At five feet tall, Amy Norman has periodically been misjudged or overlooked. Even after earning an MBA from one of the most prestigious business schools in the country, she was told she did not have enough gravitas.

She felt self-conscious using some stellar credentials to start a business focused on children, and every venture capital firm she spoke with turned her down. But she just kept going—for 14 years, 15 million units sold, and onto a successful sale of that company—the first of two she would found.

Amy is honest about how hard it was. She tells the women who want to become founders and come to her for advice that the idea that you can have it all—a high-growth company, a family, and all the time you'd want for other people and pursuits—is a myth. But you can, she insists, define what's most meaningful for you, then shape your ...