Throughout the month of March, we have been featuring women educators, leaders, historians, scientists, and stellar teens that are breaking glass ceilings left and right. From established businesses to blossoming concepts, check out these 10 female entrepreneurs that are paving the way for generations of women to come!

1. Annetta Powell - When the 2009 recession hit, Annetta already had a blossoming business in real estate investments and flipping houses. Instead of letting the recession cripple her business, she used it as a new wave of energy to refresh and take her business to the next level. Her book, Finding, Fixing, and Flipping Properties, and her business, has supported millions of people in launching and finding success in their own businesses.
2. Sharon Ourian - Business ideas come from everyday walks of life, and Sharon’s experience in entrepreneurship is no exception. She identified the many frustrations within the driving school industry and immediately took action in creating CyberActive. From inception until now, Sharon’s business has supported over 7 million students in their driver’s education journey. When COVID hit, she did not stay idle and instead found a way to help schools enroll students in virtual programs to keep them on track for their licenses.
3. Melissa Mash, Deepa Gandhi, and Jessy Dover - It is no secret that a strong education can be immensely helpful in launching a career, and in the case of Dagne Dover, it was essential! Mash and Gandhi worked their idea for Dagne Dover into their education at Wharton and eventually, Parsons, where they learned as much as possible about the handbag industry, including production, merchandising, fundraising, and how to design their products. This is where Jessy Dover came into play with her design experience and alignment with Mash and Gandhi over the potential future of Dagne Dover. Almost 8 years later, not only is their online business thriving, but they have opened storefronts in many US cities such as their flagship store in New York City!
4. Marcela Lopez - Marcela came to the US from her home country of Colombia with big dreams and the drive to reach them. She attended the University of Florida where she studied Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and found herself with the opportunity to work with Fortune 100 and 500 companies. After experiencing discrimination, she took her career into her own hands and launched Job Platform, a site to further the careers of engineering-focused individuals.
5. Whitney Wolfe Herd - Whitney is the world’s youngest self-made billionaire and has quickly made a name for herself in the entrepreneurial world. She is the founder and CEO of Bumble, a now prominent female-focused dating app. In both 2017 and 2018, Whitney was named as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 and was also featured on the Times 100 list. Through her own struggles as a woman in the workplace, she took those experiences and channeled her energy and passion for women’s equality and advancement into her business. She has continued her work with additional dating apps for other communities.
6. Jasmine Crowe - In 2017, Jasmine decided to take on the worldwide issue of food waste and poverty. She founded Goodr, a company that enables other companies and organizations to control their food waste in a way that not only benefits a company and its savings but actively reduces its carbon footprint.
7. Anne Wojcicki - Anne is a graduate of Yale University and is the founder and CEO of 23andMe, a health and ancestry technology that enables individuals to learn more about their genetics and how it relates to their everyday lives. In 2020, she was listed on Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and is dedicated to revolutionizing healthcare by giving the general public access to information that would traditionally take a run of expensive tests.
8. Reshma Saujani - At Crimson, we work with students daily who dream of a future in computer science, many of which are females! In 2011, Reshma identified the gap in education and opportunity for young girls and found a way to give them the access to experience and education that was needed in order to close that gap. She founded GirlsWhoCode, an organization that has since found its way across the globe, helping inspire girls to pursue a career in computer science by introducing them to robotics, web development, and more through mentorship and other guiding opportunities.

We are endless inspired by these women, and the thousands of other women and girls finding inspiration in their everyday lives and turning it into an organization, company, platform, or service to close the gap of women in entrepreneurship. You can learn more about teens venturing into entrepreneurship themselves on Crimson’s podcast, Top of the Class, or get started yourself by talking with one of our advisors about the extracurricular path that will get you into a top university and beyond!