Inc. Business Media Announces the 2024 Female Founders List

News provided by

Apr 04, 2024, 07:00 ET

Inc. celebrates the most dynamic, inspiring, and trailblazing women founders who grew their 2023 revenue to more than $8.86 billion collectively and raised $6.2 billion in funding to date

NEW YORK, April 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. Business Media, known for discovering and spotlighting entrepreneurs making their mark on the world, will release its 2024 Female Founders list on April 9 on Inc.com and in the upcoming print issue available on April 16.

The list, expanded to 250 names this year, highlights the resilient female founders whose achievements defied the conditions they faced such as keeping the internet running in war zones, coping with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, or facing personal crises.

"The past year, for many, will go down as one of the hardest ever—between a funding freeze and ad-spending pullback," said Diana Ransom, Inc. Executive Editor. "The female founders on this year's list are a testament to what triumph over adversity looks like. They should all be proud of this singular accomplishment."

The Female Founders 250 list was culled from thousands of entries through three rounds of judging—two internal and one by Inc.'s inaugural Female Founders advisers, looking specifically at an entrepreneur's bona fides in the past year. Criteria included quantifiable metrics like revenue, sales, revenue growth, funding, audience size and more. Inc. also looked for qualitative metrics like social media momentum and stories of impact. Inc. only considered entrepreneurs running for-profit entities based in the United States and firms could not be subsidiaries in the time frame of interest.

"Landing on this list is an incredible honor—and a testament to the blood, sweat and tears it takes to build a successful business," said Rebecca Minkoff, founder and designer of her eponymous New York City-based fashion label, founder of the Female Founder Collective, and a member of Inc.'s inaugural Female Founders Board of Advisors. "The excellence and inspiration of this year's crop of founders showcases what women are capable of."

Inc. is proud to have worked with the inaugural members of the Female Founders Board of Advisers on this year's list:

Cate Luzio - Founder and CEO of the global professional education and networking platform Luminary
Jessica O. Matthews - Founder and CEO of the New York City-based sustainable infrastructure company Uncharted
Emma Grede - Co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based fashion brand Good American and the co-founder of shapewear brand Skims and cleaning brand Safely
Reshma Saujani - Founder of the technology education nonprofit Girls Who Code and the maternal support advocacy nonprofit Moms First
Alli Webb - Co-founder of the Los Angeles-based hair styling business Drybar and the massage franchise Squeeze
Rebecca Minkoff - Founder and designer of her eponymous New York City-based fashion label and the founder of the Female Founder Collective
Suneera Madhani - Founder and CEO of the Orlando, Florida-based financial services startup Worth AI, the founder of the fintech unicorn Stax Payments, and the founder of CEO School.

"Inc. Female Founders are trailblazers. Across industries — from fashion to business and tech to and clean energy — they represent the best of the best female entrepreneurs," said Reshma Saujani, member of the inaugural Female Founders Board of Advisers, founder of the technology education nonprofit Girls Who Code and the maternal support advocacy nonprofit Moms First. "I am excited to watch these women flourish as founders and leaders, and am proud of their commitment to pushing boundaries and lifting up other women along the way."

Learn more at https://www.inc.com/female-founders

About Inc.

Inc. Business Media is the leading multimedia brand for entrepreneurs. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate and elevate the profile of our community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating our future. Inc.'s award-winning work reaches more than 50 million people across a variety of channels, including events, print, digital, video, podcasts, newsletters, and social media. Its proprietary Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The recognition that comes with inclusion on this and other prestigious Inc. lists, such as Female Founders and Power Partners, gives the founders of top businesses the opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers, and credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

SOURCE Inc.