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Leslie Feinzaig posted thisGot up bright and early this morning (actually dark and early, like 4 am) to go on vacation for the first time this summer. Wanna guess where my little family is headed? 🥁🥁🥁 ... Yellowstone! A 5 day adventure, my very first US national park. My kids made a list of all the animals they want to see. We heard there's a lot of driving involved, so we got Harry Potter audiobooks for the road. We're staying in lodges inside the park - and for once, nobody is bringing a laptop. Not a glamorous trip this time around, but one I've been looking forward to for months. Consider this my OOO ❤️
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Leslie Feinzaig posted thisNot one but TWO cold pitch emails in my inbox this morning from firms retained by startups that are raising a pre-seed. Founders, please, please, PLEASE DO NOT HIRE AGENTS OR FIRMS OR ADVISORS TO RAISE YOUR PRE-SEED! Please tag and tell every founder you know. This is ridiculous.
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Leslie Feinzaig posted thisSo much of what passes for founder and VC advice these days is pure and absolute engagement bait. I really feel for founders - and honestly fall into the trap myself as an emerging VC, of assuming that just because someone is further along than me, I can trust what they post online. Here's my new rule of thumb: if whatever someone posts gets my blood pumping and triggers a strong fear reaction... it's probably written for the sake of getting likes and follows. It's probably NOT written to help me be a better VC. Just my 2c.
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Leslie Feinzaig reacted on thisLeslie Feinzaig reacted on thisI've lived through a few complete reinventions in my career, and I get excited every time one shows up. Microsoft's shift from shipping box software on a three-year cycle to building for the cloud meant transforming ourselves into a different company. AI feels like that same kind of shift–only bigger and faster, and it’s exciting! This excitement showed up in my fireside chat with Leslie Feinzaig this week. She's built Graham & Walker around a simple idea. Investing is about making the world the way you want it to be, and bringing the products you care about into the world. It's part of why I'm an investor in her fund, and why the care economy conversation felt like reinvention in progress rather than a niche topic. We also got into founder advice, resisting hype, and building for the problems people actually have instead of whatever headline says is next. Thank you, Leslie, and everyone who joined the event. I can't wait to see what kind of world you all build, and what comes next. Full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gbvtrDqA
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Leslie Feinzaig posted thisAugust is when VCs go offline. Summering in Europe, rubbing elbows in the Hamptons, prepping for Burning Man. Wanna know what I’m doing? Early morning breakfast for the family, then driving my kids to swim class, then running home for a precious 7 hours of childcare (ie, focus work time), followed by making the most of the waning summer evenings with my girls, then a second shift of work time and back to sleep as early as possible. Not all VCs are alike I guess 🤷♀️
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Leslie Feinzaig shared thisThere’s a small subset of founders that get VC dollars literally tossed at them at whatever valuation they want. This article is not for them. It’s for everyone else who actually has to work for their raise. Now on Fast Company!
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Leslie Feinzaig posted thisEven the most intense debate prep does not prepare you for getting grilled by my 7 yr old at the dinner table. “Mommy how is sourdough bread made?” “What is chemistry?” “What are molecules?” “Are we made of molecules?” “Is G-d made of molecules?” “So G-d isn’t real?” “What does G-d look like?” “Are Christians not related to G-d?” ……. “Mommy why are you laughing??”
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Leslie Feinzaig shared thisThe AI-slop-deck is a crisis of VC's own making. Decades of teaching founders to obsess over a perfect pitch deck, and then we get the decks, flip through in 20 seconds, and 99 times out of 100, we pass. No wonder founders are frustrated. Rightly so. So now, founders take the shortcut. And it's downright unreadable. This article has just about the fastest open rate since I started publishing - and I sent it on a Sunday! That, and the dozens of messages of support from fellow investors, is how I know I'm not alone. This is my desperate plea to founders to actually do the work. Link in comments.
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Leslie Feinzaig shared thisReady and coming your way very soon, my take on AI-generated pitch decks, or, you could say, a desperate plea to founders 😆 PS. Link in comments!
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Leslie Feinzaig liked thisLeslie Feinzaig liked thisSeven years ago the bet was simple: would 10,000 people actually show up for women's soccer in LA? At the time, the women's sports market was a few years away from even being measured. This year Deloitte says global revenue in women's elite sports will hit $3 billion, up 340% since we started making that case in 2023. Grateful to Asli Pelit Basker and The Athletic for tracing the full arc of a butterfly effect partnership with Jasmine Robinson, from Angel City Football Club's first season to Monarch Collective's five team investments, Monarch Commerce, and our newest investment in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) expansion franchise Cleveland Sirens. "What if the problem isn't demand, but everything surrounding the product?" Long term value creation in this market requires discipline, patience, operational partnership, and inherent purpose that cannot be faked. Staying focused when everyone around you is chasing the next thing is its own discipline. We believe Monarch is helping build a new asset class, one where financial return and joy aren't in tension. They're the same ingredient. "The first generation of women's sports fans is becoming the foundation for the second." Come join us as a fan, an investor, a friend. We feel lucky to do this work.
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Leslie Feinzaig liked thisLeslie Feinzaig liked thisPortland-based Source has made another acquisition that further pushes the company toward its goal of being the go-to procurement, ahem, source for hospitality and commercial construction. I caught up with Nicole Schmidt about the company's fast growth. https://lnkd.in/geVnyauMConstruction procurement platform Source makes an ultra-luxury buy - Portland Business JournalConstruction procurement platform Source makes an ultra-luxury buy - Portland Business Journal
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Leslie Feinzaig liked thisLeslie Feinzaig liked thisApparently, 47 is supposed to be one of the least happy ages of our lives. There’s actually research from Dartmouth economist David Blanchflower suggesting that happiness follows something of a U-shape — declining through adulthood, reaching a low point around 47, and then beginning to climb again. I turned 48 this week. And looking back, I’ll admit: 47 wasn’t always an easy year. But it was an important one. It reminded me how little any of us accomplish alone. I thought a lot this week about the people who carried me, challenged me, laughed with me and believed in me — my family, close friends, and the incredible teammates I get to work alongside every day. I’ve also become increasingly convinced that the most meaningful measure of a career — and maybe a life — isn’t what we accomplish for ourselves. It’s the big things we can do for others. For our families. For our teammates. For the people we lead. And, in healthcare, for the patients and families who trust us with some of the most important moments of their lives. So I’m entering 48 grateful, a little wiser, and more energized about what’s ahead. Here’s to the upswing. 🙂 For those interested, the research that inspired this reflection: https://lnkd.in/g3es4hsk
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Leslie Feinzaig reacted on thisLeslie Feinzaig reacted on thisFor the past three years, I've kept this photo hanging above my desk. A baby girl with one arm wrapped around her Jilly Bing doll, going in for a big, juicy kiss. And those unmistakable baby rolls. 🥹 Her mom sent it to me when we were launching. Somewhere in the busyness of building the company, I lost track of where the photo came from. Then last week, on our 3-year anniversary, I decided I had to find her. So I took a chance and asked the internet to help me. And it worked. Her name is Eleanor!! She just turned 3, the same age as the Jilly Doll, and she's the youngest in a family of four boys. Her mom was pregnant with Eleanor when she bought the doll because she wanted to give her daughter something she never had growing up. She described it as “childhood healing.” Three years later, Eleanor and her Jilly doll are still inseparable. They even have matching silver jelly shoes!! These photos and finally getting to meet the little girl behind the story, was the best anniversary gift I could have asked for.
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Leslie Feinzaig liked thisLeslie Feinzaig liked thisWe’re excited to share that Poppy MacDonald has joined NationSwell as President! Poppy will help lead our next chapter of growth and impact, working across the organization to deepen our community, expand our Studio, and build the partnerships and capabilities that help purpose-driven leaders turn ambitious ideas into action. As Greg Behrman, NationSwell Founder and CEO, shared: “Poppy brings an exceptional track record of building and growing membership-driven organizations, developing high-performing teams, and translating ambitious ideas into results.” We’re thrilled to have her on board and excited for what we’ll build together. Please join us in welcoming Poppy to the NationSwell community. Learn more ⬇️
Experience & Education
Volunteer Experience
Honors & Awards
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Women of Influence
Puget Sound Business Journal
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Worthy 100
Worth Magazine
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Geeks Give Back Award
Geekwire
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100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes Centroamerica / Caribe
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40 Under 40
Puget Sound Business Journal
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Gold Star
Microsoft
Awarded for leading and landing disruptive innovation project.
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People's Choice Award
Microsoft
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Eric Fan
Love this - AI is the Oppenheimer moment for marketing. It fundamentally collapses the time and cost of production. A $2.5 million campaign that used to take four months can now be delivered for $500,000 in four weeks. Legacy firms that charge based on hours with the 'time-driven' model are existentially threatened by this.
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JT Benton
Here's a line we see in institutional studio proposals that should set off alarm bells: "Governance to be determined after launch." That's not a deferred decision. That's the single biggest risk in the plan. 📉 We've worked with institutions standing up studio initiatives, and every one of them faces the same reality. Every decision the studio makes -- capital allocation, venture kills, team assignments, IP licensing -- will face scrutiny from a board, a provost, a committee, or an auditor. "We talked about it and decided" is not defensible in an institutional context. Good governance isn't compliance overhead. It's the operating system that makes studio decisions consistent, transparent, and defensible under review. At the studio level, governance answers questions that otherwise create friction every quarter: - Who has authority to deploy capital into a new venture? - What criteria trigger a kill decision, and who makes the call? - How is team time allocated across ventures? - What does the institution receive in reporting -- format, cadence, detail? - How are conflicts of interest identified and managed? At the portfolio level, governance determines venture autonomy. Too much institutional control, and you can't attract entrepreneurial talent. Too little, and you can't protect the investment or reputation. Here's the lesson -- build this before the first venture launches, not after. Decision rights matrix. Reporting cadence aligned with institutional cycles. Capital deployment triggers with clear thresholds. Conflict resolution that doesn't require escalation to the president's office. IP ownership terms for each venture. 🎯 Governance done right is invisible. Decisions flow, reviews are clean, leadership stays informed without micromanaging. Governance done wrong turns a promising studio into an audit finding or a political liability. ⚡
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