Francesca Kennedy
Energize your team with lessons from a world-class social entrepreneur CEO, TED speaker, and one of People En Español Magazine's 50 most powerful women in the world.
Francesca Kennedy was working as a Wealth Management Professional at a Goldman Sachs when she found her true calling. Born in the U.S. to Guatemalan parents, Francesca tapped into her cultural heritage and launched a sandal company Ix Style (pronounced “eye ex”) in March 2013. She was inspired to start the company when she discovered the once beautiful Lake Atitlan of Guatemala where Francesca’s grandparents lived overrun with blue-green algae in 2010 and a new generation of children collecting the contaminated water. Francesca turned what NASA deemed one of the worst natural disasters to occur on the planet into action. Ix is the Mayan word for water. For every pair purchased, Ix Style donates to provide clean drinking water to children in Guatemala where Francesca’s family is originally from. The sandals are handmade by artisans from the lake region that inspired her.
STORYTELLING: YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE + WHY IT MATTERS
Stories move people; not only to feel an emotion but to take action. When you use a well-crafted story in your presentations and pitches, you sell more effectively, get more commitment, cultivate greater camaraderie, inspire deeply and have more fun. Francesca shares her “aha moment”, how she tapped into her passion, landed clients like Richard Branson and Gwyneth Paltrow, won Project Runway and persisted when things became difficult.
Presentation Outcomes:
Identify how to catalog your experiences so you can develop a list of stories to enchant any audience in any setting
Recognize if a story has the potential to change listeners’ perspectives and behavior
Develop your story to create a mesmerizing and compelling message to your audience
Prepare steps to help encourage your audience to take action after being inspired by your story and its message
SALES TECHNIQUES: HOW TO LAND GWYNETH PALTROW, RICHARD BRANSON OR ANYONE AS A CLIENT!
Francesca shares her “aha moment”, how she tapped into her passion, landed clients like Richard Branson and Gwyneth Paltrow, J.Crew, Gap, Anthropologie, won Project Runway and persisted when things became difficult.
Pitching prospective clients can be hard. Learn how to land your dream clients. Listen to Francesca’s funny stories of how she got her products on celebrities and got them to promote her mission and brand for FREE.
Presentation Outcomes:
- Identify how to catalog your experiences so you can develop a list of stories to enchant any audience in any setting
- Recognize if a story has the potential to change listeners’ perspectives and behavior
- Develop your story to create a mesmerizing and compelling message to your prospective clients
- How to sell yourself, story and product to anyone
Stronger Together: Women Supporting Women
Francesca shares her “aha moment”, how she tapped into her passion, landed clients like Richard Branson and Gwyneth Paltrow, J.Crew, Gap, Anthropologie, won Project Runway and persisted when things became difficult.
Francesca also shares how she grew her company through the help of other women. Her board of advisors and mentors include CEO of Gilt Groupe, Rebecca Minkoff and many other top women executives.
Presentation Outcomes:
- Identify how to catalog and grow your network of mentors and advisors
- Develop a list of people who can help grow your network, prospective clients and client lists
“Francesca was one of our featured speakers/thought-leaders at the eMerge Americas conference this year. eMerge Americas is a global technology conference connecting the Americas that takes place annually in Miami Beach, FL. Francesca’s talk was perfectly in line with the theme of the conference, which is “innovation in the Americas.” She is an extremely inspiring speaker with an incredible entrepreneurial journey. The eMerge Americas attendees thoroughly enjoyed her talk. I look forward to continuing to work with Francesca in the future.”
“EVERYONE LISTEN UP! Part of the magic of #weallgrow is the many serendipitous connections you make. I got to meet Francesca Kennedy, founder of @ixstyle who quit her career at Goldman Sachs to start her company – which updated the traditional huarache to provide clean water, employment and opportunity to her beloved and native Guatemala. We got to hear her story in person but you need to see it for yourself. She does it all (with a group of volunteers) and it is truly something that needs to be seen to be believed. Mark my words: Ix Style is going to be the next big thing, and I am honored that she is part of the #weallgrow sisterhood.”
“I wanted to thank you for an amazing week. We had a small reflection after the Summit, andwe all agreed you were probably the best keynote we ever had. Your engagement with students was amazing, and we truly believe that you catalyzed so many people to make a change during your time at ASU. Thank you again, and I really hope that we get to meet again in the near future!”
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