This is who we are

Second 50 is a member-based community of Australian women aged from midlife onwards. We exist within a meaningful digital space, alongside a growing range of face-to-face and virtual forums.

Our goal is that wherever you are on your 'second half' journey, our community helps you to design, create and scale an authentic future that matters to you. Inside, you’ll make useful connections and find structure, programs, wisdom and encouragement to keep learning, growing and contributing.

How Second 50 began

It started with a simple question: what comes after 50? As life expectancy stretches well into our 90s and beyond, fifty isn’t an end, it's the beginning of a whole new half. Yet, for many women, the second half of life remains unspoken and unexplored.

In 2023, we began asking women about their hopes, fears, and dreams beyond 50. What we found was both surprising and powerful. Many had never been invited to consider their future in this way. But once they did, they shared rich stories of self-discovery, purpose, and possibility — alongside concerns about invisibility, transitions, and being undervalued.

These honest conversations sparked deeper research and reflection, ultimately leading to the creation of the Second 50 community: a space where women connect, learn, and reimagine what’s possible together. Founded by Carolyn Betts and Melissa Richardson, Second 50 was born out of a shared passion to help women embrace the next chapter with purpose and power.

About Carolyn

Carolyn grew up in Brisbane and now lives in Sydney, where she loves ocean swims and bushwalks with friends. She co-founded Second 50 from a deeply personal place — seeking clarity on how to live the rest of her life with meaning, energy, and purpose. By all accounts, Carolyn had already built a successful life, with senior roles in media, government, and corporate organisations, followed by more than a decade in leadership at high-growth Australian tech startups. But midlife brought a reckoning: the push and pull of complex family needs, the challenge of navigating her own professional crossroads, and a deep disillusionment after confronting the greed and corruption of some in positions of leadership and power.

She felt the weight of competing roles and a call for something more aligned and authentic. Like many women, she asked herself: What now? That question sparked conversations, and ultimately, the creation of Second 50.

Now, as CEO and Community Leader, Carolyn is helping build what she once needed: a bold, purpose-led community where women in midlife and beyond can reflect, grow, and step into their next chapter with clarity and courage. She believes our second half of life is not about decline but expansion — of wisdom, of self-trust, and of collective power.

About Melissa

Melissa was born in Sydney and now lives in a small town on the mid-north coast of NSW. She loves being part of the local community and spending time with her adult kids and grandchildren. Melissa had a corporate marketing career in large consumer brand multinationals before starting small businesses that allowed her to realise her entrepreneurial potential along with a better work-life balance. Melissa’s passion for mentoring led her to co-found Art of Mentoring in 2015 with her eldest son. Even after moving on from her role as CEO in 2023, she remains one of the leading researchers and global thought leaders in the field of mentoring.

Melissa’s inspiration for Second 50 comes from her late grandmother, who remained active and contributing right up until her death as a trailblazing leader in the Country Women’s Association.

Melissa helped Carolyn get Second 50 started and contributes to the community as an expert in coaching and mentoring.

Our DNA

Vision

To make the world better because women from midlife onwards feel valued and can contribute their lived experience and wisdom in ways that are meaningful, visible and recognised.

Mission

We are gathering women from midlife onwards who are motivated to make positive change happen, to learn together, support one another and use our collective wisdom, so that we can reimagine and act on new possibilities and rewrite the story for all Australian women.

Values

Gain and Give - a reciprocal community where experienced women learn, grow, and support each other.

Co-creation and Co-leadership - we leverage the collective energy, skills, and wisdom of our members, encouraging women to step up in meaningful ways.

Safety, Welcome, and Inclusivity - every member is a guardian of our community's safety and inclusivity.

Are you ready to join us?

Make deep connections with women who value your experiences and aspirations. Whether you're seeking guidance, sharing your experience, or scaling your purpose, the journey is better together - and we have more impact!

Sage Advice Live

Mentoring

Local Meetups

Virtual Cafes

Curated Learning Hub

Collective Wisdom

Meaningful Discussion

Sage Advice Live Mentoring Local Meetups Virtual Cafes Curated Learning Hub Collective Wisdom Meaningful Discussion

FAQs

  • Second 50 is a private community for Australian women from midlife onwards. Our community design, programs and content suits any experienced woman who desires to gather with others in an authentic space to learn together, support one another, and use our collective wisdom to reimagine and act on new possibilities.

    It doesn't matter who you are or what stage of the journey you are on. If you want to belong to a reciprocal community of women motivated to make the most of the rest of our lives, Second 50 welcomes you!

  • We are a changemaking network of women of different backgrounds, ages and experience levels who are keen to learn and grow together.

    We offer a safe space for reflecting, testing, learning and collaborating on self and societal impact projects.

    Everything (and everyone) is curated and focused on events, resources, learning and experiences that empower and drive personal and social change for women from midlife onwards.

    We provide the means for women to form individual relationships that help advance them towards their purpose.

  • Second 50 has been self-funded by the co-founders as a purpose-led community enterprise. To become a sustainable long-term community that creates value and impact for members, we have invested in building a modern community space, enabled by an integrated technology stack. Member fees help cover the cost of providing a meaningful, curated, collaborative environment which helps women to make positive change happen. We are grateful to our foundation partners who have made it possible for us to start Second 50 in a way that keeps our membership fee affordable. If Second 50 becomes profitable, we intend to invest in creating more value for members and to donate a percentage of profits to charitable causes.

  • You don’t need to spend a lot of time or participate in everything to get a big benefit from Second 50 membership.

    There are many different ways to connect, learn and contribute to ensure your time spent is both meaningful and worthwhile.

    There are many ways to participate, here's a few ideas:

    • A calendar of live and recorded events like Sage Advice Live, Virtual Café, local meetups.

    • Mentoring opportunities for mentors and mentees

    • Member stories and discussion spaces - share insights, ask or answer questions, request or offer help.

    • Share your knowledge and lived experiences with the community.

    Make the most of what interests you!

  • Your annual membership fee provides full access to Second 50's private community and all our programs and activities.

    Second 50 is collaborating with some members to create and run specific paid-for events or programs - for example our Second 50 Life Design program, workshops, retreats and learning events. These are all opt-in and only co-created by women who are involved and known in our ecosystem.

    However, our philosophy is that members will gain lots of ongoing benefit from their membership, wherever they live and without having to purchase additional products or services.

  • Once you register and pay your annual membership, you will gain full access to our private digital community. All new members are guided through a Member Welcome, so you can quickly learn how to participate in ways that are meaningful for you. It is very simple to browse discussions, read member stories, sign up for upcoming member events or watch recordings of past sessions. It is also easy to quickly build connections with women who have shared interests, values and goals.

  • We hold every member of our community to some simple but important Community Guidelines that ensure we gather and learn in supportive spaces where the contributions and dialogue are calm, meaningful and respectful. They are non-negotiable. Please send us a message via the website contact form if you would like a copy of the guidelines.

  • Women who are motivated to make positive change happen need to be able to connect, learn and grow with other women. They need a safe space - outside the system and their usual lives - for testing, learning and collaborating on self and societal impact projects. Our Second 50 community is specifically focused on and curating events, resources, learning and experiences that empower and drive personal and social change. We are also providing the means for women to form individual relationships that help advance them towards their purpose. Note that Second 50 is not aiming to be the exhaustive expert resource on life after 50. Nor are we a social group (although beautiful relationships are forming, and social life is occurring organically as members connect and progress on their journeys).

  • Please email us at community@second-50.co and we'll be delighted to answer any questions.