ABOUT
Leslie Feinzaig is the founder and Managing Director of Graham & Walker, an early stage VC fund investing in tech that solves deeply human problems across work, health and care, and the Female Founders Alliance, the largest and most engaged community of its kind in the US. She is also a sought after speaker, and a contributor for Fortune, Fast Company and Techcrunch, where she writes about innovation, venture capital, entrepreneurship and women in tech.
Born and raised in Costa Rica, Leslie moved to America in 2005 to attend Harvard Business School, where she received a full scholarship. Immediately following, she worked under renowned HBS Professor and influential economist Clayton Christensen, helping companies identify and deflect disruptive innovations in their space, and launch their own disruptive businesses. Building on that experience, Leslie spent a decade launching products and businesses across consumer tech, digital entertainment, gaming, ecommerce, and early VR/AR.
In 2016, following the birth of her oldest daughter, Leslie launched her first startup. As she attempted to raise venture capital later that year, she started connecting with other women CEOs of tech startups that were on a similar journey. This was the birth of Female Founders Alliance, which started as a 25-person Facebook group, and today counts more than 50k people, including 4k women-founded startups and 1k investors, activated through programs and events across all major US tech hubs. Their highly sought after startup readiness programs have supported 400 women and non-binary founders who've gone on to raise more than $100M in early stage capital from VC funds across the country.
Leslie has earned multiple accolades for this work. She was named one of Forbes Magazine's Most Powerful Women from Central America, "Industry Disruptor" by USA Today, Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100, Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40, Geekwire Impact Awardee, and Seattle Magazine's Most Influential People. Leslie serves on the Boards of the Washington Technology Industry Association, the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, and the Harvard Business School Equity and Entrepreneurship Initiative Alumni Advisory Board.
Leslie has a Bachelor's degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and two young daughters, and spends as much time as possible with her family in Costa Rica.
OPEDS
All I want for International Women’s Day: No more female founder takedowns.
I had all of my capital held up in Silicon Valley Bank as it collapsed. It showed me that the grittiest entrepreneurs will survive the VC winter.
Techcrunch
3 ways founders can turn feedback into action
5 pieces of advice to help early stage founders navigate the months ahead
Techcrunch
Early stage fundraising is a tale of two planets
The differences between angel investors and VCs
Fast Company
A great disruption is coming for venture capital
Two girls walk into a job fair (or why I raised a VC fund)
Why it's incredibly rare for companies led by women to IPO
New data shows the number of women-led VC funds is exploding
Three ways VC firms can construct sustainably diverse portfolios
The pandemic is deterring women from becoming entrepreneurs
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing feels like millions of women have lost their bubbie
Startup accelerators don’t work for female founders. Here’s how to fix that
I run an accelerator. Here are 4 things startups can learn from rejection.
I am a working mom and CEO who’s worked under pandemic conditions. Here’s why productivity is a myth.
SPEAKING
RECENT PRESS
7 first time funds see an advantage in this market
We Rise: HBS alumnae and faculty weigh in on what it would take to close venture capital’s long-standing gender gap
The VC who believes investing in women is good business
Leslie Feinzaig se presenta en la Vivencia ALAS
The Women Writing Checks
CONTACT ME
Contact me for partnership, press, and speaking engagements.