Carissa Reiniger founded Silver Lining in 2005 after discovering a deep calling to help small business owners succeed – not through traditional coaching or mentorship, but through a behavior-change science methodology she developed called the SLAP™ (Silver Lining Action Plan). Built on 400 interviews with real business owners and grounded in psychology, the platform has now supported more than 17,000 small businesses across 81 countries, helped create over 100,000 jobs, and generated $7 billion in capital for its customers. She walked away from VC term sheets to build it her way, and she has never looked back.

On a mission to change the narrative around entrepreneurship, she’s spent nearly two decades proving that the most important businesses in the world aren’t the unicorns making headlines, but the small business owners quietly driving 70% of global employment.

Carissa is a 2024 YPO Global Impact Award honoree, a champion of economic justice, and one of the most compelling voices in small business today.