Finding strong and powerful women in the workforce are far and few between. We have plenty of Kardashian's to look up to, but I wanted to bring a couple of VERY successful women that have been revolutionaries in their industry. It doesn't matter if it is garments or biotechnology all of these women take strides each and every day to change the way women in the workplace work.
Sara Blakely. Founder of Spanx. Net worth $1 Billion
Blakely created Spanx when she couldn't find a product to satisfy her needs as a consumer. She saved up 5 grand selling fax machines door-to-door to get her product off the ground and now she is the youngest self-made billionaire according to Forbes. In 2013, she pledged half of her wealth to empower women!
Fun Fact: She is also a fellow ATLien and even owns a part of the Hawks!
Payal Kadakia. Founder of Classpass. Net worth $50 Million
Kadakia, the MIT grad, got her start at the consulting firm Bain and Company and then Warner Music Group. Classpass was actually the byproduct of two other failed ventures: Classivity and Passport. However, in 2014 Classpass was born and $84 million in seed money was raised and Classpass has been expanded to 34 cities. Kadakia is looking to expand the brand and creating a app that "connects people to experiences to make them feel great"
Fun Fact: She is the founder of the Sa Dance Company which is committed to bringing awareness to Indian dance in the mainstream.
Arianna Huffington. Founder of The Huffington Post. Net worth $50 Million
Huffington moved from her hometown of Athens, Greece at 16 to attended Cambridge. She stayed in London post-grad and worked as author (writing over 13 books to date) until she moved to the US in the 80's. She launched the Huffington post in 2005 and it quickly become one of the most read, cited and linked sites, even winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2012. In 2011, This year Huffington has decided to leave her position in order to launch Thrive Global, a digital platform dedicated to health and wellness.
Fun Fact; She was the voice of Arianna bear on The Cleveland Show for 4 years.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Founder of Biocon Ltd. Net worth 1.9 Billion
Mazumdar-Shaw started Biocon with only 10,000 rupees (about $150) after being rejected by several banks for a loan because biotech in the 80's because in the lack of knowledge of the biotech industry and her being woman. However, she build Biocon into the largest biotech company in India that is committed to lowering the cost of medications for chronic diseases by creating affordable biosimilars (generic) . She also joined the Giving Pledge stared by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, pledging to give away a majority of her wealth to philanthropy.
Fun Fact; Mazumdar-Shaw started off as a master brewer Carlton & United Beverages.
All of these women's have done a kick-ass job representing women in the workforce and I definitely have a new #WCW this week!
