5 Women Who Revolutionized Tech and Made Millions

There are many female entrepreneurs in today’s world revolutionizing the tech industry and owning their own unique craft. Before, technology and business was seen as a more male-dominanted industry that women rarely crossed into. That’s no longer the case.

Now, it’s often that you hear of women who find business and tech as something fascinating and starting their own tech-related business from scratch. In fact, within the last 20 years, the number of businesses owned by women has increased by 114%. 

Now in the 2020’s, we have many prominent women who have earned high rankings in business success by creating their own tech service or product. Here are a few of them below. 

1. Thai Lee 

Thai Lee is the CEO and co-founder of IT software SHI International, which she created with her ex-husband, and has a net worth of $3 billion. Her software has Boeing and AT&T as customers. She is considered one of the wealthiest women in America, even after starting her business over 30 years ago. 

She was born in Bangkok and moved to the US for her education, attending business school and starting her own career. She kept goals in mind to meet by certain ages to keep herself focused. Her long-term business goals and compassion to employees are a key part of her continuous business victory over the past several decades. 

Thai Lee is stated to have initial struggles in launching her business. Despite these troubles, her steel tight focus on her eventual success is what truly launched her into being an IT tech legend. Sometimes focus is all you need for real success despite a somewhat broken ladder. 

2. Neerja Sethi 

Neerja Sethi is a millionaire, having earned her money from creating Syntel, an IT consulting and outsourcing firm. Neerja eventually sold the firm for $3.4 billion to a French IT firm Atos Se in October 2018. For her stake, Sethi got $510 million. 

Neerja met her husband while working at the pioneering IT firm Tata Consulting Services. They both decided to recreate this type of service in a way they thought would be their own unique success. Hence, she and her husband created Syntel in their apartment in Troy, Michigan with a $2,000 investment. 

Their efforts worked and, with some work and energy, created a service worth millions. As of this year, her real time net worth is $1.1 billion. Just because a certain product or service already works, it doesn’t mean it can’t be improved to something better. 

3. Ashley Chen 

Ashley Chen is the founder of the IT firm ActioNet, a service that provides cloud-hosting, cybersecurity and software engineering. If you wanted your virtual and online projects protected from online hackers, she made the product to do just that. ActioNet got rated one of the best in the country and Ashley’s IT work even won an award. 

She obtained her masters in computer science prior to her creation and paid just $35 for the domain ActioNet.com in 1997. Safe to say her investment was rewarded. The growth of her business has developed into double-digit annual growth every single year since. 

Her parents wanted a different life for her, but Ashley was determined to own her business and attributes hiring the right people who could help her as a critical part of her success. Her employees also comment that she has “infectious” energy that keeps them motivated to work. 

“I don’t mind living in a mans world as long as I can be a woman in it.” – Marilyn Monroe

4. Therese Tucker

Therese Tucker has a unique appearance with her bright colored hair. However, she has a net worth of over $500 million for creating Blackline, an enterprise software company that sells accounting-automation software. Just a few of the companies she provides software to is Coca-Cola, Netflix and Google. 

In 2013, she sold a majority stake to private equity firms Silver Lake and Iconiq Capital for a $220 million valuation. She founded the company in 2002, cashing in on the entirety of her retirement savings in order to launch her business idea. She is now one of the few female-founder CEOs running a public tech business. 

She dismisses the idea of having “modest ambition” because then the only accomplishments you have will be “boring.” She speaks at high schools and STEM events to teach other women to excel in tech if that’s what they dream of doing like she did.

5. Whitney Wolfe Herd 

Whitney Herd has become the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire in 2021 for her app creation Bumble, a social and business app for women. She has also become the youngest woman to take her business public at 31. 

She founded the app in December of 2014, which resulted in over 15 million conversations and 80 million matches. She got to partner with billionaire Andrey Andreev in 2014, which furthered her career success. She refused a $450 million pay-out and her net worth is currently $1.2 billion. 

Her advice is to figure out what you’re passionate about and find a way to turn it into a business. She says, “I think anybody can make money at something they’re good at. You have to start somewhere. Just find your passion and lean into it.”