Woman Inc.

Since her teenage years, Tonya has pursued a healing journey focused on natural empowerment through nutrition and lifestyle. Her passion lies at the crossroads of science and spirituality, merging western and eastern modalities. With studies in holistic nutrition, yogic science, and a B.Sc. in Nutrition and Nutraceutical Sciences, Tonya embodies a holistic approach to well-being. Certified in Kundalini yoga, meditation, and Reiki healing, she founded Rainbo in 2018, driven by her belief in the transformative power of mushrooms and nature. Tonya aims to showcase the symbiotic relationship between fungi and human health, advocating for their pivotal role in fostering long-term harmony for individuals and the planet.

Mia Funt, Co-Founder & President of ByHeart, leads the only female-led infant formula company in the US. Amidst a formula shortage crisis in March 2022, Mia and her brother Ron Belldegrun launched ByHeart. Mia's leadership has been pivotal, providing support to parents and engaging with President Biden on lasting solutions. With three children of her own, Mia oversaw ByHeart's rapid production expansion, meeting 15 times the initial demand projection. Opting for a five-year investment in their production facility distinguishes ByHeart from other new entrants relying on third-party manufacturers.

Amy Spurling is the Founder and CEO of Compt, a company specializing in HR software. Their platform enables companies to offer personalized perks that comply with tax regulations and cater to global teams. With extensive experience, including three CFO and two COO roles, Amy emphasizes the importance of supporting employees for enhanced company performance. Over her nearly two-decade career in executive positions at venture-backed firms, she has successfully secured over ten rounds of financing totaling more than $200 million and completed two acquisitions.

Aye Moah, CEO and co-founder of email and calendar productivity suite Boomerang, bootstrapped her business more than ten years ago, foregoing the initial ‘rat race’ tech start-ups had to endure to secure a meeting with established VC’s, and it worked - Boomerang now has 2M+active users, 7 secured patents, corporate customers like Square, Twitter, and Lyft, and years of profitability.

After years of DJ gigs and late-night events, Jilly was on the search for a lower-alcohol version of her favorite spirit. With few, better-for-you, unflavored versions on the market, she founded BODY with the idea that not all vodka needs to be 40% alcohol volume. Jilly has set out to redefine the drinking experience and is creating a unique opportunity for low-proof vodka to step into the spotlight. BODY leads with taste over alcohol. By prioritizing premium, pure ingredients over ABV, Hendrix is helping to shine the spotlight on a shift in drinking culture toward lighter, cleaner and low-ABV options.

Inspired by a frustrating online shopping experience while searching for products for their children, best friends and new mothers Sylvana and Luisana founded Maisonette in 2017. As CEO, Sylvana leverages her 14 years of experience at Conde Nast’s Vogue magazine to lead the company's business strategy and operations. Maisonette quickly grew to become a leading innovator in the children's market, experiencing a 3x growth in 2020 and raising $50 million in total funding. In just four years, Maisonette has become a trusted destination for families and brands alike, known for its expertly curated marketplace featuring the best children's products from around the world.

Durana Elmi, Founder & COO of Cymbiotika If not quite a story of rags to riches, the story of Durana Elmi’s rise to success certainly comes close. Born in Afghanistan, Durana witnessed poverty, injustice, and oppression everywhere she turned, especially towards women who sought freedom and equality. Wanting more for herself and her future family, Durana immigrated to the United States to pursue her creative passions and make a name for herself. Durana quickly climbed the corporate ladder and became the Director of Marketing at AT&T. With her invaluable experience and business and relationship management skills, Durana decided to change course and pursue her passion for health and wellness. Shortly after, Durana became the Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Cymbiotika, where she transformed the company inside and out. Incredibly innovative, Durana created the world’s first custom subscription bundle platform and broke massive records. Under Durana’s leadership, Cymbiotika’s growth skyrocketed. In just the last four years Cymbiotika has achieved record-breaking numbers, doubling their customer subscriptions to a total of over 150,000 subscribers and increasing annual revenue from $1 million to over $100 million. Furthermore, Cymbiotika added over 40 SKUs to the company’s product offering in the last three years. Always looking for ways to improve, Durana transformed Cymbiotika’s call center from an offshore facility to entirely in-house and moved its headquarters to a state-of-the-art facility in San Diego, CA. Cymbiotika has been awarded Fortune’s Great Places To Work for three consecutive years. The company also achieved the 187th position on Inc. Magazine's 2023 list of America's Fastest Growing Companies for two consecutive years within its first two years of eligibility. With over 150,000 subscribers and a rapidly expanding team, Durana is, and always will be, a people-first leader. She has garnered recognition through prestigious awards, including San Diego Business Journal Business Woman of the Year, Female Executive of the Year, Globee Female Leader of the Year, and Dynamic Woman of San Diego. Despite her challenging upbringing as an Afghan immigrant, she remained focused on her goals and passions. As a champion for women, her unwavering dedication creates an environment where women thrive and lead with confidence.

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders (https://www.instagram.com/alliancefored/) (The Alliance), and their Founder & CEO, Johanna Kandel. The Alliance is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to outreach, education, early intervention, support, and advocacy for all eating disorders. Through their numerous life-saving services, including referrals to all levels of care; free-weekly, clinician-led support groups; low-cost outpatient treatment; and training for healthcare providers, The Alliance works tirelessly to ensure that not one more life is lost to this insidious disease.

Nicole Wegman, Founder and CEO, Ring Concierge (https://ringconcierge.com/), a NYC-based DTC luxury jeweler that has built an impressive company on a bespoke bridal business alongside a more accessible fine jewelry collection. Nicole launched the company back in 2013 when she was in her late 20s after realizing the diamond and jewelry industries have historically been dominated by men. She was profitable from year one, and over the past 8+ years, she has never taken outside funding. Ring Concierge aims to be the Tiffany's of this generation.

Meet Maren Jensen, an AAPI beauty maven and business entrepreneur. As a pioneer in the color cosmetics revolution in the ‘90s with Stila Cosmetics, Jensen is on a mission to replicate this in the beauty-focused functional food space, which is expected to reach $586 billion by 2030, with the launch of Glow Beauty Fuel. Alongside her business partner and co-founder Laura Shoemaker, the two are on a mission to combat pill fatigue and create a brand that intersects wellness, beauty and nutrition, targeting women in their 30’s and 40’s.

Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest, pioneers women's financial empowerment. Ellevest, a women-centric financial company, earned spots on CNBC's Disruptor 50, LinkedIn's Most Sought-After Startups, and Entrepreneur Magazine's 100 Brilliant Ideas. Krawcheck, a bestselling author ('Own It'), led major financial institutions before Ellevest. Recognized for her impactful work, she's a proud recipient of The Motley Fool's 2022 Women in Investing Awards.

Alicia Silverstone, a dynamic presence in acting, politics, and science, extends her influence as a dedicated health and wellness activist. Co-founder of the groundbreaking mykind Organics vitamin line, the first-ever food-based, organic, non-GMO vegan supplement, Silverstone champions innovation and sustainability in providing multivitamins, herbals, nutrients, and gummies. Recently debuting her iHeartRadio podcast, "The Real Heal," she aims to guide listeners through genuine healing. Silverstone's bestselling books, "The Kind Diet" and "The Kind Mama," recount her journey to conscious eating, while her website, thekindlife.com, remains a valuable resource for all things healthy, green, and eco-friendly, fostering a kinder lifestyle.

Carly Zakin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-zakin-69942aa/) and Danielle Weisberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-weisberg-3192538/) are co-founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm (https://www.theskimm.com/), a mission-driven media company empowering millennial women with the resources and confidence to maneuver through life’s necessities – from their finances, health, and career to how they vote. The two former NBC news producers met while studying abroad in Rome. Unbeknownst to them, what began as a product launch from their Manhattan couch has since become a media empire harnessing the power of this generation of women. Carly and Danielle developed a product that delivers digestible, conversational information - from politics and breaking news to pop culture - to help Skimm’rs feel more informed about the world around them. Since theSkimm’s inception in 2012, Carly and Danielle have expanded the company’s product suite to include three top-rated podcasts (Skimm This, 9 to 5ish, and Pop Cultured), theSkimm app, Skimm Money and Skimm Your Life newsletters, and Skimm Studios. theSkimm’s first book, How to Skimm Your Life, was released in June 2019 and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Seasoned entrepreneur and health visionary Lisa Odenweller has redefined the wellness industry over the last decade. Lisa is Founder and CEO of Kroma Wellness, (https://kromawellness.com/) a functional superfood nutrition company. Kroma and her earlier venture, Beaming Wellness, are considered two of the most successful cult brands in the history of the industry. Lisa is known for her ability to design innovative health food concepts and build robust ecosystems of influential investors and loyal customers. Lisa’s wellness endeavors are rooted in her passion for superfoods, which she began championing long before they were mainstream. Lisa entered the wellness space in 2011 with the founding of Beaming Wellness, an organic superfood café concept with locations throughout Southern California. The brand quickly attracted a cult following that established it as a trailblazer in the culinary and wellness industries. After exiting Beaming in 2018, Lisa began developing a larger-scale project with more ambitious reach: a direct-to-consumer superfood program offering functional, delicious products that simplify nutritional wellness. Out of this vision, Kroma Wellness was born. Lisa launched Kroma in July 2021 after conducting one of the most impressive capital raises in the history of the wellness industry. The brand’s early angel investors, assembled by Lisa during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic consisted of celebrities, entrepreneurs, and notable public figures. Today, Kroma is 90% funded by women. Kroma offers delicious, high-quality on-the-go foods and beverages that deliver maximum nutrition and require minimal preparation. Kroma’s menu of just-add-water bone and veggie broths, adaptogen superlattes, elixirs, snacks, and teas incorporate nutrient-dense superfoods and are known for their incredible flavor. The brand’s hero product is the 5 Day Whole Body Reset that is revolutionizing the way people think about cleansing and detoxing. Focusing on nourishment over starvation, the Reset allows users to customize the program according to their needs and goals. Since its launch, Kroma has experienced astronomical growth and has become a go-to health optimization tool among celebrities and health-minded individuals worldwide. Customer retention is extraordinarily high and projected revenues continue to climb year-to-year. Beyond her reputation for architecting transformative wellness concepts, Lisa’s ability to grow brands from capital raise to consumer zeitgeist has landed her on MindBodyGreen’s list of “100 Women to Watch in Wellness.” She has also been profiled in Forbes, Vogue, Glamour, The Skinny Confidential, and The Art of Being Well, among other top publications and podcasts. With uncommon energy, perseverance, and conviction, Lisa continues to grow Kroma alongside her daughter Lexi. She also tours the country as a keynote speaker and mentors other female entrepreneurs. Lisa is a lifelong Californian and currently resides in Santa Monica.

SASHA PLAVSIC, FOUNDER, ILIA BEAUTY (https://iliabeauty.com/) Topics: clean beauty industry, growing and scaling a business, sustainable production, minimalist beauty Born in Vancouver and raised in a rural, ocean-side setting just outside the city, Sasha has always been close to nature. Her younger brother and now business partner, Zac, suffered from acute asthma and allergies as a young child. Her mother, a true pioneer in health and wellness at that time, sought out homeopathic remedies to help heal her son. This included co-founding an organic food co-op with several families in the area, as organic food did not yet exist in the grocery stores. Through trial and error, Zac was healed primarily through diet, and went on to compete in sailing in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. This was an amazing accomplishment, especially after the doctors had predicted he would never be able to play sports. Sasha’s interests fell into design, studying Typography in London and New York. She found herself in Los Angeles in 2006 and spent several years working as a branding executive within the fashion and beauty industries. After moving home to Vancouver for a brief sabbatical, her mother encouraged her to read the ingredient list on her favorite lip balm. Sasha was shocked to discover many of the ingredients were not safe, and it’s something she used daily. The challenge was set –recreate her favorite lip balm so that it would be safe, effective and natural. And so the story of ILIA begins.

Catherine Powell is the Global Head of Hosting at Airbnb. In her role, Catherine leads Airbnb’s global hosting organization, helping 4 million+ Hosts of Homes and Experiences deliver best-in-class, quality hosting. Catherine's responsibilities include overseeing the Host insights and research team and the Experiential Creative Product team, as well as developing standards, education, products and features for Airbnb's Host community. Catherine also serves as executive sponsor of Airbnb.org, the company’s independent nonprofit, leading the team’s collaboration with the company to ensure Airbnb.org has the resources it needs to scale its impact in support of people in need of emergency stays. Prior to joining Airbnb, Catherine held a number of leadership positions at The Walt Disney Company, most recently serving as President of Disney Parks Western Region with a team of 120,000 cast members reporting into her, which included Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida; Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California; and Disneyland Paris in Coupvray, Marne La Vallee, France. Before that, she served as Présidente for the Euro Disney group, operator of Europe's leading tourist destination, Disneyland Paris. She also held the positions of Senior Vice President in charge of media distribution for EMEA, and General Manager for The Walt Disney Company in Australia and New Zealand. Catherine is Airbnb’s first Global Head of Hosting. As a leader, she is passionate about employee development and creating an equitable and inclusive culture that empowers people of all backgrounds to be great at what they do. She has pioneered a number of integrated and innovative strategies to drive revenue, reach and results across businesses and territories worldwide. A strong collaborator, Catherine is an experienced communicator and has worked to bring together and coordinate a wide variety of businesses and teams. Catherine is a mentor and board member at Ceresa, a non-profit leadership development and mentoring platform. She also sits on the board of Pophouse Entertainment, which operates in the fields of music, live entertainment, podcast, gaming and hospitality.

Tanya Taylor is an independent fashion brand based in New York City. Founded in 2012, the brand presents a unique and refreshing vision inspired by the city's energy, art, and the diverse women who inhabit it. Tanya's world is modern, artful, and liberating. Raised in a creative environment, Tanya was encouraged to explore art from a young age. From taking art classes to painting vibrant murals on the walls of her childhood home, it all led her to find her purpose as a creative entrepreneur. Taking an artistic, thoughtful approach to fashion, she intertwines the use of color, texture, and original hand-painted prints with uplifting and celebratory silhouettes into each size-inclusive collection, so all women have a way to express themselves creatively and confidently. Tanya received her Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from McGill University and is a graduate of the AAS Fashion Design program at Parsons School of Design. She currently acts as CEO and Creative Director of the Brand. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons where she continues to be inspired by the city and finding new ways to create.

Brie Olson is the Co-CEO of Pacsun, the popular youth retailer. Ms. Olson has played an instrumental role in building and strengthening Pacsun’s brand through innovative strategies with a Gen Z focus, including leading Pacsun as the first retailer in its space to accept Bitpay. As an Innovative, tech-centric retail executive who consistently drives brand strength and revenue growth through game-changing merchandising and marketing initiatives, Brieane leads with creativity, innovation, and a digital first mentality. During her tenure at PacSun, Olson spearheaded innovative collaborations for the LA based lifestyle brand, including working closely with Kanye West on his first clothing launch for Donda in 2013, and the signing of Kendall + Kylie clothing partnership exclusive to PacSun when the girls were 12 and 15. She also took PacSun global with the first ever shop footprint in London, launching both Men’s and Women’s shops at Selfridges in 2018 with launch parties hosted by PacSun partners Jerry Lorenzo. She has also promoted both her VP’s of Merchandising from within the company, true to her core leadership belief in nurturing in-house talent. Brieane graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communications & Business and attended Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, where she is currently an AMP Ambassador. She is a board member at Women In Retail Leadership, Shoptalk, Pacsun and Design Thinking for UC schools. She currently resides in Newport Beach, California with her two children, Colette and Rousseau, ages 8 and 10.