# Kathryn Finney

> Kathryn Finney is a Chicago-based entrepreneur, investor and author. She founded The Budget Fashionista and digitalundivided, led the ProjectDiane research on Black women in tech entrepreneurship, and now serves as founder and managing general partner of Genius Guild. She also founded the Doonie Fund and wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller Build the Damn Thing.

- **Role:** Founder and Managing General Partner at Genius Guild
- **Organizations:** Genius Guild, digitalundivided (founder and former CEO), The Budget Fashionista (founder), The Doonie Fund (founder and board chair emeritus), BUILD (founder), BlogHer (former editor-at-large)
- **From:** Milwaukee, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree in women’s studies and politics, Rutgers University, Master’s degree, with honors, Yale University, Honorary doctorate of humane letters, Mount Holyoke College
- **Known for:** Built and sold The Budget Fashionista, an early fashion blog and media company., Founded digitalundivided and led it through 2020., Led ProjectDiane, documenting funding access for Black women tech founders and later Latina founders.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Started The Budget Fashionista blog.
- **2006** — Published How to Be a Budget Fashionista with Ballantine Books.
- **2012** — Launched FOCUS100 in New York, the beginning of the digitalundivided initiative.
- **2013** — FOCUS100 was formally incorporated as digitalundivided; recognized as a White House Champion of Change.
- **2016** — Released ProjectDiane research and launched the BIG Incubator in Atlanta.
- **2017** — Received an honorary doctorate from Mount Holyoke College.
- **2020** — Concluded her tenure leading digitalundivided, founded Genius Guild, and established the Doonie Fund with $10,000.
- **2021** — Genius Guild publicly launched with more than $5 million secured from investors.
- **2022** — Published Build the Damn Thing, which became a Wall Street Journal bestseller.
- **2023** — Received the Heinz Award for the Economy.
- **2025** — A paperback edition of Build the Damn Thing was published on November 18.

## Achievements

- Built and sold The Budget Fashionista, an early fashion blog and media company.
- Founded digitalundivided and led it through 2020.
- Led ProjectDiane, documenting funding access for Black women tech founders and later Latina founders.
- Founded Genius Guild, publicly launched in April 2021 with more than $5 million secured.
- Authored the Wall Street Journal bestseller Build the Damn Thing.
- Received the 2023 Heinz Award for the Economy.
- Recognized as a White House Champion of Change in 2013.
- Founded the Doonie Fund, which her current biography reports has supported more than 3,000 Black women-owned businesses.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — The newsletter archive lists essays on personal advisory boards, an entrepreneur’s exit number, and fear of failure.
- **2026-08** — Continued founder education essays, including an August 11 post about family members becoming early employees.
- **2025-11** — Penguin Random House lists the paperback edition of Build the Damn Thing as published November 18, 2025.
- **2025-07** — Her public LinkedIn profile lists a board director role at the Yale Club of Chicago beginning July 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://kathrynfinney.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynfinney
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/KathrynFinney
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiiamkathryn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeetKathryn

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kathryn-finney
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25