By Kailey Aiken
TAMPA, Fla. –– “I call it my Goldilocks story,” said Jessica Rivelli, founder of the Working Women of Tampa Bay organization. “I couldn’t find anything that fit me, so I set out to create something I couldn’t find that I desperately wanted for myself.”
Sixteen years ago, there weren’t many networking opportunities for business women in Tampa Bay — not many anywhere. Rather than settling for groups that were too big, too impersonal, too expensive, or lacked women entirely, Rivelli built her own.
She founded Working Women in 2009, while still working as a news producer. As the organization expanded, Rivelli had to choose between a successful career in television journalism or her passion for supporting other women. She chose the latter.
Launched during a recession, Working Women quickly became a haven for many women turning to entrepreneurship out of necessity. They needed a side hustle, and more importantly, a support system, which Rivelli’s organization provided access to both.
With affordable memberships, 12–16 monthly events, and a community of 15,000 women over the span of 16 years, Working Women has thrived under the mission of empowering women entrepreneurs through connection, education, and financial support.
The group also runs a nonprofit, the Working Women Foundation, which has provided over $100,000 in funding.
Since launching in 2016, the foundation has utilized grassroots fundraising and donations, many made by members, to support women-owned businesses. It offers support in various ways: paying for billboards, complimentary memberships, and grants for start-ups. Past recipients of grants have used the funding to sustain a zero-waste market during hurricanes, open a second floral studio, and launch a fragrance lab. The foundation also continues to grow the Working Women’s network.
“What keeps us alive is the fact that we’re constantly growing,” said Rivelli. “We still have around a dozen women join every month … I think the growth continues because for women entrepreneurs, it’s a lonely space to be in.”
The organization currently has 500 active members, some of whom have been there since the beginning and now hold leadership roles.
One of the founding members, Michele Northrup, is now a board member of the Working Women Foundation. Nearly 20 years ago, she launched Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces, an all-natural hot sauce company.
“When I started, I was the only female-owned sauce company,” said Northrup, also known as the “Saucy Queen.”
The award-winning company was born from a school project for one of her children. Northrup brought a homemade carrot hot sauce concoction and the kids and staff loved it. When her friends tried it at a party the following weekend, they loved it too. The consensus was: “You have to bottle this.”
“I literally had only enough money to do one batch, and it was either going to work or everybody was going to get a gag gift of hot sauce for Christmas,” she joked.
However, there was no need for any gag gifts — Intensity Academy Gourmet Sauces took off immediately. The company has won 58 national awards and Northrup has expanded her line from hot sauces to condiments, dry rubs, and dips.
Northrup met Rivelli when she appeared as a guest on her news station show. When Rivelli started Working Women in 2009, she invited Northrup to the first meeting.
“And she hasn’t gotten rid of me since,” said Northrup. “It’s been amazing.”
In addition to becoming a board member of the foundation, Northrup hosts the Coffee Connections event in the Lutz area. She begins each event with a lighthearted oath: “I solemnly swear to make some connections today.”
Coffee Connections is a networking event held monthly in the Tampa, Lutz, and St. Petersburg areas. Each one is hosted by a different local business, usually woman-owned, as a way to spread their support to as many women as possible. Some are even held by the Working Women Foundation’s grant money recipients.
While each location puts their own spin on things, the main idea is the same: a holistic approach to networking for women. It’s the opposite of those old-school networking spaces — no smoke-filled cigar rooms or boys’ clubs here.
At the meetings, the women talk about collaborations they’ve done with each other, upcoming events, and future opportunities to collaborate and support each other, Northup explained.
“I feel like we try to foster real relationships, not just playing poker, passing business cards out,” said Northrup.
Brandi Morris, a long-time photographer and now a community relations professional at a St. Petersburg free clinic, hosts the St. Pete Coffee Connections. She joined Working Women after meeting Rivelli at a fundraising walk, about a year after the organization was founded. At the time, Morris was navigating a male-dominated photography industry.
She joined the board of the foundation after receiving grant money to begin her officiant business as an addition to her existing wedding photography business.
“The foundation came through for me,” said Morris. “I wanted to be able to give back with how much they helped me start my new venture.”
For Morris, Working Women provided much more than growing her client bookings. She formed connections and friendships with incredible women she otherwise never would have met, and she continues to bring more women into this space.
As women-owned businesses continue to grow, new networking groups have popped up in the Tampa Bay area. Rivelli and Working Women as a whole welcome the growth.
“The fact that there are other organizations that can fit niches that we don’t makes the Tampa Bay women’s community even more well-rounded,” said Rivelli.
Rivelli encourages any women, including University of Tampa students and recent graduates, who wish to attend Working Women events to do so — membership is not a requirement.
“We have this philosophy that anyone can come to our events,” said Rivelli, emphasizing that there are no age or job requirements to be a part of the group. “We don’t have any rules.”
“The idea is that any woman should be able to come to a Working Women event and feel welcomed and comfortable and fit right in,” said Rivelli.
Working Women’s mission of inclusivity and accessibility continues to propel the organization and foundation forward, providing support and community for any woman who needs it.
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Thumbnail image caption: Members of the Working Women of Tampa Bay having lunch at Keke’s Breakfast Cafe. Photo courtesy of Michele Northrup.