About

You have inspired and empowered so many women around the world through your amazing work!

Latifa, Afghanistan

I don't feel so alone now.

Gretel, Mexico

I like the woman I am becoming!

Basirat, Nigeria

Our Why

IMPERIA’s goal is to catalyze the power of every woman founder creating an impact in the world. We are doing that in a way no other program can, through a methodology we’ve developed from a decade of research and working with women around the globe.

Now with participants from 20 countries on 6 continents, our programming meets women founders where they are, and prepares them for the next step of the journey.

Women who are out to change the world face a lonely path, so we are here to give her the rocket boost she needs, whether through training, advice, or our growing global community. As she might be the only woman in her country, city, or village doing what she’s doing, we wanted to ensure there’s a place she can be welcomed, understood and supported.

Our What

Our proprietary methodology gets to the roots of what it means to be a woman on Planet Earth creating a thing. Because it’s not enough just to have a seat at the table.

With a focus on building confidence, resilience, agility, and a commitment to self-care, our curriculum of Self-Directed Empowerment™ creates a woman as the renewable, sustainable source of her own power. Where she becomes her own personal sun.

We’ve designed our curriculum to be scaled to the needs of a given group, whether it be for a weekend intensive, a 6-month incubator program, or an online course for founders at different stages.

Timeline

BETA TESTING

Initial thesis, think tank discussions as The Concordia Project, with women from 10 countries.

2013-2018

VIRTUAL INCUBATOR

Incubator for women launched with participants from 16 countries on 6 continents.

2019

LIVE COHORT

First in-person cohort (UK), bringing total to 21 countries. Studies begun on ecosystem development.

2022

360º PROGRAMMING

Launch of small group workshops, in-person events, and 1:1 coaching.

2023

RETREATS & SALON DINNERS

Founder retreats, ecosystem dinners and in-person gatherings.

2024

Our Team

Our founder Jennifer Iannolo (ya-KNOW-low) is a global development catalyst for women founders. IMPERIA draws on her lifetime of experience as an entrepreneur, with a curriculum uniquely designed to transform women from founders to leaders as they navigate the scale of their ideas.

Jennifer shares her methodology of Self-Directed Empowerment™ through IMPERIA and in keynote talks around the world, from the United Nations to corporate headquarters in Abu Dhabi and Harvard University. She is also a featured expert on women’s entrepreneurship for the U.S. Department of State. Jennifer was recently the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence at ONE Tech Hub in Northeast Scotland, where she is helping to craft the ecosystem for Scottish women founders.

Jennifer is a fractional COO for scaling startups, and was in the first cohort for Backstage Capital’s Venture Capital Apprentice Program, created by Arlan Hamilton. She is an expert judge for Pharrell’s Black Ambition Prize, and a mentor for Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation. Her startup advisory clients have included Golden Globe and Grammy nominees, Forbes 30 Under 30 rising stars, Obama Fellows, and global pitch competition winners.

As a digital pioneer, Jennifer co-created the world’s first food podcast network in 2006. She has been featured in international media including Bloomberg Businessweek, the Times of India, and the documentary Eat. Drink. Cook. Jennifer is a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business, and lives in NYC.

Special thanks to the intrepid interns who helped create our pilot programs and assist with the launch of our first global cohorts: Sophia Dumesny, Ijeoma Ndukwe, Abeer Pamuk, Mahrukh Shaikh, and Jessica Wei. We are so grateful for you!