10 badass founders share their top lessons

It's International Women's Day (on Sunday 3/8)! We're celebrating our favorite founders by sharing their best tips for any businesswoman

I’m a founder and a woman, so it’s no coincidence that the Whole30 team has historically been driven by women. We’ve also partners with dozens of woman-founded and run Whole30 Approved brands since our partner program first launched in 2011.

Today, we’ve rounded up some of the women leading our Whole30 Approved partner brands to share their best piece of wisdom with you. There is something here for founders, women in male-dominated fields, women building their careers, or women entering the job market. (And if you’re a man, you’d benefit too!)

ALL women, including but not limited to anyone raised/socialized as a woman, those who present feminine, and trans women. If Shania says, “Let’s go, girls,” and you go, this is for you.

Q: What is one piece of advice or guidance you would give to women in business?

Madeline Haydon, founder of nutpods

My professional network is one of my most valuable assets. I’m not talking about random connections via LinkedIn; I’m talking about cultivating and building a network to help you learn, grow, be curious, and be inspired. While AI can serve up information, it cannot open relationship doors for you. A network allows access to people, internships, information, and interviews. And along the way, you’ll find some of your network connections becoming friends, advisors, or colleagues. As James Bond reminds us in Skyfall, “Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.”

My professional network is one of my most valuable assets. AI cannot open relationship doors for you.

Floritza Gomez, founder of Floritza’s Flavor

Break the barrier before you’re invited through it. Too many women wait to be chosen, funded, approved, or validated. I haven’t had perfect conditions, capital, or guarantees. But I had a vision, discipline, and conviction. That’s what builds my company. You don’t need permission to build something powerful. You need persistence, courage, and the willingness to keep going when it’s uncomfortable. The women who change industries are not the most resourced. They’re the most relentless.

Amylu Kurzawski, founder of Amylu

I began my career in the meat industry in 1975. It was primarily a male-dominated industry. Fortunately I had a strong role model—my grandmother “Tillie.” She was the backbone of our family sausage business, and instilled the values I have followed throughout my career:

• Take one day at a time, and reflect on what you can do better the next day

• Set your standards high, keep raising the bar, and learn something new every day

• Take ownership

• Surround yourself with good people, and shut out the negative noise

• Acknowledge what you do not know, and admit your mistakes

Thirty-one years ago, I launched Amylu Chicken Sausage. It seems like yesterday! I was fortunate to take the advice from a dear friend and mentor, whose words of wisdom still ring true for me: “Even if you are not the first, remember to be the BEST in everything you do.”

Kerry Song, founder and CEO of Abbot’s

You don’t have to harden to succeed. Some of the most powerful leadership traits I’ve developed came from staying soft, intuitive, and deeply human. Empathy, discernment, and the ability to truly listen are not weaknesses in business, they’re strategic advantages. You can be decisive and kind, ambitious and grounded, all at the same time.

Riyana Rupani, founder of Everiday Foods

The advice I wish someone had given me is this: Stop waiting until you feel ready, because you probably won’t. Confidence doesn’t come before the leap. It comes from taking it. Start before you have all the answers. Ask for help without apology. Build something that actually reflects who you are instead of what you think it should look like. The world doesn’t need another version of what already exists. It needs you.

Alex Snodgrass, founder of SideDish

You don’t have to do everything on your own to prove you’re capable. Ask for help. Hire help when you can. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you in their lanes. Collaboration isn’t a shortcut—it’s actually one of your greatest strengths.

Gabriela Salazar, founder of Saucy Lips

Start before you feel ready. When I created Saucy Lips, it didn’t begin in stores. It began at a farmer’s market with a simple table and a big vision. I didn’t know exactly how I was going to grow it. I didn’t have every answer. But I could see it—my products on shelves, reaching people, becoming something bigger. And that vision was enough to take the first step.

You don’t need the perfect plan. You don’t need every detail figured out. If you wait until everything feels ready, you may never begin. Start small. Figure it out as you go. Believe your ideas are worthy. Jump on the opportunity. I’m still building toward the full vision I have for this brand, but I’m further along today because I chose to start.

Mayra Luz Colón, founder of Healthy Rican

Often, we listen to everyone except ourselves. While people may have good intentions, sometimes the advice comes from a place of fear or past personal experience. However, that is their own experience, their journey. Each of us has a unique path, shaped by our interests, experiences, and the things we love to do. When I started my business, I had fears and uncertainty. But I chose to follow my heart and do what felt right and aligned with me. I learned to walk in faith, and never look back.

Jaime Foster, founder and CEO of Georgia Grinder

When I started Georgia Grinders, I learned by doing, asking questions, making mistakes, and sitting at tables where I was often the only woman in the room. The key wasn’t knowing everything; it was deciding I belonged there.

Advocate for yourself early. Negotiate. Ask for feedback. Seek mentors. Confidence isn’t something you wait to feel, it’s something you build through action and community. Don’t wait until you’re perfectly prepared to raise your hand, ask for more, or start the thing. You belong in the room, and the sooner you decide that for yourself, the faster everything changes.

Melissa Urban, founder and CEO of Whole30

I’ve worked with some of the biggest brands in health, wellness, and retail. Brands valued at billions of dollars. You know what I’ve learned? Nobody has their shit fully together. Nobody has it all figured out. Nobody knows what they are doing 24/7. Any time I’m feeling insecure or uncertain of my talents or experience, I remind myself that somewhere at Whole Foods there’s a man in the C-suite who just f***ed up and isn’t sure what to do next. It’s not, “Fake it until you make it,” it’s, “Who you are right now is more than qualified to do what you want to do.”

It’s International Women’s Day every day around here

I’m always thrilled to celebrate the fierce women leading the way in health and fitness. Do you want to shout out a female founder making a difference? Share in comments!

XO, MU