“Hire for the Business You’re Building”: How LunaFit’s Ariana Hakman Scaled with Clarity
“I kept people out of loyalty—even when they resisted structure, accountability, and the pace we were moving,” says Ariana Hakman, founder of LunaFit. “It created tension, misalignment, and exhaustion on my end.” The realization was as practical as it was personal: stop managing around people; start hiring for the company you’re actively building, not the one you started.
The Energy You Bring Is the Culture You Build
At FemFounder, we believe the way we lead is the way we live—and how we show up as founders doesn’t just shape outcomes, it shapes culture. In this story, Newport Beach–based entrepreneur Ethel Cohen, CEO of Ensurance.com, shares a pivotal moment that changed the way she leads her fast-scaling insurance marketplace and redefined her role as a founder from the inside out.
How a Box of M&Ms Helped Parcel Tracker Land One of Its Biggest Clients
Startup founders know the drill: sometimes even your best outreach hits a dead end, and the standard playbook just isn’t enough to break through. For Arthur Zargaryan, Co-Founder & CEO of Parcel Tracker, a moment like this sparked a clever, memorable move that ultimately transformed the company’s client roster—and serves as a lesson for any founder facing stalled deals.
How Desky’s Strategic Pivot Turned Corporate Wellness into Explosive B2B Growth
In a rapidly evolving workplace landscape, companies are reimagining what it means to support employee well-being, and leading brands are revising their own playbooks to meet that demand. For John Beaver, Founder of Desky, the journey from direct-to-consumer to B2B success was fueled by a clear vision: championing ergonomic solutions that put employee health at the center of corporate culture.
From Hard Candy to Cookies: Why One Bold Pivot Saved Our Business
Sometimes the boldest move a founder can make is admitting when something isn’t working—and having the courage to reinvent everything. Delia Hughes, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Tazzy, shares how a strategic, swift pivot not only rescued their business but became the catalyst for lasting growth.
The Rule I Break—and Why It’s the Secret to My Success as a Luxury Event Founder
In the world of entrepreneurship, we’re often told to “work on the business, not in it.” But for some visionary founders, breaking the mold—and the so-called rules—can be the key to standing out in a crowded market. Nicole Dohrman, founder of Dreams In Detail, a leading luxury event planning firm in Southern California, is living proof that success sometimes means trusting your instincts and rewriting the playbook.
Breaking the “Customer Persona” Myth: How Atome Bakery Let Real Data Shape Their Success By Alice Couderc, Co-Founder, Atome Bakery
There’s an unwritten rule in entrepreneurship: “You need to define your customer persona before launching.” But for Alice Couderc and her team at Atome Bakery, success came by rewriting that rule—and building a thriving e-commerce brand by listening, not assuming.
“We didn’t launch Atome Bakery with a well-defined customer persona or a polished segmentation strategy,” Alice shares. “We built a product that fit our lifestyle—fresh sourdough bread and pastries, frozen and ready to bake anytime—because we wanted it for ourselves.”
The Time-Saving Hack Every Mom Founder Needs: How Bébé Voyage’s CEO Automates Her Way to More Family Time
Balancing business leadership with motherhood isn’t about having it all figured out—it’s about finding what works, ditching what doesn’t, and making space for what matters most. For many mom founders, time is a scarce resource. That’s why Bébé Voyage CEO, Marianne Perez-Fransius, is passionate about sharing simple, actionable strategies for streamlining her workflow and reclaiming precious hours with her family.
Redefining Ambition: How Lora Weaver Rebuilt Her Business Around Meaningful Success
For many female founders, ambition fuels late nights, bold launches, and the audacity to start something from scratch. But what happens when the very definition of ambition begins to shift—when metrics no longer feel like the measure of success, and impact becomes the driving force? That’s the evolution Lora Weaver, founder of Happily Ever Expo, has experienced over the past few years.
Mastering the Juggle: How Anika Tarasiewicz Balances Family and Full-Service Design
For Anika Tarasiewicz, founder and CEO of Staten Island–based CRAFT by Anika, life’s greatest masterpiece isn’t a luxury penthouse—it’s finding harmony between her thriving interior-design firm and her family of five. Over the years, she’s weathered career pivots, personal loss, and the inevitable chaos of motherhood—all while growing her business across New York City and New Jersey. Below, Anika shares two strategies that helped her maintain creativity, structure, and a sense of peace of mind.
Beyond Balance: How Tayelor Kennedy Reclaimed Her Time and Built a Holistic Empire
After spending years hustling through 12-hour days in the corporate world, Tayelor Kennedy knew something had to change. A lifelong student of ancient healing and Ayurvedic traditions, she felt a disconnect between what she was building for others and what she was neglecting within herself.
From Medical Sales to Meaningful Impact: How Sabine Ghali Reimagined Ambition Through Real Estate
What happens when a high-achieving woman in a high-pressure industry decides that success needs a new definition? For Sabine Ghali, it meant trading national sales targets for client legacy-building—and launching a real estate brokerage with empathy and alignment at its core. Her pivot from metrics to meaning reflects the quiet power of recalibrated ambition.
From Law Partner to Purpose-Driven Entrepreneur: How Ginger Shields Reimagined Ambition
“For a long time, ambition looked like billable hours, promotions, and prestige. Now, it looks like creating beauty with purpose, building bridges across continents, and helping people rise together. I didn’t lose my ambition — I just gave it a new direction.” — Ginger Shields, Founder of Intertwined
From Corporate Professional to Conscious Consultant: How Amanda Duff, M.S., SHRM-CP, Redefined Sustainable Ambition
For years, Amanda Duff’s ambition was measured by titles, influence, and high performance in the corporate HR world. But after reaching the top of the ladder, she realized something essential was missing: sustainability. The pace was relentless, the wins felt increasingly hollow, and the life she was building didn’t reflect the values she cared most about. So Amanda did something radical. She walked away—not from ambition itself, but from the outdated definitions of success that no longer served her. Today, she helps others do the same through her consulting practice, Now What HR.
After Scaling to $700K, She Chose Her Daughter Over the Hustle with Ayla Quellhorst
Ayla Quellhorst built what many would consider a dream business. A former military photojournalist turned founder of a luxury boudoir brand, she scaled her photography company to over $700,000 in annual revenue. She led a full-time team, built multiple studios, and became a respected voice in the industry through features in Behind the Shutter, The Portrait System Podcast, and other notable outlets. However, despite all the success, it was one heartbreaking moment that changed her entire approach to business.
How JoAnne Loftus of Archival Designs Found Balance Without Compromise
When you’re the head of a legacy design firm with clients around the world and a reputation that spans decades, it’s easy to believe that work has to come first—always. For JoAnne Loftus, President and Owner of Archival Designs, one of the nation’s most recognized home floor plan designers, the hustle mentality nearly became a permanent blueprint. However, it was one pivotal moment, delivered by her daughter, that shifted her perspective on leadership, legacy, and what it truly means to be present for both her clients and her family.
Redefining Ambition: How Laura Benko Scaled Back to Expand With SoulBlog Post Title One
In the height of her entrepreneurial journey, Laura Benko had it all—a bestselling book, a flagship wellness boutique in Brooklyn, and over 150 SKUs under The Holistic Home Company. On paper, it was a picture of success. But behind the scenes, Laura was wrestling with a deeper truth: unchecked expansion was no longer fulfilling. What once felt like growth had started to feel like noise.