# Heidi Roizen

> Heidi Roizen is one of Silicon Valley's most iconic figures — a serial entrepreneur who co-founded T/Maker in 1983, led Apple's Worldwide Developer Relations during a pivotal transition, and became a venture capitalist at Threshold Ventures. She is the subject of a landmark Harvard Business School case study on networking and the famous 'Heidi vs. Howard' gender bias experiment. Today she is a Partner at Threshold Ventures, a Stanford lecturer, board director at Planet Labs and Upside Foods, and host of 'The Startup Solution' podcast.

- **Role:** Partner at Threshold Ventures
- **Organizations:** Threshold Ventures, Stanford University (MS&E Department), Planet Labs PBC, Upside Foods, Tia Health, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), Stanford Technology Ventures Program
- **From:** Stanford, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, English, Stanford University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded T/Maker in 1983 - one of Silicon Valley's first female tech CEOs, Led Apple Worldwide Developer Relations (1996-1997) during a pivotal transition, Subject of landmark Harvard Business School networking case study (#800228) used for 25+ years

## Career timeline

- **1970** — Age 12: Started a puppet show business for children's birthday parties, advertising in newspaper classifieds. Doing 6-8 shows per weekend by high school.
- **1983** — Co-founded T/Maker Company with brother Peter Roizen after graduating from Stanford GSB. One of Silicon Valley's first female tech CEOs.
- **1987** — Joined the board of the Software Publishers Association; served as President from 1988 to 1990.
- **1994** — T/Maker acquired by Deluxe Corporation. Negotiated a landmark deal with Steve Jobs (NeXT) during this period.
- **1996** — Joined Apple Inc. as VP of Worldwide Developer Relations, managing a 300-person team and relationships with Microsoft, Intuit, and Adobe.
- **1999** — Transitioned into venture capital at SOFTBANK Venture Capital (later renamed Mobius Venture Capital).
- **2003** — Columbia Business School professor Frank Flynn ran the 'Heidi vs. Howard' study using her career as its basis - now a landmark gender bias teaching tool.
- **2008** — Founded SkinnySongs, a music company with original diet-inspiration lyrics. Appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and CBS Early Show.
- **2010** — Named Adjunct Lecturer and Entrepreneurship Educator at Stanford University's MS&E Department.
- **2012** — Joined Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) as Venture Partner. Named first female director of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT).
- **2013** — Inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame.
- **2018** — DFJ rebranded to Threshold Ventures; Heidi continues as Partner. Named Financial Woman of the Year by Financial Women of San Francisco.
- **2020** — Zoox (Threshold portfolio company, board member) acquired by Amazon.
- **2021** — Named to Forbes '50 over 50' list in the Investment category.
- **2024** — Featured in Harvard Business Review podcast on networking. Continued 'The Startup Solution' podcast with new episodes.
- **2026** — Participating in VC panels including Acetech Leadership Retreat; active as board member at Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) and Upside Foods.

## Achievements

- Co-founded T/Maker in 1983 - one of Silicon Valley's first female tech CEOs
- Led Apple Worldwide Developer Relations (1996-1997) during a pivotal transition
- Subject of landmark Harvard Business School networking case study (#800228) used for 25+ years
- Central figure in the 'Heidi vs. Howard' gender bias study - now a staple in business school curricula globally
- Inducted into Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame (2013)
- Named Financial Woman of the Year by Financial Women of San Francisco (2018)
- Named to Forbes '50 over 50' in the Investment category (2021)
- Partner at Threshold Ventures, investing in AI, enterprise SaaS, food tech, and healthcare
- Board member at Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), Upside Foods, and Tia Health
- Leads the Threshold Venture Fellows Program at Stanford Engineering
- Hosts 'The Startup Solution' podcast with 37+ episodes
- First female director of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) (2012)

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Participating as panelist in Acetech Leadership Retreat 'Inside the VC Mind' session.
- **2025-12** — Participated in Global Forum for Plant-Based and Alternative Proteins, sharing data on the 56% decline in alternative protein investment.
- **2024-11** — Featured in Harvard Business Review podcast 'Tried-and-True Networking Tips from Decades of Experience.'
- **2024-01** — Continued hosting 'The Startup Solution' podcast with new episodes on boards, ethics, cold emailing investors, and equity dilution.

## Links

- Website: https://www.heidiroizen.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidiroizen
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/HeidiRoizen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidiroizen/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/heidi-roizen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04