Carrie Kerpen and Maggie Lord recognized on Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500 list. Inc.'s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation's most innovative women entrepreneurs.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Inc.'s annual Female Founders list celebrates the nation's most innovative women entrepreneurs, who collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025.
The Whisper Group is proud to announce that Carrie Kerpen and Maggie Lord have been named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500, an annual list honoring the most dynamic women business leaders in the United States. The honor recognizes founders whose bold ideas, resilience, and execution are shaping the future of their industries.
The 2026 Female Founders honorees collectively generated approximately $12.3 billion in 2025 revenue and $12.2 billion in funding to date, underscoring the economic impact of women-led businesses across sectors.
Each year, Inc. editors evaluate applications through a rigorous, multi-round selection process. Founders are assessed on both quantitative performance metrics, including revenue growth, funding, sales, and audience size, as well as qualitative factors such as innovation, social impact, and brand momentum. The final list represents entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and measurable progress over the past year. Previous honorees have included such game-changing leaders as Billie Jean King, Sallie Krawcheck, Serena Williams, and Emma Grede — all of whom have transformed their industries and broken barriers along the way.
"Being named to the Inc. Female Founder 500 is an honor, but what matters most is the work this recognition represents," said Carrie Kerpen, Co-Founder & CEO of The Whisper Group. "Women build extraordinary businesses and they deserve the preparation, confidence, and leverage to exit on their own terms."
Maggie Lord, Co-Founder of The Whisper Group exited to David's Bridal in 2020, added, "Our mission at The Whisper Group is to make exits more accessible, more strategic, and more empowering for women founders. This recognition reinforces the importance of that work."
Honoree selection is also honed through the evaluation of the program's advisory board, which includes Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding; Tiffany Dufu, president of the Tory Burch Foundation; Joy Mangano, co-founder and CEO of CleanBoss; Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of GORGIE; Sheila Lirio Marcelo, co-founder and CEO of Ohai.ai and founder of Care.com; and Melissa Mash, co-founder and CEO of Dagne Dover.
About The Whisper Group
The Whisper Group is an exit-readiness advisory firm and collective of exited female founders focused on helping women entrepreneurs scale their businesses into life-changing assets. Through strategic guidance, valuation preparation, and founder-centered support, The Whisper Group helps close the exit gap and redefine what success looks like for women in business.
"Each year, we are increasingly amazed by the extraordinary leaders on our Inc. Female Founders 500 list," says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. "The honorees on this year's list include innovators in AI, beauty and wellness trendsetters winning devoted fans, and nonprofit leaders making a real impact in their communities. Together, they're showing all of us what trailblazing female leadership looks like."
Several honorees will be featured in Inc. magazine's Spring print issue, on newsstands March 17, 2026. To see the complete list of honorees, please visit: https://www.inc.com/female-founders/2026.
About Inc.
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.
About The Whisper Group
Wearethewhispergroup.com
Contacts
For media inquiries, please contact:
Maggie Lord
Phone: (203) 491-0331
Email: [email protected]
Media Contact
Maggie Lord, The Whisper Group, 1 (203) 491-0331, [email protected], https://www.wearethewhispergroup.com/
SOURCE The Whisper Group
Share this article