MIAMI—Entreprenista, a female-founded online community of women designed to cultivate meaningful personal and professional relationships, took connections offline for the first time last month. The brand, which launched its networking offering, “The Entreprenista League,” in May of 2021, hosted an immersive brunch one year later on May 14 and themed it “Community and Connection.”
Co-founders Stephanie Cartin and Courtney Spritzer said the event was all about “truly bringing our members together [to] give them access to showcase their business, while also giving them the opportunity to hear from inspirational Entreprenistas.” And in order to do so, a weekend brunch date made the most sense because, as Cartin pointed out, League members are busy running businesses, taking care of families, “and have so many other things going on.”
To break the ice, MyIntent Project provided cards with questions to prompt meaningful conversations. The venue, The Moon, served up vegetarian brunch dishes.Photo: Courtesy of Entreprenista
The afternoon kicked off with an ice-breaker courtesy of MyIntent Project, where cards with questions prompted conversations about goal-setting, business projections, and personal achievements. Once guests got chatting, drinks flowed, courtesy of Entreprenista's beverage partners—Inspiro Tequila and alcohol-free spirit CleanCo—and cocktails and mocktails were fittingly named the “Entreprenista Spritz” and the “Empowered Paloma."
The brunch was hosted at The Moon, a Mediterranean restaurant in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, which Cartin and Spritzer said was already “the perfect shade of Entreprenista pink.”Photo: Courtesy of Entreprenista
Then, guests dined on vegetarian brunch dishes (think: avocado toast, Greek salad, and crudités) courtesy of the venue, The Moon, as panel discussions ensued onstage. Speakers included Cartin and Spritzer; Michelle Cordeiro-Grant, the founder of women’s retailer brand LIVELY; and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, the co-founder of Clerisy, a growth equity fund focused on investing in the consumer and tech-sumer space, who Cartin said are “all active members of our community.”
“They’re friends made through being Entreprenistas and through our podcast,” she added, noting that the Entreprenista podcast debuted in 2018, with The Entreprenista League following suit three years later.
“We’ve [Cartin and Spritzer] kept in touch with podcast guests over the years, and they signed up as League members when it launched,” Cartin explained of how she has built up her own network over the years.
About 75 "SheEOs," if you will, engaged with speakers on topics surrounding the importance of building a community-first business, and why attendees should value community over competition. And before bidding adieu, attendees were given postcards to “share a motivational thought or quote” to mail to someone in their network encouraging them to join The Entreprenista League.
Entreprenistas beverage partners—Inspiro Tequila and alcohol-free spirit CleanCo—provided cocktails and mocktails, which were fittingly named the “Entreprenista Spritz” and the “Empowered Paloma."Photo: Courtesy of Entreprenista
When asked about the event planning process, Cartin and Spritzer emphasized the importance of choosing a venue that would make for an intimate and supportive atmosphere where attendees were inspired and everyone went home with ideas on how to maximize the success of their business. When it came to selecting The Moon, the Entreprenista co-founders said that the space was already “the perfect shade of Entreprenista pink,” but forgot to inquire about one very important thing—coffee.
After spending only one month planning and executing the brunch, upon arriving on-site the day of the event, Cartin said she realized that the venue didn’t serve coffee.
“It was actually quite [a] challenge for us to figure out how to get coffee to the venue so last-minute,” she recalled, saying that her team tried to contact places in the Miami area around the venue, but ultimately put out an SOS signal to their Entreprenista network and scored a coffee machine in time for brunch. 
Local artists associated with the venue created paint-splattered paintings on mini easels that were gifted to all the members at the end of the event.Photo: Courtesy of Entreprenista
In hindsight, after working to problem solve in such a time crunch, Cartin realized she showcased what The Entreprenista League is all about—bolstering your network to be one full of supportive, meaningful, and lasting professional relationships to collaborate with on projects (or when you’re in an emergency coffee situation).
To sign up to The Entreprenista League, membership is $349 for one year, “which is really only a dollar a day,” Cartin said. Members receive access to Entreprenista’s membership portal and free virtual events, plus get early access and discounted tickets to the brand’s live events. New members will also be featured on Entreprenista’s website and social channels to get their name out there to their desired network. And once part of The League, Cartin and other experts in the community host advice-driven office hours, or users can enter different networking rooms based on the industry they work in. (Yes, there’s one for event industry professionals!) Join The Entreprenista League here.
Another fun treat? Boozy ice pops courtesy of FrutaPOP.Photo: Courtesy of Entreprenista
![For the after-party, Event Eleven built three 30-foot pagodas and hung 300 lanterns from the ceiling. They also brought in a 20-foot-tall bonsai tree and a variety of 30-foot red maples, along with other greenery and foliage. '[It all] helped create the organic atmosphere and helped transport guests into a gardenlike room,' said Schubert.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2024/02/Shogun.41_f.65dba8f23433b.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
