MEREDITH POWELL - Co-Founder of The Next Big Thing

An award-winning serial entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and co-founder of The Next Big Thing, a charity for NextGen entrepreneurs, Meredith Powell is a creative visionary committed to championing innovation and diversity in leadership and technology. A career chameleon, her work has spanned film, fashion, philanthropy, fintech and artificial intelligence.

Starting in her 20s, she built - and scaled globally - three companies in the garment industry generating over $45m in sales, launched the world’s largest fashion B2B eComm marketplace (shopthefloor.com), and created a charity to benefit young entrepreneurs called The Next Big Thing. Currently, she is an active advisor to multiple tech companies through her consultancy firm, Powell & Company, including artificial intelligence fintech startup Finn.ai, Guiides.com and Slyce.it.

A sought after speaker and mentor, Meredith has presented at over 80 events from grassroots hackathons for the City of Vancouver like VanFutures to the BC Tech Summit, National Angel Conference (NACO) and BDC’s Annual Summit. Born in Canada and a graduate of UBC, her impact on the national entrepreneurial ecosystem - and the community at large - is tangible and significant.

Meredith is Startup Canada’s 2016 National award winner for promoting entrepreneurship, a Business in Vancouver Top 40 Under 40, BC Business Magazine “Top 35 Most Influential Women in Business”, a two-time YWCA Woman of Distinction nominee, and RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards  nominee.