It was on the Internet that Meagan Ward, an Impact leader in Women’s Empowerment, and Yliana Guzman, a serial entrepreneur, met. Turned out they had a lot in common, among the things a desire to help women-owned and women-focused businesses thrive.
In 2017 Ward launched Femology, a Detroit-based co-working space and incubator, that now caters to 100 members. After Ward and Guzman connected, Guzman invested six figures in Femology and came onto the brand later as COO. Together they are expanding Femology.
Ward, who launched her first business in her college apartment
TNJ.com: I understand you met on social media. How did that come about and what made you want to move ahead with a partnership?
Megan Ward: Yliana and I actually met via text, not even on social media. We have a mutual friend who we both have done business with and she aligned the stars for us. When she introduced us I didn’t even know her first and last name, but she was so persistent on connecting us I knew it had to be some type of synergy there. Yliana flew out days later, it was almost like a blind date to meet your potential business partner. I showed her Detroit, Femology and explained the possibilities then she shared that she was looking to do something similar on a digital platform. With her skillset and expertise in operations, management, and finance — it was an aligned fit to what I needed to push Femology forward.
TNJ.com: How did Femology come about?
Megan Ward: Femology was an idea in my earlier days of full-time entrepreneurship years before it came into fruition. I was doing branding for clients, working out of my apartment and meeting them in local coffee shops as well as running a women’s empowerment organization. In a sense, marrying the two ideas of a community for business ownership and co-working seemed like a necessity rather than a want because those were the things I personally needed. When I had enough funds, I decided to open our first prototype location in Downtown Detroit. Femology is built on the pillars of women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, organically.
TNJ.com: Why do you feel Femology is needed?
Megan Ward: Femology is very much an inclusive community with our mission centered around productivity and elevation through the lense of what a woman is experiencing in business. Women are tapping into their power of purpose, independence and making their dreams happen – with that entrepreneurship has allowed us to become one of the fastest-growing groups of entrepreneurs in the country. With that, we are in need of tools that support us into being successful and Femology aims to be that.
TNJ.com: How does Femology work?
Megan Ward: As a female-focused co-working space, our mission is to elevate and catapult women into success. We have a membership model, where we offer inclusive access to our community, office space and events.
TNJ.com: What are the goals this year?
Yliana Guzman: Our expansion of our Detroit headquarters is the focus for this year. We are preparing to begin a buildout of our new space located in the Rivertown Warehouse district in downtown Detroit. With the opening of our new location, we will offer valuable amenities that support the female entrepreneurs’ lifestyle including private office suites, online programs and mentorship, podcast studio, fitness room and more.
Something that we are extremely passionate about is dismantling glass ceilings women are experiencing in their businesses or scaling their start-ups. Women are in fact launching businesses faster than men, but the resources and opportunities surrounding us are very slim. Femology aims to be that resource, connecting women to opportunities and funding, both traditional and non-traditional.
TNJ.com: Please explain each of your roles?
Meagan Ward: Being the CEO of Femology is more than seeing out the vision of a female-focused co-working space, but it’s to advance generations of women to living the life of their dreams. Of course, the day to day executions of making high-level decisions that steer the company towards success, ensuring that those decisions are aiding in our short and long terms goals, managing and growing our teams and executing the brand strategy on the local and national scale.
Yliana Guzman: My role within Operations focuses on the back end day-to-day happenings of the business. Providing the leadership and management to ensure that the company has the proper administrative procedures and people systems in place to effectively grow and ensure financial strength. While member experience is the heart of Femology, my role drives these initiates guided by the vision and culture established by Meagan as CEO.
