What is Fearless?

Fearless is a Business Record initiative with women-centered content and events designed to help women and the companies and allies who both value and support them. The elements of this brand can be simplified into one goal: We want to help empower Iowa women to succeed in work and life. 

We produce a free e-newsletter every Monday, content on this website, monthly coverage in the Business Record and a series of events to connect our audience. We invite you to join us on the journey. … Be more. Fear less.


Why Fearless?

As a women-owned and women-led company, our team at Business Publications Corp. and the Business Record know that empowering women isn’t just good for business, it’s personal to each of us. Our Women of Influence honor was created more than 20 years ago to help elevate women who for a variety of reasons did not receive the same recognition as male leaders. In 2014, we launched a weekly newsletter devoted to women in business – Lift IOWA – and it received some of the highest levels of engagement among our many digital products.     

In many other ways we have made a point to share stories of inspiring women and shine a light on workforce issues tied to gender inequity. Yet we always knew it was necessary to do more. Much more. We were already in the midst of researching and hosting focus groups to form a new initiative when the coronavirus pandemic further magnified the issues facing Iowa women. We felt called to act and launched Fearless in November 2020.


Who is it for?

Through Fearless, we present women’s issues as what they are: everyone’s issues. We focus on women’s issues in Iowa communities – rural, midsized and urban areas – but our coverage is applicable to any audience. Women, gender-nonconforming individuals and male allies are all encouraged to be fearless with us. 

Fearless is for those who want to succeed in work and life, and for those who strive to make themselves, others and their communities stronger. Though success may be different for every person, through our solutions-oriented coverage on gender and family issues, we provide inspiration and information to get you there. 


What do we believe?

  • We believe that everyone has a story to tell, and we have a duty to amplify underrepresented voices. 
  • We believe in order for women to advance and achieve, we need to support each other.
  • We believe that women’s issues are everyone’s issues and that every issue is a woman’s issue. Women are not a monolithic group.
  • We believe in challenging the notion of what people perceive to be business issues. What we experience in life – both in barriers we face and successes we achieve – affects us at work.

Contact Nicole

Nicole Grundmeier is the Fearless staff writer. She covers gender issues as well as other human interest stories. Email her at nicolegrundmeier@bpcdm.com.