What a great talk today by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg!
The New England VC Association hosted the event, and as I’ve written before, C.A. made it happen. 500+ folks were packed in the room (unfortunately, another 540 folks were on the wait list–this event sold out in 8 hours!). There was a ton of eagerness and energy there when I walked in.
I was really impressed with Sheryl’s message and how she delivered her points with insights and humor. As I’ve written in the past (see here), the lack of senior female business leaders is an issue that concerns me, and Sheryl really laid out the root causes. I’ve read her book, but it was really awesome to hear her speak in person.
Another point: it was a great day for the entrepreneurial community. So many people pulled together to make this event:
- C.A. raised the money to underwrite the event, and partnered with MITX and TechStars. She attracted a great list of sponsors in just one morning of intense phone calls after getting off a flight from the U.K.: Silicon Valley Bank, Cooley, KPMG, Hubspot, Brightcove, BzzAgent, Communispace, Digitas, InkHouse Media + Marketing, Nanigans and Pearl Meyer
- Some individuals agreed to financially “back stop” the event, in case the fundraising fell short
- Brightcove streamed the event live
It was a fun, energizing and uplifting morning.
Thank you, Sheryl, for squeezing us in as one of the 20 speeches you’re giving in 12 days!