Lesson #5: People Want to Help You Pursue Your Dreams

Karen Quintos is passionate about empowering women

"Keep in Touch" - That was the name of the business idea I submitted to the Dell Social Innovation Challenge in undergrad. My idea didn't go far, but I liked the concept of using my entrepreneurial tendencies for social innovation and it got me thinking that I could be a philanthropreneur. Aspiring to build a career that supported startup owners, I became active in the entrepreneurial scene; I loved going to Pitch Nights and Startup Weekend.

Eventually, I let that passion die down to gain more stability in my life. At some point I accepted that I would just get my MS and Mrs. then either work or not work while raising kids and then maybe I could start thinking about solving problems and helping entrepreneurs.

But on the second day of my internship, I met Dell's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Karen Quintos. A few days later, I heard that Karen was in Istanbul for the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) conference. I had no idea that Dell was committed to empowering women and entrepreneurship. Suddenly that dormant passion woke up and I realized how lucky I was to work for a company that not only maintains its entrepreneurial spirit, but pays it forward. I'm even more lucky to have had the opportunity to ask Karen a few questions about her experience with DWEN and the launch of the Empowering Women Challenge.

"The women who are part of our DWEN community are truly inspiring to me, and their stories are largely why I am passionate about what I do. As we've developed relationships with these business owners and through research we've commissioned, we've learned that their challenges are centered around a few key issues: access to technology, capital, networks and education/training." Karen then described how Dell is addressing those issues:

• Technology -  "With Dell's support, women business leaders are implementing solutions - from Cloud, to Virtualization to social media - to scale more quickly and reach their goals." When I first started my internship at Dell, I was overwhelmed by the wide portfolio of solutions Dell offers, but now I can actually envision who is benefiting from Dell's technology expertise.
• Capital - "Our findings tell us that even though only five percent of venture capital goes to women-owned businesses, businesses with a higher proportion of women leaders outperform the average, making it a smart decision to invest in women-owned businesses." Wow! I'll have to keep that in mind! Plus, did you know about funding opportunities through Dell Ventures and Dell Innovators' Credit Fund?
• Network - "DWEN also provides women entrepreneurs and business owners access to a network of like-minded, successful people to share ideas, mentor each other and build important business connections." I can only imagine the optimistic energy at DWEN! Check out the video below to see what she means:

• Education - "Through our "Powering the Possible" initiative, Dell's partnerships with organizations like Girl Scouts help girls develop STEM skills and a passion for technology." I agree with Karen that it's important to educate kids and encourage them to develop passions. It's why I support educational events like Lemonade Day. 

At the end of the successful conference, Dell announced the launch of its new social innovation competition: the Empowering Women Challenge. "Dell was founded by a young entrepreneur - Michael Dell - when he was in college at the University of Texas. So we know that great ideas can start in a dorm room," explained Karen. Women have faced a myriad of challenges throughout history, but now Dell wants young social innovators to submit ideas that will reduce those barriers to success. Be sure to submit your idea!

Then the last thing I asked Karen was about her thoughts on having it all. I look up to women like her; it gives me hope to see women who take care of their family, have a great career and still manage to do things bigger than themselves. She called it 'work-life harmony.' "Harmony involves establishing a clear set of priorities that you stick with over time enabling you to harmonize your personal life with your work life." She added that Dell's culture makes this harmony possible.

There's a lot I've learned about Dell's culture in Round Rock: it's casual, open, entrepreneurial and understanding. It's supportive and optimistic. It's a company that empowers you to do more.

When I started this blog, I wrote about how I found sweet solace in Dell's culture and some thought I wrote that too soon. Later, I wrote about having it all, but I mainly wrote from the perspective as a future wife/mom. Now that I'm near the end of my internship, I've realized that Dell has rekindled the pursuit of a dream. And that's what Dell does. Its culture, its purpose is solely about powering the possible, enabling you - an employee, a customer, an entrepreneur, a student, a young kid - to do more. I came here looking for a career in corporate, but I'm leaving here with a reignited passion for paying it forward to the next generation. Perhaps we can't have it all, but Dell and inspiring women like Karen Quintos want to help you have your dreams.

#dellinterns13