Unveiling the Trailblazers: 9 Women of Color Entrepreneurs Throughout History
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Did you know that fewer than 25 percent of small businesses are owned by women of color?
With numbers like these, it is rare for women of color to see entrepreneurs that look like them. Who can you gain inspiration from?
Though women of color entrepreneurs may seem scarce, there have been many throughout history — and each of these women has created her own path to success while helping others do the same by spreading their wealth in different ways.
From Madam C.J. Walker to modern household names like Oprah, Mindy Kaling, and Rihanna, here are some success stories of entrepreneurial women.
Madam C.J Walker
It wouldn’t be fair to make a list of amazing women without mentioning Madam C.J. Walker. Her success paved the way for every woman mentioned on this list.
Photo credit: Michael Ochs Archive// Getty Images
Listed in the Guinness World Records as the first woman millionaire, Walker was worth over $1 million at the time of her death in May 1919 — equivalent to a staggering $18 million in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Born Sarah Breedlove, she was the first child of five to be born out of slavery. Married at 14 and widowed by age 20 with a daughter, Walker moved to Missouri and worked as an underpaid washerwoman.
She moved to Denver in 1905, where she became a cook for a pharmacist. With her newly acquired knowledge of basic chemistry and previous experimentation with hairdressing, Walker created Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, an ointment that healed dandruff.
In 1908, Walker moved to Pittsburgh where she opened the Lelia College of Beauty Culture, named after her daughter. Walker also owned her own manufacturing company based in Indianapolis.
This inspirational individual was not only a successful entrepreneur but also a mentor. Walker provided opportunities for over 20,000 saleswomen by 1919 at her company.
She was deeply devoted to the progress of African American communities. Not only did Walker speak up, but she also made many financial contributions to groups like the NAACP, YMCA, and Black schools across the country.
Peggy Cherng
Peggy Cherng is the co-founder of Panda Express, and the co-CEO and co-chairman of Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. She founded the company in 1983 with her husband. Panda Express was valued at an estimated $3 billion in 2022, according to Forbes.
Photo credit: Brinson Banks
Cherng grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States to attend Baker University in Kansas. After transferring to Oregon State University (OSU) and receiving a degree in applied mathematics, she earned a master’s degree in computer science and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri. Originally finding her career in engineering, she is now a thriving businesswoman.
Cherng is credited with creating one of the first purpose-built point-of-sale systems in the fast-food industry, according to OSU. That and her innovative ideas of catering to the guest’s experience have contributed to the success of Panda Express.
Cherng is no stranger to philanthropy. After Cherng and her husband gave a $30 million donation to the California Institute of Technology, the medical school was renamed after them. Cherng also donated a reported $2.5 million to the Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University and $1.5 million to the University of Missouri Honors College.
Nely Galán
Becoming a big name in the entertainment industry may seem impossible to achieve. Nely Galán shows that it is attainable, not only for women, but also for Latinas.
Photo credit: Kwaku Alston
Galán was the president of entertainment for U.S. television network, Telemundo. As of 2022, Telemundo was the second highest-ranked U.S. Hispanic TV network, according to Comscore.
Though she is no longer the president of Telemundo, Galán started her own media company, Galán Entertainment, in 1994. Aside from launching 10 television channels in Latin America, Galán Entertainment created The Swan, a reality television contest. Broadcasted on FOX Network, the show’s first season averaged 9.1 million viewers, according to Variety.
Galán owned a real estate development and investment company, Santa Clara LLC, for 15 years. She is also the author of The New York Times bestseller, Self-Made. This “entrepreneurship for women manifesto” was written to inspire women to take financial control of their own lives.
Galán is the founder of The Adelante Movement (Move Forward!), which inspires Latinas to become leaders in America through social, economic, and political conversations. In addition to inspiring Latinas across the country, Galán has raised $250,000 for Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence on The Celebrity Apprentice.
Oprah
It’s safe to say that Oprah has left her mark on the world. The use of her wealth and status to spread good throughout the world never goes unnoticed.
Oprah Winfrey became a self-made billionaire in 2003. In addition to her famous talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, she founded her own production company, Harpo Productions, in 1986. O, The Oprah Magazine, movie appearances, and books also contributed to her first $1 billion.
Photo credit: Pamela Littky for Variety
Oprah was raised by her grandmother and mother. She’s a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. According to the Academy of Achievement, Oprah had a baby – that died two weeks later.
Oprah left her childhood home to live with her father in Nashville. Her father’s tough love allowed her to thrive. She became an honors student and received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University before leaving school to follow the success of her broadcasting career.
After a successful 25-season run, The Oprah Winfrey Show ended in 2011. This did not stop Oprah. She launched her broadcasting network, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and hosts Oprah’s Lifeclass on the network.
She opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa to give girls born into poverty, abuse, or otherwise marginalized conditions a chance to become educated. Along with charitable gifts for her show audiences, Winfrey’s Angel Network began giving $100,000 to people dedicated to bettering the lives of others.
Oprah received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 for her impact across the world. An internationally recognized, self-made billionaire like Oprah using her status to change the world is something many can admire.
Jin Sook Chang
A recognizable brand like Forever 21 is not just created out of thin air. Jin Sook Chang and her husband worked hard to make the retail store a household name.
Photo caption: Ethan Pines// Forbes
Chang is the co-founder and former chief marketing officer of Forever 21. At the peak of Forever 21’s popularity in 2015, Chang’s personal net worth was an estimated $3.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Arriving in the U.S. from South Korea in 1981 with a high school education, she worked as a hairdresser while her husband worked in coffee shops. In 1984, with $11,000 in savings, Chang and her husband opened a small clothing store called Fashion 21.
Fashion 21 sold cheap fashionable clothes and became popular among the Korean community in Los Angeles. The store’s demographic expanded, earning $700,000 in revenue in its first year. Along with a name change, the retailer expanded across the country, opening a new store every six months. Forever 21 peaked in sales in 2015 with an estimated $4.4 billion in revenue from over 600 stores, according to Business Insider.
Business Insider says that a shift in consumer interests, overexpansion, and out-of-touch marketing led to Forever 21 filing for bankruptcy in 2019. The business was sold for $81 million in 2020.
This businesswoman’s pivot with the company is no discredit to her success. She managed to stay prevalent in the ever-changing retail industry for 30 years. In May 2011, Forever 21 donated a day’s worth of online purchases to the Red Cross in Japan.
Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling is not afraid of using her footing in the entertainment industry to promote diversity and tell the stories of minority communities.
Kaling is most commonly known as an award winning Indian-American actress, comedian, producer, and director. She is the CEO of her own media company, Kaling International. Kaling is a producer and writer who created shows like Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girls. The first season of Never Have I Ever was viewed in 40 million households globally in the four weeks after its release, Deadline states.
Photo Credit: Amazon Publishing
Kaling was hired to The Office writers’ room in an attempt to diversify the space by NBC (SheVentures contacted NBC for comment and did not receive a response). She ended up writing the most episodes of the show. She left after eight seasons to start her own show, The Mindy Project. The comedy, which Kaling created and starred in, follows a young OB/GYN and the interesting characters she meets. The show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2015.
Shows like Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girls display diversity in lead characters, as well as supporting ones. Never Have I Ever follows the story of an Indian-American teenager navigating being high school while dealing with the loss of her father. The series has won three People’s Choice Awards for Comedy Show of the Year.
The use of Kaling’s production to emphasize diversity in television is a great example of women of color taking matters into their own hands. Instead of asking for more diversity, she implemented it herself.
Rihanna 👑
While her music captures the hearts of many across the world, Rihanna has used her status to become one of the most successful businesswomen of a generation.
Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty is the richest woman musician in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. However, her primary source of income is not from her music, touring, or acting. Her cosmetic business, Fenty Beauty is worth an estimated $2.8 billion.
The artist founded Fenty Beauty in 2017, a joint venture in which the other half is owned by luxury goods business LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). Rihanna is the first Black woman to create an original brand under LVMH.
Photo caption: Getty Images
Rihanna launched her lingerie company, Savage X Fenty, (check out this cute bralette) in 2018. According to Forbes, the company is currently worth an estimated $270 million. She also launched a skincare brand, Fenty Skin in 2020. Fenty Beauty’s drop in 2017 changed the cosmetic game. Boasting 40 shades with the goal of diversity in skin tone shades, the line inspired other cosmetic brands to expand their shades as well. Check out some makeup here.
Rihanna also created her lingerie line with the hopes of inclusivity, utilizing plus-sized models and selling up to sizes 3XL.
In addition to her musical talent and business management, Rihanna was named the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of her native Barbados in 2018. She was also named the island country’s 11th National Hero in 2021.
Rihanna’s humanitarianism knows no limits: She was named Harvard’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2017 for founding the nonprofit Clara Lionel Foundation Global Scholarship Program and supporting the Global Partnership for Education as well as the Global Citizen Project.
Melanie Perkins
It is amazing that one of the most successful startup companies was founded by a woman of color.
Melanie Perkins is the co-founder and CEO of the graphic design app, Canva. Her net worth, as of June 2023, is an estimated $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. Canva was valued by private investors at $40 billion in 2021.
Photo credit: Christopher Morris
Born in Australia of Filipino and Sri Lankan descent, Perkins dreamed of becoming a professional figure skater in high school. At age 14, she started her first business selling scarves in her hometown.
While attending the University of Western Australia, Perkins worked as a private tutor for graphic design students. She watched how difficult and time-consuming it was for students to understand graphic design software. Perkins wondered if there was a way to make it easier.
At 19, she dropped out of school to pursue a new business, Fusion Books, with her husband. The company, which provided an easier way for students to create yearbooks, became so large in Australia that after five years, it was able to expand into New Zealand and France.
Looking for a startup loan, Perkins was rejected by many investors before getting Canva off the ground. Now, Canva is recognized as one of the few startup companies that are deemed profitable.
Perkins believes that diversity in employment is essential. Compared to the Australian industry standard of 28 percent of women in the workforce, Canva has 41 percent women employees. Canva also has created interview and unconscious bias training to ensure that job advertising includes gender-neutral terminology and requirements.
“In this day and age, companies have a much greater responsibility than the old mantra to ‘do no evil.’ We have an incredible opportunity and responsibility to create a world that’s better for everyone who lives here.” Perkins wrote on Medium.
Perkins and her husband joined the Giving Pledge in 2021, which commits half of their fortune to better the world.
Rea Ann Silva
Rea Ann Silva has had many pivots in her life. Her genius ideas and hard work have made a lasting impact on the cosmetic industry.
Silva is the founder and CEO of Beautyblender and the inventor of the popularly used egg-shaped tool. Her company’s sales reached $175 million in 2019, according to Forbes.
Photo credit: Beautyblender
Raised in a working-class household, Silva was the first in her family to explore post-secondary education. Her creativity and interest in art led her to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. While in school, she worked at the perfume counter in a department store. Silva got to know the workers at the cosmetics counter and eventually switched to the department. This started Silva’s journey into the wonderful world of makeup.
As a single mother, Silva made sure to dream big. During her journey searching for beauty jobs in TV and film, Silva experienced discrimination from directors who refused to work with her due to her ethnic background, according to the National Museum of American History.
This did not stop Silva from becoming a well-respected makeup artist among entertainers of color, including Kerry Washington, Brandy, and Regina King. She worked onset for projects like Friday, Set It Off, and Moesha.
Silva was a makeup artist for the show Girlfriends, one of the first to be shot in high definition. This meant new makeup techniques were needed. Silva realized how time-consuming the application and removal of airbrushing was, and how ineffective makeup sponges could be due to their shape. She began to cut makeup sponges into an egg shape to fulfill these needs, creating the iconic Beautyblender.
After noticing how popular these makeshift sponges were among coworkers and clients, Silva turned her idea into an opportunity. She used her connections in the industry to promote her idea. By 2008, she opened a manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, which provides many African-American and Latinx workers with jobs.
Silva’s company (Rea.deeming Beauty Inc.) has now diversified to not only sponges, but cleansers, accessories, and makeup. This includes her popular foundations — one of the first lines to have 40 different skin-tone shades.
