The Most Influential Women in Technology 2011 - Entrepreneurs

Founder, Adafruit Industries

Limor Fried was the sort of third-grader who took apart VCRs for fun. Gradually, she discovered that a hobby could become a degree -- a bachelor's and then a master's in electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. Finally, she discovered it could become a business. During her student years, Fried would post photographs and detailed instructions of her latest experiments in hardware hacking. First, she built an audience, and then a company, Adafruit Industries.

Prerna Gupta

CEO, Khush Inc.

Most young college grads don't mind putting in long hours to work on someone else's product. Consultant-turned-blogger and musician Prerna Gupta, however, is far too independent for that.

Alexa Hirschfeld

Co-Founder, Paperless Post

Would people use the Internet to send wedding invites? That was the question Alexa and James Hirschfeld's formal digital invitation service Paperless Post hinged on. "People don't use Evite or Facebook events for their weddings," Alexa says. "But they do use Paperless Post. It's the sign of a paradigm because it is the most momentous occasion in most people's lives...

Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss

Co-Founders, Rent The Runway

Technology may seem like an unlikely partner to fashion, but Jenn Hyman and Jenny Fleiss couldn't do business without it. The duo's e-commerce company Rent the Runway allows women across America to rent instead of purchasing luxury designer dresses and accessories, and with it Hyman and Fleiss aim to revolutionize the fashion industry.

Julia Kaganskiy

Editor, The Creators Project

Julia Kaganskiy wants a revolution. "The arts are primed for some creative disruption by means of technology," she argues. "Part of the reason it hasn't really happened yet is so many arts institutions are afraid to open up the floodgates to social media because they're afraid of diluting their authority."