In October 2020, Raven Hernandez decided to launch an eco-friendly rideshare service in Nashville that uses only electric vehicles (EVs). Earth Rides has grown quickly. In 2021, the company moved more than 180,000 passengers, offsetting 230 million grams of carbon. Hernandez’s company has since expanded from Nashville to Austin, Texas, too, and now has some 100 employees. Read more about her story in this article in Marie Claire.
In recognition of her contributions to the fashion industry, Mattel has announced its latest Barbie honoree as Vera Wang. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Wang first became one of the youngest editors at Vogue and then became the design director for accessories at Ralph Lauren before finally becoming an entrepreneur when she opened her own boutique in 1990. How wonderful that Barbie can reflect trailblazing entrepreneurs in women’s fashion! Read more about the story in WWD.
The article entitled “Reinvention after 50 – How to start a business in midlife, from four women who did it” from Canada’s Globe and Mail includes insights from women who decided to launch businesses later in life. Suggestions include asking for help. making use of resources and grants, committing to a beginner’s mindset to be coachable and turning back to help others as you move forward on your path.
Check out this link if you want to see the amazing things that graduates of the women’s entrepreneurship certificate program are up to and how they are such important members of their communities. This piece highlights Denisse Lamas from Orlando, FL; Anh LyJordan from Raleigh, North Carolina; and Fila Antwine from NY, NY.
According to this piece from The Guardian, there has been a marked increase in black women launching their own ventures over the past few years. Some of the increase is attributed to challenges from the pandemic and some to historical gender/race pay disparity in the workplace. That said, the article also shares that black women have a long history of entrepreneurship and the pandemic is forcing the world to recognize that. Per the article, “women of color make up only 39% of women in the US but represent 89% of new women-owned businesses. Within that demographic, Black women are leading the charge at 42% of new women-owned businesses, followed by Latina women at 31%.”
A rideshare company that focuses exclusively on women, HERide, is launching in Atlanta. The company founder, Jillian Anderson, is a former Lyft driver of four years. Learn more about the company in this news piece.
While small businesses definitely took a hit over the past 20 months of a pandemic-impacted world, being small did provide a few advantages. When it comes to determination and the ability to pivot quickly, small businesses often leave large corporations in the dust. This recent piece from Forbes is a compilation of the best small business stories of the year. This piece includes a look at “How Andrea Jung, Lisa Mensah And Women Over 50 Are Safeguarding Small Businesses” as well as a look at how the pandemic actually spawned over 4 million new businesses in “Covid’s Entrepreneur Explosion”.
Stephanie Jones, founder of Women at Werk, an organization committed to providing women with empowerment and mentorship opportunities, was recently highlighted in a Florida Times-Union article. We were thrilled to hear about the positive experience that she has had in the Women’s Entrepreneurship certificate program (she is over half way through the program now) and look forward to seeing more of our students and program grads featured in regional and national news for their accomplishments! So glad to be a small part of Stephanie’s journey!
This October 24, 2021 Fortune article shares an interview with Anne Marie Johnson about the founding of her sustainable fashion company, Bitter Grace, and the company’s first few years in business. During the discussion, she shares that the goal of her company is to present a holistic approach to help women align their external selves with their inner selves in order to be as authentic as possible. Johnson also discusses strategic decisions that enabled the company to grow throughout the pandemic and where she sees the company heading in the next five years.
In this article from Fast Company, Starr Edwards, founder of Bitchin’ Sauce, shares how offering free childcare augmented retention and hiring, especially during the worst of the pandemic. Edwards shares, ” Everyone touts work-life balance—and this is one of the most essential forms of that. Can you care for your family and work at the same time? If people can find ways of doing that, whether it’s subsidizing outside care or doing it internally like we have, I think ultimately it’s in the company’s best interest.”