This week, we welcomed Nicola Sands as the tenth Founding Member of the She Inspires Marketplace.
Reaching ten founding members is a milestone we are incredibly proud of, but what excites me even more is what it represents. Every founding member has chosen to believe in a vision before it has fully unfolded. As Nicola joined our growing community, I found myself reflecting on a question I’ve been asked many times over the years: why a marketplace?
The answer is simple. The Marketplace was never about creating another platform. It was about completing a journey.
At She Inspires, everything we do is guided by one purpose: strengthening Women’s Economic Agency—the ability for women to make informed choices, create opportunities and shape their own future with confidence, independence and purpose.
That purpose has never changed. What has evolved is how we help women get there.
When She Inspires began, I met remarkable women everywhere I went. They were building successful businesses, leading organisations, creating social impact and changing lives, yet many remained almost invisible beyond their own networks. Their challenge wasn’t a lack of talent or determination. More often, it was that the people who could become customers, collaborators, mentors, commissioners or advocates simply didn’t know they existed.
That realisation shaped the first pathway of She Inspires: Recognition.
Recognition is the first step because it changes more than how others see us; it changes how we see ourselves. It builds confidence, creates credibility and shines a light on work that deserves to be seen. The She Inspires Awards have always been about much more than celebrating achievement. They have been about making people visible.
As our community grew, it became clear that recognition alone wasn’t enough. Women wanted to continue learning, connecting and growing, which led to our second pathway: Leadership. Through RISE and our leadership programmes, people have built confidence, shared experiences and formed relationships that have continued long after an event has ended.
But over time, another question emerged.
What happens next?
What happens after the award has been presented, the conference has finished and the business cards have been exchanged? How do we ensure that those relationships continue to grow and that opportunities don’t simply disappear because everyone returns to the demands of everyday life?
That question led us to the third pathway: Opportunity.
The need for this pathway is reflected far beyond our own community. The Alison Rose Review estimated that matching the rate of female entrepreneurship with that of men could add around £250 billion to the UK economy, yet women continue to face barriers in accessing investment, influential networks and commercial opportunities. While much of the conversation focuses on funding, I have always believed that another challenge comes first.
Before someone can invest in your business, invite you onto a board, recommend your services or collaborate with you, they first need to know you exist.
Visibility comes before opportunity.
That is the thinking behind the She Inspires Marketplace.
The Marketplace has not been created to compete with social media, nor is it another online directory where businesses simply list their services and hope to be found. It has been designed as a trusted community where visibility has purpose. A place where members can showcase who they are, what they do and the value they bring, while connecting with people who genuinely want to collaborate, commission, recommend and support one another.
Most importantly, it recognises the reality of modern business. People are busy. Running a business or leading an organisation leaves little time to constantly chase algorithms or produce content simply to remain visible. We wanted to create a space where people could be discovered by the right audience without demanding more of their already limited time.
Membership is therefore by application. We are not trying to build the largest community; we are building a trusted one. Every member contributes to the culture of the Marketplace, and that culture matters far more than numbers alone.
What gives me confidence that this approach will work is that we have already seen it happen.
When para-swimmer Grace Robinson shared her story at RISE, it led to a conversation that resulted in sponsorship for her sporting journey. When Dr Helen Wall became part of the She Inspires community, relationships developed that helped secure a £10,000 donation from the University of Greater Manchester to Bolton Hospice. We have seen collaborations form between finalists, mentors emerge through conversations and businesses discover new clients simply because the right people met at the right time.
None of those opportunities were planned. They happened because recognition created visibility, visibility created relationships and relationships created opportunity.
The Marketplace has been built to help more of those moments happen – not once or twice a year at an event, but every day.
That is why welcoming Nicola Sands as our tenth Founding Member feels so significant. Nicola has spent her career helping individuals and organisations communicate with clarity, authenticity and purpose. She understands that meaningful visibility is not about being the loudest voice in the room; it is about ensuring the right people hear the right story. Those values sit at the heart of the Marketplace, and I am delighted that she has chosen to become part of this next chapter.
Looking back, I realise that we were never building separate initiatives. We were building three connected pathways towards a single purpose.
Recognition is the first step because it gives people confidence to be seen.
Leadership develops the confidence, capability and relationships to grow.
Opportunity transforms that potential into lasting progress.
Together, those three pathways strengthen Women’s Economic Agency.
The She Inspires Marketplace is still in its early days, and that is exactly where we want it to be. We are building carefully, protecting the culture of the community and ensuring that every new member strengthens the network for everyone else. As we celebrate our first ten Founding Members, we are not simply marking a milestone. We are laying the foundations for a community where visibility leads to connection, connection leads to collaboration and collaboration creates opportunity.
Because that has always been the vision. The Marketplace is simply where the third pathway comes to life.
