Alex Canavan Built CNY Women's Network for Upstate Founders

Every year, more than 500 women fill a room in Upstate New York for the CNY Women’s Summit. Alex Canavan built that room from nothing in a region she felt offered her few opportunities. So she made her own.

Alex Canavan is the founder of CNY Women’s Network, a membership community and media platform for women professionals and founders in Central New York. Since launching in 2023, she has grown it into a multi-platform brand that includes The Collective membership community, large-scale events, brand partnerships, and her podcast, Cultivate with Alex Canavan. A member of the Entreprenista League and a 40 Under 40 honoree, she built it all on one idea.

Creating the opportunity she couldn't find

Before CNY Women’s Network, Alex spent years in community outreach and social media management and ran her own freelance makeup artistry business for 7 years. She felt Syracuse offered limited room to build the marketing and PR career she wanted, so she created it herself. Then, she set out to show other women they could do the same in a region with untapped potential.

The events became the marketing

Her launch strategy was simple: host as many events as possible. She wanted a community genuinely invested in its own growth rather than an audience watching from the sidelines. “The events became the marketing,” she says. Women showed up, felt the connection in the room, and brought others in. That word-of-mouth, community-first approach became the foundation for everything that followed.

Over 500 women, once a year

The accomplishment she is proudest of is the CNY Women’s Summit, the largest platform for women’s leadership in Upstate New York, gathering over 500 women for a day of connection and growth. “Seeing that room come together every year is a reminder of exactly why I started this,” she says.

Betting on herself

One recent win took nerve: rebranding her podcast from Cultivate CNY to Cultivate with Alex Canavan. “I decided to bet on myself, stop playing small, and open myself up to growth and opportunities beyond Central New York,” she says. Her advice to founders is just as direct, which is to "sell the thing before you fully build it, then never stop iterating.

What's next

Alex is expanding the community across Upstate New York, with plans to grow membership in Rochester, Albany, Northern New York, and the Mohawk Valley. The vision is for women everywhere to have access to the same connection, support, and opportunity.

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn, learn more at cnywomensnetwork.com, and listen to Cultivate with Alex Canavan.

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If Alex's approach to building community resonates, the Entreprenista League is a community of women founders who value connection, shared experience, and practical business insight as they grow. Learn more about the Entreprenista League right here.