On March 25, 2017, I had the privilege of attending Her Campus SFU’s first ever conference, Vancouver Women: Shattering the Glass Ceiling. The evening conference featured wholesome snacks and drinks, a raffle draw, a networking portion, as well as a panel of three Vancouver entrepreneurs who shared their knowledge and experience with attendees. One of the women who sat on the panel was Brittany Whitmore, Founder of Exvera Communications and TEDxGastownWomen, an avid Marketer, Public Relations Specialist, Public Speaker and Event Host.
I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Brittany about her life, Exvera Communications, TEDxGastownWomen and what it is like working in a male dominated industry over coffee and tea. (Side note: we met at Melriches Coffeehouse on Davie street at Brittany’s recommendation, and my strawberry waffles and soy chai tea latte were THE BOMB.COM.)
Keep on reading below to learn what Brittany had to say about these topics, as well as her very own tips and tricks on entrepreneurship, perseverance and working in a male-dominated industry!
What inspired you to launch TEDxGastownWomen?
It was when I started TEDx. It was really an out of the blue idea during Christmas 2014 when I was still working at Procurify. I was learning a lot at Procurify, but the learning curve began to get less steep as time went on. It was also a male dominated industry and I was having a hard time finding mentors and role models that I could really connect with. I was also interested in doing my own thing in the community. I went to Langara, and somebody had done a small TEDx event there. I thought, “you know what? If that guy can do it, I can do it too!” and I realised “Oh my gosh- maybe I can do a TEDxWomen event!” and I wondered how to get started, so I looked it up and applied to host the event. I did the full eight page application, where you have to tell them your vision for the event, who might speak, where you would hold the event, what you are passionate about, why you want to do this and what your favourite TED talks are. I completed this long application and then they wrote back to me to confirm that I had gotten my license approved to host the event. I also realised that TEDxWomen had some additional rules, and that you must host a TEDxWomen event within 24 hours of TEDWomen, which happened to be during May of that year, so I had just over two months to form a team, find a venue, get sponsors, get speakers and plan the entire event. I started telling people about how I was going to do this event and I received so much support and a flood of people who wanted to help. And we did it! We had a team of 12 and we’ve sold out two conferences now. I learned so much and I met so many amazing people. Overall, I wanted to do something community-based, challenge myself and find more female role models in the community, and I was able to accomplish these goals.
How have you seen this event grow each year?
It’s been amazing seeing this event grow. I started off by literally sitting on my couch with an idea, and then as soon as I put it into the world, people came and helped. People were really excited and I knew that I had hit a nerve. Our first year we sold 100 tickets because you are only allowed to sell 100 tickets at your first TEDx event. We sold out within 20 minutes of launching ticket sales. It was pretty exciting and crazy. I remember opening up ticket sales and calling my dad and asking, “Dad! Did you buy your tickets yet?! Because you need to get them now!” I wound up getting tickets for my parents because I didn’t want them to miss out.
We decided we would continue the event next year, and most of the team from the first year had come back because they had had a great time. We met many amazing people. We had 360 people attend last year, and we had sold out again and we had to create a waiting list. It was a bigger venue, but we still had around 11 speakers at both of the events. The momentum has continued to grow and everyday I get emails about TEDxGastownWomen, which is amazing. I think that this event is one of the reasons why I got into BC Business’ 30 under 30. It was really something big and the community was so ready for it.
Do you have any exciting plans for TEDxWomen Gastown?
We are taking 2017 off and plan to regroup again in 2018.
How can students get involved with TEDxWomen Gastown?
We absolutely want students to get involved, and I would say the number one thing they can do is volunteer. And this doesn’t just mean being a volunteer at the door because we need people to do everything. We need people running our social media, writing content, coordinating volunteers and more. Whether you’re a student or professional, I think everybody has great ideas. Even I was still a student and was finishing up a few courses when I started working at Procurify. Students are more than qualified to do anything. We are looking for passionate people who want to learn and grow, and come out and help with everything. If anyone is interested, go to our website, tedxgastownwomen.com, and sign up for the mailing list. If you sign up to receive email updates, you’ll be the first to know about volunteer opportunities through these emails.
I want to launch a company, but I’m not sure where to start. What would you ecommend as the first steps?
I had some informal mentors when I started my business, which is very important because honestly, it is a scary thing to do. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done, right up there with founding TEDxGastownWomen. Almost every entrepreneur I talk to seems to have the same Imposter Syndrome, where you feel like you don’t belong or deserve whatever you’re doing. But you have to be like “Okay. Forget all of that because you’re just as smart as anybody else.” Even when you go to an interview, you’re just as smart as the person interviewing you, it’s just that they have a little more experience. And every business and company was started by someone just like you, so don’t worry about it and just keep going. You should have seen me go to my first meeting when I started my business. I was shaking and sweating and I had typed-up six pages of notes that I did not even use. It was horrible. I obviously messed up some stuff, but that’s fine because that’s how everyone learns. You make mistakes and you learn. Just do it.
The best way to learn about entrepreneurship is to start a business. It can be a small business or as big as you want. It can even be as simple as selling bracelets online or doing social media for companies. That’s how I started, by doing social media for companies. And now I’m helping manage international brands and running major public relations campaigns. I always say that if you’re not feeling in over your head, you’re moving too slow, so the moment you get too comfortable, it’s time for you to try something else.” Just start, it’s okay to make mistakes, they are just data points. And never be afraid to ask for help.
Is there a difference in what you would recommend as the first steps if I want to launch a non-profit charity?
I have never launched a charity, TEDx is not profit, but we didn’t have to get a charity certification.I think it would be great to have a mentor who knows their stuff for that situation, somebody who has previously started one. I believe the government has some great resources and there must be a ton of information online. Small Business BC is great resource and will help you get set up. Or even ask some of your instructors at school who may be able to help you. I think starting a charity is an amazing thing to do.
I want to launch my own company, but I’m afraid that I may run out of money, or that the company may fail. Do you have any advice for this?
A lot of the time people are worried about having money to start a company. You don’t necessarily need a lot of money unless you’re making physical goods or you need to buy storage. You don’t even need an office; you can start your business at home during your spare time. That’s why it’s important to choose something that you’re passionate about because it will be a lot of work and that can be hard. So if you’re not passionate about it, you’re going to give up and quit. So make sure you really love it.
The company may even fail, but I believe that you don’t really fail unless you stop because you’ll start a business and will pivot by changing your company a few times. I’ve changed my company too, you’ll learn things and apply your learnings to your business. You’ll find that most companies start by doing only one thing. Such as Amazon, which used to only sell books, and Google, which used to only be a search engine. Later on these companies realised that they could do other things. So your business will change too, but it will not fail unless you decide you’re not going to work on it anymore. If you’re not trying anything, then you won’t get anywhere. You have to fail to move forward.
What inspired you to launch Exvera Communications?
I actually started Exvera about six years ago. The name comes from Latin because I wanted to do something unique. It means “from truth,” which ties into the work that I do. I do public relations and I look at the values of a company and find their story, and I tell these stories from truth. I thought about rebranding a while back, but I talked to someone else in the industry who I admire and she said “you know what? It doesn’t really matter what your company is named. It’s great that you have a unique name.”
What was the hardest part about launching Exvera communications?
The hardest part about launching my communications company was to not worry so much about doing everything perfectly. It’s okay as long as you keep moving forward and learning from everything that you are doing. Try something new and stretch yourself and if you don’t know something, go out and learn it.
I didn’t even really know what entrepreneurship was until I was doing it. I remember always reading about the top 50 most successful people, and there would be people like Oprah on the list, but also some people who were given the title of “Entrepreneur,” and I would just flip to the next page because I didn’t know what that really looked like. I think it’s important to educate people on what it really means to be an entrepreneur.
You do so much everyday! How do you stay organized?
Staying organized is definitely a challenge because there’s a lot going on and things are flying at me from many directions. Although, I actually kinda like that because I get bored quickly and easily. I am also comfortable with ambiguity. I stay organized by writing everything down and if there’s something that I have to do, I make sure to write it down in my calendar. I’m very diligent about my calendar. My meetings are all written down with who I’m meeting and where I’m meeting them. A great tip is to remember that you can only do one thing at a time, take a step back to think about what is the priority, and give yourself some time to rest as well.
What do you think will help students during their career search, in terms of education, experience and networking?
Try new things because you don’t know what you like, you only like what you know. And meet as many people as you can. This is one of the greatest things about volunteering because you get to meet people from worlds you’ve never encountered before, which is so important. If anyone had told me that I would love the technology world, I might not have believed them, but it took putting myself out there and trying something new to help me realise it. Give something new a try and if something doesn’t work out, no one will notice because everyone is paying attention to their own world. I started businesses that did not work out and guess what? Nobody noticed. As far as school goes, get outside of school a bit and get into the community, whether it is through volunteering or attending events and completing mentorship programs. Meet people outside of your circle.
You’ve mentioned at the Her Campus SFU event that you’ve worked in male-dominated environments. Was this a difficult environment to work in?
It’s funny because I always grew up hanging out with the guys, so it felt normal, but there were some things that were challenging. Office culture should be inclusive and it can be hard to build those bonds with your team when maybe you don’t want to watch soccer, or play that video game. Then you kind of cut yourself out of some of the social aspects of the company, which in a startup and smaller companies is very important. Maybe I’m going to miss out on building those relationships. There is also a little bit of a “bro” and old boy’s club mentality, it might be getting better but there is still a lot of work to do. People also treat you differently. For example, you’ll go to an event and be asked “oh, are you someone’s date?” but it’s like “no, actually, I am a special guest here.” I used to feel self conscious about this and t-shirts and not be very girly if I could avoid it, so that I could maybe blend in. I don’t remember exactly when this changed, but I decided that I was just going to be who I am and embrace it. I’m much happier now, but I don’t think it made too much of a difference – really just in my head.
Did you learn anything from working in this environment?
I learned that a lot of these stresses are in our own heads, and you should try and not let them overcome you. Find a tribe that supports you, and that’s one of the most amazing things that has come out of TEDxGastownWomen, which is that I found this amazing tribe of brilliant, talented and motivated women. Whenever someone has a project, we have a whole group of people behind us, supporting us and cheering us on. There is a saying “you can’t be what you can’t see,” so it’s important to find these female role models and mentors. Don’t let your challenges make you feel weak, instead let it show you how much stronger you really are because you have to deal with all of this other nonsense and that just means that you’re even tougher than the rest of them.
Do you have any advice for women who may be pursuing male-dominated roles?
Don’t worry about it and just go for it. You may feel weird in that classroom when there’s only one or two women. Nobody is probably thinking about it as much as we are ourselves, so don’t let it get to you and show them what you’re made of. Have that confidence and know who you are and what you can accomplish.
Thank you so much for chatting, Brittany! This is amazing advice and knowledge that I’m sure many students will find beneficial during their student and professional careers.