Can we please revisit and relive the "Self-Made CEO Breakfast Series"?!
This inaugural event kicked off its multi-city tour on May 30th at Hotel X Toronto, and it was pure magic. It was the perfect location to come together, soak in the exhilarating vibes, and experience an unforgettable morning!
YES, the sun was shining, the mimosas were flowing, and the energy was crackling! We are still awestruck at the overwhelming RSVP interest and incredible turnout for this pilot event.
CWE Industry Network National Breakfast Tour - An initiative and breakfast series that connects self-identifying women, trans-femme and non-binary entrepreneurs across Canada to industry leaders and organizations.
With the mission of empowering, inspiring and super-connecting founders, the CWE industry Network initiative (sitting more womxn at the table) provides a unique breakfast experience to the founders at no charge, removing barriers to inspiration, networking and social capital.
The series blends the innovative worlds of technology and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) expert strategy, methodology and GTM experience into a unique and vibrant mix of conversations.
We had the pleasure of rolling out this first-ever breakfast in Toronto hot on the heels of the wildly successful Canadian Women's Entrepreneurship Gala.
We invited some of our amazing gala sponsors and leading executives to participate in this founder's networking event and speaker series—and they showed up in full force!
When we dreamed up new initiatives to coincide with the CWE Gala, we knew a morning breakfast celebrating women's entrepreneurship packed with business, swag, networking, pampering, and community was going to be a smash hit. But it exceeded our wildest expectations!
Let's start by giving a massive shoutout to Food Dudes who wowed us with a gorgeous catered breakfast buffet experience. Can we take a moment to obsess over those mini avocado toasts?! 🥑🍞 Shout out to Flow Water and Candy Can for quenching our thirst and bringing our beverage dreams to life.
The Champagne Walls GTA display stole the show with their stunning Self-Made champagne wall - the perfect backdrop for all our glam event photos. And none of it would have been possible without the incredible team at Epiq Vision who brought the whole experience together with mind-blowing sound, visuals and stage setup.
Not only was this pilot event a big success, but the energy and passion from a room full of founders was breathtaking—some travelled from other provinces just to be part of this! We were in awe of the enthusiasm and support.
A huge thank you to Hina Khan for joining as a special guest speaker and using her mindset magic to elevate the room's vibration. Her insights on shifting toward possibility during challenging times were so powerful.
The truth is, based on the overwhelming feedback, hugs and post-event messages pouring in, it's crystal clear this breakfast was not just appreciated and needed - it was a total breath of fresh air in the entrepreneurship community. Around 150 Canadian women founders in tech and consumer packaged goods were able to invest in their businesses by attending this pampered yet affordable networking event.
And the best part? Getting to meet top brand leaders and gain priceless insights to take their strategies to a whole new level. Our mind-blowing panel speakers brought unreal knowledge:
CPG Panel powered by Total Mom Inc.:
Leslie Golts, CMO of Roots
Lisa Mattam, Founder & CEO of Sahajan
Tammy Eckenswiller, Co-Founder of Flow & Director of Love Good Fats
Laura Douglas, Master Brand Lead of Dove Canada
Tech Panel powered by EQ Bank:
Graziella Mitri, PR & Brand Manager of Rakuten Canada
Kirsten (Jacobsen) T., Head of Lead Gen at Google Canada
Paula Festas, Co-founder of HUUMANS
The all-star DMZ team helped craft the perfect panel questions to pick our speakers' brains. The Hotel X team executed flawlessly to ensure that not a single detail was missed! One audience favourite was the "ask & give" portion with live Q&A, where founders could dive deep into their most pressing questions and get real-world advice on marketing, tech, and growth strategies.
We have to give a huge shoutout to Atriani Furniture for the stunning breakfast stage furniture that elevated the whole vibe. And Hand & Heart for the breathtaking floral arrangements that made our tables look like an absolute dream.
So much gratitude to our vendor sponsors for providing engaging and informative activations during the networking breakfs: Rakuten Canada, Roots, Virtual Gurus, 10xTO, PARO Centre, and MOSA.
To wrap up the morning, Rosalind Lockyer (CEO of PARO) gave powerful closing remarks that left us feeling inspired, motivated and reminded of the incredible power we hold as entrepreneurs. To connect with PARO for support with trade missions, funding opportunities and certifications, and advisor support, head to their website to get started paro.ca
And let's have one more round of applause for our amazing gifting partners who pampered our attendees with the most incredible goodies:
And a special, special thank you to Fran Murray Co., Make Lemonade, Eight50 Coffee, Dean Davidson, Oxygen Botanicals and Baskits for the breathtakingly beautiful gift boxes and speaker gifts that had everyone feeling so pampered.
Follow along on our Instagram for all the latest updates—because you won't want to miss this!
You can STILL ENTER our giveaways here.
Total Mom Ultimate Giveaway in partnership with Cybex & Tommee Tippee! (Over $3,750+ prize pack!!) Enter HERE
GET INVOLVED:
Are you a founder who wants to attend these events? Add your name here
Are you an organization that wants to get involved as a partner? Contact info@cwegala.com
Help us send kids to entrepreneurship camp by purchasing a Canadian Soy handmade candle in collaboration with Mosa & Total Mom https://wearemosa.com/pages/impact
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