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Dotted Line CEO Lauren Sweeney is honored to receive a Tory Burch Foundation Fellowship. Through virtual workshops and intensive courses, the year-long program helps to grow women-owned businesses and the entrepreneurs that lead them.
Check out Lauren’s fellow profile here to learn more about Dotted Line’s service-oriented mission and some of Lauren’s top goals for the company.
WWD.com
Tory Burch Foundation Honors Dr. Brite’s Paris Sabo
By Rosemary Feitelberg
Tory Burch said she and her fellow jurors found the final decision to be excruciating since all 10 finalists were “insanely worthy” of winning.
Dr. Brite, a little-known natural and organic personal-care Irvine, Calif., company, is about to amp up its wattage as the winner of this year’s winner of the Tory Burch Foundation’s Fellowship Program.
Burch revealed the winner at a luncheon for the 10 finalists in the Tory Sport West 19th Street offices here on Thursday. What started as a pool of 800-plus contenders was first whittled down to 30 finalists and then 10 thanks to a public online vote. As the winner, Dr. Brite founder Paris Sabo walked away with a $100,000 business education grant.
Sabo’s fellow finalists included Anit Hora of Mullein & Sparrow, Kimberly Jung of Rumi Spice, Katalina Mayorga of El Camino Travel, Jennifer Saxton of Tot Squad, Allison Schickel of Brobe International, Anita Shepherd of Anita’s Yogurt, Lauren Sweeney of Dotted Line Collaborations, Eliza Whitman of FlyDog Yoga and Janel Young of Nava Pets.
Continue to WWD.com.
Richmond.com
Biz Buzz: Henrico entrepreneur selected for a year-long Tory Burch Foundation fellowship
By Tammie Smith
Lauren Sweeney, owner of Henrico County-based Dotted Line Collaborations marketing firm, is one of 10 women entrepreneurs from across the country selected for a yearlong Tory Burch Foundation fellowship.
The 10 winners will each receive a $10,000 education grant, three days of workshops at the headquarters of lifestyle brand Tory Burch in New York City, plus yearlong support and the chance to compete for a $100,000 investment grant.
The Tory Burch Foundation was created in 2009 by designer and businesswoman Tory Burch whose company Tory Burch LLC sells clothing, shoes, handbags, accessories and more.
Sweeney, 29, started Dotted Line Collaborations in 2013. She is a former employee of Capital One, where she worked on internal communications campaigns.
“I started Dotted Line because I saw that the advertising industry was changing. … Our business model is unique to the advertising industry, which is one of the reasons why I think we were selected,” Sweeney said.
“We have a staff of multidisciplinary marketing and advertising experts, and then we have a wide network of top agency talent across the U.S. that we tap into,” she said.
Sweeney travels to New York City this week for the first series of fellowship workshops.
Continue to Richmond.com.
Randolph-Macon College
Connecting the Dots: Lauren Cox Sweeney ’10
Solving branding challenges is the name of the game for Dotted Line Collaborations, a Richmond-based boutique marketing firm run by Randolph-Macon College alum Lauren Sweeney. The 2010 graduate is one of 30 finalists for the Tory Burch Foundation Fellows program, which gives female business owners guidance and skills for further success.
Since founding Dotted Line Collaborations in 2013, Sweeney and her mostly female staff have “focused on changing the world of advertising.” Dotted Line Collaborations offers project-based marketing solutions that include branding, advertising, public relations and social media, Sweeney said.
The business and economics major also minored in studio art and art history, which she incorporated into Dotted Line Collaborations. Sweeney said her time at R-MC helped her become the successful business owner she is today.
“[Attending R-MC] allows you to try a lot of different things and have exposure to different things,” Sweeney said. “That mixed with the tight alumni group really set me up for success.”
Tory Burch, whose fashion empire has landed her on the Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Influential Women several times, created her foundation in 2009 to support women entrepreneurs.
“It’s awesome that [Burch] feels so passionate about helping fellow women entrepreneurs,” Sweeney said. “A lot of things the foundation talks about we feel is very important.”
Voting for the top 10 finalists is open online until April 14. These 10 women will be part of a yearlong fellowship and have access to mentorship from C-Suite female executives, and spend time under Tory Burch’s guidance in New York.
The top 10 finalists will also receive a $10,000 education grant to further their business, and have the opportunity to pitch their business before Burch and a panel for a $100,000 grant investment.
“We’re very excited about this because we feel like Tory Burch would not just be investing in me and our company, but also in the Richmond community and the businesses we work with,” Sweeney said.
Sweeney said she believes one reason she and Dotted Line Collaborations were selected is because they help other businesses in the community.
“We work hard to build our clients’ businesses and brands to make an impact in our community,” she continued.
Other finalists include business owners who also help their communities, whether by working with farmers to import saffron, or building a surveyor-engineer firm.
“They’re all doing really cool, impactful things so just to be considered among one of those women is amazing,” Sweeney said.