More Than 85 Broads

More than anything else, 85 Broads is the ultimate entrepreneurial venture. A pure act of faith in yourself and trust in the partnerships you can create. An unwillingness to compromise or be less than what you know in your heart you can create--regardless of conventional wisdom or expectations of others. Tune out the other voices and tune in your own voice.

Monique Maddy

Monique is a world-class marathon runner who was born in Liberia and educated in Britain and the U.S. She later moved back to Africa to execute a start-up business providing wireless telecommunications services to emerging market countries. The company eventually failed due to a combination of corruption, ineptitude, and bureaucracy, but none of that dampened her spirit as she was determined to maintain her vision for self-reliance and entrepreneurialism in Africa.

"It was around that time that I decided to return to competitive running, given that I had continued to pursue the sport on a recreational basis throughout my entire life, and it was a good escape from the pages and pages that I would write each day. I also took advantage of the flexibility that I had during this period to go back to Africa (the Source). I went to Kenya where I could both complete my book and train with some of the best and most inspiring long distance runners in the world. As a result, I found myself, at the age of 40, in the elite ranks of marathon running, due in particular to a personal best of 2:48 in the Boston Marathon in 2002. This whole experience further enriched my life, giving it a whole new dimension and the confidence, determination and courage to move on in other areas of my life as well."

Rebecca Carr Eaton

Rebecca Eaton earned degrees from Duke and Harvard and later joined Siebel Systems as a Product Manager responsible for several products within its newly-released ERM product suite. During her time at Siebel, she worked nights and weekends on a business plan she had begun at Harvard Business School. In September of 2002 she quit Siebel to found Remote Clinical Solutions, a provider of standards-based remote patient monitoring solutions.

"My grandfather founded a film distribution company in his fifties, which he operated until he was 87. Shortly before his retirement, he sent a card to his friends declaring, "Helen and I are off to see the Grand Canyon." But my grandfather's health declined quite dramatically following his retirement, and the Grand Canyon trip proved an elusive dream. His legs grew weak to the point that he needed help rising from his chair, and he often refused to shower for fear of falling. Eventually he required 24-hour care. Some of the challenges my grandfather faced were inevitable and untreatable-the product of an aging body. Others, in my mind, were the result of gaping holes in the product landscape targeting seniors. In October 2002, I founded Remote Clinical Solutions Inc., whose mission at the time was to develop technologies that enabled seniors to live independently and with pride."

Andrea Miller

Before attending Columbia Business School, Andrea spent three years working in project finance for Enron in India. After earning her MBA she spent three years developing a new lifestyle magazine focused on love and relationships called Tango, which celebrated its first publication in February 2005. Miller sees it as the thinking woman's Cosmopolitan, with a sharp focus on relationships. The magazine appears six times a year and has a circulation of 200,000. Advertisers include Christian Dior and Elizabeth Arden.

"Networking is all about connecting with people and building a community, both of which are essential to my sense of well-being and wholeness. I am specifically enthralled with 85 Broads because of the concentration of incredibly talented, accomplished, bright women, where there is a shared desire to connect and commune with one another. While this has an important social component, it also has an important practical and professional component. I always leave 85 Broads events uplifted and inspired. I am in awe of the speakers and always grateful that I can apply their examples of passion, courage, brilliance, and tenacity to my own life and work."

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