Progress. It’s a word that, in 2024, gets thrown around a lot. Especially when it comes to representation across all sorts of roles at all sorts of companies, including, crucially, at start-ups. Yet...people of color—and specifically women of color—still don’t often get the chance to even enter the conversation. Over the past few years, less than 1 percent of venture capital funding in this country has gone toward women of color entrepreneurs. (Making matters worse, funds that are geared toward supporting these women have become targets of anti-affirmative-action groups, forcing at least one to shut down entirely.)
Given all this, what the women on the following pages—The New C-Suite Class of 2024—have achieved is nothing short of phenomenal. The honorees, which include tech stars, beauty mavericks, and even a start-up investor herself, serve as sheer inspo for anyone who’s ever come across professional hurdle after hurdle. Collectively, they’re helping redefine what success in America looks like, one hard-earned win at a time.
BEHIND THE NEW C-SUITE
Each year, for The New C-Suite, Cosmopolitan partners with digitalundivided, a leading nonprofit dedicated to disrupting systemic inequities in entrepreneurship, especially for women of color. Our program spotlights and supports visionary female founders of color as they scale their businesses to new heights. This year’s honorees have the opportunity to join digitalundivided speaking engagements, participate in mentorship programs, and become part of The New C-Suite Circle, a growing community of honorees committed to innovation and inclusive growth.
Meet the 2024 Honorees
Katie Diasti
Edna Martinson
Kim Baker
Julia Somerdin
Taylor Shead
Givona Sandiford
Betsy Fore
Michelle Zhu
Arianna Davis
Joshe Ordonez
Her Business
Viv is a line of eco-conscious period-care products.
How It Started
Katie got involved in menstrual equity advocacy in college, while volunteering at a women’s shelter. She took note of the toxins in many traditional menstrual products and the jarring environmental impact of their plastic waste—and launched Viv in 2021 as a better option.
How It’s Going
Viv’s pads, tampons, and menstrual cups are sold in more than 1,000 retail stores nationwide, including Wegmans and Stop & Shop. As a company, Vivhas donated more than 100,000 period products to classrooms and women in prison. It’s also raised over $20,000 for humanitarian relief efforts.
Her Bragging Rights
Viv ranks in the top 10 for menstrual cups sold on Amazon and will launch in Whole Foods in 2025. In 2024, Katie was featured in Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” list.
Why She Does It
“Rewriting the narrative for young people is what gets me up every day.”
Her Business
Boddle Learning is an online platform that helps elementary school students master skills through interactive games.
How It Started
Edna’s parents consistently emphasized that education opens doors, something she took to heart when moving to the U.S. from Ghana at age 16 to attend college. Later, after she’d hear her teacher friends talk about fighting for their students’ attention, the idea for Boddle was born.
How It’s Going
More than 7 million U.S. students are registered with Boddle, playing virtual battle and quiz games that incorporate English and math curricula. Next up are a multiplayer feature and the ability for teachers to upload their own course materials.
Her Bragging Rights
Pharrell Williams’s Black Ambition fund gave Boddle$50,000, and Google’s Black Founders Fund committed $100,000. Glowing educator feedback is another point of pride: “Teachers saying ‘My kids are much more engaged and want to get involved’ is super awesome,” says Edna.
Why She Does It
“To spark a love and interest for learning and to close learning gaps. Comprehension drives confidence.”
Her Motto
“We are all students.”
Her Business
Glamazon Beauty is a multicultural, skin-conscious beauty brand.
How It Started
While working as a model, Kim noticed a serious lack of darker makeup shades as well as makeup artists. It inspired her to become a celebrity makeup artist and work at brands like Chanel and Bobbi Brown before launching her line in 2022. Her mission: to focus on natural-looking cosmetics for all skin tones.
How It’s Going
You can now buy Glamazon Beauty’s inclusive line of face, lip, and eye products on its site, Amazon, and HSN—and soon on Canada’s home shopping network as well.
Her Bragging Rights
Celebs like Sherri Shepherd, Tisha Campbell, Cynthia Bailey, Tiffany Haddish, and Angela Bassett have stepped out wearing Glamazon products, which have now been featured on Good Morning America three times.
Why She Does It
“Women! I love to see women be happy, particularly Black women who have been overlooked for so long in the beauty world.”
Her Motto
“Faith and fear do not go together.”
Her Business
Labby is a milk testing company that provides real-time data for dairy farmers.
How It Started
Growing up, Julia spent summers on her grandfather’s farm. Then, while studying at MIT, she and her cofounder developed a system for water and oil safety testing—technology that dairy farmers could also use to analyze their milk. The market demand was there, and Labby was born.
How It’s Going
Labby has a partnership with the country’s leading milk testing lab, the National Dairy Herd Information Association. It’s also working on improving its testing service and is in the early stages of taking its product global.
Her Bragging Rights
Labby brings farmers peace of mind and is protecting the planet along the way. Its services have the potential to reduce 1.3 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions (typically caused by the transportation and storage of milk in testing labs).
Why She Does It
“One day, we’ll have created jobs and created futures. Encouraging a younger generation to go back to their family farms brings a smile to my face.”
Her Motto
“Innovate with a purpose.”
Her Business
Stemuli is an AI-powered educational video game that provides students with personalized career counseling and immersive learning experiences.
How It Started
As a college student, the lack of relevancy of her K-12 education to her career dreams frustrated Taylor. She saw tech as a potential resource to improve the quality and accessibility of education for struggling students and prime them for the workforce.
Her Bragging Rights
“We’ve helped thousands of high school students graduate and immediately get into jobs making $60,000 to $70,000 a year,” says Taylor. Stemuli has also received an expanding seven-figure grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Why She Does It
“I’m putting value into the hands of people that for years have been underseen and underserved.”
Her Motto
“The only limit to technology is your creativity.”
Her Business
Melospeech is an ed-tech company that provides virtual and in-home speech therapy sessions to kids with speech delays.
How It Started
Givona, a speech pathologist for 10+ years, noticed an increasing need for easily accessible speech therapy services, especially for kids whose communication challenges were being exacerbated by lockdowns. Her solution: Melospeech, which she launched in 2021.
How It’s Going
Melospeech helps educate families on language-teaching skills, so they can better support their children at home. Right now, it operates in New York, California, and Tennessee, with plans to expand globally.
Her Bragging Rights
In 2023, Givona won the Titan Women in Business Award, and a year later, Melospeech was named as one of the Tech Innovators of the Year at the 2024 Gold American Business Awards. So far, 91 percent of its clients have shown strong advancements at their six-month progress mark.
Why She Does It
“Helping nonspeaking children speak their first words is profoundly rewarding. Seeing my team thrive in our flexible business model is also wonderful.”
Her Motto
“We are changing the world one little one at a time!”
Her Business
Velveteen Ventures invests in climate, community, consumer, and health-care-focused businesses through an Indigenous lens.
How It Started
A serial entrepreneur in the 2010s, Betsy built two multimillion-dollar brands and became the first Native American person to raise an initial major round of VC funding. She launched Velveteen Ventures after realizing she didn’t want to be the last. “For me,” she says, “it’s always been about empowering women and empowering community.”
How It's Going
Velveteen Ventures made its inaugural investment this year, backing the pediatric telehealth platform Kismet, led by Native CEO Cierra Gromoff. It will launch its first fund to support around 20 to 25 more companies early next year.
Her Bragging Rights
In 2024, Betsy was named one of 50 exceptional executive women in America by Chief, the largest private community for executive women. Next year, she’s dropping a book about building companies called The Founder’s Way: Your Deep Inner Why.
Why She Does It
“In the Indigenous community, we’re light years behind in generational wealth. Money can be medicine—I want to be creating this for generations to come.”
Her Motto
“Come what M-A-E (manifesting mindset, affirming actions, energetic ethos).”
Her Business
Huue is a technology company that creates nontoxic dyes for textiles with a lower carbon footprint.
How It Started
Thanks to her parents’ wholesale apparel business, Michelle was well aware of the sustainability challenges that come with textile making. Huue’s service felt like a “no-brainer,” especially when she teamed up with cofounder and synthetic biologist Tammy Hsu.
How It’s Going
Currently, Huue has denim development partnerships with a number of clothing brands and textile mills. Its specialty is creating clean indigo dyes for jeans, with plans to expand into more pigments and dyes for other products like food and paint.
Her Bragging Rights
Melinda Gates’s Pivotal Ventures, Mayfield, andM12’s Female Founders Competition named Huuethe 2020 Best U.S. Deep Tech start-up, and Time magazine selected it as one ofthe Best Inventions of 2021. In 2023, the World Economic Forum designated Huue a technology pioneer.
Why She Does It
“Improving the lives of people in manufacturing, in science, or everyday consumers—what drives me more than anything is people-first impact.”
Her Motto
“You are always learning exactly the lesson you need.”
Her Business
STRIPT is a size-inclusive clothing brand that specializes in undetectable shapewear.
How It Started
Arianna had long loved wearing bodysuits, but as an adult, she struggled to find brands that produced quality ones. She debuted her own line of bodysuits, dresses, leotards, and more in 2021.
Why She Does It
“Girls and new moms have told me they feel so much more confident in our clothes—these are the things that motivate me.”
Her Motto
“The first step is believing you can do it.”
ARI Bodysuit
CALI Leotard
ARI Leotard
Her Business
Airpals is an online shop that uses AI algorithms to simplify the office and project-based shipment process.
How It Started
While she was working in production, Joshe felt worn out by the overcomplicated steps needed to mail props and equipment for photo and video shoots. She would’ve far rather spend her time participating in bigger projects that would advance her career, so she decided to simplify things withAirpals.
How It’s Going
Airpals’ tech processes shipping labels, identifies the right packaging for items, and finds the fastest available courier service for its users. The platform aims to bridge the gap between digital processes and in-person office needs. Next up will be assistance with logistical issues like equipment maintenance and keeping office supplies in stock.
Her Bragging Rights
Airpals has processed over 11,000 orders to date, and it has some VIP users you may have heard of, including Google, Amazon, Figma, and Telfar—oh, and Kylie Jenner’s team too.
Why She Does It
“We’re helping our users become more productive and more efficient and own their time.”
Her Motto
“The only way out is through.”
The Judges
Jessica Giles
Former editor-in-chief, Cosmopolitan
Leah Williams
CEO, digitalundivided
Lisa Burton
Vice president and investor, HearstLab
Patricia Mota
President and CEO, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement; digitalundivided board member
Annabel Iwegbue is a culture editor at Cosmopolitan, where she primarily covers pop culture, lifestyle, relationships, and digital trends. She previously wrote for Harper's Bazaar, The Knockturnal, and Black Film. She's originally from Charleston, South Carolina, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. You can check out some of Annabel’s work here and also find her on Instagram and Twitter.
