# Kat Manalac

> Kat Manalac spent over 11 years at Y Combinator, where she built the Female Founders Conference, ran Startup School, and opened YC's doors to founders worldwide who had never heard of Paul Graham. She left YC in 2024 to join Convective Capital as Partner, where she now builds communities and tells stories at the intersection of technology and wildfire/disaster resilience.

- **Role:** Partner at Convective Capital
- **Organizations:** Convective Capital, Y Combinator, WIRED Magazine
- **Nationality:** American (Filipino heritage)
- **Education:** BS in Communications, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Founded Y Combinator's Female Founders Conference (first held March 1, 2014) - a landmark initiative to connect and inspire women building companies, Built and ran Startup School, YC's free online education program that has reached founders worldwide, Served as Partner and Head of Outreach at Y Combinator for 11+ years, expanding YC's reach to international and underrepresented founders

## Career timeline

- **2003-2007** — Studied Communications at Northwestern University; served as Executive Producer of NSTV (Northwestern Student Television)
- **2005-2007** — Marketing at Time Out Chicago (concurrent with Northwestern)
- **2008-2012** — Brand & Strategy at WIRED Magazine for four years; met early founders of Reddit, Airbnb, and Kickstarter
- **2012-2013** — Chief of Staff for Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder), working on his fund and non-profit
- **2013** — Joined Y Combinator as Director of Outreach with a mission to find great founders outside YC's existing networks
- **2014** — Founded and organized the first Female Founders Conference (March 1, 2014, YC's Mountain View campus)
- **2015-2020** — Built and ran Startup School, YC's free online program for founders worldwide; promoted to full Partner
- **2020** — Promoted to Managing Outreach Officer / Head of Outreach; organized Future Founders Conference for aspiring women founders
- **2021-2024** — Continued expanding YC's global outreach, including virtual IIT tours, Grace Hopper Celebration, and London conferences
- **October 2024** — Left Y Combinator after 11+ years
- **September 2025** — Joined Convective Capital as Partner, leading platform, community, and storytelling for wildfire/disaster resilience tech
- **November 2025** — Delivered opening remarks at Red Sky Summit 2025 in San Francisco alongside Bill Clerico

## Achievements

- Founded Y Combinator's Female Founders Conference (first held March 1, 2014) - a landmark initiative to connect and inspire women building companies
- Built and ran Startup School, YC's free online education program that has reached founders worldwide
- Served as Partner and Head of Outreach at Y Combinator for 11+ years, expanding YC's reach to international and underrepresented founders
- Authored 89+ posts on the YC Blog covering founder advice, applications, and community building
- Gave widely-viewed talks including 'How to Pitch' and 'How to Launch (Again and Again)' at YC Startup School with hundreds of thousands of YouTube views
- Organized Future Founders Conference (2020) for women aspiring to become startup founders
- Organized YC's first virtual IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) campus tour
- Expanded YC's global outreach to London, with plans for Asia including Japan
- Recognized as 'the heart and soul of the founder community' at Y Combinator
- Joined Convective Capital as Partner (announced September 2025), backing portfolio companies that have raised $515M+ and protected 30M+ acres and $140B+ in assets

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Delivered opening remarks at Red Sky Summit 2025 in San Francisco alongside Convective Capital co-founder Bill Clerico
- **2025-09** — Officially announced as Partner at Convective Capital, the wildfire tech VC firm, leading platform, community, and storytelling
- **2024-10** — Departed Y Combinator after 11+ years as Partner and Head of Outreach

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katmanalac
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/katmanalac
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katmanalac/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katmanalac

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/kat-manalac
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-29