Charles Morgan The Forbes Newsletter for Doers + Latest Entrepreneurial Movers and Shakers

Here's how she leads the biggest business empire in hip hop.

Adobe Systems is king of its hill in content creation software. But it’s embarked on a course of expensive expansionism into analytics and e-commerce. Why? In the software world, there is always the risk that some larger company will either wrap a competing product into a larger suite you don’t offer. Or, worse, give away for free what you’re selling.

Growing up in a small town in Puerto Rico, Hernandez didn’t exactly fit in at school. While his academic performance was poor, he knew early on he had another calling in life. This army veteran went from selling water on the street to building multi-million dollar online business. 

Michelle Cordeiro-Grant left her senior post at Victoria’s Secret to launch Lively, a direct-to-consumer lingerie startup aiming to challenge the traditional branding and design of women’s intimate apparel. 

Raised in a military family, Amari Ruff literally saw the world. At 16, his father left Amari’s mom to raise their three children, forcing Amari to balance a heavy work schedule with the demands of High School. Realizing he had a knack for establishing relationships and crafting mutually beneficial business deals, Amari began a trucking company in 2010, with $300 and a 1990 Ford Ranger. The rest is history.