The beauty industry is expected to continue its reliable growth, and Memphis' own Angelita Parham is carving out her own space in the market with Steele Divine Cosmetics.

As a Latina founder, Kayla Rodriguez-Graff has faced her share of challenges in the startup world: “I’ve literally had people say to me ‘we only invest in white men with white hair.’ I’m not even kidding.” Despite that, since founding medical device company SweetBio in 2015 with her brother Dr. Isaac Rodriguez, SweetBio has raised nearly $5M to date. 

Maggie Louie is an actual rock star CEO. Prior to starting DEVCON, a Memphis- and Atlanta-based cybersecurity company, she toured for many years as a singer-songwriter and band frontwoman. After a successful career in the music industry, Louie created digital products for more than a decade for companies like the Los Angeles Times and E.W. Scripps. During that time, she assisted law enforcement in a case, which led to the first ever conviction for online ad theft and money laundering.