Our Mission
Our mission is to accelerate the success of venture-scale, women and non-binary founded companies.
Our Vision
We envision a future where the demographic makeup of business owners and leaders is reflective of the world.
Our Story
In February 2017, founder Leslie Feinzaig hit a wall. She’d been pitching her ed tech startup in all the right places, showcasing organic growth and enviable customer testimonials. But something felt off. Her founding experience was nothing like the male CEOs she had advised and mentored through the years.
One day, on instinct, she started a Facebook group for current, active, venture-scale female founders only – founders who were on the same journey she was. This select group started sharing tips and introductions and inviting their fellow founders to join. Soon, this grassroots yet curated community grew beyond the bounds of Leslie’s Seattle, WA homebase. It was clear this was something special. That’s how the Female Founders Alliance was born.
FFA was later incorporated as a Social Purpose Corporation, and began admitting founders from across North America to its online founders network in early 2018. Last fall, FFA launched its innovative accelerator designed by female founders, for female founders, with the mission of helping a select group of women CEOs raise their first round of venture financing.
Today, FFA counts hundreds of companies from 30+ states in its founders network, and thousands of individuals in our extended community. In 2019, we will leverage world-class partnerships and expand our programming even more to reach women and non-binary founders everywhere they are. Whether you’re a founder, an investor, or just someone who wants to , we hope you’ll join us!
Why We Do What We Do
Women start businesses at 3x rate of men, but get only 2% of venture capital.
Venture-backed startups have the worst gender gap in the economy.
Even though female-founded startups outperform all-male teams in revenue & ROI.
The odds for women to raise venture capital are low. Very, very low.
Our Team
Leslie Feinzaig
Founder & CEO
Leslie Feinzaig was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica, where her family — and her heart — still live to this day. She’s the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees who were refused entry into the U.S. in the 1930’s. Through generations, her family leaned on entrepreneurship, hard work and education to settle into their new home — values that, until recently, were mostly reserved for the males in the family.
After attending a British school in Costa Rica through elementary and high school, Leslie was fortunate to be admitted to the London School of Economics, where she learned about economics, sociology, business and labor relations, and graduated with honors. Her senior thesis was entitled “Women’s Preference, Women’s Choice: An Analysis of the Forces Behind Gender Inequality at Work.”
Having failed to secure a visa to work abroad, in the midst of the dot-com bust and the aftermath of 9/11, Leslie returned home. Her first job — outside of working for the family business — was as an analyst at Procter & Gamble. Even at this renowned multinational company, her first paycheck was well below Costa Rica’s minimum taxable income. In the years that followed, despite earning promotions and awards, that paycheck never got much higher.
In 2005, Leslie was admitted to Harvard Business School and awarded a full scholarship from that institution. The opportunity and experience were life-changing. Following graduation, she joined HBS Professor and Innovator’s Dilemma author Clayton Christensen at his consulting firm, Innosight, were she advised clients on innovation and growth strategy. She later held product leadership roles at Microsoft’s Online Services and Xbox divisions.
After securing permanent residency in the U.S. — and with it, the ability to switch jobs and join smaller companies — Leslie moved into tech startups. She led product management and marketing at Big Fish Games, going into their $1 billion acquisition. She then joined Julep Beauty, an Andreessen-Horowitz backed ecommerce startup, leading product management, front-end engineering, and digital marketing. She left Julep in 2015 to start her own company.
The following year, when her daughter was 6 months old, Leslie launched Venture Kits — games that develop leadership skills through play. Her one-of-a-kind, inspirational concept quickly garnered critical acclaim and customer love. The experience of raising capital for this company, coupled with the realization that only two percent of venture capital is invested in female founders in the US, propelled Leslie to start the Female Founders Alliance in 2017.
Today, Leslie leads FFA full time, dedicated to her personal mission of creating a more just world for her daughter. She was named one of Forbes Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women from Central America & the Caribbean, Seattle Magazine’s Most Influential People, and Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. She’s a frequent speaker at events like TEDx Pura Vida, SXSW Interactive, Geekwire Summit, NW Angel Capital Conference, Seattle Magazine’s Daring Women, and more. Her writing has been featured in publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, and AllthingsD. She lives in Seattle, Wash. with her husband and 3-year old daughter.
Rohre W.B. Titcomb
Vice President of Operations
Rohre, our Vice President of Operations, has founded four companies in the past decade and continues to serve on the board of three of them. She is a five-time World Champion in Ultimate Frisbee, and the founder and owner of Seattle’s professional Ultimate Frisbee team, the Cascades.
Samantha Agee
Vice President of Business Alliances
Samantha, our Vice President of Business Alliances, is a tech and startup veteran with 20 years of experience in business growth, channel development and management, and sales management.
Sara LeHoullier
Digital Marketing Consultant (Simplicity Consulting)
From Peace Corps English Teacher (in Madagascar), to author, to International Development Specialist, to Business Optimization Consultant, to Website Designer and Copywriter, Sara’s list of job titles has varied widely. There is a thread that ties it all together – her passion for social change, sustainable business, and creating space for conversations that improve the way we work and live on this planet.
She joins the FFA team as a Simplicity Consultant, and is honored to be an element of their sponsorship of this incredible organization.
Flora Ku
Program Manager
Flora Ku’s entire professional career has been centered around supporting startups and entrepreneurs. She joins FFA with 8 years experience from the University of Washington’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, managing event logistics, supporting student innovations, and overall making sure the ship runs smoothly. With a passion for diversity, inclusion, and equity, she’s excited to support women and non-binary entrepreneurs!
Maureen Villalobos Vargas
Graphic Designer
Maureen, our graphic designer, lives in San José, Costa Rica. She has over 10 years experience in advertising design, branding, packaging and social media. She herself is also a female founder who runs her own graphic design studio in Costa Rica which specializes in branding for entrepreneurs and small companies.
Maureen has been working with FFA from the very beginning (!) and nature, trekking and traveling are her passions outside of work.
Opportunities
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FFA provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or gender. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Press Inquiries
contact us at team@femalefounders.org for more information