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Female Founders You Should Never Forget
As far as global power players go, these women embody every bit of the term.
Tamara Mellon
Mellon is the co-founder of the ground-breaking Jimmy Choo shoe brand, which she founded alongside cobbler Jimmy Choo. She first entered the world of fashion upon opening her Portobello-based market stall. She then became an accessories editor at Vogue. She founded her eponymous brand in 2013.
Natalie Massanet
Changing the scope of luxury retail back in 2000 when she launched what was to become the ultimate luxury shopping destination, NET-A-PORTER. She later added its sister brands THE OUTNET and MR PORTER and its print and shoppable, digital magazine, Porter Magazine.
Now at the helm of investing in fashion-tech startups, Massenet is simply replicating the same path she began on, with Carmen Busquets playing an integral role in getting NET-A-PORTER off the ground.
Alongside her business partner, she has raised $160 million which is dedicated to funding untouched consumer markets, businesses with a mission and founders who place their customers at the heart of their business. She has previously invested in Glossier, Farfetch, SKIMS and Appear Here.
Sophia Amoruso
The original girl boss, Sophia Amoruso is the businesswoman behind fashion retailer Nasty Gal and Girlboss Media. Nasty Gal Vintage as it was formerly known, began in Amoruso’s bedroom in 2006, aged 22-years-old and came in the form of an eBay store she had set up. By 2008, after officially launching her own website and dropping ‘vintage,’ Nasty Gal’s revenue was at six figures. By 2011, it was eight. At its peak, the fashion retailer was turning over nine figures in annual sales, paired with a workforce of over 200 people.
Amoruso published her autobiography #GIRLBOSS in 2014, which two years later, was picked up by Netflix who wanted to turn it into a television series titled Girlboss. She took on the role of executive producer and writer for the 13-episode-long series, which was released in 2017. Amoruso has since dedicated her time as an investor in a number of small businesses and has launched Business Class, her 8-week premium digital course for founders teaching them the ins and outs of building a business like a boss.
Bobbi Brown
Having founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics; her billion-dollar empire back in 1991, aged 34-years old, which merely began as a lipstick line of ten natural shades, renowned beauty mogul Bobbi Brown, known for her signature ‘no-makeup, makeup’ looks, has powered on to create not one but three brands which are the epitome of everything the global makeup artist is all about; natural makeup and beauty from the inside out.
EVOLUTION_18 has an offering of beauty-inspired wellness products, alongside which is THE GEORGE; the health conscious boutique hotel, an historic inn built in 1902, which she renovated and renamed with her husband Steven Plofker. Most recently, Brown added to her portfolio of brands with the release of Jones Road Beauty, her collection of ‘beauty essentials’.