Innovation Women

What Innovation Women does

Innovation Women is an online visibility bureau and two-sided marketplace that connects women and underrepresented subject-matter experts with event managers, conference organizers, journalists, and podcasters seeking diverse speakers. The platform hosts a searchable database of more than 2,500 speaker profiles organized by topic, industry, location, and title, and adds 50-100 speaking opportunities weekly. Event managers access the platform for free, while speakers pay annual membership fees of $159 (Classic), $199 (Content Creator for authors and podcasters), or $249 (Entrepreneur with Lioness Magazine Premium included); speakers retain 100% of their speaking fees, distinguishing Innovation Women from traditional agencies. The technology stack is conventional cloud SaaS (speaker profile management, opportunity posting and matching, newsletter distribution via Constant Contact, live chat via Olark, video via Zoom and AnswerStage, and Eventbrite integration) with no disclosed AI/ML components. The company is a Massachusetts LLC, owned by Carlton PR & Marketing and founded by Bobbie Carlton, operating with 1-10 employees from Lexington, MA.

The business model combines low-priced self-service subscriptions (the primary revenue engine) with higher-margin training and enterprise add-ons. Speakers can upgrade into the Kickstart Cohort 4-week program ($149-$199), the 8-week Speaker Marketing Club ($800 for members, $1,000 for non-members), and the Mini Marketing Club ($200 for 8 self-paced topics). A separate Corporate Memberships motion offers enterprise licenses, training, speaker series, and Pop-Up events for companies seeking to place female executives on stage. Distribution runs through a 20,000+ subscriber weekly newsletter, 25,000+ social media followers, and an ecosystem of association and corporate partners (IEEE, MassTLC, AWE, Women in Cloud, HerCSuite, Women in Tech Summit, Dale Carnegie). The community is anchored by Speaker Friend Fridays (weekly Zoom calls since March 2020), the Green Room educational portal, and the No Manel Zone campaign, which has become an industry-wide initiative against all-male panels.

Name

Innovation Women

Legal name

Innovation Women LLC

Website

https://innovationwomen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Innovation Women is an online visibility bureau and two-sided marketplace connecting 2,500+ women speakers with event managers via $159-$249 annual memberships, fee-based training programs, corporate memberships, and a partner-driven distribution network anchored by the No Manel Zone campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Speakers Bureau / Speaker Marketplace Platform

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

akta.pro primary industry

Speakers, Hosts & MC Talent Management (HSACAHAC)

Keywords

• Online speakers bureau
• Speaker marketplace platform
• Women speaker visibility
• Speaker membership database
• Event speaker matching

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Classic Speaker Membership: Annual membership fee providing speaker profile, newsletter access, hundreds of speaking opportunities, tools to manage applications, webinar participation, weekly Speaker Friend Fridays, profile feedback, Lioness Magazine contributions, free speaker video, promotion in newsletters/website/social media, and access to online community with hundreds of hours of educational resources.
2. Content Creator Membership: Enhanced annual membership ($199/year) for authors and podcasters, including all Classic features plus book/podcast showcase on profile, Buy Now/Listening links, author/podcaster icons in database, exclusive Content Creator community section, bookstore inclusion, Lioness Magazine Book of the Week and Cool Casts features, and special promotions.
3. Entrepreneur Membership: Premium annual membership ($249/year) for entrepreneurs including all Classic features plus showcase for books, podcasts, products, services, courses with customizable Buy Now links, entrepreneur icon, online community entrepreneur membership, Lioness Magazine Premium membership (reg. $99), and special promotions.
4. Kickstart Cohort Program: 4-week guided cohort program add-on for $199 (or $149 when purchased with membership) for accountability groups and coaching on maximizing Innovation Women membership.
5. Speaker Marketing Club: 8-week intensive marketing training program: $800 for members, $1,000 for non-members. Part 1 (Fundamentals) and Part 2 (Advanced) options. Includes weekly lessons, breakout rooms, group discussions, facilitated co-working, downloadable resources, and VIP community access.
6. Mini Marketing Club: $25 per topic subscription ($200 total) for speakers wanting extra marketing help without live sessions. Includes access to past learnings, videos, trainings, and knowledge from 10 years of speaker support.
7. Affiliate Program Commission: 10% commission on referred speaker memberships (Classic $159 or Content Creator $199) with 30-day cookie window. Available to Innovation Women members and select trusted partners.
8. Corporate Memberships: Customized programs for corporations including training, workshops, speaker series, enterprise licenses, and Pop-Up events. Revenue from registering women executives on the platform and PR firm partnership services.
9. Partner Membership Program: Associations and organizations can partner for promotional benefits including logo placement, newsletter mentions (20,000+ subscribers), event promotion, and revenue-share fundraising options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Innovation Women operates an online speaker marketplace that connects women subject matter experts with event managers, conference organizers, journalists, and podcasters seeking diverse talent. The company sells tiered annual speaker memberships ($159–$249) giving members searchable profiles, weekly speaking opportunities, and community access, while offering event managers free database access; complementary paid offerings include the Speaker Marketing Club training program, Kickstart Cohort program, Speaker Concierge matching service, and Corporate Memberships for enterprise clients.

Product overview

Innovation Women is a visibility bureau and speaker marketplace platform that connects female subject matter experts with event managers seeking diverse speakers. The platform operates on a tiered membership model with three levels (Classic at $159/year, Content Creator at $199/year, and Entrepreneur at $249/year) that provide access to the core speaker database, speaking opportunities, and community resources. The platform is complemented by fee-based educational programs including the Speaker Marketing Club (8-week intensive training at $800) and Kickstart Cohort Program (4-week guided cohort at $199), as well as community features like the Green Room educational portal, Innovation Women Network online community, and weekly Speaker Friend Friday Zoom sessions. Additional services include the Speaker Concierge booking service, No Manel Zone diversity toolkit, Book Store, and Podcast Database. Enterprise offerings include Corporate Memberships and Affiliate Program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speaker Membership (Classic, Content Creator, and Entrepreneur tiers) Tiered annual subscription membership giving women speakers a searchable profile in the Innovation Women database, weekly newsletter with speaking opportunities, tools to manage applications, Speaker Friend Friday participation, promotional features, and access to the online community. Content Creator and Entrepreneur tiers add book/podcast/product showcase capabilities and premium partner benefits.
• Speaker Marketing Club Eight-week intensive marketing training program for speakers delivered via weekly live Zoom sessions with lessons, breakout rooms, group discussions, facilitated co-working, downloadable resources, and VIP community access; priced at $800 for Innovation Women members and $1,000 for non-members.
• Kickstart Cohort Program Four-week guided cohort program providing live weekly instruction, profile optimization, recorded tutorials, and accountability coaching for Innovation Women members; priced at $199 standalone or $149 when purchased with a membership.
• Speaker Concierge Service Hands-on matching service that helps event managers find and book speakers tailored to their specifications on topic, location, and seniority, delivered via direct contact through [email protected].
• Corporate Memberships Customized enterprise program registering women executives on the platform and providing training workshops, Innovation Women Speaker Series, enterprise licenses, and Pop-Up events for corporations; includes PR firm partnership services through sister company Carlton PR & Marketing.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 2,500 women speakers in database
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MassTLCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMassachusetts Technology Leadership Council partnership. Tom Hopcroft, President & CEO: 'We need to inspire girls at an early age, provide women and men the flexibility to balance work and family life, and most importantly, shine a spotlight on the many successful women who are, today, role models in our industry. We are proud to be partnering with Innovation Women to do just that.'
• Association for Women in Events (AWE)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociation for Women in Events partnership providing speaker visibility benefits for AWE members and access to speaker database for AWE events.
• HerCSuitecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHerCSuite partnership offering speaker visibility and professional development benefits for members.
• Women in Retail Leadership CirclecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWomen in Retail Leadership Circle partnership for speaker visibility and event speaker access.
• Women SalesproscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWomen Salespros partnership providing speaker opportunities and visibility for women sales professionals.
• Speaker SisterhoodcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSpeaker Sisterhood partnership for speaker development and visibility initiatives.
• Women in Tech SummitcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWomen in Tech Summit partnership for speaker visibility and event programming.
• GaggleAMPminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGaggleAMP partnership for employee advocacy and social media amplification.
• HerEntrepreneurialNetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHerEntrepreneurialNetwork partnership for women entrepreneurs seeking speaking visibility.
• Dale CarnegieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDale Carnegie partnership for professional development and speaker training.
• Women in CloudcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWomen in Cloud partnership for cloud industry speaker visibility and professional development.
• Subscription InsiderminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSubscription Insider partnership for subscription business and professional community.
• IEEEcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerIEEE partnership offering speaker visibility for members and access to IEEE events.
• Carlton PR & Marketing (Sister Company/PR Firm)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation Women is owned by Carlton PR & Marketing. The sister PR firm helps maximize partnership value for corporate clients and speaker promotion. Bobbie Carlton, Founder and CEO, has been coaching speakers and planning conferences for nearly 40 years.
• Lioness Magazine (Sister Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital magazine for female entrepreneurs. Cross-promotion through magazine features, Book of the Week, Cool Casts for Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur membership includes Lioness Premium membership. Shared online community spaces.
• Mass Innovation Nights (Sister Company)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company part of the Carlton PR & Marketing ecosystem for innovation and startup community events.
• My Speaker Leads (Sister Company)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company for speaker lead generation and marketing support services.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• TED (Curated Speaker Platform): Iconic platform curating high-profile talks from speakers worldwide, including references to 50,000+ TEDx talks used as market sizing by Innovation Women. Adjacent enabler/exemplar that elevates the speaking profession rather than direct competitor for paid bookings.

Broad incumbents

• All American Speakers Bureau: Established speaker bureau with a general (not women-specialized) roster of keynote speakers for corporate and association events. Comparable event-manager-facing booking function and price-discovery model to Innovation Women's Speaker Concierge.
• Washington Speakers Bureau: One of the largest U.S. speaker bureaus representing politicians, business leaders, and motivational speakers. Comparable to Innovation Women as a paid talent-matching service for events, but serves a general (not women-focused) speaker roster and operates via a traditional agent/booked-fee model.
• Big Time Speaker Bureau: Long-established speaker bureau sourcing keynote and event speakers primarily for corporate and association audiences. Comparable business model to Innovation Women's marketplace function, though with a general speaker roster and traditional fee structure.
• The Lavin Agency: Speakers bureau representing notable authors, business thinkers, and innovators across a general roster. Comparable third-party talent-discovery and booking role serving event managers sourcing paid keynote speakers.

Direct peers

• SpeakerHub: Online speaker directory where event organizers search and book professional speakers; speakers maintain profiles. Directly comparable marketplace structure and target customers to Innovation Women's core speaker-database offering.
• Matchmaker.fm: Free podcast guest-booking platform connecting hosts with expert guests. Directly overlaps with Innovation Women's Podcast Database offering and serves the same SMB/professional speaker podcast-appearance use case.
• PodMatch: Two-sided marketplace specifically matching podcast hosts with guests for interview appearances. Comparable to Innovation Women's Podcast Database product line serving the same use case of booking women speakers onto podcasts.
• SheSource by Women's Media Center: Free directory of women experts for journalists, producers, and event organizers seeking diverse voices. Directly comparable to Innovation Women's core value proposition of connecting underrepresented women experts with booked speaking and media opportunities, though operated as a non-profit rather than a paid subscription marketplace.

Emerging players

• Expert Marketplace (by Irene Lyon / Clarity.fm): Expert-call marketplace connecting professionals with subject-matter experts for paid consultations. Adjacent comparable in connecting subject-matter experts with demanders, though focused on short consultations rather than speaking engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WomenInno
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCprLtZVQ6IC0x7dxOnkSy5A
• Facebookfacebook.com/innovationwomen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/innovation-women
• Instagraminstagram.com/womeninno

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Innovation Women