In the wave of sustainability, and movements towards protecting the environment and limiting waste, a problem that arises is that of food waste. In America there is such an abundance of food that the sad reality is that much of it gets thrown away. Abbi Ramesh, young entrepreneur, identified this problem and came up with an incredibly creative solution that not only eliminates food waste, but also makes healthy food available for a cheaper price.

A large reason why a lot of food, especially produce, is wasted is due to the foods appearance. If a tomato has a harmless spot on it, or a carrot has split into two stalks whiles growing, then grocery stores will not accept them. As a result, a lot of “misfit” veggies and fruits, that taste perfectly fine yet are not appealing in appearance, get thrown out: wasted. Ramesh was able to connect with a variety of produce suppliers and buy their products for a cheap price. Costumers are able to survey the available produce on their easy to-access-website. They are then able to “build their boxes” full of fresh produce at a fraction of the cost of a conventional store.

Additionally, customers are given the option to become a Misfit Member which then enables them to get special deals and sign up for a subscription, one box per month (or whatever length of time that best fits their needs). Each month it is a new experience to build your box as new veggies and fruits come in and out of season. Or, alternatively, you can sign up for a surprise box which then enable you to try a variety of produce that you might not originally buy.

Ramesh is also expanding the company to include more, packaged products such as healthy snacks or organic treats. Ultimately, at the heart of this business model is the goal of making healthy food available to the masses through reasonable pricing. His business differs from other online food stores as he has made it possible to sell fresh food online, not simply non-perishable items. All in all, Ramesh’s incredibly creative business model has been extremely successful and is an inspiration to further development in the sphere of healthy food.

Among the many issues plaguing the world today, fashion might not be ranked as one of the most important. Perhaps, however, if it was phrased differently, more attention might be paid to it. For instance, it is universally agreed that unethical working situations, gross amounts of waste and trash, abused persons involved in the creation of cheap and at-hand clothing, are all social problems worth being addressed. Consequently, because all of these issues exist in the world of fashion, it is necessary to address the fashion industry.

This is just the problem that English entrepreneur Isabella West identified. She noticed that people spend unnecessary money on more clothes than they need, only to toss them as a new fashion trend comes along. This encourages two results: firstly, this enables companies that use unethical work standards for their employees to make more money, pumping out more product, and all the while subjecting their employees to increased stress. Secondly, people are more prone to move through their clothing faster, resulting in a higher trash mountain. West proposed a clothing-rental company as an alternative means to access new and high-end fashion, yet at a fraction of the cost and with less commitment than buying the piece of clothing.

In enabling her customers to rent clothing for events, or even every day life, she has made high end fashion accessible. And with better quality clothing, made ethically, is more successful, less business is directed towards unethical fast fashion brands. What is more, this gives her costumers the opportunity to try out different styles, combing both sustainability and creativity in the fashion industry.

To say that Keiana Cave was an inspiration to all aspiring female entrepreneurs would be an understatement. Her story is one of persistence, insane accomplishment, and a mission focused on solving a unique yet incredibly important problem. Beginning at a young age, Cave was interested in identifying problems in the world, especially the world of chemical engineering. Her focus ranges from wide spread, environmental issues, to the most personal of female reproductive health.

Recently, Cave has focused her impressive creative energy on the issue of birth control. This topic has been revisited countless times over the years, and from its conception has been an extremely controversial. The most popular form of birth control, currently, is hormonal birth control. Typically, this works by preventing the woman taking the pill from ovulating to prevent the possibility of a fertilized egg. While generally effective, this form of birth control has many adverse side effects. Most prominently, it introduces “foreign” hormones to a woman’s body, and by nature of that process, it messes with the natural balance of hormones. For many women, this is a large issue and often complicates their decisions on which birth control is best for them.

Cave identified this issue and has been working on the development of a birth control that is non hormonal. She saw the widespread negative physical results of the pill and had a strong desire to fix the issue. This is particularly admirable due to her age: she is not held back by societal standards of maturity or success. This enabled her to dream big, and to work incessantly to fix major problems. She demonstrates the necessary characteristics of a successful entrepreneur in that she is creative and constantly identifying new problems, she is working with issues she has personal experience with, and she is unafraid to break the norms in the hopes for finding solutions.

In today’s world of social media, YouTube, and other forms of digitally available content, a market that has arisen is that of workout inspiration and workout plans. This has enabled athletically illiterate people, or people who are looking for more workout inspiration, to have an immense number of tools at their fingertips. Yet, like all good things, there is a catch: much of the workout and wellness products and medias produced are accompanied by toxic messages and are incredibly hostile to bigger body types. Mik Zazon, founder of “Normalize Normal Bodies”, recognized this gap in the wellness industry and inserted herself to make a change.

The defining factor of Mik’s brand is her tagline to “normalize normal bodies” which originated on her Instagram page where she began posting pictures of herself in workout clothing, bathing suits, etc. that showed that it is normal for bodies to have the “imperfections” that the diet and wellness community tries to “fix”. Her brand grew as she designed a workout guide that featured the popular HIIT style of workout yet with all sorts of alterations and accommodations depending on your fitness and capability level. What is more, each of the workouts is joined with a video of Mik herself demonstrating the workouts. In these videos, Mik makes a point to not distort, edit, or position her body so as to look different. Her message is genuine, and her goal is to encourage others to celebrate their bodies through exercise, to honor its needs, rather than to make it look a certain way.

Mik has further capitalized on this positive movement by designing “Normalize Normal Bodies” gear, cute workout gear with an inspirational message designed to flatter the shape of your body. Her most popular product is a crop top with her key tagline on it which spreads the message that your body is worth being shown, not hidden. What is more, Mik has grown an incredible community on Instagram where she shares inspiration from her recovery from an eating disorder and does affiliations with brands. This Instagram page is another source of revenue for Mik as she makes money off of ads that support her message.

            Mik’s brand is not revolutionary, but it has been effective, and has drawn a large following. She took inspiration from her own life and her past struggles which informed the message and the products she produced. Her company is growing and will continue to reach those who want to learn how to embrace their bodies while learning how to honor it through working out.

Body positivity is a movement rising in popularity in many circles nation-wide. A general understanding of the toxicity of diet culture, and the many scams perpetuated by a general shaming of physical appearance, has encouraged brands of all sorts to champion a healthier outlook on body positivity. Many brands, like Aerie, have capitalized on this movement by making sure that their marketing is size inclusive, becoming one of the first underwear and casual wear brands to openly display people of different ethnicities, weights, physical disabilities and more as models for their products. Tapping into this movement, entrepreneur and social media influencer Rini Frey, known as “Own It Babe”, has created an entire brand based off of loving your body and encouraging other women to do the same.

Rini’s story is especially inspiring as her brand was created out of a personal struggle that so many girls relate to. For years she struggled with an eating disorder that ravaged her life. Once she started on the road to recovery, she realized that she could share her journey on Instagram to inspire other women. Out of this came “Own It Babe”, a business which promotes having a healthy relationship with your body. Rini makes money off of affiliate links on Instagram, and is developing a clothing line with inclusive sizing that is due to drop soon. Her work promotes other businesses that align with her mission, and will soon supply merchandise with encouraging logos for all types of bodies.

Tieghan Gerard was creative from a young age. She found that the time she spent in her kitchen enabled her to create something which everyone, including her large family, could enjoy. What is more, her creative capacities with flavor and recipe creation slowly began to meld with her designing and artistic passions. Out of these passions and realizations of strengths was birth her business, Half Baked Harvest, a recipe developing company that specializes in flavorful, different, and approachable recipes.

Half Baked Harvest is unique in several capacities. Firstly, her online presence makes her recipes both approachable and attractive to a wide audience. Her main interaction with her client base is via Instagram posts and stories. That is the platform on which she introduces new recipes, and also posts demonstrations on how to make the recipes on the “reels” capabilities, or on her story. By providing the real time tutorials, she enables those who interact with her content to easily make the recipes that she develops. Furthermore, those tutorials are often watched even by those who do not make the recipes, demonstrating that she is able to reach more than one community with her content.

The way that Tieghan makes money is through views on her social media content, and through the sale of her cookbooks that she writes. I think the best thing about her business is the fact that she was able to take something she was naturally talented at, not evening having to go to culinary school, and turn into a full-blown business that supports herself and also employs several employees. She has taken recipe development and food photography to the next level while still keeping her products accessible and intriguing to many people.