There’s something to be said about longevity, and these women have set the standard for long-time success.
2009
After working in the service industry for more than 15 years, a couple of friends pulled Kristin Jacobson to the side after one of their many annual trips to New York City. “You should do something in Austin like the Brooklyn Flea,” and in 2009, Jacobson did just that. Austin Flea has been an Austin staple ever since. With events happening almost every weekend (multiple times a weekend, at that), Jacobson has seen the business flourish from a passion project to a sustainable, enduring local legend.
19 years
Serial entrepreneur Mousumi Shaw has quietly established herself as the “Coach brand of the jewelry industry.” Founded in 2005, Sikara & Co. was inspired by Shaw’s love of international travel and her deep desire to make meaningful connections with people and communities all over the world. However, it was her mother who truly inspired her to pursue entrepreneurship. As a teenager, Shaw helped her mother when she started her own jewelry company. This experience spurred her to found her affordable luxury jewelry brand almost 15 years later. Throughout the past 19 years, Shaw has remained an almost silently omnipresent force in the community, having appeared in Oprah’s O magazine, Austin Monthly, Boston Magazine, Brilliant Magazine, Tribeza, San Francisco’s 7X7 magazine, Austin American Statesman, Brides Magazine, Accessories Magazine, was awarded the 2017 Austin 40 Under 40 award for Business & Entrepreneurship and nominated as a maker at Austin Woman’s Woman’s Way Business Awards.
2018
Pei Sim, founder of The Paper + Craft Pantry, understands the concept of a slow build to an incredibly successful business. She began her entrepreneur journey in 2013, selling hand-crafted cards on Etsy. In 2015, she opened her first brick-and-mortar, what we know as The Paper + Craft Pantry, in East Austin. From there, she went from success to success, and in November 2018, she launched her in-house stationery and product line, sporting hundreds of SKUs. A part of her entrepreneurial journey includes her dedication to giving back to the community that helped her blossom into the business owner she is now. She donates a portion of the profits from the Paper + Craft Pantry’s in-house line to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Black Mamas ATX.