Charter member: Christie McAuliffe

I'm on their mailing list, and I don't get the joke. Why is it so terrible?

And it was Christa, not Christie.

@tweenmama: Ladies Who Lunch, Ladies Who Launch, Babies For Lunch... you don't want to go down this path...

Melissa Gira Grant: Damnit, I think I caught something from that last bastard. I'm dizzy and I'm starting to foam at the mouth.
Owen Thomas: Rabies? It's just a hunch

Paul Boutin: Maybe scabies? That itches a bunch.

@fishneversleep:

Hm. I will think about it . . . not usually this naive, and I work with words all day long . . .hmmmm . . thanks . . I think.

@tweenmama: The Congolese cannibals have a saying "Ladies? They're not just for lunch"

How about a site for us self employed types who drink a lot like me? Ladies Who Lurch?

@SarahHeartburn: Or a support-group for pregnant people: sorry, lady, it's not just a paunch.

Mateys who aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh

(I need a drink)

@tweenmama:
I think the problem is that the phrase it's clearly based on, "Ladies who Lunch" is usually used to describe rich, useless women who have nothing better to do than sit around a country club and talk about whose husband earns more money.

It's a pretty insulting phrase if you're a woman who has ever accomplished anything for herself or had any responsibilities.

Rejected names:

Muffintop Moguls
Vaginas who Venture
Cunts with Capital
Twatrepeneuring
Second-Class Citizens, First-Class Business Plans

@FlakJack: You are evil. Thank you, and keep up the good work.

@FlakJack: I like "Vaginas who Venture"

@Wabewalker: Agreed, and you're welcome.

@FlakJack: haha

pesonally I prefer: Pussies with Power.

Ladies who launch is just awkward.

Or, in honor of Ms. Grant, we could apply it to cheapskate mens: Schmucks after free fucks.

@Breamworthy: It's meant to define itself AGAINST that stereotype. This thing has been around for long enough that its dress code probably specifies Peter Pan collars and navy suits. Still better than calling yourself "Jezebel" and actually being only "Future Embittered Barflies of America."

@raincoaster:

Right! So . . . just a play on words and not a catastrophically bad name.

Off to launch . .

Will the Jessica Mah profile be entitled 'Failure to Launch'?

It's actually a pretty great group, they have a new book out and are really supportive of women in business. I'm pretty much the least business-oriented woman around (much more likely to give my books away than try to do the hard sell) but I find their site informative.

@raincoaster:
Huh? I didn't realize the topic was "The blog I read is better than the blog you read"!

Anyhow, the original poster had never heard the expression and was asking what "Ladies who Launch" was a reference to.

Question answered, no need to get defensive.

Thanks for giving Ladies Who Launch a shout! I am the blog editor for the site. BTW, there's another a career website for women, Damsels in Success, which takes a pun to a medieval level.
[damselsinsuccess.com]

Thank you for coming to the defense of women's integrity. Sincerely.

However, just so you know you're way off the mark with your interpretation of the name. Ladies Who Launch empowers women to do more than "lunch" (although what lady does not enjoy a good lunch out with her girlfriends) and to launch creative projects and businesses that enhance their lives.

It's all about lady-power!

Now that you've helped bring attention to the group, thank you by the way - anyone woman who is reading this and wants to meet other interesting, creative, caring women who are following their passions to create fulfilling lifestyles should check the group out!

Ladies Who Launch. A name that says what we do.

Blekko, fairtilizer, thoof, incesoft, twine, ooma . . .

How about www.LadiesWhoKickAss.com since every woman I have ever met that's been through the LWL program
is WILDLY successful? I like the name, it's fine...this group is for Women who are
launching a new business...which embraces and embodies the SILICON VALLEY

lifestyle, right? I see "launchers" on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch

all of the time, View from the Bay, Oprah, to name a few.

Ladies Who Launch is a fantastic group of women who understand me. In other groups they look at me like I'm an alien because I'm not climbing the corporate ladder or home making a 2.5 babies. Most women think I'm nuts creating companies and then handing them off to seasoned CEOs to grow to and past the $100M mark. I have too many ideas to see them all through to IPO, so why not launch them all with the proper team and exit strategy already in place?

What Ladies Who Launch really does is give women a forum and a place to be your creative self, and to support dreams. The women in the San Francisco Bay Area chapter are more than just lady launchers, they are unique and wonderful women who contribute enormous value to the lives of bay area residents on a daily basis.

Rather than mock the pepto pink national website, why not pop over to one of our famouns(infamous) monthly ongoing meetings and see what we're all about. I guarentee you'll find the unexpected, and if I'm there, your socks will most definatley be knocked off. :)

@lustylady: Agreed. Say what you will about the name, but the organization behind it is pretty great.

Ladies Who Launch investors Alan Patricof, Tim Armstrong, Ron Conway and Jarl Mohn "get it"

What about "Bitches who Blast"?

I thought the name was kind of funny, actually. The design of the overall website -- not so much.

I agree with thisgirlangie, I like the name because it REPLACES the OLD Ladies Who Lunch with the NEW Ladies Who Launch... "launching and creativity as a lifestyle" - sounds good to me!

I like what the organization stands for and am all for any group that promotes female entrepreneurship, especially being that I live in Silicon Valley, which doesn't tend to be very fem friendly - at least not in the ways we actually want!

The website may a little 2003, but being that Ladies Who Launch is not actually a technology company, they probably shouldn't be held to the same standards as someone like Facebook.

Just like an old school man Owen, you don't get it! Thank goodness Ladies Who Launch does! ~;o))) It's a brilliant organization with forward thinking members. YOU GO GIRLS!!!

www.hairconspiracy.com

The name definitely appeals to their target market. Nothing wrong with that!

Ladies Who Launch has a totally fresh attitude around the feminine approach to launching a business. It's about creativity, community and FUN! Why launch a business if it's going to be a bigger drag than your crappy corporate job?

After I joined, I threw out my suits and started my own business. It's nice to network with other women entrepreneurs who take long lunches and have business meetings that are scheduled around yoga classes, pedicures, and child care. We have it good, people.

Hey, we rock, us Lady Launchers!

But, Pussies with Power also sounds interesting....

we take offense at that Second Class Citizens crap!

But thanks for the publicity!
haha

@Breamworthy: Valleywag IS better than Jezebel. But my blog is better than both (more tentacle sex).

Defensive? Why are you always saying that!?!?!

I think I hear about fellow Ladies who Launch members on television just about EVERY DAY. From The Big Idea, to Opera, to Dateline, these ladies are EVERYWHERE. Maybe you should spend some time focusing on the goals, members, and their companies before you slander the name.

Thanks all of you who have weighed in to my original comment: I have HEARD of LWL, I get their mailings, and I just don't see the "humor" in the name.

So glad that others of you HAVE heard of them and their work. I have meaning to join . . . I belong to what I consider a lesser, but similar, national (international?) women's organization, and I need to launch my involvement with them right out of here!

Perhaps it was just a slow news day . . . I too have been in the position of grasping at straws to make a story work.

I belong to many professional organizations with names that might seem more worthy, such as the National Association of Women Business Owners, the American Marketing Association and the International Association of Business Communicators. All those "titles" are indicative of who I am. I also belong to Ladies Who Launch - a term that also describes me and the phase of my current business. Without hesitation I can say that LWL has done more for my growth than all those other organizations combined.

I grew up in the days of women's lib and I think women of that era still get caught up in titles they feel are demeaning or "setting us back". I have no problem being called a "lady". In a world that is becoming increasingly disrespectful where women call each other the "b" word, I'll take the name "lady" all day long.

If you're confident about your skills and your ability to run a business a word like lady shouldn't throw you. Check out the organization first hand. You will never find a more supportive, creative, driven group of women who are there to help each other, not just help themsevles. If that's what it means to be a "lady", count me in.