The New Normal: Digital, Global and Resilient
A 2021 SXSW SESSION IDEA
Amid remote work and shifting demand, small businesses are adapting and pivoting quickly by leveraging digital tools to an unprecedented extent. These technology platforms are helping entrepreneurs manage uncertainty, recover faster and diversify customer bases globally. Let’s explore the power of digital tools and global markets in increasing the resilience of small businesses and leveling the playing field for women and minority-owned enterprises impacted by the pandemic at SXSW 2021.
Featured Speakers

MAXEME TUCHMAN
CEO & Co-Founder
Caribu

VERONICA SAN LUIS
International Growth Project Manager, Americas
Google

TRICIA VAN ORDEN
Deputy Director, Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
International Trade Administration

JAMAICA GAYLE
Deputy Director
Global Innovation Forum
Moderator
Maxeme Tuchman is the CEO + Co-Founder of Caribu, an interactive video-calling platform that allows parents and grandparents to read and draw with children when they’re not in the same location. Caribu is one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Inventions, made Fast Company’s list of World Changing Ideas, was named one of the ‘Top Ten EdTech Companies to Watch’ in Forbes, and became one of the most innovative startups in the world by winning the 1776 Global Challenge Cup. Max has been the winner or finalist in 30+ pitch competitions, the first Latinx founder to raise $1M in Equity Crowdfunding, and named as one of INC Magazine’s top 100 Female Founders for 2019.
She has worked in almost every level of education from being a public school teacher, a consultant at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Executive Director of Teach For America, and manager of education projects under NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Before co-founding Caribu, Max was appointed by President Obama to serve as a White House Fellow at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She is a first-generation Cuban-American and college student, and a graduate of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and the Miami Fellows Leadership Program. Max is a 2018 Toyota Mother of Invention and received her MBA & MPP from Harvard.
As Deputy Director of the Global Innovation Forum, Ms. Jamaica Gayle works with startup, business, education and nonprofit leaders to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with participating in the global marketplace in the digital age, and to emphasize the impacts of public policies on international trade and innovation.
Prior to joining GIF, she worked at the National Association of Manufacturers in the policy and government relations division. Jamaica holds a degree in political science from American University in Washington, DC.
What to expect from “The New Normal: Digital, Global and Resilient”
Digital Tools
Hear how small businesses are utilizing digital tools more than ever to bolster their global operations and stay connected throughout the pandemic.
Small Businesses
Understand how digital technologies can contribute to the resiliency of micro and small businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Private Sector and Government Resources
Explore the critical role of digitally-enabled private sector and government resources in helping to support underserved business owners.
About the Global Innovation Forum
NFTC’s Global Innovation Forum connects startup and small business communities with corporations and government officials to explore the opportunities and challenges of engaging in the global marketplace. Through public forums, private workshops and online platforms, GIF elevates the opportunity that exists to be global from Day One, explores challenges to participating effectively in international markets and works to improve the public policy landscape to benefit a broad range of global innovators. GIF is a project of the National Foreign Trade Council Foundation.