ForbesWomen

Ex-Google engineer Cecilia Shen cofounded Utopai to crack the code on long-form AI-generated content. And thanks to an investment from NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, the Under 30 alum is now running a billion-dollar studio. Full story: https://lnkd.in/emvS3Za9 📸: Cody Pickens for Forbes

Sarah Guo’s rise on the #ForbesMidas List is a case study in early conviction. In 2019, before AI had become the defining technology story of the decade, Guo wrote a $1.5 million check into what became Baseten, co-leading its $3 million seed round. At the time, the company had no revenue and only a rough idea for tools that would make it easier to build and run AI applications. For years, the market lagged behind the thesis. Then, almost overnight, it caught up. Baseten is now valued at $5 billion, with revenue growing more than 10 times in the past year. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4R99ZB4 (Photo: Cody Pickens for Forbes)

In venture capital, conviction often matters most when consensus is missing. In 2023, Yasmin Razavi led Spark Capital’s $450 million round into Anthropic at a $5 billion valuation, even as many traditional VCs stayed away from the company. At the time, Anthropic had no public product, no revenue and required massive capital to compete in AI. That bet has become one of Spark’s most consequential investments. Anthropic is now valued at $380 billion, and Spark’s initial $75 million check plus follow-on investments are worth at least $3 billion. Razavi, the only Anthropic investor with a board seat, debuts on the #ForbesMidas List as its highest-ranked newcomer at No. 13. https://lnkd.in/eZHfvRXw 📸: Guerin Blask for Forbes

Summer Fridays launched in 2018 with a single product: Jet Lag Mask. At the time, cofounders Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland were told a moisturizing mask wasn’t disruptive enough to launch an entire brand. Eight years and five product categories later, Summer Fridays has evolved into a beauty powerhouse spanning skincare, lip care, hybrid makeup, fragrance, and sun care, all tied together by a singular emotion: the feeling of summer. “When we were creating the name for the brand, we wanted a name that felt like a feeling,” Hewitt shared with Forbes. “We never wanted skincare to feel like something you had to do in the morning. We wanted it to feel like a ritual you looked forward to.” Full story: https://lnkd.in/ezZQeTMC (📸: Anna Sokol)

Sara Blakely’s guidance to new graduates challenges the idea of a linear career path. The Spanx founder emphasizes the importance of self-investment, adaptability and reframing failure as a necessary part of growth. Her perspective reflects a broader truth in entrepreneurship and career building: clarity often comes through action—not before it. https://lnkd.in/eXPu-kkZ (Photo: Taylor Hill via Getty Images)

In 2018, Jeni Castro had no coffee experience, no investor deck, and no interest in the rules everyone said she had to follow to open a café. What she had was 88 square feet inside a hair salon, a husband willing to bet on her instinct and a hunch that the coffee industry was sleepwalking through its own beige aesthetic. Eight years later, Coffee Dose is a multi-location hospitality brand with a clubhouse, a drive-thru, a pink shipping container, a flagship, a catering arm, a mobile espresso bar and a tour-grade vehicle called the Anti-Bitch Bus. In 2026, the company is opening Coffee Dose Brunch Club in Encinitas and a 3,600-square-foot Palm Springs flagship that doubles as the largest concept in the company's history. “I had zero experience in coffee, but I figured drinking it three times a day was a decent starting point. More than anything, I was craving creativity again. Building a new brand lit me up in a way I hadn’t felt in a while," Castro says. Keep reading: https://lnkd.in/eUx6vvFR (Photo: Studio 1208; Jordan Shiley)

Quote of the day. #qotd

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the second-richest woman in the world, entered the top 20 on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list on Thursday after her company’s shares rose sharply. https://lnkd.in/eE9GNdAD (Photo: Ian Langsdon/AFP via Getty Images)

Most women believe the gender pay gap exists. A new study finds that far fewer believe it affects them, and that helps keep pay disparities in place. Read more about the study here: https://lnkd.in/etzHTKBd (Photo: Getty Images)

As a long line of investors jostle to get into women’s soccer, franchise price tags are skyrocketing, with one club now worth $340 million and another doubling in value in a year. Here are 2026's the most valuable NWSL teams: https://lnkd.in/emBdqbtD 📸: Brenton TSE/ISI Photos via Getty Images