The Story Exchange

When The Story Exchange’s two co-founders enlisted the services of Azure Media, it was a start-up organization dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs to share their stories and provide resources to help them succeed in business. The main vehicle was a handful of video profiles of extraordinary women entrepreneurs and their backstories. Azure conducted strategic planning to guide the future of the organization and provide a roadmap to realize its mission to inspire, support, and connect female entrepreneurs.  Azure’s four key recommendations were: bring more women into the fold to create an organic online community, expand The Story Exchange’s journalism through multiple media platforms, partner with major media organizations to expand its reach and credibility, and develop cause-related and social responsibility elements to the organization. 

The Story Exchange responded full-force. The organization launched the 1,000+ Stories project – where thousands of women have shared their stories on the website about the realities of entrepreneurship, creating a larger online community and more stories to inspire. It expanded its portfolio of online videos of women business owners sharing their challenges and successes and also evolved those stories into an award-winning interactive podcast. In addition, the organization’s independent newsroom partnered with the New York Times, Inc., Forbes, Fast Company, and CNBC to cover many women's issues. The newsroom received SABEW’s "Best in Business" awards in 2024 and 2019, the Newswomen's Club of New York’s Front Page Awards in 2020 and 2019, and has been nominated for a 2024 Webby and Ambie, a 2022 Webby, and a 2016 Gerald Loeb Award, one of business journalism’s most prestigious honors. On the cause front, The Story Exchange’s “Good on the Ground'' podcast series features women social entrepreneurs making a positive impact in the world. And, the organization launched the annual Women in Science Incentive Prize – a grant program recognizing innovative female scientists addressing climate change.

 

Today, The Story Exchange is a full-fledged journalistic and social impact enterprise elevating women's voices through informative and inspirational videos, articles, and podcasts.