10 Online Communities Where Female Founders Go to Connect

Finding the right community can change everything when you’re building a business. Mentorship, referrals, accountability, and just having people who get it matter more than most founders realize early on.

There are 14 million woman-owned businesses in the United States, so there are no shortage of networking opportunities. Here are ten online communities built specifically for female entrepreneurs, each with its own focus and culture.

Entreprenista

Entreprenista is a membership community and media brand for women founders at all stages of business. The core offering is the Entreprenista League, a paid membership with over 2,500 members that gives access to a private community platform, weekly live events, office hours with industry experts, and what the team calls “Feedback Fridays.” Members also get access to vetted business tools and services at a discount, plus opportunities for media placement and PR exposure.

On top of the community, Entreprenista runs two podcasts, hosts in-person local meetups across the U.S., and holds an annual Founders Weekend event. They also run the Entreprenista 100 Awards, which recognizes women founders across industries each year.

It’s one of the more structured communities on this list, with regular programming and a clear focus on both connection and business growth.

Female Founder Collective

The Female Founder Collective launched in 2018 with a mission to support, develop, and elevate female-founded and women-owned businesses. The organization has grown into a broader ecosystem with three distinct arms.

The 10th House is their exclusive membership community for female founders, focused on education, connection, and scaling. The North is a separate platform described as an expert advisory marketplace, essentially a way to book one-on-one time with experienced women in business. And the FFC Foundation provides cash grants and resources to help close what they call the “success gap” for women-owned businesses.

The Foundation specifically points to the funding disparity: women-owned businesses receive an average loan of $59K compared to $156K for male-owned businesses, and has made addressing that their mission.

Lean In

Lean In grew out of Sheryl Sandberg’s bestselling book of the same name and has since become one of the most well-known organizations focused on women’s leadership and workplace advancement. The core community offering is Lean In Circles, small peer groups where women come together to learn new skills, support each other, and work toward their goals.

Circles are free to start or join, and the organization provides a full curriculum, discussion guides, and leader resources. There’s also a broader network directory, virtual events, and a free education library covering topics like negotiation, leadership, and combating gender bias.

Lean In also publishes original research, including their annual Women in the Workplace report, co-produced with McKinsey. It’s one of the larger, more established organizations on this list and leans more toward corporate career advancement than solo entrepreneurship, but it serves founders and professionals alike.

Dreamers & Doers

Dreamers & Doers is a curated, application-based community for women entrepreneurs. It’s been around since 2013 and takes a selective approach by only admitting new members four times a year, with a focus on what they call “extraordinary humans.”

The membership includes access to a private network of fellow founders, plus what Dreamers & Doers calls their PR Hype Machine™. This is a built-in system for getting members placed in media, on podcasts, and at speaking opportunities. That combination of community and earned visibility is what sets it apart from more traditional networking groups.

Members have been covered in Forbes, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and Fortune, and the community has attracted founders from organizations including Google, Goldman Sachs, and Andreessen Horowitz. It’s a higher-caliber, higher-investment community, and it’s not trying to be for everyone.

Black Girl Ventures

Black Girl Ventures is a nonprofit that focuses specifically on creating access to capital, capacity, and community for under-resourced entrepreneurs. They describe their mission around building “intergenerational wealth for a more equitable society.”

Their flagship program, BGV Pitch, combines crowdfunding and pitching in a community-driven format. They also run Pull Up & Pitch (a faster-paced 60-second pitch format), the Emerging Leaders Fellowship for founders looking to become ecosystem leaders, and BGV NextGen, a 6-week accelerator for HBCU students aged 18-24.

For community access, BGV Connect is their online hub where founders can network, join weekly co-working sessions, participate in webinars, and get support. The organization reports having funded 500+ founders directly, and notes that BGV alumni raise twice as much capital as other founders on average. They’re also the largest ecosystem builder on the East Coast according to their own data.

Female Entrepreneur Association

Founded in 2011 by Carrie Green, the Female Entrepreneur Association has grown into one of the largest global communities for female entrepreneurs. Green built it after her own frustrating early experiences building a business without much support, and the mission has always been to give women the tools and community they couldn’t find elsewhere.

The main offering is the Members’ Club, a paid subscription that includes 80+ expert masterclasses, done-for-you resources, live sessions, an FEA app for learning on the go, and a community of over 5,000 entrepreneurs. Members also get access to FEA Create, an all-in-one sales and marketing automation platform designed to make the tech side of running a business less overwhelming.

Carrie Green also wrote the bestselling book She Means Business, which is available through the site. The membership is priced to be accessible, and the community has an international reach across multiple countries and industries.

Female Founder World

Female Founder World positions itself as a multimedia brand for entrepreneurial women and is particularly popular with younger founders. The platform has a podcast, in-person events that tend to sell out, and a mobile app that hosts their group chats and community spaces.

The free tier gives access to a group chat with thousands of members, access to past conversations and resources, and live group business coaching calls. The paid Business Bestie membership unlocks dedicated mentor-moderated group chats, live workshops, recorded sessions, and early access to IRL events.

It’s a more casual, social-first community compared to some others on this list, but that’s also the appeal. The platform is built around the idea that the best content is smart and entertaining, and that community is the fastest shortcut to growing a business.

Fe/male Switch

Fe/male Switch takes a completely different approach from every other community on this list. It’s a startup simulation game designed for women entrepreneurs, particularly those at the idea validation stage or early in their entrepreneurial journey.

The game works like a business simulator, where players validate startup ideas with an AI co-founder called PlayPal, work through skill-building modules, and progress through levels by completing real entrepreneurship challenges. There’s a free tier and paid tiers starting around €2.50/month (billed monthly) with annual options available.

The platform is built by the Snowballs team, which is based in Europe and has received support from organizations including Microsoft, Google for Nonprofits, and Bubble. It’s particularly useful for aspiring entrepreneurs who aren’t sure where to start or who want to test ideas without financial risk. It’s also worth noting this community is European-based, though it’s open to anyone globally.

Bossbabe

Bossbabe is a brand built around what founder Natalie Ellis calls the “Freedom-Based Business” framework, the idea that entrepreneurship should give you financial freedom and lifestyle flexibility, rather than just swapping one form of overwork for another.

The community center is The Société, a paid membership where members can access Bossbabe’s Freedom-Based Business method, 50+ templates and systems, weekly coaching sessions, and a private community of women entrepreneurs. There’s also the Freedom Fast Track accelerator for building out a sales engine, and a weekly newsletter with 400k+ subscribers.

Bossbabe also has a podcast and an AI product called the Freedom Engine, which functions as an on-demand AI marketing advisor. It’s one of the higher-profile brands in the women’s entrepreneurship space and has been featured in major media. The community tends to attract founders focused on online business, content, and lifestyle business models.

Women Helping Women Entrepreneurs Facebook Group

The Women Helping Women Entrepreneurs Facebook group has over 870,000 members, making it one of the largest free communities for female business owners online.

Founded by Christina Rowe, the group is a place to ask questions, share resources, promote your business, and connect with other women at all stages of entrepreneurship. The sheer size means there’s almost always someone in the group who has dealt with whatever challenge you’re facing.

For those who want more, there’s a paid membership program called Stand Out Online that gives access to more frequent promotional posting, featured spotlights, podcast placements, and live access inside the group. But the free group itself has plenty of activity and is a solid starting point for anyone looking to plug into a larger community without any upfront commitment.

How to Choose

None of these communities are right for every founder. Some are more curated and exclusive, like Dreamers & Doers. Others are large and free, like the Women Helping Women Facebook group. Some are built around visibility and PR, others around education, and others around funding access.

The most useful thing is to think about what you actually need right now, whether that’s accountability partners, media exposure, funding opportunities, or just a place to ask dumb questions without judgment, and pick one or two communities that match that.