10 Inspiring Female-Founded Startups
The venture-capital industry can be ruthless, especially for women. According to a recent study, women CEOs receive less than 3% of venture capital. Additionally, executive teams made up entirely of men are four times more likely to receive venture capital than teams that have even just one woman. Despite these staggering statistics, here are 10 women-founded companies in a variety of industries that are helping break the glass ceiling.
Nextdoor
Sarah Leary co-founded Nextdoor, a private social network platform for neighborhoods, in 2010. Nextdoor has since grown to over 160,000 neighborhoods and is worth an estimated $1.1 billion.
23andMe
Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki are two of the three founders of 23andMe, a direct-to-consumer genetic testing company. With over 2 million genotyped customers, 23andMe has a pre-money valuation of $1.5 billion according to Business Insider.
Canva
Melanie Perkins is the CEO and co-founder of Canva, an online design and publishing platform. Launched in 2012, Canva is worth more than $1 billion and has over 10 million users in 190 countries.
Quanergy
Tianyue Yu is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Products of Quanergy, a leader in 3D sensing technology. Founded in 2012, Quanergy is valued at $1.6 billion.
Care.com
Sheila Lirio Marcelo is the Founder, Chairwoman & CEO of Care.com, an online web portal for finding caregiver services. Founded in 2006, Care.com serves over 26 million customers across 20 countries.
Cloudflare
Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare, a web-performance and security firm, in 2009. Valued at over $1 billion, Cloudflare has over 4 million customers in over 150 countries.
Barkbox
Carly Strife co-founded Barkbox, a monthly subscription service for dogs, in 2011. With over 500,000 subscribers, the company has since expanded to include an online marketplace and mobile apps under the brand Bark & Co.
Stitch Fix
Katrina Lake is the Founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, an online personal style service for men and women. Katrina built Stitch Fix into a billion-dollar company and was the first female CEO to take a tech company public in 2017.
Minted
Mariam Naficy is the Founder and CEO of Minted, on online design marketplace that sells crowdsourced stationary, art, and home décor. Founded in 2007, Minted has since growth to over 40 million customers.
Eventbrite
Julia Hartz co-founded Eventbrite, an events management and ticketing company, in 2006. Valued at over $1 billion, Eventbrite processed over 200 million tickets in 180 countries in 2017.
