Dell EMC and GirlCrew’s Supper Club to encourage more women-led start-ups

13 Jun 2017

From left: Aisling Keegan, vice-president and general manager of Dell EMC Ireland; Louisamay Hanrahan, Luvguru co-founder; Louise Dunne, Glissed co-founder; and Pamela Newenham, GirlCrew co-founder. Image: Luke Maxwell

The first rule of Supper Club is to talk about the success of women entrepreneurs.

Dell EMC and GirlCrew have joined forces to establish the new Supper Club series where women entrepreneurs will meet regularly to share ideas and strategies for success.

The first meeting of the Supper Club will take place on 21 June in Dublin, with 20 leading female entrepreneurs invited.

‘GirlCrew is a platform for women to make friends and these Supper Clubs perfectly complement what we do’
– PAMELA NEWENHAM

Dell EMC has a strong track record of supporting entrepreneurs through the work of its entrepreneur in residence and the dedicated Dell for Entrepreneurs programme, which provides mentorship, support and access to financing for growing start-up businesses.

It also runs the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), an annual gathering of female entrepreneurs established to address some of the challenges faced by women when starting and growing their businesses.

The eighth annual DWEN Summit will be held in San Francisco, California in July, bringing together entrepreneurs for two days of collaboration, thought leadership and networking.

Leading by example

“Our Supper Club, run in partnership with GirlCrew, will create an opportunity for female entrepreneurs to gather together on a regular basis to share insights, ideas and experiences,” said Aisling Keegan, vice-president and general manager of Dell EMC Ireland.

“Team members from Dell EMC will also share advice on how to build for growth and scale from day one, how to navigate international markets, embrace digital transformation and access finance.

“While it is not possible for everyone to go to San Francisco for the DWEN summit, we aim to have our own summit-style discussions over supper.”

“We have received feedback from women entrepreneurs around the globe; consistently, they highlight the value of fostering a network and facilitating the exchange of ideas with other female entrepreneurs as invaluable in helping them to grow their businesses,” Keegan said.

Founded by Elva Carri, Pamela Newenham and Aine Mulloy, GirlCrew has more than 80,000 members across 46 cities worldwide.

“GirlCrew is a start-up focused on creating opportunities for fun, friendship and networking,” Newenham explained.

“We are really excited to be teaming up with Dell EMC. GirlCrew is a platform for women to make friends and these Supper Clubs perfectly complement what we do.”

More information on the upcoming Supper Club will be available through GirlCrew and Dell EMC’s respective social media channels.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com