ISSUE No. 06 | 6 October, 2026 | IN HER POWER 

October is Black History Month here in the UK, home of our Founder.

And whenever this month comes around, we quite rightly spend time remembering.

The people who came before us.

The barriers they broke.

The things they built.

The doors they opened.

The movements they started.

The lives they changed.

But this year, I've been thinking about Black History Month from another direction.

Not only:

Who are we remembering?

But:

What are we building now that somebody else will remember?

Because one day, we become the history.

And that's made me think differently about Legacy.

Legacy isn't something you start thinking about at the end

For a long time, I think I associated Legacy with something you talked about after you'd “made it”.

You build the successful business.

Reach the top of your career.

Make the money.

Become established.

Then somewhere towards the end, you start thinking:

What will I leave behind?

I don't think that anymore.

I think Legacy is being built in the decisions we're making right now.

It's in what we own.

What we teach.

What we document.

What we invest in.

Who we introduce.

Who we employ.

Who gets access because we had access.

What knowledge we turn into something that can continue without us.

And what we build that doesn't collapse the moment we step away.

That's Legacy too.

🤎
Natalia x

SOMETIMES THE LEGACY IS THE DOOR

Not everybody's Legacy will be a building with their name on it.

It doesn't need to be.

Sometimes the Legacy is a woman saying:

“She was the first person who introduced me to…”

Or:

“She gave me my first opportunity.”

“She taught me how to do this.”

“She invested in me when nobody else did.”

“She put my name forward when I wasn't in the room.”

“She showed me something was possible.”

That's why I've become increasingly interested in the relationship between access and responsibility.

Because getting through the door is one thing.

What you do once you're through it is another.

WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING THAT CAN CONTINUE WITHOUT YOU?

This is the question I want us sitting with this week.

You've built experience.

Relationships.

Knowledge.

Maybe a business.

Maybe intellectual property.

Maybe influence.

Maybe wealth.

Maybe access.

But how much of it currently depends entirely on you?

If you stopped tomorrow, what would continue?

That's not a comfortable question.

But it's an important one.

Because there's a difference between building something successful and building something that can travel beyond you.

YOUR LEGACY AUDIT

I want you to choose one thing you've accumulated.

Your knowledge.

Your network.

Your money.

Your experience.

Your platform.

Your influence.

Your intellectual property.

Your access.

Now ask:

How could this become useful to somebody beyond me?

Could your knowledge become a framework?

Could your experience become mentorship?

Could your network create introductions?

Could your platform give somebody else visibility?

Could your company create employment?

Could your money become investment?

Could your access open a door?

Could what you've learnt shorten another woman's journey?

You don't have to solve all of it this week.

Just identify one thing you already hold that could become part of your Legacy.

THIS IS ALSO WHY TOP 100 IS BECOMING BIGGER THAN AN EVENT

As we've moved closer to this October's Summit, I've been showing you more of what we're actually building.

The Summit creates one kind of room.

The Community creates another.

The Legacy Dinner creates another.

Our media work creates another.

And then there is the work that asks:

How do we turn all of this access outward?

That's where our impact work matters.

Through the Top 100 Foundation, our educational partnership with Scholar's Compass Leadership Academy, and initiatives such as the Venture Labs, we're thinking beyond visibility alone.

Because visibility should lead somewhere.

Opportunity should lead somewhere.

Access should lead somewhere.

And ultimately, I want what we're building to create pathways that continue beyond one Summit, one campaign or one generation.

You'll hear much more about that very soon.

BLACK HISTORY ISN'T ONLY BEHIND US

That's probably the thought I want to leave you with this week.

Black History Month gives us an important opportunity to look backwards.

To learn.

To remember.

To honour.

But I also want us looking forward.

Because somewhere right now, a Black woman is building something that people will talk about years from now.

A company.

A school.

A body of work.

A piece of technology.

A movement.

A family legacy.

An investment portfolio.

A platform.

A new way of doing something.

Maybe it's you.

And perhaps the question isn't:

“Will I be remembered?”

Perhaps it's:

“What will exist because I was here?”

That's a very different question.

TWO WEEKS TO GO

We're now just two weeks away from the Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women Summit, 19–23 October.

And over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be showing you much more.

More of the women.

More of our partners.

More of the conversations.

More of the rooms we're creating.

And more of what happens beyond the stage.

Because the Summit isn't the end goal.

It's one of the places where the next thing can begin.

Until next Tuesday, stay in your power.

And this week, ask yourself:

What will exist because I was here?

 Natalia x

Founder, Top 100 Most Powerful Black Women