The Rise of Female Entrepreneurs: 9 Noteworthy Women You Should Know About

Technology, web applications, and the mobile boom are all fast-growing industries that are dominating the world, with new businesses and ideas popping up every day. However, there is one group that is experiencing just as much growth, yet often overlooked. These are female entrepreneurs who are making waves in the world of business, finance, and technology. In this article, we will be discussing nine noteworthy female entrepreneurs that you may not have heard of.

1. Nicole Sanchez: Breaking Through Barriers

Nicole Sanchez is a Harvard graduate who brought her talents to multiple companies as a consultant and hospitality expert before venturing into entrepreneurship. Despite attending a prestigious university like Harvard, Sanchez felt apprehensive about entrepreneurship in general and did not feel fully qualified to start her own company. Her biggest recommendation to fellow female entrepreneurs is to get started today, even when conditions aren’t perfect. One of Sanchez’ biggest accomplishments to date is the creation of TenderCaring, a business that helps seniors remain at home through technology and living assistance.

2. Heidi Ganahl: A Market Leader for Pets

Heidi Ganahl is the founder of one of the largest multifaceted dog brands in the United States, Camp Bow Wow. Her venture is unique in that Camp Bow Wow offers more customizable services than competitors at better prices, and each dog supervisor is trained to meet specific benchmarks of excellence. Ganahl’s $65 million franchise currently serves a wide variety of needs for dog owners at over 130 locations throughout the country.

3. Maria Seidman: Orchestrating Accomplishments

Maria Seidman orchestrated accomplishments from mobile teams at MGM, Goldman Sachs, and Warner Bros. before launching her own company, Yapp. Her company is now the go-to site for creating mobile applications in minutes.

4. Heddi Cundle: Bringing Travel Dreams to Reality

Before starting her own venture, Heddi Cundle worked with global travel and lifestyle brands for over two decades. She now brings that experience and insight to her own company, MyTab.co, a travel gift card service. Cundle’s concept is unique in that family and friends can contribute to a loved one’s travel desires, and the loved one can utilize thousands of airfare and lodging options via the app.

5. Judith Faulkner: Bootstrapping Her Way to Success

Judith Faulkner bootstrapped her company, Epic Systems, with just $6,000 in 1979. Epic Systems is now the provider of efficient and user-friendly software to doctors across the world, with revenues of $1.77 billion in 2014.

6. Sandy Lerner: Networking and Partnerships

As co-founder of Cisco, Sandy Lerner worked with then-boyfriend Leonard Bosack on the company for six years before she was fired, and they both left. After selling another cosmetics company she started, Lerner is now deeply involved in sustainable agriculture.

7. Anne Bezancon: Marketing for Customer Engagement and Satisfaction

Anne Bezancon effectively conquered multiple mobile and consumer marketing challenges, and now her company, Placecast, is a cutting-edge mobile marketing firm. They provide expertise from marketing to customers, how they want to be reached, and provide it for companies who want to increase customer engagement and satisfaction in real-time scenarios.

8. Sonia Kapadia: Innovating the Food Industry

Sonia Kapadia spent multiple years at Pepsi and Gu Chocolate Desserts before deciding to create her own operation. Kapadia’s currently best-known entrepreneurial effort is Taste Savant, an outlet and info hub for savvy diners.

9. Anne Wojcicki: Revolutionizing Personalized Health

Before her own venture, Wojcicki was likely best known as wife to Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google. In 2006, Anne Wojcicki began 23andMe, a genetic history reporting firm where users purchase a genetic reporting package, and – after mailing a small tube of saliva back – receive over 60 customized and personal reports about their genetics and possible disease risk. 23andMe’s pricing has risen over recent years, but the firm also provides more value than previous iterations of their product.

In conclusion, female entrepreneurs are paving the way for innovation and breaking through barriers in industries dominated by men. These women have shown that with determination, hard work, and passion, anyone can achieve entrepreneurial success. As Sanford Weill once said, “We believe that women can be successful in any arena they choose.”