19/11/2023 – 15:00
On November 19th, World Human Rights Day is celebrated. Female Entrepreneurship. The date was created by the UN to celebrate women’s leadership and highlight their role in the business world.
+ Female entrepreneurship will be the theme of national week in November
According to a study carried out by Sebrae, 34.8% of all entrepreneurs in Brazil are women, totaling 10.3 million entrepreneurs. This growth is proof of how women’s power can open new paths in all scenarios. Check out six successful entrepreneurs and their respective trajectories in entrepreneurship:
The vision of someone who started in the beauty market
Michelle Wadhy and Márcia Queirós, founders of Fast Brush, met in 2009 when they worked at Avon. In 2017, they became partners of a training institute that offers free courses in the beauty area. Working in the segment and experiencing a busy life, the two friends saw a pain that many women go through: not being able to find a free schedule in beauty salons.
The business model was designed in a franchise format and today has more than 240 units throughout Brazil at a fair price. Márcia and Michelle use their expertise to teach and further professionalize all their employees and franchisees. Today, in addition to brushing, makeup, nail and eyebrow services, Fast Escova has entered the cosmetics market.
With its own brand, it offers beauty products, ranging from lipsticks, hair products and a line of nutraceutical products. For my friends, becoming an entrepreneur has always been a dream. “Now, our focus is on helping more women to be in charge of their own time with an agile and quality service. Furthermore, with more than 200 stores spread across the country, our focus is also on helping women to own their own businesses”, comments Márcia.
In the wedding business
More than 10 years ago, friends Paula Raimo and Camila Piccini became partners when they took over the Casar fair – an event launched in 2001 in São Paulo – sold by the founder, Vera Simão. “Paula worked as Sales Manager in a space that I received events from my blog ‘Say I Do’, in which I shared tips on organizing weddings”, explains Piccini about the choice to invite Raimo to embark on the project with her.
Together, they turned the fair into a brand that offers a digital product, a platform of wedding lists converted into cash, Casar.com, which also has partner Fabio Camillo. Since taking over the company, the business has grown 34 times and the event is in its 21st edition.
The perspective of those who started through technology
Iona Szkurnik is from Rio de Janeiro and is a psychologist who worked with social and economic development. When she moved to California to study Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at Stanford in 2013, she worked on the first team that set up the university’s then online learning platform and has since established herself as an Education and Technology executive in Silicon Valley at startups B2B. In 2018, Iona had the opportunity to found the Brazil at Silicon Valleyan organization of which she is a founding member.
The specialist in Education Innovation decided to found Education Journey, which uses AI to provide corporate education for companies of the most varied segments and sizes, focusing on each employee and their main points for improvement. Today Iona works 100% in the strategic and operational part of the company.
Iona is a mother of two children and always highlights in her speech the challenges of reconciling personal and professional life. She is the winner of the Innovation Award for StartUp in Education from the Lemann Foundation and a mentor for entrepreneurs in Brazil. “Education has always been a starting point for me and being able to undertake something thinking about a better future and transforming our country’s workforce gives me the feeling of doing my duty”, she says.
Franchises run by women
Pampili, a children’s women’s lifestyle brand, stands out for its significant contribution to female entrepreneurship. With 90% of its franchisees being women, the brand not only creates delightful products for little ones, but also provides opportunities for women in diverse communities. This initiative reflects Pampili’s commitment to promoting diversity and empowering women to achieve success in business.
“On Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, we celebrate the strength and resilience of women who lead and inspire ventures around the world, and it is gratifying to know that Pampili inspires everyone from little girls, with our products, to adult women, being at the forefront of our franchises across the country”, highlights Maria Colli, founder of Pampili.
Glaucia Costa, from Rio, saw Di Santinni, the top 3 of the largest multi-brand footwear retailers in the country, the opportunity to see her entrepreneurial dream come to life. For the last year she has been responsible for managing the franchise of the store located in Carioca Shopping, in Rio de Janeiro, and it has been so successful that she recently opened another franchise of the brand in Shopping Internacional de Guarulhos, in São Paulo. “I am very fulfilled by working doing what I like and I didn’t hesitate as soon as the opportunity to acquire the Di Santinni franchise arose, and today I can earn a profit proportional to my effort. I managed to turn my dream into reality”, she highlights.
She, however, states that being an entrepreneur is a constant challenge and that it is very difficult to completely disconnect from work, and that managing your finances and that of your employees are challenging tasks.
Search for female representation in the events sector
Tereza Santos has a degree in Advertising, with a specialization in Customer Relationship Management and an MBA in Business Management. She began her career at Sympla as Operations Director, playing a distinct role both in leading international operations and ensuring excellence in support and customer experience. As of September 2020, Tereza rose to the C-Suite, occupying the position of Services Director at Sympla.
In 2021, he assumed the position of CEO of Sympla, previously held by Rodrigo Cartacho. The executive accepted the proposal and began leading the online events platform. Today he is in charge of 250 employees and around 30 thousand simultaneous events for sale on the platform.
With Tereza at the head of the company, Sympla won the Gold and Bronze Jacaré in the Web Solution Services and Innovative Solutions and New Technologies category, for the Caio Awards in 2021. Last year, it won three more Caio awards, two for Social Responsibility for Event Suppliers and one for Innovative Solutions and New Technologies. Furthermore, she was named by Bloomberg Línea in the list of the 500 most influential people in Latin America in 2022 and 2023, and also in 2023, she was listed by Forbes, among the 10 best CEOs in Brazil.
“The events sector has very little female representation. Currently, in the position I hold, I am dedicated to finding ways to offer greater visibility to the many other women with whom I collaborate. In the events area, for example, I am the only female CEO”, concludes Tereza.
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