Category Archives: Entrepreneurial Women

By Christine Graf
Leah’s Cakery, located in the historic West Side General Store building at 3 Curry Street in Round Lake, opened in 2013.
Owner Leah Stein worked as a cake decorator for the Bread Basket in Saratoga Springs before owning her own shop. Prior to that, Stein worked as a park ranger and environmental educator.
When Stein made the decision to change professions, she enrolled in the culinary program at Schenectady County Community College (SCCC). The Lake George native comes from what she describes as a “culinary inspired” family, and she fell in love with baking as a young girl. It was while making custom cakes as a side job while working in environmental science that she decided to pursue baking full time.
“I grew up in a tourist town with tons of entrepreneurs around me,” she said. “A lot of people had their own businesses, and it was always something that was in the back of mind as an attainable goal.”

By Lisa Balschunat
A 19-year concert event merchandiser from California, who has lived in Saratoga Springs since 2016, is now the owner of the first indoor dog park in the city.
Marijo English wanted to give pet owners a much-needed alternative to rainy, snowy or sub-zero walks for their canine pets. The building also provides an opportunities for training, grooming and year-round socialization.
English, owner of Chow Bella, 50 West Ave. in Saratoga Springs, created the business out of necessity for her pet beagle and convenience for herself. She was looking to do something new.
“I was tired of the high stress and traveling. I moved to Saratoga four years ago. I looked into franchises, but none of them are social places,” she said.

By Susan E. Campbell
Lisa Avila is the only woman among five founders of Kitware Inc., developer of an innovative visualization software toolkit and other open source platforms.
The business partners worked together at GE’s research unit in the mid-1990s. Up to that time, there was no software available to visualize one’s data without purchasing an expensive license. In 1998 they went out on their own and developed an open source product that could be downloaded and used directly.
“The toolkit may come close to providing free solutions the user needs,” said Avila. “But our revenue comes from modifications they cannot provide for themselves that bring the software to the next level.”
Now 20 years later, this international company has 150 employees in five offices, including headquarters in Clifton Park. Avila attributes their exponential growth to improved functionality and popularity of their software platform, she said.

Women-owned businesses continue to fuel the economy and now represent 42 percent of all businesses — nearly 13 million — employing 9.4 million workers and generating revenue of $1.9 trillion, according to an annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express.
In 2019, U.S. women with diverse ethnic and geographic backgrounds started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day between 2018 and 2019, down only slightly from the record-setting 2018 number of 1,821.
The annual report, based on U.S. Census Bureau data adjusted by Gross Domestic Product data, found that women-owned businesses continue to trend above all businesses. Over the past five years:
• The number of women-owned businesses increased 21 percent, while all businesses increased only 9 percent.
• Total employment by women-owned businesses rose 8 percent, while for all businesses the increase was far lower at 1.8 percent.
• Total revenue for women-owned businesses also rose slightly above all businesses: 21 percent compared to 20 percent respectively.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Mary Maranville is a strong example of someone who has managed to enjoy a high level of international success while still remaining true to her roots, to what she finds important.
Maranville, along with her longtime partner Kevin Dott, recently renovated DeMaranville Farm and Gardens in Saratoga Springs into a wedding and event location that honors their farm-to-table mantra.
The farm, located at 727 Lake Ave., (Route 29) Saratoga Springs, has three vintage barns including the Big Red Post and Beam Wedding Barn, Carriage House and Corn Crib.
The Big Red wedding barn features chestnut beams, a chandelier, vaulted ceiling, solid oak cocktail bar, second floor, central heat and air-conditioning. The Carriage House can be used for a cocktail reception hour or smaller gathering, and the Corn Crib is an authentic agricultural barn, often used for photos.
“It is the perfect place for a boutique wedding. We have also seen a lot of interest from people who travel for their actual wedding and then return home to have a reception,” said Maranville.
Maranville grew up on a dairy farm in Gansevoort, where she remembers her father working many hours to keep the farm running, a life that requires extreme heart and dedication, but something she said her father was born to do.

By Susan E. Campbell

The owner of Old Saratoga Mercantile, 1120 Route 29 in Schuylerville, left a job in journalism and now sells naturally grown produce and other natural goods that come to her from farms in the area.

Old Saratoga Mercantile gives vendors in the region, some of whom previously sold only out of their homes, a place to sell their wares seven days a week.

Christina Myers had been a journalist doing stories on local government and the political scene for 15 years. But going into business and starting a store was not, she said, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Actually, Myers and her then-fiancé purchased the vacant five-acre plot to build a home and wanted enough land to farm much of their own food. The idea to tear down a brick structure—an antique store up until the early 2000s—and to turn an outdated barn on the property into an old-time shop sprouted soon enough.

She visited dozens of farms and producers, sampling their products, talking to the owners and customers, and doing all the fact-checking so her customers wouldn’t have to scrutinize every label to ensure the product was responsibly made.