Top Female Entrepreneurs Under 30

Successful entrepreneurs come from a wide variety of backgrounds and they certainly aren't limited to a "boy's club." Here are 10 rising female entrepreneurs you should keep an eye on:

Sarah Prevette, 28, founder of Sprouter.com

Hoping to connect like-minded entrepreneurs, Sarah created an online community where these professionals can share valuable business insights and socialize. Questions asked by new startup owners are answered by the entrepreneurs who have already gone through the challenges of starting a business from the ground up. It's a face-paced environment that has attracted tens of thousands of community members and several "angel investors."

Ashley Qualls, 20, founder of Whateverlife.com

Ashley started her successful online business at the ripe old age of 14 but she was really working on websites since she was nine. The site offers all kinds of tutorials for setting up webpage layouts and HTML programming. Recently, Ashley was offered $1.5 million to buy out her company. She turned it down. Today, her web traffic averages up to 360,000 daily visitors.

Catherine Cook, 22, founder of MyYearBook.com

If you want a perfect example of brothers and sisters getting along than look no further. Catherine and her brother David founded this teen social site that currently clocks in with 25 million members and revenue topping out at $24 million. Look out Facebook!

Justine Ezarik, 26, founder of iJustine

If the success of an online entrepreneur can be defined by the number of followers than Justine certainly hits the mark. Currently she has over 1.2 million Twitter followers and over 400,000 Facebook fans. That is on top of the 1 million subscribers to her YouTube channel. What is Justine offering? Viral comedy videos. Can that be a business? When you consider that Justine has pulled in around $75,000 from YouTube alone than yes, it's a business.

Lauren Bush, 26, founder of FEED

Not every successful entrepreneur has to stay "online" they can actually get out and help folks in need. Lauren set up FEED as a non-profit organization dedicated to feeding the hungry. Since its inception, FEED has provided over 50 million meals at spots all around the globe. She has accomplished this goal by selling reusable grocery bags with half the profits from the sales going to the meal programs. It's a win/win all around.

Alexa von Tobel, 26, founder of LearnVest

The mission of LearnVest is to help young women foster proactive habits that can provide them with financial security for years to come. The goal is to start early in life and grow towards independence. The site started out with $1.1 million in funding and today has secured over $5.5 million in development funds and has signed up over 100,000 members.

Kyle Smitley, 25, founder of Barley and Birch

Organics are a big business and not just with food. Kyle Smitley understands the need for these types of products and created an organic clothing line for kids. These eco-friendly outfits have become a huge hit with the "green mom" crowd. So far she has managed to place her clothing line in over 25 stores.

Maddie Bradshaw, 15, founder of M3 Girl Designs

What would you do with a million dollars if you were only fifteen years old? You should ask Maddie because that's how much her school locker decoration and jewelry company has brought in so far. Her target are all the young girls her age and who would know better than one of their own.

Rachel Hollis, 27, founder of Chic Events

Chic Events was born in Rachel Hollis' basement in 2004 thanks to her passion for throwing great parties. She's turned that talent into an event planning business that has generated close to a million dollars in revenue. Whether it's a movie premiere, wedding or sweet sixteen, Rachel can make it a Chic Event.

Alexa Hirschfeld, 26, founder of Paperless Post

This is another sibling-founded business started by Alex and her brother that creates cyber wedding invitations. That simple idea has allowed the duo to bring in $6.3 million in funding and rocketed them to profitability within a year of opening their business.

More Capital for Women Entrepreneurs in Canada!

Let us not be fooled! In this era of civil rights and equality for all, women entrepreneurs are still fighting an uphill battle with the business community. For the last 18 years, a federally incorporated, non-profit organization known as "Women Entrepreneurs of Canada" has been dedicated to serving the interests of established women in business.

In Canada, 40% of all new start-up businesses are owned by women. Across the nation, Canada's top 100 companies account for 1.5 million jobs. In comparison, companies owned or led by women account for more than 1.7 million jobs. Furthermore, the number of women-owned start-ups is growing at twice the rate of those by men. The list of comparative statistics goes on but the point is crystal clear. Women entrepreneurs are major players in the Canadian business market. Yet, despite their numbers and influence, women in business still play second fiddle to their male counterparts.

This point is driven home quite clearly when women seek capital for development and growth of their businesses. One reason for the restrictions on capital available to women is the tendency of women to own and operate smaller businesses that are slower to grow and are considered higher risks such as retail and service.

Be that as it may, Women Entrepreneurs of Canada have called upon the Prime Minister to realize the plight of women in business and to address the needs of this substantial segment of the population accordingly. They recommend that the federal government develop an economic assistance program aimed at women owned small and medium sized businesses. Furthermore, they propose that the government develop support programs for women to provide access to technology and management training. This support should also finance and promote international women's trade missions.

Aside from government action, women entrepreneurs should form business alliances to share information and resources as well as establishing joint ventures to bid on large contracts. Women in the business world should share information as much as possible and use their contacts and knowledge to help others advance the cause of women entrepreneurs across Canada.

Incorporate in Canadawith CorporationCentre.ca
Click. You're incorporated ®