Capital One, along with The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC), presented the “WEDallas Boot Camp: Own Your Optimism” to help inspire, equip and empower women entrepreneurs across North Texas. Panels on small business growth trends focused on North Texas business conditions, especially those affecting women entrepreneurs. The Small Business Panel speakers shared newly released findings from Capital One’s Small Business Growth Index which surveyed 500 small businesses on a range of topics, including the economy, financial conditions, growth and other factors impacting their performance.
Survey highlights:
- 67 percent of business owners overall think business conditions in their area are good or excellent, up from 60 percent a year ago.
- While female business owners have historically been more optimistic than males, the survey shows there has been a reversal.
- One third (33 percent) of small business owners plan to hire in the next six months, an increase from 25 percent one year ago.
The event gave women the opportunity to network as well as hearing tips from female leaders in North Texas on how to build optimism when it comes to their business ventures. Small Business Panelists included:
- Judith Collins, business advisor, Dallas Metropolitan Small Business Development Center
- Natalie Fletcher, director of Innovation, Dallas Regional Chamber
- Tracie Gusola, business banking market executive, Capital One
- Pam Adams, chief growth officer, Bubbl
- Moderator: Amanda Austin - Dallas Comedy House
Following the panel was a Fireside Chat with Alyce Alston, CEO of The DEC and a talk from Jasmine Brand, CEO of Launch DFW.
Capital One is the title sponsor of WEDallas and has partnered with The DEC for the past four years. Capital One works with partners across the region to make its Future Edge DFW commitment come to life. In 2015, Capital One launched Future Edge, an initiative that pledged $150 million over five years to help more American workers and entrepreneurs get the skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the 21st century. As part of this initiative, Future Edge DFW symbolizes Capital One’s commitment to make Dallas-Fort Worth a destination for top talent, spur growth as a world-renowned technology hub, and nurture leaders of tomorrow.
To better represent the role of women in technology, Capital One created its Women in Tech initiative that is bringing women and men together to focus on developing a love of technology in young women and girls, improving the representation of women in the technology field, and supporting the career development of women in tech roles. Capital One’s commitment to The DEC and WEDallas perfectly aligns with Future Edge DFW.