6 women business owners share the moment they knew they’d ‘made it’
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6 women business owners share the moment they knew they’d ‘made it’
While more and more women have been opening their own businesses, women entrepreneurs still face challenges when branching out on their own and moving up in professional settings.?
To learn more about how some women are taking their professional futures into their own hands, Fast Company spoke with six women entrepreneurs who have created thriving small businesses. Some of these businesses add a dash of beauty to the world through flowers or jewelry, some offer joy with artisanal treats, and still others make life easier for new moms through the cutest kids PJs or functional breast pumps. But they all have commonalities that began when the women first turned their passion projects into viable incomes.?
Below, they share the stories of founding their businesses—and the moments they knew they’d made it.
AUREA SANABRIA MOLAEI—FLOWER BODEGA
Partnering with American Express to highlight small businesses and the refreshed U.S. Business Gold Card, Aurea Sanabria Molaei spoke with Fast Company about her journey. The 37-year-old created Flower Bodega on February 14, 2018, after spending years in the events industry. Today, Flower Bodega creates beautiful floral designs for activations, magazines, flagship retail stores, even film sets.?
What inspired you to branch out on your own?
Having worked in the event-production industry for over a decade, I learned so much about the artistry of floral design through my time hiring and working alongside florists. During an event installation in Miami back in 2015, I was able to assist our florist with flower prep, and I fell in love with the process. I immediately signed up for classes at Flower School and applied my new skills to a variety of events for the media agency I was producing for.
Soon enough, I became the in-house florist and officially launched Flower Bodega in 2018. By 2019, it was no longer sustainable to work a full-time event job and moonlight as a florist. I was burning my candle at both ends. So I took the leap and decided to make Flower Bodega my full-time project. I never looked back.
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
There have been a few solid moments where Flower Bodega hit a new marker of success—from a feature in the New York Times to a hilarious one-on-one flower tutorial with Ryan Reynolds. But the moment that stands out the most for me, particularly as a native New Yorker, was when the panel I was invited to host and curate, titled “The Future of Flowers with Flower Bodega & Friends,” was advertised on a Times Square billboard.
Having spent a lot of after-school afternoons in Times Square as a teenager to now being featured on a billboard there, even if just for one day, that was a major moment. I felt like I finally established us as a brand that is recognized as an industry leader in New York City. There were many hugs, tears, and a champagne toast to celebrate.
JANIE DEEGAN—JANIE’S LIFE-CHANGING BAKED GOODS
Janie Deegan created Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods in 2015 after years of struggling with homelessness and addiction. The 36-year-old has inspired people everywhere with her uplifting story of overcoming obstacles and becoming a success. She now has three brick-and-mortar shops in New York City, including her first, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where she serves her delicious Pie Crust Cookies, among other delectable treats.
What inspired you to branch out on your own?
Baking was an outlet for me on the other side of my struggles with addiction and homelessness. At first, it was really just for me, until friends convinced me that my baked goods were good enough to sell. One friend in particular—someone I really looked up to—approached me to make her birthday cake for a big party. I knew she could buy and serve a cake from any bakery in the city, and her choice to serve mine really gave me the push to start my business.
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
When I opened up my first physical storefront on the Upper West Side, that’s when I felt like I “had made it.” I was mopping the floor alone super late the night before we opened, and it just hit me: “This was my mop, my floor, my walls that I painted, my speaker playing music.”
It was a beautiful, breezy summer evening, and I stopped what I was doing and took a quiet moment on the stoop outside to recognize how far I had come, how hard I had worked—and to really be proud of myself. Sitting still is hard for entrepreneurs, but I will always remember that moment.
ELIZA FERREL—JOY STREET
No one understands the issues that come with baby clothing better than moms. That’s exactly why 37-year-old Eliza Ferrel decided to launch her own business in June of 2020. Joy Street creates onesies and pajamas that are not only cute, but incredibly functional, and prioritize ease-of-use for new parents.?
What inspired you to strike out on your own? When did you start??
I was looking for a baby gift I couldn’t find. I wanted a location-based gift that was thoughtful and felt high-end rather than a sports onesie with a big logo. I was working at the time as a merchant/buyer at New Balance and had previous experience in the children’s and baby world from J.Crew CrewCuts, so I had knowledge of how to design, manufacture, and bring a product to market.
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I also enjoy painting and drawing in my spare time, so I decided to put pen to paper and come up with the design I couldn’t find, and bring it to market. I launched with our Boston collection in June of 2020 and shortly after launched in NYC, Nantucket, and Cape Cod—all places of significance to me.
I continued to work full time at New Balance and had my first child, Charlie, in December of 2020, which was a massive benefit in terms of truly understanding my product as a mom! My husband and I were fulfilling all our orders from a storage unit. My son not only came six weeks early, but was born December 5, so we were still filling holiday orders. My husband brought the package labeler to the hospital, and he was filling orders from the hospital.
We finally made the move to a fulfillment center, but filling the orders ourselves truly makes me appreciate the work that goes into fulfilling each and every order. I decided to make the leap to leave my job in July of 2021 and pursue Joy Street full time. Since then, we have done notable collaborations with the Smithsonian Museum and Serena & Lily, launched over 40 prints; and we work with around 300 small boutiques as well as J.Crew Marketplace, Maisonette, and Nordstrom.
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
I have the “I made it” moment every time I see Joy Street in the wild: Whether it’s spotting a kiddo in the Dallas airport wearing my pajamas, my dermatologist asking if I have heard of that brand “Joy Street,” or friends sending me photos of Anderson Cooper’s kids wearing Joy Street randomly in People magazine.
The times when I know one of our customers found Joy Street on their own and chooses us and loves the product are always my proudest moments. Nothing makes me prouder than when I get feedback from parents—that their kids reach for Joy Street in their pajama drawer first, and they always need to make sure they have a clean pair available.??
JANICE GOTT—MUU
As a mom, Janice Gott noticed firsthand the lack of mobile breast pump options that checked boxes for both form and function. She set about filling this hole in the market with a comfortable, discreet and easy-to-use device at an accessible price point. As the Muu pump has hit the market, Gott says the most rewarding part has been receiving positive feedback from other moms.
What inspired you to start creating the brand? When did you start?
I started developing Muu in 2020 in the final few weeks of my maternity leave because I wanted a breast pump that better fit my lifestyle. Pumping is such a personal experience; I wanted something that works for me but doesn’t hinder me.???
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
That moment for me was when the final iteration of the Muu pump went out for testing to breastfeeding moms, and we got 100% positive feedback. I knew we had something special with Muu, but there is no better validation than that which comes from real moms.
ALEXA MUFSON—ALEXA LEIGH JEWELRY
Finding super cute jewelry that is both durable and affordable is a tall order. When Alexa Mufson found herself struggling to find pieces that fit that bill, she decided to design her own. She created her brand in 2010 while living in New York City. Now, she offers pieces that are durable, comfortable, and even waterproof. They’re also the most stunning pieces you’re likely to find south of hundreds of dollars.
What inspired you to start creating jewelry? And when did you start?
I have always loved jewelry, and I felt stuck and uninspired at my first job out of college, so I started designing jewelry as an escape. I had lost my favorite necklace and tried to recreate it. After a long journey, Alexa Leigh was born.
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
Professionally, I don’t feel like I have made it yet. Did I? There was a moment at the very beginning, though, that I thought I had. It was before most social media existed and Miranda Kerr wore my anklets for a photoshoot. When I tweeted at her—probably the one and only time I ever tweeted—she responded saying she loved them. I called my mom, my sister, my dad, my boyfriend/now husband, and tried many of my friends. No one answered! But I remember thinking,”This is it! It’s all going to change. Should I quit my day job right now? It’s all happening!” Meanwhile, I didn’t even get a single order that day. Nothing happened.?
I do, however, think I have made it in the sense that I’ve created a successful business and get to do a job I love with a team I love. I have a work-life balance that leans heavier to the life than the work. In that sense, I feel very grateful.?
ALISSA MIKY—MISAKY.TOKYO
Alissa Miky was working in marketing when she got the idea to create a candy line that paid homage to some of her favorite Japanese treats. The 32-year-old had noticed that while most of the candies in Japan were both vegan and gluten-free, there were drastically fewer options available in America.
After the loss of a family member, Miky became acutely aware of the struggles facing diabetics in this country, and she was passionate about integrating Japan’s medical research into seaweed as a means of combating the disease. With these goals in mind, Misaky.Tokyo was born in 2019 in Los Angeles. Now, the brand not only makes stunningly beautiful candies, but it also produces food and beverage products, alternative packaging, and customizable collections of candies.
What inspired you to start out on your own? When did you start?
Born in 1992 in New York of Japanese descent, I grew up in Japan from the age of nine. I embarked on this journey for two key reasons. First, the loss of a family member in the U.S. to diabetes highlighted flaws in the healthcare system—a subpar medical environment and exorbitant costs. By contrast, Japan’s medical evidence supporting seaweed against diabetes led to establishing a seaweed-biotech startup in Los Angeles in September 2019.
Our focus includes developing food and beverage products, alternative containers, and medical capsules using advanced seaweed-processing technology grounded in sustainable and regenerative global blue carbon and longevity principles.
The second significant event was the tragic suicide of a dear friend, a U.S.-born lawyer in Japan. In a challenging legal landscape where only 20% of law students can pass the bar, she faced additional hurdles due to gender disparities. This fueled my commitment to support women and minorities through my businesses.
In the U.S., particularly in the fields of food and science, Caucasian men dominate, leaving women and minorities without adequate representation. Our current goal is to help establish a society with a 90% female-employment rate and an 87% minority-employment rate, striving for an egalitarian society through empowering women in business and entrepreneurship.
This mission inspired the creation of our seaweed-candy brand, Misaky.Tokyo, which combines the Japanese words for “beautiful” and “future.” Through our company, brand, and product, we aim to contribute to a joyful society for both customers and employees.
What was the moment you felt you’d made it and how did you celebrate?
My aspirations are significant, and I am currently in the process of striving to get listed on Nasdaq. However, the most incredible experience thus far has been my collaboration with Kim Kardashian. Out of the blue, she reached out to me and purchased 100 boxes of Misaky.Tokyo crystal treats for her celebrity friends.
Subsequently, we developed flavors to complement the eight fragrances in her new fragrance line, KKW Fragrance, and officially collaborated with her. I was genuinely surprised and moved when she organically posted a long-form video on her social media. This experience made me realize that with hard work and regular 18-hour days, there will be people who support you, and that the American Dream is indeed tangible.
I was so tired that I celebrated by changing into my favorite pajamas, turned on the Taylor Swift documentary, and fell asleep before the first song.