This talk will explore the business success of sixteen enterprising 18th Century women - the Moravian Single Sisters who walked from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1772 to help settle the community of Salem in North Carolina. They were truly women ahead of their time. But, why? What was so special about the societal and organizational environment that served as the landscape for their success.

Alyson Francisco is the Mary Ardrey Stough Kimbrough Chair in Business and Economics at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As a full time faculty member, she teaches finance, entrepreneurship and business planning. She also serves as the Director of the College’s Center for Women in Business where she focuses on linking Salem to the external professional community through providing relevant business programming, creating networking forums, and helping students secure mentoring opportunities, internships and job placements.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx