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I am a horrible person. I purchased THESE (see picture) "Late Night Taco Truck" jelly beans for my kids last week. If you can read the package, it names the flavors:

If you are a regular reader of my stories, you know I love a good laugh. I am smitten with the unexpected, the rare, the curious options in life. I tell our speakers that they need to think about what makes them stand out. What makes them extraordinary and excites and delights their audiences? Or makes them laugh? These are the things that make them memorable and gets them picked as a speaker over and over again. But don't be TOO out there; make sure you deliver real value too.

In other words, be the margarita jelly bean...don't be the beef taco one.

Join me on Zoom at 9:00 am Eastern TODAY (Friday) for our weekly chat. Or, join us on Clubhouse at 3:00 PM EST. Anyone can join!

Bobbie and the Innovation Women team

Want to make the most of your Innovation Women membership and turbo-charge your speaking career? Join one of our Kickstart Cohorts! These 4-week programs are a great way to get started. You get:

In this talk by the author of Radical Product Thinking, you’ll learn a radical and repeatable model for building world-changing products. We’ll challenge conventional wisdom about what makes a good vision and talk about why the current mantras for entrepreneurship fall short. You’ll walk away with practical tools to develop your vision for change and translate that systematically into reality. Register here!

On April 28th, our founder Bobbie will be speaking for ExpoPass on a free webinar on "Picking the Perfect Speaker For Any Event." You can even earn a CEU from the Event Industry Council for attending! Register today!

Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur is our digital magazine for women who are starting (or thinking about starting) companies. Get the latest news, tools and resources to launch and scale startups. This week you can read great articles like:

Our Common Ground - Diane Hessan

For four years, Diane Hessan, chair of C Space, has been in weekly conversation with voters across the United States. What she has learned will surprise you, enlighten you, give you hope and change the way you think about your fellow Americans. Our inability to hear each other, our suspicion and our impatience are stressing us out and tearing us apart. It’s a sickness that permeates the American culture, erodes our collective mental health and makes us hate each other. Read her book, “Our Common Ground: Insights from 4 Years of Listening to American Voters” to discover her findings. Read the feature on Lioness!

Become a Speaker - get opportunities like these, a profile on our site and more for only $100/year!

Find the full list of events and networking opportunities on our website!

Working in tech is not just about coding. It’s about all aspects of your career. WITS, the only technical conference with all women speakers, connects, educates, and inspires women working in and with technology. Register with code IW25 for 25% off registration fees. More information here.

The hybrid conference will bring women in tech, minorities and allies from all over the world together through an interactive platform featuring live ceremonies, keynotes, engaging panels, breakout rooms, country & chapter leader sessions, technical workshops, and networking with virtual and in-person sessions. More information here.

Also, check out events like these:

Are you the Female Founder/CEO of a New England-based startup looking for your first outside capital in the next year? Apply now for the Fellowship For Female Founders from The Capital Network. Application deadline extended to April 24. More information here.

FORGE, the nonprofit that helps bridge the gap between startups and manufacturing, announced the opening of a new grant for cleantech startups with female and non-binary leadership. The latest edition of the FORGE Product Development Grant program will award grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 in late June. The application deadline is June 3, 2022. More information here.

IFundWomen Entrepreneur of the Year is their biggest annual funding program that rewards and celebrates extraordinary women entrepreneurs who have proven product-market fit, driven growth, and demonstrated a meaningful impact through their businesses. Through this one-of-a-kind funding program, qualified entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to win a $100,000 equity investment, access to premium educational resources, and cash grants! Applications due June 8. More information here.

Mentoring Her is an online social mentoring network that virtually connects women mentors and mentees where they can develop relationships and help one another grow in areas relating to education, career, entrepreneurship and empowerment. They relate via chat, voice or video calls within the platform. There is a forum to communicate with other mentees/mentors, a job board, training resources and so much more. More information here.

My Speaker Leads delivers an easy-to-use and sort spreadsheet containing 100+ leads for speaking opportunities direct to your inbox every week. Use this service ($19.99/month) to supplement your own research or speed it up. Professional speakers often work with a virtual assistant or a sales person to follow up on leads like these. My Speaker Leads is all about helping you gain momentum in your speaking career!

Limor Bergman Gross - Jerusalem Israel, Salena Knight - Sydney Australia, Michelle Calcagni - Chicago IL, Melinda McHale - Pittsburgh PA, Maria Maldonaldo Smith - Fort Lauderdale FL, Cliona Byrne - Paris France, Christine Holter - Miami FL, Cheri Milton - Madison WI, Kathryn Lancioni - New York NY, Makesha H. Dockery - Atlanta GA

Leah Marone - Charlotte NC, Ellen Goodwin - San Diego CA, Nancy Pearson - Boston MA, Shelly Bell - Washington DC, Dhaya Laskshinarayanan - San Francisco CA, Lauren Rikleen - Wayland MA, Kate Terry - Cambridge MA, Amy Gawronski Zuccaro - Mountain View CA, Robyn Mussler - Tampa FL, Paula Sawyer - Red Bank NJ, Michelle Smith - Manchester NH, Sheffie Robinson - Vicksburg MS, Antoinette Gawin - Chicago IL, Liz Jakoi - Toronto Canada

Find out more about our members on our blog! Every week we include new and renewing members in our newsletter. Event managers can invite these speakers (and others) to speak at their events by signing up for a free account on the Innovation Women website. Watch for regular "Our Speakers in Action" feature emails.

Our local ambassadors help spread the word about Innovation Women's mission. Want to help us spread the word in your area - contact us and say, "I want to be an Innovation Women Ambassador!"

Michelle Tillis Lederman - NJ, Nancy Shenker - AZ, Laraine McKinnon - CA, Catalina Valenzuela - FL, Adrienne Garland - NY, Lori Richardson - MA, Tina Adolfsson - MA, Miracle Olatunji MA, Pearlie Oni - DC, Julia Geisman - MA, Kyri Allison - RI, Candice Benson - NH, Tuija Kauppinen - Finland, Ilhiana Rojas Saldana - MA, Felicia Barlow Clar - DC, Janice Dru-Bennett - MA/RI, Debbie Pickus - IL Yolanda Payne - GA, Chinyere Almona - Nigeria, Kelley Connors - MA, Aiysha (AJ) Johnson - NY, Regena Rosa-Celeste - FL

Have you joined our "gaggle" yet? GaggleAMP helps us manage our social media amplification program. We send members important content to share in their social media accounts. You choose what to share through your social networks. Join us - it's a great way to support your fellow Innovation Women! AND get cool content for your channel.