International Women’s Day celebrates the accomplishments and impact women have had around the world economically, culturally, socially, and politically. This year’s focus is #BreakTheBias and a quest to build a world where we can forge women’s equality. Bias, both deliberate or unintentional, can make it difficult for women to achieve their goals when the playing field isn’t equal.
Recognizing bias exists is the first step, but we all need to actively work on breaking our biases and stereotypes revolving around gender norms. Recognizing women, not just on International Women’s Day but every day of the year, reminds us that without the innovation and entrepreneurship of women, many advancements in multiple fields would not have been made.
This year we celebrate the accomplishments of: Vivian Kaye, Hyla Nayeri & Adrien Bettio, Edi Canedo, Kerin John, and Amanda Nguyen.
Vivian Kaye | Business Empowerment Coach & Founder, KinkyCurlyYaki
Vivian Kaye saw a need in the beauty industry that excluded Black women, particularly in hair-extensions. She saw products being sold that didn’t account for textured hair. “Hair is such an important part of how Black women show up in the world.” So Kaye decided to offer this herself.
From that decision came KinkyCurlyYaki—a best-selling brand of premium hair extensions. Kaye single-handedly built this brand from the ground up and it has now earned over $1-million in revenue.
With her passion and expertise, Kaye has incorporated business coaching, offering her services to other ecommerce companies.
Hyla Nayeri & Adrien Bettio | Co-Founders, 437 Swimwear
At just 25 years old, Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio have a multi-million dollar swimsuit brand, 437 Swimwear, and they’re still going strong.
They began in their third year at Queen’s University, Ontario, during an exchange trip to Italy. While travelling the Amalfi Coast, the duo noticed something about swimwear was lacking: coverage in just the right spots while still creating a flattering silhouette.
Bolstered by this idea, Nayeri and Bettio returned to Canada and began brainstorming what would now be their best-selling brand. They wanted a product that lived up to the needs of the everyday woman. By July 2017, 437 Swimwear was launched, which has now rebranded to simply 437 and has expanded to multiple colours, cuts, collections, and also includes apparel.
Throughout their journey, Nayeri and Bettio have remained true to their values, now championing an all-women company. Despite ups and downs, Nayeri and Bettio continue to persevere in creating a luxury brand that is fun, flattering, and for everyone.
Edi Canedo | Founder, Cuchara Jewelry
When setting out to develop her line of jewelry, Edi Canedo wanted to create a collection of pieces that were “inspired by her humble West Coast upbringing as well as the diverse culture that Toronto provides.” With this mission in mind, in 2014 Canedo founded Cuchara Jewelry—a line of unique pieces that embody longevity, sustainability, and diversity.
Despite the growing success and media coverage of Cuchara Jewelry, Canedo remains true to her small business roots. With only a team of three artists including Canedo, Cuchara endeavours to support other small businesses in the production, supply, and shipment process of every piece Cuchara offers. To move away from the throwaway philosophy of many fashion pieces and promote longevity of fashion and therefore sustainability, Canedo offers a polish and replating program to restore pieces to their original beauty.
Kerin John | Founder, Black Owned Toronto & Black Owned Canada
Noticing a glaring gap in the ecommerce and small business community that focuses on Black entrepreneurs, entrepreneur Kerin John decided to create an effortless directory of Black-owned businesses in Canada. With this endeavour, John is actively backing Black-owned businesses through her website, Black Owned Canada, which not only provides a comprehensive directory of Black-owned businesses but also an ecommerce platform that encourages and enables Black-owned shopping.
Launched in May 2020, Black Owned Canada has already received national attention from major media outlets across the country.
Amanda Nguyen | Co-Founder, Boardball
Amanda Nguyen and her two co-founders are competitive and recreational volleyballers who together have a uniquely diverse skill set. Growing up playing sports, Nguyen noticed barriers around accessibility and resources in certain sports, among them her favourite volleyball. So Nguyen set about changing the game and thus the lightbulb idea, Boardball, was born.
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, what started as a passion project has now become a fully incorporated business that provides boardball kits, rules of the game, and apparel. They even signed a World Champion Beach Volleyball Player and a Rio 2016 Olympic Team Canada Volleyball Player to represent the sport.
For Nguyen, her inspiration came from her roots. “My parents continuously inspire me to create something impactful and positive to share with the world.”
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