
In Good Company 2018: A Recap
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Kara Brodgesell
We can’t believe it’s been 3 weeks since the second-annual In Good Company conference hit San Francisco. The brainy and beautiful event had a focus on creative, entrepreneurial women and mothers, and included 20 stand-out speakers, including Christy Turlington, Mara Hoffman, Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price, Justina Blakeney, and dozens more (including plenty of women who have been profiled right here on Mother). Plus, nearly 400 talented folks in attendance, looking to connect with like-minded women and go deep on a plethora of hard-hitting topics.
We’ve already showed you Mother’s street style snaps from the event, and now we’re covering the fuller visual recap of In Good Company 2018 below! Check it out, and also be sure to head over to Forbes to read up on what it’s calling “the women’s-centric conference we actually need.”
- Flower fairy Natalie Bowen delivered the most beautiful bloom designs once again this year.
- Founder Buffy McGuire (center) brought her girl-powered Lady Falcon Coffee Club truck to get everyone prepped for the day ahead.
- Mmmm...coffee.
- Navitas Organics served up chia seed pudding, topped with a variety of superfoods, for breakfast.
- Another beautiful Natalie Bowen floral moment. Just one of many.
- Pinks, greens, and deep burgundy were this year's theme.
- The floral display sat across from a very special Framed & Matted gallery wall, featuring local artists we love—Jen Garrido, Rachel Kaye, Block Shop Textiles, and Aliza Cohen.
- Ready for the action to begin!
- Program love.
- Inside, guests enjoyed an all-day snack bar by Navitas Organics, nestled on top of modern Floyd tables.
- In Good Company & Mother founder Katie Hintz-Zambrano kicking things off onstage.
- The beautiful window backdrop was designed by Homework. Stage furnishings courtesy of Interior Define (chair + couch), The Rug Company (rug), and IKEA (side table). Katie wears a Kamperett dress and Freda Salvador shoes.
- First things first, let's make some friends!
- We asked attendees to open up and meet and greet the ladies around them...
- ...and record each other's information in the back of their programs. The goal was to make at least five new "friends" by the end of the event.
- The first panel of the day—Motherhood x Entrepreneurship—featured Minya Oh (a.k.a. Miss Info) as moderator, Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter, designer Mara Hoffman, and Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.
- All three panelists are a part of only 2% of woman-owned businesses that have cracked the $1million revenue mark.
- "Wives are fucking fantastic...but I don't have one," exclaimed Lisa Price, to a round of applause. The patriarchy at home was a hot topic of conversation.
- Charmin Roundtree-Baaqee (center) of Art is Luv, taking it all in.
- "Abundance attract abundance, lack attracts lack," Mara Hoffman reminded the audience. The statement was a big takeaway for many.
- IGC 2017 speaker Liz Prueitt of Tartine (center) holding down the front row.
- Jeni Britton Bauer told everyone that reminding her kids—and herself—daily that they "hit the jackpot" by landing her as a mom, helps squash any so-called mom guilt feelings. Many attendees vowed to try the same practice at home.
- Babies in carriers...
- Babies on laps...
- Before our first break, we surprised two attendees by slipping roundtrip tickets from Alaska Airlines under their seats! Alaska was the official flight partner to In Good Company once again this year, getting our speakers from all across the U.S. to San Francisco.
- Taking a break in the Saje lounge.
- Ticket holders got to learn more about the power of Saje essential oils and take home a surprise gift.
- The all-day hydration station, courtesy of La Croix.
- Attendees shopping at the Ingrid & Isabel pop-up.
- Method also popped up to hand out bags of their newest laundry products.
- Happy campers with their Method goodie bags.
- Ingrid & Isabel also hosted The Booth Bus to take pictures all day long.
- Ingrid & Isabel founder Ingrid Carney fielded questions from attendees during her "Ask A Founder" session.
- Boob cupcake, anyone? Innovative breast pump brand Moxxly served them up in their booth space.
- Beauty touch-ups and skincare consultations provided by Beautycounter all day long.
- Kelly Werner gets a mini Beautycounter makeover.
- Dyson was also in the house, offering dry styling services with the company's covetable Supersonic dryer.
- Pottery Barn Modern Baby hosted the all-important pumping and nursing room.
- The Modern Baby lounge was a welcome retreat for all the lactating mamas, as well as those attending with babies. (For more on the new Pottery Barn Modern Baby line, check out this week's nursery-centric Mother profile on Amy Soderlind).
- Innovative bra maker ThirdLove was in the house.
- There are some ThirdLove nursing bras in there, too!
- Each attendee was able to send a friend a surprise ThirdLove in the mail!
- Crewed up.
- Jodie Patterson's keynote speech on the concept of reimagining oneself was beyond powerful.
- After her daughter Penelope explained that he was actually a boy, the inspiring mother of 5 decided she needed to change the way she looked at the world, and herself.
- Jodie's book, The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation, comes out in February 2019.
- Not a dry eye in the house.
- Next up, the Motherhood x Creativity panel.
- The panel was led by prolific journalist Erika Hayasaki, who wrote a must-read piece in The Atlantic about How Motherhood Affects Creativity.
- Panelist Elise Peterson (far left) left the crowd in stitches after comparing herself to a McDonald's bag hidden inside of a Whole Foods bag.
- All smiles.
- :) :) :)
- Charish founder Anna Brockway and Cosecha founder and chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros rounded out the intriguing panel.
- Mimosa break time, thanks to Once Upon a Farm.
- The mimosas utilized Once Upon a Farm's cold-pressed organic mango blend.
- Lunch and catch-up time for twin mama Besse Gardner of Nest and Tosan founder Surya Kishi-Grover.
- Delicious salads were served by Sweetgreen.
- Sweetgreen options for vegetarians, vegans, and meat-eaters.
- Sandwiches from Whole Foods.
- Our after-lunch fireside chat between return speaker Clare Vivier and Every Mother Counts founder and all-around icon Christy Turlington.
- The two discussed the global maternal health crisis, as well as the crisis right here in the U.S. Christy's latest film with Every Mother Counts is called Giving Birth in America: California, which debuts next week on CNN.
- Not an empty seat in the house for this one.
- For folks living in the Bay Area, you can join Clare and Christy and Every Mother Counts for their fundraising run across the Golden Gate Bridge on November 4th.
- Next up, by popular demand, a panel devoted to the nitty gritty of raising money.
- The panel was led by New York Times beauty columnist and Ellis Brooklyn founder Bee Shapiro, venture capitalist and Black Founders founder Monique Woodard, Hatch Collection founder Ariane Goldman, and Do Big Things founder Cheryl Contee.
- Do you change how you present yourself for investor meetings? Monique says no.
- All the babies in attendance warming our hearts.
- Ariane spoke candidly about raising her first friends and family round in order to launch the Hatch Mama beauty line.
- Brains and beauty x a million.
- Afternoon break time!
- Yaaaas! Watermelon sangria cocktails courtesy of SKYY Vodka.
- The prettiest and the tastiest. Thank you, SKYY Vodka!
- Jeni's mini-pints for everyone! In a variety of delicious flavors. It was so special to taste the creation of our speaker Jeni Britton Bauer
- Cool Moms Podcast co-founder and William Okpo designer Lizzy Okpo (left) and Morgan Walker of Make.Do, and their baby girls.
- Emily Scott capturing her Mother Street Style feature—check it out in full here!
- Mother favorite Dana Haim, now expecting her second.
- Floral designer Natalie Bowen playing matchy-matchy with her work.
- Our final panel of the day was a the incredible important issue of diversity, inclusion, and representation both in business and life.
- Our moderator was Stanford University's A-lan Holt (also a filmmaker and poet), and a trio of brilliant panelists—Teen Vogue and Allure Fashion Director Rajni Jacques, model and Down Syndrome activist Amanda Booth, and The Jungalow founder Justina Blakeney.
- Up until her son's Down Syndrome diagnosis just a couple years ago, Amanda Booth admitted that the topic of inclusion was not something she often thought about.
- Expecting mama Rajni Jacques reiterated that talking about these issues is uncomfortable. But in order for vital change to happen, we have to get uncomfortable.
- IGC 2017 speaker Temi Adamolekun takes a front row seat with Lizzy Okpo's baby on her lap.
- Fellow speaker Jodie Patterson gets the last question of the day.
- The creators of the Cool Moms Podcast—Elise Peterson and Lizzy Okpo—pack up their babies.
- A troupe of talented photographers toasting to the end of an inspiring day.
- SKYY Vodka watermelon martinis for the win!
- How cute is this Clubhouse Caravan, which we morphed into our wine bar?
- The Winc wine bar in action!
- PSA! Head on over to Winc's site to get two bottles of wine on the house!
- Jeni's ice cream, cocktails, loads of lady friends...what more could one want on a Friday night?
- A peek at Old Navy's beautiful booth, where the brand hosted a speed career coaching session with some of its executives.
- The first 50 participants in the career coaching sessions scored a pair of Old Navy 24/7 denim.
- Career coaching in action.
- Uppababy came through with its #UppaBabyGivesBack campaign. For each attendee who shared words of inspiration on their art wall, the brand donated a stroller to a family in need.
- Native natural deodorants up for grabs!
- Native also served up delicious shortbread cookies inspired by their natural flavors.
- Iconic S.F. company Bi-Rite catered our closing cocktail party.
- The Bi-Rite sushi was a huge hit!
- Hadley Kreitz, co-founder of Daily Driver, and her little babe, Saer.
- Cocktail hour hangs.
- Bi-Rite came through with their storied cheese plates, too!
- We're so inspired by the mission of local woman-founded startup Littlefund, which encourages adults to give the children in their life less stuff and instead invest in experiences and their future.
- The cutest family behind Neve & Hawk, who helped store our gift bags in their cute shop-on-wheels and custom-dyed t-shirts for our VIP attendees.
- Gift bags galore! Thank you Social Imprints for making these beauties.
- Andrea Williams, founder of Tubby Todd, says farewell to another fantastic In Good Company event. For those of you who missed it, there will be a Digital Pass of the In Good Company 2018 conference available in just a couple of weeks. And, if you want to catch the next in-person event, check out all the details about In Good Company's first Wellness + Creativity Day, going down on Thursday, October 25th, and featuring a dynamic day of programming.
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