Harvard Icons: 12 Women Founders Who Built Billion-Dollar Startups
These 12 women from the Harvard ecosystem created $70B+ in value
Phoenix is a pre/seed stage venture capital firm investing in Harvard- and HBS-founded startups. If you or anyone you know is building, please feel free to reach out: devon@phoenixclub.vc
In 2022, companies founded solely by women received only about 2% of total venture capital funding, while companies with at least one female co-founder raised just 16.5% of the total VC funding. Despite these statistics, in this post, I highlight 12 women from the Harvard ecosystem who have built billion-dollar businesses! This post features the founders from the graphic above in order from left to right.
Carolyn Childers (HBS 2008) co-founded Chief, a private network designed to support executive women in leadership roles. Founded in 2018, Chief quickly reached unicorn status, with a $100 million Series B round in 2022 valuing the company at $1.1 billion. Before founding Chief, Carolyn began her career in investment banking at Deutsche Bank and held various roles at companies including Victoria’s Secret, Amazon, Primary Venture Partners, and Handy HQ.
Julia Cheek (HBS 2011) founded Everly Health, a digital health platform for remote diagnosis and management of recurring health conditions. Under Julia's leadership, Everly Health achieved a $1 billion-plus valuation just four years after its 2015 launch. Before founding Everly Health, Julia began her career as a consultant at Deloitte and held strategy roles at the George W. Bush Institute and MoneyGram International.
Trina Spear (HBS 2011) co-founded FIGS, a digitally native, direct-to-consumer healthcare apparel and lifestyle brand creating advanced products for modern healthcare professionals. In 2021, FIGS made history as the first company with female co-founders and co-CEOs to go public, with an IPO valuation of $4.4 billion. Prior to founding FIGS, Trina worked as an investment banking analyst at Citi and spent two years at Blackstone.
Michelle Zatlyn (HBS 2009) co-founded Cloudflare, an internet safety and security company dedicated to building a better internet. In 2019, 10 years after its founding, Cloudflare went public via an IPO, valuing the company at $4.4 billion. Since their IPO, Cloudflare’s share price is up over 350%, with a current market cap listed at $27.9B. Before co-founding Cloudflare and attending HBS, Michelle worked as an economic research analyst, was a founding member of the marketing team at "I Love Rewards," and served as a Product Manager at Toshiba.
Rina Onur Sirinoglu (Harvard College 2008) founded Peak Games, a company that develops engaging and social mobile games loved by millions globally. In 2020, Zynga acquired Peak Games for $1.8 billion. Before founding Peak Games in 2010, Rina worked as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley and later at Turkven Private Equity, a leading Turkish private equity fund.
Demet Suzan Mutlu (HBS), co-founded Peak Games, a social gaming company sold to Zynga for $1.8B, then founded Trendyol, Turkey's largest e-commerce platform, which was last valued at $16.5B in 2021. Just wow.
Katrina Lake (HBS 2011) founded Stitch Fix, a personal styling service that delivers clothing directly to customers’ doors. Stitch Fix went public via an IPO in 2017, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. Before founding Stitch Fix while at HBS, Katrina began her career as an associate at EY Parthenon and later worked as an associate at Leader Ventures.
Jennifer Hyman (College 2002, HBS 2009) co-founded Rent the Runway, the world's first and largest subscription-based fashion rental service. In 2021, Rent the Runway went public via an IPO, valuing the company at $1.7 billion. Before co-founding Rent the Runway and attending HBS, Jennifer held roles as a Senior Manager at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a Senior Sales Manager at WeddingChannel, and Director of Business Development at IMG.
Jennifer Fleiss (HBS 2009) co-founded Rent the Runway alongside Jennifer Hyman while attending HBS. In 2021, Rent the Runway went public via an IPO, valuing the company at $1.7 billion. Prior to co-founding Rent the Runway, Jennifer worked in the Strategic Planning Group at Morgan Stanley and later at Lehman Brothers.
Tara Reeves (HBS), co-founder of Turo, the peer-to-peer car sharing network. Turo's latest estimated valuation is approximately $2.7 billion. Before Turo, Tara worked as an Associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Aon Risk Services.
Sarah Leary (College, HBS 1999) co-founded Nextdoor, a social platform that connects neighbors based on their location. In 2021, Nextdoor went public via an IPO, valuing the company at $4.3 billion. Before co-founding Nextdoor in 2010, Sarah started her career as a Product Manager at Microsoft, worked as an associate at Greylock Partners, served as a VP at eBay, and co-founded Fanbase.
Writer, co-founded by May Habib (Harvard College), is the full-stack generative AI platform delivering transformative ROI for the world’s leading enterprises. Writer was last valued at $1.9B in a round led by ICONIQ Growth and Radical Ventures
Know a founder building a company? please share a note: devon@phoenixclub.vc
Future Additions to the List
(Sorted by total funding)
Stephanie Tilenius - Vida Health, raised a $110M Series D ($216M total funding)
Kristina Saffran - Equip Health, raised a $35M Series C ($110M total funding)
Kyna Fong - Elation Health, raised a $50M Series D ($109M total funding)
Marta Bralic - Pomelo Care, raised a $46M Series B ($87M total funding)
Jennifer Smith - Scribe, raised a $25M Series B ($55M total funding)
Linda Lian - Common Room, raised a $32M Series B ($53M total funding)
Adrianne Nickerson - Oula Health, raised a $28M Series B ($50M total funding)
Kate Condliffe - Diana Health, raised a $34M Series B ($46M total funding)
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Great read!