By Jill Nagy

Heidi Owen West’s entrepreneurial spirit manifested itself early. 

At 16, she began working at concessions at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and “I loved it…loved working with people,” she said. 

She continued at SPAC through high school and college. Also, while still in high school, she worked at Filene’s department store in Albany. When she was in college, she worked with her mother,  Kay Owen, herself a serial entrepreneur, at her mother’s business, Indulgence Cafe and Bakery.

Owen West describes her mother as an “entrepreneur at heart” who left a state job to open the cafe and bakery. She sees a “lineage of entrepreneurial spirit” running through her family.

Mother and daughter abandoned the bakery and cafe in the late 1990s to open Lifestyles of Saratoga, a women’s apparel store at 436 Broadway. The store, according to Owen West, offers a “curated selection” of sustainable women’s brands, the best known of which is Eileen Fisher. The store carries several small batch brands and tries to meet the needs of women of all body types and sizes and offers a broad selection price-wise, Owen West noted.

As Lifestyles began bursting its seams, the space next door became available and Caroline and Main was born, a shop catering to a somewhat younger and more contemporary clientele. She begun designing some of her own products, working with local designers, and bringing in local bands of items like jewelry and candles. 

Meanwhile, a seating area at Lifestyles began filling up with men, West recalls. 

“They wanted their own space,” she said. 

By Christine Graf

After two decades of working in the non-profit sector, Schenectady native Sabrina Houser established Capital CFO+ in 2017. The Saratoga Springs-based company provides business management solutions to companies and non-profits of all sizes. 

“We focus on five key areas–accounting, marketing, administrative services, business management services, and non-profit management services,” said Houser. “Our services include human resources, payroll, recruitment, grant writing, and leadership training.” 

Prior to opening her own company, Houser was the CEO and CFO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region. It was while working there that she came up with the idea of opening her own business. 

During the past seven years, Capital CFO+ has experienced rapid growth. Houser now has 40 employees, all of whom work remotely as well as on-site with clients. Her staff includes five directors, each director responsible for one of the five services the company offers. 

According to Houser, Capital CFO+ has a diverse client base, one that is split equally between companies and non-profits.

“Our clients include doctors, lawyers, construction companies, and property management companies. On the non-profit side, we have youth organizations, historic organizations, and foundations. We also have a couple of universities that partner with us for their foundations.”

Each one of the company’s clients has unique needs, enlisting Capital CFO+ for as many or as few hours as necessary. 

By Ann Donnelly

Shipology, a woman-owned fulfillment center, is making waves in the e-commerce industry by providing essential logistics services to small businesses. 

Founded in 2020, Shipology offers a range of services, including warehousing, inventory management, and shipping, to help entrepreneurs streamline their operations and focus on growing their businesses.

The idea for Shipology was born from the founders’ own experiences running e-commerce businesses. Keri Wytrwal, who was working as a marketing professional, started Wetplants.com to sell high-quality aquatic plants online from her home. After encountering significant challenges with shipping time frames and costs, she reached out to friend Amanda Schermerhorn, who was working as a director of operations for an e-commerce company. According to Wytrwal, “I went to Amanda’s house in tears because over 40 percent of my orders one week arrived dead because they took over two weeks to ship to clients.”