Elizabeth Gore

As Dell’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Elizabeth Gore works to foster an innovative culture at Dell that empowers employees to develop unique ideas and build novel solutions to old and new problems alike. With this highly-tailored talk, Elizabeth—a firm believer that entrepreneurship is a “mindset”—explains how large corporations can unlock hidden innovators within their organization or how smaller businesses can drive scaled success while retaining an entrepreneurial and innovative culture. Citing the importance of giving credit where credit is due, creating greater access to tech and capital, promoting “fast failure,” leveling the playing field for all employees, and even being open to taking an outside-in approach to innovation, Elizabeth offers a road map for corporations looking to get ahead of trends and attract and retain skilled talent.

Recently, Elizabeth Gore worked with more than 80 founders and CEO’s to draft a letter to the president about one of the US’s greatest economic opportunities: Women entrepreneurs. According to Gore and her team at Dell, American GDP would rise by $30 billion if women and men participated equally in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Elizabeth talks with her trademark honesty and humor about how she became the first woman in her family to attend college and then went on to work at the UN and alongside Michael Dell. In a moving and empowering presentation, she explains the issues currently holding women back, including a lack of operational support and financial backing, and why, despite creating businesses at twice the rate of men, women are failing a disproportionally higher rate. Highlighting solutions as well as the programs she has personally crafted and implemented to help women globally, this speech is a powerful and positive rallying cry for women leaders.

A key tenet of Elizabeth’s entrepreneurial philosophy is the belief that culture drives performance. In other words, the difference between good and great may be an invisible “it” factor known as purpose; whether it’s viewed as a mission statement, a way to differentiate your product from another, or a way to attract employees and customers, purpose sets companies apart. Going beyond theory, Elizabeth explains how to create and maintain a purpose-driven culture. Drawing on anecdotes from her time crafting multimillion dollar campaigns with the UN and at Dell, Elizabeth blows wide open the myths surrounding purpose-driven success and inspires audiences to build success stories of their own.

With this talk, Elizabeth explains the difference between personal values and corporate culture and illustrates the ways these belief systems can and should overlap to better a corporation and its employees. She explores the delicate balancing act between promoting thick profit-margins and altruism, and illustrates how companies can be profitable while simultaneously encouraging positive social outcomes.