Two out of every three young women now say they want to be their own boss. But what does it really take to succeed? Meet the winners of Glamour's annual Starters Project—and let them inspire you to greatness.
Wanna Be Starting Something: Katherine Ryder (left), 33, and Nichelle McCall, 32, two of our winning female founders."Don't be afraid to ask for help," says McCall. "Even the President has a cabinet of advisers."
Once upon a time, the career dream—for women and men—was to get a good job, pay your rent, rise through the ranks, end of story. That was then. This is now: A full 62 percent of female millennials, according to a survey by Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, say that what they want most in their career is to launch their own business.
Women start nearly 900 new companies every single day in this country. No one says it's easy: Maddeningly, a 2014 U.S. Senate report found that women still receive just 4 percent of the small-business loan dollars and 7 percent of the venture capital funding men do. Yet despite these roadblocks, last year women-owned companies brought in an estimated $1.5 trillion in revenue—and female starters' perseverance is something we all can learn from, says Dina Habib Powell, head of Goldman Sachs' Impact Investing business and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, who oversees 10,000 Women and 10,000 Small Businesses, programs that support founders: "Having that entrepreneurial mind-set—coming up with new ideas, new solutions, new ways of doing things—will make you more successful no matter where you work," she says.
So who are the young starters to watch? Glamour scoured the country for women who've launched companies in the last three years and asked our panel of advisers to select five from the best of the best. These winners' ideas are big, bold, and badass, and their companies could become the next Etsys and Ubers of the world. Remember their names—and soak up their advice.
Katherine Ryder, 33, founder of Maven: "The doubters just made me more juiced!"
A former journalist for The Economist, Ryder (photographed above) had an aha moment when she came across a nutritionist who offered digital consultations and thought, Wait a sec—what if we had an online clinic with every kind of provider women need? Now Silicon Valley's abuzz over the virtual clinic Maven, where you can get a prescription filled quickly or book a video appointment with a nurse, gynecologist, fertility specialist, or therapist. Appointments start at $18, with $1 of that going toward free care for low-income women.
How she dealt with naysayers: "I heard things from investors like, 'Do women even need any more health care?' or 'Women's health is a niche market.' I'd answer with facts like women in the U.S. drive 80 percent of health care decisions for their families—that's hardly a niche market! The doubters just made me more juiced than ever to prove them wrong."
Her advice: "Hiring the right employees is so important. You need very entrepreneurial people, because they'll be doing 10 jobs at once. It's become sexy to work at start-ups, but in reality, it couldn't be more unsexy. We work all the time. When we go out to dinner as a team, we go to McDonald's."
The biggest sacrifice: "Oh my God, my personal life. [Laughs.] I have no life anymore! I think the first year, I didn't take a day off. But you do have to make those sacrifices, I think, to be happy in the long run."
The biggest reward: "The woman who's breastfeeding at 10:00 P.M. on a Sunday night and has a clogged duct and gets help from us—that's incredibly motivating."
Why the judges loved her: "Maven is an innovative and affordable approach to women's health with potential to scale," says Goldman Sachs' Powell.
Ayanna Howard, 44, founder of Zyrobotics: "I had no idea how to start a company."
Howard has always had a thing for robots. A big thing: She spent 15 years doing robotics research for places like NASA and is a professor of bioengineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. But after launching Zyrobotics, she's channeling her brainy passion into a very personal cause: designing products that help kids with physical and developmental disabilities use tech. Amazon's on board with a distribution partnership.
Her "I've got it!" moment: "I was invited to teach programming to teens with brain injuries. A lot of them were bright, but they had motor impairments and couldn't use a tablet. That's when I knew I had to start designing something for them." The first step: "I had no idea how to launch a company. I found ones I thought were good online and said, 'I see you started a business and are successful. Would you mind talking with me?'"
How she dealt with naysayers: "I had a lot of, 'Oh, this market is too small. Can you do something else?' And I'm like, 'Well, yeah, but I don't want to.' So we took our games for children with disabilities and designed them for typical kids to play too. I still get to impact my target demographic and build a stronger business model."
Why the judges loved her: "By using robotics to tap into autism, ADHD, and physical disabilities, she's creating a path where there is none," says Kimberly Bryant, founder of Black Girls Code.
Ashley Tyrner, 32, founder of Farmbox Direct: "You have to have very thick skin."
Who goes from being a single mom on food stamps to CEO of a company with $5 million in revenue? That would be Tyrner, whose Farmbox Direct delivers organic produce across the country. Boxes start at $35.95 a week, and if Tyrner has her way, they will soon be available to people on food stamps too.
Her resume: "I never went to college. I had no formal education. I was pregnant with my daughter, and I was on government assistance. But I landed a job with a designer, and two years later was working 20 hours a day during fashion week. My daughter only ate fruits and vegetables, and I had nothing in my house. I was like, 'This is crazy. In New York you can get a can of soda delivered at 3:00 A.M. if you want. I cannot be the only person who doesn't have time to get to a farmers' market.'"
How she dealt with naysayers: "I had one venture capitalist say to me, 'How much is in your bank account? Because women are not great with handling money.' I was like, 'We're making millions a year off a $375,000 investment. I think I handle money quite well.'"
The moment she knew she'd made it: "When Sam Kass [former White House chef and executive director of Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign] called and asked if he could join my advisory board. I'll never forget that moment."
Why the judges loved her: "It's a great tool to make supporting local farms and eating healthy an easy choice," says Powell. "And there's lots of potential for partnerships."
Felicia Curcuru, 30, founder of Binti: "Female founders are so willing to help each other."
Curcuru was vacationing on a tropical island, daydreaming of starting her own thing, when she jotted down the problems she most cared about in the world. Number one? Adoption, partly because she'd watched her sister go through it. Curcuru was already working at an online venture capital platform and realized tech could transform the whole arduous adoption process—connecting prospective parents with expectant mothers, streamlining the paperwork. She quit her job, and Binti was born. Already the start-up has helped hundreds of adoptive parents in 30 states, and while most agencies charge $20,000 to $30,000 up front, at Binti the matches are free; you pay only if you want support services.
How she found a copilot… "Going solo was super lonely. When a friend, Julia Chou, was interested in leaving Google to work with me, she became my cofounder."
…And a Support Group: "I've never found it a disadvantage to be a woman. There's a strong network of female founders who are so willing to help each other."
The moment she knew she'd made it: "When the first woman who adopted through us sent photos of her baby. A child who now has parents? It's so fulfilling."
Why the judges loved her: "It boggles my mind that millions of children are orphaned and yet no tech company was working to break down the barriers to adoption," says model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss. "I applaud Binti for taking this on."
Nichelle McCall, 32, founder of BOLD Guidance: "I love a 'no.'"
The first in her family to graduate college, McCall (photographed above) had struggled to navigate the application process. Today her company, BOLD Guidance, makes it easier for other teens. Preloaded with applications from more than 1,000 universities and colleges, the Web app organizes requirements, deadlines, and timelines all in one place, across multiple devices. Students can access it on their phone, and counselors can follow their progress.
Her resume: "I was an admission counselor, and I saw how many motivated students were losing opportunities because they couldn't figure out the process. I realized I'd have to build a technology to help them all. So I raised $500,000 to do it."
Why she loves a "no": "You'll get a lot of them, but the nos have value. Every time an investor told me why he decided not to fund me, it gave me a chance to figure out a solution or better craft my answer for the next investor. The nos are practice for the yeses."
The art of asking for money: "The first time you meet someone, you almost never go for the ask of 'Write me a check.' I often spend six months building a relationship before I say, 'OK, we have a product and customers who are interested. Now it's time to open up your checkbook.'"
Her advice: "Walk with confidence, but don't be afraid to ask for help. Even the President has a cabinet of advisers."
Why the judges loved her: "I see huge potential for this to grow," says celebrity stylist and hair mogul Jen Atkin. "Applying to college can be a grueling process, especially if you don't have support. The fact that students can use this from their phone is amazing."
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Meet Our Judges
And get a little advice while you're at it!
Dina Habib Powell: Head of Goldman Sachs' Impact Investing business and president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation: "Reaching out to other business people for advice is critical," she says.
Kimberly Bryant: Founder of Black Girls Code, which teaches students to be programmers: "Most successful entrepreneurs are not working on their first idea," she says. "Be willing to fail."
Jen Atkin: Celebrity hairstylist and owner of the Ouai line and the website Mane Addicts: "It's scary to put yourself out there," she says. "But none of us know what we're doing! Follow your gut."
Karlie Kloss: Model and founder of Karlie's Kookies and Kode with Karlie scholarships for girls: "An entrepreneurial mind-set is about seeing opportunity," she says. "Can your industry be innovated? What could be better? That's how a lot of women entrepreneurs get their start."
*Blaire Briody has written for *The New York Times and Fast Company.
