A few days ago I attended the inaugural Empower Female Founders Conference at Kraken in Manchester and honestly—it just nailed how conferences should be.

Organised by the brilliant Beckie Taylor and Natalie Asprey, the event had a rare balance of warmth, depth, and actual value. It was clear that the duo poured thought and love into every detail.

A sun-soaked Manchester day turned into one of the most refreshingly honest founder events I’ve attended in years.

My Top 5 takeaways:

1. Space to share and listen and learn

Whether you've been running a business for 25 years or you're 2 years in, there's always something to learn when egos are left at the door. The roundtable chats created a safe, non-salesy space where every voice was heard. No judgment, no pitching. Just real conversation.

2. Everyone’s founder story matters

Every woman in the room had a story worth hearing. From scaling successes to gut-punch failures, the openness was contagious. It wasn’t about trying to impress each other, it was just about connecting and making new work mates.

3. The format was spot on

The mix of panel discussions and relaxed roundtable conversations just worked perfectly. Topics were carefully curated, and the 'ask me anything' vibe meant no question felt off-limits.

4. Business cards are back, who knew?

As much as the LinkedIn QR codes were flying around, it was also great to see a collection of brightly coloured business cards on every table. So, let’s keep printers in business and all order some!

5. Feminine energy, minus the fluff

TikTok keeps telling me to “lean into my feminine energy”—but this was what that really looked like: supportive, grounded, open, and ambitious. And funny and friendly!

As someone who’s spent 25 years as a freelance journalist and 19 as a founder of a PR and content agency, I’ve attended lots of events, and worked behind the scenes on plenty too across the UK and North America.

But this one? No b******t radar activated. Great coffee, great people, and tables full of sweets and savoury snacks. All the right ingredients!

So—who’s joining me for the next Empower Conference in November?

You can find more about the Empower network here.