Meet the Queens of Cohort 3
The Get Sh!t Done Accelerator is focused on helping our female founders build repeatable, sustainable, and scaleable traction so they have the power to choose how they grow. As our founder detailed in Why We've Failed Female Entrepreneurs & What We Can Do About, you can help her get there. Follow her, check out her company, spread the word, reach out to her, purchase her products, utilize her service, make an intro if you love what she's doing.
This is why we've included not only her picture but links that will allow you to learn more. Reach out to her and ask how you can help. The only way we can improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem is if we do it together.
Kahindo Mateene is the Founder and Creative Director of her namesake line, KAHINDO, a sustainable and ethical luxury brand for women designed in New York City and sourced and produced in Africa using fair trade practices. Kahindo was born in Uganda, educated in Kenya and has lived in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Niger and now calls New York home. Her Pan African experience and Congolese heritage are cultural references that inspire and influence her creative design process.
Kahindo is a graduate of the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, was selected to take part in Macy’s esteemed fashion incubator program, and was a beloved contestant on Season 12 of Lifetime’s Project Runway. Kahindo’s African heritage is woven throughout her collections and she is passionate about empowering women in her native country and around the world. She currently employs several women in her native country who help produce the collection and is working to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Corinne Wainer is co-founder of SHAKTIBARRE and consultant for AFPA and SUPER*MEGA*BOSS. She’s on a mission to actively, measurably, and purposefully empower women’s wellness education through literature, movement, and the mind. A Harvard Ed.M. graduate and former 4-sport athlete, she is now at The New School exploring a PhD in Cognitive, Social, and Developmental Psychology toward the necessary intersection of self-compassionate exercise and female fitness branding.
Dia Bondi is the founder of Dia Bondi Communications. For the last 20 years, some of the most extraordinary world leaders, CEOs, philanthropists and innovators have considered Dia their secret weapon by helping them tap into their power and move their businesses forward.
Dia helped Rio secure the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her clients include a wide range of organizations in technology and beyond. She’s coached changemakers at the Clinton Global Initiative and the Commonwealth Games Federation.
In 2019 Dia Launched Ask Like An Auctioneer, a project to help 1MM women ask for more and get it using the mental model and frameworks from the world of Auctioneering. Her drive is to help women be more courageous in how and what the ask for, gain a sense of control and confidence in their negotiations so they can reach their goals faster.
In 2016, she took up the mic as an auctioneer to maximize fundraising for non-profits benefiting women and girls. Dia is direct, magnetic, fierce and insatiably curious — and she’s passionate about helping women succeed.
Dia’s confidence is infectious and she connects with women in a range of industries and positions – from ambitious graduates to senior management teams. She's been covered on CNBC Make It and Forbes.
Karolina Johansson is the Founder of CommonMarker, a platform that organizes professional film sets in a streamlined, secure way while being friendly to humans. CommonMarker helps professional film crews dream, plan, shoot & wrap their stories all in one place. Increasing oversight, accountability, and efficiency on set
Her story starts in Göteborg, Sweden where she started drawing the Åby racehorses outside of her bedroom window. She went on to earn a BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and spent 10 years in design.
Brittany S. Hale is the founder and CEO of BND Group. Brittany distilled her experience in litigation, politics, and marketing to develop the "Core Connection" methodology for BND Group. Using this methodology, she helps companies develop intentional culture creation strategies to establish a competitive advantage.
Brittany worked as a Securities Litigation Analyst at Bloomberg LP where she represented a Fortune 500 company. She used her legals skills as a former Obama Organizing Fellow to run for office and became one of the youngest black women to hold office in her state.
Brittany is a founding member of The Gem Project and is also the youngest woman ever on the Rahway Redevelopment Agency. She is an Executive Director of the Social Justice Commission for her city and was recently appointed to the Rutgers Alumni Leaders Council.
Jessica Graves is the founder of Sefleuria. She is a leader in data science and fashion. She is an expert on personalization & product innovation. Her luxury background includes design at Oscar de la Renta, data science at Ralph Lauren, and former Alvanon consulting clients like Burberry, G-Star, Fast Retail among others. Her research background spans University of Chicago & Fast Forward Labs (acquired by Cloudera). She advises startups across industries, including deep learning startup Thread Genius (acquired by Sotheby's).
Kelly Rand is the Founder/CEO of Handheld Handmade, which helps you discover delightful handmade finds all via text message.
Rand is lead author of Handmade to Sell: Hello Craft’s Guide to Owning, Running and Growing Your Crafty Business (Potter Craft, 2012) and Co-founder of Hello Craft, served as arts editor at DCist and Crafting for a Green World. She hosted the Summit of Awesome, a business conference for crafters and makers, for five years.
She’s appeared in the Craft Industry Alliance, Bust magazine, Studios magazine, The Crafts Report, and Etsy. Rand has a BFA in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design and has exhibited her work in art galleries and craft fairs alike. She has lectured on the handmade movement for the American Craft Council and provided guest critiques for students at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Rand frequently consults on elements of craft and sustainable business.
Aksana Karolik is Co-Founder of ezLoads, a platform designed to increase performance and functionality by reducing required time and effort for the transportation industry. She’s a CPA & entrepreneur with 13 years of experience in the logistics industry.
She is an analytical accounting professional who adapts seamlessly to constantly evolving processes and technology. She acquired 13 years of experience in financial accounting and reporting, corporate tax planning and consulting, cost-benefit analysis, internal controls and accounting software development, automation of manual accounting.
She currently serves on the Quickbooks research team and an authorized software developer for IRS.