Stephanie Benedetto - Saving the World One Yard at a Time

Stephanie Benedetto, CEO & Co-Founder, Queen of Raw

Corporate attorney turned fashion tech and sustainability entrepreneur, Stephanie is the Co-Founder of Queen of Raw, a marketplace to buy and sell unused textiles, keeping them out of landfills and turning pollution into profit. Prior to starting Queen of Raw, Stephanie worked as a lawyer in the fashion, media/entertainment, start-up, and technology industries and co-founded a sustainable textile manufacturing facility. An advocate for women in business and sustainability, her companies have been featured in NPR, Good Morning America, NYTimes, Vogue, WWD, ELLE, Cheddar, Parade, WCBS, United Nations, Fortune, Entrepreneur, WIRED, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Fast Company.

Stephanie is a NASA/NIKE/IKEA/DELL LAUNCH.org Innovator, a Grand Prize WeWork Creator Awards Winner presented by Ashton Kutcher, an MIT - Solve Global Challenge Winner, a thredUP Circular Fashion Fund Recipient, was nominated as a Founder to Watch by Women 2.0, and was a Finalist for the WGSN Global Fashion Awards, Rent the Runway/UBS Project Entrepreneur, and the $1M Verizon Powerful Answers Award. She is a Member of Pledge 1% and Founding Member of Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network, along with Aveda, Kering, and Stella McCartney.

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Q. Best advice for women who want to go out in life and crush it!

A. Do not be afraid! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, share your story, and stand up for your beliefs. If you can remove the barriers you place around yourself first, it makes the journey a little easier. Then we can come together to fight the bigger roadblocks!

Q. What do you do to celebrate women?

A. I am active in Women Who Tech with Google, 2XinTech with Grand Central Tech, Women 2.0, Project Entrepreneur with Rent the Runway and UBS, and Female Founders Collective. Each of these organizations promote female entrepreneurs and women in tech. They host networking events and contests with prizes, share informational videos and podcasts, and conduct workshops with thought leaders. And they do it at no cost to you. Do not miss these great opportunities!

Q. What do you want to see more of?

A. Being active in organizations that promote female entrepreneurs and women in tech is important. But it takes money to make money. We need more women to receive venture capital funding. According to PitchBook, venture capitalists invested $58.2 billion in companies with all-male founders in 2016. Meanwhile, women received just $1.46 billion in venture capital money last year. This has to change.

Q. Recommended reading:

The Handmaid's Tale

Q. The theme for this year's women's history month is Valiant Women of the Vote. What women's rights are you most passionate about?

Women need to become key decision-makers in their organizations in order to bring about change. We know many women leave work for a variety of reasons, including having children. I launched my business at the same time as I had my first child. This has only made my personal and professional life stronger. I am doing what I am doing to make a difference in the world not just for myself anymore but for my children and my children’s children. Because of this mission, I am even more focused and passionate and find the strength to meet any challenges.

Q. Shout out to another woman who has made a difference in your life and how she/they did that.

Aung San Suu Kyi — she doesn't know it, but she has been an inspiration to me since I first wrote a paper about her in a middle school current events class. Never doubt that you can change the world!

Connect with Stephanie Benedetto online:

Monica Phillips