When Kathryn Finney started her wildly successful site “The Budget Fashionista ” in the summer of 2003, she had no idea she was creating a movement.
Kathryn’s frank advice and Midwestern charm turned a small site about looking fabulous on a budget into one of the top fashion sites on the Internet.
The release of her Amazon best-selling book, How to Be a Budget Fashionista- The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous For Less (Random House/Ballantine Books) made her the first fashion blogger to receive a book deal from a major publishing house. The book is currently in its 6thprinting.
Kathryn has been profiled in The New York Times, O Magazine, Instyle, People, Wall Street Journal, Essence, Redbook, Sister 2 Sister, and over 500 other print publications. She’s also a frequent style contributor to television shows such as NBC’s TODAY Show, CNN Headline News, E! News and ABC’s Good Morning America and has served as a spokesperson for top brands including Febreze, Paypal, Rightfit, Marshalls/TJ Maxx and Sears.
As a top keynote speaker, Kathryn gives over 30 presentations per year, on topics such as entrepreneurship, new media and women, and challenges facing women leaders. She’s been a keynote speaker at top conferences such as SXSW Interactive, Black Enterprise Small Business Conference, Blogher Business, Women Funding Network, and Professional Business Women’s Conference.
An honors graduate of Yale University and Rutgers University, Kathryn continues to receive numerous honors for her work, including selection as one of America’s Smartest Shoppers (Style Network), and Essence Magazine “Woman of Style”, one of Silicon Alley’s Top 100 People in Technology, one of the 100 Most Useful Websites by MSN Money and listed as a “favorite” blog by publications as diverse as Real Simple Magazine, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and Women’s Wear Daily.
Kathryn is a strong supporter of projects that improve the lives of women and of projects that increase access to technology in African and African-American communities . She’s a founder and trustee of the Robert Finney Technology Fund, a fund created in honor of her late father, Robert, who was an engineer at Microsoft and EMC2. The fund provides scholarships to African-American high school and college students pursuing studies in technology related fields.
Kathryn lives in New York City, with her husband and 35 pairs of shoes.
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Short Bio (less than 200 Words)
Kathryn Finney is the founder of TheBudgetFashionista.com and CEO of TBF Group, LLC, parent company of Simply Good Media, an information network with the sole mission to teach you how to live your best on less. Founded in 2003, the network’s flagship property is The Budget Fashionista, one of the most popular and influential fashion blogs, reaching a global audience of more than five million+ unique visitors a year. An honors graduate of Yale and Rutgers Universities, Kathryn has been featured in more than 600 media outlets, including TODAY show, Good Morning America, CNN, E!/Style, Fox News and has been profiled numerous times leading publications including the New York Times, USA TODAY, the Wall Street Journal, and InStyle.Kathryn is considered an expert in building branded, women-centered online properties and is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences such as Blogher Business, South by Southwest (SXSW), New York Women in Communications, Women’s Funding Network, and numerous colleges and universities. She is a founder and trustee of The Robert Finney Foundation and serves on the board of the Hudson Guild. A Minneapolis native, Kathryn lives in New York City with her husband and 35 shoes.