The days when entrepreneurship was only meant for men are long gone. Women are now bringing out their business spirits to create their own path to incredible achievements. From fashion industry rulers to technology moguls, these trailblazing women are proving that gender has no barrier to achieving great success. This article discusses the top 10 female entrepreneurs redefining the business world.
Statistics on Successful Female Entrepreneurs
The inclination toward females in entrepreneurship is growing as more females are appointed as CEOs for well-known organizations. This results in increased profits, a diverse workforce, and a greater work-life balance.
Following are a few essential statistics that illustrate the current status of the greatest female entrepreneurs:
- Most successful female entrepreneurs own one-third of businesses globally.
- 42% of businesses are owned by USA female entrepreneurs.
- 114% of business growth was seen by female-owned companies.
- According to a report, women are more likely to be solopreneurs than men. That is 1.47 women to every one solopreneur man.
- Female-founded firms performed 63% better than men-founded companies.
- In the US, women-found businesses generate revenue of approximately $1.9 trillion.
- According to a study, female entrepreneur who receives investments perform 63% better than their male peers.
- GEM’s Challenging Bias and Stereotypes– a women entrepreneurship report says that the rate of female entrepreneurs running start-ups was mainly high in low-income countries and Latin America & Caribbean.
Various Industry Female Entrepreneurs Shined in
According to a report of 2022, USA women involve in diverse industries like:
- 22% in the retail industry
- 16% in health and beauty product companies
- 12% in food and restaurant sectors
- 5% in educational platforms
- 13% in business industries.
Determination and passion of female entrepreneurs have made significant contributions to economic growth. Here are the top 10 female entrepreneurs who broke the common societal stereotypes and emerged as leading experts in their fields.
Top 10 Female Entrepreneurs
Here are the top 10 most successful global female entrepreneurs:
Whitney Wolfe Herd
Company
- Bumble
Accomplishments
- Net worth $510 billion.
- Holds 17% of the stake in the company.
- Youngest self-made billionaire.
Key Achievements
- She was one of the 100 most influential people in the world in Time magazine.
- In 2014, she was named one of the 30 most important women under 30 in tech on Business Insider.
- In 2016, she was in one of Elle’s Women in Tech.
- In 2021, Wolfe became the youngest and most successful female entrepreneur and a self-made female billionaire when she took Bumble public.
- In 2022, Wolfe Herd was named on Forbes’ 30 under 30– Hall of Fame.
- In 2023, she ranked #52 on America’s Self-Made Women.
Anne Wojcicki
Company
- 23andMe
Feats
- Net Worth: $270 million.
- Founded 23andMe along with Linda Avey and Paul Cusenza.
- Owns 99.4 million shares of the merged company
- Anne’s charitable trust, Anne Wojcicki Foundation, bought 2.5 million shares of 23andMe.
Key Achievements
- Anne was named on Fortune’s most powerful women list.
- Forbes called her the “newest self-made billionaire”
- Fast company in 2013 named her “The Most Daring CEO.”
- In 2008, Time magazine named her company’s personal genome test kit “Invention of the Year.”
- In 2020, she was listed at 93rd position on Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women.
Huda Kattan
Company:
- Huda Beauty
Accomplishments
- Net Worth: $560 million
- Never spent on advertising her brand, Huda Kattan was able to acquire 53 million Instagram followers.
- Her brand makes annual sales of at least $200 million.
Key Achievements
- In 2022, Huda Kattan was honored with the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by ‘Time 100’ and ‘Fashion Trust Arabia.’
- She was ranked #1 on the “2017 Influencer Instagram Rich List.” She made $18k for each sponsored post content.
- Forbes magazine ranked her #15 on Top Creators of 2023.
- In 2017, her Foreo brushes were sold out in a week in Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale’s Dubai after she mentioned them on her YouTube channel.
- Huda Kattan was listed on Fortunes 40 under 40 in 2020.
- Apart from her beauty brand, Huda is one of the greatest female entrepreneurs who is also known for their socializing work. In 2021, she participated in a campaign to provide food and donated one million meals via her brand.
JK Rowling
Profession
- Film Producer
- Novelist
- Screenwriter
Impact
- Net Worth: $1.2 billion (£922 million)
- J K Rowling ranks the 96th-richest person in the UK.
Key Achievements
- Well-known for the Harry Potter franchise, J.K Rowling faced initial objections and rejections when she was trying to publish her first book. Her manuscripts were rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsbury Publications accepted them.
- Rowling’s seven-volume fantasy series, published from 997 to 2007, sold over 600 million copies, was translated into 84 languages, and was conceived in media like movies and video games.
- J.K. Rowling founded ‘LUMOS,’ a children’s charity trust that aims to end the establishment of children in orphanages globally.
- She is the most successful female entrepreneur who has won 37 awards in total.
Tory Burch
Company
- Tory Burch
Impact
- Net Worth: $1.3 Billion
- Tory Burch bought back her brand’s stake from Tresalia in 2018, who had bought Tory Burch company’s 20-25% stake in 2009(approximately $1 billion).
Key Achievements
- With knowledge in the fashion industry and working with renowned brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, and Loewe, Tory Burch set out to build her own fashion empire, “Tory Burch,” which is now successful and is offering unique and on-trend designs.
- Tory founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, aiming to provide awareness about the issue to young women and support women diagnosed with the condition.
- In 2015, Tory Burch was honored with “Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Sandra Taub Humanitarian Award.”
- In 2020, Forbes listed Tory as the 88th most powerful woman in the world.
- She was ranked #24 on the list of Forbes’ America’s Self-Made Women In 2022. The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in Washington titled Tory as an inaugural member of the advisory council
- In 2022, “CARE INTERNATIONAL” awarded Tory with the CARE Impact Award for Women’s Inspirational Leadership.
Sara Blakely
Company
- Spanx
Impact
- Net Worth: $1.3 billion.
- One of the greatest female entrepreneurs, a public speaker and guest shark on the show “Shark Tank.”
- Her brand Spanx has evolved into a $1.2 billion realm.
- With the help of her brand Spanx, Sara Blakely is the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
Key Achievements
- Sara faced rejection from investors when launching her brand. She gained popularity when Oprah Winfrey acknowledged her business idea globally, and her business took off from there.
- In 2012, Sara Blakely appeared in Forbes magazine for the title of the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.
- Sara is a speaker and travels frequently to speak about entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, and overcoming obstacles.
Rihanna
Company:
- Fenty Beauty
- Fenty Skin
- Savage x Fenty
Impact
- Net Worth: $1.4 billion.
- She also has a 30% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line, which raised money at a $1 billion valuation in February 2021.
Key Features
- Rihanna has been in the music industry for long time now and 14 of songs ranked #1 on the list of the Billboard Hot 100 and she has won 9 Grammy award
- Apart from her music industry, she is also well known for her makeup brand Fenty Beauty.
- In 2023, Forbes ranked Rihanna #20 rank for America’s Richest Self-Made Women, and they became the youngest self-made, most successful female billionaire.
- According to Forbes, in 2020, Rihanna’s brand Fenty bought revenue of more than $550 million.
- An earnings report from LVMH (co-founder of Fenty) stated in 2022 that Fenty Beauty doubled its annual revenue.
- In 2022, Rihanna released new music after 5 years, “Lift Me Up,” for the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
- She was the first color ambassador for Dior.
Oprah Winfrey
Company
- Harpo Productions
- Oprah Winfrey Network
- Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Impact
- Net Worth: $2.8B
- She earns approximately $863,013 every single day.
- She owns dozens of properties in Hawaii and several homes in California.
Key Achievements
- In 2023, Forbes ranked Oprah Winfrey as the #31 most powerful woman in Media & Entertainment.
- Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation Oprah donated $400 million to charity.
- She is the founder of the publication O, the Oprah magazine; she co-authored many books on diet and exercise.
- In 2003, Oprah achieved her billionaire status at the age of 49. She has also co-produced a Broadway musical version of the movie The Color Purple.
- Oprah is a well-known American TV anchor/ talk show host, actress, producer, author, television producer, and media administrator.
- She is best recognised for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” a talk show that was broadcasted from Chicago for 25 years(1986-2011)
- Oprah is the greatest female entrepreneur who has been honored with hundreds of prestigious honors and awards.
- She has also campaigned for then-president Barack Obama, who later awarded Oprah with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Janice Bryant Howroyd
Company
- ActOne Group
Impact
- Net Worth: $600 million
- Janice Bryant Howroyd is prominent for being the first African American to build and own a billion-dollar company.
- She has shared her advice for success in over the business world through her books “Acting Up” and “The Art of Work.”
Key Features
- Janice’s brand, ActOne, is an employment and consultancy agency based in Los Angeles.
- She was ranked #42 as Forbes’s America’s richest self-made woman in 2022.
- In 2016, Janice obtained a presidential appointment as a member of the President’s Board of Advisors on historically black colleges and universities by then-President Barack Obama.
- In 2017, Janice shook hands with the Diversity Committee of the FCC.
Melanie Perkins
Company
- Canva
Impact
- Net Worth: $4.4 billion
- Melanie Perkins owns 18% of the company.
- Co-founder of Canva and also founded Fusion Books in 2007, which helped students design their own school yearbooks with a simple tool.
- Melanie’s Canva platform has gained more than $135 million monthly users worldwide.
Key Achievements
- Melanie Perkins is the CEO and co-founder of Canva, one of the youngest and most successful female CEOs of a tech start-up that is valued at over $1 billion.
- Melanie created Canva after identifying the difficulties in navigating graphic design software among school students, aiding users in designing graphics seamlessly.
- She was named on the list of 30 under 30 by Forbes in 2019
- She is one of those female entrepreneurs who also supports various social activities. She funds social causes through her Canva Foundation.
- She was also listed in Financial Review Rich List of 2023
- In 2023, Melanie’s net Worth was valued along with Obrecht’s as $13.18 billion in the Australian Financial Review; this put them at #9 among the wealthiest Australians.
Conclusion
Women have come a long way in recent years, breaking gender stereotypes. Though progress is still needed for gender equality, it is applauding to see the journey of these top ten female entrepreneurs.
