HerHouse 2023: The Next Chapter

Hello HERHOUSE Community! 

We accomplished a lot in 2022 and we’re so appreciative of your support.

TLDR: 

  • Highlights: the chat grew (alongside engagement!), we introduced our first non-web3 subgroup, we threw a lot of events, and we fostered some amazing growth opportunities 

  • We learned: the importance of creating safe spaces, the value in co-learning, our shared curiosity, and slowing ourselves down

  • We’re expanding: our focus beyond web3 to better serve women looking to advance in emerging tech as builders or operators

  • We’re gradually shifting: our look and feel to align with this evolution

  • We’re keeping a tight focus: on programming to ensure everything we do ties to relationship building, skills development or thought leadership

  • We’re capping membership: to focus on quality, but we’re accepting applications on a rolling basis - so we’ve highlighted some ways to decide if HERHOUSE is right for you. To join us for the next chapter, fill out this application.

2022 Highlights:

  • The Chat: Our community grew to include almost 1500 followers on Twitter and 170 members in our WhatsApp group

  • Subgroups: We introduced our first subgroup, which turned out to be AI focused

  • Events: We hosted over 20 events, including our 3-day unconference event during NFT NYC, our Girls Night In series, a workshop with the women of Plaid, and our first Trivia Night at MasterCard

  • Job Opps: We helped members find jobs and source talent

We learned a lot and continued to play to our strengths.  

  • Home is our zone. We’re good at gathering in living rooms and around dinner tables, creating more intimate environments for cultivating intentional relationships.

  • Knowledge sharing is our strength. We enjoy learning together - whether from each other or from other inspiring women in our extended network (over 10 of us participated in SheFi’s Season 7 cohort.)

  • Curiosity is our shared value. But we’re not just curious about web3 - we’re interested in other areas of emerging technology.

  • Non-technical is no issue. While we value technical expertise, we’re more focused on encouraging exploration of interests by creating safe spaces and opportunities to learn.

  • Crawl, then walk, then run. We naturally want to run - we have a vision and want to bring it to life. But we realized we can’t do that overnight, (especially since we also have day jobs to hold down), so since we just crawled, now’s the time to start walking, which will help us get even closer to being able to run. 

What’s next? 

Moving from just web3 to emerging tech

This year, we're broadening our focus from web3 to emerging tech as a whole. We found conversations about other areas of emerging tech recurring naturally in our community - and then, with a bit of research, learned women working in these other areas (AI, ML, robotics, green tech) were also looking for community. So it made sense to open our community to these women and to these other segments. 

Evolving our look and feel

As we broaden our focus, we’re also shifting our tone. You’ll notice some slight changes to the look and feel of the HERHOUSE brand - and this will continue to evolve as we do. Stay tuned for more. 

Driving our mission

To create a supportive and empowering environment for women in emerging tech.

By fostering a sense of real belonging, camaraderie and trust, plus providing opportunities for personal and professional development, we’ll help our members grow their businesses and advance their careers. 

Focusing our approach

Our approach is all about three key pillars: relationship building, skills development, and thought leadership.

Relationship Building

  • Our WhatsApp group chat is a great place to connect with other members and share ideas. Think of it like a water cooler, but for tech enthusiasts – a place where you can strike up a conversation and make new friends, but also seek advice and share knowledge. 

  • Our larger events serve as a platform for members to connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, and ask for advice. This helps create a strong sense of community and support, which is crucial for anyone looking to break into the tech industry.

Skills Development 

  • Smaller scale workshops and mentorship sessions designed to help you explore your interests and learn new skills. 

  • Access to skills-building platforms and resources through our partnerships with other orgs. 

  • Intimate sessions with experts and leaders in the field.

Thought Leadership

  • We’re committed to promoting the voices of women and non-binary individuals in the tech industry, regardless of your level of expertise. 

  • Beyond creating a platform via our own events,  we work hard to match women in our community with opportunities to participate on panels, podcasts and in news articles.

Deciding if HERHOUSE is the right community for you 

The community 

The community is currently composed of operators and founders in web3 or web3 adjacent sectors. Over the next year, we envision that shifting as we make room for women across other areas of emerging tech.

We’re mostly NYC based and will continue to host the majority of our events here as well as at various tech conferences (beyond just web3/crypto.)

The value of our community is not in its size, but in the shared willingness to listen, learn and support each other on a consistent basis.  We intend to continue to grow slowly in order to maintain this. Scale is not our objective.

The format 

Our formats are casual but intentional. 

We create space for women to learn, share ideas, and foster relationships. We also partner with organizations that will create additional opportunities for relationship building, learning, thought leadership, career development, and fundraising. 

Our main channels for doing this URL and IRL, a lot of them happening from the comfort of members’ homes. This last piece is critical - while we love seeing each other out in the wild, at parties, in restaurants, we really feel the home is essential to cultivating those meaningful relationships that come from feeling safe, accepted, and vulnerable. 

URL, always on & everywhere:

  • The Group Chat: our lively WhatsApp group, which is now application/referral gated (previously open, now closed as we intend to cap our community size to maintain a sense of intimate community). 

IRL, but at home: 

  • Powerpoint Nights: our living-room setting for teaching and learning about community-selected topics related to emerging tech, ideal for those who are interested in entering the space or for those looking for collaboration/implementation opportunities. You can expect at least 1 of these per quarter.

  • Expert Dinners: our follow up to our education series, where we invite industry experts to sit down to dinner to share their stories and answer our questions. Hosted by a member and catered by a private chef, we cap these at 8-12 people to keep them subject matter focused and create an intimate setting for relationship building. You can expect at least 1 of these per quarter.

  • Girls Night In: our cozy, relaxed events where we just talk about whatever is on our minds, like a group therapy sesh that often includes skincare and snacks. You can expect at least 2 of these per year.

IRL, but out of the house: 

  • Partner & Conference Events: where we focus on strengthening key partnerships with organizations like MasterCard and Techstars, furthering access to industry leaders for our members and continuing to grow our membership pipeline.  You can expect at least 2 of these per year.

Join Us!

Founders: Are you an ambitious founder looking to start and grow your own business either directly in or adjacent to emerging tech? Join us.. We provide access to resources like mentorship and capital, and we work to create a more supportive and inclusive environment for founders like you by breaking down stereotypes, biases, and obstacles.

Operators:  Are you a top-notch operator looking to become more entrepreneurial within your company or looking to learn about how tech can help you level up at work? Join us. We offer support and resources to help you succeed as an intrapreneur and reach your full potential.

Investors: Are you a VC or investor looking to access a diverse pool of talented and innovative founders and operators? Join us. We provide support and resources to help female, BIPOC, and non-binary founders and operators succeed, which can ultimately lead to better investment opportunities and returns for you.

To join us for the next chapter, fill out this application. We’ll be reviewing apps on a quarterly basis - once you're in, you'll be invited to our group chat and invited to our upcoming IRL events - and someone on our core team will personally help you navigate from there. We look forward to meeting you!

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