FFA
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Startup support, Accelerator, Community organization
FoundHer House, San Francisco’s All-Female AI Hacker House Founded by Seattle Natives, Eyes Expansion to Seattle Amid $1.2B Funding Surge for Female-led Startups
FoundHer House, an all-female AI entrepreneur co-living space launched in San Francisco by Seattle natives Miki Safronov-Yamamoto and Anantika Mannby, is gaining attention as a model to support female founders amid the AI boom. With Seattle’s growing female-led startup funding surpassing $1.2 billion in 2024, the city is being considered for expansion of this initiative to help close the tech industry’s gender gap.
Seattle Venture Firm Graham & Walker Files to Raise $15M Second Fund for Early-Stage Tech Startups
Seattle-based venture firm Graham & Walker is raising a $15 million second fund focused on early-stage tech companies across North America, following a $10 million first fund in 2021. The firm, founded by Leslie Feinzaig, has a portfolio including Seattle startups Tokki, Planette, Proxi, and PairTree.
Graham & Walker names six startups for fourth Ready Set Raise cohort; each gets $50,000 and Demo Night on March 3
Seattle-based Graham & Walker (formerly Female Founders Alliance) announced six companies selected for its fourth Ready Set Raise accelerator; each will receive $50,000, six weeks of training and present at Demo Night on March 3. The cohort includes Bilin Academy, Blink Date Inc., LocalAway, Obánj, OpenField and Sayso.ai led by their named CEOs.
Dance Church raises $4.7M seed to scale Dance Church Go subscription platform, led by MaC Ventures
Seattle-based Dance Church raised $4.7 million in seed funding to expand its Dance Church Go online subscription platform, which offers on-demand classes for $19/month or $199/year and a pay-as-you-go live option. The company, founded by Kate Wallich and recently hiring CEO Clara Siegel, plans to scale after growing to 144,000 online streamers with backing led by MaC Ventures and participation from several Pacific Northwest investors.
Graham & Walker (formerly Female Founders Alliance) raises $10M fund to back female-led startups
Seattle-based Female Founders Alliance rebranded as Graham & Walker and launched a $10 million venture fund to invest in female-led early-stage tech startups, led by founder and managing director Leslie Feinzaig. The fund raised capital from 105 backers (two-thirds women, 40% first-time fund investors) and has already made 11 investments with average checks of $25,000–$400,000.
Advancing Women in Product partners with Madrona Venture Group to expand female founder training and access to capital
Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), a nonprofit with over 16,000 members, is partnering with Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group and Madrona Venture Labs to expand training, mentoring, networking and help women launch startups, join boards and secure VC. AWIP founder and CEO Nancy Wang and Madrona managing director Hope Cochran say the collaboration aims to increase female leadership and diversify Madrona's portfolio across its roughly 80 companies.
Brightly founders Laura Alexander Wittig and Liza Moiseeva raise $1M to scale eco-focused content, community and e-commerce
Seattle startup Brightly, founded by Laura Alexander Wittig and Liza Moiseeva, raised $1 million to expand its eco-focused content, community and upcoming e-commerce platform after growing from a popular 2019 podcast into a social-media-driven brand reaching over 250,000 women daily. The founders leveraged accelerators (Snapchat Yellow, Female Founders Alliance), a 10,000+ ambassador program, and brand partnerships to monetize recommendations and will expand the five-person team later this year.
WTIA selects 22 Washington seed-stage startups for six-month Founder Cohort to accelerate fundraising and growth
The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) selected 22 Washington-headquartered, seed-stage tech startups for its six-month virtual Founder Cohort Program to help founders with fundraising, governance and customer development. The cohort is led by experienced founders and investors including Dave Parker, Susan Preston and Leslie Feinzaig and requires companies to have under $1M revenue and at least one product in development.
Two Screens for Teachers raises support as founders seek $23M to supply 250,000 pandemic-strained educators; teen Avi Schiffmann built a widely used COVID-19 tracker
A roundup of positive tech, science, and education stories from 2020 highlights initiatives that helped during the pandemic, including Two Screens for Teachers providing monitors to school districts and a high school student, Avi Schiffmann, building a widely used COVID-19 tracker.
Leslie Feinzaig (Female Founders Alliance CEO) on the business of FFA, finding market fit, and authenticity as an advantage
2% of venture capital goes to women and non-binary founders. Female Founders Alliance exists to shift that balance. Leslie Feinzaig, Founder & CEO, goes behind the scenes on the mission and the business of FFA, lessons in founder/market fit, and leading with authenticity.
Survey of 70 Seattle Founders: Local Angels Are Risk-Averse, Hidden and Losing Deals to Seed Funds
A February survey of 70 Seattle-area tech founders found widespread frustration with local angel investors, who are described as risk-averse, conservative, hidden, and out of touch; founders say angels must be more visible, faster, and willing to take bigger risks to compete with active local and Bay Area seed funds.
Seattle Startup CEOs Condemn Racism, Urge Action and Investment in Black Founders After George Floyds Death
Seattle startup leaders publicly condemned racism after George Floyd’s death and pledged concrete actions — including learning, speaking up, and pushing for investments in entrepreneurs of color — while noting tech’s role in inequality and recent moves like SoftBank’s $100 million fund.
Give InKind Raises $1.5 Million in Pre-Seed to Expand Smarter Giving Platform
Give InKind, a platform enabling meaningful support beyond cash donations, raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding from Seattle investors, tripling its initial goal. Founder Laura Malcolm created the service to simplify and diversify aid for those in hardship after experiencing inadequate support tools herself.
Groota Startup Launches Tool to Filter Promotional Emails and Protect User Privacy
Groota, founded by Rushin Liu and Cho-Min Chou, is a startup providing a tool to help users filter promotional emails by keeping desired ones and removing unwanted junk while prioritizing user privacy. The company is also developing technology to remove email tracking, addressing privacy concerns users may not be aware of.
Leslie Feinzaig
About two years ago, Leslie Feinzaig founded Female Founders Alliance (FFA) after a frustrating experience in the pitching circuit with her own startup, Venture Kits. What started out as a Facebook group for a few female CEOs has grown into a large online network with hundreds of companies and thousands of individuals in just two years. Last year, FFA launched a startup accelerator consciously designed for women and non-binary founders seeking their first round of venture financing. After a runaway success with its first cohort, applications for the 2019 Ready Set Raise program are now open! Leslie is focused on…
People
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Leslie Feinzaig Founder, Founder and Managing Director
