The SWELL Incubator, a new working community for women building businesses, has launched in downtown Seattle and filled its 2026 target of 50 founding members in just eight weeks.
Women are leaving the U.S. labor force at a striking pace. More than 845,000 exited in the first seven months of 2026, more than twice the roughly 400,000 men who did according to a new analysis from the National Women's Law Center. That follows 455,000 women who left between January and August 2025, with 42% citing caregiving, including childcare costs, as a factor. At the same time, interest in building something of their own remains high, with one in four women saying they plan to start a business in 2026.
The SWELL Incubator was built for this moment. SWELL stands for Seattle Women Entrepreneurs, Leading and Lifting. A swell is the energy that gathers before a wave, the rising water that lifts everything around it. And in this case its a working community for women building businesses on their own terms, The SWELL opened at SURF Incubator in downtown Seattle during Seattle Tech Week in July and filled its 2026 target of 50 founding members in just eight weeks. Sixty-eight percent of members are bootstrapping, 55 percent are early stage, and 55 percent already have an Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
The organization was launched by Sally Revell who, after 25 years in technology, including leadership roles at Google and Amazon, stepped into entrepreneurship and found no consistent place in Seattle where women founders could build alongside one another, with support designed around different definitions of ambition and the realities of work, caregiving and life. So she built The SWELL to fill that gap, around three core pillars:
Community: Build your business with a community around you.
Choice: Support for the business you want to build.
Care: Programming designed for real life
“After more than 20 years in corporate, I wasn’t starting over,” said Carol Grant, founder of Opolo and a founding member of The SWELL. “I was taking everything I had learned and putting it to work for myself. I wanted to build a business and a life on my own terms, with more freedom and room for a portfolio career. AI made that leap more attainable, but tools only take you so far. The SWELL gave me a room full of women making equally bold choices and taking one another seriously.”
Members work alongside one another at The SWELL’s downtown Seattle coworking space, with access to specialist advisors, practical masterclasses, peer circles and a member directory. Membership is month to month and equity free. The SWELL is also launching Rise, a lower-cost virtual membership for founders outside Seattle or those who do not need coworking space.
The First Wave cohort has gone beyond just building their businesses alongside one another. They have already launched several initiatives which all drive economic empowerment by and for the community, in collaboration with Revell:
SWELL Consulting — A referral network of members offering fractional, advisory or consulting services. A searchable directory will be hosted on The SWELL website.
Rhythm Accelerator — An 8-week accelerator designed for women founders who have early revenue and are ready for more. The first cohort begins in October and is also open to non-members.
Founders Mastermind — A professionally facilitated group of founders at a similar stage, working real problems and decisions together.
“Where Is This Going?” Podcast — A new podcast that will share member stories, hosted by Revell and member Lauren Sato, co-founder and CEO of Komyūn, a community-first social media platform.
Formidable Media and The SWELL Partner to Increase Media Representation for Women Founders
Alongside its launch, The SWELL announced a partnership with Formidable Media, a national media and membership company for high-achieving women.
“AI has changed what a founder can build with limited resources, but it hasn’t changed who gets taken seriously, who gets seen, or how isolating building a company can be,” Revell said. “That’s why The SWELL exists. The magic is women building different kinds of businesses, on their own terms, in the same room, helping each other move forward. And that’s why Formidable is such a natural partner. It’s not enough for women to build great businesses. They need to be seen, heard and recognized for what they’re building.”
While The SWELL helps founders build their businesses, Formidable Media helps them build the visibility and media fluency to be seen and heard for what they are creating. Founded in 2024 by media veteran Emily Parkhurst, Formidable reports the news through a women’s lens while helping raise the profile of its members.
Through its newsletters, podcast, events and content studio, Formidable provides high-achieving women with media training, coaching and opportunities to expand their influence and engage more confidently with the press.
“There's no such thing as ‘women's issues,’’’ Parkhurst said. “Everything is a women's issue if you ask a woman to talk about it. Women deserve the spotlight and that's what Formidable provides, along with the support and community to help make that happen. I’m excited to bring the Formidable Media and The SWELL communities together to lift each other up and support one another in both building businesses and creating increased visibility.”
Under the partnership, members of each community receive a preferred rate on membership in the other. The two will also provide joint programming to boost the power of both communities by bringing their members together, including:
A quarterly personal-branding and visibility workshop
Member meet-and-greets
Monthly happy hours, sponsored by HapHunt, another SWELL member business
Official Launch Party Scheduled for October 6
The SWELL and Formidable Media will co-host a public launch event on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at The SWELL, inside SURF Incubator at 999 3rd Ave, 7th Floor, in downtown Seattle. The evening includes a tour of the space and a first look at The First Wave Wall, a lasting display of the women who helped bring the community to life. Each of the 50 First Wave founding members receives a personalized mini surfboard on The First Wave Wall, incorporated into The SWELL coworking space. Details and RSVP information are available at swellincubator.com.
