March is Women’s History Month—a time to celebrate the women who’ve shaped our world. And right now, some of the most important history-making is happening in boardrooms, garages, and home offices across America, where women entrepreneurs are building the future.
Here’s what that looks like in numbers: Women now own 42% of all U.S. businesses, contributing over $1.8 trillion to the economy annually. Between 2019 and 2023, women-owned businesses grew at twice the rate of businesses overall.
But here’s the other side of that story: Women receive only 2% of venture capital funding. Women-owned businesses are 50% less likely to get bank loans compared to male-owned businesses. And women of color? They receive less than 1% of total VC funding, despite starting businesses at higher rates than any other demographic.
These aren’t just statistics—they’re barriers. Real ones. The kind that slow you down, make you question yourself, and force you to work twice as hard to get half as far.
And yet, women entrepreneurs keep building. Keep innovating. Keep proving that the barriers say more about broken systems than about their potential.
This Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting three women from the Hello Alice community who didn’t wait for permission, didn’t wait for equal access, and definitely didn’t wait for the “right time.” They saw what needed to exist in the world and built it themselves.
Kia-Shun Voltz: From Aerospace Engineer to Patent-Holding Innovator
Kia-Shun Voltz spent years breaking barriers in the aerospace and defense industries—fields where women, especially women of color, remain significantly underrepresented. But she found her greatest accomplishment in an unexpected place: solving a problem every parent with textured hair knows too well.
Washday was a struggle with her daughter. The products available didn’t work. The process took hours. Something needed to change.
So Kia-Shun created ShampooTime—a solution that resonated with parents worldwide who were tired of wrestling with washday.
She started with $200. That’s it. No investor backing. No safety net. Just a problem worth solving and the determination to solve it.
Three years later, ShampooTime hit a million dollars in revenue.
But Kia-Shun didn’t stop there. She recently obtained another patent for her innovations—proof that she’s not just building a business, she’s advancing an entire category.
Target recognized her innovation. Major media outlets featured her story. Awards celebrating her ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit kept coming. But what matters most to Kia-Shun is the impact: parents who no longer dread washday, children whose hair care routines are easier and healthier, and a thriving business that proves women of color can innovate at the highest levels.
As an active member of the Hello Alice community, Kia-Shun has shared her journey at our virtual events and received support through the Alibaba Manifest Grants Program in 2022. She’s not just building her own success—she’s lighting the path for others.
Her advice? “Start where you are with what you have. Your lived experience is your competitive advantage. The problem you’re solving doesn’t need to be revolutionary—it just needs to matter to real people.”
Kahindo Mateene: Fashion as a Force for Change
Kahindo Mateene’s mission with KAHINDO extends far beyond creating beautiful clothing. Every vibrant garment tells a story—of African heritage, of women’s empowerment, of fashion as a vehicle for positive change.
“Our mission extends beyond offering vibrant garments that celebrate individuality,” Kahindo explains. “It includes empowering both those who wear our designs and those who craft them.”
KAHINDO draws inspiration directly from Africa, infusing every creation with style, color, and originality while challenging stereotypes about the continent. But the real innovation is in the business model itself.
The brand partners with sewing co-ops and artisans in Africa, creating sustainable jobs and paying fair living wages. Every purchase supports women’s economic empowerment, closes the gender gap, and proves that ethical production and profitability aren’t mutually exclusive—they’re complementary.
The results speak for themselves. KAHINDO is carried by major U.S. retailers including Anthropologie, Shopbop, Nuuly, and Rent The Runway. The brand has been featured in WWD, Glamour, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Cut.
But for Kahindo, the real measure of success isn’t media coverage or retail partnerships—it’s the lives changed. The women in Africa who now have sustainable employment. The customers who wear fashion that aligns with their values. The shift in how people think about African-inspired design.
As a 2025 recipient of the Botox The Confidence Project Boost Camp through Hello Alice, Kahindo is expanding her impact even further.
“I started KAHINDO to celebrate and preserve my rich Congolese heritage and African upbringing,” Kahindo shares. “Fashion can be a force for positive change. When you choose KAHINDO, you choose fashion with a purpose, where style and substance converge to make a brighter world.”
Bao-Tram Do: Building Beauty and Community Through Flowers
Before Bao-Tram Do founded Emerald City Flowers, she spent over a decade in social impact and philanthropy. She was a dreamer and a doer, passionate about creating beauty and community wherever she went.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she turned to floral design as a creative outlet. What started as a way to cope during unprecedented times became an award-winning and published floral design studio.
“Through floral design, I feel honored to walk with people during some of the most important moments in their lives,” Bao-Tram explains.
But Emerald City Flowers isn’t just about beautiful arrangements. It’s about advancing racial and gender equity by partnering with BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women-owned businesses. It’s about nurturing creativity, taking good care of clients and team members, and approaching every project with intentionality.
The business values community, creativity, service, and thoughtfulness—and those values translate into both the work itself and how the business operates.
In 2025, Bao-Tram participated in the Etsy Creative Business Boost Initiative through Hello Alice. The recognition matters, but so does what comes next.
“I’m honored that our work has been recognized by the Creative Business Boost Initiative grant,” Bao-Tram says. “This award empowers us to strengthen our systems and operations, expanding our capacity to dream bigger and push creative boundaries in the floral industry.”
From social impact work to floral design, Bao-Tram proves that entrepreneurship isn’t always a straight line—it’s about following what lights you up while staying grounded in your values.
What These Stories Share
Kia-Shun, Kahindo, and Bao-Tram come from different industries and different backgrounds. But their stories share common threads:
They identified real problems and built real solutions. They started without perfect conditions or equal access to capital. They built businesses that reflect their values, not just their profit goals. They’re creating impact that extends beyond their bottom lines. And they’re all part of the Hello Alice community—proof that when women entrepreneurs have access to resources, funding, and support, they build businesses that transform industries and communities.
How Hello Alice Supports Women Like You
We know the barriers women entrepreneurs face aren’t hypothetical. They’re real, they’re systemic, and they slow down amazing businesses that should be thriving.
That’s why we’ve committed to supporting women-owned businesses with the resources, capital, and community you need to succeed—not despite the obstacles, but straight through them.
Here’s what that looks like:
Access to Capital
We connect you with grants, loans, and investment opportunities specifically designed to close the funding gap. Through partnerships like the Alibaba.com Manifest Grants Program, the Botox The Confidence Project Boost Camp, and the Etsy Creative Business Boost Initiative, we’ve helped distribute over $200 million in funding to small businesses, with significant support going to women-owned enterprises.
Kia-Shun, Kahindo, and Bao-Tram all accessed funding through Hello Alice programs. Because you shouldn’t have to be twice as good to get half the funding.
Practical Resources
No fluff. No generic advice. Just practical tools you can actually use—financial planning templates, marketing guides, contract templates. Plus courses on everything from business planning to navigating government contracts. The kind of resources that actually move your business forward.
Real Community and Mentorship
Building a business is hard. Building a business in an industry that wasn’t designed for you? Harder. Our community connects you with mentors, advisors, and fellow business owners who understand exactly what you’re up against—and how to win anyway.
Kia-Shun has shared her journey at Hello Alice virtual events, paying forward what she’s learned. That’s the kind of community we’re building—one where success is shared, not hoarded.
Visibility That Matters
We spotlight women-owned businesses on our platform, helping you gain exposure to potential customers, partners, and investors. Because great businesses shouldn’t stay invisible just because the traditional gatekeepers aren’t paying attention.
Your Next Move
If you’re a woman entrepreneur—whether you’re sketching your first business plan or scaling your business to the next level—here are the resources that can help you move forward right now:
Get Educated (Free)
Take advantage of business courses through Hello Alice, SCORE, and the SBA. Focus on what you actually need: financial management, marketing strategy, operations. Skip the theory, get the tactics.
Find Funding
Explore grants specifically for women-owned businesses. Hello Alice regularly updates funding opportunities on our platform—from major corporate programs to targeted grants for specific industries or demographics. Bookmark it.
Get Connected
Join organizations like NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners) or WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council). These aren’t just networking groups—they’re access points to contracts, mentorship, and resources.
Get Certified
Consider certification as a women-owned business through WBENC or the SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business program. This opens doors to government and corporate contracts that prioritize diverse suppliers.
The Bottom Line
This Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating women who aren’t just making history—they’re making it happen right now, in real time, against real odds.
Women like Kia-Shun, who turned $200 and a parent’s frustration into a million-dollar patented innovation. Women like Kahindo, who’s using fashion to empower African women while building a brand featured in Vogue. Women like Bao-Tram, who transformed a pandemic creative outlet into an award-winning business rooted in community and equity.
Women like you.
Your business idea isn’t a hobby. Your vision isn’t unrealistic. Your goals aren’t too ambitious.
The barriers are real, but so is your potential to break through them.
At Hello Alice, we’re here to make that path clearer, faster, and more supported. We provide the funding, resources, and community you need to turn your business from idea to impact.
Because the future of entrepreneurship isn’t just female—it’s already here. And it starts with you.
Ready to get started? Sign up for Hello Alice today and access everything you need to build, grow, and scale your business. No permission required.