The third annual Renaissance Women’s Summit took place at The Wond’ry on Feb. 24. The event partnered with The Mona Lisa Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to mentor and provide financial support to rising female entrepreneurs.
The one-day event featured keynote speaker Alli Webb, founder of DryBar, who shared her journey of selling a business for millions and overcoming personal challenges. Other speakers included Nashville entrepreneurs Tiffany Napper, Allison Manning-Carroll and Csilla Muscan. The Renaissance Men’s Panel was moderated by Yesenia B. Sevilla and hosted speakers Michael Oher and Jason Wahler. The “Show Her The Money” panel aimed at addressing funding challenges for women.
Napper, a Nashville-based entrepreneur and business coach, specializes in empowering female creatives to build profitable businesses while maintaining their mental and physical well-being. She said that her approach is rooted in sustainable success and the belief that balance is key to thriving in the creative industry.
“This is my wish for you: that you join me in our soft CEO era this year. Become an intentional leader, a rested boss. Put yourself first and watch how the world responds,” Napper said.
Carrie Owen, a coordinator at The Wond’ry, expressed enthusiasm for the event, saying it is empowering and “embraces femininity.”
“I love the marketplace — I love the products and the companies that they brought in. I love the aesthetic, and how they went all out with the pink and purple feminine themes,” Owen said.
The Marketplace included women-owned clothing lines, startups, candles, skincare products and jewelry. Katie Reilly, the owner and founder of Brooklyn Blvd, a Nashville-based clothing store, said she first heard about The Renaissance Women’s Summit through social media.
“My target audience are women who are recent grads or about to enter the workforce, and want clothing that is elevated, chic and timeless, while also looking young, on-trend and modern. It is also clothing that you can repurpose for work or night out,” Reilly said. “I’ve been trying to focus on quality, and I go to markets all throughout New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Nashville for thousands of vendors to curate collections specifically for my target audience.”
Katherine Baker, an attendee and third-year M.D. student, said her favorite part of The Renaissance Women’s Summit was attending the speaker events and exploring the Renaissance Marketplace.
“I really enjoyed listening to the speakers and, especially in a room filled with women, I felt very comfortable and supported,” Baker said.
Bloom Health Co-Founder and CEO Julia Sculler, a MBA student at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, said she hopes to launch her company’s app soon and sought to build the waitlist at the event. Bloom Health’s mission is to improve standards for female healthcare by providing women around the world with access to reproductive education. This is her second time as a vendor at The Renaissance Women’s Summit, and she expressed appreciation for the “insightful” speaker series.
“The participants in the pitch competition blew me away. I’ve competed in five pitch competitions, including a national pitch competition, and I’ve never seen so many excellent pitches in one competition,” Sculler said.
The Summit partnered with The Mona Lisa Foundation to award the “Mona Lisa” scholarship award at the Renaissance Women Pitch Competition. First-year Sudiksha Singhal, the founder of Brace Cap LLC, expressed excitement about the opportunities the competition brings to female entrepreneurs.
“Honestly, it’s such a good experience. It’s a great way to interact with an audience who gets the problems that women face and also get honest advice,” Singhal said.
