Here is a list of seven start-ups that are run, founded, or co-founded by women. It's simply astounding when you hear of their accomplishments with the companies that they created, but also when you look at their diverse backgrounds in everything from law to television to physics. And the best news is that this list is just a sample of the companies out there. There's also Nestio, Pando Daily, Buyoshere, Cake Health, Angaza Design, Foodspotting, Popvox, Learnvest, Periscopic, Hearsay Social, Polyvore and many many more!

1. 7 FEMALES ENTREPRENEURS WHO BEAT THE
ODDS AND ARE CHANGING NIGHT OUT
TOP NY APPS TO PLAN A THE WORLD
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2. 1. LEAH BUSQUE
FOUNDER & CEO, TASK RABBIT
Quick bio: Grew up east of Boston,
Massachusetts. Graduated from Sweet Briar College (in
rural Virginia) magna cum laude with a B.S. in Mathematics
and Computer Science (with a minor in Dance). Previously
worked at IBM Corporation as a software engineer. In 2011,
Fast Company named Leah one of the '100 Most Creative
People in Business'.
What is TaskRabbit: The pioneer in service networking
through outsourcing tasks. Be a TaskRabbit and help your
neighbors whilst earning some quick money or find
TaskRabbits to complete tasks for you.
Interesting facts: Her geeky husband, Kevin Busque is the
VP of Technology at TaskRabbit. They live with their black
lab, Emerson in San Mateo, California.
Read real user reviews of TaskRabbit
Leah on women in tech (paraphrased from a Foundation 12
interview): 'Having a female math teacher was a big deal
for me in high school and it really influenced me. It wasn't
till I started working at IBM did I realize that I was a
minority. I would love to see more energy and investment
in education for females, elementary school and high
school, because I feel for me that that's where it all started.
taskrabbit.com

3. 2. HANNAH CHUNG
CCO AND CO FOUNDER, JERRY THE BEAR
Quick bio: Aka. Mama Bear. Engineering and Art background.
Currently working on Sproutel, making interactive games for
children with chronic illnesses.
What is Jerry The Bear : A bear that teaches kids with Type 1
diabetes how to manage their blood glucose levels, recognize
their symptoms, and maintain a healthy diet.
Interesting fact: The team is called the 'bear people'
because when they go to diabetes conferences they dress up
in bear suits (or bear pajamas) to meet their diabetes
community.
Biggest challenges: Estimating time and delays. Finding the
right people to work with.
Read real user reviews of Jerry The Bear
Hannah on women in (tech) start-ups: ‘To get more
women in tech, we need to think beyond what
technology really is and what engineering is. If women
realize how tech and engineering is everywhere, even in
creative fields and non profit sectors, it becomes very
attractive and fascinating. I also think more stories about
women in tech must be shared. These people are the
role models for our generation and the next.'
jerrythebear.com

4. 3. JULIA HARTZ
COFOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, EVENTBRITE
Quick bio: Has a degree in Telecommunications and a
background in television.
What is Eventbrite: The leading self-service ticketing
company. Easily create, manage, share, and find events.
Founded by a husband and wife duo, Kevin and Julia Hartz.
Interesting facts: Eventbrite has been voted 'Best Places to
Work' in the San Francisco Bay Area for four years running.
Julia worked for MTV and was lucky enough to be on the
team that discovered Jackass.
Read real user reviews of Eventbrite
On women with children in the start-up world (quoted
from a Women 2.0 article: 'I feel very strongly that I can
create an environment where women who have a skill and
are talented and driven are welcomed at our company… I
am personally making the commitment not to be a
hypocrite.'
eventbrite.com

5. 4. KATHRYN MINSHEW, ALEX CAVAOULACOS, MELISSA MCCREERY
CEO, COO,EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE MUSE
Quick bios:
Kathryn: Worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company,
and worked with the Clinton Health Initiative. Featured on Forbes list, '30
Under 30' in Media for two years in a row.
Alex: Also worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Named one of INC's '15 Women to Watch in Tech'.
Melissa: Also from McKinsey & Company. Named one of INC's '15 Women to
Watch in Tech'. Was executive editor of Harvard Crimson, where she
graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Physics.
What is The Muse: Offers career advice and exciting job opportunities.
Believes that you can enjoy and love your job. Know what it’s like to work at
a company without having to do it for months…or years
Interesting facts: Went from zero to 70,000 monthly job-seekers in three
months. None of the founders have technical backgrounds making them an
extremely rare fit for the Y Combinator startup program they graduated
from.
Read real user reviews of The Muse
Kathryn on her early techie experience (quoted from
an Xconomy article): 'I was introduced to
programming in C++ in the tenth grade, and we
remade the game Battleship. Those were things that
were practical, they were fun, they were hands-on,
and they helped me realize that programming could
be for someone like me.”
themuse.com

6. 5. HAYLEY BARNA, KATIA BEAUCHAMP
COFOUNDERS, BIRCHBOX
Quick bio: Katia (pictured left) and Hayley are both Harvard
Business School MBA graduates who started Birchbox from
their campus apartment.
What is Birchbox: The leading discovery e-commerce
platform where customers are sent monthly samples of
various goodies (which the team has tried and tried again),
with an option of later buying the full product on the site.
Interesting facts (quoted from Glamour's article): Hayley
comes up with her best ideas whilst meditating, in the
shower. Katia advises you to: 'Trust yourself. You can do
more than you ever imagined.'
Read real user reviews of Birchbox
Katia on being business partners with your best
friend (quoted from a Huff post article): 'The hardest thing
from having an idea to launching it is setting up the legal
paperwork -- it's like signing a pre-nup. When everything is
still so exciting and positive, it’s hard to talk about what if
things get negative. It’s a very hard conversation at any time,
but especially in the beginning when things are all unicorns
and cotton candy.'
birchbox.com

7. 6. EVELYNE WHITE
COFOUNDER AND CEO, BOOKALOKAL
Quick bio: 'Being raised by a French pianist and an Italian-American chef,
Evelyne has always lived between two continents. She began her
professional career on Wall Street and after years of investing in other
peoples' businesses, she decided to invest in her own venture and combine
three passions: food, travel and connecting people from different
backgrounds.
What is Bookalokal: Bookalokal is a way to help travelers, expats, and local
people connect with one another around a common language: food. It's a
social dining network featuring all kinds of highly curated food and
beverage events to make these connections possible.’
Interesting fact(s): Evelyne has been playing the harp since age 6. The
founding team can take customer service calls in over 10 languages.
Biggest challenges: 'The constant juggling of every facet of the business
while trying to never drop a ball: building and motivating a team,
fundraising, releasing new products, delivering great customer service,
growing your business in the right way and constantly seeking new
connections and opportunities. Obviously I'm only naming a few of the
balls!'
Read real user reviews of Bookalokal
Evelyne on the lack of female investors: 'I've actually had great luck
meeting female entrepreneurs in the tech community and have
formed strong bonds with so many of them. I miss women the most
in the investor community. I don't have a single female investor and
hope that changes soon. I look to my investors as mentors and
potential board members so greater diversity is key to our success.'
bookalokal.com

8. 7. JENNIFER PAHLKA
FOUNDER, CODE FOR AMERICA
Quick bio: Graduate of Yale University. Early on, she worked in the non-profit
sector. Previously worked at CMP Media. Currently, she's temporarily away
from Code for America, as she's working as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of
the U.S Federal Government, where she's running the Presidential Innovation
Fellows program.
What is Code for America: A non-profit founded to bring web-industry
professionals to work in city governments to promote openness, participation,
and efficiency in municipal governments. Connects citizens and governments to
design better services. Encourages low-risk settings for innovation. Supports a
competitive civic tech marketplace.
Interesting facts: The office is in a former leather factory, and it's a co-working
space for a bunch of other startups and non-profits, like Girls Who Code's SF
office and Civic Insight. Jen also told me that Code for America got fired from
one of their first engagements.
Jen on women in (tech) start-ups: 'It's a
complicated cultural thing. Change the culture
and we change the ratio.'
Biggest challenge: Getting people to believe that government is capable of
change.
Read real user reviews of Code For America
codeforamerica.org

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