Local entrepreneur Michelle Buelow is in good company on Inc.'s annual Female Founders 100 list.
Buelow is the founder and chief executive officer of Charlotte-based baby accessories company Bella Tunno. She was named to the 2021 list alongside 99 other women founders, including former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams and actress Viola Davis. Rebundle founder Ciara Imani May, who launched her startup in Charlotte in 2019 before relocating to St. Louis, also landed on the list.
"I’m thrilled at the spotlight this puts on not just me but female founders who are doing good things. It’s pretty amazing what women are out there doing." Buelow said. "I really get excited about the idea that women are getting to be heard and women who have found their voice are being recognized."
The founders were sorted into one of six categories. Buelow was recognized in the "Made the World Better" category.
"For me to be recognized in that category, for why I feel like I exist in this world, meant the world," she said.
The company earned B Corp status last summer, making it one of only a handful in Charlotte to hold the designation. To become a B Corp, a company’s purpose and profit must be of equal importance. For Buelow, Bella Tunno's purpose is everything. She launched the company in 2005 to honor her late brother, Matt Tunno, who died from drug addiction.
"I wanted to celebrate all those good things about him, and I think too often when people die from something like addiction or suicide, this dark cloud just hovers over every single mention of their name, and that's just not what defines him," she told Inno.
Years later, Bella Tunno's mission evolved. Though the company still does work to fight against the stigma of addiction, its main focus is feeding hungry children around the world. For every sale, the company donates one meal to a child through partnerships with Feeding America and the Global FoodBanking Network.
Buelow said they've continued that fight throughout the pandemic and came out the other side better than where they started. Though she can't disclose names yet, Buelow said Bella Tunno will launch with two major retailers early next year.
"With that growth comes the opportunity to give more meals ... There's never been a time in our company's history that meals are needed more," she said. "We made this choice that we weren't going to sit and wait for things to be over. We were going to try to be clever and put effort into product development and give people a reason to come to us, and it’s paying off."
