I just want to re-publish the growing list of Women Who Risk and I want to re-assert that if you are a woman co-founder who meets the criteria of:
- Has to be their full-time gig (not a thing they do on the side or that they are doing between jobs)…but they could have been doing it full-time, then been bought by someone else, like Flickr.
- Has to be a founder or a co-founder, but it doesn’t matter what their title is now (some co-founders are Accounting Manager…but they took as much of a risk as the CEO)
- Doesn’t have to be ‘2.0′ exactly, but should still be around from 1.0.
- Doesn’t have to be an engineer, but must be at a technology or technology supporting company.
- There should be more than one person at the company, but there are exceptions, depending on the achievements (and I’m not talking making millions or anything).
Please ‘toot your own horn’! Obviously not too many people are doing it for us.
Mary Hodder - Dabble
Gina Bianchi - Ning
Ann Crady - Maya’s Mom
Sandy Jen - Meebo
Elaine Wherry - Meebo
Xochi Birch - Bebo
Joyce Park - Renkoo
Jessica Hardwick - SwapThing
Margarita Irizarry - Scrapblog
Monica Heitlauf - Scrapblog
Caterina Fake - Flickr
Mena Trott - Six Apart
Yael Elish - eSnips
Halley Suitt - Top Ten Sources
Elisa Camahort - Blogher
Lisa Stone - Blogher
Jory DesJardins - Blogher
Malgosia Green - Nuvvo
Ryanne Hodson - Node101
Ariel Kleckner Ford - CareSquare
Carla Morton - BrandHabit
Cathleen Wang - BrandHabit
Carolee Reiling - still stealth
Sharra Chan - OrangeDoor
Erica Douglass - Simpli.biz
Lisa Sugar - PopSugar
Louise Wannier - MyShape
Stephanie Hujanen - Savvies
Mitchell Baker - Mozilla
Beatrice Tarka - Mobissimo
Emily Boyd - Remember the Milk
Andra Davidson - Mothersclick
Holly Liu - still stealth
Amie Gillingham - EBSQ
Eileen Gittins - Blurb
Jennifer Myronuk - Storyfield
Rashmi Sinha - SlideShare
Julie Davidson - 30Boxes
Laura Scott - pingVision
Katherine Lawrence - pingVision
Kathy Sierra - Head First Books
Gillian Carson - Carson Systems
Catalina Girald - Moxsie (just setting up)
Alex Vikati - CastTV
Chris Shipley - Guidewire Group
Kate Everett Thorp - Real Girls Media
Milena Berry - Amiglia
Janice Fraser - Adaptive Path
Vanessa Williams - Oponia
Leigh Himel - Oponia
Dina Kaplan - Blip.tv
Rachel Cook - Minti
Maxine Sherrin - Westciv & WebDirections
Jeneane Sessum - Kat Herding Media
Sandra “Sandy” Lerner - Cisco Systems
Shai Coggins - b5 Media
Amy Muller - Ruby Red Labs
JD Millack - Zazzle
Ellen Miller - Sunlight Foundation
Linda Furrier - Podtech
Elizabeth Souther Tarbell - VivaPop
Julie Hanna Ferris - Scalix
Meg Hourihan - Blogger
Maggie Fox - Social Media Group
Maggie Tsai - Diigo
Susan DeFife - Backfence
Di-Ann Eisnor - Platial
Kim Polese - Spikesource
Pamela Johnson - Voxiva
Angela Beesley - Wikia
Priya Haji - World of Good
Cynthia Francis - Reality Digital & Clipshack
Amy Phillips - DeedQuest
Catherine Arnston - Hoteluxury
Kimberly Smithson - Prosperiti
Kathy Woolverton - SoftSearch
Sheryle Bolton - Quixit
Susan Solovic - SBTV
Alyssa Rapp - Bottlenotes
Sharon Vosmek - Women’s Technology Cluster
Jennifer McFarlane - Women’s Technology Cluster
Misty Olen - TicMagic & DesignNinjas
Arianna Huffington - Huffington Post
Kelly Goto - Gotomedia
Lisa Dentino - Bravisa
This list is rocking. Once I’m not so stinking busy, I am going to start something…first a conversation, then maybe a get together or two. I’ve met some amazing, incredible women already who are pretty excited about a group that is specifically focused on tempting women into technology entrepreneurship. I’ve started a Google Group. Email me if you want to join us. horsepigcow at gmail.
15 Comments
My wife Misty Olen won’t toot her own horn but,
1. She works a time and a half gig.
2. She is a co-founder of http://www.tlcmagic.com/ and http://designninjas.com/
3. She is Web 3.0
4. She is M.C.S.E.
5. We are 2 people, or 1
6. We are Love 2.0
Hi ,
I was so excited to see that you mentioned me (BrandHabit) on your blog! BrandHabit launched last week!
I would love to be involved in this group you plan on putting together with women in technology! I have met some incredible women myself through the Woman’s Technology Cluster. Let’s chat!
Carla Morton, CEO BrandHabit
Don’t forget Dina Kaplan of Blip.TV
This rather ticks me off, Tara.
I think its great to highlight women in tech who start businesses, but when you say “women at risk” associated with the tech community, you’re completely ignoring the many of us in the tech field who have been writing on the issues, pushing for change, been an annoyance, and so on.
We’re the ones really at risk because what we do impacts on our getting offered opportunities, as well as visibility.
It shouldn’t tick you off, Shelley. There are groups that discuss these matters as well. The Deeply Geeky list at BlogHer does this.
There is a specific reason for this list: to create a list of women who have gone out on their own and started something so that other women wanting to do the same thing have examples and/or mentors.
There are all sorts of risks, you are right. There isn’t one that is more real than the next and I’m not ‘completely ignoring’ anyone. I’m just trying to make this specifically address a certain risk here.
You are the last person I’d want to ignore. Believe me. You have done a great deal for getting these issues to the forefront, risking much of your own career. I totally agree.
I guess what I’m trying to do is specific and you’ll have to have faith that trying to address small chunks here and there can also be effective.
Hey Tara,
I have a story of a woman for you that has almost nothing to do with tech, but I still wanted to share it because it blew me away. I just found it today. It’s about a one-legged American woman spy that the Gestapo considered “the most dangerous of all Allied spies”.
She could have been a netrepreneur I think.
Rock on.
And of course I forgot the link.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2499682,00.html
I nominate Leila Boujnane co-founder and CEO of Idée, a TorCamper and a force of nature.
I love how this list has grown since the last time I looked. Here’s hoping it quadruples (or more!) by this time next year.
Molly Holzschlag (www.molly.com) is a woman who’s been on the bleeding edge of the Web since its birth, practically, and has been doing it all own her own for a long while.
Also, I used to run my own Web strategy and development consultancy full time, but I’ve gone back to being employed by someone else (although I’m still running the business on the side).
Just like Bill Olen said…
My wife won’t toot her horn either.
Julia Brukhman — http://www.ijenis.com
1. iJenis.com is Julia’s full-time gig for about 3 years now. That is, besides another full-time gig as a terrific Mom of three.
2. She is a founder. Aggressively protective of her company’s focus on local small businesses despite my attempts to influence her from my corporate technology consulting point of view. Guess what, I am a believer in “thinking small” too now, although with my own angle.
3. “Doesn’t have to be ‘2.0′ exactly, but should still be around from 1.0.”
..Well, one might be surprised how many people and small local biz did not get even 1.0 yet. They need a gentle hand to help them join the rest in that 2.0-3.0 future. The more of small participants in the network the better (lookup “network effects”). That’s where iJenis contribution is. Working with small local businesses requires a lot of patience, technology expertise and understanding of _both_ ends of a bridge over digital divide, and the margins are modest, but include a “good feeling inside.”
4. She’s an engineer, and iJenis is a technology and/or technology supporting company.
5. “There should be more than one person at the company”
iJenis works with a number of freelancers and moonlighters from USA to Eastern Europe.\
Cheers,
–VB
Thanks for your suggestion. Julia sounds awesome, but there has to be more than one EMPLOYEE or person relying on the next moves of the founder (single person consultancies don’t count unfortunately - but I may think about doing a sub-category in the future, ’cause there are many of these).
Hey hey don’t forget:
-Anita Wilhelm, cofounder of Caterpillar Mobile
-Eileen Hassi, cofounder of Ritual Roasters. (DEFINITELY a technology-supporting company)
I second that nomination, and would like to add that she is also a champion of women in technology and a wonderful human being. Oh and her product is amazing.
Hey there I just found this! I’ll toot my own horn. Great list Tara.
Janine Popick
CEO and Founder, VerticalResponse
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[...] I don’t think Tom Coates would relish being the token gay we slot in to fill that niche. (Although, it would be an excellent strategy to get me to come to your event. I’d buy a plane ticket to hear Tom talk.) Nor would the hard-working women listed here, here or here appreciate being chosen to fill some sort of phantom speaker ratio. [...]
[...] Anyhow, the call was for a list of female founders of web2 companies - it’s a respectable list but considering the number of 2.0 startups around there must be a few more to add. Check it out. [...]