The 24-year old jewelry designer, whose rings have been spotted on Serena Williams and Meghan Markle, uses half her profits to fund female entrepreneurs

• Shilpa Yarlagadda, 24, is the founder of fine jewelry line Shiffon.
• The brand is known for its spiral pinky rings, which represent the pinky promise to support and empower women.
• Meghan Markle wore the duet pinky ring on the cover of Time for its 100 'most influential' people list.

This article was originally published on November 4th, 2020. On September 14th, 2021 Meghan Markle wore Shiffon jewelry on the cover of Times' 100 Most Influential List. This article has been updated to reflect that.

When Shilpa Yarlagadda was in between her freshman and sophomore years at Harvard, she had an idea.

At the time, she was a computer science major with no experience in jewelry. She did, however, have the desire to make a change. In Indian culture, jewelry holds great sentimental value and is something that is typically passed down for generations, said Yarlagadda. And as a Silicon Valley native, Yarlagadda grew up close to one of the US' venture capital hotspots. Her idea was a jewelry business that would also "give women access to venture capital and opportunities beyond the capital," she told Insider in a 2020 interview.

She took $5,000 in savings and $20,000 she won from a grant in high school to launch fine jewelry company Shiffon in 2017. Half of Shiffon's profits are given to the company's nonprofit organization, the Startup Girl Foundation, which focuses on funding female-owned businesses.

The Startup Girl Foundation takes equity in each company it invests in and all returns go back to the foundation so it can invest in more businesses. "Twenty-five thousand sounded like a lot of money, but now growing and seeing what other founders are able to do, I'm realizing it actually wasn't," she said. "We had to be really resourceful in what we did."

Now 24 years old, Yarlagadda's business is thriving - along with the companies she invested in - and her jewelry has been spotted on Emma Watson, Kate Moss, Serena Williams, Amanda Gorman, and Shailene Woodley. Recently, Meghan Markle wore a Shiffon ring on the cover of Times' 2021 100 'most influential' people issue, which she shared with husband Prince Harry.

Last November, Shiffon partnered with When We All Vote - co-chaired by Michelle Obama - to create a line of jewelry encouraging people to vote.

"In the boardrooms, women are still not given a fair and equal say," Yarlagadda said. "We wanted to inspire and remind women how hard they work to get these rights and that their voice matters."

Shiffon rings have a symbolic meaning

Shiffon's most famous product is the Pinky Ring, a version of which the Duchess of Sussex sported on her Times cover.

It's a pinky ring to represent the pinky promise that women will pay it forward to other women and is adjustable so it can fit everyone, Yarlagadda said.

Priced between $155 and $780, the ring's spiral designs represent how the company aims to help women spiral upward. Those who buy the rings unlock a secret menu that gives them access to more Shiffon products.

This year the company also expanded into creating hoop earrings in which 19.65% of profits will be invested back into female businesses through the Startup Girl Foundation. The year 1965 was the year the Voting Rights Act passed, which protected voting rights for all women - especially those of color.

To date, profits from Shiffon have gone to support 11 startups, including the bra company Pepper and the espadrille brand Sea Star Beachwear, Yarlagadda said. This kind of investment is sorely needed: Last year, just 2.3% of VC funding went to startups led by women, down from 2.8% the year prior. That number is even more dismal for women of color.

"If we can create exponential growth and a chain reaction, it's going to help us reach equality in the venture capital and business ecosystem sooner," Yarlagadda said.

Providing mentorship opportunities is also key for female entrepreneurs

Shiffon has a mentorship board including stylist Sarah Slutsky, Obama's stylist Meredith Koop, photographers Inez & Vinoodh, and former Elle Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers, who also advise the founders that Startup Girl Foundation invests in.

Mentorship has played a big part in Yarlagadda's career, and it's almost as important for young entrepreneurs to receive mentorship as it is to receive capital, she said.

"Having key advice from people who've been there before and people that you look up to can just really make a huge difference," Yarlagadda added.

Her own mentorship journey began in the early days of her business when she started contacting people she looked up to, including Slutsky, who is best known for working with celebrities like Emma Watson and Tory Burch.

It was Slutsky who, in addition to providing mentorship, taught Yarlagadda about the Kimberley Process - a certification scheme that requires participants to source conflict-free diamonds - and helped her find diamonds.

Yarlagadda has also been a mentor to the female founders who are part of her foundation, including Trisha Goyal, founder of tennis company Break The Love.

Founded in 2019, the company seeks to make tennis more accessible and has worked with Burch, sports equipment company Wilson, and received capital from Adidas' venture fund. Goyal told Insider the foundation has given her resources on how to stand out in the male-dominated sports industry, and that Yarlagadda has reminded her that each small win is an important win for every person who comes after her.

"We jumped through so many hoops to get here and there are so many more hoops to come," Yarlagadda said. "We're going to have to continue advocating for women more, and I just like to remind women to use their voices, and that their voices matter."