We built a room.
Not just a venue with chairs and a schedule.
A room where 200 women spent a full day working ON their businesses, making real connections, and having the conversations that actually move the needle.
CEO Day was built around three things every CEO needs to focus on:
Relationships.
Decisions.
Leverage.
Here’s what that looked like in the room.
Relationships
The night before, our VIP evening kicked off with “Money Growth and Real Talk Bingo” hosted by JPMorganChase – women having real, open conversations about cash flow, raising prices, retirement planning, and wealth building.
The giveaway bucket filled up faster than anything I’ve ever seen at an event. Women weren’t getting one bingo. They were filling up the entire card.
The next morning, at the beautiful 21c Museum Hotel, speed networking picked up right where the night left off. Four minutes per conversation… then move on and meet someone new.
Except nobody wanted to move on. I genuinely felt guilty calling time.
Decisions
Two workshops. Real work.
The Verizon Revenue Rhythm Workshop had attendees looking at their actual numbers and leaving with a plan… not just a feeling.
In the branding workshop, “Does Your Brand Match the Business You’re Building?” sponsored by 99designs by Vista, they explored whether what they’re showing the world actually reflects what they’ve built.
Not lectures. Action.
Leverage
The fastest way to get leverage in your business is to learn from someone who’s already been where you’re going… or who knows the landmines you don’t even know exist yet.
Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear, told us why she doesn’t experience imposter syndrome. Her first-grade teacher gave a red pencil every week to the student who made the most mistakes… not as punishment, but as a reward.
Then we sat down for “How to Not Get Sued” with Donata Stroink-Skillrudd, co-founder of Termageddon, to discuss the legal stuff that can sink businesses. Openly. Honestly. In a room full of women who needed to hear it.
We wrapped up the main stage with three local women business owners for a real conversation on Human First Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI.
Three conversations. Years of shortcuts.
We Didn’t Just Book a Room
Every detail was intentional.
- the local and women-owned businesses behind the stage design (Styled & Staged STL)
- the signage and table identities (Speed Pro – St. Louis)
- the smiles at the “This is What a CEO Looks Like’ photo booth (Crews Dental)
- the pens, stickers, t-shirts, and swag bags filled with goodies attendees walked away with to remember the day (1-800-Tshirts).
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When the founder of Destination Legalpicked up a pair of oversized scissors and stood in front of a big red ribbon to officiate the Digital Business Ribbon Cutting Ceremony- it was the kind of moment that sounds small on paper and feels enormous in the room.
Thank You to All of Our Sponsors & Partners
None of this happens without the people who believed in what we were building before they ever saw it come to life.
Every single partner was woven intentionally into the day… not just a logo on a banner, but a real part of the experience.
Verizon | 99designs by Vista | JPMorganChase | 1-800-Tshirts | Crews Dental | Destination Legal | Termageddon | SpeedPro – St. Louis | Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers | 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis | Heard Global | Lacey Mitchell State Farm | Thrivent Financial | Styled and Staged STL | STL Bucket List | Parker’s Table | The Blue Duck
Denver is Next. June 24th.
St. Louis was our first. Denver is where we take everything we learned and make it even better… same intentionality, same energy, same commitment to building a room where women CEOs can work ON their business, not just in it.
Tickets are open now.
