# Renata George

> Renata George is a venture capital investor, author, educator, and advocate for gender diversity in the investment world. She built and exited a major franchise media network in Eastern Europe before pivoting to VC, raising a U.S.-based fund in 2011, and later joining a Singapore VC firm. She founded Women.VC, a nonprofit advancing women in venture capital and private equity, authored the landmark book 'Women Who Venture', and serves as Program Director of VC Academy. Forbes named her among the top women in VC in 2012 and a leading millennial woman investor in 2015.

- **Role:** Program Director at VC Academy / Director of Diversity in Venture Capital at PEI - Alternative Insight
- **Organizations:** Women.VC, VC Academy, MR Ventures, Zenmen Venture Fund, PEI - Alternative Insight, all.vc
- **Nationality:** Russian-American
- **Education:** BBA in Finance Management, Kursk State Medical University, MBA in Venture Investments, Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Venture Capital Executive Program, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, Executive Education, MIT Sloan School of Management
- **Known for:** Named by Forbes (2012) as one of 'The Top Women in Venture Capital and Angel Investing', Named by Forbes (2015) in 'Millennial Women Venture Investors', Founded Women.VC, a nonprofit for the advancement of women in venture capital and private equity

## Career timeline

- **pre-2008** — Built one of the most successful franchise media networks in Eastern Europe
- **2008** — Exited/sold franchise media network in Eastern Europe
- **2010** — Began angel investing; first portfolio companies include RealSpeaker, FaceNoteMe, iProtect, BiMetall+
- **2011** — Raised a venture capital fund in the United States
- **2012** — Completed Venture Capital Executive Program at UC Berkeley Haas; named by Forbes as one of 'The Top Women in Venture Capital and Angel Investing'
- **2013** — Published 'The Manual for Finding a Perfect Mentor for Entrepreneurs'
- **2014** — Co-authored a VC/entrepreneurship course
- **2015** — Named by Forbes in 'Millennial Women Venture Investors'; published 'Networking Done Classy'
- **2016** — Joined a VC firm based in Singapore; established corporate venture arm for an Asian unicorn startup
- **2017** — Became Program Director and editor-in-chief of VC Academy (vc.academy) in February
- **2018** — Published 'VENTURE CAPITAL MINDSET: Become the candidate that every venture capital firm would like to hire'
- **2019** — Published 'Women Who Venture: You Can't Be What You Can't See'
- **2020** — Began investing in YC-associated startups including Handl (YC W20), Butlr, Spenny, BuildStream, Sable, Coursalytics (June 2020)
- **2021** — Became Director of Diversity in Venture Capital at PEI - Alternative Insight (Venture Capital Journal) in January

## Achievements

- Named by Forbes (2012) as one of 'The Top Women in Venture Capital and Angel Investing'
- Named by Forbes (2015) in 'Millennial Women Venture Investors'
- Founded Women.VC, a nonprofit for the advancement of women in venture capital and private equity
- Authored 'Women Who Venture: You Can't Be What You Can't See' (2019) - a landmark book profiling women VCs across all generations
- Helped tech companies raise approximately $30M from state institutions and $20M from venture capital investors
- Built and successfully exited one of the most successful franchise media networks in Eastern Europe
- Raised a US-based venture capital fund in 2011
- Led research showing women VCs' portfolio returns match or exceed industry averages
- Guest Lecturer at University of San Francisco
- Competition judge at AngelHack and SXSW

## Latest updates

- **2021-01** — Became Director of Diversity in Venture Capital at PEI - Alternative Insight, writing for Venture Capital Journal on emerging fund managers
- **2020-06** — Active investing in YC-associated startups including Handl (YC W20), Butlr, Spenny, BuildStream, Sable, Coursalytics
- **2019-01** — Published 'Women Who Venture: You Can't Be What You Can't See'

## Links

- Website: https://www.renata.vc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renatavc/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/womanvc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RenataGeorgeHQ/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/renata-george
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-25