“Raise, Rise, Rule!” – A Three-City Conference Tour for South Asian Women Entrepreneurs

“Making Dollars & Sense” Panelists (from left): Katrina Lava - Wells Fargo; Ruby Bhandari - Silk Threads Designs; Anisa Chandavong - Wells Fargo; Chef Kiran Verma - Kiran’s Restaurant; Nancy Wong - Wells Fargo; Apurva Sanghavi - START Houston; Tanaz Choudhury - TanChes & MABY; Reema Rasool - SAY WE Founder.

“Making Dollars & Sense” Panelists (from left): Katrina Lava – Wells Fargo; Ruby Bhandari – Silk Threads Designs; Anisa Chandavong – Wells Fargo; Chef Kiran Verma – Kiran’s Restaurant; Nancy Wong – Wells Fargo; Apurva Sanghavi – START Houston; Tanaz Choudhury – TanChes & MABY; Reema Rasool – SAY WE Founder.

HOUSTON: South Asian Young Women Entrepreneurs (SAY WE), a national network of business-minded executives in the fields of technology, finance, entertainment, and fashion, built on its 2013 six city-tour of financial education panels, “Making Dollars & Sense,” by hosting a full-day conferences aimed to educate women business owners about finance, marketing, public relations and social media. Called “Raise, Rise, Rule!,” the conference, sponsored by Founding Partner Wells Fargo, took place on Saturday, June 14 at the Sugar Creek Country Club. Sugar Land city councilman Himesh Gandhi welcomed the group of women entrepreneurs by stressing the importance of small businesses to the local economy and applauding SAY WE for its regional efforts.

“We are so grateful for the support of Wells Fargo,” said SAY WE founder Reema Rasool. “Without their sponsorship of this type of financial education for small business owners, we would not be able to offer these conferences completely free of charge. Our goal is create a space for South Asian women to learn, grow and be inspired by each other.”

Subject-matter experts and entrepreneurs discussed topics including: building your business credit, reinvesting in your business, protecting your credit score, creating relationships with business bankers, marketing your new business, reaching out to the media and implementing a social media strategy. The first of these conferences took place in New York City in May, also known as Small Business Appreciation Month. The next conference will take place in the Bay Area on August 9. Registration is completely FREE for women entrepreneurs, and participants can secure their spot by visiting www.saywe.us

“Tricks of the Trade” Panelists (from left): Jitin Hingorani - JINGO Media; Reema Rasool - SAY WE Founder; Abbas Hahsmi - Green Card Capital Founder; Sarah Ali - Chamak; Zeb Mamsa - Bibi Magazine; Atiya Hasan - Brown Girl Magazine Editor-in-Chief.

“Tricks of the Trade” Panelists (from left): Jitin Hingorani – JINGO Media; Reema Rasool – SAY WE Founder; Abbas Hahsmi – Green Card Capital Founder; Sarah Ali – Chamak; Zeb Mamsa – Bibi Magazine; Atiya Hasan – Brown Girl Magazine Editor-in-Chief.

About SAY WE: SAY WE is a registered non-profit organization aimed to cultivate and foster strong relationships among South Asian women who have entrepreneurial interests.  South Asian women are making great strides in the world of business, fashion, media, and the arts, and SAY WE recognizes these achievements to inspire and ensure future generations of ambitious and savvy South Asian women.  SAY WE creates a positive and collegial forum in which South Asian women, regardless of political and religious affiliations, can network, support each other, and applaud one another’s major accomplishments. SAY WE also aspires to raise awareness and funds for causes and organizations that work toward the advancement of women in South Asia, as well as South Asian women in the United States. For further information, visit www.saywe.us

About Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.5 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 locations, 12,000 ATMs, and the internet (http://wellsfargo.com), and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With more than 264,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2013 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.  Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at https://blogs.wellsfargo.com