Women Entrepreneurs United in Five-City, Interactive Videoconference

March 25, 2002 - Washington, D.C. - Hundreds of female entrepreneurs from around the nation participated in a five-city, interactive videoconference on March 19th that focused on opportunities and roadblocks that women encounter as they start and grow a business in the new Millennium. The High-Tech meeting, entitled "Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century" brought together over twelve hundred female small business leaders in Washington D.C. They were joined via satellite by other entrepreneurs in Orlando, Florida; Little Rock, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; and Bangor, Maine. The conference included keynote addresses by President George W. Bush, Labor Secretary Elaine Chow, and Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neil.

Participants used the OptionFinder® group collaboration system from Option Technologies to provide instantaneous feedback to government leaders. Presenters were able to gauge group perception by posing interactive questions focusing on a variety of critical issues for small business, including government assistance, employee health insurance, and retirement plans. Using OptionFinder keypads, participants in each location responded to questions and the group's overall results were instantly displayed. Smaller audiences in satellite cities were able to compare their polling results with the large host group in Washington.

The conference was co-sponsored by The Public Forum Institute, a Washington, D.C., based firm and the Department of Labor. For more information about this event, please visit www.publicforuminstitute.org. For additional information about OptionFinder or Option Technologies, please visit www.OptionFinder.com or call 407-872-3333.