The Wall Street Journal’s Billion Dollar Club list includes startups that are valued at $1 billion or more. Only four out of 62 CEOs are women, according to WSJ's list.
It’s unsurprising, considering the tech industry suffers from a stark gender divide as a whole. These four women are all the more inspiring to have successfully navigated through the obstacles that only women in tech face.
Curious about these fearless female technology leaders? So were we! It's time to get inspired:
1. Adi Tatarko, CEO of Houzz
Houzz is an online platform for home remodeling, valued at $2.3 billion.
Thanks to JD Lasica for the photo.
On her definition of success...
"My personal success is being able to, first of all, be happy with the goals that I set for myself and the achievement of those goals," Tatarko told the
HuffingtonPost.
On the joy of not enough sleep...
"[Lack of enough sleep] is not because somebody forces me. I could absolutely have a good night’s sleep every night, but there is so much to do and I’m so happy to do it that I can’t sleep that much," she says in the interview.
On her biggest lesson in school..
"You can disagree with someone who is senior and you can question the system, as long as you truly believe in what you say and what you do and stand behind it," she told
Fortune.
"I started doing it early in life, and I definitely learned to question the system and create my own system when working with the outside world and building my own thing."
2. Lynn Jurich, CEO of Sunrun
Sunrun is a home solar power installation, financing and leasing company, valued at $1.3 billion.
On why women are great entrepreneurs...
"Women are natural business people. They are decisive, they work hard, and they bring optimism to daily challenges," she told
SolarWomen.org.
On the advice she wished she had...
"My best piece of advice for women is to have confidence and trust themselves, especially young women. Keep that in mind when you are younger and earlier in your career," she said in the same interview.
On the best lesson learned..
"When you know that a person's a great fit and is a real executor, you hire them. Because the business is running so fast...that even if they don't fit the right functional area that you're looking for at the time, a smart person who works hard will always be valuable," she says in an interview with
Fortune Most Powerful Women.
3. Michelle Peluso, CEO of Gilt Groupe
Gilt Groupe is an online destination for discounted luxury items, valued at $1.1 billion.
Peluso started a business in her swimming pool as a kid
"As an entrepreneur at heart...I started a swimming business in our backyard...I had a lovely job where I was making like $30 an hour outdoors," she told
The Atlantic.
On tackling the stigmas against women in tech...
"I think it's fine to be underestimated a little bit. I think there's something very liberating about that. It's energizing," she says in the Atlantic interview.
On how to stay really focused..
"I If you’re going to live a bold life, and if you’re going to take risks and try to step out of your comfort zone, you are going to occasionally fail, make some missteps and disappoint yourself....Grace is meeting those moments on the journey, then picking yourself back up, being humble enough to learn and not being too hard on yourself," she says in a
New York Times interview.
4. Christy Wyatt, CEO of Good Technology
Good Technology is a mobile security company that protects work data on employees' personal devices, valued at $1.1 billion.
Wyatt was a leader since third grade...
After her choir teacher quit, “I became the instructor after convincing the music department to let me and a friend who played the piano do it,” Wyatt told the New York Times.
On being the only girl in her class...
After the teacher said half of her class will drop out by December, “I was very intimidated at first, because I had no technical background. I had barely touched a computer,” she told the NYT. “Even though everybody assumed I would be the first to go, I made sure I was the last to go. By Christmas, I was actually head of the class.”
On making smart decisions...
"If you're going to make a decision, a change, if you're going to build something, or hire someone, begin with understanding what it is you're moving towards as opposed to moving away from. You make all sorts of mistakes if you're only focused on the rearview mirror," she told Tech Republic.
