Is your Instagram feed saturated with hard-bodied wellness bloggers and bikini-clad influencers? Sure, we appreciate these influencers (abs like that take work) but also want a feed that draws inspiration from trail-blazing female founders running companies in finance, fashion, fitness, and beyond, who also might not be as prolific on the ‘gram. Inspiring, entrepreneurial women like Sallie Krawcheck of Ellevest, who is working to close the gender investing gap, beauty and branding genius Emily Weiss, or social entrepreneur Catherine Mahugu.
This list is as long as it’s inspiring, which is why we’ve been working on a breakdown of our favorite ass-kicking business women in business. Keep scrolling!
Sarah Levey
Sarah Levey is the woman who brought us Y7, the original hip-hop yoga studio. Sarah and her husband, Mason, couldn’t settle on a yoga studio in New York that fit their vibe, so they did what any badass entrepreneur would do, and opened their own. Y7 is different from the average yoga studio on ClassPass: there are no mirrors, lots of candles, and each class is practiced to hip-hop tracks.
Alyce Tran
The most under-the-radar girl boss, ever, Alyce (pronounced Elise) is the founder of international fashion accessories powerhouse, The Daily Edited. This year, TDE hit milestone after milestone, launching stores in capital cities across the world. Alyce keeps a low profile on the brand’s Instagram account @thedailyedited, but look closely and you’ll see the occasional peek of her initials AT. Don’t miss her Instagram stories, during which Alyce speaks on industry panels and snaps gorgeous behind-the-scenes content at sparkly fashion events.
Follow @thedailyedited and @alyce_tran
Danielle Duboise
Alongside her cofounder Whitney Tingle, Danielle Duboise created the sleekest—and probably the healthiest—food delivery company in America; Sakara. She’s a champion of plant-based eating, is a master when it comes to branding and content marketing, and is dog mom to an adorable Australian Shepherd (who also features heavily on her Instagram account).
Follow @sakaralife and @danielleduboise
Sallie Krawcheck
After Sallie Krawcheck was done kicking ass as a boss on Wall Street, she co-founded Ellevest; a digital financial advisor exclusively for women. Her goal is a worthy one: To close the gender investing gap in the U.S. Krawcheck was listed by Forbes as one of The World’s Most Powerful Women in 2005, and she’s been raking in similar accolades ever since. By combing through her Instagram feed you’ll be directed to interviews, events, and advice that will help you manage your money better.
Follow @sallie.krawcheck
Catherine Mahugu
Social entrepreneur Catherine Mahugu was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 last year for her work cofounding Soko. Soko, meaning “market” in Swahili, is an online store connecting Kenyan makers of jewelry and accessories directly to buyers worldwide.
Follow @katemahu
Lorna Jane Clarkson
Australian fitness mogul Lorna Jane Clarkson is the founder of activewear line Lorna Jane. She’s also an active healthy eating and fitness advocate, and the author of several books on the topic. her fifth and newest book, Love You (pre-order here) talks about how to run a successful business, mastering your own potential and just staying healthy no matter how busy life gets.
Follow @ljclarkson
Emily Weiss
If you haven’t heard the name Emily Weiss, you definitely know Into the Gloss and Glossier—the booming beauty businesses she founded. Weiss is a former fashion assistant who launched Glossier several years after creating Into the Gloss, which is now seen by 1.5 million eyeballs every month. The beauty brand recently raised a $24 million Series B round.
Follow @emilywweiss
Lara Mead
You can spot Mead’s activewear brand, Varley, at all the top stores: Bandier, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Anthropologie, Carbon 38, Revolve—you get the picture. She created the luxury athleisure line in 2012 with her husband, Ben, after returning from a vacation in California; they wanted to capture the laid back Los Angeles lifestyle. Varley’s biggest fans include Joan Smalls, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Collins, and just about everyone in the Kardashian-Jenner family.
Follow @meadlara
Tyler Haney
Speaking of athleisure entrepreneurs with world domination on their brand, are you following Tyler Haney yet? She’s the founder of Outdoor Voices, a clothing line for women with very little difference between “their gym-life and their life-life.” Haney started the brand in 2014 while studying at Parsons and has gone on to launch into new categories and raise $22.5 million via venture capital.
Follow @ty_haney
Michelle Cordeiro Grant
Michelle Cordeiro Grant, is the founder and CEO of LIVELY, a new “leisurée” brand offering bras and undies that blur the aesthetic lines of lingerie, active, and swim, and is striking a cord with city-dwelling millennial women. Grant began her career in finance before taking a roll at Federated Merchandising Group, creating brands and product for one of the largest retailers in the world. Then last year she launched Lively, and became one of our new favorite fashion entrepreneurs.
Follow @the_michellegrant
Alaina Kaczmarsika
Kaczmarski graduated from Syracuse University in 2008 with degrees in magazine journalism and psychology, and plans to dominate the publishing industry with a gig at Vanity Fair or The New York Times. That’s not what happened, instead she started a blog which eventually led her to cofound The Everygirl, an online resource for creative, career-driven women that’s since been named as one of the Top 10 Websites for Millennial Women by Forbes and attracts more than a million unique viewers each month.
Follow @alainakaz
Jane Lu
Jane Lu calls herself “The Lazy CEO” on Instagram, which says more about her sense of humor than her work ethic. As the founder of Australian-based online store, Showpo, she’s created one of the most formidable new online stores on the planet. To wit: Showpo has a devoted following of more than 1.3 million Gen Y and Z women on Instagram. (Lu herself also has more than 155,000 followers.) She’s also one of the women behind Likeminded Bitches Drinking Wine, a no-BS Facebook group for female entrepreneurs looking for support and guidance from other lady bosses.
Follow @thelazyceo
Babba Canales
Babba Canales started New York-based marketing agency, By Babba this year, but earned her reputation as a marketing gun—and landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list—while heading up fashion partnerships at Uber. Her feed is full of positive, motivating snaps of this entrepreneur-slash-influencer running her business while traveling the world (and looking damn stylish while she does it).
Follow @babba.c
Bianca Cheah-Chalmers
Australian-in-LA, Bianca Cheah-Chalmers, is the yogi-turned-entrepreneur behind fitness website Amodrn. Down Under, Amodrn (and Bianca) is the go-to for wellness, nutrition, and natural beauty advice and news, and the site is gearing up to diversify their content offerings in the Northern Hemisphere throughout early 2018. Follow Bianca’s feed and enjoy the ride.
Follow @biancamaycheah
Nicola Scruby
Healthy eating activist and social media queen, Nicola Scruby, is the founder of a burgeoning granola empire, The Unrefined. This year Nicola also launched a new vegan and gluten-free granola brand, NutiiBoost. Watch her Instagram stories for a raw, real, and hilarious behind-the-scenes account of what it takes to run a business and stay healthy.
Follow @the_unrefined
Amy Woodside
If there’s anyone using the internet to make a positive difference in women’s lives, it’s Amy Woodside. Through her platform, OK Real, Amy is bringing women together for mentor circles, career workshops and support groups, panels, and more offline (and some online) events across America.
Follow @ameohmy
Lauren Silvers
Australian entrepreneur, Lauren Silvers, is the co-founder of Glamazon App, a clever way to book mobile beauty services to your home, office or hotel. This year she appeared alongside her business co-founder on Shark Tank, where she impressed the judges (and just about every beauty fan in Australia.)
Follow @lauren_silvers
Rachel Drori
Rachel Drori’s goal is to change the way you think about the freezer aisle. She’s the founder and CEO of Daily Harvest, which started as a smoothie subscription service delivering clean, superfood smoothie ingredients already chopped and prepared for your blender. Now, you can also order healthy soups, bowls, and sundaes from the service.
Follow @racheldrori
Elin Alemdar
Elin is the founder behind Sweden’s chicest contemporary fashion line, Stylein—and the queen of minimalist Swedish style. Fun fact, New Yorkers: Elin actually first created the collection while working as a stylist and studying at F.I.T. in NYC.
Follow @elinalemdar
