9 Aussie Startups Led By Female Entrepreneurs

Though the startup world has long been dominated by male founders, in recent years, female entrepreneurs have been driving change with pioneering companies. The startup ecosystem is a challenging one, but as these female founders have proven, challenging the status quo, solving long-overlooked problems and forging your own path are sure to lead to success.

From beauty to female health and finance, female-led businesses are shaking up their respective industries with innovative marketing and business development approaches. But there are still major obstacles to overcome. You need only look at recent statistics from Deloitte Australia, which found that only 22% of Australian startups are founded by women. Compounding the issue is the fact that only 0.7% of all private equity start-up funding in FY22 goes to solely female-founded teams, a number that needs to increase significantly.

With this in mind, it makes the success of these nine Aussie startups all the more incredible. Whether it’s a new business model, a creative idea that’s been well-executed, or powerful marketing that appeals to its audience, these female founders have helped to shake up the startup ecosystem for the better. Here are the nine female-led Aussie businesses you need to look out for.

Lyka

Industry: Pet Care
Female founder: Anna Podolsky
Founded: 2018
Team size: 150+

When Anna discovered that the dog food her pup was consuming was highly processed, she sought to create a homemade diet that would serve to improve her dog's (Lyka) health. The result is Lyka pet food, a diet for pooches that doesn't just taste great, but leads to optimal health by ensuring your dog has more energy, less tooth decay, a healthier coat, and improved digestive issues.

"After seeing the transformation of my dog's health, my mission is to transform dog food so that puppers all over Australia can thrive," says Anna. With a purpose-led mission and a commitment to reinventing a category long overdue for innovation, big things have come for Lyka who has now built an ambitious team of dog-lovers.

With a strong social media presence and marketing that's informative and speaks to the heart of dog lovers, we know Lyka will continue to grow!

Human

Industry: Healthcare
Female founders: Georgia Vidler and Kate Lambridis
Founded: 2021
Team size: 50+

For anyone who has had to navigate the healthcare system, you'll be all too familiar with the delayed feedback loop that exists between doctors and patients. With the desire to speed up and facilitate tailored treatment plans and improve access to the latest information, co-founders Georgia and Kate founded Human.

With the mission to create a healthier, happier world, Human has shaken up the healthcare industry with a personalised approach. In 2022, they raised the largest-ever seed funding round for an all-female-founded Australian startup.

As Georgia explains, "Healthcare is something that is innately personal, however we have almost lost sight of the human side of health...We are designing for everyone, and want to understand how we can better serve the human body as a whole." This uniquely personal approach lies behind Human's success, and it's something that translates across their marketing campaigns and branding.

Clove

Industry: Food and recipes
Female founder: Anna Guerrero
Founded: 2023
Team size: 10

After leaving her job as a VP at Canva, Anna spent seven months living in Italy's Dolomite mountains where she worked between two Michelin-star restaurants, and the Alma cooking school in Parma. Since moving back to Sydney, Guerrero has turned her passion for food into Clove, a global recipe and cooking platform that wants to simplify cooking for everyone - no matter your food preferences or culinary skills.

With the help of AI and personalisation, Clove is a platform that empowers individuals to optimise their health by cooking at home. It curates easy-to-follow recipes and helps everyday cooks find inspiring meals to create at home. We love its wide-ranging appeal, as it allows recipe creators to reach new audiences and helps busy cooks have a better cooking experience with delicious recipes to recreate.

The days of returning home from work only to stare at the contents of your fridge with little enthusiasm are over with Clove. Having now secured a US$2.75 million seed round led by Blackbird, the company is looking to make getting organised and staying inspired a daily occurrence in the kitchen, and no doubt 2024 will be a big one for them!

Excellent

Industry: Employee Experience Design
Female founders: Samantha Gadd and Jenny Busing
Founded: 2022
Team size: 95+

Having founded and led HR and EX consultancy, Humankind, for more than 10 years, Samantha Gadd started Excellent alongside her business partner, Jenny Busing. The startup was driven by her desire to see a mindset shift in the workplace, one that encouraged meaningful and enjoyable work experiences.

As Gadd explains, "We believe employee experience isn't something leaders alone should be deciding - it's the people in the company that can best understand and design the ideal work experience."

"Businesses who embrace this shift will ultimately retain the best talent and enjoy the most success," she adds.

As the first global platform focused on connecting and supporting Employee Experience leaders, Excellent is home to the world's first Employee Experience certification. As the pandemic has shown, employees want to feel valued and find meaning in their work. It's this that Excellent helps to facilitate, and a core value that we love most about the company. Amidst new workplace challenges, this startup is helping businesses navigate their way to ensure employees have the best experience.

Fayshell

Industry: Beauty
Female founders: Katelin Gregg and Ella James
Founded: 2022
Team size: 4+

After starting the podcast Cosmechix, female entrepreneurs Katelin and Ella decided to shake up the beauty industry with the launch of Fayshell. Though the beauty industry is a relatively saturated market, the dynamic duo saw a great opportunity. Rather than reinforce the view of the facial being a luxury treatment to indulge in once every few months, they've branded it to be a regular step in your self-care routine.

As Ella explains, "We wanted to bring facials into the every day, educating our clients about their skincare needs and offering a customised experience to ensure they put their best face forward."

Like a gym membership or fitness pass, Fayshell offers three membership tiers, starting at $169 a month. These facials go above and beyond, educating clients about various skincare products and concerns while taking a tailored approach to skincare. While the idea behind the business is a unique and creative one, the company's branding and marketing is what we love. Playful, and authentic, while always informative, it's an empowering business that is sure to expand in the coming months (with two stores and counting already open in Sydney).

Mentorloop

Industry: Tech
Female founders: Lucy Lloyd and Heidi Holmes
Founded: 2016
Team size: 25+

Navigating any chosen career path can be challenging, and the need for mentors has never been more important. But the question remains: how does one go about finding a mentor, and how do mentors ensure they can effectively give back to their mentees?

It's a question Lucy and Heidi sought to address by founding Mentorloop, an online tech business that connects mentors with mentees via an online platform. The platform runs on a subscription model, where customers pay a monthly fee for employee access to connect mentors and mentees, and enhance the impact of these mentoring relationships.

Since its launch, Mentorloop has received significant funding from venture capital firms like Blackbird Ventures and Tempus Partners, but in recent years Lucy and Heidi have focused instead on profitability.

Having recently launched in the US, Mentorloop continues to grow significantly and has more than 170 organisations globally. As well as this, it's matched more than 40,000 mentorships since its launch in 2016. Across their online platforms, the company continues to educate and empower followers to reflect on their working relationships and mentoring efforts.

Blossom

Industry: Fintech
Female founders: Gaby and Ali Rosenberg
Founded: 2020
Team size: 10

The world of finance has largely been dominated by men, but sisters Gaby and Ali Rosenberg wanted to shake things up and support those navigating the world of fixed-income investments. Given the unpredictable nature of the economy, Blossom sought to help everyday Aussies gain access to investing in a new asset class, shielding it from the rather drastic movements that have so often coloured the share market.

What resulted is a startup that allows retail investors to access a portfolio of bonds, which are less volatile than shares (and were previously only accessible to high-net worth individuals). As Gaby explains, "Fixed income has offered a ballast of stability amidst high market volatility this year and we have seen increased demand for stable returns."

Since launching in 2020, Blossom has now grown to increase their targeted returns to 5.95%, helping individuals to reach their savings goals faster while remaining committed to supporting responsible investment.

The Skin Bar

Industry: Beauty
Female founder: Samantha Appel
Founded: 2020
Team size: 50

Inspired by holistic anti-ageing treatments, Samantha launched The Skin Bar to cater to those who wanted to age naturally. Having experienced firsthand the pressures society places on women to retain an ever-youthful appearance, Samantha wanted to find a new offering that challenged the harsh and often toxic treatments like injectables and lasers. The result: skin needling.

Since starting The Skin Bar, the company has grown extensively to open stores across Sydney's key suburbs like Double Bay and Brookvale. Now, it's home to Australia's only dedicated skin needling clinics and non-toxic and non-invasive treatments.

We love the ethos behind The Skin Bar, which as Samantha explains, offers treatments that "focus on our inner confidence and self-love" rather than contribute to "unobtainable" beauty standards. You see this across the brand's social media, marketing, and blog posts, with content that is informative, educational, and shines a spotlight on authenticity in the beauty industry.

Femmi

Industry: Women's Health
Female founders: Lydia O'Donnell and Esther Keown
Founded: 2020
Team size: 10

As professional runners and athletes, Lydia and Esther know firsthand the impact the menstrual cycle and fluctuating hormones have on athletic performance. And yet, when it comes to coaching, few coaches tailor programs to suit the needs of their athletes. This gap in the market led the two athletes to launch Femmi, an app specifically for women who run to ensure they not only unlock their athletic potential but also optimise their health and well-being by training with their cycle.

By tracking hormone and energy changes during the menstrual cycle, Femmi allows runners to receive personalised training plans that cater to such changes. With an expert team of medical experts, physiotherapists, and athletes behind the Femmi brand, women can feel empowered to learn more about their health and unique needs. This is something that is at the heart of the Femmi brand and comes through in its marketing and online presence.

As they continue to shine a spotlight on women in running and their personal stories, Femmi is growing to be more than just an app and coaching platform, but a community of like-minded people who all want to see one another succeed.

As these nine female entrepreneurs and women-led businesses illustrate, though an increase in funding is still necessary to support such ventures, success is possible with creative approaches and new ways of marketing.

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