A Female-Founder-Focused “Shark Tank” Competition’s Going Down in Atlanta—Meet the Five Impressive Finalists

Jennifer Ryan

08 Nov 2024, 16:41 · Cosmopolitan

It should come as no surprise that women business founders face significant roadblocks—but one of the most glaring obstacles for the demo has always been the big “Where’s the funding?” question. Last year, less than 3 percent of venture capital dollars were delegated to women-founded businesses. But that’s an issue HearstLab is aiming to fix. The organization is dedicated to investing in female-owned businesses, and right now, they’re doing just that through a global $100,000 pitch competition series.

With live Shark Tank–esque pitch events in cities like London, NYC, Madrid, and Amsterdam, HearstLab is identifying and propelling visionaries with businesses that have already shown promise. The next competition is slated for Tuesday, November 12, in Atlanta. Hundreds of businesswomen applied to participate, and only five were handpicked to join in the hopes of nailing down a $100,000 investment. The event’s judges include Eve Burton (executive vice president & chief legal officer at Hearst), Lisa Butters (senior vice president of strategic partnerships and emerging business at CAMP Systems International), and Shila Nieves Burney (general partner at Zane Venture Fund).

Ahead of next week’s final showdown, Cosmopolitan connected with each of the innovative finalists to learn a bit more about their companies, what motivates them on the daily, and their biggest wins thus far. Meet them down below.

Disclaimer: HearstLab and Cosmopolitan are both operated by the Hearst Corporation.

Jennifer Ryan

CEO and founder of Croux, a temporary staffing platform creating wealth opportunities for lower-income individuals.

What’s been your business’s biggest success thus far?
Within just 24 months of launching, Croux made its mark by winning Alabama Launchpad, the state’s top tech competition—twice, getting featured in Google Play’s #WeArePlay national campaign, and securing backing from Microsoft and an NFL team. Most importantly, we’ve put nearly $3M into the hands of hardworking Americans who pick up shifts through our platform. We’re grateful for the recognition and support, and we’re channeling this momentum into our next phase of growth.

What exciting projects does Croux have in the works today?
Croux is partnering with leading hospitality brands to transform how the industry supports its workforce. By focusing on health benefits, financial literacy, upskilling, and pay transparency, we’re bringing back workers who left the industry and opening the door for new talent to grow, earn, and thrive.

What is it about your business that keeps you inspired and motivated?
When our talent tells us that we have changed their lives by providing them an avenue to get out of debt, go back to school, spend more time with their families, travel, or save for the future when they never dreamed they could, we know we’re on the right track.

Do you have a mirror mantra?
Obsess over value, not vanity.

What do you consider your superpower?
Thanks to a wide set of experiences, I can connect the dots across industries and geographies and spot patterns and opportunities that others often overlook. It took me many years to realize that a fresh perspective isn’t a weakness, but rather my sharpest competitive edge.

Michelle Huie

CEO and founder of ShopDot, an app that allows businesses to build online storefronts.

What’s been ShopDot’s biggest success thus far?

We launched in June, and the adoption of ShopDot has been overwhelming. We have over 70 brands on our platform that are acquiring new customers through service businesses.

What exciting projects does your business have in the works today?

We are working with several large franchises in the pet industry to enable businesses to partner with brands to generate additional revenue.

What is it about your business that keeps you inspired and motivated?

ShopDot is enabling service businesses to easily sell the products they recommend. I’m motivated by creating a new revenue channel for both brands and service providers that never existed before.

Do you have a motto/mirror mantra?

If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.

What do you consider your superpower?

I’m passionate but not precious.

Lauren Goodell

CEO and founder of Zinnia, an AI tool that helps sales reps close more deals in less time by providing tailored strategies.

What’s been your business’s largest success thus far?

Zinnia has been named a top start-up to watch by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and our leadership has been recognized and awarded by the Charlotte Business Journal and JP Morgan/Chase. We are proud to be backed by rockstar VCs (Atlanta Ventures and CreativeCo) and advised by the founders of SalesLoft, Terminus, and Pardot.

What exciting projects does Zinnia have in the works today?

Today, we are getting ready to launch Zinnia’s Next Best Action—guiding deals through every step of the sales process and not letting anything slip through the cracks. We are so excited to help reps push forward stalled deals and not lose sleep over forgetting some of the minute details.

What is it about your business that keeps you inspired and motivated?

The ability to see a vision and a dream come to life and actually help people continues to inspire me. Founding a company is truly creating something out of nothing and convincing others to buy into your crazy ideas. My team and investors are incredible—they continue to push me to be better and motivate me daily.

Do you have a mirror mantra?

“You are living the life you dreamed of” helps me reflect on the effort I’ve put in and how far I’ve come. Start-up land is hard and scary and can feel defeating at times, but remembering the resilience it took to get this far helps me continue to push forward and romanticize the life I am currently living.

Have you received any standout feedback from a user that reflected your impact?

One of our clients shared that because we make her life so much easier, she gets to spend more time with her kids at night, instead of preparing for her meetings the next day. If just a fraction of our impact is re-instilling work/life balance, I will be satisfied.

What do you consider your superpower?

The ability to connect with people. My mother taught me the most important thing you can do is help others feel seen, give them a safe space to be authentically themselves, and meet them where they are. My superpower is being able to connect with and learn from everyone I meet.

Hillit Meidar-Alfi

CEO and cofounder of Spatial Health, a health equity marketplace built to help providers address costly health barriers.

What’s been your business’s biggest success/bragging right thus far?
As a woman founder in health care tech—a space with its own challenges—I’m proud we’ve built a tech-first solution that’s securing key partnerships and driving real progress in social and health equity. Our biggest win is knowing we’re challenging the status quo and addressing the root causes of health disparities. By connecting patients to resources that tackle social barriers to care, we’re filling a critical gap in the system. It’s amazing to see that we’re building something that truly makes a difference.

What exciting projects does your Spatial Health have in the works today?
We’re working on some pretty exciting projects right now. We’re in the process of integrating with major population health platforms, which will help us reach millions of people over the next few years. What I’m most excited about, though, is how we’re bringing a fresh, practical approach to social care coordination. We’re not just checking boxes; we’re making sure patients get care that actually fits into their lives and social needs. By addressing the whole person, we’re setting the bar higher in health care—one that not only cuts costs but also improves quality and drives real patient engagement.

What is it about Spatial Health that keeps you inspired and motivated?
What keeps me inspired every day is getting to bring my love of design and planning into health care in a way that actually impacts people’s lives. With my background in architecture and a PhD in city and regional planning, I’ve seen firsthand how the spaces we live in shape our behavior and decision-making. Geo-mapping and location intelligence hold all this hidden data that, when put to good use, can truly improve health and quality of life. With Spatial Health, it’s not just about the medical side—it’s about helping doctors understand the whole person behind each patient, connecting them to the resources that matter most. It’s incredibly rewarding to know we’re making health care more human and impactful, and that’s what keeps me driven every day.

Do you have a mirror mantra?
I recently picked up this mantra from James Lakes, a sales coach who loves his sports metaphors: “Just keep scoring.” The idea is simple but powerful—we’re often so fixated on the big win that we overlook the importance of each small step that gets us there. For me, it’s a reminder to stay focused on the day-to-day progress, to keep the momentum going, and to appreciate every little move forward. Those small steps are what ultimately add up to the win.

Have you received any standout feedback from a user that really reflected your impact?
An industry veteran with years of experience in care coordination shared this with us: “I’ve been looking for something like this for over a decade. What you’ve built is the most comprehensive, well-coordinated approach I’ve seen, using the right data to drive real impact. This is what better health care looks like.” Hearing that from someone who’s seen countless attempts in this space was a huge validation that we’re on the right path and truly making a difference.

What do you consider your superpower?
My superpower is creating elegant solutions to complex problems. I’ve always been able to see the big picture and envision where we can go—even when things get tough, I don’t give up easily. Being resilient helps me push through challenges, and staying focused on the vision keeps me inspired to keep building. Making something simple is really hard, but that’s what I love—and I think that’s what sets us apart.

Alex Edquist

CEO and cofounder of Good Agriculture, an AI-powered farm business management platform.

What’s been your business’s biggest success thus far?

We’ve won farmers almost a million dollars in grant funding and have helped them see a huge bump in their profitability (on average they get $15 more profitable for every dollar they spend on us).

What exciting projects does your Good Agriculture have in the works today?

We’re building a voice-to-text app for farmers to collect their on-farm data, so they’ll have it available in a useful digital form instead of sitting in a notepad on the tractor dashboard.

What is it about your business that keeps you inspired and motivated?

Our farmer customers are some of the most inspirational, innovative people I’ve ever worked with. They’re figuring out how to farm more sustainably, feed nutritious food to their communities, and adapt to more weather variability/new types of pests, etc. It’s so cool to be able to support them in the work they’re doing—we all need to eat!

Do you have a mirror mantra?

Before I pitch my company, I tell myself, You don’t need a pep talk—you’re a boss-ass bitch, get up there and do your job (which is what a mentor told me before our Techstars Demo Day).

Have you received any standout feedback from a user that really reflected your impact?

Our farmers regularly tell us that we’re “lifesavers” and we “change the way they run their business.”

What do you consider your superpower?

I’m a “foot deep and a mile wide” person who can lead and work with specialists effectively across a wide variety of topics (which is helpful as a start-up CEO where I wear 80 different hats!)

Annabel IwegbueAssociate Editor

Annabel Iwegbue is an associate editor at Cosmopolitan where she primarily covers entertainment and lifestyle. Before joining Cosmo, she covered entertainment at 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 .