This Black Friday, I’m bringing together a round up of female-led brands to encourage the general public to support and shop women. According to the Small Business Administration, there are more than 11 million woman-owned businesses in the U.S. That’s 38% of all businesses, supporting nearly 9 million jobs and generating $1.6 trillion in annual revenue—something worth celebrating all year round!
In 2005, women represented less than 3 percent of the companies that received startup funding. In 2016, women-led companies represented 22 percent of early-stage companies that received funding, according to data from the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. These women-owned and women-led early-stage businesses need backers. It’s more difficult for women to secure funding for their startups, which offers investors an opportunity to invest in promising companies while doing their part in advancing gender parity.
The investment gap is real but as the gender gap in business is fighting to close, it’s important to take this day to reflect on how you can support the cause. Awareness and visibility are just as important as concrete action. Fortunately, I’ve provided a short list of women-led businesses in the cycling industry you can support this holiday season.
If you’re wondering why you should support women-led businesses, here are four reasons why…
- Women create businesses that actually solve problems.
- Women founders move forward with less capital, but have ample experience and ultimately deliver higher revenue.
- Women entrepreneurs are creating collaborative, diverse company cultures in every city.
- They set the stage for the future of female entrepreneurs.
With all that’s been said, let’s support and empower female leadership by collectively purchasing from and thanking the female led-businesses that support our cycling community.
Emily Brooke’s started out with Laserlight: the bike light that projects a laser image ahead of you, so drivers know you’re there – even if you’re in their blind spot. As they expanded into the US, trademark issues meant they needed to change our name: Blaze became Beryl. Their mission is designing products that tackle the bumps in the way of urban mobility, to get more people cycling. To help build a better world, they’re building a new platform for cities and creating intelligent products for cyclists rooted in design and technology.
Cleverhood has been around long before I was commuting. While looking for waterproof cycling jackets, I ran into Susan Mocarski’s Cleverhood at a Bike Expo in SF. The idea behind Cleverhood is to enable people to be clever and active in their ‘hood, walking, dog walking and biking instead of retreating to a car, or worse yet, not going outside at all. Their initial concept was to make a great looking, high-performance rain poncho. Something that would cover you and your stuff and would transition from foot to bicycle, seamlessly. They’ve expanded beyond their original rain cape but the same attention to detail is put into all of their products.
Creator and founder of Ellum Bag Works, Jewel Ybarra, set out to make great fitting cycling caps, durable bags, & great gear for those looking for adventure. Everything Ellum makes is done by hand with attention to detail, and with the highest quality materials to give you something that will last with you on every journey. Their gear is lovingly crafted, agonizingly perfected, and seriously road worn to make sure you’ll love them. All their caps and gear are made by real people who love bikes right here in the beautiful city of Dallas, Texas.
Envisioned and founded by Scottish Fashion designer Alex Feechan, FINDRA was born in the small textile village of Innerleithen in the stunning Tweed Valley and holds its Scottish heritage close. Cycling her beloved bike around the trails and passes of the Scottish Borders has long been one of Alex’s passions. Tracking down the right outdoor clothing to wear however when enjoying the outdoors was more difficult. FINDRA was launched to market in December 2014 after a short development stage where Alex tested the market and learnt as much as she could about her future customers. With the support of her family and investors she was able to take the plunge and fully commit herself to FINDRA.
Goodordering is a small independent company run out of a flat on top of a bike shop in Hackney, East London. In 2012 we watched the cycling boom really take off. All sorts of fashionable people joined the revolution, but what lagged behind was the accessories! Identifying a gap in the market for colourful, unisex bike bags, Goodordering was born. Founder and designer Jacqui Ma has designed bags for Puma, Virgin Atlantic, Microsoft and Debenhams. Originally Australian, she has been residing in London since 2002. After working at leading trend forecasting company WGSN for 8 years, she now consults in trends independently and runs Goodordering.
Laura Buono, founder and creator of Hummingbird Athletic, created the apparel brand as she too found it difficult to find women’s cycling clothing that she truly loved and believed in. As with many sports, women have fought and continue to fight for their place of acceptance and equality. With that, and through her personal cycling journey, she felt as though women’s apparel, accessories, and even actual bicycles lacked design aesthetic and specificity. No matter what your level, or where you live, Hummingbird’s mission is to design and create cycling clothing that looks and feels amazing on every body.
Lexi Miller came to life when an interior designer fell in love with cycling: the new found freedom, the satisfaction of climbing hills, the awe inspired by gorgeous vistas, and the thrill of whipping descents. But every ride was slightly soured by the disappointment of riding in clothes that were …”eh”. Certain that these feelings were not unique to her experience and unwilling to accept the market’s offerings as the best possible option, frustration led her to become an apparel designer and launch her own women’s cycling apparel line.
Bonnie Tu is one of the most influential women in the bike industry. Often described as the Godmother of cycling, Bonnie is a founder investor of Giant Bicycles along with Chairman King Liu and is the women responsible for the creation of female specific brand, LIV. Liv is the first brand with a comprehensive collection designed specifically for female cyclists, ranging from beautiful apparel to premium bicycles. No matter the rider’s level or style, Liv provides the best products to help women discover new possibilities through cycling.
When founder, Jenn Kriske, started to get serious about cycling she became increasingly frustrated by how difficult it was to find great clothes. Left with “issues” after rides and “aha!’ moment compelled her to leave her decade-long career in hotel and restaurant design to focus full-time on bringing MACHINES FOR FREEDOM. Cycling has so many incredible qualities to offer women – fitness, community, accomplishment, adventure, freedom, fun – Kriske believes women need the right clothes to fully experience what the bike can offer. Kriske started MACHINES FOR FREEDOM to bring women high-quality, high-performance, well thought-out apparel; and in the process, hopefully inspire a few more ladies to join a ride.
Lyndsey Morash created MOGI as a quick-connect yoga mat bag bicycle pannier which allows you to easily attach your mat bag to your bike rack. Effortlessly take your mat with you anywhere you ride. It’s clip and go design makes MOGI the only yoga mat bag you’ll ever need for city life and adventure.
“A happy accident”—that’s how Kristen McCann describes the origins of Nantucket Bike Basket Company. McCann mentions hearing about entrepreneurs with big, money-making ideas. “It wasn’t like that for us. It was always something my dad and I were working on in the background, and then a few months later I found myself with all these baskets,” she says, laughing. “I feel so fortunate to be in an industry that is all about sustainability, being outside and healthy living, and I love making connections with people that tell me the baskets remind them of their childhood and that use them in all different ways.”
Sara Petyk is the founder and owner of Noble Inventions Bike Touring, formerly Bike the GAP, a bicycle touring company. Research and economic studies conducted over the past several years have shown consistently that bike tourism makes a significant, positive impact on the economies of local communities. Their mission seeks to support trail economies as they grow along side with bike touring. They do this by taking 5% of tour proceeds and funding initiatives (travel, research, workshops) to help trail businesses grow and evolve to meet the needs of a growing consumer base, while ultimately contributing to the building of their communities.
Industrial designer Maria Boustead hatched the idea for our functional and versatile bags back in 2009 when she couldn’t find a bag practical enough to attach to her bike for her work commutes and stylish enough to take into her office. “Why hasn’t any company thought to do this yet?” she wondered, and then decided to solve the problem herself. Since then, the brand has grown to be a celebration of the active urban lifestyle by offering bike, yoga and casual travel bags built for experiencing the richness of city life – and looking good while doing it.
Ever dreamed of versatile tights that you could wear anywhere? Cycling apparel brand founder Emily Welsch’s Pixi Cycling‘s flagship product The Go Anywhere line enables women to seamlessly transition from yoga, running, outdoor and indoor cycling to all other active parts of their lives. How? By arming leggings with discreet, removable butt pads that solve chafing, pelvic bruising and genital numbness problems for female cyclists and spin class goers.
Amber Wason is the Co-Founder of Riide, a D.C. born electric bike company. “Imagine if you had a vehicle you could park anywhere, didn’t require gas to fuel, and could even pass sitting cars. Imagine the time you would save. Stop imagining.” That’s the motto of electric bike company. Riide offers electric bikes that can be plugged into any standard wall outlet and recharge in half the time of other e-bikes on the market.
Founded by Ashely Rankin, SHREDLY was created to bring a burst of fresh style into the world of women’s adventuring while maintaining technical product performance and offering unprecedented comfort. Ranking found that while mountain biking is awesome, the selection of riding apparel for women, has historically, not been in abundance. Featuring a multi-sport line of women’s mountain-bike inspired apparel, infused with vibrant colors, innovative designs, and practical attributes (lightweight, yet durable, fabrics with quick-dry properties), allows you to adventure in style.
Growing up in Tokyo, Sawako was a tomboy, actively cycling around her city. Motivated by the desire to improve her community’s everyday experiences, she chose to work in architecture. It was while working as an architect in London that Sawako found her calling. To help herself and others take the road with confidence, Sawako began making prototypes of beautiful and stylish helmet designs in her backyard. And after satisfying all of the relevant safety standards, Sawako launched her website to advertise her first stock of helmets. Overwhelmed by the positive response, she confidently stepped into the world of cycling fashion.
Martina is the co-founder of Swift Industries, a bicycle bag company, and embarked what was has been the biggest adventure of her life when she turned 26. She’s applied the very same passion, curiosity, and innovative problem solving skills to her craft that are demanded in the great outdoors to building her company. While Swift Industries is woman co-owned it is also women operated.
Lori Nedescu is a Registered Dietitian and with her passion for living an sporty and active life, she developed The Cadence Kitchen, a nutrition resource for anyone looking to improve performance and general wellness through good food and health practices. Lori actively gives great recipe’s, insights, and tips into fueling rides and an active lifestyle. Lori offers services in personal nutrition counseling, sports team nutrition counseling, freelance writing – editorial, nutrition, fitness, lifestyle, meal recipes and now has a book out, 30 day Whole Foods Cook Book & Meal Plan, that will be release December 25.
Gloria Hwang, founder of Thousand, thinks designing a bike helmet people will eagerly wear is the key to keeping more people safe on the road. As a long time cyclist, she was never a fan of wearing a bicycle helmet. Like most women, Hwang thought they were too bulky, too “sci-fi”, too hard to lug around. But after losing a friend to a fatal bike accident, she knew she needed to change. Wanting to give others an option to change as well, Hwang emptied her savings account and convinced her friends to help build Thousand.
Christiana Guzman created the idea for the chamois panties while on a ladies’ social ride. She and her friends had just finished and in our discomfort, were joking about how they wished they could wear our padded cycling shorts under their jean shorts. They really thought about it and started wondering why a product like that didn’t exist. This motivated her to get started on a quality product that maintained a feminine appeal for female bike commuters.
While navigating the streets of Paris, France, on a Vélib’ bike share bicycle in 2007, Vespertine founder, designer, and creative director, Sarah Canner, was concerned about visibility. Canner soon began making safety clothing that she would actually want to wear with the intention to also encourage more women to ride.
“In New York City, men outnumber women 5 to 1 on bikes,” shared Canner. “This is not biological. In the Netherlands, there are more women biking than men. To have a truly robust cycling culture we need more women in the saddle. And if women can feel safe and chic on their bikes, I believe they will be more willing to try.” While Canner readily admits that designing products for women who ride bicycles may not be the most lucrative business model, she is undeterred. “Everyone knows that biking has triple bottom line benefits, but the little secret that doesn’t always get shared is just how empowering and fun it can be to navigate life on two wheels. I want everyone to experience that.”
Katy Hover-Smoot and Cassie Able are the founders of Wild Rye, a company dedicated to making design-forward outdoor apparel for women. Founded because they weren’t finding the combination of feminine, fashion-forward style with key performance features, fabrics, and contemporary fit, they identified a need for better mountain bike apparel for women and Wild Rye was born. Beyond the clothes, they have Wild Rye Radio which covers stories of breaking trail, and the characters who led the way. They are passionate about supporting and empowering women at every stage of their outdoor pursuits—from beginner to pro to après enthusiast.
Image: Machines For Freedom