Holding up a sexy pair of red soled, autographed, Christian Louboutin’s, Kelly Hoey’s smile is as big as Central Park. “Shoes are my addiction, although I’m not as bad as Imelda Marcos. I wear my shoes, and they are loved.”
Shoe addict is not what first comes to mind when reading a litany of Kelly Hoey’s accomplishments. In addition to over 88,000 followers on Google+, Forbes lists her as one of five women who are changing the face of venture capital and entrepreneurship for women. Fast Company says Kelly Hoey is one of the 25 Smartest Women on Twitter. If those credits aren’t enough, Forbes also lists Hoey as an Up and Comer: One of 100 Innovators and Women Over 40 to Watch.
ONE OF THE PIECES OF ADVICE I ALWAYS GIVE YOUNGER WOMEN IS TO BUILD YOUR EXPERTISE, BUILD YOUR NETWORK AND BUILD YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.
Hoey was co-founder of Women Innovate Mobile (WIM), a NYC-based startup accelerator that helped early stage, women founded, mobile tech ventures get resources and mentoring. “Women need to create the equivalent of the male investor pay pal mafia: the old boy’s network.”
As someone who’s always worked at changing the economic dynamics for women entrepreneurs, Hoey’s new position as Chief Marketing Officer at Cuurio is a great fit for everyone concerned. Cuurio connects brands and agencies with emerging technology startups to create partnerships that elevate everyone to the next level.
In addition to her role at Cuurio, Hoey mentors startups for ER Accelerator, Grand Central Tech and Straight Shot as well as the monthly Meet the Innovator speaker series at the Apple Store in SoHo, with similar events to come in San Francisco and Chicago.
“One of the pieces of advice I always give younger women is to build your expertise, build your network and build your bank account. The bank account is not about a retirement fund. It’s so you can say yes to opportunities. How many people have said I’d like to take that job, but it doesn’t pay enough? You need to have the bank account so you can say yes and take greater risks that may lead to greater opportunities.
“Being Canadian, I have to resort to hockey quotes, and out of the mouth of the great one, Wayne Gretzky: ‘You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take,’” Hoey said. With Kelly Hoey’s help, women will learn invaluable skills that enable them to score shots previous generations of women only dreamed of making.
2 thoughts on “Kelly Hoey”
Great interview!
What a fantastic story and a great woman!
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