Girls Into VC Podcast

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Courtney Leimkuhler and Elana Berkowitz to talk about their different backgrounds and how they came together to build a venture capital fund Springbank! Courtney Leimkuhler is a co-founder and partner at Springbank. Before founding Springbank, Courtney spent her career in the financial services industry from large publicly-traded companies to fintech start-up...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Jackie Reses to talk about her journey from Goldman Sachs, to Yahoo and Square, to building Lead Bank! Jackie Reses is the Chair and CEO of Lead Bank, a community bank in Kansas City. Previously, she was the Executive Chairman of Square Financial Services and Capital Lead and Head of the People Team at Block Inc (Square). Prior, she had leadership positions a...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Sarah Young to talk about her journey from PR and communications to Launching Sandpiper Ventures! Sarah Young is an entrepreneur, a business leader, and a sought after communications advisor. From her position of Managing Partner, Atlantic Canada, at NATIONAL Public Relations, Canada’s leading PR firm, Sarah grew the team through award-winning work. Sarah hel...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Tamara Zaichkowsky to talk about how founding story of building Modern Picnic! Ali Kaminetsky is a founder and CEO of Modern Picnic, a lunch bag company for women. Modern Picnic provides working women with a chic alternative to the traditional lunchbox with an insulated interior and vegan leather exterior.

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Nazuk Thakkar to talk about venture capital and DEI. Nazuk Thakkar is an Associate at the early-stage VC Ripple Ventures based in Toronto. In addition, she's the Program Manager for their RippleX Fellowship Program, a tuition-free educational and networking course that aims to aid underrepresented and student founders and VCs.

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Tamara Zaichkowsky to break-down the fintech industry in an easy to understand way! Tamara Zaichkowsky is the Chief Digital Officer at Acrisure. In her role, Tamara is responsible for the digital strategy and transformation across the organization specifically focused on the development and execution of the digital marketplace, digitally enabled organic growt...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Emma Silverman to talk about her experience going from consulting, to startups, to venture capital! Emma Silverman is a Principal at TMV, where she invests in companies building innovative solutions for the Care Economy and Future of Work. At TMV, she has led investments in Ours, Millie, Bonside and Great Wrap, and works closely with additional companies incl...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Alexandra Dumas to talk about her experience going from marketing, to angel Investing, to the Head of VC and Startup Partnerships at Google! Alexandra Dumas is a dynamic venture capitalist, business transformation expert, and sought-after advisor for early and growth stage founders. Her passion for empowering underdogs and promoting diversity, equity, and inc...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Victoria Kennedy and Isabelle Seale to talk about their journeys from product and design to launching a venture capital fund of their own. Victoria Kennedy is the founder and GP of Seed to Harvest. She is a product expert with over  10 years of experience working in startups. She has worked on scaling over 6 products and is skilled in customer and market rese...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Abigail Pohl to talk about her experiences from private equity, to consulting, to venture capital. Abigail is an Investment Associate at the Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, responsible for supporting all areas of digital health. Prior to joining Merck in 2021, Abigail was a strategy consultant in the Life Sciences practice at Accenture where she focused...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Olivia Seltzer to talk about her experiences starting The Cramm, a news startup she started at 13 that now has over 2.5 monthly views! ​​Olivia Seltzer is the 19 year old founder and sole writer of The Cramm. She started The Cramm after the 2016 presidential election, when she became inspired to make a difference. Since then, she has written over one thousand...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Jadyn Bryden to talk about her experiences working at the largest run student company in the world, and transitioning into venture capital. Jadyn is a Vice President at Xfund. Prior to Xfund, she was the Chief Strategy Officer of Harvard Student Agencies (HSA), the largest student-run company in the world, with 12 separate business units, over 600 employees a...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Tina Hrabak to talk about her experiences from higher education, to supporting startups, to expanding entrepreneurship. Tina Hrabak (she/her) is the Senior Director of Startups for Future Founders. In this role, she oversees Future Founders’ 18 to 30-year-old work nationwide, including the Fellowship and Startup Bootcamp programs. She also serves on Melinda G...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Kyrha Lever Ruff to talk about her experiences from psychology and media, to VC and an MBA, to starting her company Of All Trades. Kyrha Lever Ruff , a recent MBA graduate from Columbia Business School (Class of 2023), has focused her studies on entrepreneurship, venture capital, and investing. After earning a psychology degree from Amherst College, Kyrha emb...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Naseem Sayani to talk about her experiences from consulting, to angel investing, to building a fund investing in female founders. Naseem Sayani is Co-Founder and Managing Director at Emmeline Ventures where she leads all aspects of deal flow, deal sourcing, and investment diligence.  Naseem’s investing and business-building experience comes from 20+ years in...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Lauma Sīle to talk about her experiences from volunteering at a startup event, to building alternative business and technology education, to managing startup partnerships. Lauma has a broad experience as a community builder in several different ventures internationally. She is currently the Startup Partnership Manager at Httpool and Board Member at TechChill....

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Sarah Parsons Wolter to talk about her experiences from being an Olympian, to working at Morgan Stanley, to being a principal at a VC firm. Sarah is a Principal and Head of Growth at FinTech Collective, an early-stage fintech focused venture capital firm based in New York City and investing globally.  Prior to joining FinTech Collective, Sarah spent ten years...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Roza Szafranek to talk about her experience building a company, to growing startups, to building a team. Roza Szafranek - Founder & CEO of HR Hints , the first HR boutique operating on a subscription model, dedicated to startups and scaleups. HR expert with psychological and managerial experience, the leader in tech, from early startup through the exit (a...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Jacques-Philippe Piverger to talk about his experiences from  leading a venture firm, to harnessing AI, to unlocking resources for under-represented founders. Jacques-Philippe Piverger is an experienced entrepreneur and investor who harnesses the power of business and philanthropy to effect change where it is needed most around the world. Prior to founding Go...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Katherine Byrne to talk about her experiences from media, to amplifying women, to being a Chief Growth Officer. Kate Byrne is the Chief Growth Officer at Goodlight Capital and Advisor to PlusMedia Solutions and Emerge, as well as the podcast host for MediaVillage's WomenAdvancing.org , Rebels with a Purpose and African Tech Conversations.  A leader in dig...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Abigail Risse to talk about her journey from mechanical engineering, to startups, to VC recruiting, to investing. Abigail Risse is on the investment team at Hyperplane, an early-stage venture capital fund in Boston investing in B2B applications of novel AI/ML and automation technology since 2015. Abigail studied mechanical engineering and focused primarily on...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Melissa Gallagher to talk about her journey from startups, to private equity, to venture capital. Melissa Gallagher is a recent graduate of Bentley University (December 2022). Outside of her full-time role, she has continued her position as a Student Investor at Odds-On VC, a student program backed by the Venture Capital firm, PJC. She is also the part-time C...

On this podcast Girls Into VC welcomes Iynna Halilou to talk about her journey from the UN, to startups, to early stage investing. Iynna is an investor at Moxxie Ventures and a Partner at the MBA Fund where she leads deals across Vertical SaaS (her areas of interests include logistics, mobility, manufacturing, construction, deeptech etc.) Prior to Moxxie, Iynna built and ran the global division of...

Hi everyone! My name is Isabella Mandis and I am the founder and CEO of Girls Into VC. Girls Into VC is the first organization dedicated to bringing young women into venture capital. This is our first podcast episode where I give an introduction on myself and Girls Into VC!