# Mariam Naficy

> Mariam Naficy is a San Francisco entrepreneur and investor whose career has traced three shifts in online commerce: Eve.com brought prestige cosmetics to the early web, Minted turned community voting into a discovery engine for independent design, and Arcade uses generative AI and a network of makers to turn a shopper's idea into a purchasable physical object. She is Arcade's founder and CEO, Minted's founder and executive chairman, a managing partner at Heretic Ventures, and an independent director of Victoria's Secret & Co.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Arcade
- **Organizations:** Arcade, Minted, Heretic Ventures, Victoria's Secret & Co., Tonic.xyz, Eve.com, The Body Shop, Movielink, Goldman Sachs, Yelp
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in political economy, Williams College, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Eve.com, an early online prestige cosmetics retailer, and sold it in 2000., Founded Minted and developed its community-voting model for discovering independent artists and designers., Built Minted into a marketplace reported in 2026 to generate about $300 million in annual sales.

## Career timeline

- **Early 1990s** — Worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs after graduating from Williams College.
- **1998** — Co-founded online cosmetics retailer Eve.com while completing her MBA at Stanford.
- **2000** — Eve.com was acquired by Idealab in a transaction reported at roughly $100 million to $110 million.
- **2003-2007** — Served as vice president and general manager at The Body Shop and led its e-commerce business.
- **2007-2008** — Founded and launched Minted; shifted it from branded stationery retail to community-powered design competitions after early sales data favored independent designs.
- **2014-2020** — Served as a director of Yelp.
- **2021** — Became managing partner at venture incubator Heretic Ventures.
- **2022** — Moved from Minted's day-to-day leadership into the executive chairman role and joined the Victoria's Secret & Co. board.
- **2022-2023** — Founded Arcade, an AI physical-product creation platform incubated at Heretic Ventures.
- **2024** — Arcade launched in beta with custom jewelry.
- **2025** — Arcade raised a $25 million Series A, bringing total funding to $42 million, and expanded into home goods.
- **2025** — Arcade introduced Maia, a conversational AI design assistant for custom physical products.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Eve.com, an early online prestige cosmetics retailer, and sold it in 2000.
- Founded Minted and developed its community-voting model for discovering independent artists and designers.
- Built Minted into a marketplace reported in 2026 to generate about $300 million in annual sales.
- Received an honorary doctorate of entrepreneurship from Northeastern University in 2023 and delivered its undergraduate commencement address.
- Founded Arcade and raised $42 million through its 2025 Series A.
- Served on public-company boards including Yelp and Victoria's Secret & Co.
- Published The Fast Track while at Stanford Graduate School of Business; the book was reported to have sold 50,000 copies.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Arcade advertised San Francisco-based openings for an AI product manager and chief of staff reporting directly to Naficy.
- **2026-04** — Naficy discussed Minted's early pivot and the value of testing a difficult-to-justify instinct in an Entrepreneur interview.
- **2026-01** — She said Arcade's near-term focus would be deeper capabilities in jewelry and home decor and described its position as the layer where taste and AI meet.
- **2025-11** — Arcade launched Maia, a conversational AI assistant for designing purchasable jewelry, gifts, and home decor, alongside new artisan and luxury-brand partnerships.
- **2025-03** — Arcade announced a $25 million Series A led by Canaan Partners and Forerunner Ventures, bringing total funding to $42 million, and expanded into home goods.

## Links

- Website: https://arcade.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariam-naficy
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mnaficy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnaficy/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mariam-naficy
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18