• WHAT IS THE COLLECTIVE?

      The Founders Collective creates experiences & strategies for
      women innovators & influencers who know better.
        
      We connect founders & funders, champion women in entrepreneurship & tech by advocating for diversity on boards, as speakers and in leadership positions, as well as speak up for pay parity.

    • EVENTS

       
      The Collective's inaugural Conference took place in the Spring of 2013, featuring am yoga,
      35 women speakers, hundreds of new connections and plenty of prosecco.
       
      Subsequent sold-out events featured the likes of Australian keynote speaker & global phenomenon, Taryn Brumfitt, at the Waterfront Theatre in collaboration with RAW Beauty Talks.
       
      Stronger together, we also believe in supporting great women in the community.
      We're proud sponsors of BC's TEDxWomen and the TechWomenLead initiative among others.
       

    • #CHOOSEPOSSIBILITY

      As Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, founder and CEO of Joyus, highlights in her article to #ChoosePossibility, “Diverse thinking can benefit private tech boards potentially even more than public ones, and there is no reason to wait.”
       
      Everyone can benefit from a diversified investor board. Cassidy writes, “Entrepreneurs seeking to enhance their startup’s performance can choose today to add their first qualified female board member or investor.”

      #CHANGETHERATIO

      Rachel Sklar - a former lawyer who writes about media, politics, culture and tech - became the poster-woman for gender equality when she created the hashtag #changetheratio.
       
      The effort was in response to a 2010 New York magazine story about tech entrepreneurs that featured mostly men.
       
      Read more here.

      DARING GREATLY

      The truth is: belonging starts with self-acceptance.
       
      Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing you're enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect.
       
      - Dr. Brene Brown

    • WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

       
      "Thanks again for a wonderful session of love, light & laughter at The Collective. I feel I've been operating at a whole new level since I began to #LeanIn and it's wonderful."
       
      "I was truly inspired by the events and the amazing people who attended!"
       
      "I love the progressive and forward thinking approach you are bringing to having these conversations and gatherings in our beautiful city."
       
      "I wanted to say how much I really enjoyed The Collective. It was so inspiring and have already made some changes in my life... Looking forward to the next event."
       
      "Congratulations on putting together a fantastic Conference and bringing together a really dynamic group of women. .. I was also able to reconnect with some of the women I've been 'climbing the entrepreneurial ladder' with over the past years and met great new people."
       
      "It was such a fun time and very energizing. You are wonderful - thank you for helping us all shine just a little bit more!"

    • IMAGES FOR YOU

      Our inaugural Founders Collective conference that started it all.
      Special thanks for the production team: Kim Ringstad, Alanna Rogers,
      Tera Kristen, Laura Fraser, Sarah McCredie and Meredith Cale.

    • OUR FOUNDER

      Meredith is a serial entrepreneur, rule breaker, connector & creative.
       

      Prior to launching Shopthefloor.com, Meredith bootstrapped three companies in the fashion industry, opening showrooms across the US & Canada, and generating over $45m. Her companies partnered with global brands including H&M, Saks Fifth Avenue, Urban Outfitters & Amazon, dressed the likes of SJP & Julia Roberts, and were featured in NY Times, Vice & Vogue.

       

      Today, Meredith is a venture capital investor with Voyager Capital and pays it forward as a mentor to countless founders, Board member at Greater Vancouver Board of Trade & Metabridge, and co-founder of a national startup educational program and incubator for youth (est 2013).

       

      Meredith’s work has been recognized by Global TV, CTV, Glamour, CBC, Globe & Mail, BC Business, Business in Vancouver (Top 40 Under 40), Startup Canada (National Entrepreneurship Promoter of the Year) and as a 2017 YWCA Women of Distinction winner

      (Innovation & Entrepreneurship).

       

      @meredithjpowell

    • RESOURCES

      Some of our favorite sources of education, inspiration and - of course - laughter.

      Women + Work + the Will to Lead

      Eric Schmidt & Sheryl Sandberg: A Conversation
      Computer History Museum - May 2013

      Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt moderates a fascinating hour-long conversation with Sandberg about women, leadership and more.
       

      This video is part of the Museum's acclaimed "Revolutionaries" speaker series, featuring renowned innovators, business and technology leaders, and authors. Discussions revolve around the process of innovation, its risks and rewards, and failure that led to ultimate success.

      Wisdom + Truth + Whole-Hearted Living

      Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability
      TEDxHouston - June 2010

      Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
       

      Brené Brown studies vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. Her follow-up TEDx talk is here and it's as beautiful and honest as anything we've ever heard. 

       

      Tina Fey's Mark Twain Prize Acceptance Speech

      Bosses + Bras + Bizness

      Tina Fey: ‘Always Wear A Bra’ & other tips for working women
      The Jane Dough - March 2013

      The amazing Tina Fey recently sat down for the season premiere of Inside the Actor’s Studio with James Lipton and shared some insights into how working women should behave. Also, watch Tina Fey's Mark Twain Prize Acceptance Speech at left.
       
      If you've yet to pick up Tina's book "Bossy Pants", read it now, thank us later.

      How does it feel to be the CEO of a start-up?

      Q&A Platform

      Quora is a collection of questions and answers that is created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. Quora's our first stop when we have a professional query. It contains all kinds of high-value content from industry insiders.
       
      This post is by our good friend, Paul DeJoe, CEO of Ecquire. It also happens to be one of the most read Quora posts of all time. 

      Education + Confidence + Connection

      Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion
      TED Talks Education - May 2013

      Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” This talk is a rousing call to educators to believe in their students & to connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
       

      Rita F. Pierson has spent her entire life in or around the classroom, having followed both her parents and grandparents into a career as an educator.

      Social Good + Community + Change

      Progressive Community

      Good is an online community of people who give a damn. It's also where people share what's good to learn and do.
       
      GOOD is a super cool global resource of, by, and for pragmatic idealists working towards individual and collective progress.
       
       

      Smart Money + Dumb Money

      Venture Hacks: Good Advice for Startups
      October 2007

      A question well answered (that stands the test of time).
       
      Q: Everybody is telling us to raise smart money. What’s the difference between smart money and dumb money? 

      Stay Hungry + Stay Foolish

      Steve Jobs: Commencement Address
      Stanford University - June 12th, 2005

      Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement.
       

      Find a full written transcript of the address here.

      Genius + Creativity + Inspiration

      Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius
      TED - Feb 2009

      Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. 
       

      The author of 'Eat, Pray, Love,' Elizabeth Gilbert has thought long and hard about some large topics. Her latest fascination: genius, and how we ruin it.

      Join The World's Petition Platform

      Empowering people everywhere to create the change they want to see.

      There are more than 80M Change.org users in 196 countries & every day people use it to transform their communities – locally, nationally & globally. Whether it's a mother fighting bullying in her daughter's school, customers pressing banks to drop unfair fees, or citizens holding corrupt officials to account, thousands of campaigns started by people like you have won on Change.org – and more are winning every week.
    Copyright 2013