Women Using Business School To Unleash Their Entrepreneurial Superpower

Forty-five million families in America will inherit $4 trillion worth of heirlooms, or things inside their loved ones homes in the next 25 years. And the question of how to divide wealth and possessions isn’t isolated to inheritance. It is also a common problem for couples going through a divorce, or households trying to downsize.

When Wharton MBA graduate Sarah Powers saw her mother struggling with managing and dividing her parents’ heirlooms, I knew that there had to be a better way for her and millions of others to go through this experience, especially during difficult life stages.

“My Mom had to balance an intense period of grief with all the logistics and dynamics of settling her parents’ estate in a timely manner,” she recalls. “So, when it came to clearing out their house she became overwhelmed with where to start. She wanted to make sure to divide heirlooms among family members fairly to avoid any fighting, document their value appropriately to satisfy their estate settlement, and quickly sell any residual items so that the family could sell the house.”

Juggling all of this while she and many other siblings lived remotely seemed like a tall task. And, doing it in a way that honored and preserved the legacy that her parents built seemed impossible.

With such a large, unaddressed problem, Sarah started building Nemu, to empower people to manage and divide their ‘stuff’ the easy way. Today, Nemu is an app that helps people manage this process in a more efficient and fair way than has existed in the past.

“Families capture the legacy and stories tied to their most beloved items as they create their visual catalog,” explains Sarah. “From there, they can equitably divide their heirlooms using our division feature. We have built a tool that records an emotional value score for each item from each loved one; the tool then uses this score to fairly divide the heirlooms such that everyone ends up with an equal allocation of items.”

When needed, Nemu can also help get price estimates, from fair market values to certified appraisals, and sell items based on clients’ needs and timelines.

Having worked in entrepreneurial teams her entire career, Sarah appreciated the impact of small, nimble teams on solving big problems. “When I recognized the impact a solution like Nemu could have on families, I was instantly motivated to build it.”

Successful ventures are often created around solving a problem for others. And Sarah drew on her time at Wharton. “It was helpful that I could tailor my classes to the business challenges I was facing or where I needed additional support. My professors and classmates were incredibly generous with their time working with me outside of class thinking through different aspects of Nemu.”

And time is something that Sarah values immensely. As she started her MBA at Wharton, she also became a new Mom. “My husband and I welcomed our daughter around 6 weeks before school started. In the same period my grandmother passed away, kick starting the estate settlement process for my Mom, which inspired me to start Nemu.”

It was the intersection of these events that forced her to become very targeted in making the most out of any time she spent away from her daughter. “One of the biggest learning curves for me in business school was time management – how I spent my time, what I spent it on, and who I spent it with.”

Nailing the pitch

Business school research consistently points to the additional lengths women must go to in order to get their business off the ground. Research by Jorge Guzman at Columbia Business School and Aleksandra Kacperczyk at London Business School has shown that female entrepreneurs are 63 percent less likely than men to obtain venture capital funding.

And when they are in front of investors, a doctoral fellow at Columbia Business School, Dana Kanze found thatinvestors ask men different types of questions than they ask women. Her study discovered that investors, regardless of their own gender, were more likely to ask male entrepreneurs promotion-focused questions, while female entrepreneurs were asked prevention-orientated questions that would put them on the defensive.

Learning to pitch your idea is something that Aimy Steadman refined during her MBA at UT Austin McCombs. Her company, BeatBox Beverages is now one of the largest RTD alcohol brands in the U.S. and makes the “Original Party Punch.”

“We wanted to create a fun new drink that resonated with the friendly and positive energy of music festivals. I had a show on the student radio station and wanted to bring my co-founders and my love of music to life through a brand.”

Aimy met her co-founder, Justin Fenchel at the Entrepreneur Society at McCombs and started working on the venture together along with two other students Jason Schieck and Daniel Singer.

“We leveraged every class and group project to work on BeatBox – we took it to the student business plan competitions and also ran it through the Texas Venture Labs program.”

After graduation, Texas Venture Labs selected Aimy to be a Venture Partner for the first year after the MBA program, so that she could work on the business while also having some income coming in by supporting the University program.

That helped until they secured their first investment, from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank. It was one of Shark Tank’s largest investments in the show’s history, at $1 million dollars.

Having nailed the pitch, what advice does Aimy have for other entrepreneurs?

“Find your community!” she insists. “McCombs Business School, Shark Tank, and Austin entrepreneurs all provided me with awesome support throughout my journey both on the business side as well as emotionally. Every day as an entrepreneur you likely have to do something you’ve never done before so having groups around you to help is essential.”

The alcohol beverage industry is historically very masculine and when Aimy started the company she was 23. “Folks never assumed that I was the business owner, or they thought I was there because I was married to one of my business partners. I just continued to correct people and try to be as visible as possible on anything on the business side so that I can change the perception of what an alcohol beverage founder can look like.

Kickstarting the conversation on equality

Changing perceptions and creating opportunities irrespective of gender was a priority for Katja Toropainen in her native to Finland. She is the founder and CEO of Inklusiiv, a global DEI consultancy, which helps businesses across the world develop more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces.

Katja saw the issues with representation and the pervasive challenges faced by underrepresented groups while working as a chief program director at a start-up and tech event in Helsinki.

She began by starting groups which aimed to kickstart conversations on equality, but quickly found that people and organizations needed more than inspiration, they needed proper equipment, data, tools, goals, and accountability measures to effect real change.

Her natural flair for building communities aided her in this, as did her M.Sc. in Business and Economics at Aalto University School of Business. She took a multidisciplinary approach to her study, taking courses in art, economics, and science, which enabled her to “think outside the box and be on the lookout for ways to shake things up.”

Katja ran into some early challenges. “Finland was not ready for diversity and inclusion work when we started,” she says. She encountered public backlash from influential business figures. She couldn’t open a bank account, and she even had to explain what DEI was to prospective clients who badly needed her services. But she remained tenacious, overcame these initial hurdles, and “laid the groundwork for the transformative changes we’ve witnessed in Finland’s business landscape over the past five years.”

Thanks in no small part to Inklusiiv, times have changed. Katja has pushed the dial in Finland.

Finding a place where your opinions matter

In Norway, Silje Lindtvedt Fladmoe went straight from study into work. After an MSc in Business Analysis and Performance Management, as well as a CEMS Master’s in International Management, both at NHH Norwegian School of Economics, she threw herself into the start-up world, and found that “starting on your own straight out from your studies also ensures a fast track to learn and develop.”

Her start-up, Testhub Technologies, where she is co-founder and CEO, works to achieve equality in hiring processes utilizing software. Silje had always wanted to make a meaningful change in the world, and “realized that if you truly want to make an impact, you must be in a place where your opinions matter.”

Her education equipped her with the fundamental knowledge of making a business model, financial management, and sustainable business practices.

She has had to fight hard to make sure that her voice is heard in a world of men, and her business will put more women into decision-making roles, so that others don’t have to experience silencing like she did.

Silje is a big proponent of “just doing it.” She also encourages enjoyment and networking when building a support base. “Being an entrepreneur is a long and demanding task, make sure you surround yourself with a supportive network of fellow entrepreneurs and mentors, and that you have fun along the way,” she says.

Magda Seifert runs Circo de Ideias, which is changing architecture for the better in Portugal. Magda came to the project through being a professional architect and wanting to contribute to the cultural-architectural landscape of Porto. She is also an MBA candidate at Porto Business School.

There, she has “worked to cultivate a strong support network of the people I work with and who understand and advocate for gender equity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.” The lessons she is learning are helping her manage the Porto Design Biennale – a local architectural collaborative space.

She has overcome systemic prejudice, she says, but she knows to never lose focus. “I’ve come up against the challenge of limited access to leadership opportunities and resources. In many industries, including architecture and design, women are often underrepresented in leadership roles and face barriers to advancement.”

Through her experience as a female entrepreneur and as an MBA student, she encourages confidence and determination and the importance of having a community. Magda says to lean on “support networks available to you, including business schools, which can provide valuable education, mentorship, and networking opportunities.”

Focusing on opportunity

Helena Most is the co-founder and CEO of Resourcly, an innovative start-up enabling manufacturers to turn idle inventory into profit. She helps manufacturers improve working capital by employing data and AI solutions. By connecting manufacturers with transformative technology, they reduce emissions and improve resource efficiency. “USD 2.5 trillion of industrial inventory is tied up in capital,” she says, “and Resourcly changes that.”

While running her business, Helena studied for a Part-Time MBA at Mannheim Business School. She says that her “business school experience probably set the foundation for my entrepreneurial journey. During my MBA I was surrounded with highly ambitious professionals who pushed for excellence – an environment which made me thrive as well.”

Having worked in the male-dominated field of manufacturing, Helena knows how to bat away discrimination and focus on the opportunity. When it comes to women starting businesses, she emphatically says, “Do it. Let the hopes or goals you may have influence your decision. Don’t let your fears influence your decisions, especially not the fear of loss.”

Her positive attitude has led to great success. “There is nothing more fulfilling than creating an impact with something you believe in,” she enthuses. The network she made during her MBA proved invaluable, and she believes that if you surround yourself with the right people, “anything is possible.”

Using AI to drive change

Julie Lietaer is the founder and CEO of the start-up Ariadne Innovations, which uses AI to inspire change in the textile industry to become more sustainable.

Julie always felt entrepreneurial, and studied for a Masters in Financial Management at Vlerick Business School in Belgium, which helped her on her business journey. However, it has not always been an easy ride for Julie, who is also CEO of the European Spinning Group. Julie says that “the most difficult part at the start is to find the right product market fit. An important lesson as well is look for funding when you do not need it. Building financial knowledge is crucial for an entrepreneur.”

As a woman female entrepreneur, Julie believes she has had to prove herself more to get the same result as others. “I do have the feeling that women need to prove themself harder to get the same result. Whether it being raising funding, convincing key customers. However, I have still not figured our if that is only a feeling or the mere reality.”

Being both a CEO of one company, and a founder of a start-up, Julie is certainly well-placed to offer advice to other women in business. She says that female founders should first, “Define your purpose. Be confident. And do not forget to be yourself. And when you have jumped, do not give up. The beginning is always tough. But begin with the end in mind.”

Be a force at whatever you choose to do

Carly Bigi raised the first million in funding for Laws of Motion the summer she graduated with an MBA from Columbia Business School. “We were pre-product, pre-revenue, and pre-brand. Not only did Columbia’s Lang Fund invest, but a quarter of the round was filled by classmates. It’s a full-circle story – today, I’m hands on as a mentor to CBS founders, teach a published case about Laws of Motion in Entrepreneurial Strategy, and have hired several teammates and interns from Columbia.”

Laws of Motion is the first AI sizing technology for apparel brands. The proprietary AI virtually predicts customer body measurements with over 99% accuracy, helping customers know their best-fitting sizes when shopping online and helping brands understand how to refine and extend sizing to better fit their customers.

Carly started Laws of Motion because she was the customer. “I experienced the pain point of struggling to find clothes that fit, which resulted in shopping for hours, ordering multiple sizes of the same product, dealing with the hassle of returns, and investing in costly alterations.”

The more she learned about the apparel industry, the more she was in shock about the lack of precision data. “So I did what any frustrated customer would do,” she says without the least irony. “I built an inclusive apparel brand that fits customers of all shapes and sizes, and invented an AI sizing technology to virtually predict body measurements to ensure accuracy.”

She finds it impossible to talk about Laws of Motion without talking about Columbia. “While in school, I leveraged every resource available – classmates provided insights for customer discovery, entrepreneurship classes educated me about venture capital, and independent studies provided the mentorship and time to start building. Our first office (read: a couple desks nestled in the corner of a vibrant co-working space in downtown Manhattan) was in the Columbia Start-up Lab and my first hires were former classmates.”

Carly embraces being a female founder in tech like a super power. “Only 15% of tech founders are female and less than 2% of VC funding goes to female-founded companies,” she points out. “There will always be challenges in life but viewing them as opportunities and authentically showing up as your whole self are foundational to being a force at whatever you choose to do.”

Breaking the glass ceiling

Lina Belmadani was also inspired to start her business through a personal experience, when she became aware of her inability to negotiate her own salary and struggled to promote herself at work. She came to realise that these issues were widespread among women in business. “This revelation sparked my desire to embrace this fight and the dynamics contributing to the glass ceiling,” she says.

She started her own venture, La Moisson precisely because of the obstacles women face in business. “What then inspired me to embark on entrepreneurship was the freedom to create my own work ecosystem, to choose my battles, and to collaborate with inspiring people, without having to face the numerous obstacles that a person, especially a woman, can encounter within an organization.”

She created La Moisson, a movement dedicated to female empowerment. “We want to take on the glass ceiling by supporting women in their careers and we want to reinforce and fully valorise the potential of women. We deal with issues of salary negotiation, skills development and self-empowerment.

She gained confidence through her Global BBA at NEOMA Business School, which enabled her to “gain knowledge in a wide range of fields, which is a significant accelerator when starting a business.” One of her mantras is, “always educate yourself!”

She found that when she started in entrepreneurship, “there were very few female entrepreneurs, and therefore very little representation. It’s harder to project yourself when all the role models are male. I also had the impression that being a female entrepreneur was taken much less seriously than being a male entrepreneur, that the balance of power was completely different.”

Her network enabled her to thrive and provide the resources and kindness that she needed to thrive and succeed.

Authenticity builds confidence

“Be yourself, trust yourself,” is the advice from Ellie Campion, the founder and President of Mother Nurture Foundation. “You will be bombarded with images of what a founder should look like – even if it’s another female founder, but the world needs your unique skillset.”

Ellie built a successful career at Morgan Stanley before heading to the Yale School of Management for her MBA. “Yale SOM greatly strengthened my analytical framework. I learned from the best and brightest who made learning incredibly interesting and rewarding, but more importantly, the school entrusted me with a network of passionate people (both faculty and students) and a platform to launch whatever I could dream of.”

She founded Mother Nurture Foundation after her first daughter was born, and she learned first-hand the importance of maternal health. The company provides prenatal vitamins to pregnant women who would otherwise not have access to adequate nutrition or education around prenatal care.

“Having a child made me see the world in a different way. I quickly learned how powerful women really are and how influential a mother’s role in society is. Amongst other things, what a mother consumes during pregnancy shapes the rest of her child’s life; prenatal nutrition is something that influences every single person on this planet.”

Given that all resources are limited, Ellie really wanted to tackle a wide range of societal issues efficiently – from the very beginning when change is the most impactful. “Moms, however busy they are, love efficiency,” she says.

Making the world a better place

The role of a parent was naturally on the mind of Sarah Powers, when she started the Wharton MBA, Nemu and motherhood at the same time. “I had a strong recognition of my role in making the world a better place for my daughter, just as I had inherited opportunities that others before me worked hard to create.

So while I may encounter challenges unique to women, I also embrace them with the mentality that working through them may make the world easier to navigate for future generations.”

All of these entrepreneurs are changing business and endeavouring to make it better and more equitable. Their ideas are distinct, but one piece of advice that they all come back to is to build a strong and uplifting support network.

Business school proved to be a natural community for that, and in the case of Rikita Lakdawala, she co-founded a social enterprise focused on sustainability, Graff Inc with four other students who she met at Hult International Business School.

The venture revolves around a proprietary alternative to plastic, TexTerial which absorbs textile waste which would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated.

“85% of clothing produced ultimately ends up in landfills,” Rikita explains. “This alarming statistic is a direct consequence of the prevalent overproduction practices adopted by many fashion brands, aiming to make their per-unit costs more economical.”

With eight years of hands-on experience in the fashion industry and having witnessed the adverse effects of overproduction firsthand motivated her to seek avenues for positive change. With MBA in hand, she felt this was the natural next step in her journey to make a real difference.

“My co-founders played a pivotal role in us starting our business, because a startup up idea can only be executed well if you have a strong team that is determined and passionate about solving the problem.”

Graff Inc was a real-world project that allowed them to apply theoretical concepts to practical situations, honing problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities. “Business school provided me with a solid foundation of business knowledge,” she shares, “including principles of finance, marketing, operations, and strategy. This knowledge has been instrumental in understanding the intricacies of running a business and making informed decisions.”

As a woman entrepreneur, Rikita says that she has encountered unique challenges on her journey, but has always seen them as opportunities for growth and learning. “At Graff,, which is majority women-owned and founded by a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds, we’ve prioritized skills and expertise over gender. Within our organization, biases have never been an issue among the co-founders; our roles have always been based on merit.”

However, externally, we’ve occasionally faced subtle biases. Nevertheless, I navigate these challenges by holding firm to my values and refusing to compromise on my ethics. Whether it’s dealing with investors or potential partners, I assert myself confidently, showcasing my knowledge and skills without hesitation.”

Overall, overcoming these obstacles as a female entrepreneur has demanded resilience, determination, and a willingness to challenge stereotypes. By remaining true to herself and continuously evolving, Rikita and the other talented women featured have not only navigated these challenges but have thrived in their entrepreneurial journey.