40 female founders who crushed it in 2016

The stats are nowhere near where women need or deserve them to be, but when it comes to female founders receiving venture funding, we’re beginning to see a significant shift — maybe even a kind of tipping point. Not only was it comparatively easy this year to find female founders who continue to run their companies (in the past, many more have assumed other positions within their startups); it was easier than ever to find female founders whose companies have also raised significant amounts of funding, are hitting new milestones, and in many cases, developing very novel technologies.

The following list of women is far from comprehensive; we don’t claim that it is. In fact, we could easily have put together a list of 100 female founders who’ve had a great 2016. We know, however, you have things to do and places to be, especially this time of year.

That said, please feel free to weigh in with other candidates who you’d put on this list — either in the comments section or else via email. Last year, we wound up running one list, then another, all because of your valuable feedback.