From Environmental Engineer to Founding Bick Law LLP: Kimberly Bick on Building a Women-Owned "Big Law Alternative," Navigating Post-Chevron Environmental Regulation, and Why She Became an "Accidental Entrepreneur"

Kimberly Bick is the founding and co-managing partner of Bick Law LLP, a Women-Owned Business Enterprise providing Fortune 500 clients with "Big Law" environmental expertise using flexible billing structures. But her path to founding Bick Law wasn't the result of careful planning. She describes herself as

From Winning a Horse to 30+ Years Telling Agriculture's Story: Kenda Resler Friend on Founding KRF PR After Dow AgroSciences, Why "Everyone with a Smartphone Is a Reporter," and Building Her Third Storytelling Decade

Kenda Resler Friend is the President and Founder of KRF Public Relations, an Indianapolis-based agency helping agricultural organizations, nonprofits, and businesses tell their stories. But her path to founding KRF PR in 2019 started with something unexpected: winning a free Quarter Horse named “Squirt” from Bob Evans Restaurants in 1984.

Two Daughters Take Over Their Fathers' IP Firm: Maja Modigh on the Generational Transition at Hansson Thyresson, Leading as an Engineer in IP Law, and Preserving Culture While Modernizing

Maja Modigh is the CEO of Hansson Thyresson AB, a full-service intellectual property law firm founded 30 years ago in Malmö, Sweden, by her father Anders Hansson (electronics engineer and patent attorney) and Lars Thyresson (attorney at law). About a year ago, Maja and Elsa Thyresson took over the firm

From 2 AM Talk Shows to VP of Operations at TrialX: Priya Menon on Producing 300+ CureTalks Episodes, Leading Global Operations at TrialX from India, and Why Patient Empowerment Drives Better Research

Priya Menon is Vice President of Operations at TrialX, a clinical research and space health informatics company, and Producer and Host of CureTalks, an online healthcare talk show platform where she's produced and hosted over 300 episodes on cancer research and medical breakthroughs for US audiences. But her

From Camden Council to MBE: Dr Shabnam Ahmed on Building School of Shabs, Pioneering Anti-Racism in Social Work, and Why Safety Isn't Universal

After 26 years shaping social work practice at Camden Council, Dr Shabnam Ahmed didn't just leave to start a business. She crystallized decades of frontline expertise, doctoral research, and anti-racist advocacy into School of Shabs, a training company reshaping how practitioners across England approach supervision, equity, and professional

From São Paulo to Tampa to Founding Controller Works: Mariana Alvarez on Growing Up in a Family Business, Healing from Divorce While Building a Virtual Accounting Firm, and Why "I Understand When They Say 'I Barely Have Money to Make Payroll This Week'"

Mariana Alvarez, MSA, EA is the founder and CEO of Controller Works, a virtual outsourced accounting firm serving small to mid-size family-owned businesses in Tampa and beyond. But her path to building Controller Works came after enduring a challenging divorce that dismantled her family and forced her to rebuild her

From Condé Nast to LoveReading and brave&bold: Deborah Maclaren on Building Two Purpose-Driven Businesses, Donating £100K+ in Books to UK Schools, and Why Purpose Is Your Competitive Advantage

Deborah Maclaren is Chief Executive of LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids, and Co-Founder of brave&bold, a female-focused consultancy providing fractional expertise to organizations. But her path to building two purpose-driven businesses came after nearly three decades in media and publishing, where she started at Condé Nast, and climbed the corporate

From International Student to Award-Winning Immigration Attorney: Fiona McEntee on Founding McEntee Law Group and Visa Pathways for Female Entrepreneurs

Fiona McEntee came to the United States as an international student from Ireland. Today, she’s the Founding Partner of McEntee Law Group, a nationally recognized immigration law firm based in Chicago that has advised thousands of startup founders, artists, athletes, and entrepreneurs on their paths to building businesses and

From 14 Books to The Grounded Leader: Sweta Vikram on Building NimmiLife, Coaching Leaders Through Grief, and Why Ayurveda Isn't About Perfection

Sweta Vikram doesn't just teach wellness. She lives it, writes it, and builds businesses around it. As an award-winning author of 14 books, Ayurvedic doctor, trauma-informed yoga teacher, certified grief coach, and adjunct professor, she's spent decades translating ancient wisdom into practical frameworks for modern life.

From Am Law 200 Chair to Co-Founding Conn Maciel Carey: Kara Maciel on Leaving Big Law to Build a Boutique Employment Firm, Compliance Mistakes Startups Make, and What Non-Unionized Companies Need to Know About the NLRA

Kara M. Maciel is a co-founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey LLP and Chair of the firm's national Labor & Employment Practice Group. But her path to co-founding a successful boutique employment law firm came after serving as Chair of the Hospitality Employment and Labor Law Outreach Practice

From Laid Off and "Captive" in a Cubicle to Founding YellowBook-CPE: Leita Hart-Fanta on Teaching Yellow Book Standards with a "Three-Ring Circus," Surviving Breast Cancer, and Why Healthcare Should Never Keep You from Entrepreneurship

Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA is the founder of YellowBook-CPE.com, a government audit training company she launched in 1996 after seven years of feeling "captive" in traditional audit positions where she "went to work in the dark and left work in the dark." Today, YellowBook-CPE provides enjoyable,

From Background Vocalist to Award-Winning IP Attorney: Jo-Ná A. Williams on Protecting Creatives from Exploitation, Negotiating Without Killing Deals, and Building a Law Practice That Doesn't Lead to Burnout

Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq. is an award-winning attorney, founder, advisor, and instructor who founded J.A. Williams Law P.C. in 2011 to provide artists, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders with ways to successfully navigate their careers, secure their companies, and protect their intellectual property. But her path to founding her

Women in VC

From MIT PhD to First Chief Innovation Officer at Three Healthcare Giants: Naomi Fried on Building PharmStars, Bridging the Pharma-Startup Gap, and Why Startups Need "an MBA in Pharma"

Naomi Fried, PhD is the founder and CEO of PharmStars, the first and only pharma-focused accelerator for digital health startups, and co-founder of the PharmStars Ventures fund. But her path to launching PharmStars came after an extraordinary track record as a "first" in healthcare innovation leadership across three

Women Who Lead

From Widowed with Two Young Children to The UK's First Widow Coach: Karen Sutton on Building "Finding Hope in Widowhood," Hosting The Widow Podcast, and Why "It Wasn't Just Him I Lost, It Was the Version of Me That He Knew"

Karen Sutton is the UK's first specialized coach dedicated to supporting widows and surviving partners globally. But her path to building The Widow Coach Ltd came after the sudden death of her husband Simon in September 2016, when she was left widowed with two young daughters. From the

PR

From the Music Scene to Nordic Tech PR: Lovisa Fredriksson on Finding Compelling Stories, Why Press Releases Don't Work Like Magic, and Building a Solo PR Practice That Delivers Agency-Level Results

Lovisa Fredriksson is the founder of LFPR & Content, a strategic PR and content agency based in Malmö, Sweden. But LFPR & Content is "so small that it actually consists of only one person" – and that person is Lovisa, who has worked in the PR and communications industry

Law

From BigLaw Paralegal to Virtual Business Pioneer: Pamela J. Starr on Launching StarrParalegals in 2008, Chairing NFPA's Ethics Board for Eight Years, and Building a Career Mitigation Business with Snarky Authenticity

Pamela J. Starr, CBA, J.S.M., M.A.T.D., is the founder and "Paralegal Extraordinaire" of StarrParalegals, LLC, a pioneering virtual paralegal service launched in 2008—long before remote work became mainstream. After spending decades in BigLaw, Pamela reinvented herself by creating a model that blended

Law

From IBM Project Manager in Singapore to Co-Founding Norton Basu LLP: Somita Basu on Leaving Management Consulting for Law School, Estate Planning for Entrepreneurs, and Building a Multicultural Firm Called "The Best of the Best"

Somita Basu is the founding principal of Norton Basu LLP, a California-based estate planning and probate law firm that Retired Judge LaDoris Cordell (who presided over Santa Clara County Probate Court for two years) calls "the best of the best." But Somita's path to co-founding a

Law

From 25+ Years on Bay Street to Betting on Herself at Dipchand LLP: May Cheng on Leaving Big Law for a Boutique IP Powerhouse, Building a Specialty Practice in Anti-Counterfeiting, and Navigating Bill 96's French Language Requirements

May Cheng is a partner at Dipchand LLP, a Toronto-based IP boutique that Legal 500 describes as "a small but mighty IP boutique that punches well above its weight." But May's path to this woman-led, seven-partner firm came after spending over 25 years at top-tier Bay

Law

From Growing Up on a Farm to Co-Founding Janzen Schroeder Ag Law: Brianna Schroeder on Environmental Litigation, Agriculture's Big Data, and Leading the National Discussion at the Intersection of Farming, Technology, and Regulation

Brianna Schroeder is co-founder of Janzen Schroeder Ag Law, a boutique law firm exclusively focused on serving those involved with agriculture—from sophisticated farms to ag technology providers to agribusinesses. Since co-founding the firm with Todd Janzen in 2015, Brianna has become a national thought leader at the intersection of

Women Who Lead

From Single Parent to Successful Coach: Gemma Hogan on Building Talenta, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, and the 'Align & Act' Framework

Gemma Hogan didn't have a traditional path into HR. As a young single parent without much education or experience, she made a decision not to let circumstances dictate her life. Evening classes, part-time roles, college, and university all while supporting her son. Sixteen years of grafting in corporate

Women Who Lead

From Foundation to Freedom: How Elana Leoni Built a Mission-Driven EdTech Marketing Agency

When Elana Leoni walked away from her role leading marketing at the George Lucas Educational Foundation, where she'd grown Edutopia's social media presence to reach over 20 million education changemakers monthly, most people thought she was crazy. Eight years at a nationally recognized brand backed by

Women Who Lead

From Cybersecurity Law to Wellness Entrepreneurship: Fazila Moosa on Acquiring Stretch-eze and Building a Nervous System Support Brand

After 25 years practicing cybersecurity and privacy law, including founding PRIVATECH Consulting and serving as a recognized Privacy by Design Ambassador, Fazila (Zila) Moosa made an unexpected pivot: she acquired Stretch-eze®, the original resistance loop trusted by movement professionals since the 1980s. But this wasn't a random career

Marketing

From Biochemistry Student to Building Dani Digital: Danielle Theobald on Scaling to 65 Million Monthly Impressions, Why She Guarantees Results or Clients Get Their Money Back, and Building Marketing Funnels That Turn Vanity Metrics Into Revenue

Danielle Theobald knows the difference between chasing viral content and building a business that actually makes money. As Founder and Director of Dani Digital, she's built a social media marketing agency achieving 65 million monthly impressions and generating $4M+ revenue for clients in 2023 (plus $10M+ through paid

Marketing

From Tech City UK to Building CEW Communications: Cathy White on Strategic PR for Startups, Why Credibility Matters More Than Coverage, and How Founders Should Think About Communications Before, During, and After Fundraising

Cathy White knows what it takes to break through the noise in Europe's startup ecosystem. As Founder and Director of CEW Communications, she's built one of Europe's top boutique agencies for tech scaleups since launching in 2016. Within two years, CEW was recognized as