Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Stojkovic.
Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in a small farm town in Canada and spent most of my life living out in the country. When I was 17, I got a national scholarship, moved to the big city in Toronto, and went to school for business law, eventually transferring to the United States for my last year of college. By the time I was in my mid-20s, I moved to Silicon Valley and began a tech career working for the biggest tech companies in the world, everybody from Google to Meta/Facebook, Airbnb, Uber, all of the biggest companies. I worked under the Godfather of Silicon Valley, Ron Conway, founder of SV Angel. Through building a tech career, I discovered pretty quickly that food tech was the most interesting and exciting new area of technology. So back in 2018 or so, I started to really spend a lot more of my time focusing on the future of food and food technology. It aligned with my personal passion, which is removing animals from the food system. I’ve been vegan for just shy of a decade. In 2020, I founded the Vegan Women Summit. It is the first and biggest global organization focused on empowering women to build a kinder, more sustainable world. We started with 250 women and we now have over 60,000 women professionals across six continents. We produce conferences, pitch competitions, reports, and data to help power the future of food. I wrote The Future of Food is Female, the first book about women changing the food system. I also founded my own VC fund, Joyful Ventures, which focuses on creating a more sustainable food system.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Certainly, immigrating to the US from Canada was a huge challenge. I showed up with four suitcases and my dog. I didn’t know anybody in the US and had to start over in a lot of ways. So really, being able to build a new community and a professional career in a totally new environment was challenging but a very illuminating experience. It is one that I have taken with me, which I believe has created grit and resilience and has informed much of the leadership that I continue to push forward within this industry. Obviously, the pandemic was also a big challenge, especially considering one of my organization’s focuses on event production. So from a professional standpoint rather than a personal standpoint, that challenge posed a unique opportunity for us to build out a new type of work, something that we had not envisioned ourselves focusing on when the organization first started. Ultimately, it became a huge catalyst for growing our work globally.
The other big personal struggle is ten years ago, this October, my husband’s best friend was murdered. We were victimized in a senseless gun violence incident. Going through a murder trial is a big reason why I decided to ultimately pivot my career towards working towards a more compassionate food system. This was an extremely life-changing experience for both my husband and I and ultimately has informed the way that we live both personally and professionally.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My focus is being a global champion and leader in the future of food. I do that through a number of different ways. One, of course, is running a massive global media and events platform. I believe we might actually be the biggest platform in the world focused on the future of food. I also create my own original content, both as a creator on a multitude of platforms for the industry, as well as writing my book, The Future of Food is Female, and writing future food content for Rolling Stone magazine. In addition to this, I have raised my own fund in this space because I believe that in addition to all of the innovation and promotion of work that is going on, there is still a massive shortage of investment and that is what I see as the last piece of the puzzle to how we can help propel the industry forward in an equitable way. I’m most proud of the fact that I have built my own entrepreneurial endeavors that are focused completely on what I believe is right for the planet and for the world. I think that most people find that they are trapped in doing a job for money because of financial constraints and I have worked very, very hard to create a life where I feel like I can dedicate every single moment of my day towards a socially impactful body of work. And I’m proud that it continues to be recognized on a broader and broader stage. I believe that many people are waking up after the pandemic and seeing themselves doing day-to-day work that does not reflect what makes their heart sing. And I think that everyone should have the ability to do work that completes them.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
For COVID-19, as I mentioned, we had to pivot our organization completely from in-person events, which were basically eliminated overnight, to a virtual community. One of the things I learned is that a virtual opportunity provides you with the ability to reach people that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach because of financial and geographic constraints. I think that COVID-19 allowed for us to connect and thread together really incredible people in a way that we had not done before. Particularly with my work in Silicon Valley and being in the United States, there is a clear barrier to many people around the world to being able to participate in that stage. So I was very proud during COVID-19 to work with and support many, many different incredible leaders and organizations around the world. I found myself working directly with groups like an all-female anti-poaching squad in Zimbabwe and VCs in China. The virtual space gave the ability to thread people together on an equal playing field. That was something that I don’t believe we had before and it’s something I hope we carry post-pandemic into the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: jenniferstojkovic.com / veganwomensummit.com
- Instagram: @jennystojkovic / @veganwomensummit
- Facebook: @veganwomensummit
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/
jenniferstojkovic / linkedin.com/company/vegan- women-summit - Twitter: @jennystojkovic / @vegwomensummit
