In 1986, Liz Claiborne Inc. became the first Fortune 500 company founded by a woman. Though she made her mark by designing tasteful and affordable clothes for women professionals, it was a little-known innovation by Claiborne that forever changed the way department stores sold clothing. She was the first designer to insist that her collection be placed together so that customers could mix and match pieces to create entire outfits. She died in 2007 at age 78.
Great ideas are hard to come by. Putting them to work is even harder. Meet the founders who turned concepts into companies and changed the face of business.
