20. Victoria Tsai, Tatcha Beauty
After a decade working for global beauty brands, Victoria Tsai developed acute dermatitis from testing products. The only thing that helped were blotting papers she found on a trip to Japan. In 2009, she began importing the blotting papers to sell stateside, selling her furniture, car and engagement ring to finance the venture.
Tatcha Beauty has since become a beauty powerhouse, incorporating Japanese wellness philosophies and natural ingredients with philanthropy (a portion of sales funds education for girls in Asia and Africa). In 2019, Tsai sold the company to Unilever in a deal estimated at $500 million.
