Women Inventors, Creators and Entrepreneurs to Pitch at WiT Empowerment Day

Pitches directed at toy companies and Walmart buyers give women access to mentoring, deal-making and the opportunity for a travel stipend scholarship.

License Global

June 20, 2022

Promotional image for Empowerment Day 2022.WiT

Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WiT)

has announced that registration is open for its annual WiT Empowerment Day event, to be held on Sept. 19 at Dallas Market Center, in partnership with The Toy Association’s Preview and Holiday Market.

Now in its ninth year, WiT Empowerment Day is held in collaboration with Walmart, giving women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs exclusive access to critical connections and mentors in the toy, consumer products and licensing industries. Participants will have the opportunity to meet privately with Walmart buyers and top toy company product acquisition executives to pitch their product/concept and receive valuable feedback and be mentored by seasoned industry experts.

Pitch Sessions:

Toy companies slated to take pitches at this time include

, Educational Insights, Melissa & Doug, Project Genius,

TOMY

VTech

, SkyRocket,

Funrise

and Jada, with more to be announced soon.

Panels and

Mentor Roundtables:

Event participants will also be able to attend an Inventor Relations Panel with product acquisition executives and take part in a variety of Mentor Roundtables led by industry experts. Topics include:

Children’s Publishing & Related Products
Digital Content and Advertising
E-commerce Readiness
Intellectual Property
Licensing, Deals & Negotiations -
PR and Partnerships
Sales and Distribution
Product and Packaging Design
Product Testing and Safety

WiT Power-Up Pitch Prep:

Leading up to Empowerment Day, WiT will help to prepare registrants with “Power-Up Pitch Prep,” presented in partnership with three-time patented Azhelle Wade, aka The Toy Coach. This comprehensive program includes on-demand educational webinars and three 60-minute virtual live Q&A sessions with The Toy Coach. More information and dates will be announced soon.

Empowerment Day Scholarship Program:

In alignment with the organization’s mission of advancing women, WiT believes that every woman should have the opportunity to pursue their goals, connections to the industry, networking with peers and a successful career path. To help with this, WiT is offering ten $1,000 need-based scholarships to women inventors and entrepreneurs who might not otherwise be able to attend the event in Dallas, to help cover their travel costs. Application deadline is July 20.

Cocktails & Connections:

Capping off Empowerment Day is WiT’s Cocktails & Connections afterparty, held in the first floor Atrium of Dallas Market Center on Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Empowerment Day is a free event for WiT members only. For more information and to register or join WiT, visit

womenintoys.com/empowerment

. Registration is open until Sept. 1.