Top 30 Influential Entrepreneurs Of 2021
We are often dazzled by the world of entrepreneurship that shimmers with money and sparkles with power. Unfortunately, there's a lot more than that when it comes to living an entrepreneurial life. It's interesting how various entrepreneurs have made it to the top of the industry with their unique ideas and ceaseless innovation. Some entrepreneurs are driven by philanthropy, some by perseverance and some by passion, but what's common in their stories are consistent efforts, risks and resilience. Here's a list of all those thought-provoking influential leaders who are creating a better entrepreneurial world.
Christina Scalera
If you woke up to $1000 added to your bank account every day, how would your life change? Featured on Entrepreneur, Creative Live, Goal Digger, Being Boss, Don’t Keep Your Day Job and many others, Christina Scalera has achieved this dream of waking up to new sales every day through her D-Commerce™ shop, and coaches others on how to do the same. Christina specializes in helping expert entrepreneurs turn their coaching + services into digital products that sell through an online storefront, aka D-Commerce™ shops.
If you’re a time-poor entrepreneur who is fed up with pushy clients or how crazy online marketing has gotten, you’ll want to check out Christina’s Simple, Sustained Shop Sales™ System. In it, you’ll learn how to create space, freedom and cash in your life without the hassle of crazy funnels, costly ads or tiring course creation.
You can see her D-Commerce™ shop in action at the award-winning, top Shopify store she founded in 2015 called The Contract Shop®, which sells legal templates for online coaches, consultants, designers and entrepreneurs.
Ashton Fionda
Ashton Fionda, one of the leading and original hair and beauty academies since 2014 has created a business that nearly all those locally replicate, and is only going from strength to strength. But how did she do it? Simple ..... Ashton was one of the first in her industry in the southeast of the U.K. to create course booklets and study (at the time) what were the relevant higher education teaching qualifications.
Always thinking ahead and outside of the box, Ashton branched out into the aesthetics industry whilst completing her own medical degree (still currently undertaking). Not only is this an entrepreneur with a vision. This is someone who thinks outside the box but is equally helping those along the way - a rare breed in any industry. Believing that anyone from any background should have an equal opportunity at any goal when it comes to the beauty and aesthetics industry. So let’s join her in this positive and ongoing chapter. Book now at decadence - 01732 454252
Kelly Cantwell
Kelly Cantwell is well known for her entrepreneurial endeavors in the real estate industry. She combines her sales and marketing expertise to create value as a real estate agent with Keller William Classic Properties Realty. A visionary and an acute strategist, her work strives to bring people closer to their dream home. While she is dedicated to developing a well-executed transaction, Kelly has successfully assisted numerous buyers by finding the ideal prices with a diligent understanding of the markets.
When selling a home, buyers do not visualize living in your home the way you do. However, Kelly and her team strive to introduce homes that instantly align with the customer's expectations. Be it staging a home, making improvements, or simply painting the walls, the Cantwell Eagleson Group knows how to get things done right. Kelly keeps on flourishing as a leader in the industry, with a conviction that entrepreneurship is more than business, it's about the connection you create with your customers and the value you provide them.
Zia Domic
Zia Domic is a social media influencer and content creator behind the fashion blog The Hunter Collector. Born and raised in Canada Zia came to LA to pursue an acting career and attend the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After some success as an actor, Zia became disenchanted with the entertainment industry and launched her blog in 2014 as a creative outlet dedicated to her long-time passion for fashion. Getting into the influencing world before it became overly saturated, she attained success early on with multiple features in fashion magazine Lucky, lifestyle site Popsugar and in the pages of Redbook.
Always raised to believe one should always look their best, polished and stylish Zia’s sense of style was honed at a very young age. With new social media platforms popping up regularly, Zia maintains her personal sense of style, and staying true to herself is what sets her apart.
Simon Atri
Simon Atri is an Entrepreneur in the whole extension of the word. For more than 25 years, he has been creating, managing, and operating many of his projects both in Mexico and the United States. His successful debut in the world of service as a Restauranteur gave him the recognition of many renowned politicians, artists, and the most influential people from around the world. Being surrounded by them, became the greatest opportunity to learn, grow, dream and finally execute at their level. He is the owner and founder of One Event Place; a leading company in High-end Events and Catering in Mexico and Florida.
During the pandemic, he was forced to broaden his horizons and began new journeys that include a new partnership and becoming the CEO of Tequila Travesuras, a concept that will soon revolutionize the industry in the USA.
He has also joined Endor Group, one of the most important MKT agencies in Latin America which with Simon’s help and leadership skills is now crossing over into the USA with a very promising clientele. Last but not least, Simon is a professional speaker and mentor to hundreds of entrepreneurs who want to take their companies to the next level with the methodology he developed called PUM PA`RRIBA.
Silvia Moncada
Silvia Moncada is the founder and CEO of Femme Elite Fitness. As a successful certified personal trainer and fitness kickboxing specialist, Silvia brings extensive knowledge and experience toward helping women achieve a higher level of fitness and improved quality of life, health and wellness. Creating a training environment which not only motivates but also empowers women to continually challenge themselves in a fun and rewarding way. As a mom of three, she understands the vital role fitness plays into all aspects of a healthy family and life.
Since it’s creation in 2018, her company has grown to include an empowering youth fitness performance program, POWER4Kidz, designed to building skill, confidence and character.
Nikia Londy
Nikia Londy, is a proven trichologist, entrepreneur, beauty brand strategist, and business coach, co-founder & CEO of Intriguing Hair. A world-leading brand for hair augmentation, developed in 2013 as a one-stop solution for women to buy high-quality human hair extensions, hairpieces, and wigs. Also, have them dyed and installed by certified hair extension specialists. This results in the most realistic and undetectable hairpieces available on the market today. Intriguing hair is one of the few companies that can directly bill medical wigs to insurance companies.
She helps small business owners and start-ups from the introduction of their beauty brands to the implementation in her coaching program. Nikia is a member of the American Hair loss Council, mentors creatives and entrepreneurs at FIL, and sits on the Madison Park Vocational Highschool board. Her recent purchase of the Vertullo Building in Hyde Park with her husband and business partner Baron Langston will strengthen her commitment to black and brown economic development.
Yvette Sadovoy
Yvette Sadovoy is the founder of Savvy & Suite Ltd., a high performing tax and accounting firm that helps small-mid size businesses save thousands of tax dollars every year through custom, proactive tax planning. Blending her BA in Psychology with auditing principles, she created her own custom tax deduction strategy that utilizes a very specific line of questioning to extract every possible tax deduction that has collectively saved over 7 figures every tax year. It's unique, witty, and just works.
Tax season forces the team to work 100 hour weeks with barely any days off. To offset this vigorous schedule, she’s made it a mission to prioritize quality of life with a hard focus on traveling. Collaborating with different hotels and highlighting cool destinations, the S&S Blog is an inspiration to all entrepreneurs to never forget that the goal of your business is to provide you the lifestyle you desire.
Anna Cortesi
Anna Cortesi is the Founder of Healthy Woman Magazine in London and Nutribar Healthy Living in Cyprus. As an accredited Dietitian and Clinical Nutritionist who grew up overweight, falling into the destructive patterns of starvation, compulsive overeating, yo-yo dieting and self-disrespect, Anna decided that it was high time she took control of her life.
“My true passion was ignited when I started talking to people who were facing the same problems. I felt that my voice could be heard and for the first time in my life I was helping women fight their own food battles”.
Being confident in life and in business, Anna is a Personal Nutrition Coach, specializes in the psychology of eating and the female body. She is passionate about teaching women all over the world how to reset their way of thinking through personalized nutrition plans that suit their own working hours, eating habits and overall lifestyle. Anna teaches women all over the world to love their bodies and reward themselves with great food – without having to feel guilty and deprived.
Bellee LV
Bellee LV, also known as Nabila SD is a high-level Alchemist for Conscious CEOs. Her mission is to help women activate their feminine goddess magnetism energy and to build an effortless lifestyle as she believes, the road to success doesn't necessarily have to be filled with struggles. She have always been helping aspiring women entrepreneurs pursue their dreams by guiding them towards their inner energy & help them to remove their money blocks. She has made it her mission to help women in all capacities as an Online Entrepreneur Mentor & Personal Development Trainer Focusing on Empowerment for Women and is also a Harvard Business Expert Forum, Entrepreneurship Business School Club of Harvard University Speaker and Bestselling Author.
As someone who had to struggle financially and had to raise her 3-months old daughter singlehandedly when she was 23yrs old, Bellee was seeking a constant income source with flexibility and that's when she learned about the potential of online entrepreneurship. Since then, she is been helping other women from every background achieve the same and is mentoring them via her Training and Mentorship programs. Her current student force consists of a diverse group of entrepreneurs from Gen Y, Single Mums, housewives, working adults, business owners who are learning to earn with freedom with her professional expertise. She have always believed in helping women to turn their soul work into a Freedom Filled Online Business without all the overwhelm and hustle!
Vanessa Kahlon
Vanessa Kahlon, MA, is the Founder & Executive Director of the non-profit KFS School, serving twice-exceptional children in an individualized classroom setting. The mission is to meet each child where they are at and to promote social and emotional skills, in addition to individualized academics. She developed YEAS Yoga (Yoga Education for Autism Spectrum) an exciting, personalized program that addresses self-regulation needs of high-spirited children.
Vanessa is the author of the book “Shut Up & Parent,” which empowers parents with tools and strategies for managing daily behavioral struggles. Vanessa is a Family Interventionist, providing individualized and intensive coaching and support in homes and classrooms. Lastly, Vanessa hosts the podcast, Parenting With Vanessa Kahlon. Vanessa is a guest lecturer with various schools and organizations. During the pandemic, KFS School has been going strong with being able to support many families and their unique needs.
Myrrie Hayes
Myrrie Hayes is the founder and co-owner of Best Care, a Behavioral residential organization. In 2016, she found a need in the behavioral industry for quality care for the severely mentally ill (SMI) population in Arizona. After extensive research, a $12,500 investment, and a year-long process; Best Care was a dream turned into reality. Within the first year, Myrrie realized that the need was so great that this venture was totally scalable. Since then, her business has grown from 1 location to 10 locations. She currently acquired a full city block in Globe, AZ to provide services on an even larger scale.
Since the start in 2017, through a global pandemic, her company has grown and continues to grow. Many clients with mental disabilities have graduated, the company has seen multi-million-dollar growth, and Myrrie has changed her family tree and the people around her. She is excited about the future!
Jonathan Pluvinet
As an entrepreneur in the cafe/restaurant business, Jonathan Pluvinet succeeded by bringing genuine French and European culture into the game. Every detail from decor to service to food is unique in its authentic roots. Through his success as an entrepreneur he has been able to create 3 concepts under the brand of Atelier Dining.
The third and newest concept is an Italian pizza bar named Mangoni. Where authentic Italian pizza is combined with the quick ingenuity of American business and becomes a hybrid restaurant that is fast-paced in an upscale European setting.
The Atelier Dining brand is defined by its' combination of quick service in an authentic European setting with genuine products that consumers have been hungry for. The Atelier Dining concepts are spread throughout the continent from Nevada to Florida where they are thriving and ready to expand even further.
Fatima C. Oliver
Fatima is an Author, Speaker, and Transformational Consultant. Her soul healing approach to addressing trauma has been a guiding light for the emotionally vulnerable on a global scale. Soul healing involves your will come into alignment with the mind, body, emotions, and faith, which oftentimes speak different languages. As an Accountability partner, Fatima empowers her clients to answer deeply introspective questions to discover their authentic selves. Her genuinely direct method is the exact motivation needed to take your life back!
Using, what she calls, a "Baby Step" approach, Fatima has been able to embrace the work necessary to heal from her own childhood trauma, tragedies, abuse, and horrible decision-making. Much of her life's journey is shared in her book, "The Prescription is in the Dirt", now available on Amazon. This book is a bold, funny, illuminating, and sometimes hard-to-swallow inspiration that embraces the journey to self-love and acceptance.
Victoria Cartwright
Victoria Cartwright is the founder of Lox of Love. Starting her hair extension journey as a freelance technician, the established hairstylist saw a niche in the market for normalizing hair extension wear for every day women of all ages and hair types and incorporating hair enhancement into regular salon services.
The Lox Way was born and saw the salon brand grow by 40% year on year for the 3 years pre-covid. During the pandemic, Victoria won The Entrepreneurial Spirit Award at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2020, launched a training academy focusing on teaching her successful business model to other extensionists and salon owners, and developed a franchise model set to launch by the end of 2021. Since the creation of the Lox of Love salon brand in 2014, both Victoria and the brand have won multiple awards and hold a solid reputation of quality and integrity within the UK hair industry.
Sabriana Williams
Sabriana Williams is the CEO of Bella Bri Couture a Lingerie and Swimwear line that makes women feel sexy and confident. “I’ve always had a passion for feeling sexy and I wanted to create a brand that makes women feel the same”.-Sabriana Williams.
Not only is she the CEO of her own lingerie and swim line, Sabriana is also an influencer in the Cannabis industry and has educated so many people on the benefits of cannabis. So many women look up to Sabriana in both the cannabis industry and fashion industry making her one of the Top 30 Entrepreneurs of 2021.
Dr. Donald E Grant Jr.
Dr. Donald E Grant Jr is the founder and Executive Director of Mindful Training Solutions, a boutique international training and consulting firm based in Los Angeles. His experience as an educator, psychologist, researcher, higher ed administrator, and certified diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner has established him as a world-renowned inter-disciplinary expert. Dr. Grant’s clients include Fortune 100 companies, World Champion athletics teams, Oscar-winning directors, school districts, cities & states, medical systems, and financial firms.
Since its 2013 launch, Mindful Training Solutions has trained over 10,000 people across hundreds of organizations. In 2021, Dr. Grant was featured as the expert facilitator for The Talk’s (CBS) return to air after a catastrophic conflict sent the show on a one-month hiatus. Dr. Grant’s work – whether virtual or in-person - forces leaders to transform their organizations in mindful ways, ensuring that the people they serve feel seen, heard, and valued.
Mario Peshev
Mario Peshev is the CEO of DevriX – a top 20 WordPress agency working with companies in the automotive industry, Fortune 1000 brands, multinational banks, media outlets, and airline providers, to create LMS platforms, large multisite franchises, and web projects generating over 200 million page views per month.
He also runs Growth Shuttle offering business advisory services to SME executives, senior managers, consultants, entrepreneurs, and experienced freelancers in non-digital industries across North America, Europe, and Australia.
With 20 years of experience in tech, 14 in training and management, and 10 in marketing, he empowers scaling businesses through a wide portfolio of practical skills. Peshev has been consulting organizations like VMware, SAP, CERN, Saudi Aramco and currently works with SMEs through his companies.
Mario is also the author of 126 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur, a blogger featured in Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, a veteran technologist, and a business owner committed to building new opportunities through education.
Ashley Jackson
Ashley Jackson is the founder and CEO of A. Michelle Hairstyles, LLC and a master of healthy hair. With 22 years of experience, Ashley has perfected her craft while continuously building and expanding her business to new levels.
Throughout her journey to becoming a professional hairstylist, Ashley has worked diligently on investing in herself and her education. She received her cosmetology certification from Regency Beauty Institute, a Bachelors’s in business administration from SC State University, and her MBA from South University. In 2018, Ashley founded and currently owns a successful upscale hair salon, Distinctions Hair Lounge in Columbia, SC.
In 2019 Ashley lost her mother, the woman who played a huge part in her success, and the next year she became a new mom. Even with life challenges, Ashley is still on the path to achieving her goals, creating a legacy, and impacting the lives of others through her talents.
Nairi Nayirian
Nairi Nayirian, founder and lead designer at D3 Events, merges her professional career as an Architectural Designer with event planning. Nairi’s attention to detail transcends into every design element, creating an immersive experience and mood for each event and client. Nairi’s creativity and vision open the opportunity for the sort of experience introducing architectural theory into the event design process.
The recent pandemic shined a light into perceivable gaps between design and function. As Nairi’s job security in a corporate firm was rattled, an attractive opportunity to launch a second venture became conceivable. In 2020, Nairi launched Archify, LLC, a design firm concentrated on designing residential and commercial projects. Nairi adds that a byproduct of Archify LLC is to “educate homeowners of their rights and share design tips in an open channel format.” Archify’s ethos, that architecture is more of a lifestyle as it is a practice.
Rosalynn Robb
Rosalynn Robb, a small business owner of Freedom Cleaning and founder of CleanStart Consulting, discovered her passion for cleaning as a little girl and was always drawn towards the idea of being an entrepreneur. Rosalynn believes that her responsibility as a business owner includes investing in her employees and their needs and giving back to the community. After engaging in several Louisville Human Trafficking Task Force meetings, she had a vision of using her business to advocate for human trafficking victims. Her generosity sets her apart from her competitors as she is continuously giving back to the organizations helping the most vulnerable.
She has never forgotten her humble beginnings as an orphan in the Philippines. Rosalynn believes what touches the heart reaches the heart, and the best way to build a business is to be authentic and focus on relationships over money. Through her company, CleanStart Consulting, Rosalynn mentors cleaning business owners globally to have an impact in their own businesses. Along with her determined team of professionals, Freedom Cleaning has served over 700 cleaning clients since 2014.
Marialuisa Garito
Marialuisa Garito is a lover of beauty. Growing up in Italy, she was surrounded by beauty and quality. But when she moved to the United States almost 15 years ago, she had trouble finding that unique European combination.
“As a consumer, I was looking for high-quality items at an affordable price, but I could not find them,” says the New York mother of two. That’s why she founded Affordable Chic®, an NYC-based fashion start-up, offering stylish Manhattan women's clothing for under $100. “Our clients are smart women who want timeless – not faddish – clothing. After the pandemic, we women are even more financially prudent, but still, we all love to feel chic and beautiful,” says Affordable Chic’s founder and CEO.
Now, more than ever, with the disappearing middle class, Garito believes quality fashion must be affordable for all. “There is too much disparity between rich and poor,” she notes. “Affordable chic wants to help women look and feel their best – without taking away from what they spend on their families.”
Leyda Nepomuceno
Leyda Nepomuceno is an ambitious entrepreneur who is the founder and creator of Dreamy Gallery Candle Co. After working in corporate for over 7 years, she decided to follow her entrepreneurial spirit and open her own business. She has a successful online eco-friendly candle business where she supports non-profits throughout the year that focus on women empowerment and the LGBTQ+ Community. She provides candles to other small businesses in the U.S. and plans to expand her business to mayor retailers.
During the start of the global pandemic, she created multiple jobs and provided thousands of PPE supplies from hand sanitizers to facemasks across the U.S.
Now she took onto a new entrepreneur opportunity and opened a second business where she provides services to other business owners. Her next step is to keep growing her candle business and help other entrepreneurs grow from her experiences. She believes opportunities are limitless.
Anaïs Béard
Anaïs Béard is the founder and creator of the eponymous brand that bears her name. For the past 10 years, the jeweler has been creating custom jewelry or small series mainly from Recycled Silver.
Beyond the actions that the brand has put into place to limit its ecological footprint, there was also a decision to commit to a more sustainable and United World, by donating 5% of the amount sales from her website each year to the association ' Children of Mekong', which works to support and educate disadvantaged Children from South East Asia.
"We have at heart to show our costumers that we can reconcile a modern and free aesthetic in jewelry with a sustainable, ethical, and solidarity approach, and to help them to claim this state of mind through our Jewelry, as well as in their daily lives."
Kate Ognoskie
Kate Ognoskie, who is the founder of Kate’s Unique Boutique, established her shop for ladies of all shapes and sizes because she is familiar with the difficulties involved in purchasing fashionable attire that fits correctly and accommodates a particular size. Her cousin Beth inspired her to start the online boutique company, which has expanded from sourcing clothes for all sizes, including children, to creating personalized t-shirts, dresses, and newly introduced handcrafted hair bows.
With her dedication and committed efforts, Kate has created her own empire to make others feel even more attractive in their own skin and it has been a really rewarding feeling for her. Furthermore, the company has now expanded to include a men's and women's skincare line. She is also excited to announce that a customized handcrafted dog apparel collection is going to be revealed soon. Ultimately, she loves shopping and takes pride in creating her own style.
Haley Rose
Wedding photographer Haley Rose is the founder of Texas Rock n Rose Photography based in Mcallen, Texas.
Since 2017, Haley has traveled throughout the state - from the Rio Grande Valley to Amarillo, Houston, and Dallas - to capture memories of her clients’ special days. In just four short years, Texas Rock n Rose has gone from only photographing about 15 weddings her first year to more than a hundred this year. Even though the coronavirus pandemic, Haley has grown her company and expanded her team of photographers and editors to keep up with increasing demand.
Haley, who was inspired greatly by her Grandma Lee, built her Texas-forever business around the core values of God and family. She strives to capture beautiful family memories that will be cherished for generations to come, and she is sure to send each client she works with yellow roses on their wedding day.
Rachel Dutra
Rachel Dutra is the founder and President of the nonprofit CircumSTANCE INC, which created the first-ever awareness campaign for the pediatric population being affected by MIS-C in relation to COVID-19. As an Invisible illness warrior herself, Rachel is at the forefront of creating awareness and advocacy for those affected by Invisible and chronic illnesses, MIS-C, and Long Haul Symptoms related to the Global Covid pandemic. Rachel’s advocacy and dedication to spreading awareness during the Pandemic have helped save children’s lives.
Rachel has been interviewed by the Washington Post and her work via CircumSTANCE has been highlighted on FOX news. Rachel will continue to help the future generations whose health has been affected by the global pandemic, and we are excited to see the future work of the nonprofit CircumSTANCE. The topic of health is of utmost importance to protect our future generations - Rachel’s dedication to this cause is why she’s placed in our top 30 influential entrepreneurs of 2021.
Nadia Laws
Nadia Laws is the founder of The Spiritual Go-Getter, a digital magazine and online community for millennial women of faith pursuing their passion and purpose. A former journalist, newspaper religion correspondent, and two-time award-winning communications consultant, Nadia specializes in supporting, motivating, and empowering women to live courageously and confidently.
After struggling to find real-world examples of Godly women pursuing their calling full time, Nadia decided to launch a magazine bringing these important stories to the forefront. The Spiritual Go-Getter features interviews with women from all backgrounds, nations, and Christian denominations who are smashing stereotypes and breaking boundaries in fields such as art, fashion, beauty, mental health, philanthropy, and more. The faith-based platform's message is simple: no more playing it safe, settling, or thinking small when it comes to your dreams. Through online coaching programs and a membership community, The Spiritual Go-Getter is creating a worldwide network of ambitious women, hopping off the corporate hamster wheel to live out their calling.
Danielle Ecuyer
Danielle Ecuyer has used her extensive professional and personal investing experience to create easy-to-read and informative investing books for both new and experienced investors.
With over four decades of successful domestic and international experience in stock markets investing in both a professional and personal capacity, Danielle drew on her wealth of expertise and wisdom to write Shareplicity A simple approach to share investing. Released during the global pandemic, Shareplicity quickly hit the bestsellers lists and stayed there for most of the year.
Shareplicity 2 A guide to investing in US stock markets is a response to calls for more information on gaining wider exposure to stocks on the US markets.
Danielle’s global experiences of the investment world as an adviser and client allow her to bring a fresh and independent perspective to stock market investing. Shareplicity 2 aims to educate and inform investors, challenge traditional views using extensive research from global expert commentators, and provide up-to-date information about what is happening in stock markets and the major 21st-century investment themes.
It’s one thing to have a couple of good years of investing under your belt, yet another to survive and succeed over the long term. This was Danielle’s goal and one she has achieved. Her aim is to help and guide everyone to achieving better investing outcomes.
Eran Hafner
Since 2004, Eran Hafner has committed his time towards gaining extensive experience and a master’s degree in timeline therapy, hypnotherapy, and NLP, coaching for success and excellence. As a kid, Eran was bullied at school which made him interested in learning Judo as a method of self-defense but soon it became a reason for his self-confidence. He also started gaining recognition for it on a national and international level and he became a part of the young Olympic team. At the age of 14, Eran was injured in a car accident and during his recovery, he became interested in learning magic.
Eran Hafner is now the founder of USENLP.com, being a magician and performing mentalism, he always knew the amazing power of the mind, it’s not until 2004 when he started to learn NLP that he realized that he owns the power for change in my life. He found a way to connect to the universal energy, so the universe can help him to achieve his goals. And he is teaching others to do the same with his work. Whatever your dream is, he will help you to achieve it. Eran is committed to help you break your limits. If it’s a business or personal goal. Eran will show you the way. And expose you to your own power and resources.
Final Thoughts
If you wish to skyrocket your productivity and inspiration, this would be your go-to list. While these entrepreneurs have been solving real-world problems, now is your chance to hit the ground running.