Meet the boundaries-pushing female founders that grew their collective 2023 revenue to more than $8.86 billion and raised $6.2 billion in funding to date. See our methodology.
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Female Founders 250
Success often breeds success–but triumphs also arise out of necessity. In a year that proved difficult in myriad ways, see how this year’s top female founders kept it together not only to endure but to thrive.
Geopolitical instability. Cyber-landscape complications. Fiscal constraints. A hack. A viral firing. And the most inspiring work of the Cloudflare co-founder's career. Almost immediately after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that led to the war in Gaza, another battle was brewing. Hackers …
The best advice on building to last, breaking through the noise and more from Inc.'s inaugural Female Founders board of advisers. Introducing Inc.'s inaugural Female Founders advisory panel: For the first time ever, we tapped our network of impressive women entrepreneurs to share their advice for …
When the moms-to-be met, they bonded over similar due dates--and a mutual desire to drink with restraint. With more chart-topping singles than Diana Ross, Katy Perry, 39, has proved she can craft a hit. The American Idol judge is now imbuing that Midas touch into De Soi, a nonalcoholic apéritifs …
From shifting priorities to asking for help, the most dynamic women in business share how they keep it together. Two things helped Karen Robinovitz, 52, and Sara Schiller, 53, overcome the most devastating periods in their lives: friends and slime. In 2015, a series of strokes left Schiller's husband …
The Issei founder didn't know a thing about the food business before Whole Foods said yes. She learned--fast. Despite debuting her company's all-natural, vegan Mochi Gummies at 170 Whole Foods locations just eight months after starting up, Mika Shino's path to retail success was anything but assured. …
From daily exercise to leaning on loved ones, take time for yourself, say entrepreneurs. Sarela Herrada, 33, is constantly fielding questions about why last May--with a 6-month-old baby girl at home--she enrolled in Wharton's executive MBA program, which would require her to devote every other …
The tennis star has been in business since her 20s. Now she's working on scaling her achievements. One detail you may not know about tennis icon Billie Jean King: She's long been a savvy businessperson. Before she made history more than 50 years ago for trouncing former men's tennis champion Bobby …
Between tackling the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank and overcoming manufacturing hurdles, these women say assume good intent and be gracious. Vanessa and Kim Pham are not silent types. The Vietnamese American sisters, who founded Omsom in 2020, had sold about three million of their brightly packaged …
The founder of Pressed Roots managed to raise millions from investors by painting a picture of needs versus wants. Piersten Gaines's first real pitch, to Shark Tank's "Mr. Wonderful," Kevin O'Leary, did not go well. To start, her concept for Pressed Roots--a Dallas-based salon chain focused on curly …
Growth at all costs is for tech bros. The Brooklyn-based ice cream maven and other founders are charting a more sustainable course. Starting with a single truck in Brooklyn 16 years ago, Laura O'Neill has helped turn Van Leeuwen Ice Cream into a frozen behemoth. The brand's scoops, pints, bars, and …
Yes, TikTok has been a game-changer, but members of this year's Female Founders list share their other power tools. Allison Ellsworth, 37, doesn't know how to create a dud social media post. And at Poppi, her Austin-based prebiotic soda brand, she doesn't think any of her social media staffers can …
The founder of the Gotham Group is the doyen of Hollywood's animation set. She and other longtime entrepreneurs share tips on staying the course. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein has been ignoring her competition for more than 30 years. In 1993, the now 60-year-old entrepreneur launched the Gotham Group with a …
