On centre-stage: Some Women Entrepreneurs from Colorado
#WomenEntrepreneurs #ColoradoBusiness #InnovationInAction
Colorado stands as a beacon of opportunity and innovation for female business leaders. Women entrepreneurs are leaving an indelible mark on Colorado’s vibrant business landscape, accounting for nearly 45% of the state’s small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2021 profile. So, quite significantly, Colorado’s commitment to fostering female entrepreneurship has propelled it to the forefront of women-led startups, holding the prestigious No. 1 spot for three consecutive years.
Boulder and Denver serve as powerful hubs for women entrepreneurs, attracting substantial investments and support for startups. Over the past five years, Colorado’s women-led startups have received a staggering $3.3 billion in funding, highlighting the confidence and enthusiasm surrounding female-led ventures in the state. Additionally, Colorado ranks seventh overall as one of the best states to start a business in 2024, boasting a pro-business environment and a spirit of collaboration that fosters industry growth and success.
In every industry and sector, women in Colorado are breaking barriers and redefining traditional roles. From CEOs and startup founders to strategists and employees, women are driving innovation and setting new standards of excellence. The state’s wealth of resources, coupled with a culture of risk-taking and community support, provides female entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities needed to thrive in their endeavours. Access to mentors and a robust network of industry partners further enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem, making Colorado an ideal destination for women to launch and grow their businesses.
As women continue to chart new paths and blaze trails in Colorado’s business landscape, their impact reverberates far beyond individual enterprises, inspiring the next generation of female leaders and innovators to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
Here’s presenting some enterprising women entrepreneurs from Colorado.
> Sylvia Scott, Founder & CEO Girls’ C.E.O. Connection and WED Colorado Ambassador
Sylvia R.J. Scott is the Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of the Girls’ C.E.O. Connection LLC; and her passionate mission is in guiding high school girls towards bright and fulfilling futures as self-sufficient entrepreneurs. Through her book, Realizing a Vision, Your Toolkit for Success, Words of Wisdom for Young Female Entrepreneurs, as well as her coaching programs, podcasts, and events, she encourages independent thinking along with connection to a global community of female entrepreneurs – both established and up-and-coming. Woven into her
presentations, she shares stories, advice and skill building pearls young women everywhere can use to build their futures.
Her career that spans 25+ years includes work in event coordination, public relations, non-profit fundraising, conference management, business development and relationship building – all in the name of supporting and collaborating with female entrepreneurs. While each opportunity taught her something different, she enjoys bringing people together through fundraising events, fashion shows, celebrations and more. Managing the Women’s Leadership Exchange national conferences allowed her to meet hundreds of accomplished women entrepreneurs across the country, and set the stage for what would become her life’s work.
> Jennifer Samuel, Co-Owner, Perseverance
Jennifer Samuel, is the co-owner of Perseverance, a training gym in Denver and Aurora. Her background started from the age of two when dance was a major part of her life and sports/fitness became a hobby; in fact, she taught fitness and dance at various studios and made a name for herself. In spite of having a corporate career, she became certified in personal training, spinning, and boxing.
Her corporate career spans 15 years in marketing – specializing in digital marketing and neuromarketing. Significantly, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. She enjoys volunteering in Filipino, Asian Pacific Islander, and Black communities, mentoring youth programs, along with directing cultural and contemporary dance.
> Mary Sorteberg Langewisch, Owner, Fragile Glory Impressions Art Studio
Mary Langewisch is an artist and owner of Fragile Glory Impressions, and she is involved in a number of activities – like selling her original art, offers commissions, and provides personal art instruction, group classes, and workshops in the Littleton area.
Having started selling her art at a young age, she has been in business for almost 20 years. Aside from painting in her home studio, she loves teaching others how to make art through her studio classes, online classes, and YouTube channel, and encouraging young people to pursue their dreams.
> Gabbie Carr Owner, Gracefully Gabbie & Gabbie’s Graceful Gifts
Gabbie Carr is a social media creator and entrepreneur from Windsor, Colorado. Quite prominently, she is using her creative passions for – photography, videography, writing, and digital design to uplift others and motivate them to follow their dreams.
As a teenager at 16, she wanted to keep busy during the pandemic, so she started posting her content and writing on social media; and she quickly fell in love with social media management and content creation.
Soon, this side hobby became her business, which was named Gracefully Gabbie. Subsequently, he got lucky and opportunities opened up. She got working with brands like QDOBA, Zulily, Barebones Living, Star Stable, and more to help promote their products. Gracefully Gabbie has a branch called Lucky Reads, which is a bookstagram where she writes book reviews and works with authors to help share their books with more readers. Her hope is – to inspire and connect with others on her corner of the internet through her travel, Faith, teen lifestyle, and bookish content.
After working in the social media field, she opened a sticker business named Gracefully Gabbie’s Gifts (Now GabbiesGracefulGifts on Etsy). After designing a few logos for family members, she realized what fun it could be to actually design, make, and sell stickers of her own! She has had her stickers featured in her local coffee shop, Windsor Lake Coffee, and is working on expanding to bookmarks soon and more products in the future. She is hoping to make more book themed stickers and is in the process of combining her sticker and bookstagram so Gabbie’s Graceful Gifts will be promoted on @luckyreads on Instagram.
So, after working in social media and running her sticker business, she still feels like there is something new to be learned every day. There is such beauty and freedom in being an entrepreneur and she hopes to inspire others through her social media content and sticker designs.
> Kerry Ben-Joseph, Owner, LikeCake.co, Kay Bee Jay, LLC
Meet Kerry Ben-Joseph, a seasoned web designer with 10+ years of experience creating beautiful, functional websites for a diverse range of clients. Though web design wasn’t her original career path, she has cultivated a true passion and talent for all things digital.
With expertise in WordPress and high-impact aesthetics, she builds websites that are clean, modern & and intuitively designed. She keeps herself updated on the latest web design trends and techniques, ensuring her clients’ sites are always on the cutting edge.
Through her new venture Like Cake, she aims to provide fledgling entrepreneurs and small business owners with affordable, custom websites that can grow and adapt as their businesses evolve. She deliberately chose the name “Like Cake” because building a website should feel easy and enjoyable, with each element seamlessly working together like cake layers!
In addition to web design services, she is excited to share her decade of knowledge, tips, and lessons learned with those looking to expand their skills into web design.
> Dianne Myles, CEO, Dope Mom Life
Dianne Myles is the CEO of Dope Mom Life a Heartland Emmy Award winning video production company. After discovering her passion for storytelling and community, her team daily fulfills the company’s mission to tell authentic, impactful stories that shift viewers’ perspectives and garner engagement. Her life experiences have given her a unique opportunity to be a powerful messenger and connector.
Besides prioritizing spending time with her two adult children, she also extensively volunteers for organizations and serves on boards such as Girls Inc. of Metro Denver, Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Downtown Denver Partnership, Climber Loan Fund Oversight Board, Emily Griffith Foundation, Denver Startup Week’s Community Chair, Youth Empowerment Broadcasting Organization, Sistahbiz, Colorado Women’s Foundation Women Impact Investing Giving Circle, and Children’s Hospital’s Executive Committee, to name a few.
Having started her career in human resources, she soon found her passion for storytelling and community. Every day, her team fulfills the company’s mission to tell authentic, impactful stories that shift viewers’ perspectives and garner engagement. Her life experiences have given her a unique opportunity to be a powerful messenger and connector; and she uses video content creation and relationships to ensure that communities are represented responsibly, respectfully, and with an authentic voice.
She is also a celebrated business leader in the community, having bagged many awards like – the Comcast Rise award, Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Outstanding Women in Business, and Colorado Lending Source 2020 Small Business Excellence Award. She won the prestigious Women’s Chamber’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business. In addition, she was one of the Aurora Chamber’s 2022 Unsung Hero nominees and a 2022 Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado recipient of the Leadership and Legacy Excellence Award. Besides, she
also consults impact-focused foundations.
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
