Entrepreneurship: Having the Vision to Lose Sight of the Shoreline and Succeed – Monica C. Smith

The calendar is now marked with days celebrating Global Entrepreneurship for Women Women Entrepreneurs and Womenamp8217s Entrepreneurship Week The reality of these new celebrations is there were not a lot of women paving the way for this but there are enough very impressive women in business that have changed the course and direction for millions of women in media women in toys women in government women in fashion women in medicine and women in aviation In my own arena we have the great Lillian Vernon So whether it is Martha Stewart or Oprah Winfrey today or Ma Perkins Estee Lauder or Amelia Earhart before us these women kicked down the doors so that we could lead today in our own industriesI am often asked who inspires me to be the entrepreneur I am today Itamp8217s quite simple I am inspired by the investors who believed in my second company iPredictus when it was just an idea on a power point All of the men who understood the concept that direct response marketing needed to be modernized through marketing automation and the idea of holding data accountable in nearreal time was the way to engage the consumer of today The investors of iPredictus are all selfmade successful businessmen in their own right All share the same success story that came from being the underdog but overcoming it with hard work and determination These men chose not only to invest in me but also have stayed with me through the journey Their counsel is meaningful their expectations high and their vision clear they have an end gameThis week I celebrate the threeyear anniversary of when I decided to start i Predictus the ones we are counting I am often asked why there are no women on my board or more in my company or why I donamp8217t have women investors The answer is simple They have not appeared yet Women have appeared on my journey entrepreneurs like me who started their first company with the support of a man willing to invest in them their spirit and drive Many of the women I have encountered not all but enough have not reached their hand out to me but in fact have presented obstacles to me instead They come in the form of legal letters industry gossip and overall fearmongering I am not sure why that is but again there are not many of us so the few that exist should take inventoryTo be honest I used to get so sad about it I could not understand how women could be tougher than men to each other when trying to accomplish something significant Why would they not be running to help more women get over the wall of success But something changed in me recentlyAs I approached the deadline to finish the newest release of my latest ad tech platform that will change the way TV media is purchased I had a moment It came right before my vacation when I was so tired and mentally weary I watched a woman speak of a child she had lost to great horror and I saw her grace in thatNow you may say why are you talking about this stuff is this column not about business Well it was a turning moment for me A wakeup call From that moment I wanted to be healthy and be around those early adopters that understand that change can be good I made a decision then that even though I know I still have to swim upstream to reach my business goals I will do it with honor and dignity not anger and disappointment at the women who choose not to join me and instead tried to break meEntrepreneurship is about courage It is about having enough hutzpah to lose sight of the shoreline Creating technology is about empowerment Itamp8217s not about gender itamp8217s certainly not about those who want you to fail or even about the naysayeramp8217s fear of having their world changed It is simply about moving and acting with the gifts and vision given and for me attempting to be greatItamp8217s an honor to have two companies that are thriving I know I am not done because I am having too much fun and doing great work is what I was meant to do Hear me now women upstarts my door is open if I can help Monica C Smith is a serial entrepreneur with two industryacclaimed marketing startups one 501c3 nonprofit and numerous philanthropic endeavors under her belt Her latest entrepreneurial venture is iPredictus a demandside television platform that is transforming the TV media buying industry bringing a new perspective to the world of attribution marketing automation and customer data warehousingCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Entrepreneurship: Having the Vision to Lose Sight of the Shoreline and Succeed – Monica C. Smith

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Entrepreneurship: Having the Vision to Lose Sight of the Shoreline and Succeed – Monica C. Smith

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