# Leslie Feinzaig

> Leslie Feinzaig is a Seattle-based Costa Rican-American founder, investor and writer. After founding the Female Founders Alliance in 2017, she expanded its community and accelerator work into Graham & Walker, whose $10 million first venture fund was announced in 2021. She writes Venture with Leslie and organized the 2024 VCs for Harris coalition, now VCs for Democracy.

- **Role:** Founder, CEO and General Partner at Graham & Walker
- **Organizations:** Graham & Walker, Female Founders Alliance, Venture Kits, Microsoft, Big Fish Games, Julep, Innosight, McKinsey & Company, VCs for Democracy
- **From:** San José, Costa Rica
- **Nationality:** Costa Rican-American
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree, London School of Economics and Political Science, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Raised a $10 million first fund with 105 backers; two-thirds were women and 40% were first-time fund investors at the October 2021 announcement., Founded the Female Founders Alliance and the Ready Set Raise accelerator., Recognized in Forbes Central America’s 2018 Most Powerful Women list, Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2018 40 Under 40 and 2024 Women of Influence, and Worth’s 2021 Worthy 100.

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Moved to the United States to attend Harvard Business School on a full scholarship.
- **2013** — Received a green card and left Microsoft for smaller technology companies.
- **2016** — Founded Venture Kits, making educational entrepreneurship games for children.
- **2017** — Founded the Female Founders Alliance, initially a Facebook group.
- **2018** — Launched the Ready Set Raise accelerator.
- **2021** — Announced Graham & Walker and its $10 million first venture fund in October.
- **2024** — Organized VCs for Harris, now VCs for Democracy.

## Achievements

- Raised a $10 million first fund with 105 backers; two-thirds were women and 40% were first-time fund investors at the October 2021 announcement.
- Founded the Female Founders Alliance and the Ready Set Raise accelerator.
- Recognized in Forbes Central America’s 2018 Most Powerful Women list, Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2018 40 Under 40 and 2024 Women of Influence, and Worth’s 2021 Worthy 100.
- Organized a 2024 political pledge signed by more than 850 venture capitalists by September.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Graham & Walker’s website promoted applications for its Chicago Founder Day.
- **2026-02** — Hosted a fireside conversation with TimeCredit AI co-founder Ndonga Sagnia about navigating an acquisition.
- **2026-01** — Featured alongside Ross Fubini in Build Mode’s discussion of investor relationships and raising a first fund.

## Links

- Website: https://lesliefeinzaig.substack.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliefeinzaig
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/LeslieFeinzaig
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lesliefeinzaig.bsky.social

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/leslie-feinzaig
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22