Table of Contents

1. Key Highlights
2. Introduction
3. From Fashion to Finance: The Foundation’s Founding Purpose and Track Record
4. Profiles in Scale: The Three Founder Award Winners
5. How the Fellows Model Works: Fellowship, Mentorship, Measurement
6. Why Mentorship Matters: Credibility, Capital and Confidence
7. Digital Capability as an Accelerator: E-Commerce, Paid Media and the Pandemic Pivot
8. Airports, Retail Channels and the Power of Strategic Distribution
9. The Economics of Wage Policy and Inclusive Growth
10. Financial Headwinds: Funding Cuts, Bank Conservatism and the Need for New Pathways
11. Anna Wintour’s Iconic Founder Award: Leadership Lessons and Cultural Reach
12. Posthumous Recognition: Olive Ann Beech and the Legacy of Women-Led Industry
13. Corporate Philanthropy and Marketplace Mechanisms
14. Scaling the Model: From Evidence to Expansion
15. Lessons for Entrepreneurs: Practical Takeaways from the Breakfast
16. The Broader Policy Context: Why Philanthropic Interventions Matter Now
17. What Comes Next for the Foundation and Its Fellows
18. FAQ

Key Highlights

• The Tory Burch Foundation announced a major expansion of its Fellows program while honoring Anna Wintour and recognizing three fast-growing women-led businesses, reporting measurable economic impact and clear outcomes for participants.
• The Foundation’s cohort-driven model — combining mentorship, capital access, online learning and corporate partnerships — has helped Fellows scale revenue, create jobs and improve wages, providing a reproducible blueprint for closing gendered gaps in entrepreneurship.

Introduction

A packed ballroom at New York’s Pierre Hotel brought together designers, philanthropists, editors and entrepreneurs to mark the Tory Burch Foundation’s second annual Founders Breakfast. The event served both as a celebration and as an evidence-based progress report: the foundation is scaling its signature Fellows program after demonstrating measurable economic returns for participating women entrepreneurs. Honorees ranged from a global media icon, Anna Wintour, to three food, design and construction founders whose businesses multiplied revenue and created new jobs. The gathering underscored a clear proposition — targeted support for women founders produces quantifiable economic impact. It also laid out the practical mechanics that made those outcomes possible: mentorship, digital capability-building, capital readiness and strategic partnerships.

From Fashion to Finance: The Foundation’s Founding Purpose and Track Record

Tory Burch launched her foundation in 2009 with a narrow but ambitious objective: increase women’s economic power through entrepreneurship. The model has evolved from grantmaking and advocacy into a programmatic approach that combines direct services with capital access. The results are now being measured and scaled. According to the foundation, its Fellows have generated $470 million in economic impact to date toward a broader target of $1 billion by 2030 and created more than 2,000 jobs. The program’s 400 Fellows collectively achieve more than $1 billion in annual revenue — a rate reportedly ten times the national average for women-owned businesses.

These metrics matter because they reshape the narrative about what philanthropic interventions can accomplish. Instead of vague claims of “support,” the foundation tracks business outcomes — revenue growth, job creation and wage improvements — and ties those outcomes to specific program elements: a competitive cohort selection, structured mentoring relationships, an online learning center and strategic partnerships with financial institutions and corporations.

The foundation’s Online Learning Center has attracted more than 700,000 users, and some 20,000 business owners attended webinars last year alone. Those numbers signal both scale and demand: entrepreneurs seek practical, digestible training, and they will engage when content is accessible and action-oriented. The foundation is moving from serving a handful of Fellows to enlarging cohorts meaningfully. Seasonal growth is already visible: the program jumped from enrolling 50 entrepreneurs per year to 120 this year, and plans to expand to 160 next year.

Profiles in Scale: The Three Founder Award Winners

The Founders Breakfast highlighted three entrepreneurs whose stories illustrate the different ways the Fellows program can accelerate growth. Each winner came to the program at a pivotal moment and leveraged mentorship, capital readiness and digital strategy to expand.

Viola Sutanto — Maika Viola Sutanto founded Maika, a California-based lifestyle brand making bags and accessories. She entered the Tory Burch Fellows program in 2020 when her company was generating roughly $500,000 annually. By the time she received the Founder Award, Maika had reached $3.5 million in sales.

Sutanto’s ascent blends personal resilience with savvy digital execution. During the pandemic, when wholesale orders evaporated, she used downtime to master paid digital marketing and build a direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel. The result: an 800 percent increase in e-commerce sales. Her story underscores a familiar lesson from this era of disruption — businesses that invested in digital capability early were able to pivot quickly and capture market share as competitors scrambled.

Andrea Seymour — Springdale Custom Builders Andrea Seymour co-founded Springdale Custom Builders, a residential design-build firm based in Charlotte, N.C. The company launched in 2016 and has completed 120 custom homes and renovations to date. Seymour became a Fellow in 2013 — an earlier cohort that illustrates how sustained relationships with mentors and investors can compound over time. When she joined, Springdale’s revenue stood at $3.7 million. The firm is now forecasting $12 million.

Seymour’s path to growth involved a mix of operational discipline and narrative-building. Mentors within the program helped her present the company’s case to banks and investors. A recurring theme in her experience was credibility: invoking the Tory Burch Fellows affiliation removed friction in conversations with lenders and opened doors that repeated refusals had kept closed.

Pilar Guzman — Half Moon Empanadas Pilar Guzman founded Half Moon Empanadas in Miami. When she applied to the Fellows program in 2020, Half Moon reported $3 million in revenue. The company will reach $30 million this year, with 26 locations nationwide and a widening presence in U.S. airports.

Guzman’s narrative is a study in operational resilience and intentional impact. During extreme cash flow constraints and the pandemic, her team pivoted to producing meals for senior centers. Over time, Guzman made strategic bets on airport placements as a scalable growth channel, despite skepticism from peers and lenders. Her approach to pay and hiring magnifies the social value of the enterprise: 78 percent of her workforce is female, 63 percent Hispanic, and the company’s average wage substantially exceeds the industry median for similar food-service roles. That combination of growth and equitable employment amplifies the economic mobility argument that the foundation centers.

What these three profiles share is a mix of deliberate strategy, mentorship access and targeted capacity building. Fellows learned to tell their stories to investors, refine financial models and convert brand equity into repeatable revenue channels.

How the Fellows Model Works: Fellowship, Mentorship, Measurement

The Tory Burch Fellows program is more than a brand label. Its engine consists of several components that, together, produce measurable results.

Cohort Selection and Intention Cohorts are intentionally curated to include businesses with demonstrated traction and clear plans for growth. Admission is competitive. The program targets businesses at a stage where an injection of strategic guidance, improved access to finance and peer support can accelerate scaling.

Mentorship Matched to Business Needs Each Fellow is paired with mentors who bring domain expertise, network access and credibility. Mentors have included senior corporate executives and legal counsel, who assist with fundraising readiness, contract negotiation and strategic planning. Mentoring relationships have a demonstrable effect: Fellows frequently report that mentors helped them unlock capital or refine pitches to banks and investors. One recipient received a line of credit after repeatedly leveraging her Fellow status in conversation with a bank manager.

Practical Curriculum and Online Learning The foundation’s Online Learning Center offers focused modules on fundraising, marketing, operations and people management. Unlike academic programs, the content prioritizes practical tasks: building a pro forma, creating a cash-flow forecast, or running a customer acquisition test. Webinars and on-demand coursework reach hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, scaling the foundation’s impact beyond the Fellows themselves.

Access to Capital and Corporate Partnerships The foundation builds pathways to capital through partnerships with financial institutions and corporate sponsors. Bank of America, a visible supporter, sponsors the Bank of America Marketplace to showcase Fellows. Corporate partners also offer procurement and distribution opportunities that accelerate scaling. Partnerships reduce transaction friction for Fellows trying to access corporate procurement channels or retail placements.

Measurement and Public Accountability The foundation tracks revenue growth, job creation and other outcomes. Reporting these numbers publicly does two things: it demonstrates program efficacy to donors and stakeholders, and it creates an evidence base from which best practices can be distilled and replicated.

Why Mentorship Matters: Credibility, Capital and Confidence

Mentorship in the Fellows program functions as social capital. It changes the way entrepreneurs are perceived by lenders, buyers and partners. Credibility matters in finance. That was visible in Andrea Seymour’s account: when a banker recognized the Tory Burch brand, previously closed doors opened.

Mentorship also accelerates decision-making. Entrepreneurs face daily operational trade-offs. A mentor who has navigated similar choices reduces the time and risk associated with a wrong move. For early- and growth-stage founders, mentorship shortens the learning curve on non-technical topics such as negotiating leases, setting up lines of credit, and building scalable operations.

Beyond practical advice, mentorship provides psychological reinforcement. Viola Sutanto described how being accepted into the Fellows program built confidence at a moment when her wholesale business had collapsed and profits disappeared. That validation often precedes the tactical actions that follow.

Real-world parallels underscore this dynamic. Accelerators and incubators that combine mentorship with capital and network building, such as Y Combinator in tech or specialized initiatives like the Cartier Women’s Initiative, show comparable outcomes: faster scaling and improved fundraising success. These programs illustrate a simple logic: when you reduce information asymmetry for investors and buyers, capital follows.

Digital Capability as an Accelerator: E-Commerce, Paid Media and the Pandemic Pivot

The pandemic exposed a fundamental division among small businesses: those that had invested in digital tools thrived, those that had not saw revenue evaporate. Maika’s 800 percent e-commerce growth after a concentrated investment in paid digital marketing offers a clear example of how digital capability functions as an accelerator.

Digital capability is not merely about having a website or social media presence. It requires data-driven customer acquisition, a tested conversion funnel, and logistic capacity to fulfill orders reliably. When wholesale channels collapsed, brands that had built direct-to-consumer funnels could immediately reach customers through email, paid search, and social channels. Those invested in customer relationship management and digital attribution were better able to optimize advertising spend and improve lifetime value.

The foundation’s online curriculum emphasizes these skills: running digital experiments, interpreting performance metrics, and building scalable fulfillment operations. Scaling a digital channel can also be a prerequisite for institutional shoppers and corporate procurement, which often require proof of consistent demand and reliable logistics.

Digital transformation also requires an internal shift. Teams must adopt a test-and-learn mindset, incorporate analytics into daily operations and prioritize customer service at scale. Companies that did this during the pandemic emerged with stronger brands and defensible unit economics.

Airports, Retail Channels and the Power of Strategic Distribution

Half Moon Empanadas’ decision to pursue airports as a growth channel illustrates an underappreciated scaling strategy. Transit hubs and airports aggregate high-foot-traffic consumers and offer consistent demand. They also introduce brands to national and international audiences in a concentrated way.

Airport retail is capital-intensive and requires operational rigor: standardized product formats, supply chain reliability and compliance with concessionaire requirements. Yet brands that graduate into airports often see rapid revenue leaps because the channel substitutes for costly marketing by delivering soft demand in high volumes. When airports commit to a concept, the visibility and foot traffic generate spillover sales and brand recognition.

Other food brands have used airports and transit hubs to scale regionally and nationally. For retailers and food-service brands, these channels are distinct from typical retail because they have a built-in customer base and high purchase frequency. Successful entry into this space often hinges on capital readiness, a solid operations playbook and an ability to demonstrate consistent unit economics — all areas where mentorship and the Fellows network can help.

The Economics of Wage Policy and Inclusive Growth

Guzman’s focus on paying above-industry wages is a strategic decision with multiple payoffs. At $24.75 per hour, Half Moon Empanadas sets a standard that improves retention, reduces turnover costs and supports higher service quality. Those gains, in turn, support better customer experiences and more consistent product quality.

By building a workforce that is predominantly female and largely Hispanic, the company also generates local economic mobility. The multiplier effects of higher wages include greater consumer spending in local economies and improved household stability. In sectors where the average hourly wage is near $15.87, raising pay by nearly $9 an hour changes the trajectory for workers and their families.

Pay increases do not automatically reduce profitability if they are coupled with productivity improvements and a willingness to redesign the business model. Higher wages often require investments in training, process optimization and product standardization. When those investments pay off in lower turnover and higher per-customer spend, the business can sustain better wages. Funders and procurement partners increasingly evaluate suppliers on workforce standards, meaning pay policies can become advantageous in sales and contract negotiations.

Financial Headwinds: Funding Cuts, Bank Conservatism and the Need for New Pathways

Tiffany Dufu, president of the foundation, sounded a note of urgency: the work must scale because funding for small-business support is contracting nationally. That trend poses a direct threat to entrepreneurs who rely on public programs, non-profit coaching and subsidized training.

At the same time, private capital and banks remain cautious, particularly for businesses without long financial histories or collateral. That caution created a gap that foundations and corporate partners seek to fill. The Fellows model tackles lender hesitation by packaging mentorship and a trusted brand endorsement that short-circuits some of the trust gaps between small-business owners and institutional lenders.

Alternative paths to capital are proliferating: revenue-based financing, supply-chain lending, and corporate procurement contracts that come with upfront receivables. Foundations can accelerate access to these options by brokering relationships and helping businesses present the financials that matter. For scale, the field needs more partnerships that explicitly connect mission-driven founders with patient capital.

Anna Wintour’s Iconic Founder Award: Leadership Lessons and Cultural Reach

Anna Wintour received the Iconic Founder Award for institution-building rather than for founding a company in the narrow sense. Tory Burch characterized Wintour’s work as reimagining Vogue into a cultural and commercial force. Wintour’s remarks during the Q&A reflected a set of leadership principles that apply to entrepreneurs as much as to editors:

• Hire people who know their work and whom you like. Talent and chemistry matter in equal measure.
• Learn your craft before scaling. Wintour warned against jumping into business prematurely; she highlighted Tom Ford’s long apprenticeship as an example of how time in the trenches builds a strong point of view.
• Use crisis as a catalyst. Her recounting of actions after 9/11 and during the pandemic show how leaders can mobilize teams and resources to protect and reallocate value.
• Think beyond immediate returns. Wintour cited the Met Gala as an institution that supports designers, the Costume Institute and, indirectly, the city economy.

Wintour’s comments carry weight because they highlight the interplay between creative risk and commercial strategy. She advised younger creatives to develop a balance: make work that matters artistically, but also ensure it has commercial viability. Her counsel echoes earlier examples of leaders who built firms by mastering craft and then applying it in well-timed, high-impact ways.

Wintour also made a practical point about recruiting: she values people who bring curiosity and specificity to conversations. Interviews should reveal not only competence but passion. This aligns with the Fellows’ emphasis on narrative: entrepreneurs need to tell crisp, compelling stories to partners, investors and customers.

Posthumous Recognition: Olive Ann Beech and the Legacy of Women-Led Industry

The foundation honored Olive Ann Beech posthumously for her role in co-founding Beech Aircraft Corporation in 1932 and steering it to global prominence. Recognizing pioneers like Beech serves two functions: it connects contemporary entrepreneurship to historical precedents, and it reframes what “founder” means. Leadership can take the form of building institutions — whether a global media brand or an aircraft company — and those institutions extend influence across industries and communities.

Honoring Beech also surfaces the long arc of women in leadership roles. Despite systemic barriers, women have led industrial and commercial breakthroughs across the 20th century. That history strengthens the case for contemporary interventions that combine recognition with resources.

Corporate Philanthropy and Marketplace Mechanisms

The breakfast included corporate sponsors like Bank of America and Bloomberg Philanthropies, who contribute both funding and practical channels for Fellows. Bank of America’s Marketplace, for example, creates opportunities for Fellows to showcase products to a broader customer base. Corporate partners deliver distribution, procurement, and sometimes capital — resources that are often otherwise difficult for small firms to access.

Corporate partnerships are most effective when they offer reciprocal value. When a bank can present a curated roster of vetted suppliers, the institution reduces procurement costs and meets diversity goals. When a retailer can add high-performing, mission-driven brands to its assortment, it can differentiate its offering. The foundation’s role in this triangular relationship is to identify businesses ready to scale and to prepare them to meet corporate requirements.

Scaling the Model: From Evidence to Expansion

The foundation is scaling its intake and projecting growing impact. Expansion poses choices: maintain selective cohorts to preserve quality or increase volume to reach more entrepreneurs. The foundation appears to be pursuing a hybrid approach — growing cohort size while simultaneously expanding online offerings that reach a broader population.

Scaling also requires maintaining mentor quality and corporate engagement. High-touch mentorship is resource-intensive. To preserve outcomes at scale, the foundation will need to systematize mentor matching, create modular curricula, and build durable relationships with capital providers and corporate buyers. Data infrastructure — consistent metrics for revenue, jobs and wages — will be crucial to demonstrate continued impact.

Replication is feasible. Similar program designs have worked across sectors when three elements are present: targeted selection, practical curriculum, and credible market pathways (finance, procurement or distribution). The Tory Burch Foundation’s metrics provide a playbook other philanthropies and corporate programs can adapt.

Lessons for Entrepreneurs: Practical Takeaways from the Breakfast

Entrepreneurs listening to these stories can extract actionable measures:

• Build digital capacity proactively. Investment in paid media, conversion optimization and fulfillment systems enables rapid response to market disruptions and creates durable revenue channels.
• Cultivate credible mentors and leverage associations. A recognized fellowship or accelerator can reduce friction with banks and buyers. Mentors accelerate fundraising readiness and open doors to institutional capital.
• Prepare for distribution rigor. Expanding into airports, corporate procurement, or large retail requires robust operations, standardized products and clear unit economics.
• Think long-term about workforce strategy. Pay above the industry median when possible. Higher wages can reduce churn and improve service quality, indirectly boosting revenue.
• Tell a clear financial story. Lenders and investors look for clean, credible projections and an ability to explain capital needs succinctly.
• Use crisis as an inflection point. The firms honored at the breakfast pivoted productively during crises, converting constraints into opportunities.

These measures align with the Fellows’ curriculum and reflect a consistent pattern across the honorees: disciplined execution, credible narratives and strategic use of partnerships.

The Broader Policy Context: Why Philanthropic Interventions Matter Now

Public funding for small-business assistance has contracted in many jurisdictions, increasing the importance of nonprofit and corporate programs that can bridge the gap. Women-owned businesses face persistent financing gaps: lower average loan sizes, more frequent denials, and higher cost of capital. These barriers compound when founders are also from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.

Targeted philanthropic interventions can mitigate these gaps by subsidizing training, providing mentorship that transfers social capital, and connecting entrepreneurs to corporate buyers who can provide scalable demand. The efficacy of such interventions depends on measurable outcomes; the Tory Burch Foundation’s approach — tracking revenue and job creation — sets a useful standard for funders seeking results.

Policy makers can amplify these efforts by supporting capacity-building with grants and procurement goals that favor small, minority- and women-owned enterprises. Public-private partnerships that create reliable purchase orders or advance contracts can function as a form of growth capital for businesses ready to scale.

What Comes Next for the Foundation and Its Fellows

The foundation plans to increase its cohort size and deepen partnerships. That trajectory requires careful stewardship: preserving mentor quality, expanding capital pathways and maintaining rigorous measurement practices. If executed well, the expanded program could produce a new cohort of regional-scale companies that not only deliver revenue but also raise labor standards and increase economic mobility.

The foundation’s 2030 target of $1 billion in cumulative economic impact provides a horizon for donors and partners to align around. Achieving it will necessitate diversifying funding sources, automating parts of the curriculum without diluting quality, and creating formal pipelines to capital and corporate procurement.

The Founders Breakfast sent a clear signal: targeted interventions that combine mentorship, practical education and market access produce measurable economic outcomes. The next stage is about scale — turning lessons from a set of high-performing Fellows into a replicable approach that reaches thousands more.

FAQ

Q: Who is eligible for the Tory Burch Fellows program? A: The program targets growth-stage women entrepreneurs who have demonstrated traction and clear potential for scaling. Applicants typically show consistent revenue, a coherent business model, and an ambition to expand through new channels or scale operations. Selection is competitive and favors businesses that can benefit materially from mentorship, capital readiness coaching and access to corporate channels.

Q: What kind of support do Fellows receive? A: Fellows receive mentoring matched to their business needs, access to an extensive online learning curriculum, opportunities to connect with finance partners, and inclusion in marketplaces and corporate introductions. The program emphasizes practical skills: preparing financial projections, approaching lenders, recruiting talent and improving go-to-market strategies.

Q: How does the foundation measure impact? A: The foundation tracks revenue growth, jobs created, and other business outcomes for Fellows. It reports aggregate metrics such as cumulative economic impact (reported as $470 million to date toward a $1 billion goal), the number of jobs created, and user engagement in its Online Learning Center. These metrics form the basis for program evaluation and future funding decisions.

Q: How have Fellows used the program to access capital? A: Mentors help Fellows refine financial narratives and introduce them to banks, investors and alternative financing partners. The Tory Burch Fellows brand functions as a credibility signal in lender conversations, which can help overcome initial skepticism. Practical outcomes include securing lines of credit, loans, and sometimes investor commitments following improved financial readiness.

Q: Can early-stage founders benefit from the foundation’s resources? A: While the Fellows program is tailored to growth-stage businesses, the foundation’s Online Learning Center and webinars reach a broader audience, including early-stage founders. Those resources provide practical training on marketing, operations and finance that can prepare businesses for eventual admission to cohort-based support.

Q: How do corporate partnerships fit into the model? A: Corporate partners provide distribution channels, procurement opportunities and sometimes sponsorship or funding. Bank of America, for example, supports a marketplace that showcases Fellows’ products, while other corporate partners can offer procurement pathways that accelerate revenue growth for vetted suppliers.

Q: Does the foundation address workforce equity? A: Yes. Several Fellows have implemented pay and hiring policies that exceed industry standards, generating more stable workforces and improving community economic outcomes. The foundation emphasizes practices that lead to inclusive growth, and the honorees highlighted at the breakfast serve as examples of how better wages and diversity can align with profitable business models.

Q: How can interested entrepreneurs apply or learn more? A: Prospective applicants should review program criteria and prepare clear financial statements, a documented growth plan and a compelling narrative about market opportunity. Even before applying, entrepreneurs can engage with the foundation’s free online learning resources to strengthen capability in areas such as digital marketing, financial modeling and operations.

Q: What role does mentorship play in long-term success? A: Mentorship shortens learning curves, lends credibility in financial and commercial negotiations and accelerates strategic clarity. Fellows report that mentors helped them secure capital, navigate bank meetings, and adopt scalable processes. Mentorship also sustains founders through the psychological pressures of scaling a company.

Q: How does the foundation plan to scale without diluting impact? A: Scaling requires systematizing high-impact components: modular curriculum, robust mentor matching systems, expanded corporate partnerships and rigorous data collection. The foundation is increasing cohort sizes while building a larger online audience, aiming to preserve high-touch mentoring for Fellows while offering broader access to learning resources for the wider entrepreneur community.