There are close to 11 million women entrepreneurs in America. Women are launching businesses at twice the rate of men, and they are doing it primarily for lifestyle reasons–they want more freedom, flexibility, and control over their lives. More than ever, women are going out on their own and defining success on their own terms. And where is the place women go to find opportunities and resources when they decide to launch? The multiplatform lifestyle company Ladies Who Launch, THE source for entrepreneurial-minded women who want to live their dreams and love their lives. Ladies Who Launch is the first company to define entrepreneurship as a lifestyle choice and connect women online and in person to foster creativity, community, and support.

Ladies Who Launch has Incubator programs in 50 regions across the U.S. and Canada, Ladies Who Launch LIVE conferences, and a nationally acclaimed book published by St. Martin’s Press that articulates the feminine approach to launching. Ladies Who Launch is visionary in redefining what success means for women–whether it’s running a multimillion-dollar business or working from home two days a week. We continue to be inspired daily by the community we have created, and aim to launch higher and fulfill our mission of facilitating the dreams and projects of all women globally who are a part of this movement.

VICTORIA COLLIGAN

Co-Founder and President

Victoria is the co-founder and president of Ladies Who Launch, a lifestyle- and business-focused media company that provides a social network for entrepreneurial and creative women. She is the creator of Ladies Who Launch Online and the Featured Lady stories. She is also co-author of the book Ladies Who Launch: Embracing Entrepreneurship and Creativity as a Lifestyle.

Victoria has been featured on “The Today Show,” in The New York Times, and in many other media outlets. Prior to starting Ladies Who Launch, Victoria worked as director of content and business development for Amsale, a high-end wedding gowns designer, where she relaunched their Web site, started an online magazine, and developed numerous strategic partnerships. Victoria began her career as a corporate lawyer at Kelley Drye and Warren in New York. She holds a JD / MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and a BA with honors from Brown University.

AMY SWIFT

Chief Product Officer

Razor sharp instincts meet trend psychic scribe to form what Lucky Magazine calls a “Madison Avenue arbiter of style.” Amy Swift’s unique ability to translate the essence of a brand, person or image into a finely tuned language has allowed her to take her experience as a copy writer and communications expert to the editorial helm of Ladies Who Launch, the preeminent women’s entrepreneurial website. As the co-author of Ladies Who Launch: Embracing Entrepreneurship and Creativity as a Lifestyle (St, Martin’s Press), Amy has helped to launch hundreds of businesses through Incubators in Los Angeles and all over the country.

Amy brings a seasoned and in depth knowledge of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and consumer products to her work as Editor and Incubator leader. She is a specialist at connecting with consumers through words and ideas, and is a highly regarded creator of both internal and external communications. Brands such as MGM Mirage, Christian Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, Bath & Body Works, Nuala by Puma, Concord Watches, Ralph Lauren, American Express and Liz Lange are among many that have been articulated or repositioned by Amy. Her work as a ghost writer for a number of personalities including Dr. Phil and Cindy Crawford puts her in a niche category, and illustrates her capacity to get inside subjects and craft effective stories and voices on their behalf. A long-term post at the helm of Christy Turlington’s company fostered exposure to international fashion photographers like Arthur Elgort, Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Regan Cameron and Irving Penn as well as world-renowned stylists and creative directors. Her experience with brands like Calvin Klein, Maybelline, Liz Claiborne and L’Occitane has influenced her modern voice and aesthetic and has cultivated an innate ability to connect with both luxury and mass-market audiences. She has collaborated closely with the architect Richard Meier on product-based brand strategy and with other lifestyle influenced business like Virgin Atlantic, Ian Schrager Hotels and Altour Travel.

Amy was a contributing editor to Contents Magazine, a pop culture publication devoted to celebrity profiles until its demise in 2002. She got her start at CNN, and inside the publishing and motion picture division of Turner Broadcasting. As the Editor of www.ladieswholaunch.com, Amy procures interviews with talent like Jackie Collins, Arianna Huffington, Christy Turlington and other inspiring women launching businesses, projects or ideas into the world, and creates content relevant to the 40,000 subscribers and over 200,000 visitors to the site each month.

KATE RODLER

Vice President of Sales and Revenue
krodler@ladieswholaunch.com

Kate Rodler is a lifetime launcher. Be it small business editions of national magazines (Businessweek Small Business), integrated sales teams (FastCompany and Inc.), Web site ad programs (George Lucas Edutcational Foundation), women’s leadership programs (Entrepreneur magazine and the Women’s Presidents’ Organization), or two adorable daughters (Liza and Abigail), Rodler’s got the breadth and richness of experience necessary to create and build effective integrated advertising programs for clients. Rodler brings over 20 years of experience on nearly all sides of the desk and mediums—agency, out of home, print. Rodler is thrilled to be part of an organization that is encouraging women in leadership and hopes to help LWL someday include a tract for social entrepreneurs as well. Rodler loves globe-trotting, dancing, hiking, water sports, wine, and all things mystical (holistic healing, the tarot, etc.). Rodler holds a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University.

PHILIP IVES

Chief Technology Officer

Philip Ives is an entrepreneurial technologist focused on consumer applications. Throughout his career he has focused on delivering innovative, mass-appeal consumer-facing applications at companies like Comcast, QVC, Traffic.com, and most recently Sivoo.

Along with the company’s founder, Philip developed Sivoo.com as an idea from true garage status all the way to a flagship product mentioned in the Philadelphia Inquirer and on such business networks as CNBC. In his capacity as VP of Technology, and later as CTO, Philip designed Sivoo’s video delivery platform, application architecture, and one of the first In-Stream video advertising technologies.

Prior to working at Sivoo, Philip developed the first interactive TV shopping application on WebTV at QVC, games and applications for cable set-top boxes, and an online ticketing application for Comcast-Spectacor. He also started IvesDigital, concentrating on interactive TV and streaming media applications. Philip graduated with a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Drexel University.

JENNIFER SCHONBORN

Product Manager

Jennifer Schonborn has worked in new media since 1994, the year many people (including Jennifer) first started to hear of this thing called the “World Wide Web.” Prior to coming aboard at Ladies Who Launch, Jennifer served as the executive editor of ELLE.com, doubling the site’s page views and taking home a MIN Best of the Web Award during her tenure there; she followed that up with a quick guest-editing stint at Gawker. Before joining ELLE, Jennifer worked for nine years at MTV, beginning as MTV.com’s copywriter and moving up the ranks to become the senior editor of MTVNews.com, along the way interviewing the likes of Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, Bjork, and Busta Rhymes. Jennifer began her career at a multimedia start-up in SoHo that had her wearing about 10 different hats;she did everything from writing the script for an online soap opera to producing photo shoots to booking ad time with radio stations. Jennifer graduated from Wesleyan University with a B.A. in English.

STELLA GRIZONT

Director of Incubator Development
stella@ladieswholaunch.com

Stella’s experience with Ladies Who Launch began in the seat of an Incubator Intensive workshop. Her project: to find one. At 24, she was a Senior Brand Strategist at Young & Rubicam, one of the world’s largest ad agencies. She had been published in iMedia and quoted in AdAge for her keen insights on cultural and consumer trends. She won accolades from the Campbell’s Soup Company for her ethnographic research and won an achievement award from Y&R senior leadership. Mary Maroun, former president of Y&R, hailed her a “remarkable 5ft fireball.” But at that point in her career, the most exciting part of her job wasn’t really her job at all. It was an employee inspiration program, Y&R Generators, that Stella just launched. It was an initiative she created to re-energize and motivate corporate culture and creativity. Now that it was all launched, Stella couldn’t find that “side project” to fully express her passion. Lo and behold, in week three, her Incubator workshop delivered the clarity and movement she was looking for: Beth Schoenfeldt asked Stella to be an Incubator leader in New York City. The youngest leader in Ladies Who Launch, Stella thrived on the opportunity to be a visionary and supporter for women’s dreams in addition to the multi-million dollar brands she continued to serve (Dannon Yogurt, Pepperidge Farm, Weight Watchers among others). In June of 2007 Stella joined Ladies Who Launch full time as Director of Strategic Development working to expand the Incubator program into a global platform for women launchers. She develops new programming for members, trains leaders, and continues to grow and garner the Ladies Who Launch brand experience. Stella is thrilled to serve Ladies Who Launch and its members.

Stella Grizont graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with honors in Economics. She speaks Russian and Spanish. She loves green tea with honey in the mornings, along with travel, the topics of holistic healing and spiritualism, salsa dancing and time with good friends and family. She continues to lead Incubator workshops in New York City and with fellow NYC Leader, Karla Lightfoot, launched the New Jersey market for Ladies Who Launch.

LISA AUGUSTYN

Marketing & Advertising Coordinator
laugustyn@ladieswholaunch.com

Lisa was first introduced to Ladies Who Launch while freelancing upon graduation from the business college Laboratory Institute of Merchandising located in the heart New York City. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing with Magna Cum Laude Honors and enhanced her in-class curriculum by securing freelance marketing assignments in diverse industries. These included working for Vogue, Morgans Hotel Group, and Kimmie Kakes, a unique custom order uniform company. In these roles she was responsible for an array of administrative and managerial responsibilities. Lisa’s determination and keen focus on her goals led her to continue to expand and diversify her portfolio and not get pigeonholed in any one industry. At Ladies Who Launch her creativity and practical business experience could finally merge.

Lisa is an active member of the nonprofit organization BPeace, which is dedicated to helping women in areas of post-conflict rebuild their businesses and communities. In her spare time, she is an avid sports enthusiast, balancing hard workouts with yoga, and occasionally you’ll see her on the sidelines cheering on her favorite NYC teams.

KAREN MUDRICK

Director of Events and Sponsorships
kmudrick@ladieswholaunch.com

Karen Mudrick is the national event planner extraordinaire for Ladies Who Launch. As the director of events and sponsorships, she partners with Incubator leaders nationwide to ensure that our signature LIVE events are inspirational, educational, and fun. When Karen moved to New York City in 2003 and attended the first Ladies Who Launch LIVE event, she never could have imagined the impact that the event would have on the direction of her life and career.

Karen’s expertise in operations management, sales, and marketing evolved over more than 12 years in the health-care and business-to-business industries. As president and CEO of such early-stage companies as LaserSpeed and Central Healthcare Services, she was instrumental in growing the firms’ annual revenues from $30,000 to more than $1 million, while increasing customer breadth and retention and setting new and improved benchmarks for product quality and customer service. Since selling both of her businesses, one to a $1 billion publicly held company, Karen has consulted for such health-care organizations as Lincare, Inc. and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where her voluntary work in the Intensive Care Unit improved its overall care, environment, and patient/family relations.

Karen’s personal passion in life is to support those less fortunate then her. She has played an active role in such local and national organizations as the Junior League of Philadelphia, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Toby Farms Elementary School, American Red Cross, and the Arthritis Foundation. She also continues the tradition of her grandfather’s Doc Mudrick Christmas Fund. Karen loves traveling and exploring diverse cultures, practicing yoga, hiking, watching foreign films, and spending time with her family and friends.

BEATA BEGENIOVA

Web Producer
beata@ladieswholaunch.com

Beata Begeniova, a driving force behind-the-scenes in the development of the Ladies Who Launch Web site, came to the company with broad experience in computer information systems and Web support, most notably in the medical field. Beata’s personal passion in life is the performing arts. She spent most of her professional life singing the traditional music of Eastern Europe, performing on stages throughout Europe, Asia, and North America with the Poddukelsky Ukrainsky Ludovy Ensemble, Sarisan and Harmonia. She has been featured as a soloist on many recordings, including Makovicka Struna (Slovakia), Sarisan (Slovakia), Harmonia - Music of Eastern Europe (U.S.), and We Are One, a World Anthem (U.S.). Her professional career as a singer has taken her to venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Severance Hall. Beata’s love of music and singing eventually developed into an appreciation for linguistics. She is able to perform songs from the diverse ethnicities of Eastern Europe, seamlessly changing from one language and dialect to another. She is a fluent speaker of Slovak, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Rusyn, and Czech, and also has a working knowledge of Polish and Russian. Beata earned Bachelors and Masters Degrees in education and performing arts from Pavol Safarik University in Slovakia. She currently resides in Cleveland with her husband and daughter.

PR / Media Contact
Stella Grizont
stella@ladieswholaunch.com