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Join Alexa von Tobel, Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, for a conversation with Female Founder Collective on what it actually takes to build a technology company that can scale.

​As the founder of LearnVest, one of the earliest fintech companies focused on making financial planning accessible at scale, Alexa navigated the challenges of building, fundraising, hiring, and leading through growth before ultimately selling the company for nearly $400 million. Since then, she has led innovation inside a Fortune 100 company and spent years investing in the next generation of founders through Inspired Capital.

​In this session, we’ll break down the foundational decisions that shape a company’s trajectory long before it reaches scale. From building the right team and operational systems to staying focused on the metrics that matter, we’ll explore what separates companies that grow from those that stall.

​In this session, you’ll learn:

• How to prioritize the right things in the $0-$5M stage
• The most common mistakes founders make when trying to scale too early
• What investors look for beyond product and growth metrics
• How to think about hiring, leadership, and team structure as your company grows
• The systems and processes that create leverage before you have a large team
• How founders can evolve from builder to CEO as the business matures

​Whether you’re building in SaaS, AI, fintech, marketplaces, healthtech, or consumer technology, this conversation will leave you with a clearer understanding of what needs to be built before growth can happen.

MORE ABOUT ALEXA

​Alexa von Tobel is the Founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, a venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs building the next generation of category-defining companies.

​Prior to Inspired Capital, Alexa founded LearnVest, one of the first fintech companies focused on making financial planning accessible to millions. Following LearnVest’s acquisition, she became Northwestern Mutual’s first Chief Digital Officer and later served as Chief Innovation Officer, overseeing the company’s innovation strategy and venture investments.

​Alexa is a New York Times bestselling author of Financially Fearless, Financially Forward, and Money Matters. She has been recognized on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 and Most Powerful Women lists, appeared on the cover of Forbes, and was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

​Today, Alexa spends her time partnering with founders through Inspired Capital, helping them navigate the challenges of building enduring technology companies.

Alexa founded Inspired Capital because she deeply understood the unique challenges of the founder journey. Before Inspired, she dropped out of Harvard Business School to launch LearnVest, one of the first fintech companies aimed at making a financial planning software accessible to millions. Discouraged by the capital partners available in NYC at the time, Alexa promised herself she would one day become the kind of investor she wished had existed. In 2015, LearnVest was acquired for nearly $400 million, marking one of the decade’s largest fintech acquisitions. Alexa went on to establish herself as an industry authority and New York Times bestselling author, with three books on financial planning.

Born in Kentucky and raised in Florida, Alexa attended Harvard College, where she earned an AB in Psychology with Honors. Her career began on Morgan Stanley’s Proprietary Trading Desk, before helping to build Drop.io, an early-stage startup that was later acquired by Facebook.

After LearnVest’s acquisition, Alexa became Northwestern Mutual's first-ever Chief Digital Officer, leading product and technology strategy as the company achieved $30 billion in annual revenue. She later became Chief Innovation Officer, overseeing Northwestern Mutual’s venture arm.

Alexa is a 2016 Henry Crown Fellow and an inaugural member of President Obama’s Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, where she first met her co-founder, Penny Pritzker. Her achievements have earned her numerous accolades, including a Forbes cover, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, Most Powerful Women, Inc. Magazine's 30 Under 30, and the title of World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of Financially Fearless, Financially Forward, and Money Matters.

Alexa lives in New York City with her husband, Cliff Ryan, who leads Galvanize Climate Solutions’ venture and growth strategy, one of the world’s leading climate tech funds. Together, they are raising three children.