Slaying it like a boss: Meet Australia's five female entrepreneurs

Summary 

• In 2021, the demographics of the entrepreneur landscape has changed considerably, with a sizeable portion of women in the area.
• Melanie Perkins’ company – Canva - is worth over AU$8.5 billion and competes with the likes of tech giants like Microsoft and Adobe.
• CEO of retail giant Harvey Norman – Katie Page - has stressed the importance of being hands-on in retail, saying it helps understand the company's latest trends and future direction.
• Janine Allis, the founder of Boost Juice, attributes her success to her power to move forward. Additionally, she maintains positive life habits and believes strongly in the power of positivity.

If there’s one thing the twenty-first century has brought to our society, it’s innovation. From technology to fitness and everything in between, innovation is happening at an alarming rate.

In Australia, the entrepreneur arena is filled with exciting people with excellent ideas.

Once a landscape entirely dominated by men, with the rare exception now and then, in 2021, the entrepreneur landscape demographics now look very different.

Not only is that arena populated by a younger demographic, there’s also a sizeable portion of women.

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Furthermore, with the COVID-19 lockdowns across Australia in 2020 and now in 2021 as the new Delta variant looms large, more women than ever have been involved in launching their own startups.

One such startup, called myWhānau, started by New Zealand-born Michelle Forster, is an automated family calendar in the form of an app. This app aims to help families, particularly mothers, affected by the lockdowns by planning events and domestic tasks to help manage time more efficiently.

There are many stories like this one from women who have entered the world of entrepreneurship. But today, let’s list five Australian women leading the way in the world of business.

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Melanie Perkins – Founder of Canva

The genesis of Melanie Perkins’ idea occurred when she was still studying in Perth at nineteen years of age. The idea was to make design elements, like business cards and logos, accessible to the masses.

And so, Melanie, along with her partner Cliff Obrecht (now husband), started Canva in 2013.

Today the company is worth over AU$8.5 billion and competes with the likes of tech giants like Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE).

At just 34-years-old, Perkins and her husband have led Canva to create two billion designs across 190 countries.

Diana Williams – Fernwood

In the late 1980s, Diana Williams was inspired to create a fitness place exclusively for women.

When Diana would go to the gym to perform strength training, she’d notice that, despite the gym being mixed, there were barely any women frequenting the weights area of the gym.

Thus, Diana decided to start her own women’s gym in an abandoned school in Bendigo, Victoria. After just six months, as membership increased, she moved to a larger venue requiring more staff.

This was the genesis of Fernwood, which now has 70 health and fitness clubs across Australia.

Katie Page – Harvey Norman

One of Australia’s most powerful women in business, Katie Page, is considered the mastermind behind electronics retail giant Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN). She has held the position of CEO at HVN for 21 years. 

As of 2021, Katie manages 277 stores in eight countries across the world.

Katie has stressed the importance of being hands-on in retail, saying it helps to understand the latest trends and the company's future direction.

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Leslie Gillespie – Bakers Delight

Once a humble baker, Leslie Gillespie expanded her first bakery store to over 700 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

After completing a bachelor’s degree at Monash University in 1977, in 1980, Leslie launched Bakers Delight with her husband, Roger Gillespie and another partner, Gary Stephenson.

She now sits on the company’s board, while her children manage the company’s operations.

In 2006, Leslie was awarded the Order of Australia, which recognised her work in business as well as philanthropy.

Janine Allis – Boost Juice

Today, a Boost Juice store can seemingly be found on every corner in major cities across Australia.

When Janine Allis started her business over 20 years ago, she couldn’t have imagined there would now be 550 stores worldwide.

Additionally, Janine is also part-owner of Retail Zoo – a parent company encompassing three food retail stores, including Boost Juice.

Janine attributes her success to her power to move forward. Additionally, she maintains positive life habits and believes strongly in the power of positivity.