In 2007, Sylvia Scott moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Southern California. One of her best friends Rieva Lesonsky, Founder, and CEO of GrowBiz® Media had watched Sylvia make money for others while helping them accomplish their visions. She encouraged Sylvia to do something big with her creativity and talents to accomplish her own visions. Sylvia’s “sweet spot,” as Rieva called it, was entrepreneurship and equipping teenage girls with the knowledge and drive to start businesses while in high school.
In 2009, Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California held the first Realizing a Vision conference. It was evident from the attendees’ responses there was a need for the Girls’ C.E.O. Connection™ (Girls Creating Enterprising Organizations). Later that year, the second Realizing a Vision conference was held in Long Beach, California. These girls were then given the opportunity for one-on-one conversations with the speakers. Several girls applied to be on the newly formed Young Women’s Advisory Team.
The Team wanted to make the Realizing a Vision conference a place to meet like-minded girls with an entrepreneurial spirit. Sylvia and the team decided to videotape interviews of speakers from all the conferences.
Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity sponsored the third Realizing a Vision conference at Stanford University.
In 2011, Sylvia and her team began interviewing young female entrepreneurs who started businesses in high school or college. The video interviews introduce members of Generation Z high school girls to the patterns, characteristics, and skills accomplished female entrepreneurs attribute to their success.
By 2015 interest in the organization had increased and Sylvia Scott decided it was time to restructure Girls’ C.E.O. Connection.™ A new website was created to include the blog. The video interviews were to continue while the podcast channel, Enterprising Young Females went into the planning stage for 2016 and 2017. The Young Women’s Advisory Team was renamed to Ambassadors.
What’s in store going forward in 2019? Opportunities will increase to expand avenues for interaction with successful female entrepreneurs who mentor, motivate and represent the global community. This includes the launch of a formal mentor program to continue showing young women entrepreneurial pathways and how to expand their potential. Therefore, it will continue to provide a culture of support for those young women to apply their creativity and innovation to reach their potentials through entrepreneurship.
– Testimonial –
“Girls’ C.E.O. Connection taught me valuable, lifelong skills that I gained from interviewing amazing women and meeting girls from all across Southern California. It helped me to grow from a young freshman entering high school to now a thriving college student. Being part of Girls’ C.E.O. Connection is an experience I cherish and enjoy each day.”
