“I joined Girls Who Start because I loved their encouragement for female entrepreneurs and everything they stood for,” club Treasurer and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sophomore Maci Kaplan said.

Girls Who Start is a national organization that creates a community of future female entrepreneurs by providing members tools and opportunities to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into a reality. The club participates in challenges, holds meetings and has frequent guest speakers who empower entrepreneurship among women and girls. The MSD chapter has grown immensely over the last two years.

In 2019 the MSD Girls Who Start chapter was founded by previous students Abbie Daniels and Sarah Louis. Now the club has grown to 135 members and the 2021-2022 officer board consists of nine members. The officer board includes Morgan Fink, Macy Meis, Sasha Lechenstein, Sofia Kaplan, Alexa Schulman, Sami Bross, Rebecca Stember, Maci Kaplan and Jessie Gesund.

“[The] club’s mission is to create and connect a community of young female leaders and anyone who is welcomed who wants to help empower females in business. Providing young women with the opportunity for exposure to entrepreneurship, we will set up the next generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs and overall empowered women,” President of Girls Who Start and junior Morgan Fink said.

Girls Who Start is an interactive hands-on club that offers many opportunities for members such as creating connections with female entrepreneurs. It is open to anyone who would find enjoyment in hearing the experiences female entrepreneurs have gone through. Creativity and collaboration are used during activities when working in groups as well.

“What I like most about the club is that everyone is comfortable expressing their ideas with each other and how people are able to bounce their ideas off of one another,” Social Media Coordinator and junior Sami Bross said.

This club gives girls the opportunity to be inspired by female entrepreneurs as well as get connected with fellow aspiring entrepreneurs. The club has had a multitude of meetings with different guest speaker female entrepreneurs including Talia Fox, Morgan Lerner, and Amanda Zuckerman.

“My favorite event has been meeting Mrs. Hodgem, owner of Hodge Podge Baking Co. Hearing her story was so interesting and I learned a lot about her experience in the entrepreneurship field,” Kaplan said.

There are a variety of events that kindle entrepreneurship and leadership within the student body.
The Girls Who Start club is an opportunity for women to meet inspiring females and to spark their creative side to one day be successful in the business industry.