What’s the Worst that Could Happen, with Leslie Feinzaig

Money Tales

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Leslie Feinzaig. Leslie grew up in Costa Rica. She describes her family as immigrants to that country who endured hard lives. She came to the US as a Visa-dependent business school student and soon realized that staying here for her career while still tethered to a Visa required her to take jobs with large companies who could sponsor her. This meant continually working for her resume. But Leslie is an entrepreneur at heart, and this was frustrating. Ultimately, she got a Green Card and everything for Leslie shifted. That’s when she developed her “What’s the Worst that Could Happen” approach that led her to start her own venture capital firm where she’s letting her resume work for her.

Leslie is the Founder and General Partner of Graham & Walker, an early-stage VC fund investing in women-founded tech companies that solve deeply human problems, and the Female Founders Alliance, the most prominent community of VC-backable women founders in the US.

Leslie is a technologist, operator and startup founder described as an “industry trailblazer” by USA Today. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she was named one of Forbes Magazine’s Most Powerful Women from Central America, Worth Magazine’s Worthy 100, Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40, and Seattle Magazine’s Most Influential People. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is an acclaimed contributing writer for Fortune, Fast Company and Techcrunch.