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International Women's Day 2023
The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity. At Counter Culture Store we’re committed to championing women in business and celebrating female founders.
We’re proud that over 85% of our brands are female founded or co-founded. We know. only too well, just how hard it is to start a new business, as we’re less than 18 month old ourselves. But did you know how much harder it is for female founders when it comes to raising investment?
According to the British Business Bank
- for every £1 of venture capital (VC) investment in the UK, all-female founder teams get less than 1p, all-male founder teams get 89p, and mixed-gender teams 10p.
- venture capital investment in start-ups with female founders is increasing but progress is very slow. At current rates, for all-female teams to reach even 10% of all deals will take more than 25 years (until 2045).
- 83% of deals that UK VCs made last year had no women at all on the founding teams.
This is just one of the reasons why the theme for this year’s #IWD is so important. #EmbraceEquity.
So on International Women’s Day we’d like to make some noise about female founders and share ust some of the inspirational founders for brands on our platform. What’s more there’s a Chance To Win some of the amazing products…
FOUNDER: ERIM KAUR, BY ERIM
Erim Kaur, the founder of haircare brand ByErim, founded her brand to honour her mother’s long and beautiful hair. Sadly she lost her mother to cancer when she was just 8 years old. But with the help of her Dhadi (grandmother) and after countless experiments creating luxury hair oil in her grandmother’s kitchen, the ByErim brand was born. She has already sold more than 70,000 bottles. In 2022 Erim was awarded The Telegraph’s Judges’ Choice in the 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch!FOUNDER: ANNA VALLE, SEEDS OF COLOUR
What if your makeup was coloured by the power of Nature? That’s the brainchild of Anna Valle, the founder of Seeds of Colour, a green biotech beauty company on a mission to celebrate nature, seed change and save our environment. They use innovative technology to extract pigments from plants to create natural coloured beauty products good for you and your world. Their multi-purpose make-up balm can be used on lips, cheeks and eyes. Anna who has lived and worked iin multiple countries is a passionate about sustainability and the circular economy
FOUNDER: PONTINE PAUS, DR LIPP
With the average product today containing 30-40 ingredients, Dr Lipp is committed to a maximum of 10 natural ingredients in its “stripped-back skincare” range. Launched in 2004, by founder Pontine Paus, the iconic “The Original Nipple Balm”, for dry skin, luscious lips & glossy bits’ was the first 100% natural multi-use skincare product to launch in the UK beauty market. Its “stripped-back” approach extends to its products too with Pontine committed to making only multi-use products that fulfil more than one purpose. Winner of over 80 awards, for their fabulous products and their green credentials which sees products housed in 100% bioplastic sugar cane tubes.
FOUNDER: EMANI JERAM, B&W COLLECTION
Founder of B&W Collection, Emani, struggled with body confidence after being diagnosed with Vitiligo. She would hide behind body makeup and always try to wear clothes that didn’t show her skin and as a result she really struggled with her mental health. Deciding to channel these feelings into positive action, Emani started a wellness blog. It gave her new found confidence and she wanted to help others do the same. After quitting a job that wasn’t making her happy, Emani decided to follow her dream and establish her own beauty and wellness brand – B&W Collection – to focus on both beauty and wellness.
