Innovation Women Acquires Second Company, Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur

Boston, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (Innovation Women) — Innovation Women (IW), the leading visibility bureau for entrepreneurial, technical and professional women, has acquired Lioness for the Female Entrepreneur, a woman-owned online publisher of global news, trends and insights on female entrepreneurship, for an undisclosed amount. This is the company’s second acquisition this summer. In June, Innovation Women acquired My Speaker Leads, an online resource that provides speakers with 100 speaking opportunity leads every week.
“With women-founded and owned businesses particularly hard hit during the pandemic, resources like Lioness are particularly important,” said Bobbie Carlton. “Women are more likely to run smaller businesses and businesses in harder hit categories like retail and restaurants. They are also more likely to be responsible for child and elder care, putting even more pressure on their time. We need to ensure they have continued access to resources designed specifically for them.“As the owner of three different businesses myself, I don’t claim to have all the answers for other women entrepreneurs, but I do think I have many of the same questions. Together, Innovation Women, MySpeakerLeads and Lioness provide a solid foundation of news and services specifically designed to elevate under-represented voices.”Lioness exclusively serves women entrepreneurs. Launched in 2014 in Springfield, MA by founding partner, Natasha Zena Clark, with a mission to elevate, educate and support female entrepreneurs, the news site quickly gained traction covering timely topics on female entrepreneurship and women disrupting traditional industries.In late 2015, Dawn Leaks joined as co-founder and chief executive officer and, under her direction, the company grew exponentially, adding live and virtual events, coaching, mentoring, training and leadership programming to its offerings. Leaks said the acquisition will allow Lioness to accelerate its global expansion and secure its foothold as the leading voice in journalism for female entrepreneurs.“Lioness is an invaluable news organization that reports on women entrepreneurs and delivers data and insights that readers are hard pressed to find elsewhere — exclusive news, resources and advocacy solely for female founders. It has also become a space where women startup founders — across age and race — find community. This acquisition will bring more resources and market value to a strong news brand that maintains a diverse and dedicated readership,” Leaks said. “Lioness was created by and for women. Natasha and I are excited to see it continue to flourish and transform and continue its legacy of strong women leadership.”About Innovation Women
Innovation Women is a self-service online platform designed to connect entrepreneurial, technical and professional women with event managers in order to provide gender balance onstage (whether live or virtual) at conferences and events. Innovation Women speakers and subject matter experts benefit from visibility and new opportunities. Event managers benefit from the opportunity to create more inclusive, gender-balanced and diverse events. Learn more at InnovationWomen.com/.