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05/11/12 | Uncategorized

Female Founders To Watch: Startups Catering To Moms

From subscription services for parents to circuit kits for children, there is plenty of options for Mother’s Day!

By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)

This week we think about moms – they have their choice of subscription services to products for them and their children. Moms also have daily deals sites catering to their unique purchasing needs.

Here are 8 women entrepreneurs looking to serve the new and expecting moms of the world. You can find the right monthly subscription or gift for a mom in your life – or a dad – but right now it is especially timely for Mother’s Day around the corner…

I am including women-led hardware startups selling electronic LEGOs because it is a gift to moms to have geeky toys for their little ones. May (girl) geeks rule the world one day.

Ayah Bdeir (Founder & Lead Engineer, littlebits)
Engineer Ayah Bdeir created litteBits, an award-winning kit of pre-assembled circuits that snap together with tiny magnets. No soldering, no wiring, no programming. Kids age 3 and up have played and built with circuits thanks to littleBits. Follow her on Twitter at @ayahbdeir.

Alice Wang (Founder & CEO, Spark Box Toys)
Former investment banker and investor Alice Wang founded Spark Box Toys to deliver toys as curriculum, custom-designed by experts for every stage of a child’s development (starting at 6 months and up to 4 years). Follow her on Twitter at @sparkboxtoys.

Claire Hough (Co-Founder & CTO, Citrus Lane)
CTO Claire Hough co-founded monthly subscription service Citrus Lane with Mauria Finley. Expecting and new parents with kids up to 3 receive boxes of curated products they love. Citrus Lane raised $5.1M in Series A in April 2012. Follow her startup at @citruslane.

Jessica Alba (Co-Founder, The Honest Company)
Actress Jessica Alba co-founded The Honest Company to offer a monthly subscription service to Honest-branded diapers and cleaning products. The Honest Company raised $27M Series A in March 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @jessicaalba.

Limor Fried (Founder, Adafruit Industries)
Electrical engineer and electronics hobbyist Limor Fried founded Adafruit Industries, an online marketplace to purchase learning electronics. It’s easy to find the best designed products for makers of all ages – get them started young! Follow her on Twitter at @adafruit.

Megan Gardner (Founder & CEO, Plum District)
With the motto to “Make Mom’s Day”Megan Gardner founded Plum District, a daily offers site that focuses on mothers and their buying power. Plum District has raised $30.5M in venture funding to date. Follow her on Twitter at @mgardnernd.

Patricia Calfee (Founder & CEO, Roses & Rye)
After selling her previous company to Gilte, Patricia Calfee started Roses & Rye, an ecommerce startup designing and selling premium footwear and products for busy moms. Roses & Rye has raised $700k in funding. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciacalfee.

Sandra Oh Lin (Founder & CEO, Kiwi Crate)
Former eBay/PayPal veteran Sandra Oh Lin founded Kiwi Crate to make it easy and fun for parents to do hands-on activities with kids 3-7 years of age. The subscription service raised $5M in Series A in January 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @sandraohlin.

Know of more female founders of high-growth or high-tech companies who are catering to moms? Let us know in the comments below.

Angie Chang co-founded Women 2.0 in 2006. She currently serves as Editor-In-Chief of Women 2.0 and is working to mainstream women in high-growth, high-tech entrepreneurship. Previously, Angie held roles in product management and web UI design. In 2008, Angie launched Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, asking that guys come as the “+1” for once. Angie holds a B.A. in English and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Follow her on Twitter at @thisgirlangie.

Anne-Gail Moreland

Anne-Gail Moreland

Anne-Gail Moreland, an intern with Women 2.0, was on the StartupBus. She studies neuroscience at Mount Holyoke College, where she is trying to merge a passion for tech and the brain into a new wave of cognition-based technology

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