Seattle VC Profile: Leslie Feinzaig, Female Founders Alliance

When I started Ascend in 2019, I realized even though I was o-l-d OLD, I had more in common with the folks in town who were earlier in their professional investing journeys than the venerable VC’s I’d pitched as a founder. I admire and respect the new wave of Seattle/Pacific Northwest venture capitalists, and thought it would be fun to profile some of our region’s up and coming VC talents in these pages. —KW

Leslie Feinzaig is not a traditional venture capitalist. Yet she’s changing the face of venture capital in Seattle, and the country, by helping accelerate and amplify female founder talent via the Female Founders Alliance. She and her team have built a startup community of overlooked founders who are doers, not victims. Whenever I’m in a room with Leslie and any founder, I can feel and see both the support and at the same time the challenge she issues her mentees: she won’t accept anything but the best, from founders or herself, and that makes her powerful indeed.

What made you decide to be a professional investor?

I didn't decide to be a professional investor. I decided that I wanted to do everything in my power to promote and accelerate founders' success. Participating in that success is the consequence.

What did you do before FFA, and how does that benefit your founders?

I am a two time founder, and often I know first hand the journey that other founders are going through. Prior to going out on my own, I was an executive in a couple of larger/later stage startups, a product manager at Microsoft, and a strategy consultant before that. In all, I've launched and managed tech products all the way from a zero-dollar launch on my own out of my basement, to a $2B annual budget with a team of hundreds at Microsoft, and literally everything in between.

It's worth noting that all of these fancy jobs happened post-business school, which is when I moved to America. Back in Costa Rica I basically took whatever decent job I could find - like being a store manager and a call center employee. I know what it's like to come from behind and to make something of yourself against all odds.

What one company do you want to hype for us here?

Everyone should go sign up for the waitlist on datacy.com - this company will revolutionize online privacy and give power back to the hands of the consumer.