Champions of entrepreneurship and advocates of diversity, sexual equality and work force empowerment, these groundbreaking women are making a big difference in business today. Here are their stories.
ENTREPRENEURIAL ALOHA
Melialani James
Locals call it the “brain drain”: Homegrown entrepreneurs from Hawaii follow jet stream to the mainland for school and pretty much never return. Melialani James saw it happen for years. So she chose a different path.
Yes, the 37-year-old Honolulu native went east in her 20s, but in 2012, after starting two successful apps in Silicon Valley, she moved back home to mentor, coach and help fund startup companies—especially those helmed by other Hawaiian locals.
The move was purposeful. It was calculated. “For years Hawaii was seen as the place you leave to go start stuff elsewhere,” she says. “Then one day it hit me: Why can't we make it so people actively come to start stuff here?”
Naturally, the easiest way to change the landscape has been from within. In her current role as head of new ventures at Sultan Ventures, a startup catalyst and boutique venture firm, James leads a team tasked with identifying and recruiting potential portfolio companies; provides mentoring and support to make portfolio companies investor-ready; and works with local companies to provide business-development and deal-structuring strategies.
She also runs XLR8UH, a state-university investment program that dabbles in tech transfer and focuses on proof-of-concept and commercialization.
Since 2014 James has served as president of the Hawaiian Venture Capital Association, a professional organisation designed to bring together members from the local entrepreneurial, investor and business communities to interact through educational and networking events.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2016-Ausgabe von Entrepreneur.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2016-Ausgabe von Entrepreneur.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
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Small businesses have a hiring problem. According to the July monthly jobs report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 19% of small businesses rank the inability to find quality labor as the single most important issue facing their company, while 38% reported job openings they could not fill. Overall, 49% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.
Three Pivots to $100 Million - How do you find a working business model? Do it like Rowan-a brand that reinvented itself many times before finally piercing the ear-piercing market
If you have a tween girl, you've probably heard of Rowan. It's the cool brand for piercings, where licensed nurses insert hypoallergenic studs into thousands of ears every day. With more than 500 employees, it's on track to have 65 stores and an annual run rate of $100 million in revenue this year.But in 2017, Rowan was just a fledgling startup with a great idea and a bad business model. It survived because founder Louisa Schneider was willing to pivot, and pivot, and pivot again, until its mission, profit, and market all clicked into place.
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