International Women's Day event

EMW, Bluebox & Home Grown hosted an important and uplifting evening with inspirational women in business.

The event was hugely successful with 60 guests who battled the snow to get there.

Our very own Tracy Evans chaired the event and spoke with four female entrepreneurs to discuss their experiences of running a business, as well as explored this year’s theme – embracing equity.

It was great to see so many women gathered in one room and Home Grown's venue was the perfect space for the panellists to share their stories. And it was the perfect opportunity to professionally connect with other women and to talk about their challenges and successes.

Here is some feedback from the attendees and photographs from the evening -

"Thank you so much for the invite last night.
The panel was incredible and hugely inspiring."

"Thank you so much for inviting me. Ruth and I really enjoyed the evening and found it very inspiring. It was fascinating hearing the backgrounds of all the Panellists and the knowledge they could share.
Look forward to more events and seeing you soon."

"Thank you. Last night was rather special.
Great people, great venue and a fantastic panel, Wendy, Karen and Diana were very inspiring."

"Well done on organising a fab event and filling the room – I think it went down really well!"

The event hosted a widely inspirational panel -

Wendy Powell: Femtech entrepreneur, NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow, Speaker and Founder of global health-tech platform MUTU System. Digital, evidence-based transformative pre and postnatal physical and mental health, direct to consumers around the world, as medical referral, and via employee benefits and corporate wellness. I’m a multiple certified postpartum exercise specialist, accredited fitness education provider, international speaker and award-winning entrepreneur.
Diana Hunter: Has 27 years business experience at the top of some of Britain’s best-known brands in the retail and wholesale industries, including Sainsbury, Waitrose and Conviviality. It was over the course of her career that she developed a deep understanding of developing brands and turning them into profit-making organisations, which is evidenced through her creation of Little Waitrose which was profitable over the course of a 12 month period. In her current role as a Non-Executive Director, she uses her wealth of business experience to aid and build brands from the early stages through to those looking to go public. Diana has led business entities on mergers and acquisitions as well as fundraising. Diana has also acted as an adviser and a Trustee to a number of charities
Karen Hanton: The founder of PetsPyjamas, which reflects the important place pets can have in people’s lives and offers dog-friendly travel holiday ideas amongst lots of other things! PetsPyjamas supports and works closely with a few chosen charities and strongly encourages those who want a pet to source one from an animal rescue centre. She is also the inspired partner of sustainability site Positive Luxury.
Diana Verde Nieto: The co-founder of Positive Luxury, a company that helps brands adapt to the new sustainability economy. They support their clients with expert advice, industry analysis and independent certification, keeping them at the forefront of the world’s rapid transition towards a sustainable future. Diana is a pioneer in sustainability and a globally recognised figure in the field, having been trained by Al Gore at the Alliance of Climate Protection and subsequently being honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2011, also serving as a board member for the World Economic Forum Young Global Leader community. Diana is an honorary Professor at The Caledonian University.

Many discussions were had but to point out a few they included -

The stories of inspiring women who have led, run their own, raised capital or sold their business and the challenges faced along the way
Why it’s important to champion equality for women in business and investment, how it could affect investor or purchaser interest
The journey and tips for building and thriving within a successful business
The importance of sustainability, mission-led businesses and leadership
How we can all make a difference, be the change and embrace equity