Get mentored on V-Day by an entrepreneur who has exited!
By Angie Chang (Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Women 2.0)
Entrepreneurs are respected for their moxy, their grit, their determination and faith. How many tech companies start in a garage or dorm room to become the next Google or Facebook?
Many have ideas and inventions brewing, but few will actually quit their day jobs and live the dream… for years until exit.
Here’s to the women entrepreneurs who have made the leap of faith, founded high-tech high-growth companies and celebrated a startup acquisition!
Here are 10 exited entrepreneurs who will be mentoring at lunchtime on February 14 at the upcoming 2013 Women 2.0 Conference:
Alexa Andrzejewski (Co-Founder & CEO, Foodspotting)
Designer Alexa Andrzejewski founded Foodspotting, a web/mobile app helping find and recommend dishes nearby. Foodspotting raised $750k in seed funding in 2010, $3M Series A in 2011 and was acquired by OpenTable for $10M last week. Follow her on Twitter at @ladylexy.
Alicia Morga (CEO & Founder, No. 8 Media)
Latina entrepreneur Alicia Morga founded Consorte in 2005, a VC-backed digital media company focused on the Hispanic market. Consorte was acquired by Audience Science in May 2010, and Alicia is now working on No. 8 Media. Follow her on Twitter at @aliciamorga.
Christina Brodbeck (Founding Team Member, YouTube)
Designer Christina Brodbeck was on the founding team of YouTube, which was acquired by Google for $1.65B in October 2006. Now an angel investor and entrepreneur, she is the CEO and co-founder of theicebreak, an app for couples. Follow her on Twitter at @jellyfishbloom.
Elaine Wherry (Co-Founder, Meebo)
Designer Elaine Wherry co-founded Meebo in 2005, where she was Meebo’s Chief Experience Officer and VP of Product. After raising $70M in venture capital, Meebo was acquired by Google in June 2012 for a rumored $100M. Follow her on Twitter at @elainewherry.
Fran Maier (Founding Team, Match.com)
Entrepreneur Fran Maier co-founded Match.com, where she established credibility, safety, and trust in online dating. Match.com was acquired by IAC for $50M cash in June 1999. She leveraged trust-building online to build TRUSTe. Follow her on Twitter at @franmaier.
Jenny Fielding (President & Founder, Switch Mobile)
With a background in law and banking, Jenny Fielding founded Switch-Mobile, a leading VoIP mobile software company in 2005. Switch-Mobile was acquired by Via One Corporation in 2007. Currently she heads digital ventures at BBC Labs. Follow her on Twitter at @jefielding.
Monisha Perkash (CEO & Co-Founder, TuitionCoach/The College Company)
Before she started LUMO BodyTech, Monisha Perkash co-founded TuitionCoach, which was acquired by SimpleTuition in November 2009. She has held leadership positions at SimpleTuition, Siebel Systems, Pensare, and AmeriCorps. Follow her on Twitter at @mperkash.
Paula Long (Co-Founder, EqualLogic)
Entrepreneur Paula Long co-founded DataGravity, which was acquired by Dell for $1.4B in 2007 – history’s largest cash payout for a VC-backed firm. She is now CEO and co-founder at DataGravity, raising Series B funding recently. Follow her on Twitter at @DataGravityInc.
Prerna Gupta (CEO & Co-Founder, Khush)
Now an angel investor, Prerna Gupta co-founded Khush in 2009 to develop intelligent music apps, leading the company to profitability. Khush was acquired by Smule in December 2011 for a “eight-figure deal” in cash and stock. Follow her on Twitter at @prernagupta.
Rashmi Sinha (Co-Founder & CEO, SlideShare)
Social software and interface designer SlideShare CEO Rashmi Sinha co-founded SlideShare in 2006 to share documents online. SlideShare was acquired by LinkedIn for $118M in May 2012. Rashmi is now an angel investor. Follow her on Twitter at @rashmi.
These role models for women in tech are coming to Thursday’s Women 2.0 Conference at lunchtime serving as mentors for the attendees! Meet them in person and have Valentine’s Day lunch with a rockstar woman entrepreneur who has celebrated a big startup exit! Interested attendees must sign up by midnight TONIGHT for their mentoring spot. Keep an eye out for an email with a link to sign up.
Photo credit: Erica Kawamoto Hsu.
Women 2.0 readers: What woman entrepreneur who celebrated a startup exit is your role model? Let us know in the comemnts!
Angie Chang is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Women 2.0, a media company offering content, community and conferences for aspiring and current women innovators in technology. Our mission is to increase the number of female founders of technology startups with inspiration, information and education through our platform. Previously, Angie held roles in product management and web UI design. Angie holds a B.A. in English and Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Follow her on Twitter at @thisgirlangie.
