Keeping It Real – Because That’s How Businesses Really Grow

Thursday 23 April 2026

By Roisin McDermott, Head of Entrepreneurship at Women in Business.

There’s a moment in every entrepreneurial journey when the glossy highlight reels no longer serve you.

When what you really need isn’t another perfectly filtered success story, but honesty. Truth. Conversation. Connection.

At Women in Business, we speak to female entrepreneurs every day - women dabbling with an idea, women scaling teams and exports, and women pivoting businesses they’ve poured years of their lives into. What unites them is not perfection. It’s the courage to keep going when the path forward isn’t always clear.

That’s why our All-Island Female Entrepreneurs Conference is built around one simple but powerful theme: Keeping It Real.

This isn’t about buzzwords or box-ticking inspiration. It’s about real women, real stories, real challenges - and real strategies for moving your business forward.

Because the truth is, entrepreneurship is complex. It can be exhilarating and isolating in equal measure. Growth can stall. Confidence can wobble. Plans can change overnight. And too often, women feel they’re the only ones navigating these realities.

They’re not.

Roisin McDermott, Head of Entrepreneurship from Women in Business adds:

“This year’s event brings some new features to our line-up. We have six incredible women - all of whom have achieved more than £1 million in sales - sharing lessons and advice through quick-fire Real Talks.

We also have EY hosting a Founders’ Clinic, where eight entrepreneurs with global businesses will give free, practical advice in small-group sessions. There will be a showcase of 20 founders in our marketplace, alongside several key business-support organisations available to offer guidance.

This is not a conference as you would expect; it’s an experience where we roll up our sleeves and help each other. Female founders are incredible at supporting those in their space - helping earlier-stage founders to learn, grow, and build our all-island community together.”

“It’s also an ideal space for anyone thinking about exporting or growing in the Irish market. We have seven global founders from Ireland contributing on the day, along with representation from the Local Enterprise Offices, Network Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and

InterTradeIreland. There could be great sales opportunities waiting on your doorstep - and they can be much easier to access than any other market.”

So whether you’re dabbling, scaling or pivoting, this one-day experience is designed to meet you where you are - not where someone thinks you should be. You’ll hear unfiltered conversations from women who are living the journey right now. Founders who will tell you what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently if they were starting again.

You’ll gain honest insights - the kind that don’t always make it onto a LinkedIn post, but make a real difference when you’re sitting at your desk trying to make the next big decision.

Many women come to this conference on their own - and tell us afterwards it was one of the best decisions they made for their business.

So, this is our invitation to you: come as you are. Bring your questions, your doubts, your ambition and your plans - even the ones still half-formed. You will leave with new ideas, contacts and renewed momentum.

The All-Island Female Entrepreneurs Conference takes place on Thursday 4 June at the Carrickdale Hotel, Dundalk. It is the only all-island conference dedicated exclusively to female entrepreneurs, supported by our title sponsor, AIB.

Tickets are available now at womeninbusinessni.com.

Thursday 23 April 2026