Kara Goldin couldn't lose 45 pesky pounds and couldn't figure out why. Then the former AOL exec quit her diet soda habit and started making fruit-infused water in her kitchen. This year, Hint Water is set to hit $90 million in revenues. Goldin talks about how she went from one-woman band to consumer brand.

Jessica Beck started Hello Alfred while still at Harvard Business School; within a year she and cofounder Marcela Sapone had secured $10.5 million in Series A funding and won the tech scene's best-known pitch competition. And oh yeah: their product is a modern-day butler service.

At just 27, Tyler Haney is taking on giants like Lululemon and Nike in the athletic apparel space with Outdoor Voices, the chic, technical line she founded in 2013. She's raised more than $8 million in venture backing to date, but only after 70 investors told her "no."