To celebrate International Women's Day, we've scoured the web to find the most promising female entrepreneurs. Here is the first list of women who are disrupting their industries and making changes to female entrepreneurship in a big way. This list focuses on the up and coming female entrepreneurs rather than the usual suspects1.
Meet the women who are paving the way to make a change as well as the future for the younger generations.
Clarissa Shetler, Co-founder, C2 California Clean, Doctor of Pharmacy
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Understanding that we may have to work twice as hard as a male but it's all worth it.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Connect with other business women. Don't be shy and reach out. Females want to help other females succeed. We always love helping others and sharing our advice.
Danni Lin, Founder and CEO, GREAT WINE, Inc.
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
We still see many women living with gender stereotyping and gender inequality. The biggest social assumption is that family should always be a woman’s top and only priority in life, not her career or passion.
As a female entrepreneur, I always think that confidence is the roots of beauty. Every woman is unique and uniquely beautiful because they all have a different life experience.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
There will be ups and downs in the progress of setting up a business. At the up times, you may want to ride on the tides and go faster. At down times, remain confident and work hard to achieve your goals. Successful entrepreneurs are people who do not give up.
Danielle Tate, Founder & CEO MissNowMrs.com
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Overcoming fear of failure is a huge challenge. Instead of the glass ceiling of Corporate America, we have the "sticky floor" of entrepreneurship. Amazing women can think of every reason why they are under-qualified to start a company, why it will fail, or why someone else would do a better job as the founder.
It's incredibly frustrating to have these conversations. Statistics have shown that women entrepreneurs return a significantly higher ROI than men, and I believe we have a moral obligation to solve the problems we encounter or no one else will.
Once we have our startups, finding funding as a woman is difficult. I'm excited to see more and more women-focused venture funds and hope to see more women have huge exits that give them the ability to become angel investors in women-led startups. It will take time, but positive change is coming.
It's incredibly frustrating to have these conversations. Statistics have shown that women entrepreneurs return a significantly higher ROI than men, and I believe we have a moral obligation to solve the problems we encounter or no one else will.
Once we have our startups, finding funding as a woman is difficult. I'm excited to see more and more women-focused venture funds and hope to see more women have huge exits that give them the ability to become angel investors in women-led startups. It will take time, but positive change is coming.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Begin with the end in mind. Pinpointing exactly what you want out of your startup before you start will help you make strategic decisions that make your dream a reality. Knowing if you want to build a lifestyle company, versus a 3-year flip, or ten-year unicorn will make finding a co-founder or investors with a similar vision easier. It also helps you avoid waking up 5 years into a business and realizing you don't have the company or life that makes you happy.
Michelle Lewis, Visibility Expert and Founder of Visibility Vixen
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
I believe this is the most opportunistic time in history for female entrepreneurs online.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Do your research, don’t just jump. Know your purpose, find your unique voice in your industry, outline your product path. I see the most frustration from people because they want an entrepreneur lifestyle, but they spend months struggling with no income because these steps aren’t in place.
Kristen Baird, CEO and CVO, Kristen Baird
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
The fine jewelry industry is male-dominated, generationally owned, and characterized by mass-manufacturing. I'm a female entrepreneur, a first generation business owner, and a proponent of handcrafted fine jewelry. Shaking up the "norm" and gaining respect from my peers (mostly male) has been the most challenging part of my business and I would say that is one of the greatest challenges most female founders face today.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Relationships are imperative. Align yourself with positive, driven individuals across all industries, in all age groups, and from all backgrounds. They will be your tribe and you will need them through thick and thin. Likewise, it's not just a "take" situation. Be a giver and share with your tribe and the generations coming behind you.
Amy Hutchins, Chief Product Officer, Unearth Technologies
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Fundraising is one of the hardest parts of any startup, something that’s especially true for female entrepreneurs. When looking at statistics, about 28% of proprietary software jobs are held by women, whereas only 7% of VC partners are women. Fundraising is largely driven by networks and its difficult to break into a male-dominated network.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Work on something you're passionate about and work with people you're passionate about. Every step of a startup journey can be exceedingly difficult, and the more successful you are, the harder it becomes. Working on a business idea that motivates you, and working with people that push you to be the best personally and professionally, are the two key ingredients to providing the momentum you need to get through the tough times.
Christine Hutchison, Co-Founder and CMO, Proxfinity
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Access to capital.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
You have to have gut and perseverance. Don't take failures to heart. Learn from them and make it better the next time. I am constantly asking for constructive feedback because I know we can always do things better.
Josephine Caminos Oria, Founder and President, La Dorita Cooks, LLC
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
I believe the greatest challenges women founders face today are not related to their gender but inherent to entrepreneurship itself. And that's access to funding. While it's been proven that women face greater obstacles than men when seeking traditional funding through financial institutions, I believe that this will change in 2018 as a result of the women's movement for equality.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
The #MeToo movement has cleared the path for female founders in 2018. So I offer, "Get out of your own way, and get to it."
Joanna Dai, Founder, Dai
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Compared to finance, my experience in fashion so far has been a far less male-dominated and a more level playing field. I've read the statistics on female founders receiving funding versus male founders, which has been quite discouraging. We have not gone for funding so I can't attest to that first-hand but it's great to see a wealth of support and networks for female entrepreneurs out there.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Take your time doing market research and product/brand development so you can really hone in on how and why you're unique.
Brianna Carney, Founder, Crew Bloom
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Work-life balance and an expectation for female founders to lead like male counterparts.
There’s a pressure for female founders to be stoic and suppress their emotions and passion. It’s unfair because our ability to feel and to vividly express ourselves is one of our biggest assets.
There’s a pressure for female founders to be stoic and suppress their emotions and passion. It’s unfair because our ability to feel and to vividly express ourselves is one of our biggest assets.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Find smart people because you are only one person, and treat them well.
Carin Luna-Ostaseski, Founder, SIA Scotch Whisky
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
Fundraising. Unfortunately, we're still very much at a time and in an environment where women face a challenge raising capital. I hope to turn the tables someday with a fund that helps fellow female spirits entrepreneurs.
In the meantime, every year for the past 4 years, SIA Scotch Whisky has contributed a percentage of our gross sales to a different organization that helps support women start and run their own businesses.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Ask for what you want. You will get rejected, absolutely ... and then one day, you won't. I didn't know anyone in the spirits industry when I set out to create my brand. So I reached out to 80 people for help - every single distillery I'd ever visited, every name and resource I found in magazines, books, online. I got 80 "no's" (no we can't help you, no we are not interested, no you are crazy....) and came close to throwing in the towel a few times, but I persisted. And then finally on the 81st time, I found the person who was the one who changed everything for me. And this door to this "old boy's club" was opened to me by a woman!
Vikki Hankins-Jones, CEO and Founder, VMH Media/Publishing - VMH Magazine
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
I find the most challenging area for female founders is the male-dominated market in my field. Although a great deal of progress has taken place, women are not taken as seriously as their male continuer parts. Further women, in particular women of color, have to work ten times as hard to gain recognition for their brands.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
My best piece of advice for young entrepreneurs is to believe in their mission, product, services. When the going gets tough it is your 'belief' that will bring the tenacity needed to reach your goals.
Serena Holmes, President & CEO, Tigris Events
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
I don’t think female founders necessarily face bigger or different challenges than their male counterparts but I’m sure this could be dependent on the industry.
As a business owner starting out, I think some of the biggest challenges may include creating a point of difference in a competitive marketplace, learning to manage cash flow well and understanding how to work on your business while also working in it. That is a challenging balancing act until you are able to grow a team to support you.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Get help as soon as you can. Find a mentor or hire a coach. This will help you accelerate your learning and in turn, your growth. I didn’t get help until eight years in and it made the world of difference. I wish I had done it sooner.
Cynthia Jamin, Owner and Designer, TwirlyGirl
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
I do believe women buy into the stereotypes that are pervasive in our society. It takes a lot of self-determination and confidence to go against these social norms. A lot of them being centered around either women settling for less because they feel they wouldn't be able to compete in the business world (a "man's" world), or they feel obligated to be just a mother or just a wife.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Be willing to put in the work and be open to learning everything you can about every aspect of your business. Don't just hire people right from the beginning to do the jobs that you might not be interested in, or feel you don't have that skill set. There is nothing you can't learn. It's through actively being a part of "the every day" that you get to see what works and what doesn't.
You will have first-hand knowledge of how you want things done because you have done them. Growing a business is so much more than just getting sales, it's about creating a whole world, an environment that people interact with. It's a big responsibility that requires your full attention. Be prepared for long hours and no weekends off, but in the end, it's so worth it.
Steph Webster, Co-Founder, Miss Collective
She says the biggest challenge female founders face in business is:
A lot of the women that I've met through the industry and through our Miss Collective network tells me just how prevalent the confidence gap is. I meet incredible women who I'm inspired by, who really doubt their own contribution or level of accomplishment. I'd love to see us continue to work together as an industry to help break down the confidence gap and the barriers that it can create.
As a founder, you have to be a good leader, so you have to find ways to believe in yourself and project that confidence to teams and those around you to keep driving your business forward.
Best piece of advice she has for female entrepreneurs:
Follow something you're passionate about! Sounds so cliche and I know common, but for me, the things I've pursued in business have resonated strongly with me personally. I founded a mobile application called Barkparks, because I wanted a tool to find fenced dog parks for my foster dogs.
Miss Collective started because I found a lack of support for women in my industry and wanted to find a way to give back to the community and help other women. It shouldn't be a stretch to get excited about the business you want to create!
Stay tuned for our next installment coming on March 15th!
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