All Things Consumer Category
Amy Errett, Founder & Managing Partner at Madison Color
After starting her career in investment banking, Errett saw her entrepreneurial opportunity when her wife asked her to pick up a box of hair dye. Shocked after reading the ingredient list on the box that would be going onto her loved one’s head, she began Madison Reed in 2014. A direct-to-consumer sales of hair dye made without ammonia and parabens, Madison Reed also helps users match their color with online augmented reality tools. Next up: color bar franchises. Errett expects at least 500 to open within four years.
Mariam Naficy, Founder & CEO Minted.com
Before Pinterest and Instagram, Naficy had an idea to build an e-commerce platform that crowdsources designs from independent artisans rather than relying on major (and expensive) labels. She launched Minted in 2007 as a retailer of stationery, ultimately expanding into categories including textiles, art and home décor. Minted continues to grow and recently launched a licensing arm with partners such as Method and Samsung. In 2018, Naficy raised USD208 million in funding — the most in a single round by a female founder, ever.
Christina Stembel, Founder & CEO Farmgirl Flowers
Stembel didn’t start Farmgirl Flowers because she loved flowers. She was out to challenge an outdated, male-dominated industry. With just USD49,000 of her own money, in 2010 she began her online floral delivery service. It has grown roughly 50% annually, bringing in USD23 million in revenue last year. Sales should reach USD33 million in 2019. Moving forward, the San Francisco-based company, which has 145 employees, is focused on national expansion. Read Christina’s story in YPO’s Ignite
Daina Trout, CEO & Co-Founder Health-Ade Kombucha
Feeling like a number working for a big corporation, in 2012 Trout joined forces with her boyfriend and best friend to start a company. They settled on what was already brewing on Trout’s kitchen table: kombucha. An avid fermenter who’d studied nutrition, she found a niche almost immediately: high-quality fermented tea infused with herbs, cold-pressed organic juice, and spices. Not a simple task to break into the refrigerated-beverage case, nonetheless she launched Health-Ade in 2018. In 26,000 stores, it’s the fastest-growing refrigerated beverage brand in the U.S.
Food Revolutionaries Category
Christine Moseley, Founder & CEO Full Harvest
In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration reported no less than 133 billion pounds of food going to waste in America. Witnessing the waste firsthand in 2015 during a visit to a farm in California where only a fraction of the romaine lettuce crop was harvested, Moseley was inspired to launch Full Harvest. The online marketplace connects growers’ imperfect produce with food and beverage buyers. Today, she and a global food brand are developing a plant-based snack made entirely of rescued produce.
