The Magnificent Seven

This year SkyeTeam is celebrating its seventh birthday.

I founded the company in 2007 to follow my passion, leadership and executive development, or as I describe it – helping successful people achieve outstanding results.  I love what we do and the company that SkyeTeam has become.  We partner with Fortune 500 companies, SMEs, professional services’ firms and non-profit organizations globally, at last count we we supporting leaders in over 20 countries and on four continents!

To honor our special occasion, we’ve chosen seven other women whose businesses have caught our eye.

1. Babiators

Babiators was founded by Molly Fienning & Carolyn Guard. According to its website, their mission is to educate “parents about the importance of sun protections for children’s eyes, [provide kids] with a safe, durable, and awesome product they want to wear [and to donate] a portion of [their] profits to [the] Children’s Eye Foundation.”

The company makes aviator-styled sunglasses for infants and children. The lenses are designed especially to protect kids’ eyes, which are more sensitive than those of adults. The company guarantees that it will replace sunglasses if they’re lost or broken within the first year. This is quite a promise to fulfil when you consider how many children leave their clothing scattered around the restaurants, schools, and churches of the nation.

2. PublicStuff

PublicStuff was co-founded by Lily Liu, who got the idea while working in Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Project & Analytics’ team in New York City. The company’s own app provides the means for people in the community to interact with each other on problems they share, such as potholes, graffiti, and inoperative street lights, notify local government agencies of those problems, and then to track the progress on solving them.

3. PetPlan

PetPlan was co-founded by Natasha Ashton, the co-CEO and CMO of the company. The company offers affordable pet insurance. She got the idea when her own dog developed anorexia and, following treatment, the vet handed her a bill for $5K! Claim forms are a measly one page long and are filed online. Depending on the plan chosen, pet owners can expect to receive 80-100% of the cost of treatment withintwo weeks and may use any licensed vet in the US or Canada.

4. Collective Bias

Collective Bias was co-founded in 2009 by Amy Callahan, the COO of the company. The company uses freelances bloggers to promote retail sales through social media. The 1300 freelance bloggers, referred to as Social Fabric, write stories about their experiences with a variety of products, connecting those brands to more than 40m people via social media.

5. TheraPearl

TheraPearl ( was co-founded by Gina Dubbé, a licensed professional engineer. The company makes special wraps and packs that alleviate muscle pain and inflammation caused a variety of activities as diverse as sports, surgery, and arthritis.

6. Kabbage

Kabbage – (if lettuce is money, just think how much cabbage is worth) – () – was founded by Kathryn Petralia, the COO. The company lends money to small businesses. She got the idea towards the end of 2008, when the credit crunch prevented small businesses from borrowing the capital they needed to survive.

Unlike every other lending institution, Kabbage determines how much can be borrowed on the basis of what they call “real-life” data, such as their checking account or other online business service they use. Sums of up to $50K can be transferred in less than 10 minutes via the Internet or through their app.

7. Suja

Suja was co-founded by Annie Lawless. As a teenager, she suffered from a number of food sensitivities. She discovered that “juicing” and a modified organic diet improved her quality of life immensely. The company produces organic, cold-pressed juice, which generates less heat, resulting in a more nutritious product. Suja juices are available in a variety of stores, notably Whole Foods, and sold across the United States.

So there you have it. Our Magnificent Seven!

Stay tuned to find out who will make the list on our eighth birthday.

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SkyeTeam is the brainchild of Morag Barrett (nee McLeod). Morag’s experience ranges from senior executive coaching to developing high impact teams across Europe, America and Asia. She is a highly effective speaker, trainer and executive coach. Morag draws from a deep and unique operational skill set. Her corporate career started in retail banking with Royal Bank of Scotland Group in the UK. With 15 years experience in the finance industry, Morag understands the challenges of running a business as well as the complexities of leading and managing the people that are part of that business. Prior to launching Skye in 2007, Morag was responsible for global leadership and executive development in a US Telecoms company. Since launching SkyeTeam she has had the opportunity to work with clients in a range of industries including: Healthcare, Telecoms, Mining, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology.

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