Carroll Businesses Named One of The Daily Record’s “Best Women-Owned Businesses 2026”

Alderson Loop

Alderson Loop has spent 12 years building a reputation as a trusted consulting partner across technology, creative and business operations engagements. The firm offers advisory, deliverable-based and staff-augmentation services to a client base that spans from startups to Fortune 500 companies, with a consistent emphasis on generating measurable business impact.

President Lauren Asghari founded and leads the 100%-women-owned firm, which now employs 115 people and recorded more than $20.5 million in revenue in its most recent completed fiscal year. Asghari has described the company’s women-owned status as one dimension of a broader leadership story — a reflection of the persistence required to build a sustainable enterprise from the ground up rather than a defining characteristic of the business itself. Her focus, she says, remains on serving customers and employees well while contributing to a larger conversation about what women-led leadership can look like.

That commitment extends into the broader professional community. Asghari is an active member of the Women Presidents Organization and hosts the “How’d Her Career Get There?” podcast, exploring the personal and professional journeys of female leaders. She also makes herself available to other founders and women in the community who seek guidance from her experience.

With nearly a century in business, Unitec Distribution Systems Inc. has built its reputation on enterprise uniform sourcing, fulfillment and management, and is now channeling that legacy into a new era of technology-driven service.

President and CEO Elise Elfman leads the 20-person firm, which is 54% women-owned. Under her direction, Unitec has combined deep compliance expertise with the launch of Proximity, a proprietary uniform management platform designed to simplify complex apparel programs for enterprise clients. Elfman counts the development and rollout of that platform among her proudest achievements, alongside investments in expanded sales channels and strengthened internal systems and processes.

Operating in an industry in which women remain underrepresented, Elfman has made leadership development and mentorship central. She works directly with women entering the workforce after college, offering guidance and professional insight as they establish their careers. That commitment extends inward as well. Unitec fosters an environment built around collaboration and opportunity, with an eye toward building the next generation of women business leaders.

The company’s growth has not come without challenges. Elfman acknowledges the persistent work of building trust and expanding opportunity in a competitive market and credits those pressures with sharpening the organization’s vision and reinforcing its service standards. The result, she notes, is a team that blends institutional experience with emerging talent, a combination she describes as the foundation for the company’s next chapter.

Source: The Daily Record
Honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by forms completed by the honoree. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.