The Riveter

The Riveter is a women-forward network balancing physical workspaces and a digital ecosystem for entrepreneurs.

Amy Nelson

Founder & CEO

Location:

Seattle, WA & Los Angeles, CA

Year Founded:

2017

Industry:

Co-working, business services & development

What first inspired you to build The Riveter?
While pregnant with my second child, I came across a telling statistic from Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In:” 43% of highly-trained, professional women “off-ramp” after they have children. This, paired with seeing my own capacity to be both a mother and lawyer called into question, strengthened my desire to help women—be it founders, freelancers, or entrepreneurs. Knowing a shift in my priorities was in order, I started to sketch out a bold idea: Places designed for women, wherever they are in their careers, to find a community of support, a professional network, the business resources to invite ambition, and amenities steeped in wellness. In 2017, I launched The Riveter, female-forward workspaces and an online community platform, in Seattle with a flagship space in Capitol Hill and a second in Fremont. My team is expanding the brand into Los Angeles and additional cities in 2018 and beyond.

Walk us through an average day in your life?
The first thing I do every morning is spend time with my daughters. I have three wonderful, smart, and silly girls who keep me motivated and grounded. After poking around in latest news and current events, I head out to start my busy and hectic day as a startup founder. And really, there is no average day; I usually have a mix of meetings with my team, coffee dates with amazing and influential women in our community or phone calls with those from across the country. There may be an update with our investors or an event in our Capitol Hill space. I love when I have the chance to spend time catching up with our members, I built The Riveter to provide a community for women in Seattle and beyond to find the support, resources and knowledge they need to start their own businesses and being with our members lets me see this vision come to light.

What is your favorite life hack?
Community and building a network. The one thing this role has taught me is the power of relationships and how much faster things get done when the human connection and potential is valued.

What is your favorite work hack?
The Riveter has a member company called Armoire. They’re a clothing subscription company that has basically given me the closet I always dreamed of without the hassle of shopping. On any given day I go from TV interviews to pitch sessions to carpool and play dates. Armoire is available to all our members and allow us to focus on looking good and being efficient with our time. They started with The Riveter, one of our first member companies, and have been able to use the community within our spaces to test their products and grow their business.

What’s one piece of advice you would give a fellow entrepreneur?
The world will get behind you so take the leap. You can think about it. Plan it. Dream it. But nothing happens until you take the leap.

Words to live by?
There is plenty of room at the top for all of us. Nobody reaches the top alone, it takes the power of community.