ONE OF THE MOST telling definitions of entrepreneurship, courtesy of Howard Stevenson, a professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, is also one of the simplest: the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources controlled.
And let’s face it: In 2020, no one has been controlling anything. Whether it’s a pandemic, government-mandated business shutdowns, or unheard-of forest fires, the uncontrollable has erupted at a global level and filtered down to the trivial details of daily life. But, as Stevenson tells us, if anyone has experience with the uncontrollable, it’s entrepreneurs. In spite of the challenges, entrepreneurs continue to do what they do best: improvise, adapt, and make something from nothing.
In the pages that follow, the women on Inc.’s annual Female Founders 100 list show how to do just that. As our staff reports on startups and small businesses throughout the year, these are the women whose names keep reappearing. They are the most inspiring, the most creative, and the most tenacious role models in entrepreneurship—and therefore, the ones we are most excited to celebrate.
And, like Stevenson, these successful entrepreneurs are doing plenty of teaching. In fact, we’ve asked them to give us their best advice for company-building in five key areas: from vetting the idea, to finding the people and funding, to winning customers and creating a culture. There’s a lot to learn—and a lot to admire. —
1 THE IDEA
You know your idea is outlandish—but is it outlandish in a good way, or not so much?
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
Pattern is the hair care line she’d always wanted but no one had created—until now.
This story is from the October - November 2020 edition of Inc..
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This story is from the October - November 2020 edition of Inc..
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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SUCCESS often breeds success-but triumphs also arise out of necessity. Consider that Airbnb, Uber, and Rent the Runway started during the Great Recession. In many ways, the past year was defined by similar tumult. While the U.S. never technically entered a recession, the retrenchment in investment and ad spending paired with the psychological-if not direct-toll of tech layoffs yielded tough times indeed. But female founders are nothing if not resilient, and their achievements defied the conditions they faced, giving us cause to expand our list to 250 of them. They're not ranked, but they are organized around themes. In the pages that follow, you'll find snapshots of courage from women who've overcome trials-such as keeping the internet running in war zones, coping with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, or facing personal crises. You'll also learn how this year's top female founders grew their collective 2023 revenue to more than $8.86 billion, raised $6.2 billion in funding to date, and kept it together not just to survive, but to thrive.
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