Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs 2021 June2021

MOST SUCCESSFUL WOMEN IN CLOUD ENTREPRENEURS

Editor’s Desk

Together We are Stronger

Theriseinthenumberofwomenentrepreneursin

thelastdecadehasbeenenormous,andalmost everybusinesssectorhasbeencontinually experiencingthemultiplewavesofentrepreneurialtides. Strikingouttheissuesthatcomewithconventional methodologies,thesewomenentrepreneursbelievein takingchargeintheirhandstosucceed.Womenareknown fortheirnaturaltraitssuchascompassion,nurturance, eloquence,supportiveness,andmuchmore.They implementthesetraitstobringanewapproachtothetable, cultivatingaworkculturethatisdiverseandinclusive,and assistivetotheteam.Culminatingwithsuchqualitiesthat areproventoboostthebusinessacumen,aninitiativeof WomeninCloudcameintofruition.

WomeninCloudisacommunity-ledeconomic developmentorganizationaimingtogenerate$1Binnet globaleconomicaccessforwomenentrepreneursby2030 throughpartnershipswithcorporations,communityleaders, andpolicymakers.WomeninCloudiscreatingaccessto partnershipopportunitiesandprogramsthataccelerate businessgrowthinthecloudandstrategicalliancesthat advancethesuccessofwomenintechnology.Sinceits beginning,WomeninCloudhasimpactedvariousaspects ofthecommunities,acceleratingwomenentrepreneurs' growth.Theinitiativehasproventobeanabsoluteboonfor womenleaderstoempowereachothertoaddressvarious challengeswhileexpandingtheirnetwork.

AsIpreviouslymentioned,womenareexcellentintheir innovativeapproach,andWomeninCloudentirelyjustifies thattrait.Theseleadersnotonlycametogetherbutalso haveopeneddoorsforaspiringwomentocontributeina

waythatgivesthemanincredibleheadstart.Ina worldthatismoredemanding,womenleadersare pushingtheirboundariesandrisingabove expectation,securingprofessionalfacetsby surroundingthemselveswithpeoplethatsupport themtoshine.Womenreciprocatethesebehaviorsby inspiringpeoplearoundwhileencouragingtheurge todelivereffectiveresultsthatareunmatchedin everywaypossible.Thesewomenentrepreneursare flyinghighbystayingdown-to-earth,disruptingtheir niche,andaresettingexamplestoberememberedfor centuries.

Toshedlightonthetalesofwomenentrepreneurs whohaveachievedagreatfeatintheirfield, outgrowingtheirfearofleadingwithaglobal mindset.InsightsSuccesscelebratesthejourneyof theseleadersinitslatestedition, "Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs".

Weinviteyoutogothroughthefeaturedprofilesthat distinctivelycoverseverallifeaspectsofthese womenentrepreneurs.Also,takeaglanceatthe articlethatgivesin-depthdetailsabouttheWomenin Cloudinitiativepenneddownbythein-house editorialteam.

EnjoytheRead!

sourabh@insightssuccess.com

Sourabh More

FeaturedPerson

AllieKnull

FounderandCEO

CathyLight

FounderandCEO

Brief CompanyName

ResumeFree resumefree.ca

LiderancaGroup liderancagroup.com

ResumeFreeisajob-matchingsitethatconnectscandidates withemployers,withoutusingaresume.

LiderancaGroup,Inc.isabusinessandworkforceacceleration firm.

FounderandCEO SciMarONE LLC SciMarONEoperationalizesclinicaldatawithAItoimprove healthcare.

DonnaConroy

GailMercer-MacKay

FounderandCEO

GenevièveDesautels CEO

KiyeonNam

Inventor,Founder, andCEO

Mercer-MacKay DigitalStorytelling mercermackay.com

Mercer-MacKayDigitalSolutionsisdigitalstorytelling company

illuxisupportsexpertsandorganizationstohost,marketand designonlinetrainings,remoteprofessionalservices,virtual events,livevideosandpodcasts. illuxi illuxi.com

B’ZTLLC smartbzt.com

KristenMiller CEOandCo-Founder

Stylyze stylyze.com

MarthaMontoya CEO AgtoolsInc. ag.tools

NehalMehta Presidentand Co-Founder

RainbowSecure rainbowsecure.com

B’ZTSmartClothingisthemostcomfortabletrackingdevice forchildrenandthemostconvenientassistivetechnologyfor parentsandcaregiversintheworld.

Stylyzeisacloud-basedSaaSplatform.

AgToolsisaworldwideSaaSplatform.

RainbowSecureProvidesPassword,Zero-trustlogin, Identities,SmartMFA,OfficeSolutions.

FounderandCEO Tribute tributementorship.com

SarahHaggard

Tributeisaworkplacementorshipappthatradicallyredefines andimprovesmentorshipforyourcompanyandyour employees.

Allie Knull Founder and CEO ResumeFree

Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs

AllieKnull

Taking the Recruitment Process to New Heights

Attractingandretainingthebesttalentisachallenging taskforallbusinesses.Inanorganization,havingthe rightpersonforthejobisnecessaryforthebusiness. However, recruiting the right person could be a challenge even when conditions are ideal. Identifying the competent candidatesfromtheseaofapplicationsisworkofpreciseness andneedstobedonerightfromthebeginningoftheprocess.

Allie Knull is an inspiring entrepreneur and recruitment professionalwith20yearsofextensiveexperience,working toadvancetherecruitingprocessandtoensurethatrecruiters don’tenduplosingvitalorganizationalresources.Allieisthe Founder and CEO of ResumeFree, an innovative technology which helps employers and candidates find the rightfit,allwithoutresumes.Theideawastoaligntechnology inawaythatprovidessecure,jobspecificpredictiveanalytics which simplify the recruiting process, taking the guesswork outofwhetherornotthecandidateandemployer“fit”.

EveryChallengeBringsNewLearning

BeforestartingResumeFree,Alliewasrunningaconsulting firm.Aftershesawthepossibilitieswithaligningtechnology and businesses together, she thought “What if we could do things a little bit better? What if we could hire without using resumes? What if we could have a tool that could do that?” Thisintegrationoftechnologyandrecruitmentprocessledto theinceptionofResumeFree.

Being a non-tech tech founder, Allie had faced a lot of challengestotransformhervisionintoreality.Frommerging withthepeoplethatcreatedthetoolandlicensingit,seeking global approval from all of the partners, to developing the toolaseconomicallyaspossible,Alliehadtoovercomealot of hurdles. She believes that there was a big learning curve onhowmuchworkneedstogoinbehindthescenes,andhow tomakeatoolreally,trulyaccessibleforpeopleaswell.

AComprehensiveScreeningTool

According to Allie, in today’s recruitment process the resumeonlyshowsthecandidate’sachievements,academia,

and previous work experience There could be marginalization from people in specific areas; those who couldn't get into elite colleges, those who didn't have an internship, or people who chose to do all of their schooling rather than work. These types of people could be turned downforrolesbecauseoftheirlackofexperience,education credentials,orofvoluntaryroles.

At ResumeFree™, we understand that it is challenging to assignvaluesto“intangible”characteristicsonaresume,such ashonestyorapproachability.Wescreencandidatesbasedon 175 behavioural qualities. The questions we ask reveal a candidate’sinterpersonalandsoftskills–allofthethingsthat are impossible to measure in a resume. This data takes the guessworkoutofhiringandgivesemployersmoreclarityand oversightthroughouttherecruitmentprocess.

EmpoweringOthersWhileLeading

Being a leader very early on in her career, Allie has been managingpeoplefor20plusyearsnow Throughherjourney shehasexperienceddifferentpersonalitiesanddifferentstyles ofmanagementallthewaythrough.Inheropinion,impactful leadershipisallaboutempoweringpeopletomakedecisions. AtResumeFree™,Alliehasaverysmallteamoffivepeople. Evenwiththissizeofteam,sheallowsherteamtomaketheir owndecisionswithoutfeelingliketheyaren'tallowedtofail. She believes that as a leader it is essential to make sure that peopleareempowered.

AContinualinGrowth

After graduating from the Women in Cloud Microsoft Acceleratorprogram,ResumeFree™hassincegonefromone or two sales every month to growing monthly recurring revenueincludingreturningclientsthatseeitasbeingpartof their recruitment process. Year over year thus far is 400% growth, and the company still has five months to go. Allie states “We’ve increased our client base five times what it was last year. We’re now listed on Microsoft Appsource and WomeninCloudMarketplace.We’vegonefromservicingone countrytofourandsoontobesix.”

ForAllie, the biggest hurdle was to navigate how to sell her product well as there are many different markets she can service. Women In CloudAccelerator helped her in refining themessageandmoreimportantlychangeittowhatresonates withthebuyers/clients.

Allie mentions that 2020 was an impactful year, and for her team to share that it can reduce human bias in the screening process to zero was the key for the organization to gaining newcontracts.

Allie asserts “As a female founder faced with a wildly unknown year, the support and encouragement of my cohort was absolutely phenomenal We celebrate each other’s successesandsupporteachother’sbusinesses.”

OpportunitiesforWomenEntrepreneurs

Allie opines that Fortune 1000 companies will provide opportunitiesandconnectionsforfemalefoundedvendorsto have their solutions enter the enterprise marketplace with greatersuccessandtractionthanbefore.Thesecompaniesare striving for the UN Sustainable Development Goals and are

actively putting into practice processes and programs to ensure equitable procurement for all vendors. These companiesalsohavetheuniqueabilitytohelpcompaniesdo proofofconceptandhelpdefineearly-stagetechnologytonot only advance their digital transformation within their organization, but also provide the access for these founders whomaynothavethefundingtowhollybuildouttheirtech ontheirown.

EnlighteningEmergingEntrepreneurs

Inheradvicetobuddingwomenentrepreneurs,Alliesays, “I think there are so many fear-based decisions because we are used to being in our comfort and safety zone. But, I feel you should take that leap of faith and not be afraid to step into something that's new or foreign or something that you didn't thinkthatyou'dbedoing.Therearelotsofresourcesoutthere, justseekandfindyourcommunity.”

Shefurtheradds, “Don't be afraid that somebody is going to steal that idea. It's your idea. You bring it to fruition, and then youwillgetalltheaccoladesforit.”

We use proven factors to screen for fit first, remove bias, saving time & money. Finally, a formula for hiring success!

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Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs

Cathy Light

Driven to Help Companies Be Better for a Brighter World

Beingasuccessfulentrepreneurisnotadestination;it’s a journey of risk-taking and learning experiences comprised of facing and overcoming challenges. Beinganentrepreneurisoftennerve-rackingandscary Still,a consistent effort, talent, and a strong desire to contribute meaningfullytotheworldwillultimatelyleadtosuccessand satisfaction.CathyLightisaserialentrepreneur.Herjourney through corporate America garnered her a great deal of experienceandshapedherentrepreneurialspirit.Cathyisthe FounderandCEOofLiderançaGroup,theparentoffour strategicbrands:AssessmentLeaders,LeadershipBalance®, BeWellPerformWell,andDiversity,Equity&Inclusion. Cathyhaslongrecognizedthatitisanorganization’speople that are responsible for its success. That’s why all four of Liderança Group’s brands are people-focused and thrive by helpingclientsworldwideexceedtheirgoalsbytransforming theirworkplaceculture.

Driving Meaningful and Substantive DEI in the Workplace

Cathyisadistinguishedthoughtleaderandadynamicspeaker with an engaging personality, who is widely known for the passionandrigorshebringstoherwork.Shehasbuiltateam ofpeoplecommittedtohelpingorganizationsreachtheirfull potential.Themulti-facetedLiderançaGrouphelpscorporate leaders develop and manage internal teams dedicated to achieving exceptional results Her company recently introduced a unique, metrics-driven program for driving meaningful and substantive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)intheworkplace.Itdoessobyhelpingleadersidentify opportunitiesforimprovement,elevateconversationsaround diversity,andinspirechange.

In 2017, Liderança Group was engaged with several top Fortune clients who asked if she had a way to measure diversity and inclusion. They didn’t, but that became the inciting event for their newest project. Cathy’s team found

that nothing existed that would measure what matters in the DEI-Belonging space. Knowing that in a data-driven world, what gets measured gets done, Cathy and her team created DEInamics®.

DEInamics is a software platform that measures an organization's DEI health in seven key dimensions and provides ongoing data collection and benchmark reporting. By identifying people, process, power, and belonging gaps, DEInamics’colorful charts and graphs, along with emotiongaugingimages,helptoprioritizeactionplanstocreatemore equitable and inclusive workplaces. For its advancement of theUnitedNation’sSustainableDevelopmentGoalofGender Equality, DEInamics was named as part of Microsoft’s #BuildFor2030Campaign

HelpingClientsNavigateOrganizationalTransformation

Changebringsincredibleopportunity Stagnationinbusiness is not an option for future-facing companies and individuals with a growth mindset. Liderança Group’s business model focusesonhelpingtransformthedisruptersoftodayintothe thoughtleadersoftomorrow.LiderançaGroup’sexpertiselies in identifying areas of sustainable growth and providing actionablestrategiesthatignitechange.Itskeyobjectiveisto build long-term, successful relationships with its clients to helpthemnavigateorganizationaltransformation.

DeliveringSubstantialValuetoClients

Liderança Group is committed to improving behaviors, developing people, and changing workplaces to help organizationsreachthenextlevelofgrowthandperformance. LiderançaGroupisbuiltonthevaluesofbalance,generosity, innovation,learning,communication,andtrust.

Cathybelievesinconnectingwithalllevelsofpeopletocreate market-driven change, empowering innovation, and

Cathy Light Founder/CEO Lideranca Group

transformingleadership.Todothat,LiderançaGroupinvests timeinunderstandingclients’cultures,processesandpeople toensureitcandelivervalue.

EnsuringOrganizationsRemainCompetitiveinanEverChangingLandscape

Liderança Group delivers faster, better, and more costeffective solutions that have a profound company-wide impact.Shestatesthathervisionis“todotherightthingsto makeourworldabrighterandfairerplacetoliveandwork.” Liderança Group is a proud disrupter of business, ensuring today’s organizations can compete in the ever-changing landscape. Highly experienced and having helped guide transformationsinFortunecompaniesworldwide,Liderança Group offers consultative services that identify areas for sustainable growth with actionable strategies that ignite change.

Appreciation for the Lessons Learned from the WIC Program

SinceCathybeganasanentrepreneurin2003,shehasalways madeitapointtosurroundherselfwithpeoplewhoaugment her skillset. She states that the brilliant people she’s met through the Women in Cloud (WIC) Microsoft Accelerator Program, through Microsoft, and through the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP) have taught her so much. Theresa Linson, VP of Innovation at Crayon, and her team, in collaboration with our product management technology team, are doing incredible developmentwork.

Whenever Cathy and her team would stumble, someone in this vast ecosystem of support filled with talented resources would lend them a hand. Many doors opened to Cathy from the Microsoft community; supporters who want to see a woman-owned technology company succeed (especially for thismuch-neededdataanalyticstool).Thisfantasticgroupof people, especially Cathy notes, Chaitra Vedullapalli and Karen Fassio, are selfless and committed to creating economic access for women. Currently, less than 2% of fundinggoestowomen-ledcompanies–astatisticthatneeds tochange.

MakingPersonalSacrificestoGetProducttoMarket

SincegraduatingfromtheWomeninCloudMicrosoftCloud AcceleratoronJanuary23,2020,Cathytestedtheproductin

Liderança Group is a proud disrupter of business, ensuring today’s organizations can compete in the ever-changing landscape.

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beta and entered into a Development Partnership with Crayon.com – Microsoft's 2019 #1 Global AI Partner. The goal with Crayon.com is to advance DEInamics from a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) to a Minimal Loveable Product(MLP).

The development and marketing of DEInamics have been self-funded by Cathy. She alludes that while it hasn't been easytomakethepersonalsacrificestogetthismuch-needed productintothemarketplace,itisworthitasLiderançaGroup isnowreadytoscale.“Ibelieveinthepowerofthisproduct,” says Cathy “It can be used as a force for good and help companiesmakeinformeddecisionsthatwillhaveaprofound impact." Thus far, Cathy has not applied for any grants but willbepursuinggrowthoptions.

SupportforWomentoPursueTechnologyIdeas

Cathy believes that creating economic access for women shouldbeapriorityasthereisalongwaytogotowardgender parityandequityintechnology ResearchshowsthatCOVID setwomenbackwithmanymorewomenthanmenleavingthe workforcetocareforchildrenandeldersandsupportremote learning.CathywouldliketoseeVCsandPEsfundwomenownedventuresbycommittingtoacollectivedollaramount, sowomencangofromthecurrent2%infundingto10%by theendof2021andkeepfocusedongrowingthatpercentage. Cathy states that it is essential to help more women pursue theirtechnologyideastoclosetheindustryequalitygap.With theAcceleratorProgram,MicrosoftandWIChavecreatedan amazingopportunitytoaccelerateandrefineideasandmake them viable for the marketplace. Cathy believes that womenneedmoresuccessstoriestoinspireotherwomen to pursue their dreams. She says, “It’s easy to let fear of failureorlackoftechknowledgeholdyouback.Butdon’t. Seekoutwhatyouneed.Therearesupportnetworkstoguide you along the way: Women in Cloud, The WIT Network, IAMCP,andofcourse,Microsoft.”

Cathy’s advice to upcoming women entrepreneurs, "A good ideaisnotenough.Youneedtohaveanexternalgo-to-market strategy and internal plans to support those strategies where you align people skills with processes that drive to an execution plan The ability to consistently generate repeatablerevenueiskey ComposeanAdvisoryBoardwhere industryleaderscancontributetheirexpertiseandhelpyouto avoid pitfalls. Finally, timing and a little luck will play a role. Whileitmayseemdaunting,knowthatyouandyourteamcan makeithappen!”

Conroy Founder/CEO SciMar ONE, LLC

Donna

DONNA CONROY

Innovating Clinical Data Analytics to Accelerate Drug Development

Our common global enemy is disease, so we built a system for pharma that uses data to accelerate development of drugs to fight emerging diseases,” saysDonnaConroy.

DonnaConroy,M.S.isCEOandFounderofSciMarONE, LLC, a clinical data analytics technology company. Throughout her career, Donna has focused on two passions: translating complicated science to evolve drug development and building work environments that support womenespeciallyworkingmothers,amissionclosetoherheart.

Donna oversees SciMar’s day-to-day business and uses her extensive scientific background to support the clinical team. ThroughherleadershipatSciMar,Donnawasnamedoneof NewJersey’sTop25LeadingWomenEntrepreneursandwas accepted into the prestigious Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator, 2020 Donna credits participation in Microsoft’sWomenInCloudAcceleratorforstimulatingkey ideasandprovidingaccesstoopportunitiestocatapultSciMar towhereitistoday.

TheProblemwithClinicalData

As the COVID-19 pandemic revealed, there is a global challengeinmanagingtremendousvolumesofclinicaldatato effectively treat disease. To combat this “avalanche” of information, the pharmaceutical industry needs a powerful solutiontoidentify,processandalignscientificallyvalidated datatodrugdevelopmentworkflow

There has always been a wealth of clinical data, but rapid advancementsintechnologyallowforhugevolumesofboth good and non-validated data dissemination. Add a volume issue to an existing myriad of clinical data interoperability challenges and pharma is left with a problem that both expediatesandslowsdrugdevelopment.

Seeingthisinefficiencywithinthedrugdevelopmentprocess, Donna identified the whitespace that informed SciMar’s missiontobuildasolutionthatexpeditesdrugdevelopment. Today,Donna’sworkcentersaroundSciMar’sproprietary ™ technologysolutioncalledTheScientificDataEngine (SDE).TheSDEisanartificialintelligence(AI)-powered drugdevelopmentplatformthatacceleratescross-functional drugdevelopment.SciMarwasrecentlyacceptedinto MicrosoftforStartups,aglobalprogramtohelpbuildand scaletheSDE.

TranslatingSciencewithEvolvingTechnology

DonnabeganSciMarasaconsultancyin2003whenshelefta successful,fast-trackcareerinpharmatohaveafamily.Asa consultant, she helped pharmaceutical clients translate complicated science into meaningful market needs She developed, executed, and implemented drug development plans with strategies that delivered results, all while raising fourchildren.

In2014,astechnologyadvanced,DonnatransitionedSciMar fromaconsultancytoasmallbusiness.Withanewvision,she led the company in building early-version technology solutions to identify useful data from mounds of clinical information. In 2015, SciMar offered a basic version of the SDE to solve a small portion of clinical data management challenges. These early solutions were customized for Fortune-500pharmaceuticalcompanies.

Although building and selling sole-proprietor solutions was beneficial,itwasratelimiting,allowingSciMartoonlywork with one pharma company at a time in a specific disease. Whendrugsfailedthedrugdevelopmentprocess,ordivisions weresold,theSDEwasnolongerneeded.Moreconcerning was the loss of significant data insights/analytics that could continueadvancingpatientcare.

Seeing an opportunity to better meet the needs of multiple clients and progress healthcare globally, Donna made a strategic decision in early 2020. She would pivot SciMar’s business and re-imagine the SDE as a SaaS solution. This innovative and more comprehensive SDE would offer three distinctadvantages:

1) SPEED to compile and sort mounds of validated clinical data instantly 2) FLEXIBILITY with disease-specific data models that quickly and easily adapt to any disease, and 3) UNDERSTANDINGwithdeeperanalyticalcapabilitiesthat provideclientstheexactinformationneededtodevelopdatadriven,innovativedrugs.

The incorporation of advanced technology was required to adopt this vision. The SDE was enhanced withAI powered

technology including Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML). The goal of reimagining the SDE to accelerate innovative drug development was underway

TodaytheSDEsystemsolvessignificantchallengeswithin pharmaceutical drug development and gets life-saving therapiestomarket2-3yearsfaster.

Themostsignificantadvancementistheshiftofclinicaldata analytics from humans to technology This shift streamlines drug development workflow and translates to significant savings of more than $34M for every drug in development. Currently,thereare204drugdevelopmentteamsworkingon justthetop6emergingdiseaseswhichequatestoa$7billion dollarsavingstothepharmaceuticalindustry

GlobalImpactAwardsandRecognition

The decision to pivot the business and focus on progressing global healthcare resulted in recognition of the SDE’s alignmentwiththeUnitedNationsSustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 3: Good Heatlh and WellBeing.

In the fall of 2020, the SDE was honored as a top 10 idea solving the United Nations SDGs in the AI Solutions 2030 designcontestsponsoredbyIdeagen®andWomeninCloud.

InFebruary2021,theSDEsolutionwaschosenbyMicrosoft for its #BuildFor2030 campaign which supports Microsoft partnersalignedtotheUNSDGsandmakingadifferenceby enabling an inclusive economy, creating opportunities, and positivebusinessoutcomes.

Micosoft’sWomeninCloudMicrosoftAccelerator

NavigatingtheWomeninCloudopportunityduringaglobal pandemic created several interesting challenges and

successesforDonna.Participatingintheacceleratorprogram, she learned the value of flexibility, resetting the course and challenginghercurrentknowledgebase.

TheWomen in Cloud program helped Donna gain the skills requiredtoovercomemanybusinesshurdlesofreimagingthe SDE. Specifically, she revamped the business model and reevaluatedtheSDE’svaluepropositions.SciMar’spartnership with Microsoft’s Women in Cloud helped secure industryleadingtechnologyadvisorsandadvancetheSDEtechnology with global expertise. In addition, the COVID-19 SDE becameavailabletoprospectivepharmaclientsthroughboth the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace and the Women In Cloud Commercial Marketplace to quickly expand the customerbase.

ExpandingOpportunitiesforWomen

Throughout her career, Donna has maintained a passion for creatingworkenvironmentsthatsupportwomen–especially workingmothers.ShedevelopedSciMar’swork-from-home model years before it was an accepted practice, to accommodate her own need for work-life balance with four children.This need evolved into a strong belief of attracting talentoverphysicalpresence.“WhatIlearnedistherewereso many smart, talented women who wanted it all, but were struggling,”saidDonna.“Yetthereisaninherentefficiencyin these women that translates to strong work born out of the desiretoaccommodatebothfamilyandacareer.”

Over the years, this need transcended beyond women and therefore,SciMariscommittedtobuildingprogramsthathire talented people who would otherwise leave their careers because of life events. Donna has established a program providing flexible roles that allow people to build and maintain their careers and skills while balancing life. This flexibility not only attracts high talent, but fosters growth of SciMar’s employees, so they continue building a career at theirownnon-traditionalpace.

Donna is eager to expand and create new opportunities for women at the executive level as she grows her company. Goals include women representing more than 50% of the Board of Directors, executive management, and advisory boards.

Inaddition,SciMarproactivelypartnerswithwomen-owned companies, and is establishing internship and mentoring programswithatleast50%enrollmentforwomeninSTEM.

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Gail Mercer-MacKay Serving Clients with Integrity

Passion plus experience equals great results. An avid

marketer,GailMercer-MacKaycombinedapassion for storytelling with years of sales & marketing experience gained at technology firms to found MercerMacKaySolutions.

As a business owner and innovator, Gail understands the challenges of the corporate world and believes strongly in mentorship as a path to produce results. She has inspired many to forge their own IT journey. Along with her enthusiasm for story-telling, Gail is a problem-solver committed to helping people build valuable business and personalconnections.

During her years working in the world of IT sales, Gail learned the kind of messaging that customers want to hear fromtechnologycompanies,butitwaswhenshelefttherole of VP of Sales & Marketing for a Microsoft ISV that her entrepreneurial journey really began. She started a small agency helping Microsoft partners tell their stories, market themselvesandconnectwithcustomers.Overtime,shebuilta successfulagencythatcrackedandthenexceededthemilliondollar revenue ceiling, something that few female entrepreneursareabletodo.

RecognizeOpportunities

Gail prides herself on being a risk-taker but believes in making calculated bets. Along her journey, she carefully assessed available opportunities before investing, ultimately buildinganagile,resilient,scalablebusinessthatoffersvalue toabroadcommunityofclients.

Throughout her career, she witnessed start-ups being built –some were successful while others failed – and took those lessons forward when she established Mercer-MacKay She setouttocreatesomethingunique,fosteringaculturewhere everyoneatthecompanycouldbothcontributetoitsgrowth andshareinitssuccess.

AStrongAdvocateforWomeninCloud

Today, Mercer-MacKay is a Microsoft supplier and partner Chaitra Vedullapalli – Founder of Women in Cloud –introduced Gail to the Women in Cloud (WIC) Microsoft CloudAccelerator.Duringhersix-monthacceleratorjourney, GailbuiltherownapplicationonMicrosoftDynamicsinthe Azurecloud.

Gailsays,“TheWICAcceleratoropenedmyeyestothepower oftheMicrosoftDynamicsplatform.It'sagreattechnologyto

Top 10 Most Successful Women in Cloud Entrepreneurs

Gail Mercer-MacKay, Founder and CEO, Mercer-MacKay Digital Storytelling

build on and it's fantastic for women entrepreneurs who want tobuildinthecloudbecauseyoucangetintothemarketreally quickly using ‘citizen developers’ for no-code/low-code programming.”

AsaMicrosoftDynamicspartner,Mercer-MacKaywasable tobuildMVP(MinimumValueProduct)forunder$100,000, going from paper to product in 8 weeks. Gail credits her participation in the WIC Accelerator for helping MercerMacKayreceivesoftwaredevelopmentfunding,allowingthe teamtothendeveloparevenue-generatingversion.

MercerMacKaylauncheditsfirstsoftwaremoduleoneyear ago and immediately had 300 registrants generating over $200,000insales.Thecompany’sannualsalesrevenuewent from$3Mto$6ManditwasselectedbyForrester[1]asoneof the world’s top marketing firms for providing channel marketingsolutionstotechnologycompanies.

ExpandingDiversityinCanada

Mercer-MacKay’s plan to build on Microsoft Dynamics as wellasGail’sparticipationintheWICAcceleratorattracteda lot of attention, including that of the Canadian government. The NRC IRAP program provided funding to help with expansion and the company grew 79% in the past year In 2020 Mercer-MacKay was ranked number 7 in the top 100 companies certified as a Great Place to Work in Canada, highlightingtheirfocusonwomenandinclusivity.

ABigBelieverinGivingBack

Gail sees Mercer-MacKay as part of an ecosystem; she believes in nurturing all parties, including employees, partners,customers,andsuppliers.Tothatend,thecompany holdsdailymeditationbreaks,andoffersbothhealthcareand

mentalhealthbenefits.Attheoutbreakofthepandemic,they put extra support in place to ensure everyone was cared for, including offering special tutors for parents homeschooling theirchildrenaswellasadditional‘pandemic-days’off.

Inherlifeandherwork,GailisguidedbytheZigZiglarquote that says: "You will have everything you want in life if you helpenoughotherpeoplegeteverythingtheywant."

I believe that when we serve others and help them become the best version of themselves – whether personally or professionally – there are no limits to what we can achieve.

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Why We Need Women in Leadership?

Themorewelearnaboutthedynamicsofthe businessworld,themorewerealizethatfemale leadershipinthebusinessworldiscrucial.Various surveysacrosstheglobeprovethatorganizationswith adequaterepresentationoffemaleleaderscanoutperform organizationsthatlackfemaleleadership.Organizations withgenderdiversityandsufficientfemalesinleadership positionsaremoreprofitablethanthosewithissueslike genderdiscrimination,genderinequality,anddifferencesin thepaygapsbetweenmenandwomen.Theorganizations thattreatbothmenandwomenfairlyandavoidprejudiced mentalityagainstfemalescanthrivemorethanthe organizationshavingissueswithfemaleleadership.

Havingfemaleleadersinanyorganizationcreateapositive andnon-discriminatoryenvironmentall-around.The potentialandcapabilitiesofwomenleadersshouldnotbe underestimated.Theyhavethetremendouspotentialand abilitiestodelivermorethanexpectedormorethanneeded. Femaleleadershipisaboonbecausetheirsoftandcognitive skillshelpthembecomethemostempatheticandefficient businessleaders.Bothmaleandfemaleleadershipare complementarytoeachother.Bothcandojusticetotheir rolesandresponsibilitiesmorejudiciously;therefore, avoidingallformsofgenderdiscriminationisawin-winfor everyoneinthebusinessworld.

Femaleleadersaddincrediblevaluetoorganizationswith theirskills,abilities,talents,andresourcefulness.Their composure,calmness,andserenityhelpthemmakethe rightdecisionsintheinterestsofbusinessgrowthand profitability Womenleadershaveafantasticblendof courageandconsideration;courageinthemallows themtomakebolddecisions,andconsideration withinwomenleadershelpsthemguideothers empatheticallytobringoutthebestinthem.

Thequalitiesoffinespeech,sharpmemory, cognitiveintelligence,patience, thoughtfulness,andfortitudehelpthem dealwithalmostanysituationbravely andrespondwithintelligence.Theyare goodnegotiators;therefore,female leaderscanmakegoodbusinessdeals andensuretheprofitabilityofthe businesses.

Underrepresentationoffemales inleadershippositionsinall

fieldsworldwideiscertainlynotbeneficialfortheall-round growthanddevelopmentofallsectors.Celebratingand upholdingthespiritofgenderdiversityiscrucialinall industries.Betterfinancialoutcomesareprettyquickly possibleforbusinesseswithgenderdiversity.

Equitableandfairrepresentationofbothgendersinall leadershippositionsisthewaytomaketheworldabetter place.Itisgenerallysaidthatvarietyisthemotherof enjoyment,anditistrue.Theteamswithgenderdiversity performbetterbecausetheviewpointsandideasfromboth gendershelporganizationsbemoreinnovativeandmore creative,andinnovativenessleadstomorepositive outcomesforbusinesses.

Noorganizationscansustaintheircompetencyinthe businessmarketwithoutfemaleleadersontheboardand overallequitableandfairrepresentationofwomenintheir organizations.Theworldisevolvingrapidlywithevolution intechnology,andnoorganizationcanafford discriminationandprejudicementalityagainstwomen leaders.Womenleadersbringtheiruniqueskills,different viewpoints,structuralandculturaldifferences,whichhelp driveeffectiveandevolvedsolutionstotheexisting problemsinthebusinessworld.Thefemaleleadershave proventhemselvesthattheycanleadfromthefrontand inspirefellowteammemberstobringouttheirbestforthe causeoftheorganization.Womenleadersaregoodat leadingbyexample.Theysetexemplarystandardsinfront ofothersandleadbypromotingthespiritofcontributionin theteammembers.

Havingmorewomeninleadershippositionscanhelpclose thegenderpaygap,whichwillbeamorepositivestepinall sectors.Womenleaderscannegotiatewellinhigh-stakes situations,andtheyarealsocapableofmakinghigh-value decisions.Theapproachofcomplacencyisnegligiblein womenleaders;therefore,thisapproachhelpsthemlead withresponsibilityandjudiciously,whichhelpsdrivemore profitabilityfororganizations.Withallthebenefitsthat femaleleaderscandeliver,organizationsshouldencourage andempowerfemalestobeinsignificantleadership positionsfortheirsustainablesuccess.

Geneviève Desautels CEO, illuxi

GENEVIÈVE DESAUTELS

Harnessing Innovations to Create Immersive and Unique Learning Experiences

To sustain in the competitive world with cut-throat

competitiononeneedstokeeplearningcontinuously to avail the advantage over others Traditional methodsofskillsdevelopmentnolongermeettheneedsofthe ever-changing work environment. This leads to the learning decline in the workplace. Recognizing this, Geneviève Desautels decided to find a technological solution to this learning decline in the workplace. That's where illuxi, an interactive e-learning platform, came in As a CEO, Genevièveissteeringtheshipofilluxi.

Geneviève worked in human resources for over 15 years beforestartingherprofessionalcoachingcompany Through her journey coaching executives and managers in 300+ companies, she noticed that companies had less money and less time for learning and development efforts. An urge to bridgethisgapledhertoinceptilluxi.

PromotingLifelongLearningOpportunitiesforAll

At illuxi, its team members focus on promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, as they noticed a learning declineintheworkplace,mainlybecauseorganizationsdonot see the direct benefits of investing in their workforce development.illuxi’sAI-basedlearningsolutionwillchange that,byprovidingthedataneededfororganizationstofurther investintheirworkforceeducation.

The main reason Geneviève went about building a tech businessistoofferinclusiveandequitablequalityeducation and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, as stated in the United Nations 2030 agenda. She believes that technology can give power back to the people through education.

Ontopofthat,there’salittlepartofGenevièvethatfightsto instigate change and allow daughters to grow up in an entrepreneurial ecosystem focused on equality that includes femaleentrepreneursintechnology

CompetingWithMajorPlayersine-Learning

Geneviève joined Women in Cloud in 2020 because the opportunity for community appealed to her personal goals. Shewantedtomeetandlearnnewthingsfromfellowwomen entrepreneurs Joining the Women in Cloud community helped her come up with creative ideas to improve illuxi's business model and lead illuxitosuccess.

SincegraduatingfromtheWomeninCloudMicrosoftCloud Accelerator, illuxi has been able to more effectively target large companies with many employees to train. To offer training programs to companies with 1000 employees or more, one needs to have as many optimization processes already in place as possible, which Women in Cloud helped her to achieve. Women in Cloud allowed illuxi to compete withmajorplayersine-learning,especiallywiththeopening ofanewofficeinEuropeinSeptember2020.

In addition, Women in Cloud allowed illuxi to stand out amongtheofficialMicrosoftpartnersintheUnitedStatesand solidify its partnership with Microsoft by obtaining the "cosell"badge,whichmeansthatMicrosoftinvestsdirectlyinthe saleseffortsofilluxi'stechnologysolution.

Moreover, illuxi gained more than 10,000 new users and increaseditssalesby50%inQuebec.Inaddition,itmadeits veryfirstmajorsalesinEurope(Luxembourg)inearly2021. Itistargetingthree$100,000projectsinEuropebytheendof theyear Tothisend,illuxiisalreadyindiscussionswithmajor partnersinEurope(includingtheglobalgiantDecathlon)who areinterestedinitsCloudtechnology.

TacklingStrategicandTacticalChallenges

WomeninCloudmadeitpossibleforGeneviève,asaCEO,to reflect within a group and tackle strategic and tactical challengesthatdirectlyaffecthercompanyand,morebroadly, female entrepreneurs in technology throughout the world. It was the desire to meet people (men and women alike) who understandherrealityasafemaleentrepreneurintechnology thatbroughthertoWomeninCloud—andthat’sexactlywhat ledilluxiintobecominganinternationalcompany.

ReachingOuttoWomenEntrepreneurs

OneofGeneviève’smaingoalswithWomeninCloudwasto reach out to women entrepreneurs from around the world to share and learn about industry challenges and about the positiverolewomencanhaveinenablingwomen’seconomic inclusion. Geneviève wants to contribute to increasing the participationofwomeninthetechsectorbecauseshebelieves that including more women in tech is proven to boost the economywithcreativityandnewwaysofdoingbusiness.

PromotingWomen’sEconomicandTechInclusion

As the CEO of illuxi, Geneviève feels that Fortune 1000 companies play a major role in creating networks and determining the conditions for access to capital. They come upwithpotentialsolutionsforwomenintechnologytogrow theircompanieswhilecontributingtheirdiversetalenttothe globaltechcommunity

Keeping a company up and running and profitable is a huge task,especiallyforwomeninthetechsector.Inthecontextof economic inclusion, Geneviève believes that Fortune 1000 companiescancreatefluidityandqualityofcommunication, allowingeveryonetolearnfromeachother Collectivepower is the ability to combine talents, ideas, and forces to solve complexchallengesorcrisesandtofulfilnewgoals.Women

entrepreneurs can make it possible to reach economic inclusionbycollaboratingwitheachother,andFortune1000 canmakethishappenquickly Thecollectivepowerofpeople tocreatechange,evenasavirtualcommunity,hasneverfelt moremeaningfulandnecessarythantoday

Genevièveisoftheopinionthatwomenentrepreneursshould be able to fulfil the desire of female CEOs at Fortune 1000 companies to meet female entrepreneurs who are both mothers and entrepreneurs in technology and are aged 45 years or older Fortune 1000 companies have to share the thoughts and experiences of women who were able to find investors and acquirers for women entrepreneurs to understandhowtheywereabletokeepthebiggerpartoftheir companies’shares.

Kiyeon Nam

Preventing Kids from Going Missing and Keeping Them Safe Through Smart Wear IoT Solution

Growingasmallcompanyintoauniversalbrandislike climbing a mountain; the journey has many obstacles. For a leader, a positive attitude inspires him/hertokeepmovingforward.Onesuchinnovativeleader is Kiyeon Nam, the Inventor, Founder, and CEO of B'ZT® (BeaconZoneTechnology).

Kiyeon’spassionanddedicationtocreatesomethingneware unmatched.Herexperienceasafashiondesignerandbusiness merchandiser brings a special kind of creativity and affordabilitytofashiontechnology.Inaddition,herdesireto improve herself and everyone around her makes her a great leader

CompassionatefortheVulnerable

Theglobalissueofmissingchildrenisstaggering.According to FBI statistics, one child in America goes missing every minute. Young children, especially with autism and similar conditions, are prone to wandering off. Researchers have foundthatalmosthalfofautisticchildrenattempttowander away,usuallyintodangeroussituations.

The tracking device industry is full of gadgets that are uncomfortabletowear,easytolose,orrequiremonthlyfees. They offer unique but expensive products that don't gear towards safety. The devices also lose functionality after washings.

Nevertheless, there is an old saying that states amid chaos, there is opportunity Using her expertise in fashion design, Kiyeon created B'ZTafter temporarily losing her 3-year-old daughter at a shopping mall because she couldn’t find a location-based tracking device that was suitable or comfortableforherchild.

Kiyeon created B'ZT to keep parents and children safe and connected,bothhereinNorthAmericaandaroundtheworld. B'ZT is an award-winning personal safety solution, combining fashion and geo-fence tracking technology to

prevent missing children and adults. She came up with a comfortableandcost-effectivesolutionfortrackingchildren and vulnerable individuals using Smart Clothing and smartphoneapps.

AbilitytoThinkOutsidetheBox

ManyInternetofThingsdevelopersbuildtheirsolutionsfirst to target big enterprise customers. Kiyeon took a different path. She wanted to solve an everyday problem that parents and caregivers experience with children and vulnerable seniors. B'ZTproducts and apps were developed for parents like herself, and they were soon evolved to be the safety solution for teachers, institutional caregivers and enterprise customers The Women In Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator inspired her to think out of the box and see the global potential of utilizing IoT technology to take B'ZT to anotherlevel.

AnInspiringBusinessSavvy

BeforeB'ZT,Kiyeonworkedasaprofessionalinthefashion industry for more than 20 years. Naturally, her vision of B'ZT’spotentialwaslimitedtoaDirect-to-Consumermodel,

Kiyeon Nam

Inventor/Founder

and CEO B’ZT, LLC.

similar to other fashion brands. She didn’t embrace the conceptoftheIoTandthelucrativedatayieldedbysoftware customization and cloud computing Women in Cloud revolutionizedherthinkingbygivingavisionarymindsetof whatB'ZTcouldactuallybe.

Women in Cloud showed Kiyeon that B'ZT is not merely a consumersafetysolutionbutanIoTSmartWearSolutionwith enormous scalability. She can customize the company's patented hardware and software so that fashion brands, retailers, and hyper-scalers can license its solution. Kiyeon believes that Women in Cloud is truly a great platform for female entrepreneurs to network, collaborate, and succeed together

AdvancingHumanConnection

After the Women in Cloud accelerator program, Kiyeon received an email from Dr Pereira-Smith at Medical University of South Carolina saying that B'ZT had finally beenapprovedbytheinstitution'sInstitutionalReviewBoard (IRB). She still remembers the pediatrician’s first call last summerduringthepandemic,"Irecommendyourproductsto thefamilies[withautisticchildren]Iworkwith.”Throughthe MUSC, Kiyeon has fulfilled the bulk shipment of the smart chipsetsto100familieswithchildrenwithautism.

Afewdaysaftertheenterpriseorder,CCSDisabilityActionin

NewZealandcalledKiyeontotellthatB'ZTwasalifesaver OneofthefamiliesthatwasusingaB'ZTT-shirtfortheir5year old autistic child was able to stop her right before she walkedtowardahighway.CCSisconsideringare-order.

B'ZTis not a gadget that you sometimes use and sometimes don’t. Kids' safety is serious. That is why Kiyeon had to try andfail11timestocomeupwiththelatestversionoftheB’ZT machine washable smart chipset. She says B’ZT has a differentpurposeintheIoTworld.Itsmissionissavinglives inthesafestwaypossible.

KeepMovingForward!

Here are a few ideas that Kiyeon would like to see implementedoverthenext5years:

Ÿ

Companies could offer semi-annual investment grants to 12 female-led businesses that operate within the same sector.Theseentrepreneurscanutilizethegrantstogrow theirenterprisesastheyseefit.

Ÿ

Companiescanpartnerwithfemale-focusedassociations or small business programs to sponsor mentorships of selectfemale-foundedcompaniesfor1year.

Ÿ

Stipendsandscholarshipscanbecreatedbycompaniesfor promisingfemaleentrepreneurswhoneedtofurthertheir educationthatwouldbenefittheirenterprise.

Ÿ

Companies can take an active role in bringing younger women into the STEM field by offering both internships andscholarships.Thenumberoffemaleentrepreneurshas beenincreasingovertheyears,butsomuchmorecanbe done.

TheideasthatKiyeonhasputfortharemerelyafoundationin whichfemaleentrepreneurscangetabiggerseatatthetable withthehelpoftheFortune1000.

“ “

Kristen Miller

Revolutionizing the Omni-Channel Shopping Experience

Meaningful innovation is what transforms an

entrepreneur into a successful business leader Connectingdots,buildingbridgestofillthegaps, and bringing a different approach is what drives innovation. AllofthesedistincttraitscanbeeasilypointedoutinKristen Miller’sleadershipapproach.KristenisaseasonedentrepreneurwhohasfoundedfoursuccessfulcompaniesintheHome Improvement and Retail industry and is currently the CEO andCo-FounderofStylyze.

At Stylyze, Kristen’s mission is to provide a platform for retailers that revolutionize the omnichannel shopping experience. Stylyze’s platform synthesizes the elements of the in-store experience previously missing from the virtual anddigitalspace,refiningandadvancingtheonlinecustomer journeyofthefuture.Leveragingcloudtechnology,Stylyzeis partnering with some of the largest retailers in the US to transformtheircustomerexperiences.

KristenisaninspirationalleaderandadvisorfortheWomenin Cloud community, and she also presides as a board member forTheBeyondProject.Sheisanin-demandspeakeronretail innovation and entrepreneurship forTechstars StartupWeek Seattle.

HowitAllStarted?

PriortofoundingStylyze,Kristenhadanotherbusinessinthe homedecorspace,wheresheworkedwithclientsandhelped them to find and coordinate products for their homes. The workdemandedhands-oneffortdayinanddayout,tryingto coordinateproductsandstylesfortheclients.“Wewouldstart oursearchonlineastheentireinventorywasonline,butthere was no way to really narrow down the search based on what

“ “

Kristen Miller CEO & Co-Founder Stylyze

the client’s style or aesthetic was,” saysKristen.Shefurther adds that after finding a product, it was very challenging to find other products that would coordinate with it to create a specificdesignaesthetic.

Kristen’s co-founder, Lisa Perrone Cirelli, was an interior designer by trade and had experienced something similar They connected and saw the opportunity to transform the home and fashion industries through cloud technology. Before starting Stylyze, they spoke with 80 different home decorandapparelretailersandbrandstounderstandthegaps inthespaceandrealizedthattheywerealltryingtofigureout how to replicate the in-store experience online. Today, the companypartnerswithleadinghomeandfashionretailersto transformtheircustomerexperiences.TheirMerchandisingas-a-Service Platform combines the latest in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with seasoned designers and stylists to equip retailers with the data and content that theyneedtobesuccessfulinanomnichannelenvironment.

AChangewasRequired

ThankstoCOVID,theretailindustryhasexperiencedarapid transformation and continues to change. One significant change the retail industry is experiencing is accelerating digitaltransformationandtheurgencytoofferalloftheirinstoreservicesdigitally.

AccordingtoKristen,oneofthechallengesshehasfacedas anentrepreneurwhileservingtheenterprisespaceisthatlarge enterprises often lack the structure or a set of programs to work effectively with start-ups. Given the rapid rate of transformation taking place in the retail industry, and many otherindustries,shebelievesthatthisisacriticalmomentfor enterprisesandstart-upstolearnhowtobetterworktogether tokeepupwiththeacceleratedpaceofchangerequiredtobe successfulintoday’sworld.

Kristen herself is very passionate about supporting other entrepreneurs who are on the journey. As an advisor to WomeninCloud,sheasserts“I'monafewboardsandIwould like to continue to support the ecosystem by continuing that work, speaking, writing, providing mentorship and angel investing. This is both an exciting and challenging time to be an entrepreneur and I want to help other entrepreneurs learn frommyvictoriesandmymistakes.”

TaketheFirstStep

In her advice to emerging women leaders, Kristen asserts “Get started and just take a step in the direction you want to go.” Shebelievesthatsomanyindividualswhoareconsideringtheentrepreneurialjourneygetstuckinanalysisparalysis. They want to wait until the stars align perfectly, until either theyhavealltheaspectsintheirlifelineduporuntiltheyhave

theperfectteamortheperfectinvestors. “Entrepreneurs who are successful are the ones who take the first step and then continue moving forward with a great group of advisors to support the process so that they can continue moving in the rightdirection,”saysKristen.

SteppingtoNewAchievementsEveryday

SincegraduatingfromtheWomeninCloudMicrosoftCloud Accelerator, Stylyze has grown revenue by 44% year over year and had the opportunity to position its business and managementteamasthoughtleadersinretailtransformation and women in technology Stylyze has been featured in several publications including the Puget Sound Business Journal, WWD, Women Of Wearables, Retail Innovation Hub, Authority Magazine, Silicon UK, Forbes, Retail Gazette, Thrive Global, The Next Web, and Tech Round. Additionally,Stylyzecloseda$2.8MSeriesSeedRoundand successfully expanded its product offering into new retail verticals.

The Women in CloudAccelerator provided Kristen and her team with a go-to-market framework that accelerated their timetocloseenterprisedealsandalsoincreasedtheirclosing rate. Additionally, Kristen and her team previously had limited PR and exposure. As part of the Women in Cloud Accelerator, Kristen was given the opportunity to share her story and the Stylyze platform with the broader community This exposure was critical to jumpstarting Stylyze's PR

initiatives which ultimately generated over ten pieces of coverageinthelast6monthsalone.Thenetworkprovidedby theWomeninCloudAcceleratorhasalsoopeneddoorswith keycustomersandresourcesinadditiontobeingawonderful supportsystemthroughouttheupsanddownsoftheentrepreneurialjourney.

WomenEntrepreneursinNextFiveYears

KristenbelievesthatorganizationssuchasWomeninCloud arehelpingtonotonlyeducateFortune1000companiesabout thebenefitsofcreatingeconomicaccessforwomen,theyare also creating the ecosystem of women entrepreneurs and Fortune1000executivestofacilitatetrustedintroductions.

Additionally,Women in Cloud is helping to prepare women entrepreneurs for those opportunities so that when the introductions are made they understand how to successfully navigate the enterprise landscape and position their product andserviceappropriately.

It is the combination of Fortune 1000 companies adopting inclusive procurement practices, providing the connection betweenFortune1000executivesandwomenentrepreneurs, andequippingwomenentrepreneurstosuccessfullynavigate those opportunities that will move the needle in creating economicaccessforwomen.

Supporting Entrepreneurs

WomeninCloud(WIC)isacommunity-led

economicdevelopmentinitiativetosupport femaleentrepreneursintechnology The initiativewithintheWICcommunityisanimmersive6monthprogram,theMicrosoftCloudAcceleratorprogram, whichisdesignedtohelpfemaleentrepreneursstartand buildtheirbusinessesthroughMicrosoftandthecloud distributionchannelsofMicrosoft.TheIgniteWAleadershipteamleadstheWomeninCloudinitiativeincollaborationwithIndustryPartners,MicrosoftCorporation,Hewlett PackardEnterprise(HPE),andMeylah.

WomenInCloudprogramcelebratesthefemaleentrepreneursinthetechnologyworld.Itisasourceofinspiration andsupportthatconnectsandempowerswomenin Washingtonandbeyond.Thisprogramhelpsfemale entrepreneurstorealizetheirpotentialandreachnew growththroughleadingcloudindustry,community,and governmentpartners.Thecoaching,mentorship,and supportofpeoplethroughthisprogrambenefitswomen leadersintheirjourneyimmensely.WICprogramis beneficialtofemaleentrepreneursinavarietyofways.Itis aplatformthatofferswomenintechnologytheopportunity toacceleratetheirideasandhelpthemrefinethoseideasfor marketplaceviability

WIC’smissionistoinspire,empowerandacceleratethe growthofwomen-ledtechnologycompanies.Thisprogram focusesonthedigitaltransformationtoprovidedigital access,digitalcapabilities,andconnectionstocustomers throughleadingcloudindustry,community,andgovernmentpartners.Supposefemaleentrepreneursalreadyhavea workingprototypeoranygoodbusinessidea.Inthatcase, theycanapplyfortheWICprogramasthisprogram acceleratesandturnsgoodideasintogreatbusinesses.This programempowersfemaleentrepreneursintechnologyto tackletacticalandstrategicalchallenges.

WICprogramisbuilttodrivethegrowthofcompanies throughcloudsolutionsandservices.Wheneverwomen leadersstumble,unlimitedtalentresourcesfromtheWIC programcanhelpthesefemaleentrepreneursbylending themahelpinghand.Thisprogramempowersthemwith relevantskills,abilities,talents,resourcefulness.Thisopens manydoorsforfemaleentrepreneurs.Theamazinggroupof selflesspeopleintheWICprogramarecommittedto empowering,encouraging,andinspiringfemaleentrepre-

neurstomakeexceptionalcontributionstotheirbusinesses andtheindustry

TrainingfromtheWICprogramallowsfemaleentrepreneurstocompeteanddrivetheirbusinessestogreatheights. Thisprogramhelpwomentostandoutfromtherestof othersandenablethemtothriveevenintoughcompetition. Womenneedmoresuccessstoriestoinspireotherwomen topursuetheirdreamsandnotlimitopportunitiesdueto fearoffailureorlackofknowledge.Thisprogramgives wingstothefemaleentrepreneurs;theyradiatewith confidence,courage,andcompetencetothriveintheworld ofbusiness.Ithelpsthemincreasetherevenueoftheir businessesandsuccessfullyexpandthegrowthoftheir businesses.

TheskillsdevelopedfromtheWICprogramhelpfemale entrepreneursleadtheirteamsmoreeffectivelytoachieve specificgoals.Withtheirenhancedskills,femaleentrepreneurscanleadfromthefrontandsettherightstandardsfor othersbybeingmostexemplary.

WICprogramgivesfemaleentrepreneursarichnetworkof businessleaders,entrepreneurs,advisors,andinvestors. Theygettheopportunitytodevelopfriendshipswithlikemindedwomenandlearnfromthem.Thisassociation allowsfemaleentrepreneurstoexpandtheirskillsets, knowledge,andcompetency.TheConnectivitywiththis networkoftalentedpeoplehelpsfemaleentrepreneurswith uniquebusinessinsightstomakeinformeddecisionsthat arebeneficialforthegrowthofthebusinesses.

Havingamentorisagreatadvantageinlife.Mentorshave amazingexperiences,andtheirexperienceshelpfuture generationsbesavedfromcommittingunnecessary mistakes.Thissavesprecioustimeforbusinessleaders,and theygettheideatodowhatisrequiredtoattainsuccess. TheWICprogramstaffteachesandmentorsotherwomen inthecloudfield.Thementorshipexperiencesthatfemale entrepreneursgetattheWICprogramenrichesthem. Throughthismentorship,theycanremovetheirdoubts, fears,insecurities.Thismentorshiphelpsfemaleentrepreneurstohavegreatsuggestionsandguidancefromthe experiencedstaffattheprogram.Thisway,female entrepreneurscanbemoreeducated,knowledgeable, skilled,andcompetenttoleadtheirbusinesses.

Leading DILIGENTLY by Being EMPOWERED with WIC PROGRAM

Thosefemaleentrepreneurswhohavegraduatedfromthe WICprogramappreciatethetremendouslearning,friendships,mentors,empowerment,encouragement,inspiration, skills,talents,abilities,resourcefulness,andall-important capabilitiestheygetfromthisvalue-drivenWICMicrosoft CloudAcceleratorProgram.Theyexpresstheirheartfelt gratitudetothefacilitatorsofthisprogram,andtheyfeel deeplygratefulforalltheempowermenttheygetfromthis

course.Thefemaleentrepreneursafterthisprogram,with theirenhancedskills,knowledge,andcapabilities,canlead theirbusinessestomaximumheights.Theycanmakea differenceintheindustryandbecometheguidinglightfor futuregenerations.ManyWICgraduatedfemaleentrepreneursrecommendthisWICMicrosoftCloudAccelerator Programtoaspiringentrepreneurswhohaveanygoodideas andwanttoturnthemintogreatbusinessresults.

Top 10 Most Successful Women

in Cloud Entrepreneurs

Martha Montoya

Improving

Profitability

of Farmers and Buyers through Actionable Market Data

Making sense of business-critical market data is a

costly,time-intensiveprocess,whichbeginswith finding the data – internal and external. The challenge continues with the identification of the variables that matter, measuring them correctly, and acting. As the AgricultureandFoodSupplyChainisfragmentedwithmany contributors and a large geographic reach, industry participants need a better comprehensive solution to the challenge of measuring what matters. Supply chain optimizationisvitalformultipleindustriesandfarmers. FarmersareonthelosingendofthesupplychainandMartha Montoyahasseenitfirsthandacrosstheworld.

Martha started her career in the agricultural industry while sourcing ingredients from the Americas to New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand, which provided her with the knowledgeoftheproductfromsourcetodelivery

Currently, Martha is steering the ship of Agtools as a CEO. Agtools provides business-critical access to accurate, objective,andfrequentlyupdatedreal-timemarketdataalong withtheperformanceapplicationsandmonitoringsystemsto provide management with the tools to develop, implement and monitor business initiatives and results. Agtools improves profitability throughActionable Market Data.The clientsofAgtoolsbenefitfromdatapointsforeachlinkinthe supplychaintoimprovetheircategoryandtheperformanceof eachfunctioninsidetheorganization.

ExperienceinAgricultureandFoodSupplyChain

Martha has been in the agriculture and food supply chain industry for the last 27 years. She has been boots on the ground by doing the crops and working with the farmers. Furthermore,shebroughtinhertwobrothers,whohelpedher inthetechnicalaspectsoftheidea.

Agtools is a market business intelligence product The companybasicallydeliversmarketdatawhichhelpsfarmers andbuyerstomakedecisions.Ittakesdatafromgovernment entities across the world. Most of its programs are in Pascal and Cobol programming languages. Agtools reprogram the data into a simpler form. As the company understands the industry, it is able to put the data in context. Farmers and Buyers look for market data to act on that data and make macrodecisions.

In simpler terms, as a worldwide SaaS platform, Agtools gathers real-time government and institutional data of over 500 specialty crop commodities, scraping it, including algorithmsandM/Lforfarmers,buyers,andeveryoneonthe supply chain to see and decide how to manage their forecastingandpurchaseorders.

AnEntrepreneuroftheFuture

According to Martha, as a businesswoman, one needs to learnhowtoreadfinancials.Shesaystheworldmoveswith money,profitandlosses,cashflows,andprojections.Martha was not much aware of financials initially until she heard

from a woman who runs 25 businesses, "If you don't know yourcostperunit,you'redoomedinthebusiness.”

MarthamentionsthattheWomeninCloudMicrosoftCloud Accelerator helped her shape her professional and personal journey.Thecommunity of leaders and mentors helped her grasp entrepreneurship better She says Women in Cloud knows best in building frameworks and programs for entrepreneurs like her to empower them. After her accelerator journey, her company fundraised over 1.45 million on seed round, acquired yearly contracts with the largestfoodservice,thelargestfruit/vegetablecompaniesin the world, and more It also acquired cybersecurity certification and hired five more rural engineers in the US. Agtoolsisnowfundraising10millionandisveryconfident becauseoftheenterprisegrowthpathMarthawastaughtin Women in Cloud. Martha says that the community resulted in new friendships, connections, and interactions that will staywithherfortherestofthetime.

EnvisioningtoExpandtheScopeofServices

Agtoolshasalotofworkwitharound600millionfarmersin theworld.MarthawantstofocusontheUnitedStatesmarket forthenextfivetotenyearsafterwhichshewantstolaunch global operations to help farmers all around the world. She believes that she and her team have to understand how the worldmoves,sotheycanhelpthefarmersfarmbetterinthe countriesworldwide.

“ “

Nehal Mehta

SecuringDigitalWorldinanUnconventionalWay

Innovation is not an option anymore; it has become a necessity.Today,everycomplexproblemneedsanovel approach. Nehal Mehta has exemplified this notion throughherventureRainbowSecure Shehasaddressedthe growing concern of cybercrime in an unconventional way She is removing the security stress of users and making the humanfactor,apowerfactor.

Nehal is a mathematician, a statistician, an astute software engineer, and now an accomplished entrepreneur. She was a victim of cybercrime and was struggling to manage many onlineaccountsandpasswords.

Onedayhersonwasdoodlinghisnameindifferentcolorsand that gave her an idea, what if her passwords were like the doodles;acreativewordthatcanbeusedeverydayandiseasy tohandle.

AboutHerInnovation

RainbowSecureisafuture-readysuiteofsolutionsaimedat reducingcyber-attacks,cyberfrauds,databreaches,business risks, and technology liabilities of a business and keeping business. It is adding millions of colors and 100+ styles, so that password, Zero-trust Login, Multi-factor, Single Sign

On,IdentitySecuritycanbecomepowerfulanderadicatethe current challenges of cyber-crimes This idea was the foundationofRainbowSecure.

What started as a research entity that focused on innovation for a secure digital world, has grown into a potent force for smartandsecuredigitalsolutionsforindividuals,businesses, andbigenterprises.

Today, Nehal and her company are serving enterprise customers,acertifiedMicrosoftISVpartner,listedonAzure AppGalleryandMicrosoftMarketplace,onawaytosecure federal and defense solutions, services, and data with importantcertificationstohandletheirsensitivedata.

HowExactlyItSecuresEnterprises?

Rainbowsecurestopscyber-attackpainproblemslike: Ÿ

BruteForce-Bygiving36quadrillionoptionsformaking justonecharacterofthepassword Ÿ

PasswordReuse-Noproblemasthepasswordhascolor, style,andpositionfactor Ÿ

Keylogger, Malware - No problem as the password has formattingoptionsthatarenotcapturedinthekeylogger. Ÿ Credential Stuffing - Interactive Human-friendly passwordentryprocess,slowsdownanddefeatsit Ÿ Automated Attacks, DDOS - Bots trying to DDOS the service are defeated by smart methods and environment insights Ÿ

Device Cloning - No impact on rainbow secure powered logins Ÿ

Phishing - No links to click in rainbow secure login process + business can opt for the anti-phishing module forahigherlevelofphishingprotection Ÿ

Unlocked Device Problem - Users walk away from unlocked devices but save passwords in the browser or password manager, now not hurting the security of the system as the user still has formatting knowledge with him.

Nehal Mehta President and Co-Founder Rainbow Secure

SolvingUserPain

Ÿ Usersnomorehavetocreatelongcomplexpasswords.

Ÿ Multi-layer Security means no more frequent password changes.

Ÿ FlexibleBalancedSecuritymodelthatadjustssecurity frictionbasedonusecase.

Delivering Next-Generation Multi-layer Multi-factor LoginSecurity

Rainbow Secure solutions provide next-generation multilayermultifactorloginsecuritywithgraphicalelements.It's theonlysolutionthatprovidesimprovisedpasswordasafirst factorthatgivesenterprisesgame-changingsecurity,scalable for masses, reduces your business risk, improves business continuity, productivity, wins customer trust, and lowers supportcosts.

Youcansecureoldandnewapps,onanyplatform.

Besides, Rainbow Secure also provides secure office solutions like Single Sign On, Workforce and Customer Identity, Access Control Gateway, Password & Data Vault, andahighlypotentEncryptiontool.

WebringoutSimple, ReliableandEasytouse solutionsandsecurity technologyAPIsthatcan bewelcomedbyendusers withminimaltraining andintegratedby developerswithnofuss.

SolutionsareprotectedbyAImonitoring,Riskanalyticsand threatalerting.

ASourceofBusinessGrowth

Nehal’s success in enabling security for individuals and companies in their digital transformation journey has a drivingforce;WomeninCloudMicrosoftCloudAccelerator AftergraduatingfromWomeninCloudAccelerator,Rainbow Securewonpilotwithhealthcarestartup,customersreaching 11K+enduserswith500%marketgrowth,gotnominatedfor Cyber Security Women Ally of the year, runners up for FoundersLiveandinvitedfortalksonWomen'sInternational Day,WIPP,woncovetedco-sellreadyISVPartnerstatus,and have integrated with Office 365, Sharepoint, MS Dynamics, Google Workspace, IBM Cloud, Salesforce, Slack, Freshdesk,OracleCloud,NetsuiteandmanyotherEnterprise Apps and Cloud Services, enabling secure single sign on cloudandonpremises.

WomeninCloudcommunitygavehertheopportunitytofinetuneandclarifyherbusinessofferings,talk,brainstormwith business advisors and get their feedback on her technology solutions, get guidance that she was missing, and meet enterprise executives and learn first-hand their expectations, environment,andneedsforcybersecurity

ProvidingEssentialResourcestoWomenEntrepreneurs

According to Nehal, in the next 5 years, Fortune 1000 companieswillbegintoincorporateuniquesolutionslargely offered by startups that can help them, promote innovation andallowwomen-ledstartupstopilotwiththeirtechnology.

Reflectingonherownjourney,Nehalhasonepieceofadvice foremergingentrepreneurs;believeinyourideaandvalidate it. In the long run, Nehal wants to be a part of the FinTech world. With her robust platform and cutting-edge solutions, she wants to help FinTech solution providers, government institutions,andFortune500companieswintheraceagainst cyber-attacks.Inanutshell,sheaspirestobeacybersecurity leaderinfutureapplicationssecurity

Sarah Haggard Founder & CEO Tribute

SARAH HAGGARD

Leading from Front by Walking the Talk

Mentorshipplaysahugeroleinallourlives.Agood

mentor shapes our professional and personal journey Sarah Haggard is an engaging speaker, writer,andmentorwholovestotellstories,andsharehermost rewarding (and challenging) moments as anAnthropologist turnedProductMarketerandnowpioneeringentrepreneur.

Sarahwenttoschoolforanthropologyandsociologywiththe hopes of being a humanitarian. At 24, she ended up at Microsoftbyfate.Sherealizedprettyearlyonindoingsome of the social work that she wanted to make an impact on people'slivesinawaythathelpedthemhaveeconomicaccess and opportunities to rise above some of the challenges that theywouldhave.

Today, Sarah is the Founder and CEO of Tribute She founded Tribute after 10 years working at Microsoft and strugglingtofindamentor TheTributecametolifebecause Sarahispassionateaboutthepowerofhumanconnection,and using storytelling as a means to find that connection. She states that when we feel connected, we feel empowered, supported, and most importantly capable of achieving our most aspirational goals. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Seattle University and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Business AdministrationfromAugustanaCollegeinRockIsland,IL.

Sarahisaprovenbusinessleaderwhohasledmultiplestartup initiatives within her decade-long career in product marketing at Microsoft, raising $40M to scale her last business. She is an expert in P&L management, enterprise software, and GTM strategy Sarah’s tenacity and drive for results led to her being widely recognized as a turnaround expert and new business incubator Her leadership style is engagingandauthentic.ImpactfulleadershiptoSarahmeans beinginservice.Shebelievesinleadingfromthefront,being transparent,over-communicating,andwalkingthetalk.She

personallyprefersbeingaservantleader Hersuperpoweris herabilitytospotpatterns,createhigh-performingteamsand activatetherightpeopleattherighttimetodeliverresults.

UpholdingCultureofGrowth,Inclusivity,andBelonging

Tribute is a mobile and desktop app, available on both the SlackandTeamsmarketplaces.Itisperfectlypositionedfora post-pandemic world to build and nourish virtual relationships by sharing stories, lived experiences, and wisdom.Tributeisnotanaveragementorshipapp.Itisbuilt bycuriouscreatorslookingtodisrupttraditionalmentorship programs. They lead with social psychology, beautiful UI, and simple UX to facilitate the art (and science) of better connections.

Tributebelievesinbringingone’sauthenticselftoworkand thatsharingstoriesandexperiencesiskeytocreatingatrusted and diverse culture centered around growth, inclusivity, and belonging.What'sgreataboutTributeisonceyousignup,it's a 30-day commitment It's a very short, time-bound engagement that each party can get into without having to

maketheselifelongcommitments,thus,itallowsyoutogoin and have multiple different types of mentors for shorter engagementsoverTeams.

CreatinganEmpoweringMentorshipExperience

Tribute believes stories inspire action and everyone’s story matters. It is a platform that goes beyond traditional, topdownstructuresofmostmentorshipprograms,amplifyingthe stories of everyone and thus making mentorship more accessible. By combining modern technology with the ancient art of storytelling, Tribute creates an empowering mentorshipexperiencethatbreaksdownthebarriersbetween individuals, bridging differences and building better connections. It builds technology that supports autonomous choice with a mentorship platform that works seamlessly acrossone’scompany

BuildingNextGenerationLearningExperiencePlatform

Tributeisnotafraidtobetheleader Thefutureofworkwill lookradicallydifferentthantoday.Itisredefiningmentorship forafuturebasedondistributedteameffectiveness,inclusion,

and belonging. Tribute has a team of business leaders, strategists, marketers, designers, and more. What brings its teamtogetherisitssharedmissionandvisionforimproving mentorship experience for both employers and employees usingthetransformativepowerofpersonalstoriesandShared Life Experiences™ to create next-gen learning experience platforms.

BefittingWomeninCloudAcceleratorProgram

Sarah narrates that the Women in Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator has helped her personally to communicate in a waythatiscompelling.SincegraduatingfromtheWomenin CloudAccelerator,Tribute went on to win the SeattleAngel Conference XVII pitch competition, tripled its revenue, successfully raised its first investment, expanded its team, been featured in Geekwire and King5 as well as added customerslikeZillowandtheUniversityofWashingtontoits growinglist.AndSarahsaystheyarejustgettingstarted!

The Women in Cloud Accelerator elevated Tribute's brand awareness on a national level, and connected it with a rich network of business leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, and investors. In addition, at the conclusion of the program, Tributelauncheda2020mentoringinitiativetogetherthathad over300participantsand45mentoringpairsconnected.After her journey, Sarah advises female entrepreneurs to trust themselvesandadvisesthemtoapplyfortheWomeninCloud Accelerator if they already have a working prototype. She saysthatitisagreatfirststepasWomeninCloudturnsideas intogreatbusinesses.

BridgingMoreConnectionsAcrossWorld

SarahhopestohaveseveralmoreTributesin—tokeepon beinganentrepreneur ShehopestobuildmorestartupspostTribute around the core theme,belonging. She is interested inbuildingproductsandservicesthathelphumanbeingsfeel agreatersenseofbelongingandconnectionwiththeirother fellow human beings, and not necessarily people that just look like you or live in your neighborhood. Thus, bridging connectionsacrosstheworldissomethingthatSarahreally ispassionateaboutandwantstocontinuetobuildtechnology around.

Sarahsees2021asagreatgrowthyearforTribute.Withits Teams and Slack apps, Tribute aims to be the de facto mentoringappforFortune500companies.Thatisitsvision.

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Tribute is a workplace mentorship app that radically redenes and improves mentorship for one’s company—and one’s employees.