SUCCESS INSIDER: Coffee creamer, tech, sneakerheads, Goldman Sachs, - Business Insider - Business Insider

Salary spreadsheets are one way workers can see how their pay stacks up against peers.

Lizzie Kardon, a working mom and head of content and engagement at tech company Pagely, created a spreadsheet for women in tech to openly and anonymously share their salaries in the hopes of closing the wage gap. More than 500 women have already contributed to it in just three weeks.

Here's how she started it, and what it looks like.

This week we have details on how to get your foot in the door at some of the most competitive Wall Street firms, tips from two sneakerheads on how they grew their resale business, and a business plan from an entrepreneur that bootstrapped a $250,000 fashion line.

If you ask John McPheters and Jed Stiller their best advice for entrepreneurs looking to grow a successful business, they would say that the key is finding a good partner. Together the pair grew and then sold their startup Stadium Goods for $250 million. Sneaker resale companies are wildly popular right now and the market is expected to reach $6 billion by 2025, according to a Cowen & Co. analysis.

Here's how they found success in the multi-billion dollar resale sneaker market.

Nutpods — Madeline Haydon, Seattle, WA — Madeline Haydon is founder and CEO of Nutpods.

How do you take your coffee?

Personally, I take mine black, but younger generations really like creamer. So much so that demand for more flavor options drove sales of liquid coffee creamer to $3 billion last year, up 9% from the year prior, according to research from Nielsen.

Plant-based products saw the strongest growth of all, with an increase of 30% for the year, and Seattle-based Nutpods, Amazon's first-ever Small Business of the Year, is capitalizing on this trend. Founder and CEO Madeline Haydon told Business Insider how she took her plant-based recipe from her home kitchen to national distribution just six years.

Read more here.

Twenty-two-year-old Australian designer Lisa Qu bootstrapped her clothing line during her junior year in college. When she needed more funding, she wrote a 53-page business plan used it to pitch her parents. They loaned her their retirement savings and now her business is making six figures. She used the same business plan to secure a coveted US investor visa.

Read the exact plan that helped her do it.

wall street bankers — If you want to land a job on Wall Street you have to get into recruiters exclusive databases.

If you want to get hired at a major Wall Street investment bank like Goldman Sachs, it helps to be in a recruiter's database. Erica Keswin, a former Wall Street headhunter, told Business Insider that you can finesse your way in by getting your name on these exclusive lists. If you leverage your network, you can identify hidden job listings and potentially land VP opportunities.

Here's how to get on the shortlist.

Companies across a variety of industries are trying to keep pace with rapid technological changes — and that translates directly to their hiring strategy. Execs say they look for adaptability in job candidates, meaning people who are flexible and can work independently.

Here are three questions to ask yourself to see if you're what they're looking for.