Dinner with the Prime Minister of Monaco

I was selected as 1 of 5 entrepreneurs from around the world for an all-expense paid trip to present at The Edge Monaco, Monaco’s new tech conference. The conference was incredibly well put on with speakers including Prince Albert.This was my first time to Europe-I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction!

I also felt incredibly lucky to have been able to hang out and explore the city with the founders of Innocent Drinks (the leading smoothie seller in Europe), who recently sold their company to Coca Cola. At the conference, I got to meet with the founder and CEO of EasyJet (the largest UK airline) who is a very funny and inspiring man.

Many thanks to the Monaco Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (MVCA) and the International University of Monaco for this incredible conference.

Dinner with the Prime Minister of Monaco at his house/mansion/palace

The incredible view from the balcony in my hotel room

Fireworks playing at night right outside our hotel on the water!

Standing on the balcony of the Prime Minister’s home with a great view of Monaco behind me.

Listening to Prince Albert speak at the conference.

The main conference room where the speakers presented

Speaking on stage

Named in “30 Most Influential Young Entrepreneurs Dominating in 2013″

I don’t think I deserve to be listed in this yet, but very thankful!

Kairos 50 Award and Dance Party on the NYSE

It’s an honor to have Nanoly Bioscience be named in Kairo’s Top 50 companies started in college.

As part of the Kairos 50, we all got to present our companies on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange! Attendees included the Prince of Jordan, the CEO of AutoDesk, founder of Vonage, CEO of Forbes, and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. I feel so lucky to be able to connect with these people!

My friend Julia from Spain and I have dinner at our hotel

My friends from UC Berkeley and I take a photo together on Day 1

Officially part of the first rave on the NYSE. Live performance by European DJ, Madeon

Ringing the NYSE opening bell

With a fellow attendee, who dressed glamorously in orange, having a drink on the NYSE.

Presenting my company on the NYSE floor

The personalized trophy they gave to the Kairos 50 companies

On the Front Page of Fast Company

Our team was so thrilled when we saw that we were featured on the front of the Fast Company‘s website. Fast is one of my favorite magazines so it was truly an honor to be written about on their site. Thank you to Lisa Nicole Bell and Fast Tech Co-Editor Chris Dannen for the great article! Check it out here: www.fastcompany.com/3005041/startup-slumber-party-how-living-your-cofounders-can-save-your-company

Named in “130 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch”

Woke up this morning with an email saying “Congratulations” from a friend. I had no idea what he was talking about so it was a nice surprise to learn about this list Under30CEO.com put out! This was really exciting! I don’t know if I really deserve this yet, but I’ll take it

Hollywood Christmas Parade

My friend and her husband graciously invited me as a VIP guest to the Hollywood Christmas Parade. It was such a fun experience! The entire parade was very well put together. As a VIP, we got to hang out in the “Green Room,” where all the celebrities/performers relax and eat together. I met Kimberley Locke (who sings one of my favorite songs, Eighth World Wonder), the dog from The Artist, and Big Time Rush. The CEO of Associated Television International also took us on a personal tour and drove us up and down the red carpet in his golf cart. It was such an interesting experience to see how the “made for TV” parade was put together!

 

The cameras shooting the parade were right in front of us!

The dog from The Artist

Taking a tour down the red carpet

 

 

1st Place at Intel Global Challenge

Nanoly Bioscience, the biotech company I founded in college, won 1st place in Social Innovation at the Intel Global Challenge on November 5-8! Nanoly develops polymers that enable vaccines to survive without refrigeration. The week-long competition was held at UC Berkeley and the Intel Headquarters in Santa Clara. Nanoly was selected to represent the USA in this challenge. There were 28 teams competing representing countries from Russia to Mexico to Bulgaria to China.

As a student at UC Berkeley, I would see banners for the Intel Challenge around campus each year. I always dreamed of being a part of the competition and being selected to represent the US. It was such a joy and honor when I found out we were chosen earlier this year!

Thank you Intel for this incredible opportunity to meet fellow entrepreneurs from around the globe!

My badge + the competition booklet with descriptions of all the teams and bios of the judges.

Banner for the Intel Global Challenge at the Haas School of Business.

On stage presenting in the finals at Anderson Auditorium at UC Berkeley

We won 1st Place in Social Innovation and The Audience Choice award

Radio Interview On Women Entrepreneurs

I had a fantastic time with two fellow women CEOs recording a radio segment for CBS Radio News LA on women entrepreneurs. Our host is the incredibly smart and witty Ken Rutkowski. These two women have very cool businesses. One is a PR agency called The Make Agency. The other women’s company is fascinating-they provide a service to help you apologize. You can pay for certain packages depending on the level of “bad” the mistake you made was that you need to apologize for. This company is called The Apology Concierge.

Speaking at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

I had such a fun time speaking on this panel. My recommendations (not that I am qualified to give any advice) to anyone that wants to start their own company:

1. Team is everything. You can make a great company with a bad idea and a great team, but you can’t make a great company with a good idea and a bad team.

2. Make sacrifices. You need to be willing to make less money, sleep less, and have less free time.

3. You must love and be proud of what you’re building.

It was very nice to visit Berkeley again and see old friends!

Selected into The Young Entrepreneurs Council

I’m excited to be a part of The YEC!

“The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment and underemployment and provides entrepreneurs with access to tools, mentorship, and resources that support each stage of their business’s development and growth.”