9 Women Founders With Purpose Who Are Rocking Our World

From supporting Black entrepreneurs to infusing the American diet with nutritious superfoods, these female founders are creating a better future.  

 

Another month, another list of incredible purpose-driven womxn using business as a powerful force of positive change in the world!

From supporting Black entrepreneurs to infusing the American diet with nutritious superfoods, these female founders are creating a better future for generations to come.

 


1. Cat Perez
Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at
Health Sherpa

PURPOSE CRED: Cat Perez is dedicated to creating a simpler, easier way to shop for health plans. In 2013 she co-founded HealthSherpa, which “sits at the intersection of purely and unequivocally advocating for the consumer while still existing and operating as a for-profit technology company.” The business measures success by revenue as well as the number of people enrolled in ACA coverage and offers unbiased recommendations to consumers based on revenue considerations.


Amy Nelson
Founder & CEO of
The Riveter

PURPOSE CRED: Amy Nelson has created a “modern union of mothers, sisters, daughters, and allies, fighting together for equity of opportunity for all working womxn.” In 2017 she launched The Riveter — a national network of community, content, resources, and coworking spaces — while pregnant with her third of four daughters. The Riveter’s growth has outpaced even WeWork’s first years, recently closing a $15 million Series A led by Alpha Edison.

 


3. Jessica Norwood
Founder of
The Runway Project

PURPOSE CRED: Jessica Norwood is devoted to supporting Black entrepreneurs to launch their businesses. In 2016 she founded The Runway Project, an initiative that aims to bridge the $19,000 gap between the net worth of the average Black household and the $30,000 needed to start a business from scratch. Jessica is also the executive director of the Emerging ChangeMakers Network, an organization dedicated to working with inspiring leaders and innovative ideas that end economic inequality. 

 


4. Steph Speirs
Co-founder & CEO of
Solstice

PURPOSE CRED: Steph Speirs is helping to make solar energy accessible to all. In 2014 she founded Solstice, dedicated to bringing affordable solar power to the majority of Americans who cannot install a rooftop system. By enrolling in a local solar garden, Solstice customers can enjoy the benefits of solar without installations or upfront costs, all while saving on their electric bill — win, win, win.

 


5. Meghan Rowe
Co-founder & CEO of
White Leaf Provisions

PURPOSE CRED: Meghan Rowe is ensuring that the future generation gets the best sustenance possible. In 2016 she and her husband Keith Rowe founded White Leaf Provisions, a small family-run business that introduced the first 100 percent regeneratively farmed, biodynamic, organic, and GMO-free baby-food line to retail in the US. 

 


6. Lisa Curtis
Founder & CEO of
Kuli Kuli

PURPOSE CRED: Lisa Curtis is bringing a powerhouse of nutrients to the United States. In 2011, after working as a Peace Corps volunteer, Lisa founded Kuli Kuli, the first brand to introduce the superfood moringa — a leafy green even more nutritious than kale — to the US market. Serving as the company’s CEO, Lisa has grown Kuli Kuli into a multi-million-dollar social enterprise that sells delicious moringa products in over 11,000 stores.

 


7. Nilima Bhat
Founder & Director of
Shakti Leadership

PURPOSE CRED: Nilima Bhat co-authored “Shakti Leadership: Embracing Feminine and Masculine Power in Business,” along with co-founder and co-chairman of Conscious Capitalism Raj Sisodia. Their leadership coaching organization, Shakti Leadership, is based on the same principles as the book: “reviving the feminine archetype in leadership and acting from a consciousness of life-giving creativity and sustainability to achieve self-mastery and be of selfless service.”

 


8. Heather Fleming
Co-founder & Executive Director of
Change Labs

PURPOSE CRED: Heather Fleming is passionate about strengthening entrepreneurship on the Navajo Nation. In 2013, along with co-founder Jessica Stago, Heather founded Change Labs, an organization that supports innovation on the reservation. As Executive Director, Heather engages partners in and around the Navajo Nation to incubate, finance, and train new and prospective Native American entrepreneurs in an effort to diversify local economies and promote innovation.

 


9. Dr. Roshawnna Novellus
Founder & CEO of
EnrichHER

PURPOSE CRED: Dr. Roshawna Novellus is disrupting traditional and predatory lending terms. In 2017 she founded EnrichHER, a deeply engaged network of women-led business owners. The community provides tactical support and guidance, as well as unique access to business financing through its credit model and lending environment, enabling female founders to secure capital in an affordable and non-dilutive way.

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