Guest Post by Prince Boucher

Last year, in honor of my mom, I decided to become a member of Spark, the largest community of young professionals invested in advancing gender equality. I grew up watching my mom struggle as the owner of a small consignment shop in West Los Angeles. I was 7 years old, and spent every afternoon after school at the store. Most of the time it was empty, but when it was busy, it was booming. She didn’t have much support other than our Filipino-American family, because there just weren’t the resources for female entrepreneurs that we have today, like Spark and the many social media channels that exist. Instead, she had to figure out how to do everything on her own. This inspired me not only to be an entrepreneur, but also to help support women who are building businesses.

In the past decade, I’ve been fortunate to work under amazing leaders and founders like Amra Tahreen, Sukhinder Singh-Cassidy the founder of Joyus, and Lauren Singer the founder of Package Free Shop. They all taught me different lessons that helped build my character and skill-set, and also opened my perspective to see the unfairness and challenges faced by female founders.

Last year, my sister started her own business, which further inspired me to help empower a community of women that rarely get the support they need to start and run a business. According to Recode, “About $9 out of every $10 in startup money is still going to companies run by men.” This despite the fact that women make up more than 50% of the population and are more likely to start their own businesses.

So, as a member of Spark, I wanted to put more than just my money where my mouth is by leveraging my skills and the things I have learned throughout my career to create more awareness surrounding the importance of advancing gender equality.

I met Madame Gandhi back in 2017 in Los Angeles right before she launched her career. She’s taught me to live atomically, and through her speeches and performances, used her platform to raise awareness about the pressing issues women face both at home and at work. It seemed a natural fit to connect her passion and mission with Spark’s.

On Wednesday, January 23rd, Madame Gandhi will be sharing her mission for gender equality, along with a kick-ass show at The Monroe. Join us by purchasing a ticket here, and let’s raise money and dance the night away because #TheFutureIsFemale.

*** Spark 2019 Kickoff ***
The Future is Female ft. Madame Gandhi
Wed, Jan 23rd
6–9PM @ Monroe