The Lark Network is a grassroots, woman-led organisation dedicated to making business support more inclusive, accessible and rooted in lived experience. Based in Portsmouth and founded in 2021 by Amy Doyle, a neurodivergent mum of two, The Lark Network exists to support women who are often excluded from traditional enterprise spaces, offering welcoming, practical routes into self-employment.
The team is made up of Amy Doyle, Sass Adams and Jane Moody. Between them, they bring decades of experience in education, community development, entrepreneurship and inclusion.
Amy is a former teacher, researcher and enterprise programme designer who has spent more than ten years working to improve outcomes for women in business. She founded the Female Entrepreneurs Network at University of Portsmouth in 2014, and contributed to the EU-funded Accelerating Women’s Enterprise project, highlighting how enterprise support often fails women with caring responsibilities, long-term health conditions or lived experiences of poverty or trauma.
Sass Adams is a queer, neurodiverse Interfaith Minister and founder of Spiritunity, a hub for grounded, ethical spiritual development. They work at the intersection of spirituality, social justice and digital inclusion, offering spiritual counselling, celebrancy, soul sessions and social media mentoring for spiritual businesses. Sass brings insight, compassion and a deep understanding of identity, inclusion and authenticity to Lark’s work, helping shape spaces where people feel genuinely welcome.
Jane Moody has 15 years’ experience supporting schools and education settings. She founded Marvellous Fabulous Projects CIC in 2022 to deliver creative, inclusive programmes for young people in Portsmouth. Jane also facilitates youth engagement projects with Pamodzi Creatives, Share Portsmouth, Creatful and STEMunity. With a background in digital inclusion and a collaborative approach to leadership, Jane plays a vital role in ensuring Lark’s activities run smoothly and reflect the care and clarity at the heart of its values.
Together, this team delivers over 20 events a year on a limited budget and with minimal funding from small, local grant funds. These events include pay-what-you-can workshops, creative business retreats, child-friendly informal networking events, and an online community designed to reduce isolation and build confidence. Lark champions women who are disabled or neurodivergent, single parents, survivors of abuse, or living on low incomes, and listens carefully to their experiences to help shape its services and support.
Every detail of Lark’s work, from venue choices to tone of voice, is carefully considered to remove barriers and foster a sense of belonging. The team’s success is not measured in metrics or job titles, but in the trust they build, the confidence they nurture, and the communities they help grow.
Since launching, The Lark Network has supported over 400 women, with many saying it is the first place they have felt truly safe and understood in a business context. This is the impact of a small team working with purpose, clarity and heart.
Amy, Sass and Jane show that, with shared values and lived experience at the centre, even the smallest of teams can lead meaningful, lasting change.
