Grit & Grace: A Panel Discussion on Female Leadership in Male Dominated Industries

I signed up for this panel discussion probably more than a month ago. It wasn’t until the day before the panel that I realized that Andrea, one of the women talking, was a college classmate of Dallas’s who I’d met several times!

The reason I signed up was because I’ve been on team and leading teams in a male-dominated industry (software development) for something like 20 years. I thought it would be interesting and insightful, AND IT WAS. It’s always nice to get out of the office for a breath of fresh ideas, even if just for an hour or two. Also nice to visit the 1871 space once in a while. I hadn’t been there for a few years.

Checking Back in at Tech Cocktail

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I haven’t attended Tech Cocktail for about four years, so when I got an email offering me complimentary tickets to a recent mixer and startup showcase, I decided to see what was up. Back in the day Tech Cocktail was a Chicago event that was started by my coworker Eric, who sat about 10 feet away from me in our FeedBurner office, and his friend Frank, who is still with Tech Cocktail. Now it has grown to be a company of its own with (presumably) paid employees and events in every city and even a conference. Crazy!

Jess and I attended the mixer last week at the Merch Mart. It was cool to check back in and see how the event has grown. The startup I liked best … or maybe just the only one I would probably use… was DRYV, which is an app that provides on-demand dry cleaning and laundry services. Unlike previous events, I didn’t know anyone or recognize anyone. And despite my mixed feelings on him, Ron May was definitely missed.

Check out the other Tech Cocktail events I’ve attended:

Tech Cocktail 2 (2006)
Tech Cocktail 3 (2007)
Tech Cocktail 5 (2007)
Tech Cocktail 6 (2007)
Tech Cocktail 7 (2008)
Tech Cocktail 14 (2010)

Built in Chicago Launch Party

Built in Chicago is a site that was created about 8 months ago and is a resource for digital professionals working and building great web and mobile businesses in Chicago. Last night I attended their launch party with Jess and Alden. Tribeca Flashpoint sponsored the event and it was held in their space at the Merchandise Mart. There was a $10 admission fee, but once you were in, it was all free drinks and snacks.

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The beer sponsor was Finch’s Beer Co. Ok. But made in Chicago? How have I never heard of them? I asked the servers and they said that Finch’s has only been in production for about 8 weeks and that it is based out of the Albany Park neighborhood. Interesting. I had two Golden Wing blond ales and Jess and Alden both had the Cut Throat pale ale. We all liked the beer and when I tweeted about it, Chuck declared that the blonde will be the beer of this summer.

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Ok. So, enough about the beer. The Built in Chicago event was basically a mixer. It reminded me of Tech Cocktail, but with more suits and more gray hair. A grown up Tech Cocktail? I mean, even Ron May showed up at the end (blerg!). I talked to people I knew from various stages of my “past lives” – Chicagoist, FeedBurner, Google – and also from past Tech Cocktail events. It was nice to see people I hadn’t seen for quite a while (Kevin – from Google & now heading up the Chicago Entrepreneurial Center , Sean – from Chicagoist, now at Have My Shift, Brad – from my Chicagoist days, now at Appolicious, and Blagica from all over? 🙂 ) Also nice meet some new people, too.

I like how Built in Chicago seems like more of an ongoing thing. Like, sure, they’ll have these face-to-face networking events occasionally, but you don’t just go away after that and see people at the next event. Built in Chicago is also a whole social networking site for like-minded interactive people in Chicago. I think it should be a bit easier to keep in the loop and keep in contact with people. Looking forward to seeing how this all evolves.

PS. At the end of the night Alden and I met up with Dallas at the Boiler Room and guess what kind of beer I noticed they had on tap? Finch’s! So I had another Golden Wing. Maybe this will be the beer of the summer.