weVENTURE

“One of the best investments I made in my professional growth was signing up for Athena NextGen. Meeting and connecting with other professional women in our community from all walks of life was really eye opening for me in evaluating how we all share the same struggles, highs, and lows, when it comes to making space for ourselves in the workforce.

Learning the Athena principles helped me navigate new ways to value my strengths and areas of opportunity, but best of all - this experience afforded me the chance to learn from like-minded women who were inspiring, supportive, and genuine.”

The core values of Athena Leadership give a guideline that we can all use daily. Learning the Athena Leadership Model will help me be better in my professional career and personal life.

Being surrounded by such an incredible group of women who were so authentic and vulnerable with each other was inspiring. We were able to collaborate and work together comfortably, and those relationships and new friendships are invaluable.

The monthly meething schedule was perfect. It gave us time to get to know each other and build relationships.

Kathryn Rudloff was the perfect person to teach this course. She was able to share resources and stories to enhance the particular model that we were working on.

I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to be a better employee, leader, or just a better human.

I am also grateful to the Zonta Club of Melbourne because of their generosity and support to this program. I was the recipient of the scholarship that allowed me to participate in the program.

Joining the startup peer group gave me the opportunity to build a business with a solid foundation. I had experts, mentors and my fellow peer group members help me make critical decisions that I could not have made on my own. When you have a network of people supporting you, it’s like a slingshot for your dreams. I know that I am not alone and the decisions I make are based on real facts and expert advice. I needed more support than my friends or family could provide. I needed the support of fellow business owners to propel me on my quest for financial freedom. 

Beth is the owner of Smart with Heart, LLC and Smart Shadez

“I went into the program just hoping to absorb as much knowledge, tips, and leadership advice as I could; and I left not only with a diverse range of new skills to bring back to my organization but with a community of incredible, empowering women that I know I can continue to turn to and ask for help.

The level of empowering collaboration I witnessed in this program, even in a virtual setting, truly was something I never experienced before. I honestly believe that I am a much better leader today than I was when I first started in the ATHENA program, and I know that my organization is going to benefit from my ability to now make a bigger impact towards our mission.”

Christel joined the IGNITE 360® Program to build her business leadership capabilities. Since joining the program, she has not only grown as a business owner, but also in confidence. The IGNITE mentors were there to define and walk through an effective hiring process, and Connected Class just hired their third employee, and saw a 270% increase in sales.

After a third layoff, I was tired of being limited by and at the mercy of some company for my income. So, I decided to forge my own path. That’s when I reached out to weVENTURE, which was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I initially attended the Launch Your Venture class, which gave a high level overview of starting a business. The mentoring, coaching, support, accountability, information, networking, and encouragement from other entrepreneurs was invaluable and just what I needed. weVENTURE gave me the tools and the confidence to successfully launch my business, and continues to support me and my endeavors.

With weVENTURE, I feel like I’m part of the community; part of something bigger. It’s women, just like me, who have a dream, who are taking control of their own future, who are building businesses that excite them and solving problems in their community. Women supporting women.

Because of weVENTURE, I am happy to say, I am Deneen Edwards, Personal Financial Management Specialist and CEO of DAE Time Solutions. We focus on your finances, so you can focus on life. Please check out my website, daetimesolutions.com.

Living in Melbourne for the past 25 years running Global Tours and Travel, it behooves me to share what I call the best-kept secret helping the business community all around—no other than weVENTURE!

As a full-service local travel agent selling the ‘world’, our industry went through its ups and downs due to various economic reasons in the world, September 11, and now Covid.  Looking back, I can honestly say that the upbeat and positive seminars with top-notch speakers that were offered by We Venture kept me focused and gave me the desire to persevere.  And forward I kept on going to bring us to this timeframe where one of their coaches is guiding me to pivot into a new revenue-earning direction with my skills while we wait for the world to ‘re-open’.

I am as I am so grateful for the support that I received throughout my career thus far and certainly will continue to receive for a long time to come….

Jenna is the CEO of Harmony Senior Living Advisors and a two time IGNITE 360® Graduate. For Jenna, the IGNITE program brought the best of the best mentors to the table to talk about her business and goals. Since starting the programs, she has seen a 118% sales increase, and has served over 1000 families in need of finding safe and appropriate living options.

As an up-and-coming leader within the Florida Tech community, the skills I learned throughout last year's program have already helped me in advancing my career and creating positive changes within my team.

I left each month's meeting feeling empowered to go out into the community and share the Athena leadership values that lead to more healthy and productive workplaces.

2020 was a challenging year for everyone and having this network of supportive women to connect and share with on a consistent basis each month was a blessing - it could not have been better timing for us to participate in this program!”

When the COVID pandemic hit, Kitty’s main goal was to keep employees paid, and reopen safely. weVENTURE coaches were able to help her do this, and navigate the various state and federal relief programs she was eligible for.  She was able to secure a PPP loan, has had 1:1 consultations with her dedicated coach, and attended numerous webinars for ongoing support.

I didn't join the program expecting to be lifted up in pretty much every part of my life. I joined the program because I wanted to do better. To be honest I didn't have a clue what that looked like and how to even begin. I was paired up with Mentors that truly cared and bent over backwards to help me succeed.

I didn't join this program expecting it to be one of the few positive things I had to look forward to for several months of my life, through my fight with cancer. But it was.  This program gave me a successful future to think about, instead of the uncertainty today.

So, was my experience with the program what I expected it to be? Absolutely not. It was so so so so much more..

I recommend weVENTURE to every woman who I know who has started a business or is considering starting one.

When Meghan first joined weVENTURE, she was navigating business growing pains, and was the only employee at SwiftPaws. By the end of 2020, SwiftPaws was a team of 6 employees, with a 300% growth rate in gross revenue, all whilst maintaining their mission of 100% assembly and fulfillment done locally in Brevard.

Patricia is the CEO and President of GIMEX USA, and has been part of several weVENTURE programs; as a graduate of Athena, IGNITE 360®, and a member of the Strategy in Action Peer Group. A constant throughout all of the programs were the incredible mentors who took the time to not only support her professional goals, but her personal success as well. 

2020 has been a difficult year for human resource professionals. The weVENTURE peer group has been a tremendous resource. The group sessions and 1:1 consultations have helped me to understand my strengths and weaknesses and how to best communicate and serve my team.

Very thankful and would recommend this Peer Group to others!

Since graduating from the IGNITE 360® program, Strategic Ink PR has increased revenues and staff by approximately 50%. As well as measurable growth, all of Strategic Ink’s objectives to improve direction and confidence were met. “You’re never too far along in your business to benefit from the types of high-level business mentorship programs they provide here! I’ve gained so much from participating in the weVENTURE IGNITE 360® program. I’m grateful for the leadership there and recommend weVENTURE services to any entrepreneur or small business owner.”

Alluvionic is an SBA 8(a) certified woman-owned small business providing project management, process improvement, product development and cybersecurity solutions. Since its launch in 2013, Alluvionic has increased from a sole-proprietor organization to a workforce of over 40 employees with locations in Melbourne Florida and Washington D.C.

2020 was incredibly challenging as customer process improvement projects were placed on hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wendy Romeu faced these challenges head-on tapping into SBA small business resources including the support of weVENTURE at Florida Tech, part of the Women’s Business Center Network.  Romeu leveraged the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)  and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)  to retain employees and build organizational resiliency, and she expanded service offerings to ensure growth and expansion post-pandemic. As a result of the bold leadership of Romeu and access to critical SBA programming, Alluvionic is now at its highest employment count since inception and is on track to achieve its highest annual revenue to date.  In September of 2021, the company broke ground on a new corporate headquarters facility which will double their current footprint to accommodate the company’s increased capabilities and workforce.