In the penultimate at Agnes Scott’s 6th annual Women’s Global Leadership Conference, we were visited by three incredible women who have made strides in pioneering their own businesses. Kelly An, Katie Deedy, and Sushma Barakoti are all successful entrepreneurs in their own right.
Kelly An, a member of Agnes Scott’s class of 2015, wowed the audience with her success in co-founding an AI agent and co-pilot. This was right in line with her decision to pursue a double major in computer science in addition to her major in psychology. (She even gave a shoutout to our very own beloved Dr. Jennifer Hughes!) Her time at Agnes informed how she decided to move about the world. She recalled, “I was always thinking about ‘how can I make more of an impact?’ because it was all we talked about here at Agnes Scott.” This idea of making an impact resonated with her and inspired her to change the world around her for the better. Kelly An made it clear to the audience that although women in entrepreneurship may be rare, that doesn’t mean that they should be counted out. She informed us that only 2% of women who are entrepreneurs get invested. Though that statistic may seem discouraging, she urged audience members to rebel against the status quo by pursuing business ventures that speak to them.
Katie Deedy, another Agnes Scott alumna from the class of 2004, had a slightly more unconventional start. She knew she wanted to be an artist, and so she majored in studio art. This led her to move to New York City in order to explore different career paths before ultimately realizing her passion in pattern making. This passion manifested itself into a desire to design wallpaper. Interestingly, Katie Deedy recalled that the only established entrepreneurs that responded to her many calls for advice and support were all women. That experience stuck with her; it made it so that she felt compelled to advise students and future entrepreneurs to find solace in communities that celebrate them and their work. When it came to the importance of finding others to support you in your business endeavors, she had this to say: “I have been able to develop a community of like-minded women who are doing the exact thing I’m doing and I can call them at any time to ask them questions. I’m so appreciative of the trust I have with fellow women entrepreneurs because you can be competitive in a way that is good for everyone. That’s why I think we need more women helping women to create that environment.” She has now had her business for 18 years and is content doing something that she loves, in spite of the doubts that arose earlier in her career.
Sushma Barakoti is no stranger to community building. Coming from her hometown in India, she always loved supporting other women and aimed to do all that she could to uplift them. This was due greatly to the role models that she saw when she was growing up. She shared that, “My mother and grandmother were very strong women who were entrepreneurs, teachers, social movers and shakers. That was always what I saw and what I gravitated towards.” Although she initially thought that a career in business wasn’t for her, her nonprofit background inspired her to create something of her own. She spoke fondly about her work in Nepal with women who are refugees. It only made sense for her that she would take her degree in social work from Marywood University and turn it into a lifelong career in helping others.
Members of the audience were full of questions which greatly impressed the panel of speakers. One of the questions that a current student posed was about owning your identity and agency as a woman in the business world. To this, Katie Deedy admitted that there was a point in her life where she was often preoccupied with labels. Between what she did to who she wanted to be, she found herself constantly worried about what to say to others when they asked about her career prospects. Her evolution as an artist and businesswoman came as a result of abandoning the need to strictly, and sometimes incorrectly, label herself. Kelly An shared this sentiment by emphasizing the following: “Your major doesn’t define you. Your school is just a starting point…Never forget your community. Track your community. Grow with your community.”
The panel was both intriguing and inspiring, especially for all of us students who are musing our own career options. The choice to invite these three women to speak was a fitting one that surely made this year’s Women’s Global Leadership Conference a memorable one.
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