# Magdalena Yesil

> Magdalena Yesil is a Silicon Valley pioneer who arrived in the US at 17 with two suitcases and $43 to her name, earned three degrees from Stanford, and went on to become the first outside investor and founding board member of Salesforce. A serial entrepreneur who co-founded CyberCash (one of the internet's first secure payment systems) and MarketPay, she spent eight years as a General Partner at US Venture Partners before co-founding Informed.IQ, an AI-powered document processing platform that has enabled over $350 billion in consumer loan originations. Author of 'Power UP: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy' and co-founder of Broadway Angels, she sits on the boards of SoFi Technologies, Smartsheet, and Zuora.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Executive Chair at Informed.IQ
- **Organizations:** Informed.IQ, Broadway Angels, SoFi Technologies (board), Smartsheet (board), Zuora (board), ScaleX Ventures (advisor)
- **From:** Turkey
- **Nationality:** American (Turkish-born, Armenian heritage)
- **Education:** Undergraduate studies, Illinois Institute of Technology, B.S. Industrial Engineering, Stanford University, B.S. Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, M.S. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
- **Known for:** First outside investor and founding board member of Salesforce (1999) - one of the most consequential early bets in enterprise software history, Co-founded CyberCash, one of the internet's first secure electronic payment systems (1994, IPO 1996), Co-founded MarketPay, a leading compensation management and benchmarking software company

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Immigrated from Turkey to the US at age 17 with $43 and two suitcases; enrolled at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago
- **1980s** — Earned three degrees from Stanford University (B.S. Industrial Engineering, B.S. Management Science and Engineering, M.S. Electrical Engineering)
- **1980s** — Worked as semiconductor design engineer at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
- **1993** — Joined UUNet, the first commercial internet access provider, as it commercialized the internet; UUNet IPO in 1994
- **1994** — Co-founded CyberCash, one of the first secure internet payment systems; met Marc Benioff (then at Oracle) while forging strategic partnerships
- **1996** — CyberCash went public (IPO)
- **1997** — Co-founded MarketPay, a compensation management and benchmarking software company; named Entrepreneur of the Year by Red Herring magazine
- **1999** — Became the first outside investor and founding board member of Salesforce, writing the first external check for Marc Benioff's CRM-as-a-service vision
- **Late 1990s** — Joined US Venture Partners (USVP) as General Partner
- **2000** — Became subject of Harvard Business School case study on entrepreneurship and venture career paths
- **2004** — Salesforce IPO; Yesil's early stake (approx 2.3%) delivered transformational returns
- **2000s** — Co-founded Broadway Angels, a group of female venture capitalists and angel investors focused on women-led companies
- **2000s-2010s** — Made early-stage investments in 30+ companies including theRealReal, PicsArt, Zuora, Smartsheet, Socialcast (acquired by VMware), Catch (acquired by Apple)
- **2017** — Joined board of Smartsheet (July) and Zuora (June); published 'Power UP: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy' (Hachette)
- **2019** — Featured as one of four central subjects in 'Alpha Girls' by Julian Guthrie (New York Times bestseller)
- **2021** — Joined board of PicsArt (June)
- **2024** — Informed.IQ raised $63M led by Invictus Growth Partners; Yesil continues as Executive Chair and co-founder
- **2025** — Continues on boards of SoFi Technologies, Smartsheet, and Zuora; estimated net worth ~$327M

## Achievements

- First outside investor and founding board member of Salesforce (1999) - one of the most consequential early bets in enterprise software history
- Co-founded CyberCash, one of the internet's first secure electronic payment systems (1994, IPO 1996)
- Co-founded MarketPay, a leading compensation management and benchmarking software company
- Earned three degrees from Stanford University
- Named Entrepreneur of the Year by Red Herring magazine (1997)
- Co-founded Broadway Angels, empowering women investors and women-led companies
- Author of 'Power UP: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy' (Hachette, 2017)
- Subject of Harvard Business School case study (2000)
- Featured subject in 'Alpha Girls' by Julian Guthrie (NYT bestseller, 2019)
- Informed.IQ has enabled over $350 billion in consumer loan originations
- Received Fearless Leader Award from WomenOnBoards2020 and How Women Lead
- Early investor in 30+ companies including multiple IPOs and acquisitions
- Board member of three Nasdaq/NYSE-listed companies: SoFi Technologies, Smartsheet, Zuora

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Announced as keynote speaker at the American University of Armenia's 35th Anniversary Gala, November 7, 2026, Beverly Hills, California
- **2025-06** — Sold approximately 87,140-174,280 shares of SoFi Technologies worth ~$2M; retains ~289,258 shares worth ~$6M
- **2024-01** — Informed.IQ raised $63 million Series C led by Invictus Growth Partners, validating AI-driven document processing for major lenders

## Links

- Website: https://www.magdalena.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/magdalena-yesil
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/magdalenayesil
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/magdalenayesil/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MagdalenaYesilAuthor/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/magdalena-yesil
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05