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- We Hosted the Biggest Masterclass at WebSummit — and It Was Electric
We Hosted the Biggest Masterclass at WebSummit — and It Was Electric
For the past two years, we’ve been proud to be named Impact Partners at Collision Toronto. And now, we’re bringing that same LOI energy to WebSummit Vancouver.
What started as a mission to make conferences actually valuable for young founders has grown into something way bigger. We’ve done founder jogs with Olympians, brought in living room furniture that’s been pitched on Dragon’s Den TV, and sparked hundreds of meaningful convos — all to make this space more real and more ours.
This year? We hit a new milestone: hosting the most attended masterclass at WebSummit Vancouver. 300+ founders packed into the room to hear raw, unfiltered stories from women under 30 building companies on their own terms.
She Who Builds: Women Redefining Leadership
Let’s rewind 50 years: women needed a man’s signature to open a bank account. Today? Gen Z and Millennial women are rewriting the script—and owning every line of it. We asked one big question: what does leadership really look like in 2025?
Our panel brought the receipts:
And the vibe? Electric. The room was buzzing with energy, filled with people ready to ditch the fluff and hear the real deal about launching and leading a startup as a young woman.
The Real Talk
Finance First: Most women's leadership panels stay surface-level, but we dove straight into the money talk. Our trio shared real finance strategy across different industries – when to raise funds versus bootstrap, and how they actually generated their first revenue. No fluff, just honest conversations about the financial realities of building a business.
Strength Over Struggle: We flipped the typical narrative. Instead of dwelling on underrepresentation, Annika posed a powerful question: what if feminine traits were superpowers, not disadvantages? Empathy is known to be a more feminine straight, but it’s also known to be invaluable in negotiations, team building, and customer relationships. Flipping your perspective transforms perceived weaknesses into strategic strengths.
Balance Redefined: Rigid work-life balance is a myth. We dived into what real balance means: having the self-awareness to know when to push forward and when to step back. Sometimes it’s taking 8 PM calls or strategizing with your partner in bed. Other times it’s taking an afternoon off for self-care, recharging, and ideation. Balance is about listening to what you and your business need in any given season, not just following a rulebook.
A Moment of Gratitude
To close off, I asked each speaker: who is one mentor that shaped you into the leader you are today? Without hesitation, all three said the same thing: their mom.
Whether it was unwavering support from day one, quiet motivation from the shadows, or simply being there through every pivot and failure, these women laid the foundation for everything that followed.
In a room full of ambitious entrepreneurs discussing funding strategies and growth tactics, this was a powerful reminder that no one builds alone. From parents to your network, peers, and advisors, startups are built together, not in isolation.
What This Means for Our Community
It’s moments like these that reinforce the work we do at The League of Innovators. Yes, we love the energy of conferences and the excitement of new connections. But our real mission is creating spaces where young founders can see themselves in the stories being shared on stage.
WebSummit Vancouver gave us a platform, but our speakers gave us something far more valuable: permission to redefine what leadership looks like in 2025 and beyond.
The future of entrepreneurship isn't just female, it's authentic, empathetic, and unapologetically powerful.
Can't wait to see what our community builds next.
Much love,
💙 The LOI Fam