It didn’t occur to me to write a blog post in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month because, up until recently, I wasn’t Hispanic American. I was just Hispanic. I was born and raised in Costa Rica, a tiny nation that nonetheless knows leadership. Even as every one of our neighbors spiraled into dictatorships and […] [...]
There’s a trend we’ve noticed among the grittiest founders: once they fall in love with an idea, they become determined and refuse to ever admit defeat. Normally this is the stuff of success stories. But there’s a troubling side to it too – founders that keep going, working on it slowly for years, without ever […] [...]
Today is a special day. And not just because it’s Monday! We are down to the final hours of the application period for Ready Set Raise 2019. In just under two days, once all your data is in, we get to learn about hundreds of companies led by women and non-binary founders. Because of them, […] [...]
My daughter turned two months old yesterday, and even though we are still squarely in the “fourth trimester” stage, this is when most moms in the US prepare to go back to work. Assuming, that is, they had the privilege of taking any time off at all. How do women CEOs take maternity leave? If […] [...]
New babies come with gifts. That’s what my mom always says. My daughter Dora was born just over three years ago – three spectacularly life-changing years. Soon after she was born, I realized that I didn’t have it in me to be a stay at home mom. I missed work too much, too soon. But […] [...]
I am 39 weeks pregnant. One night last August, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive. It was welcome. It was also unplanned. The very next day FFA kicked off Ready Set Raise, our accelerator program for venture-scale companies with women and non-binary founders, for the very first time. Lucky for me, I was […] [...]
They say that life begins at the edge of your comfort zone. I’ve been living at the edge of my comfort zone for more than three years. There are days, like today, when I lean so far outside the edge of my comfort zone that it feels like I’m falling off. It feels like fear. […] [...]
On April 4, 2019, 350 people gathered for the second annual Champion Awards, presented by the Female Founders Alliance and Reverb, in Seattle, Wash., to honor the people and organizations who are making an impact on gender equity. Founder and CEO of the Female Founders Alliance, Leslie Feinzaig, at 37 weeks pregnant with her second […] [...]
There’s a subject so taboo in startups that only the ultra-successful are willing to openly talk about it: Slowing down. In an industry that glorifies hustle, brutal work schedules, and “crushing” results, it’s hard for a founder to admit when they need to slow down. You know you’ll be judged, and you might miss out […] [...]
Yesterday I gave a keynote speech in front of an 80% male audience. That’s not an unusual statement. I’m a reluctantly frequent speaker. And I work in the tech and startup ecosystem, where most audiences are overwhelmingly male. And yet: Yesterday I gave a keynote speech in front of an 80% male audience. I am […] [...]
