Five Ivey women whose startups are making a difference in people’s lives were spotlighted in the recent Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Christal Wang, HBA ’15, made the business magazine's Under 30 Local Los Angeles list for her work on Shimmer, a mental wellness platform that helps adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). And the four co-founders of Marlow – Kiara Botha, HBA ’20, MSc ’21; Simone Godbout, HBA ’20; Nadia Ladak, HBA ’20; and Harit Sohal, HBA ’20 – made the Under 30 Toronto list. Marlow is a menstrual health-focused company that created the first-ever lubricated tampon kit.
This is the first year Forbes has created local lists of entrepreneurs and innovators for 10 cities – Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico, Seattle and Toronto. Here’s a look at the Ivey alumni on the list.
Christal Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Shimmer
Christal Wang’s experiences with ADHD, especially the challenge to find resources for adults, led her to co-found Shimmer, along with Vikram Sreedhar. Shimmer is an app that combines personalized ADHD coaching with specialized tools. Shimmer's program was developed by leading ADHD experts and has already served more than 1,000 clients since its debut in October 2022.
Wang said she’s thrilled to be on the list and excited to use this opportunity to raise awareness about adult ADHD and neurodiversity at large.
"I'm grateful and humbled to be on the 30 Under 30 list,” said Wang. “Ever since Ivey, I've been obsessed with using business to solve real, social challenges; however, I couldn't figure out exactly where I'd make my mark. When I was diagnosed with ADHD last year and struggled to find a good behavioural solution, Shimmer ADHD Coaching was quickly and urgently born. I'm so excited to use this opportunity to further our mission of getting every single adult with ADHD to their full potential."
Kiara Botha, Simone Godbout, Nadia Ladak, and Harit Sohal
Co-Founders of Marlow
The idea for Marlow started as a capstone project for the Ivey New Venture Project when Kiara Botha, Simone Godbout, Nadia Ladak, and Harit Sohal were HBA students. Passionate about social impact, their student team created Marlow, whose flagship product is an environmentally friendly lubricated tampon kit designed for smoother insertion. Since its launch, Marlow’s menstrual health-related content has gone viral on social media and its product has transformed the tampon experience.
Ladak, Co-Founder and CEO of Marlow, said the team owes a big thank you to the Ivey entrepreneurship community, especially Larry Plummer, an associate professor of Entrepreneurship, and their Ivey mentor and now lead investor Chris Guillon, MBA ’06.
“We're so honoured to be included on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. Marlow started as an Ivey New Venture Project just three years ago and we can't believe the progress of our brand since then. We've grown to reach thousands of menstruators, are available on Amazon, Well.ca, and several other retailers across North America, and have raised over $1 million,” said Ladak.
Related Articles
