Marina Middleton
MOTHER
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START UP ADVISOR
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CEO
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SPEAKER
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ENTREPRENUER MENTOR
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PODCASTER
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MOTHER ✦ START UP ADVISOR ✦ CEO ✦ SPEAKER ✦ ENTREPRENUER MENTOR ✦ PODCASTER ✦
I help ambitious women build lives they fully own.
I’m the CEO and Co-owner of Create & Cultivate, the largest events and media company for women. I build the world’s largest festival for women in business, and I spend my days building at the intersection of business & culture for ambitious women.
I was an attendee before I became the CEO. I walked into my first Create & Cultivate event as a woman trying to figure out what came next. Two years later, I helped buy the company and started building its next chapter.
That sentence still feels insane to write, but it is also the point.
So much of my work is about helping women see what is possible before they have proof. Not in a vague, inspirational way. In a real way. Through money, relationships, reputation, confidence, ownership, and getting into rooms that change the trajectory of your life.
I believe ambition deserves a comeback. I believe women should want more without apologizing for it. More money. More access. More opportunity. More ownership. More life.
That is what I am building.
I was born in Egypt and came to the United States when I was young. I did not grow up with money, access, or a roadmap for the kind of life I have now. I was in and out of family homes early, learned how to move through rooms where I did not always feel like I belonged, became a single mom at 23, and figured out a lot by doing the thing before I felt ready.
Before Create & Cultivate, I spent years in marketing and media, including roles at Yahoo, Tumblr, and Yahoo News, where I worked on digital campaigns for major brands. I later founded Empowered Confidence, a personal brand and consulting company that helped women use their stories, expertise, and visibility to build stronger businesses, careers, and communities.
In 2023, I acquired Create & Cultivate alongside founder Jaclyn Johnson and stepped into the role of CEO, rebuilding the brand pretty much from scratch. Since then, I have helped raise nearly $3 million in venture capital, rebuilt the business model, and continued scaling Create & Cultivate into one of the most important platforms for ambitious women in business.
But the real story is not just the title or the headline.
The real story is what it takes to build a life you fully own. The decisions. The risks. The relationships. The money conversations. The rooms you have to walk into before you feel ready. The identity shifts no one warns you about. The ambition you have to protect before the world tells you to make it smaller.
That is the work I care about most.
I talk about building companies, rebuilding yourself, motherhood, money, leadership, reputation, relationships, confidence, and what it actually looks like to create a life that gives you options.
Because options are freedom.
And women deserve more of both.
MY STORY
HOW TO WORK WITH ME
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HOW TO WORK WITH ME ✦
Create & Cultivate
Create & Cultivate is the largest events and media company for women.
We create industry-leading events, content, community, and experiences that give ambitious women the tools, connections, resources, and access to advance personally and professionally. We are redefining what it means to be a modern working woman and helping shape a new era of ambition.
sPEAKING & bRAND partnerships
For speaking, brand partnerships, podcast inquiries, campaigns, or collaborations, reach out below.
Core topics and partnership categories:
Ambition, Leadership & Women in Business
The future of women at work, entrepreneurship, ownership, confidence, leadership, and why women need to want more without apology.Personal Brand, Visibility & Influence
How founders, executives, creators, and leaders can build trust, reputation, authority, and opportunity through their story and point of view.Money, Ownership & Building Wealth
Raising capital, building businesses, financial confidence, economic mobility, and why money, access, and options are central to women’s freedom.Career, Productivity & Tools for Building Bigger
The systems, platforms, technology, tools, and resources women use to work smarter, grow faster, stay organized, build teams, and create more opportunity.Beauty, Wellness, Lifestyle & Confidence
The products, rituals, routines, and brands that help women feel good, show up fully, take care of themselves, and move through the world with more confidence.