What Create & Cultivate does

Create & Cultivate is a women-focused events and media company founded in 2012 by Jaclyn Johnson, headquartered in West Hollywood, California. It operates a portfolio of in-person experiences anchored by the Festival — described as the world's largest festival for women in business, drawing 4,000+ attendees — alongside the application-only Supper Club dinner series ($999 VIP roundtables), a seventh-year Future Summit at SXSW (2,000+ attendees), and 300+ events produced historically across multiple markets. The company's proprietary technology layer is CONNECT, an AI-powered networking platform that uses algorithmic matchmaking on structured attendee profile data (goals, interests, industry, availability) to schedule double opt-in 15-minute 1:1 meetings, supporting up to 16 meetings per attendee across a festival day, with a supporting mobile app on iOS and Android.

The business model combines ticket sales (tiered GA, VIP, Golden Ticket, and Student pricing, plus group rates up to 15% off), enterprise sponsorship packages across Tech, Finance, CPG, Retail, Beauty, Sports, and Entertainment (targeting multi-million dollar annual paid sponsorship revenue), subscription memberships, premium $999 Supper Club VIP experiences, podcast advertising, and commission-based ambassador referrals. Digital content assets monetize indirectly via audience-building: the WorkParty podcast with 3M+ downloads (hosted by founder Jaclyn Johnson and CEO Marina Middleton), a 550K+ subscriber weekly newsletter, the Group Chat content series, and the annual C&C 100 list. Customer segments are ambitious women founders/creators/executives (primary), consumer brands seeking access to affluent female audiences, and students/emerging professionals. The company has undergone significant ownership transitions — sold to a PE firm for $22M in March 2021, bought back by the founder, then placed under new ownership as Create & Cultivate U.S. Inc. in October 2023 with Marina Middleton as CEO and a 2024 venture funding round of approximately $1.66M supplementing an earlier $2.6M raise.

Name

Create & Cultivate

Legal name

Create Cultivate US Inc.

Website

https://createcultivate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Create & Cultivate operates events, conferences, and digital media targeting ambitious women entrepreneurs and business leaders, anchored by the Festival (4,000+ attendees), the CONNECT AI matchmaking platform, the WorkParty podcast, and a 550K+ subscriber newsletter.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Professional Events & Community

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Management & Creator Community Building (MPAAAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creator Events & Experiences (Trips, Houses, Retreats) (MPAAAHAN), Creator Content Production & Co-Creation Studios (BPAFAHAD)

Keywords

• Women's professional events
• Business networking platform
• Career development conferences
• Experiential marketing events
• Women leadership community

Headquarters

HQ city

West Hollywood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Tickets: Primary revenue stream from ticket sales to the annual Festival (4,000+ capacity), Supper Club dinners, and other events. Multiple ticket tiers ranging from Student tickets to Golden Tickets with premium pricing for VIP experiences.
2. Sponsorship & Brand Partnerships: Major revenue source from brands sponsoring events through experiential activations, stage ownership, programming inclusion, branded photo moments, happy hours, and product seeding. The company targets multi-million dollar annual paid sponsorship revenue across events and digital programs.
3. Memberships: Subscription-based membership program offering access to community, content, and exclusive benefits. Members receive ongoing access to Create & Cultivate resources and community features.
4. Supper Club VIP Experiences: Premium pre-dinner business roundtable experiences at $999 per ticket, offering deeper networking with investors and experts, personalized mentorship opportunities, and enhanced business strategy discussions.
5. Podcast & Content: The WorkParty podcast with 3M+ downloads serves as a content marketing and audience-building vehicle. The show features interviews with prominent female entrepreneurs and generates revenue through episode sponsorships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Create & Cultivate operates a flagship multi-city Festival for women in business and an AI-powered networking platform called CONNECT, paired with year-round touchpoints including the Supper Club dinner series, WorkParty Podcast, Group Chat video series, weekly newsletter, C&C 100 annual list, and Mastermind membership program. The company sells event tickets, sponsorships, and memberships to a community of more than 2 million women founders, executives, and creators.

Product overview

Create & Cultivate operates as a multi-platform events and media company for ambitious women, combining in-person experiences with digital content and AI-powered networking. The core product portfolio centers on the Festival (the world's largest festival for women in business), the AI-powered CONNECT networking platform for matchmaking attendees, and the Supper Club (an exclusive networking dinner). These are complemented by digital properties including the WorkParty podcast (3M+ downloads), a weekly newsletter (550K+ subscribers), and the Group Chat content series. The company also offers the C&C 100 annual list, a six-month Mastermind program, an Ambassador referral program with commission, and tiered Festival ticketing (General Admission, VIP, Golden Ticket, Student). The CONNECT platform serves as a proprietary AI layer that powers personalized attendee matching across all event experiences, differentiating the offering from traditional conference networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Festival
• CONNECT
• Supper Club
• WorkParty Podcast
• Group Chat
• Newsletter
• C&C 100
• Mastermind Program
• Events App

Quantifiable outcome

• 1K+ mentors matched through CONNECT platform
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chase InkcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for the CONNECT networking platform. Chase Ink branding appears on CONNECT marketing materials and the platform is presented by Chase Ink.
• LinkedIncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial streaming partner for live session content. LinkedIn streams one main stage session live during the Festival, expanding reach of programming.
• JampackminorOthersPreferred hotel booking partner providing discounted lodging rates for Festival attendees. Create & Cultivate directs attendees to Jampack for hotel bookings.
• CovergirlcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for the Beauty category of the C&C 100 list. Covergirl branding associated with 2026 Beauty honorees.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Chief: Chief is a private membership community and networking platform for female executives and C-suite leaders. It competes directly with Create & Cultivate for the same ambitious, high-earning women audience through curated events, content, and peer connection.
• The Female Quotient: The Female Quotient produces events, research, and programming focused on equality in business, including the Girls' Lounge at SXSW. It is directly comparable as a women's business events and community platform serving brands and professional women.
• Ellevate Network: Ellevate Network is a professional women's networking community with local chapters, mentorship, and events globally. It overlaps with Create & Cultivate's professional networking and community focus for women in business.
• Levo: Levo is a career development platform and community for early-career professionals with a strong female user base. It is comparable as a digital community, content, and career resource hub targeting ambitious young women.
• Fairygodboss: Fairygodboss is the largest career community for women, offering workplace reviews, salary data, and networking events. It is comparable as a community-led platform serving professional women with content, events, and employer brand services.
• Girlboss: Girlboss is a media and community brand for ambitious women founded by Sophia Amoruso. It is comparable as a women's professional and entrepreneurship media brand with events, content, and community elements.

Broad incumbents

• Hello Sunshine: Hello Sunshine is Reese Witherspoon's women-focused media and storytelling company producing content, podcasts, and brand partnerships. It is comparable as a larger women's media brand with content, audio, and brand partnership revenue.
• MAKERS: MAKERS is a media and events platform advancing women's stories and representation in business. It is comparable as a women's professional storytelling and event brand with sponsor-driven programming.
• CNBC Events / Evolve (cnbcevents): CNBC Events produces large-scale business conferences and summits with significant sponsorship revenue and executive audiences. It is comparable as a large-scale business events business monetizing premium sponsorship and ticketing, though broader than a women-only audience.
• Goldie (Bumble Fund portfolio and adjacent women's community brands): Bumble and adjacent women's professional community brands serve women-first networking and entrepreneurship use cases. They are comparable thematically as women-focused professional networking and community brands with event and content components.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/createcultivate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/create-cultivate
• Instagraminstagram.com/createcultivate
• TikToktiktok.com/@createcultivate.com
• Xx.com/createcultivate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Create & Cultivate