Hayley Leibson

A serial startup founder, angel investor, and writer with expertise in consumer tech and marketplaces, November “Hall of Femme” honoree Hayley Leibson centers her work around the mission of diversity and inclusion. She is one of the first startup advisors and investors to exclusively support women and minority-founded startups.

Hayley has spent her entire career enabling access through technology. The first company she co-founded, Lunchclub, broke down the old boys' club of networking and democratized access to economic opportunity for people across the world. Hayley's second company, Neverland, makes gardening and houseplants accessible to all. Combined, her entrepreneurial endeavors have raised over $500 million, and are valued at over $125 million. 

As one of few women to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for consumer technology, Hayley is driven to support marginalized groups, sharing that “the numbers are dismal. In 2019, only .32% of VC dollars went to Latinx women-led startups, and only .27% of VC dollars went to black women-led startups.” Self-describing as a Founder, Investor, and Writer, she “hope[s] other investors and founders will choose to help the most underrepresented founders with their precious time.”

Hayley works towards a better tomorrow, and her work has been recognized for her diversity and inclusion work in BBC World Service, BBC 100 Women, Tech Forward, OZY, Founded By, Women in Tech, and ABC News. 

By “work[ing] on hard problems that will truly make the world a better place for society and the planet,” Hayley shatters glass ceilings in the tech world everyday, paving the path for the next generation of women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.