How these Upstate women began their entrepreneur journeys.

Just more than 40% of entrepreneurs in the United States are women.

For Women's History Month, NEXT hosted a Women in Innovation Panel, featuring some of Greenville's most innovative and influential women, who shared their stories of resilience and success in a world primarily dominated by men.

Panelists included Nathalie Baulain, innovation lead at Michelin and founder of Nathurally Stylish LLC, a company that helps artisans from third-world countries access a larger market; Nicole Johnson, co-founder of Boyd Cycling, a craft wheel manufacturer dedicated to producing high-quality bike wheels; Erin Mehagan, founder of Livi Lu Lane, a women's intimates company created to empower women to create the shape they want when they want it; and Cecilia Zapata-Harms, chief business intelligence officer at Sync.MD, a mobile solution and cloud-based dashboards for secure verification of identity, document storage and document sharing, and co-founder and managing partner of 3rdEyeBio LLC, an accelerator supporting life science innovators.

Each of these women shared why they became entrepreneurs. Most of them said they didn't necessarily plan on being business owners but fell into it to meet the needs of others going through what they faced at the time of their startups.

"I want to cure the world," said Zapata-Harms, who has a background in cancer research and life sciences. "I want to be an influence for other women entrepreneurs, and I want to get rid of cancer."

Zapata-Harms said she is a prime believer in women who start companies to be mentors to others.

"It makes a big difference if you are a woman founder," she said.

And the business support system in South Carolina is unmatched, she added.

"The support you get not just from other business owners but legislative and other partners in this state, there is nothing like it," she said. "And I'm going to be honest, getting funding is really hard."

Zapata-Harms she has businesses failures, but success comes with mentorship and being fearless.

"Take the time to have an understanding of who you are, what you're passionate about, and where you want to go," she said. "And keep that with you, especially through the bad days."

Livi Lu Lane is named after Mehagan's three girls, not only their names but her journey following birth.

"Everything about Livi Lu Lane represents my personal journey and experience I went through when I had the inability to solve a problem I was having after having three children,"...