# Mahima Chawla

> Mahima Chawla is the co-founder and CEO of Cocoon, the leave-management software company she started in 2020 with Lauren Dai and Amber Feng after discovering how poorly workplace systems handled one of an employee’s most consequential administrative moments. A Brown mathematics and economics graduate whose career moved through Morgan Stanley, Bond Street, and Square Capital, Chawla brought a product-and-data lens to a maze of policy, payroll, and paperwork. Cocoon launched nationally in 2021, raised $26 million by that year, grew to support more than 25,000 leaves and 400-plus employers, and was acquired by TriNet in April 2026.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Cocoon
- **Organizations:** Cocoon, Square, Bond Street, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, TriNet
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics, Brown University, Data Science course, General Assembly, Front-End Web Development course, General Assembly
- **Known for:** Co-founded Cocoon and led it from incorporation in 2020 through acquisition by TriNet in 2026., Raised a reported $26 million for Cocoon by September 2021, including a $20 million Series A led by Index Ventures., Expanded Cocoon from parental leave support for one California customer to more than 400 employers nationwide.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Worked as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
- **2012** — Worked as a securitized products group analyst at Morgan Stanley.
- **2013-2015** — Worked in foreign exchange and interest-rates trading at Morgan Stanley.
- **2015-2017** — Joined online small-business lender Bond Street, working in marketing and data analytics.
- **2017-2020** — Served as a product manager on Square Capital, helping build small-business lending products.
- **2020** — Co-founded Cocoon with Lauren Dai and Amber Feng and became CEO.
- **2021** — Cocoon launched across all 50 states and announced a $20 million Series A, bringing reported total funding to $26 million.
- **2023** — Spoke with Melinda French Gates at The Care Summit about technology, work, and care.
- **2024** — Cocoon launched a donation program tied to leaves managed on the platform to support paid-leave advocacy organizations.
- **2025** — Cocoon said it expanded integrations and partnerships, including Paylocity, Paychex, Workday, and Sedgwick.
- **2026** — TriNet completed its acquisition of Cocoon on April 14; Cocoon became a wholly owned TriNet subsidiary.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Cocoon and led it from incorporation in 2020 through acquisition by TriNet in 2026.
- Raised a reported $26 million for Cocoon by September 2021, including a $20 million Series A led by Index Ventures.
- Expanded Cocoon from parental leave support for one California customer to more than 400 employers nationwide.
- Led a platform that had supported more than 25,000 employee leaves by April 2026.
- Helped build lending products at Square Capital that had provided more than $1 billion in growth capital to small businesses.
- Spoke at The Care Summit alongside Melinda French Gates about the relationship between care and work.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — TriNet completed its acquisition of Cocoon; the company became a wholly owned TriNet subsidiary after reporting more than 25,000 leaves supported and 400-plus employer customers.
- **2026-02** — Chawla marked the anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act by urging support for national paid leave and highlighting Cocoon’s donations to advocacy groups.
- **2025-08** — Chawla joined a DMEC panel on technology disruption in leave management with representatives from ADP Ventures and Guardian.
- **2025-03** — She appeared on the HRchat podcast to discuss the compliance, time-tracking, payroll, and communication problems Cocoon addresses.

## Links

- Website: https://www.cocoon.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahimachawla1
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/mahimachawlaa
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzTlISMzp5E

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mahima-chawla
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27