Female Founders Summit 2025: New business owner and mother is putting herself first by attending

This one-of-a-kind experience is returning to Northampton from June 12 to 14, for its second consecutive year in the town and fourth year since it first launched.

There will be a wide variety of masterclasses, workshops, networking opportunities and keynote speakers to enjoy – as well as a full day of holistic wellbeing at Delapre Abbey, one of the much-loved venues from 2024.

Organised by master coach Lucienne Shakir, this event welcomes business owners from all over the world and epitomises the importance of women supporting women in the push towards equality in the business world.

Mary O’Brien has spent the last four years studying and retraining to be a psychodynamic therapist, and she launched Therapy With Mary alongside becoming a mother at the start of 2025.

Mary has an eclectic career journey, which includes lecturing on an acting degree at the University of Northampton, training as a dancer, running a dance school for more than a decade, and launching an accounting business.

She worked in a corporate finance role part-time until 2020 and left to set up a small accounting business supporting women in business and the creative industries.

It was during the pandemic when Mary began studying psychodynamic therapy, which made her realise her greatest strength among all her roles was communication and making people feel understood, heard and validated.

Talking about her goals for Therapy With Mary, the founder wants to support people with accessible information and have the freedom to navigate running a business alongside her new life as a mother.

Mary’s services are predominantly aimed at supporting millennial women in regaining their confidence and improving their relationships.

“I’ve encountered women who are struggling to live the lives they want,” said Mary. “At the heart of it is a lack of confidence in who they are and who they want to be, as well as communication in relationships.”

Mary attended the Female Founders Summit for the first time in 2024 and says it was a “big leap” as she knew she wanted to close her accounting business.

She said: “It was about making the decision and having faith in me. The atmosphere was so warm and encouraging. Everyone was there with open arms, acceptance and excitement for the other women in the space.”

Mary admits she would probably have launched her therapy business earlier had she not fallen pregnant with her son – as attending the Female Founders Summit gave her confidence in her story and everything she had been through.

“The journey I’ve taken is what makes me good at what I’m going to do,” said Mary. “I bought my ticket for the Female Founders Summit 2025 on the last day of the event last year. I didn’t want to give myself time to talk myself out of it.

“I’m feeling excited about my new business and baby, and hope to get a sense of rejuvenation by reconnecting with others.”

The final release of tickets are now available and attending all three days, which includes the wellness day and business summit, is currently £520 plus VAT. For just the business summit on the final two days, tickets are currently £420 plus VAT.

Having been the exclusive media partner of the Female Founders Summit 2024, the Chronicle & Echo is delighted to be partnering with the event again in 2025. Join us for new stories every Monday and Thursday in the lead up to June.

For more information on the Female Founders Summit 2025, and to secure your ticket, click here.