This week, we are excited to host Ray’Chel Wilson, CEO of Raise the Bar Investments and ForOurLastNames. Formerly a teacher during the pandemic, Ray’Chel is now a dynamic founder bridging the gap between financial literacy and wealth building. She is the CEO of Raise the Bar Investments, guiding institutions in personal finance and productivity, and of the soon-to-launch ForOurLastNames, a gamified app empowering early career professionals to build generational wealth for their last names. Alongside these accomplishments, she is also an award-winning educator, published author, & international speaker, and her workbook series, Black Wealth Freedom, has impacted over 2000 readers in 7 different countries. In May, she was also featured in NASDAQ for small business month!

We loved discussing her journey from the classroom to entrepreneurship, the role of financial therapy in personal finance, and how her workbook series, Black Wealth Freedom, has inspired readers worldwide. Ray’Chel also opens up about her upcoming app, ForOurLastNames, and how it’s gamifying wealth-building for early career professionals. 

Whether you're a founder, a financial enthusiast, or just someone looking to level up your money game, this episode has something for you. We wish Ray’Chel all the best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

This week, we are excited to host Kaitlyn Albertoli, CEO and Co-founder of Buzz Solutions! Buzz Solutions is a visual asset intelligence platform that helps power utilities manage and analyze the vast amounts of visual data collected through drones, helicopters, and other inspection methods. 

After graduating Stanford with a background in finance, Kaitlyn worked as a wealth management analyst at JPMorgan Chase and has experience running a sustainable food nonprofit. In 2017, Kaitlyn co-founded Buzz Solutions with her Co-Founder, Vic Chaudhary, aiming to address the challenges utility companies faced in managing and analyzing their growing visual inspection data. Kaitlyn was named Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2021 and was recognized for her work in building Buzz and driving innovation in the utility infrastructure space.

We loved hearing Kaitlyn’s passion for sustainability, data innovation, and her mission to create space for more women in male-dominated industries. Her insights remind us of the transformative power of mentorship, diverse experiences, and finding the profession that speaks to your interests. We wish Kaitlyn all the best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

This week, we are excited to host Mary Grove, Managing Partner at Bread and Butter Ventures! Mary leads digital health and enterprise SaaS investing, bringing two decades of leadership in technology, early-stage investing, and building startup ecosystems. Mary’s career began with the Google IPO, and she went on to lead global business development at Google, negotiating product and tech deals worldwide. As the founding director of Google for Startups, she supported entrepreneurs in over 100 countries.

Following her 15 years at Google, Mary joined Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, where she led investments across healthcare, enterprise software, and fintech. She also co-founded Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that empowers young Minnesotans from underserved communities to pursue careers in tech.

In this episode, Mary shares her journey from tech to venture capital, discussing Google’s mantra, “constraints breed creativity,” the importance of building user trust, and seizing opportunities when they arise. We dive into her advice on building a career in VC, from getting involved in your local community to developing a personal investment thesis. Mary’s insights on balancing career and family, creating a meaningful life, and the power of partnerships are not to be missed!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and don’t forget to join us next week for another inspiring conversation!

This week, we are excited to host Kriti Krishna, Venture Associate at Hearst Lab! Kriti's career began in finance at Fitch Ratings before transitioning into venture capital, where she now invests in early-stage, female-founded startups across the globe. At Hearst Lab, she is dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and closing the gender funding gap. Outside of HearstLab, Kriti is a Young Executive Board Member for iMentor, a nonprofit that empowers first-generation high school students through mentorship, and one of the founding members of Capital Collective, private network for the next generation of women in VC.

We loved hearing Kriti’s insights on the importance of building strong relationships and the untapped potential in regions like the Middle East for female innovation, as well as her true passion for mentorship. Her emphasis on fostering connections not only highlights the critical role of collaboration in VC but also underscores the need to support women entrepreneurs in emerging markets. In a landscape where female founders often face unique challenges, Kriti's perspective is vital for driving change and closing the gender funding gap. We wish Kriti all the best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

This week, we are excited to host Courntey Pettway, CEO and co-founder of KidVestors (kidvestors.co). KidVestors is a pioneering social impact enterprise providing equitable financial education. Courtney transitioned from working in corporate America to focusing on financial literacy, driven by her own experiences and a commitment to addressing educational disparities. At KidVestors, fueled by her mission to bridge the wealth gap, she is working to create innovative and engaging financial learning tools for the next generation. 

We loved hearing about how Courtney leverages financial literacy to create more equitable opportunities, including her strategies for increasing global financial literacy and the success stories of students whose lives have been transformed. We also dive into Courtney's approach to making finance both accessible and enjoyable, her partnership model with banks and schools, and her commitment to empowering young people from underserved communities. We wish Courtney the best in her future endeavors! 

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

Episode Description: 

This week, we are excited to host Colleen Konetzke, Principal at Ironspring Ventures! Ironspring Ventures is an early-stage fund focused on making industrials more productive, secure, and sustainable. It invests across manufacturing, construction, transport and logistics, and alternative energy. Colleen holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Accounting, Master’s in Finance from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Before and during her MBA, she worked for several of the nation’s largest utilities at Bain & Co.

We loved hearing about the exciting post-pandemic shift in the energy sector driving innovation in U.S. manufacturing and digital transformation, along with the growing focus on ESG initiatives. While standards and incentives are still evolving, there’s hope that these efforts will further accelerate meaningful sustainability progress in the near future.We wish Colleen all the best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

This week, we are excited to host Lata Setty, the First Investor at The How Women Invest Funds (https://www.howwomeninvest.com/)! Lata’s diverse background spans from science and patent law to leading digital transformation ventures, and now, to venture capital. At The How Women Invest Fund, she is focused on addressing the gender disparities in VC funding and empowering female founders. 

We loved hearing about Lata’s mission to mobilize women investors and her dedication to closing the gender funding gap by founding the How Women Invest Fund! We dive deep into her strategic approach to investing in women-led startups, the critical role of community in driving change, her favorite startups she’s funded, and how her unique background equips her to lead this charge. We wish Lata all the best in her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

This week, we are excited to host Rachel Knepp, Co-Founder of Mozaic! Rachel is an innovator who has transformed the creator economy with Mozaic, the world’s first global payment platform dedicated to automating split payouts. From her early days at Jamber to leading Mozaic’s evolution during the global pandemic, Rachel has set new standards for fairness, efficiency, and innovation in creative collaborations. In 2022, Mozaic won the prestigious “Visa Everywhere Initiative,” leading to a strategic partnership with Visa to expand the platform’s reach. Building on this success, Mozaic raised $20 million in Series A funding from Volition Capital last year, further solidifying its position as a game-changer in the industry.

We loved hearing about Rachel’s mission to transform the creator economy and her dedication to empowering creators with Mozaic's innovative payment platform! We dive deep into her strategic pivot from Jamber to Mozaic, the importance of recognizing market gaps, and how her unique vision is setting new standards in the industry. We’re excited to see where Rachel takes Mozaic next and wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us at https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram@girlsintovc

This week, we are excited to host Emma Ohanian, Founding Partner of Y&Z Ventures! Y&Z Ventures (https://www.yzventures.vc/) is a Los Angeles based multi-family office investing on behalf of immigrant and first-generation entrepreneurs. As a mergers and acquisitions professional (most recently at Uber, which acquired Postmates, Drizly and more!), Emma's experience uniquely positions her to work with companies to build for the end game, or the Y&Z. An honest optimist, Emma believes each shortcoming is an opportunity to create change. It all comes down to mindset.

We loved hearing Emma’s journey creating Y&Z Ventures to give back to the Armenian community and her involvement with GenShe! Her story goes to show the power of trust, relationships, and community in the VC space, and we admire her passion for paying it forward. We wish Emma all the best with her future endeavors as Y&Z Ventures takes off!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!
Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

We are elated to host Avni Barman, CEO and founder of Gen She, on this week’s episode! GenShe is a media platform building and leading the next generation of female talent. Avni has built a community of 200,000 women across Instagram, TikTok, a newsletter, a podcast, and a job board. With 4+ years in Big Tech as an engineer and product manager, she is now on a mission to unlock the potential of every young woman in entrepreneurship, tech, venture, and media. Learn more at generationshe.co and @gen.she on Instagram.

We loved hearing Avni speak on her experiences founding GenShe and the evolution of GenShe to what it is today! It was especially interesting to learn about how anyone can expand their network with a few simple steps. Avni’s passion for empowering women to level up in their lives is clear, and we wish her the very best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

On this week’s episode, we welcome Joanna Kuang, Senior Vice President of Product Development and Impact at Illumen Capital. She leads Illumen Capital’s unique platform and portfolio support with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Prior to Illumen Capital, she worked at Third Sector Capital Partners, where she advised and built capacity for local, state, and federal governments on driving taxpayer dollars towards meaningful results for overlooked and underestimated communities. 

We enjoyed hearing Joanna’s stories about teaching in the Mississippi Delta and how it inspired her to work towards expanding access to capital in pursuit of inclusive justice. We are in awe of the work she is doing to support VC funds in becoming more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, and we hope that her hard work pays off! 

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune in to our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us at https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

We hope everyone is staying cool in this heat wave!☀️

This week’s episode features Diana Melencio, General Partner at XRC Ventures. XRC Ventures is a New York City-based venture capital firm and startup accelerator focused on pre-Seed to Series A startups in the retail technology, consumer goods, and consumer healthtech sectors.

Diana manages the entire XRC investment process and team and holds over 15 years of investing experience in retail, consumer and healthcare. She also built and scaled two companies in retail and consumer tech, QUINN and OKMYOUTFIT, leading major partnerships with the Hudson’s Bay Company, Neiman Marcus, MasterCard and Hearst Media.

We loved hearing Diana’s journey from founding two of her own companies to becoming General Partner at XRC Ventures! Her deep experience in retail technology, consumer goods, and consumer healthtech is very clear, and we enjoyed learning more about trends in the consumer space. Towards the end, we found ourselves tearing up at the heartfelt advice from her mentors that Diana shared with us.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

This week’s episode features our second founder, Maria Medrano, CEO and Co-Founder of Inspirame! She stands as a trailblazing Latina jefa ("boss") and has a strong commitment to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through educational empowerment. Prior to Inspirame, she had an illustrious 20-year career in human resources and diversity leadership at tech giants like Cisco Systems, Visa, and Google. After observing the college counseling system in California, Maria and her husband began Inspirame and launched TecoGuide, a unique SaaS platform guiding learners through local academic and employment resources to improve their economic opportunities. 

Maria’s story of how she worked her way up from being a receptionist to the CEO and Co-Founder of her own company, along with her gratitude for her privilege, leaves us in awe. We are inspired by her dedication to break generational poverty cycles and enjoyed hearing about how Inspirame began from a simple idea in Maria’s home office and how TecoGuide has rapidly grown since. The heartwarming success stories Maria shares with us show the deep impact TecoGuide is having on Californians. We wish Maria and Inspirame all the best as they expand to other states and continue on their mission!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

After a short hiatus, we are back and hitting the ground running! And a HUGE congratulations to the graduating Class of 2024 - you did it!

We begin the second segment of Season 2 with our first founder, Dana Le! Dana is the CEO & Founder of Wander Health, a startup that connects people to a trusted global network of English-speaking concierge doctors. Prior to this, she built an international consortium of 60+ hospitals, led 7 prominent healthcare accelerators, implemented digital health startups, and negotiated multimillion dollar payment model contracts for hospitals and insurance companies. Dana is also a Forbes 30 Under 30 lister, TEDx speaker, and LinkedIn Top Voice.

We enjoyed hearing from Dana about her journey with Wander Health, lessons about failure and growth that she has learned along the way, and her advice for female founders in the startup ecosystem. It is inspiring to see Wander Health’s rapid growth in a short amount of time, and we wish Dana all the best as Wander Health expands into more countries and healthcare specialties! 

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on ⁠https://www.girlsintovc.com⁠ and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

Welcome back! Today’s episode highlights Corinne Bortniker, Principal at Radiate Capital and Director at Cohen Circle. She began her career in investment banking at Cowen Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities with a focus on healthcare, tech, media, and telecommunications. Now, she invests in health and financial services businesses that provide solutions to critical global issues alongside compelling financial returns at Radiate Capital alongside a women-led team. Recently, Corinne was also recognized as one of the Venture Capital Journal’s 40 under 40 Rising Stars for 2024. 

We loved hearing from Corinne about her experience at Cohen Circle and working along some of the pioneers in the fintech world on the women-led team at Radiate Capital. Her work in social impact investing and helping startups implement impact KPIs shows us the power startups have to make a difference in people’s lives. Corinne inspires us by sharing her journey from being one of the few women in investment banking to now working on a women-led team at Radiate Capital.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!
Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

A new month brings a new podcast guest! On this episode, we host Sara Barek, founding team member of Oceans. Founded in 2018, Oceans is a venture capital firm based in New York and invests in pre-seed & seed stage companies with tech at the core and a focus on future of work. They are especially focused on helping founders create a great team to bring their game-changing ideas to life. 

Prior to joining Oceans in 2018, Sara spent 17 years at various tech start-ups serving in client-facing, operational and strategic roles and 9 years at ClearForest, a natural language processing software company acquired by Thomson Reuters. 

Sara’s excitement and passion for supporting founders as they build their companies is crystal clear throughout the entire episode. We loved hearing Sara’s stories about her experiences at Oceans, the people she is surrounded by, and the opportunities that helped her build her career. As always, Sara also shares advice for young women interested in venture capital.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!
Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc 

As we continue celebrating Women’s History Month, we welcome Dr. Risa Stack on the Girls Into VC podcast! Dr. Stack is a Partner at The Production Board, leading their life sciences initiatives, incubating, investing, and partnering with proven founders to build businesses leveraging new technologies in healthcare. Her impressive background ranges from holding a PhD in Immunology at the University of Chicago to trading derivatives on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, joining Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and co-founding multiple life-sciences companies, such as global diagnostics pioneer Veracyte and electronic switchmaker Menlo Micro.

We loved hearing Dr. Stack share how her career path unfolded as she pursued her interests and learned more about the finance and life sciences industries. It is clear that working in two different industries, and excelling in both, gave Dr. Stack a unique advantage in her future roles. Dr. Stack also shares her valuable insight on the life sciences industry and advice for young women to navigate impostor syndrome while working in male-dominated industries.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

Happy Women's History Month! Before introducing this week's guest, we want to take a moment to honor all the women before us and today who have improved our society and lives. We would not be where we are today without them! We begin our celebrations by welcoming Zoe Brewer on the Girls Into VC podcast! 

Zoe is an investor at Stripes, a VC/Growth Equity Firm based in New York City investing in companies like Monday.com, A24, Dataiku, On Running, and more. Prior to investing, she served as a 0-to-1 product manager at two mission-driven startups: Clair, a neo-bank combatting payday loans, and Vial, a biotech enabling next-generation clinical trials. She graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government, focusing on emerging technology regulation.

We enjoyed hearing Zoe share her story of how she explored finance and venture capital in college after coming in with little background about the fields from high school. Her story reassures us that it is never too late to start pursuing our interests, no matter how unique they are! She also shares advice for young women facing impostor syndrome and those who are unsure about their future career paths.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

As February comes to an end, we welcome Ellonda L. Williams on the Girls Into VC podcast! Ellonda started her career in early education before moving to Drexel University, where she served several roles pushing diversity initiatives among faculty and students. Now, she is the Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) at B Lab, a non-profit organization that has a global vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system for all people and the planet. She works collaboratively to create a healthy, inclusive, antiracist culture for all employees, oversees the JEDI-related organizational operations strategies, and supports the B Corp Network & Board on JEDI growth. In 2022, Ellonda was nominated as a Diversity and Inclusion Inspiration Leader and LGBTQ+ Top 40 Leader Under 40 by Business Equality Network.

We loved hearing Ellonda speak on issues like promoting diversity in higher education, creating inclusive standards for businesses across the globe to become B Corp certified, and the time, effort, hard work, and due diligence required to do both. She also shares valuable advice for founders to incorporate JEDI initiatives when building their companies and for marginalized communities in spaces lacking representation. Her deep passion for JEDI is very inspiring, and we wish her all the best with her future endeavors!

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc

Season 2, Episode 4

Happy Valentine’s Day! We hope you are able to celebrate your love with your special ones today <3

Our fourth episode features Taylor Jean-Jacques, investment professional on the technology investment team at General Atlantic. Prior to joining General Atlantic, she was a technology investment banker at J.P. Morgan and software engineer at Facebook and Instagram. She is a graduate of Princeton University.

It was interesting to hear Taylor share her journey of breaking into finance after switching from her career in technology, especially since she interned for technology giants Instagram and Meta. Taylor shares how she overcame the steep learning curve in her finance roles and advice for anyone looking to change their career path.

Thank you for listening to this week’s episode, and be sure to tune into our next episode highlighting a new guest in the field!

Find us on https://www.girlsintovc.com and follow us on Instagram @girlsintovc