Clevelander Turns Downtown Parties into She's Company, a Cleveland Networking Group For Women

Community Leader: What inspired you to create a space for women to connect in this way?

Rebecca Maxwell: When I moved Downtown, I started hosting parties for my friends. I’ve always loved hosting. I always wanted to get all of my friends together. I wanted my friends to become friends with each other so that, as a busy person, I don’t have to pick and choose because everyone gets along. So, about two years ago, I was like, I can’t fit 100 girls in my apartment, so I had two separate parties. One at my apartment with my closer friends, and then I had one at a venue, a wine tasting bar, for everyone else. I think 80 girls showed up. The bar was very happy. And I was like, You know what? I can do this. 

CL: What makes an event by She’s Company different from other networking gatherings?

RM: We put a lot of thought into every detail of the event. I am very particular, and I really like everything to be cohesive with the theme. Basically, the way I pick what events go where is I will go into the venue and kind of feel out the vibe. So I really want (our events) to just fully make sense from start to finish. So, when you’re walking in the door and you see the theme, the vendors included are also on theme. Different people are going to gravitate towards different styles of events. Our bi-monthly book swap is going to bring in a totally different crowd than our sparkle party. We really want it to make sense for the people coming in.

CL: How has She’s Company evolved since you first started, and where do you see it going?

RM: Since it first started, we have worked with a countless number of vendors and local businesses. We have been able to work with so many women-owned businesses and so many local people that we have been able to highlight. So, to just be able to see that grow and for more vendors to be reaching out to be involved has been really cool. The goal is to franchise and take this to other cities. I get a lot of comments on TikTok that people want this in other cities. I’m a one-woman show, (though I) do have a vendor manager, but for the most part, it’s just me. So I wish I could do it everywhere. Eventually, hopefully, we can.

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