Fortune - USA (2020-12)

venture capital backing or have been sold to

private owners. Most provide consumer-fac-

ing products. The vast majority were started

by young, wealthy, white, or Asian founders

who had become the celebrity faces of their

businesses. And—some would argue, most

crucially—all were founded by women.

To many in Silicon Valley, the toppling of

so many of the industry’s most prominent

female founders signals something much

By mid-June, amid mounting pressure and scrutiny, Gelman

stepped down as CEO. “Ultimately the prioritization of growth over

culture came at the expense of women of color feeling empowered,”

she later wrote on Instagram. “I didn’t live up to the values I set.”

Gelman’s fall from grace was dramatic—but not singular. Amid

employee allegations of mismanagement or mistreatment—often

amplified by the press—each of these founders has stepped down

or been forced out of her company in the past 18 months: Tyler

Haney of activewear startup Outdoor Voices; Steph Korey of

luggage company Away; Christene Barberich of women’s digital

publication Refinery29; Yael Aflalo of dressmaker Reformation;

Jen Gotch of retailer Ban.do; Shannon Spanhake of workplace-

benefits platform Cleo; and Nancy Lublin of mental-health plat-

form Crisis Text Line.

While each ouster has its own twists and turns, there’s a lot that

unites these companies and founders. All are fast-growing startups

that emphasized feminist or socially driven missions. All have

TAKING WING

The Wing cofounder and former CEO Audrey Gelman

(left) and cofounder Lauren Kassan (right), with

actress and producer Kerry Washington at the Wing’s

SoHo location in New York City in December 2018.

INVESTOR’S GUIDE • FEMALE FOUNDERS