Foundation Ms. Mary Lazdowski Mitchell MBA’87 Mr. Raul Moas Ms. Claudia Elizabeth Monroy-Wu MBA’16 Morgan Stanley Mr. Kenneth L. Naiff National Mah Jongg League Foundation Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel

++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

Norwegian Cruise Lines Ms. Angela L. O’Donnell MBA’92 Ms. Alicia Ulhman Parker ’98 Mrs. Elizabeth P. Powell MBA’76 MP’01 Mrs. Arlys Jaconelli Raymond ’80 Mr. Mark F. Raymond, P.A. ’80 Ms. Floranne Rossetti Reagan MBA’83 Ms. Karin Landry Reichin ’79 Mr. Jason T. Reinhardt MBA’06 Ms. Kelli L. Reinhardt MBA’07 Ms. Pamela Roberson Ms. Janet A. Roberts ’89 MBA’95 Mr. David A. Rosen MBA’79 Ms. Ceylan Rowe Ms. Susan M. Rugnetta MBA’04 Mr. Edward M. Saliba MBA’80 Ms. Ellen Monahan Saliba ’74 MBA’80 Ms. Bernadette M. Scano ’00 Ms. Erin E. Schaffner ’98 Ms. Carol L. Schoffel Faber Ms. Elinor L. Scholl MBA’90 Ms. Marisa S. Shariatdoust Ms. Dong Yu Shi ’19 Mr. John J. Sicilian Ms. Ashley Marie Sigl ’19 Jan Singer Ms. Monica A. Smith MBA’93 Mrs. Katharine K. Smith P’08 Mr. Andrew Stuart P’21 TD Bank, N.A. Ms. Linda Kirsten Tedder MBA’14 Mrs. Kelly Mulligan Uller ’95 Mr. David J. Unger ’87 Mr. Nowell C. Upham ’89 Ms. Kristen Rumbolt Vicino ’05 Ms. Jackie Wachsberg ’19 Mr. Kevin P. Weinfeld Ms. Dianne Spier Weinfeld ’74 Ms. Susan Porter Williamson MBA’92 Mr. Todd G. Williamson MBA’93 Ms. Christina R. Young MBA’04

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LEARN MORE ABOUT CWEL AT BABSON.EDU/CWEL @CWELBabson @BabsonWIN

/BabsonCWEL /TheWINLab

@CWELstudents @BabsonWIN

/showcase/BabsonCWEL