Business Driven Technology 6th Edition by Paige Baltzan

Exercise 18

Women in Technology
Technology is a tough business. Tough for men and sometimes even tougher for women. Women who have succeeded in technology deserve recognition. They are an inspiration for everyone, demonstrating what can be achieved through creativity and hard work. Fast Company recently compiled a list of women in technology who are leading the wave of 21stcentury business. Fast Company 's list includes:
Ning: Gina Bianchini, co-founder and CEO
This custom social-network maker made a splash on the May 2008 cover, and not just because she knew what a viral expansion loop was. With 500,000-plus networks now running on Ning, the company has had its share of developer challenges but remains cashed up and growing.
Flickr: Caterina Fake, co-founder
Fake not only cofounded photo-sharing behemoth Flickr but also sold it to Yahoo! for a reported $35 million. Now everyone is buzzing about her next project, something called Hunch, which is in stealth mode.
Blurb: Eileen Gittins, CEO
Gittins's book self-publishing platform is lean and green and has unleashed the instaauthor (and book retailer) in everyone from amateur photographers to big brands like Lexus. With 1 million-plus books created, Blurb is profitable.
Meebo: Sandy Jen and Elaine Wherry, co-founders
Oft cited as the web's fastest growing IM tool, this third start-up for Jen and Wherry (and fellow co-founder Seth Sternberg) is on a cacophonous track. It lets some 40 million users yap over any IM network and in a variety of settings; new partnerships with Hearst and Universal Music point to an even chattier future.
Pixel Qi: Mary Lou Jepsen, founder and CEO
As CTO of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), Jepsen led the design and development of the least expensive and most energy efficient laptop ever made. She founded Pixel Qi in 2008 to commercialize the groundbreaking OLPC screen technology she invented.
Consorte Media: Alicia Morga, CEO
Using science (not cultural hype) to match brand advertisers with Hispanic American consumers on the web, Morga's marketing firm had 100 percent growth last year.
SpikeSource: Kim Polese, CEO
Polese was part of the early Java team at Sun Microsystems and cofounded Marimba. Her new business, which boasts a partnership with Intel, helps companies test the security and quality of open-source software.
BabyCenter: Tina Sharkey, president
Sharkey's site reaches nearly 80 percent of new moms online in the United States and some 6 million visitors a month internationally. With the 2007 acquisition of MayasMom. com, a social-networking site, Sharkey's parental domination is nearly complete.
SlideShare: Rashmi Sinha, co-founder and CEO
The psychology PhD turned web designer and community expert has created a vibrant social hub around-of all things-the PowerPoint deck. Launched with less than $50,000, SlideShare now has a million registered users, plus a partnership with LinkedIn.
Six Apart: Mena Trott, co-founder and president
With cofounding husband, Ben, Trott created tools such as Movable Type and TypePad that enabled the blogosphere to bloom. Her firm recently snapped up social network Pownce, too, adding that site's co-founder Leah Culver, another woman we admire, to the team.
MyShape: Louise Wannier, CEO
Matching technology with fashion, MyShape has created an online bazaar with more than 400,000 members. What else would you expect from a serial entrepreneur with degrees in textile design and business administration
Choose one of the above companies and create a Porter's Five Forces analysis to highlight potential issues the company might face over the next decade.