# Eli Wachs

> Eli Wachs is the co-founder and CEO of Footprint, a New York identity verification company building what he calls the identity layer for the internet. Footprint helps banks, real estate firms, auto dealers, and other businesses onboard customers by automating KYC and fraud checks while storing personal data inside secure enclaves. A Stanford economics and history graduate and former General Atlantic investor, Wachs started the company in 2022 with CTO Alex Grinman and has raised roughly $20 million to pursue a blunt goal: reduce digital identity theft toward zero while giving people more control over their own data.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Footprint
- **Organizations:** Footprint, General Atlantic, Tech Fights Dobbs, High School HeroesX, Decdis
- **From:** Philadelphia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics and History, Stanford University, High School, The Haverford School
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Footprint, an identity verification and onboarding platform used by banks, real estate, and auto companies, Raised roughly $20 million from investors including QED Investors, Index Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau, Featured by Fast Company as a Gen-Z CEO building the 'Apple Pay of identity'

## Career timeline

- **2013** — Founded High School HeroesX in 9th grade, running incentivized competitions for students to solve local problems
- **2016** — Started at Stanford University, later graduating with a degree in economics and history
- **2016** — Co-founded Decdis as a freshman, a system tracking flu strains to recommend lockdowns and prevent pandemics
- **2020** — Wrote the first Footprint business plan from a Stanford dorm room in February; joined General Atlantic, leading work across identity, privacy, and security
- **2022** — Co-founded Footprint with Alex Grinman and launched the company out of stealth in August
- **2024** — Raised a $13M Series A led by QED Investors, bringing total funding to roughly $20M

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Footprint, an identity verification and onboarding platform used by banks, real estate, and auto companies
- Raised roughly $20 million from investors including QED Investors, Index Ventures, and Lerer Hippeau
- Featured by Fast Company as a Gen-Z CEO building the 'Apple Pay of identity'
- Named to a Forbes profile list for his work in fintech
- Serial founder since high school, starting three ventures before age 25
- Founded Tech Fights Dobbs, a coalition of privacy and women's health companies using technology to protect women

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — Footprint raised a $13M Series A led by QED Investors, bringing total funding to around $20M and expanding into banking, real estate, and auto verticals.
- **2024-10** — Introduced Footprint Street View and continued building portable identity tooling for enterprise onboarding.

## Links

- Website: https://onefootprint.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliwachs/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/EliWachs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eli-wachs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-17