Women's Power Networking

What Women's Power Networking does

Women's Power Networking (WPN) is a private, for-profit professional women's networking organization founded in 2005 by Marilyn Shannon and based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company operates a community-led model centered on weekly in-person "Coffee and Contacts" chapter meetings held at Jara Cafe and monthly "Cocktails and Contacts" evening events, complemented by three online sub-communities: the main Women's Power Networking Facebook group, "Marilyn's Book Lovers" (a literary community hosted at booklovers.marilynshannon.com), and "The Listening School" (a Reddit community at r/TheListeningSchool focused on deep-listening practice). The underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight, comprising a WordPress website, Facebook Groups, Reddit, EventBrite for event listings, and TimeTree for the shared community calendar.

The target customer is women professionals across career stages, from early-career to experienced business owners, seeking peer networking, speaking/presentation practice, referral exchange, and personal development. Secondary segments include women interested in curated book discussions and those seeking listening-skills development. Distribution is organic and event-driven: no paid acquisition channels exist, and all marketing flows through community platforms, EventBrite, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Revenue mechanics are opaque. The firm does not publicly disclose membership pricing or fee structures; prospective members are directed to contact the founder directly via email ([email protected]) or phone. Revenue, to the extent any is generated, appears to derive from membership or event fees on a recurring (monthly) basis, though no member counts, pricing tiers, or financial figures are disclosed. The organization has no dedicated office, no institutional funding, no documented partnerships, and operates with a four-person team comprising the Founder, an Area Director, an Administrator, and a Tech Admin. Geographic reach is limited to the Raleigh-Durham metro area, with the website inviting interested parties to contact the founder to start chapters in other locations.

Name

Women's Power Networking

Legal name

Women's Power Networking

Website

https://womenspowernetworking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women's Power Networking is a Raleigh, NC-based women's professional networking organization operating weekly and monthly in-person events and three online sub-communities (networking, book lovers, listening), serving individual women professionals seeking connection and career development since 2005.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Networking Community

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Business Networking Communities (MPACAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interest-Based Communities & Forums (BPAMABAC), Social Q&A & Knowledge Communities (BPAMABAI)

Keywords

• Women professional networking
• Chapter networking meetings
• Networking events community
• Women business community
• Professional referral exchange

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

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

Revenue model

1. Membership: Revenue appears to be generated through membership fees for chapter meetings and networking events, though specific pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women's Power Networking is a professional women's networking organization that runs weekly "Coffee and Contacts" chapter meetings at Jara Cafe in Raleigh, NC and monthly "Cocktails and Contacts" events, where members improve speaking and presentation skills, exchange referrals, and build business relationships. The organization also operates three online communities: the main Women's Power Networking Facebook group for career advancement, Marilyn's Book Lovers for literary discussions, and The Listening School on Reddit for practicing deep listening skills.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Marilyn's Book Lovers: A literary community for book discussions, curated recommendations, and shared love for storytelling.
• The Listening School

Products and services

• Coffee and Contacts (Weekly Chapter Meetings) Weekly signature chapter meetings held at Jara Cafe in Raleigh, NC where members and guests improve speaking and presentation skills, exchange referrals, build professional relationships, and support one another in a structured networking format.
• Cocktails and Contacts (Monthly Networking Events) Monthly networking events held in a relaxed, social setting where members and guests can connect, build lasting professional relationships, and make new business connections beyond the weekly meeting format.
• Marilyn's Book Lovers Literary community accessible via booklovers.marilynshannon.com that provides book discussions, curated reading recommendations, and shared storytelling experiences for professional women interested in literature.
• Women's Power Networking Community (Facebook Group) Primary online professional women's networking community providing leadership resources, career advancement support, and connection opportunities to professional women via Facebook groups.
• The Listening School (Reddit Community) Online community hosted on Reddit (r/TheListeningSchool) where women practice profound listening as a way to expand personal and professional connections, build deeper relationships, and develop empathetic communication skills.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ellevate Network: Ellevate Network is a professional women's networking community with both virtual and in-person chapters offering mentorship, networking, and career resources — directly comparable to WPN's women-focused professional networking model.
• eWomenNetwork: eWomenNetwork runs women's business networking events, chapter meetings, and referral-based programs aimed at women entrepreneurs and professionals — overlapping with WPN's Coffee & Contacts weekly chapter format and referral exchange value proposition.
• Chief: Chief is a private membership community for women executives combining in-person events, peer groups, and leadership resources — directly comparable to WPN's women-only professional networking positioning, but targeting a much more senior executive audience.

Broad incumbents

• BNI (Business Network International): BNI operates the world's largest business referral networking organization with weekly chapter meetings — analogous to WPN's Coffee & Contacts structure but co-ed and significantly larger scale, making it a broad incumbent in the referral-networking category.
• NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners): NAWBO is a long-established membership organization supporting women business owners through local chapters, events, and advocacy — comparable to WPN's community-led, chapter-based women's professional networking model at much greater scale.
• Meetup: Meetup is a broad platform used to discover and organize local networking and interest groups, including many women's professional networking groups — a direct substitute for the in-person community function WPN provides, but at a platform rather than single-community scale.

Emerging players

• Female Founder Collective: Female Founder Collective is a nonprofit network of women business owners offering community, mentorship, and connections — sharing WPN's women-professional networking positioning but oriented toward founders and primarily digital.
• Ladies Who Launch: Ladies Who Launch is a community supporting women entrepreneurs through local events and online programming — comparable to WPN in mission (supporting women in business) and chapter-style engagement, though with a stronger entrepreneur-only focus.
• Athena Alliance: Athena Alliance is a membership network of senior women leaders providing peer groups, events, and executive development — comparable to WPN's professional women's community model but focused on VP+ level executives.

Others

• Lesbians Who Tech & Allies: Lesbians Who Tech is a community for queer women (and allies) in technology offering events, networking, and mentorship — adjacent to WPN as a community-led women-focused professional network, though with a technology and LGBTQ+ identity orientation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WomensPowerNetworking
• Xx.com/wpnworld

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Women's Power Networking