Rising Stars

Last month, I was invited to the Founders Forum, a conference that brings together the highest caliber of international digital and technology entrepreneurs. The forum was co-founded by Brent Hoberman, a successful British entrepreneur who set his mind on creating this network of innovative, collaborative thinkers. As he hops from Madrid to London, Helsinki to New York, Brent collects some of the world’s brightest rising stars to share what makes their products so special.

Of these stars, we selected four young, inspiring women who are transforming everything from women’s health, beauty, fitness, and style for the better. We want you to meet Katherine, Billie, Grace, and Clea, four self-made businesswomen who have already had a tremendous impact on the lives and voices of so many people.

Mink
Grace Choi

Mink’s latest launch, Makeup Hacker, allows you to instantly transform the color of any makeup into another color.

BWB: How do you see Mink impacting the beauty industry?

We’ve spent three years in R&D working meticulously with the best sources in the world to create the easiest and most exciting way to get exactly the makeup you want, instantly. Mink’s latest launch, Makeup Hacker, allows you to instantly transform the color of any makeup into another color. This means that if you see a color or look online that you want to try, with Makeup Hacker, you can simply use the makeup that you already have and love to create those colors.

BWB: Where do you see Mink going in the next five years?

As the originator of digital cosmetics fabrication, I’m very excited to see how the beauty technology landscape continues to develop over the next five years. For Mink’s latest launch, Makeup Hacker, I hope to focus on building a very active and vibrant community that empowers users to express their ideas, share their creativity, and inspire innovative ideas about beauty products.

BWB: How can people use Mink?

Makeup Hacker is very fun, quick and easy to use. It consists of two main components, the Hacker Ring and the Primary Pigment Cartridges. If you are looking for inspiration, visit our community site to discover fresh, daily content daily. Our app also assists you in creating exactly what you want.
Below are a few examples of what you can do with Makeup Hacker:

• Create a darker, summer shade for your Holy Grail foundation

• Instantly try trending makeup on Instagram using your favorite makeup formulas • Create the perfect contour or highlighter straight from your favorite foundation • Turn that bright berry liquid lipstick into the perfect vampy fall shade

• Transform your ideal concealer into a go-to color correcting cream

• Create duo, trio or quad eye shadow combos from a single shadow

• Resurrect a discontinued color!

• Transform your blush into a bronzer

• Finally try that ombre lip

• Invent the next pizza highlighter

• and SO SO much more!

Product Information: Purchase Makeup Hacker Starter Kit.
The Makeup Hacker Starter Kit Includes: One full set of Primary Pigment Cartridges, one Hacker Ring, two Pro Blending Brushes, and one Lucent Glass Display Jar.
Video Demonstration

Maven
Katherine Ryder

We started Maven to make it easier for women to get immediate professional care from someone they trust.

BWB: Where did you see the demand for your product in the market?

The current healthcare system is not exactly female-friendly. Most people don’t know this, but women in America make 80% of all health decisions for themselves and their families. This fact is all too obvious for any mother who has ever had to miss work to get care for her child, or any student struggling to get birth control, or any woman who has worried all night because she can’t get a simple answer from her doctor. We started Maven to address these needs and make it easier for women to get immediate professional care from someone they trust.

On Maven, you can video chat or private message a doctor, nurse practitioner, mental health provider, nutritionist, physical therapist, or pregnancy expert any time, anywhere.

BWB: As a woman living in New York, what can I expect from your company?

You no longer need to worry about getting convenient healthcare access! On Maven, you can video chat or private message a doctor, nurse practitioner, mental health provider, nutritionist, physical therapist, or pregnancy expert any time, anywhere. Maven practitioners are there to give you peace of mind, and can even write prescriptions if necessary.

BWB: How does your product work?

Visit MavenClinic.com or download “Maven Clinic” from the app store and register for a free account. Once on our platform, you can either visit our public forum and browse the Q&A between women and our practitioner network, or you can book an appointment. Booking an appointment is easy! You just tell us what you need support with, we show you a list of the next available providers, and then you book. Before your appointment, we ask that you fill out your basic medical history in “Health Binder” and write a brief pre-session note to let your provider know why you want to see them.

WISHI
Cléa O’Hana

We are providing an affordable, accessible styling service that can be used on a daily or weekly basis.

BWB: You created first app to offer celebrity stylists for online bookings. How are you redefining the concept of style?

We are providing an affordable, accessible styling service that can be used on a daily or weekly basis. The fact that a customer can book Alana Hadid (personal stylist and Gigi Hadid’s sister) or Rachel Wirkus (Liv Tyler, Devon Windsor’s stylist) for $50, is a unique benefit for our clients. It allows them to discover and build on their unique sense of style.

The client also has the ability to upload his or her closet so the stylist can work with what she already owns and potentially mix and match with purchasable items.

BWB: What makes the WISHI experience unique?

As a stylist, I wanted to offer my services women and men who weren’t celebrities. The satisfaction that my work provided was something I wanted to replicate by assisting other people. The WISHI experience is unique because it mirrors what celebrities know so well; our stylists suggest looks until their clients are happy with their outfit. Better yet, it’s done entirely from the comfort of our customer’s closet. The client also has the ability to upload his or her closet so the stylist can work with what she already owns and potentially mix and match with purchasable items. And unlike many personal shoppers, the stylist has no bias in picking products, as they don’t get paid by the brands.

BWB: Describe for us what a WISHI client can expect?

A WISHI client can expect a stylist to create a unique and personal style or a variety of looks for any and every occasion. After a session he or she should feel good, and confident knowing they look the best they can. Because it’s an online experience, the client doesn’t meet the stylist in person. The client completes their profile, chooses their stylist, and completes the payment before the session begins with an online chat on the WISHI app.
The stylist and client work together until they achieve total satisfaction. We have had incredible feedback from women who went on dates, attended job interviews, and dressed for social events feeling more self-confident.

We want people to feel confident about their attire, and spend less money on items they won’t actually wear.

BWB: Where do you see your company going in the next five years?

We see WISHI being the go-to fashion destination that combines everything from having your closet digitally uploaded, prepared looks for different events, your favorite stylists there to help, and readily available, custom-picked items for your purchase. We want people to feel confident about their attire, and spend less money on items they won’t actually wear.

WE : EX
Billie Whitehouse

BWB: Tell us more about your company’s concept.

Wearable Experiments is built on the idea that technology should bring us closer to ourselves, each other and our world. As a modern lifestyle brand, we are anthropologists that experiment with how modern men and women interact with technology to enhance their experiences.

BWB: Where do you see your company in five years?

In five years I see the company horizontally integrated across many different sectors of the design and fashion industry. I want to see it present in active wear, ready-to-wear, sleepwear, and areas where technology has a cultural influence. We will continue to experiment in new areas of technology, sustainability and design. Long term, we hope to use the skin as an interface and create an art form out of touch. Our goal is to make our followers to feel empowered with their own personal data and a new language to communicate with the world.

BWB: Can you give an example on what it will do?

Our NadiX is just the beginning; this we will build out into further areas later next year.

BWB: What range of clothing does your company offer?

We will be launching our yoga line later this year and early next year.