On Wednesday, November 18th, The Garage Group (represented by Ann Thompson) had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the WiRE (Women in Research) event in downtown Chicago. On a panel alongside Kristi Zuhlke (KnowledgeHound), Kristin Spraggins (The Band Consultancy, LLC) and Katie Helton (KnowledgeHound), Ann spoke about the challenges of entrepreneurship and innovation to a packed house of 80 inspired, entrepreneurial-minded women.
We found it encouraging to see such a large, diverse turnout for the event. The conference drew a varied group; large companies, small companies and people in both qualitative and quantitative research roles. We met women who were just starting out in their careers alongside seasoned professionals from all walks of life. It was an amazing mix.
It was also inspiring to experience such a high level of engagement from our audience. The group discussion ranged from managing the fear of failure (since failure is an essential part of the growth process for any company), to how to answer client questions and build client relationships, to how to prioritize innovation and new business models to stay ahead of the game. You can see some of our discussion points in the deck here.
Chicago is home to a thriving community of people who want to learn, connect and network, and it energized us to interact with the eager and open-minded group at WiRE. There is so much great work happening in a lot of places, and, more often than not, people are more than willing to collaborate and share their knowledge. Attending this event enabled us to revisit one of our most important company values: maintaining an external focus to help us keep moving forward.
WiRE was founded in 2007 as a means of connecting and supporting women in the market research community. Today, WiRE hosts networking events around the globe to help bring women together through career development, industry discussions and education. You can learn more about WiRE and their upcoming events here.
The Garage Group helps corporate brands and teams to innovate and grow like startups.
