1. LESSONS FROM
ROGUE WOMEN

2. On May 7, 2019 way high up in the SAP Event space above the Hudson Yards was an event
called “Rogue Women.” Conceived and produced by Rogue Venture Partners and VentureFuel,
Rogue Women’s mission was to “celebrate, connect with, and learn from the trailblazing
women who go rogue to forge new paths and make the impossible, possible.”
These are our ROGUE WOMEN LEARNINGS.

3. A NEW MODEL
“CONFERENCE”
• To attend Rogue Women, there was an application,
not a registration.
• No fees were charged.
• “It’s not a conference,” explained Allie Feinstein of
VentureFuel, “it’s a gathering.”
• The attendee mix for Rogue Women had just the right
amount with about 150 guests and 39, to be exact,
panelists and speakers.
• It was like being backstage at a concert festival
without any rock star attitudes—you could just go up
to one of the panelists and share your thoughts with
a coffee in your hand.

4. PIVOT IS THE
NEW CLIMB
• Climbing the corporate ladder is a concept, a path
really, that all of us have had drilled into our heads.
Women already know that their rungs on the ladder
aren’t the same the men get to grab.
• More than one presenter at Rogue Women used the
word “pivot” to describe how her career path to a
top leadership position happened.
• Fact: not everyone dreams of being their own boss or
running a large company but sometimes you need to
change your dream.
• Several industry leaders spoke about opportunities
that came their way and the moment they chose to
seize those opportunities despite the fact that it
didn’t match their previous career visions.

5. CULTURE TRUMPS
STRATEGY
• Sandra Lopez of Intel said it: “culture trumps strategy.”
Traditional C-suite title holders may roll their eyes at
that.
• But do you know who completely agrees with these
Rogue Women? The top generals in the U.S. military.
There has been in a critical shift in the past 20 years to
get heads of major organizations to prioritize culture
over planning.
• Many of these Rogue Women have risen through the
ranks not because of corporate culture but in spite of it,
just like the top generals.
• If a smart, committed team feels empowered and
respected, they will produce winning results.

6. SO THIS IS HOW
YOU NETWORK
• We all hope events and meetings go so well that
conversations happen on their own without a forced
agenda. But Rogue Women left nothing to chance
with activities for the sole purpose of networking.
• Right from the opening coffee session, all participants
were given creative tools that made it clear ideas
would be exchanged.
• We found the round table session was a perfect way
to end the day and to make those lasting connections
we would have otherwise missed.
• Any type of meeting, tradeshow or conference could
take a major lesson from Rogue Women in fostering a
vibe of sharing that leads to much more than
exchanging business cards.

7. THE STRUGGLE
IS INSPIRING
• We’ve all been to conferences and events that
feature women with impressive titles. What is less
common is women being showcased who are still
trying to break ground by creating products and
starting up companies.
• It’s inspiring to see women so passionate about their
ideas that they work tirelessly to see them come to
fruition. Rogue Women featured a handful of women
who have taken the leap to start building their own
thing.
• A lot of companies and events would be better off if
they put a little bit of the spotlight on employees or
businesses who are in the middle of the struggle.

8. DON’T WAIT TO
FIX PROBLEMS
• If Melanie Strong (VP of Nike’s Global Skateboarding)
decides to join a speaker’s bureau, book her for your
next event. her point wasn’t some generic “oh, sexist
bosses are horrible” angle. Mel theorized that only in
moments of corporate stress such as a recession or a
major PR issue does a company truly look inward and
enact change to fix problems.
• When a company is making money and enjoying
positive media coverage, then it incorrectly assumes
all is well.
• Problems are there if you dare to look and empower
people to address them.
• Waiting for issues to grow and then explode in your
face isn’t just bad and dumb, it is wrong.

9. FORGET WINS,
STUDY FAILURES
• A panel lined with leadership in innovation from vastly
different industries all took a moment to talk about
failing.
• A natural part of innovation is failing. Failing is just an
inevitable consequence of the cycle, but how we deal
with it is something we all can control.
• Too many conferences champion great, big case studies
of successes. Rogue Women reminded the audience
that when we fail (and we will!), the critical way we
need to handle it is with speed.
• Big hitters from ad agencies and corporate brands on
panels emphasized the importance of embracing failure
rather than dwelling: learn from it fast, conceive your
next step fast, and act fast.

10. ROGUE MOMS
• On the final question of the final panel of the day, the
panelists for “Forging Your Path” were asked to name
the person who is their biggest inspiration. Each and
every woman named her mom.
• It really put a personal and human cap on the
conference.
• The audience definitely took the idea that while we
were all there to talk business, our family and those
close to us play a major inspirational role.
• Many of the attendees were moms themselves. They
gave us a peek into their personal lives which painted
a bigger picture of strides being made in and out of
the workplace.
• The audience really embraced discussions on the
personal impact that business has on our lives.

11. Patrick West
patrick@themachinenyc.com
646.380.9467