Sharmadean Reid unveils The Stack platform for "mission driven women"
Beauty entrepreneur Sharmadean Reid has today taken the wraps off a new venture – The Stack – which she describes as a "network for mission-driven women".
The Stack is a multimedia company comprising: a members club, networking app, year-round event series, editorial publication and co-working space "all geared towards ambitious women, allies and believers in gender equality".
Membership to the platform ranges from £1 to £9.99 per month and seven of its founding members are fronting a launch campaign that goes live across London today.
The line-up features: music manager Grace La Doja, entrepreneur Ciara Madden, model and food journalist Simran Randhawa, engineer Clara Sojung Tan, author and columnist Yomi Adegoke, entrepreneur Charlotte Williams and Sharmadean Reid herself.
Shot by Danika Magdelena, the message behind the launch campaign is the importance of networking and community when it comes to growing business, finding investment and starting a career.
Former Editor-in-Chief of ES Magazine Laura Weir has joined the business as Editorial Director and has been commissioning a far-reaching range of content for the platform on topics such as “How Britney Spears’ Conservatorship Highlights Women’sEconomic Abuse”, “How To Get Your Fashion Brand into a Major Retailer” and “The Challenges Every Neurodiverse Woman Faces When Dating”.
The Stack World’s professional networking app guides members ,via both iOS and desktop experiences, through content discovery, event booking, in-app messaging and more. Paul Rasmussen, Head of Digital (formerly Burberry’s Head of User Experience) leads the development team, including The Stack World co-founders Ken Lalobo and Dan Woodbury.
Sharmadean Reid said of the venture: “Most people familiar with my work would consider me synonymous with ‘community’ - but there’s a real difference between ‘community’ and ‘network’, for me. The network is all about tangible, practical tools. It’s the domain we typically think of as male, whilst women are left with emotional support only from their peers.
"At The Stack, we don’t want to lead women to believe that hustle, that incredibly hard work, is the only route to economic success. Where are the stories for women on smart investments, or timely tax returns…? The past decade has shown women how to work for their money - we want to ensure the next decade shows women how to make their money work for them.”
Members receive access to hundreds of events, physical and virtual, hosted by some of the most influential names within the Business, Beauty and Wellness spaces.
Workshops such as “Discovering The Leader Within You” from confidence coach and entrepreneur Tiwa Lola, lectures hosted by Kings College London Senior Lecturer and Editor of the Penguin Book of Feminist Writing, Dr Hannah Dawson on “How Women Have Been Locked of Networks in History” and interviews with inspiring female MPs, Rachel Hopkins, Marion Fellows and Ruth Jones that work to inspire a more equal gender split in parliament.
Reid is one of Britain's best-known female entrepreneurs having founded WAH Nails and innovative beauty services booking app, Beautystack. Her new venture is an evolution of the Beautystack business. She was awarded the MBE in 2015.
More information on The Stack can be found here.