30 Brands for Women, Founded by Women

Women are starting businesses at record rates, yet female-founded companies continue to receive only a small share of venture capital funding. Despite that, research suggests that women-led startups often generate more revenue per dollar invested than their male-founded counterparts.

To celebrate the entrepreneurs helping shape the future of business, we’ve highlighted brands that were designed for women, and founded or co-founded by women. From household names to emerging companies, these businesses span a wide range of industries and demonstrate the impact women founders are having on innovation, leadership, and economic growth.

Section 1: Tech and Digital Innovation

Women founders have played an important role in shaping technology, digital services, and online communities. The companies in this section use technology, education, and community to address real-world problems, including financial planning, social networking, parenting support, and workplace accessibility. 

1. Bumble

Founder: Whitney Wolfe Herd
Product/Service: Dating and social networking app
Website: bumble.com

Bumble was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who previously co-founded, and served as the Vice President of Marketing of, Tinder. Bumble was created to give women more control over online dating by letting them make the first move and decide how conversations begin. 

Since its founding, Bumble has expanded beyond dating with Bumble BFF for finding friends and Bumble Bizz for professional networking. The company describes its work as using technology and AI to deepen human connection, not replace it. Bumble also offers features like Opening Moves, Incognito Mode, video and audio calls, Snooze Mode, SuperSwipe, and Travel Mode.

Bumble’s 2021 IPO raised approximately $2.2 billion and briefly valued the company at around $14 billion. At 31 years old, Whitney Wolfe Herd became the youngest female CEO in history to take a company public.

2. Ellevest

Founders: Sallie Krawcheck and Charlie Kroll
Product/Service: Financial planning and wealth management platform for women
Website: ellevest.com

After spending decades as one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street, Sallie Krawcheck co-founded Ellevest in 2014 to address what she saw as a major gap in the financial industry: financial services that accounted for women’s economic realities. The company was built around the idea that factors such as the gender pay gap, longer life expectancy, and career breaks can significantly affect women’s long-term financial planning. 

Ellevest offers private wealth management, one-on-one financial planning, educational resources, and career coaching designed specifically for women. The company also offers investing and educational resources focused on issues that affect women’s financial lives and long-term wealth building. Since launching publicly in 2016, Ellevest has built a community of millions of members.

3. Mamava

Founders: Sascha Mayer & Christine Dodson
Product/Service: Lactation pods and breastfeeding space solutions
Website: mamava.com

Mamava launched in 2013 after co-founders Sascha Mayer and Christine Dodson experienced the challenges of pumping breast milk in workplaces and public spaces that were never designed with breastfeeding parents in mind. Drawing on their backgrounds in design and branding, the pair developed one of the first freestanding lactation pod systems in the U.S.

The company’s mission centers on making breastfeeding more visible, accessible, and supported through better infrastructure rather than treating it as a private inconvenience for working mothers to navigate alone. Mamava now sells a range of lactation pods for airports, offices, hospitals, schools, stadiums, and event spaces, alongside a free app that helps parents locate and unlock breastfeeding spaces across the country. 

4. Peanut

Founder: Michelle Kennedy
Product/Service: Social networking app to help women navigate different life stages
Website: peanut-app.io

After having her first child, Michelle Kennedy launched Peanut in 2017 to create a more modern way for women to connect during major life stages. With previous experience at Badoo and Bumble, Kennedy created Peanut as a social networking app where women could find friendship, ask questions, and get support during major life stages. 

The app connects users based on things like location, shared interests, and where they are in their journey, including trying to conceive, pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause. Members can join groups, take part in community discussions, and connect with other women going through similar experiences.

5. Woven 

Founder: Kishawna Peck
Product/Service: Community and education platform for women in data and AI
Website: joinwoven.com

Woven, formerly known as Womxn in Data Science, was launched by Kishawna Peck in 2018 after she found there were no women-focused data conferences in Canada. Peck’s experiences as a Black woman working in tech, often in environments where women were underrepresented, helped shape the organization’s focus on inclusion and mission to help women build careers and confidence in data and AI.

Today, Woven brings together women working in data and AI through conferences, networking events, educational initiatives, and corporate partnerships. The organization focuses on advancing inclusive and ethical AI while helping women expand their technical knowledge, professional networks, and career opportunities in the rapidly evolving tech sector.

Section 2: Wellness and Fitness Brands

Women entrepreneurs are helping reshape the wellness and fitness industry with products and services designed around health needs. The companies in this section offer fitness equipment, wearable technology, nutritional products, and wellness platforms, all with a focus on supporting women’s physical health, recovery, and overall well-being.

6. Bala

Founders: Natalie Holloway and Maximilian Kislevitz
Product/Service: Design-focused fitness accessories and wearable weights
Website: shopbala.com

Bala was co-founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife duo Natalie Holloway and Maximilian Kislevitz after Holloway noticed that most wrist and ankle weights had barely changed since the 1980s, despite the growing popularity of at-home workouts. The company was created to rethink fitness accessories through a more design-forward lens, moving away from the traditionally masculine aesthetics that dominated the category.

Bala became known for its Bala Bangles, wearable weights designed to be more functional and comfortable, while also being visually appealing enough to leave out in the home rather than hidden away in a closet. After appearing on Shark Tank in 2020, Bala saw rapid growth during the pandemic, with revenue reportedly growing from $2 million to $20 million as home fitness surged in popularity.

7. Bellabeat

Founders: Urška Sršen and Sandro Mur
Product/Service: Women’s health and wellness app and wearables
Website: bellabeat.com

Created by Urška Sršen and Sandro Mur in 2014, Bellabeat combines women-focused wellness tracking with a design approach shaped by Sršen’s background in fine arts and sculpture. The company launched Leaf, one of the first health-tracking wearables designed specifically for women, and has since built a broader digital wellness platform.

Its current lineup includes IVY+, a screen-free wellness tracker that can be worn as jewelry and tracks biometric data, menstrual cycle information, and lifestyle habits. Bellabeat also offers app-based coaching that brings together workouts, nutrition, mindfulness, and menstrual cycle-related support.

8. Bish Bar

Founder: Sandra Bendraou
Product/Service: Protein bars designed to support women’s hormonal health
Website: https://bishbar.com/

Bish Bar was founded by Sandra Bendraou after a decade of struggling with hormone-related symptoms such as mood swings, fatigue, bloating, and acne. The improvements she experienced after making targeted nutrition and lifestyle changes inspired her to become a certified Menstrual and Hormonal Health Coach and eventually launch Bish Bar in 2025. 

Developed in collaboration with endocrinologists, nutritionists, expert bakers, and menstruators, the bars were designed as a more nutrient-dense alternative to traditional protein bars. Each bar contains 12 grams of protein, 8 grams of fiber, adaptogens such as ashwagandha, and more than 20 vitamins and minerals sourced from superfoods. The company positions itself as the first protein bar designed around the menstrual cycle.

9. The DB Method

Founder: Erika Rayman
Product/Service: Home fitness squat machine and lower-body workout system
Website: thedbmethod.com

The DB Method was launched by Erika Rayman in 2017 after knee injuries and sciatica forced the former competitive runner to rethink how she exercised. After working with a personal trainer, Rayman became focused on one question: why didn’t an affordable, compact, at-home machine exist that could replicate lower-body training without putting pressure on the knees and spine? 

She spent four years working with engineers to develop The DB Method, a foldable squat machine designed to shift body weight into the glutes instead of the joints. Today, the company pairs the machine with guided workout programs focused on lower-impact training, pelvic floor support, and rehabilitation-friendly fitness, while gaining visibility through celebrity endorsements from figures like Khloé Kardashian and Hailey Bieber.

10. Pvolve

Founder: Rachel Katzman
Product/Service: Functional fitness platform, exercise equipment, and studio workouts
Website: https://www.pvolve.com/

Pvolve was founded in 2017 by Rachel Katzman after she was diagnosed with scoliosis and realized that the intense, high-impact workouts she had been relying on were leaving her feeling worse, not better. After discovering functional movement training, Katzman saw improvements in her strength and mobility and began questioning why so much of the fitness industry focused on pushing harder rather than moving better. 

Today, Pvolve combines streaming workouts, proprietary fitness equipment, and studio locations with programs tailored to different life stages, including postpartum recovery and menopause. The company has also invested heavily in research, completing multiple clinical studies to evaluate its approach. The brand gained additional visibility through a partnership with actress Jennifer Aniston, a longtime user of the method.

Section 3: Fashion 

Whether it’s sustainable activewear, designer clothing rentals, or size-inclusive swimwear, women founders are bringing fresh ideas to the fashion industry. The companies in this section challenge traditional approaches to design, manufacturing, and consumption to better fit the needs of today’s female consumers. 

11. Andie Swim

Founder: Melanie Travis
Product/Service: Women’s swimwear and beachwear
Website: andieswim.com

Andie Swim was launched by Melanie Travis in 2017 after she became frustrated by how difficult and uncomfortable swimsuit shopping often felt for women. Travis has spoken about the disconnect between traditional swimwear marketing and the reality of finding a swimsuit that actually fits well and feels supportive. 

The company focuses on more practical, comfort-driven swimwear, offering one-pieces, bikinis, maternity styles, and beachwear in sizes XS to XXXL. Andie also developed an online fit quiz and consultation system to help customers choose styles based on coverage, support, and body shape. Product development has incorporated feedback from hundreds of thousands of women, helping position the brand as an inclusive and fit-focused swimwear solution. 

12. Girlfriend Collective

Founders: Ellie Dinh and Quang Dinh
Product/Service: Sustainable activewear
Website: girlfriend.com

After struggling to find leggings that were made ethically and with the environment in mind, Ellie Dinh co-founded Girlfriend Collective with her husband, Quang Dinh, in 2016. The brand built its identity around sustainability, transparency, and size inclusivity, producing activewear from recycled materials such as post-consumer plastic bottles and regenerated nylon. 

The company also emphasizes supply chain transparency, sharing details about its materials, factories, and manufacturing standards. Its core factory in Vietnam is SA8000 certified, a standard focused on fair wages, workplace safety, and labor protections. 

13. ME+EM

Founder: Clare Hornby
Product/Service: Direct-to-consumer women’s luxury fashion
Website: meandem.com

ME+EM was founded in 2009 by Clare Hornby, who wanted to make high-quality women’s clothing feel more practical and fairly priced. The brand focuses on what it calls “intelligent style,” with pieces designed around fit, function, fashion, and fair pricing. Its collections focus on versatile wardrobe staples including tailoring, knitwear, denim, dresses, outerwear, shoes, and accessories. 

ME+EM uses a direct-to-consumer model, selling through its own website and stores rather than wholesalers. This allows the brand to work directly with its London design studio and manufacturing partners while avoiding some of the markups often associated with luxury fashion.

14. Rent the Runway

Founders: Jennifer Hyman & Jennifer Fleiss
Product/Service: Designer clothing and accessory rental platform
Website: renttherunway.com

Rent the Runway was co-founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss after Hyman watched her younger sister go into credit card debt over a designer dress she planned to wear once. The founders wondered why women could rent cars and hotel rooms, but not designer clothing. They tested their idea through a campus rental pop-up and by cold-emailing Diane von Fürstenberg, who later became one of their first designer partners. 

The company helped popularize fashion rental subscriptions through what it later called a “Closet in the Cloud” model, giving women access to rotating wardrobes of designer clothing without the cost of constantly buying new pieces. Today, Rent the Runway offers subscriptions, one-time rentals, and resale options across hundreds of designer brands and inclusive sizing ranges. The company reported nearly $330 million in revenue, and its first annual net profit since its launch, in 2025.

15. Tala

Founder: Grace Beverley
Product/Service: Sustainable activewear and athleisure
Website: wearetala.com

Grace Beverley started Tala after noticing a gap in the activewear market for sustainable, well-made pieces at more accessible price points. The brand has since expanded beyond gym wear into a full athleisure range covering leggings, sports bras, outerwear, tailoring-inspired basics, swimwear, and everyday essentials. 

A core part of Tala’s identity is its commitment to recycled and responsibly sourced materials throughout its supply chain. The brand also partners with charitable initiatives, including The Washing Machine Project, which provides off-grid washing solutions to women in low-income and displaced communities.

Section 4: Beauty and Skincare

Women founders are helping make the beauty industry more inclusive and accessible. The companies in this section were founded to address gaps in representation, product development, and consumer needs, with many creating solutions for people who have often felt overlooked by mainstream beauty brands.

16. Anastasia Beverly Hills

Founder: Anastasia Soare
Product/Service: Makeup, beauty tools, and eyebrow products
Website: anastasiabeverlyhills.com

Anastasia Beverly Hills was founded by Anastasia Soare in 1997 after she noticed that eyebrow shaping was treated as an afterthought within the beauty industry, despite how it alters facial balance and appearance. Soare immigrated to the United States from Communist Romania as a single mother and used her background in art and architecture to patent a brow-shaping technique based on principles of facial symmetry and proportion. 

Anastasia Beverly Hills first became known for helping popularize eyebrow-focused makeup through products such as Brow Wiz and Dipbrow Pomade before expanding into foundations, eyeshadow palettes, lip products, and full-face cosmetics. The company has grown into one of the world’s largest prestige beauty brands, with products sold in thousands of stores internationally and the company reportedly valued at around $3 billion.

17. Ceremonia

Founder: Babba C. Rivera
Product/Service: Clean haircare rooted in Latin American beauty rituals
Website: ceremonia.com

Ceremonia was created by Babba Rivera in 2020 after she noticed how underrepresented Latinx consumers were in the haircare industry, despite their major influence on beauty culture and spending. Raised in Sweden by Chilean immigrants, Rivera drew inspiration from the hair rituals she grew up with to create a scalp-focused haircare brand centered around Latin American ingredients and traditions. 

Ceremonia sells hair oils, shampoos, scalp scrubs, styling products, and fragrance mists, including its Aceite de Moska scalp oil inspired by Dominican hair treatments. The company emphasizes clean formulations and sustainability, with ingredients sourced from Latin America and products that are climate-neutral certified and plastic negative. Ceremonia also became the first Latina-founded haircare brand launched at Sephora.

18. Kulfi Beauty

Founder: Priyanka Ganjoo
Product/Service: Color cosmetics designed for South Asian skin tones
Website: kulfibeauty.com

After years of working in the beauty industry, Priyanka Ganjoo created Kulfi Beauty in 2021 to address the lack of South Asian representation in makeup campaigns, shade ranges, and product development. While working at IPSY, Ganjoo watched indie beauty brands reshape the industry, but still felt that people who looked like her were largely missing from the conversation. 

She created Kulfi as a more inclusive beauty brand centered around vibrant color, self-expression, and South Asian representation. Named after the Indian dessert, the company draws inspiration from South Asian culture while pushing back against some of the stigma around makeup that Ganjoo experienced growing up. Kulfi sells eyeliners, concealers, lip oils, and other cosmetics designed to complement deeper and undertone-rich complexions.

19. Topicals

Founders: Olamide Olowe & Claudia Teng
Product/Service: Skincare for chronic skin conditions
Website: mytopicals.com

Topicals was co-founded by Olamide Olowe and Claudia Teng in 2020 after Olowe spent years struggling to find effective skincare products formulated for deeper skin tones and chronic conditions such as eczema and hyperpigmentation. The brand combines clinically focused skincare with mental health advocacy, aiming to make visible skin conditions feel less stigmatized.

Topicals positions itself around simplified, multi-tasking skincare and a “6 to 1” formulation philosophy, where products are tested on deeper skin tones first rather than as an afterthought. Its products include brightening treatments, hydrating masks, cleansers, and lip products designed for sensitive and acne-prone skin. After launching at Sephora in 2021, the company gained traction online and became one of the retailer’s fastest-growing skincare brands.

20. Tower 28 Beauty

Founder: Amy Liu
Product/Service: Makeup and skincare for sensitive skin
Website: tower28beauty.com

After nearly two decades working in the beauty industry, Amy Liu created Tower 28 Beauty in 2019 to address the problem of beauty products triggering her eczema and sensitive skin. Drawing on her experience at brands including Smashbox and Josie Maran, Liu built Tower 28 around makeup and skincare designed to be safer for reactive skin without feeling clinical or exclusionary. 

Tower 28 sells makeup, skincare, and its viral SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray, and the company’s entire product range complies with the National Eczema Association’s ingredient guidelines. Beyond the brand itself, Liu also runs Clean Beauty Summer School, a free professional development program designed to help BIPOC founders access beauty industry education and networking opportunities.

Section 5: Home, Lifestyle, and Everyday Innovation

Women entrepreneurs are bringing fresh perspectives to everyday products, home goods, and lifestyle brands. The companies in this section span home décor, travel, gardening, personal care, and artisan craftsmanship, with many founded to address needs and experiences that had previously been overlooked by the market.

21. Bon Femmes

Founder: Omotola Akinbiyi
Product/Service: Art, home décor, apparel, and accessories from women-owned brands and female artists
Website: bonfemmes.com

Bon Femmes was founded by Omotola Akinbiyi after years of discovering talented female artists and makers through her lifestyle blog and becoming frustrated by how little visibility many of them received. What began as a small online shop in 2019 selling art prints and stationery evolved into a brick-and-mortar store in Chicago in 2021, showcasing work created exclusively by women. 

The company sells art, home décor, apparel, accessories, stationery, and products from Akinbiyi’s own in-house collection. The name Bon Femmes translates to “good women” in French, reflecting the company’s commitment to supporting female artists, designers, and entrepreneurs. 

In addition to retail, the business hosts workshops, craft events, book swaps, and other community gatherings through its studio space, which opened in 2026. A portion of sales is also donated to women-led charities.

22. Feverfew Garden Co

Founder: Rachel Eunson
Product/Service: Gardening gloves and garden wear
Website: feverfewgarden.co.uk

Feverfew Garden Co was launched by Rachel Eunson after she noticed that many gardening gloves were poorly fitted for women, with oversized fingers and designs that prioritized appearance over practicality. After developing a passion for gardening and growing food during the pandemic, Eunson began creating gloves specifically tailored to women’s hands and sizing needs. 

The company positions itself as the UK’s first garden wear brand designed exclusively for women, by women. Its products include gardening gloves, apparel, hats, and accessories, with glove sizing ranging from XS to L — something previously unavailable in the UK market. In 2023, Eunson also secured £10,000 from Scottish EDGE, the UK’s biggest business funding competition.

23. Moussem

Founder: Sarah Allaoui
Product/Service: Handmade Moroccan rugs
Website: moussem.co 

Moussem was founded in 2020 by Sarah Allaoui, a Moroccan-born entrepreneur who launched the company after reconnecting with her Amazigh heritage following the death of her grandmother. Inspired by stories of female ancestors who used rug weaving as a form of financial independence and cultural resistance, Allaoui built Moussem around preserving traditional Moroccan weaving while economically empowering women artisans. 

The company works with an all-female network of weavers across rural Morocco, with artisans setting their own prices and payment structures rather than working under fixed factory-style wages. Moussem specializes in handmade Moroccan rugs created using ancestral weaving techniques and natural materials such as mountain wool.

24. Shewee

Founder: Samantha Fountain
Product/Service: Reusable female urination device and portable hygiene products
Website: shewee.com

While studying product design, Samantha Fountain began researching ways to improve public toilet access and hygiene for women after noticing how much easier it was for men to urinate outdoors or in unsanitary conditions. Her solution became Shewee, a portable reusable device that allows women to urinate standing up more easily and hygienically. 

Shewee now sells several versions of the device alongside portable hygiene accessories designed for travel, festivals, outdoor activities, and medical use. More than two decades later, the company remains one of the best-known brands in the category, with products used internationally by travelers, hospitals, and military organizations including NATO-approved forces.

25. Smart Birdy

Founder: Abby Listo
Product/Service: Carry-on luggage and travel accessories
Website: smartbirdy.com

After years of frequent travel, Abby Listo noticed that most luggage was designed with little consideration for how women actually pack, organize, and move through airports. Drawing inspiration from a vintage round suitcase she regularly traveled with, Listo launched Smart Birdy in 2016 through a successful Kickstarter campaign. 

The company specializes in round, stackable carry-on luggage designed to create more open packing space than traditional rectangular suitcases while still fitting within TSA carry-on requirements. Smart Birdy products include built-in features like laptop sleeves, portable phone chargers, shoe compartments, and heat-protected storage for hot tools.

Section 6: Women’s Health, Fertility, and Femtech

Women’s health has historically been, and continues to be, underfunded, understudied, or treated as a niche concern. The companies in this section are helping change that through innovations in reproductive health, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum care, menopause, and family wellness.

26. Clue

Founders: Ida Tin, Hans Raffauf, Mike LaVigne, and Moritz von Buttlar
Product/Service: Period, fertility, and reproductive health tracking app
Website: helloclue.com

Clue was co-founded in Berlin in 2012 by Danish entrepreneur Ida Tin after she became frustrated by the lack of science-based tools available to help women better understand their menstrual and reproductive health. At the time, many period-tracking apps focused heavily on pregnancy or relied on stereotypical marketing rather than health data and education. 

Today, Clue helps users track periods, ovulation, fertility, pregnancy, birth control, and conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis. The app is also widely recognized within the women’s health sector because Tin coined the term “femtech,” which is now used globally to describe technology focused on women’s health. The platform is used by millions of people around the world and has helped create one of the largest menstrual health datasets. 

27. Elvie

Founder: Tania Boler
Product/Service: Wearable breast pumps, pelvic floor trainers, and postpartum care products
Website: elvie.com

Tania Boler launched Elvie in 2013 after seeing how little attention pelvic floor health received during and after pregnancy. The brand first launched with a smart pelvic floor trainer designed to help women do Kegel exercises with real-time feedback. It later expanded into breast pumping with Elvie Pump, a quiet wearable breast pump made to fit inside a standard nursing bra. 

Today, Elvie sells a range of products for pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood, including electric and manual breast pumps, pumping accessories, milk storage products, breast care items, pelvic floor care, and Elvie Rise, its smart bouncer and bassinet.

28. LOLA

Founders: Jordana Kier & Alex Friedman
Product/Service: Period care, sexual wellness, vaginal care, and postpartum products
Website: mylola.com

LOLA was founded by Jordana Kier and Alex Friedman after Kier discovered the difficulties in finding out the ingredients used in tampons. While researching the industry, she learned that manufacturers were not required to disclose full ingredient lists, leaving many consumers with little visibility into products they used every month. Frustrated by the lack of transparency, the pair launched LOLA in 2015 with customizable subscriptions for organic cotton tampons. 

Since then, the company has expanded into pads, period underwear, sexual wellness products, vaginal care, and postpartum recovery essentials. LOLA built its brand around ingredient transparency and open conversations about reproductive health. The company has since sold more than 100 million tampons and helped push for greater transparency in women’s health. 

29. Maven Clinic

Founder: Kate Ryder
Product/Service: Virtual clinic for women’s and family health
Website: mavenclinic.com

Maven Clinic was founded by Kate Ryder in 2014 after she realized how difficult it was for women and families to find consistent support while navigating major healthcare milestones. Drawing on her experience as a journalist and investor, Ryder envisioned a healthcare platform that could connect people with specialized care regardless of location. 

Maven provides virtual care and guidance across fertility, pregnancy, parenting, menopause, and other areas of family health. The company also supports a wide range of family-building paths, including IVF, adoption, and surrogacy. Maven has grown into the world’s largest virtual clinic for women and families, and was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies in 2026.

30. Perelel

Founders: Alex Taylor, Victoria Thain Gioia, and Dr. Banafsheh Bayati
Product/Service: Prenatal and women’s vitamin packs and supplements
Website: https://perelelhealth.com/

Perelel was founded after friends Alex Taylor and Victoria Thain Gioia were pregnant at the same time and frustrated by the lack of personalization in prenatal nutrition. They realized that most prenatal vitamins followed a one-size-fits-all approach despite the fact that nutritional needs change significantly from conception through postpartum recovery. To address the gap, they partnered with Dr. Banafsheh Bayati and launched Perelel in 2020. 

The company offers vitamin packs tailored to conception, each trimester of pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and broader women’s health needs. As the first OB-GYN-founded vitamin company of its kind, Perelel combines personalized nutrition with educational resources designed to support women throughout their reproductive journey. In 2024, the company also pledged $10 million toward advancing women’s health research.

Section 7: The Economic Impact of Supporting Female Founders

Female entrepreneurship is on the rise. Recent data shows that women are responsible for 49% of all new businesses, marking a 69% increase since 2019. As more women start and scale companies, their influence is extending beyond business ownership to areas such as job creation, community investment, and economic growth.

Supporting female founders can create benefits that extend beyond individual businesses. Research from UN Women shows that women reinvest up to 90% of their income into their families and communities, compared to 30% to 40% for men. Women-led firms are also six times more likely to hire female employees than male-led businesses. 

As more women start and grow businesses, those benefits can ripple outward through local economies, workplaces, and future generations. Estimates suggest that achieving gender parity in entrepreneurship could add between US$5 trillion and US$6 trillion in value to the global economy.

Research also suggests that women-founded businesses are well positioned to deliver strong financial results. According to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, female-founded companies generated 35% higher returns on investment than all-male founding teams. Boston Consulting Group similarly found that women-founded startups generated 78 cents in revenue for every dollar invested, compared to 31 cents for male-founded startups. Supporting women-owned businesses makes strong financial sense (and more cents, too). 

Despite all of this evidence, access to funding remains a major challenge for many female entrepreneurs. Recent data shows that female-only founding teams received just 2.3% of global venture capital funding in 2024, while more than 83% went to all-male founding teams. 

This gap extends beyond venture capital. Women-owned businesses account for nearly half of firms seeking angel investment, while women entrepreneurs in emerging economies face an estimated US$1.9 trillion financing gap. 

Women are also helping shape the future of business ownership through mentorship. Research shows that female entrepreneurs who were mentored by other women increased their sales by 34% and profits by 29% on average. Yet access to mentorship remains limited. 

One study found that only 25% of women entrepreneurs had access to mentorship, while 64% were unaware of any mentorship programs available to them. As more women build businesses and share their knowledge, experience, and professional networks, they can help create new opportunities for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Conclusion

The brands featured on this list represent just a small sample of the women helping shape today’s business landscape. While female entrepreneurs continue to face challenges such as limited access to funding and mentorship, they are launching companies, creating jobs, driving innovation, and building products that reach millions of people around the world.

Supporting women-founded businesses is about more than where you spend your money. It’s about recognizing the impact women entrepreneurs have on their industries, communities, and future generations of leaders. As more women start businesses and help others do the same, their influence on the economy and the business world will likely continue to grow.