Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs

In partnership with American Express, Fortune searched the U.S. for outstanding female business builders. Fortune honored these game-changers at its recent Most Powerful Women Summit. From Lauren Bush to environmental innovators, here are the winners.

I love these entrepreneur lists. Fortune has compiled one for powerful women entrepreneurs and some of the stories of their successes are pretty impressive. In a recent book I read by Peter Drucker called Innovation and Entrepreneurship one of the things that really resonated with me was a statement regarding the greatest praise an entrepreneur can receive. The book said something along the lines of the greatest praise an innovator can receive is “This is obvious. Why didn’t I think of that?” It resonated with me because that is how I know a good idea when I hear about it. That feeling is so consistent when i come across great ideas, so it was great to have Drucker package it into such a digestible concept for innovation judgement. The two ideas from the list that struck that chord within me were the Sheex idea and the solar panel idea. I have included an excerpt of each below. Check out all the stories, they are definitely worth the time.

Sheex:

When they were coaching women's basketball at the University of South Carolina, Walvius and Marciniak came up with the idea to apply performance-fabric technology -- the technology that wicks moisture in Nike athletic apparel -- to bedsheets.

Crazy? Not so. Walvius and Marciniak got R&D help from the university's business school and raised $1 million for their "performance bedding" start-up. In May of last year, they quit their coaching jobs. They lined up manufacturing in California soon after, and launched Sheex.com this past April. This month, they cut a deal to sell in the NBA's flagship store in Manhattan.

Their marketing strategy is grassroots and viral, with Twitter and Facebook promos by pro athletes like the New York Giants' Steve Smith and the LPGA's Christina Kim.

Being hard-charging athletes themselves, Walvius and Marciniak are naturally inclined to race for a win. But the best advice they got? "Crawl, walk and then run," says Walvius. In business, as in coaching, she adds, "You're either getting better or you're getting worse with each day. There's no such thing as staying the same." --P.S.

SunRun Inc:

Many environmentally-minded folks like the idea of installing solar panels on their home, but find it's just too expensive.

Enter SunRun, a start-up that pays for the panels and installation; homeowners then buy solar power from SunRun at an average savings of 10% to 15% versus their current energy bill.

Jurich and her business partner started SunRun in 1997 while attending Stanford Business School. But Jurich didn't get a lot of encouragement from her classmates. "That's one of the problems of business school, is that people love to shoot down ideas, they love to say 'that's not going to work,' " she explains. But even with a job in venture capital finance waiting for her at graduation, Jurich took the entrepreneurial route.

SunRun has since raised $30 million from Accel Partners and Foundation Capital, and this week secured $90 million in tax-equity financing from U.S. Bancorp, following an earlier commitment of $105 million in project financing.

Jurich's idea also earned her a ticket to the White House: In early December, she attended a roundtable with President Obama to discuss renewable energy and ways to expand solar adoption in 2010. Her hope is that the U.S. replaces half of the $150 billion annual residential electricity market with solar power over the next two years. --J.S.

Boost Your Business Small Biz Plan Competition

I have been in an entrepreneurial mood lately and have stumbled across some different sources of inspiration. The Boost Your Business competition is one of those sources of inspiration. Basically various small businesses are competing with your help for the chance to win $100,000 to help launch their businesses and/or take their businesses to the next level.

On the line: $50,000 in cash, and $50,000 in advertising on Forbes.com. Twenty semi-finalists remain. Now our discerning readers will choose who will survive to compete in the final round. To make your choices, peruse the contestants' 500-word write-ups (by clicking the "Read more" link) and watch their 30-second "elevator pitch" videos. Your goal: to choose the companies with the most promising growth prospects, if they were given a bit of nourishing investment capital. You may vote for a maximum of five finalists. A leader board will track the top five names in real time. The polls close September 30, 2009. In the meantime, stay tuned to Forbes.com to track your candidates' progress.

You can read all the business plans on Forbes and vote for your top five plans by clicking here. There are definitely some cool ideas. I am always amazed at the power of entrepreneurship. Every time I read a good business idea I get the same feeling. It is that feeling that I should have thought of that. The ideas seem so simple and so obvious. However, it is often not the idea but the ability to bring it to fruition. That is one of the things I am most proud about Checking For Charity is the fact that we actually made it happen. I have been getting the entrepreneurial itch again lately and am looking to venture into the profit world this time. I have a few ideas, none that are absolutely mind blowing in my opinion, however I think I will just take the same approach as I did with Checking For Charity.

1. Come up with a good idea
2. Think it through by yourself
3. After you have developed it and fanned the flames of desire to bring it to life, tell some people about it and see what they say. Often their initial reactions will bring to light different barriers or opportunities that you never thought of.
4. Find a team. Working by yourself sucks. At least it does for me. I can't seem to accomplish anything by myself, and if I could I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.
5. Jump. That's right. Just jump. You are never going to be truly ready. You are never going to have the answers. You are never going to (nor should you want to) stick to the original idea. It will grow as you grow through the process.

Here is a sample of the short 500 word business plan pitch of one of my favorites from the contest. I might start writing my business ideas in this format. A large business plan is great to work out ideas, but I am a believer in the Warren Buffett-esque approach to business. He only invests in businesses he can understand. I plan to only create businesses I can understand. Keeping it simple:

Healthy Life Screening performs preventive cardiovascular screens at corporate work sites. We detect early problems in seemingly healthy workers and their families to prevent both chronic health problems and corporate medical claims. Companies of all sizes can participate at no cost, or by subsidizing. One constant in reducing health care costs is in prevention. There are 75 million working people in geographies that can be reached with mobile screenings. At a $200 price point, the total market is $15 billion.

Business Model

Cardiovascular Screens fall into the voluntary, self-pay sector of health care. Heart disease is the No.1 killer in America--and together with cardiovascular conditions causes a disproportionate amount of health insurance claims. Historically, people have not had early screenings because they were not-accessible, not covered by insurance, not-convenient and/or not safe. Healthy Life Screening has addressed all these barriers. Individuals pay directly, but can use tax-favored plans (FSA, HSA) to pay for screens. Corporations have experienced at least 3-to-1 return on investment in health care cost savings when they subsidize. We are working to get insurance companies to recognize and reward early detection.

Capitalization

The business has been funded by the founders and with an early-stage venture capital contribution. It is anticipated to be cash-flow positive by 12/31/09.

Differentiators

Healthy Life is currently the only known company to go to the work site with a dedicated staff for marketing and education of workers, as well as conducting the medical tests. When average people are exposed to the on-site workshops (giving the complete picture), an average of 35% of them will choose to be screened.

Other key differentiators

Fast: Workers can be back on the job within 35 minutes; Inexpensive:$200 vs. $2,000 for the same tests in hospitals; Safe: Ultrasound technology has no known side effects; Confidential: HIPAA compliant reports sent direct to the workers; Turn key: All marketing, registration, processing and reporting--no work for companies; Automated: Proprietary systems for uploading and reading tests; Efficient: Proprietary medical staffing models and protocols.

Years of Relevant Experience

President/CFO--Managing medical screenings for 11 years. Financial/entrepreneurial experience spans 30 years. CEO--Medical industry sales/marketing 15 years. Serial entrepreneur sold last medical services company to Fortune 1000 company. VP Operations--Managing mobile medical operations 10 years.

Plan for $100,000

Cash would be used to create an interactive Web site to permit online scheduling and a password-protected FTP site to allow people to access their results and access condition-specific education. Advertising would be specifically targeted to educate corporate decision makers that this service is available, and to drive them to the Web site for more information.

Cool Concept And An Important Lesson

Tired of waiting for a half hour, inching your way through a crowded bar to pay $7 for a beer? Well those days are over if you pick the right establishment. Minibar has created a self service bar! All you need is a passport, license or credit card and you are given a key to your own minibar within the actual bar. The drinks are counted when you retrieve your card and you pay before you leave. What a great concept. I might have to "borrow" this idea and replicate it.

Not only is this a cool business idea, it is a valuable reminder that within every problem lies an opportunity. Even when that problem seems impossible to solve, like the waiting for a beer in a pub problem, a twist on the old way of thinking can instantly become a competitive advantage. I love entrepreneurship and my dream is to be an entrepreneur. I think its stories like this that make me love it. Entrepreneurs come up with the ideas that make you say "why didn't I think of that?" It seems so simple and in your face that you're amazed that no one has done it before. I really want to make a conscious effort to start recognizing even the simplest discomforts and begin brainstorming ways to exploit them for profit. Easier said than done but surely a great habit to get into.