In late 2021, Rent the Runway’s Jennifer Hyman took her company public at a $1.7 billion valuation, valuing her stake at nearly $49 million. For all the femininity onstage, there is one word that Hyman would not use to mark the moment: “Girlboss.”
Rent the Runway
“It’s hard being a human in the world right now, with everything going on socially and economically, let alone being a founder,” Lilla Cosgrove, the 31-year-old cofounder of dental aligner company Candid, told me, shortly before the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade. “And then being a female founder on top of that? Access to capital and support still feels harder than it should be.”
As women strive for equal pay and opportunities in a country that, at the federal level, does not protect reproductive freedom, my colleague ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath and I examined the ghost of Girlboss, a movement that highlighted, flattened and excluded female founders, in a digital cover story. After interviewing female founders from the Forbes 30 Under 30 and 50 Over 50 lists, academics and venture capitalists, we found that “Girlboss” haunts them all.
“When a female founder steps down, it’s a headline like ‘The Death of the Girlboss,’” says Laura Behrens Wu, who was featured on the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for founding logistics outfit Shippo. “When a guy does it? There’s no real headline because it happens so frequently that it’s no big deal.” Wu points to 41-year old Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Peterson, who announced plans to resign from his CEO seat soon after Glossier founder Emily Weiss stepped down from the beauty company she launched in 2014. But the news about Peterson didn’t launch 1,000 think pieces about the future of male CEOs, Wu notes, whereas a deposed Girlboss “becomes an extrapolation about the entirety of female founders.”
Read why female entrepreneurs welcome the end of the Girlboss Era–once and for all.
This Week’s Money Moves
Cassidy Hutchinson, the star witness of the January 6 hearings, is a 25-year-old who aspired to a “path of civic significance.” (NBC News)
Inside Clif Bar’s rocky road to its sale–and a possible $580 million employee payout. (Forbes)
In 2021, Figs became the first company in history to IPO with two female cofounders. Now it needs to convince investors it will become the healthcare uniform of choice. (Fortune)
Flynn McGarry became a chef at 13. By 16, he peddled $160 tasting menus at “a series of endlessly hyped pop-ups.” Now, at 23, he’s done being a prodigy. (GrubStreet)
In an unexpected turn of events, the song of the early summer is Kate Bush’s 1985 “Running Up That Hill” (thank you, TikTok and Stranger Things), which is now the No. 2 song on Spotify’s Top 50 U.S. chart. And unlike many artists, Bush owns her masters and record label, meaning her money hill is turning into a mountain. (Quartz)
After chatting with 40 men in egalitarian relationships, author Kate Mangino found that men in truly equal partnerships feel they don’t have to “perform masculinity.” Check out these other learnings from her interviews. (Atlantic)
NGL, yet another anonymous messaging app, is surging in popularity among teen users, renewing concerns about cyberbullying and harassment that plagued previous apps of this kind. (Forbes)
Overturning Roe V. Wade could have huge significance for career decisions. (Forbes)
Amid this month’s chaos, NFT.NYC, which draws the biggest NFT brands and evangelists to exclusive parties and events to pontificate on the state of Web3, happened. Here’s a good piece on NFTs and the monetization of hope. (Vox)
Trying to reach young employees? Maybe don’t do an “anonymous” workplace survey. (Fortune)
The married co-owners of seven franchises who booked $2 million in sales share what they spent to grow their businesses. (Insider)
Calling all Under 30 Listers: Do you have a new funding round, company/personal announcement or general business news to share with Forbes reporters? Hit up our new 30 Under 30 tip line, 30under30tipline@forbes.com, where you can submit your news to our reporters for the potential to be featured in a story on Forbes.com.
Ice Cube told Forbes that Nike also appears to be “receptive” about partnering with his Contract with Black America plan.
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Ice Cube Lands $100 Million NFL Pledge For Contract With Black America
The NFL is partnering with entertainer Ice Cube’s pact to aid Black-owned businesses and combat the growing wealth gap in America.
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Standout members of the Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 list.
Guerin Blask for Forbes
Still Open: Forbes Under 30 2023 Nominations
Do you know someone creating the next Instagram, Stripe or Spotify? Nominate them (or yourself!) today.
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