Austin’s female business community gathered together yesterday for the inaugural Sharp Skirt’s Offline Meeting at Bess Bistro. Originally founded by Carla Thompson and Stacey Higginbotham as ATX Tech Women, Sharp Skirts Offline will serve to enrich the Sharp Skirts community by connecting women in business, promoting collaboration, and increasing professional success. The evolution of Thompson and Higginbotham’s venture will also appeal to a much broader audience of women, as the focus has expanded to female business leaders, regardless of the industry.

As an example, Thompson asked women leading their own businesses to stand up and share their experiences. Volunteers included  Tina Cannon, President and CEO at PetsMD, Nichole Wright, President and CEO of Bon Vivant Event Planning and Consulting, and Jen Cadmus, Founder of thedialoglab. Special guest, Adrianna Gardella, author of She Owns It, a column within the NY Times Boss Blog dedicated to the modern businesswoman’s experiences, also shared the story of how She Owns It came to be and where she sees female business leaders driving industry.

“Women want to hear about other women who have had challenges and have succeeded, in spite of them,” insisted Gardella.

According to Thompson, Sharp Skirts will begin hosting Offline meetings, happy hours, and discussions throughout the country.