Dear FoundHer...Real Founder Stories for Women Small Business Owners

“Our mission is really to give our audience the tools and the inspiration and everything they need to design and create the life of their dreams,” says Camille Styles, Founder and Editor-In-Chief of CamilleStyles.com, a digital publication that covers a variety of topics such as food, events, lifestyle and beauty. With her site, Camille became one of the first influencers. And though the digital l...

Kelly Fair is known as “The Mentor.” Thirteen years after founding her mentorship organization, Polished Pebbles, Kelly now serves 1,300 girls annually at over 50 schools and sites in the Chicago area and beyond. With of four core programs, young women of school age develop the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. The core school day/after school program provides social-emotional learning an...

“My business model is powered by ADHD,” says Alyson Zeller founder of Ally Brooke designs, “You can turn your disability into an ability.” And Alyson certainly has. At just 18 years old, she has created a successful design business where she designs personalized items ranging from blankets to phone cases with her signature designs. And since the designs are so Instagrammable, she’s been able to pr...

Growing up with her family in Liberia, “food was the focal point of all our happiest memories together,” recalls Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of Ayo Foods. Perteet began her career as a self-described “career foodie,” working for over a decade at General Mills SPINS. Along the way, she noticed that West African food was not being represented in the grocery store, and realized that this was the cont...

“I’m a firm believer that crazy good doesn’t have to be crazy expensive,” says Lindsay Holden, co-founder of Odele hair products. After leaving her corporate job to spend more time with her family, Lindsay knew she wanted to come up with her own product. Lindsay realized there was a blank space for high-quality organic hair care products that didn’t break the bank. Since launching in the beginning...

“The point of a brand is to provoke emotional affinity, and no one can do that like a person,” says Jessica Zweig, founder of SimplyBe. In 2008, with no business experience, Jessica co-founded Cheeky Chicago, the largest online platform for singles in Chicago. Despite growing a business that she was one of the faces of, she eventually realized she needed to part ways with her then co-founder. &nbs...

“My life changed because of an ice cream cone,” recalls Tamara Keefe. Growing up in a large family of humble means, she was never able to join her friends for ice cream after church due to financial reasons. One day, her mother found an old hand-cranked ice cream maker and began making ice cream at home. Soon, every Sunday, friends, family and neighbors were coming over to Tamara’s house, each bri...

Despite all of the success Donna Rudolph has had with Teeny Tiny Treatments, she still only considers it her side hustle. All three of Donna’s babies suffered from the dermatological condition called cradle cap, and while there are products already on the market, Donna found them to be ineffective and time-consuming. So, she created Noggin Wipes, her own avocado-oil based wipes, which were quickly...

Through the isolation of the pandemic, 17-year-old Sophia Rascoff realized that people were connecting through two things: social media and food. Her own family bonded over food during this time in a way they never had before.  With traditional social media focusing more negative aspects of life, she decided to create a vertical social media platform celebrating the joys and connectivity of f...

“As a female founder, one of the most important things is to be surrounded by other people who are willing to call you out when they notice signs of burnout,” says Katy Ursta. Along with her Co-Founder, Melanie Mitro, Katy helps women reach their business goals, as well as navigate some of the pitfalls of entrepreneurship through their work at Chic Influencer. One common trait among female founder...

Breaking down barriers for women entrepreneurs, creating transparency and educating founders about venture capital is part of Carrie Colbert’s mission. “I don’t think of it as just a linear one-way street. I think of it as an ecosystem where we can all learn from one another, and really foster success and empowerment,” explains Carrie, the Founder of Curate Capital. After a successful career in th...

At just 24 years old, Betty Cayouette’s dream brands like Disney, Valentino, HarperCollins are seeking her out for collaborations. While working as a videographer for companies like Aerie and Williams Sonoma, Betty’s first TikTok, in which she portrayed herself as the main character of one of her favorite books, went viral.  Users on the platform instantly took to her original idea and Betty...

Jamie Grayson is the first male guest to be featured on Dear FoundHer, and it’s easy to see why the exception was made for him! Jamie is exceptional. Shortly after starting as a product demonstrator and personal shopper in New York City’s buybuyBaby store, customers began emailing the store to ask for him by name. In March, 2010, New York Magazine named him the city’s best baby-gear expert, and so...

After selling their first company Mommybites, Heather Ouida and Laura Deutsch reunited to start a new community, one for women and femme-identified gamers. Described by Laura as “a Facebook platform for people who game,” the*gameHERs is a social and career networking app and media platform created for women by women. It not only offers female gamers a space safe from the toxicity they often experi...

Sasha Adler has a true love of design and fashion. Initially this passion took her to New York where she worked as the editor of a fashion magazine, traveling back and forth to Paris throughout the year. While this part of her career was helping Sasha work toward her early dream of working at Vogue magazine, things changed when she met and scored an amazing opportunity to work with Nate Berkus, th...

Like a lot of women in their 30s, Radha Vyas found herself burned out at work and in need of some fun and adventure. With her extensive travel experience, she initially dismissed the idea of joining a group tour, thinking they were only reserved for wealthy retirees or young backpackers. The more she researched, she found there was an entire market of travelers who, like Radha, were somewhere in b...

Carrie Meghie is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience behind her.  She is also the founder of a foundation bearing the namesake of her son: Jackson Chance Foundation. Ms. Meghie and her husband founded the  Jackson Chance Foundation  in 2013, a non-profit that supports critically ill babies by removing the financial burden of parking fees, giving every family the opportu...

Mara Smith's professional days came to a halt when she was put on emergency bedrest while pregnant with twins. They were born prematurely and she needed to be there for them. While at home raising her three children, Mara always dreamed of starting her own company.  She also knew that with hard work and the right research---she could innovate any industry she put her mind to.  Meanwhile,...

Even though women spend almost a third of their lives in menopause, it has always been an uncommon topic of conversation. Following her own menopausal experience, Sally Mueller was on a mission to help other women through their own transitions. After a successful twenty-year career with Target, Sally leveraged her extensive experience in the retail space to start her own company. Today, she is a C...

When Catherine Reitman first started working on her show Workin’ Moms, she never would have imagined she would be where she is today. What started as a small Canadian comedy, has quickly turned into a smashing Netflix success that resonates with a diverse audience. In today’s episode, Lindsay Pinchuk releases a conversation she had with Catherine in 2021---before she even knew the concept of this...

In support of mental health awareness month, it was only appropriate to shine a light on the topic. In today’s episode, Lindsay Pinchuk is joined in conversation with Karena Dawn, Founder of The Big Silence for an eye-opening discussion about the importance of opening up about our mental health struggles. Many of us would recognize Karena as one of the Co-Founders of the popular fitness brand Tone...

After losing her job in the recession, Chrissy Fichtl had a lot of free time on her hands. While searching for a new job, Chrissy was looking for a hobby to keep her entertained in the interim. After a quick search on Google, Chrissy stumbled upon homemade soap. Several hundred dollars, and many ruined pans later, Chrissy had finally perfected her recipe. What initially began as a hobby in her apa...

“Podcasting is a connection that can't be built elsewhere,” says Scout Sobel, Founder of Scout’s Agency. After struggling with her mental health, Scout didn’t know where she fit in the workspace. It wasn’t until she was introduced to podcasting that Scout finally recognized her calling. For Scout, podcasting has been the catalyst to her success. As the co-host of the popular Okay, Sis Podcast and...

“I give so much credit to our success to LinkedIn. It is such an amazing and powerful platform,” says Charlie Saffro, Founder and Owner of CS Recruiting. When Charlie unexpectedly started her business, she didn’t have a business plan in place or a loan from the bank. Instead, she followed her heart and did what she does best: find connections. Unlike most female founders, you won’t find Charlie on...

Most anyone that was fortunate enough to attend summer camp as a child would tell you that it was one of the best experiences of their lives. For most, summer camp is so much more than just fun and games. It was a time when they learned valuable lessons that helped shape them into the people they are today. While summer camp is an essential part of childhood, it has not always been easily accessib...