Fundraising Fox
Aileen Lee
InvestorAdvisor, Cowboy Ventures at Screendoor · Founder & Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures at Gold House Ventures · Founder & Managing Partner at Cowboy Ventures
Palo Alto, CA
Writes $500K – $3M checks · typically $1M
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Photo: TechCrunch, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons ↗
About
Aileen Lee founded the seed-stage firm Cowboy Ventures in 2012 after more than a decade at Kleiner Perkins. She coined the term 'unicorn' for billion-dollar startups in a 2013 essay and co-founded All Raise, the nonprofit working to advance women in venture capital.
Contact· published on Aileen's own website
Invests in
ConsumerDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFintechHealthtechSaaS
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Lee co-founded All Raise, a nonprofit that works to increase the representation and funding of women in venture capital.
- Education
- Studied at MIT Sloan School of Management (BS, 1992) Studied at Harvard Business School (MBA, 1997) Studied at Millburn High School (1988)
- Boards
- Lee serves on the board of the Castilleja School.
- Communities
- Lee coined the term 'unicorn' in her 2013 TechCrunch article 'Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning from Billion-Dollar Startups.'
- Awards
- Lee appeared on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, at position #97 as of 2020. Lee was named to Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2019. Lee was named a Henry Crown Fellow.
- Hobbies
- Lee enjoys playing and watching tennis, cooking and eating, and spending time with her family. In high school Lee ran small businesses with friends, including a tie-dye t-shirt venture called 'Buy or Dye' and an egg roll stand called 'Wok Out.'
- Family
- Lee is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and grew up in Millburn, New Jersey. Lee is a mother of three children and is married to a startup co-founder/CTO; the family also has a dog and chickens.
From Aileen's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Investments
Investor
AccompanyADAYAugustAugust Home Inc.Bloom EnergyBranch MetricsBrava HomeBrit + CoCallaway Digital ArtsCrunchbaseDollar Shave ClubDropGetSetUpGuildHomebaseHoneLaunchnotesLibratoLocalityMutinyNakedPoppyNewnessNuORDERnWayOffermaticOne JacksonOne Kings LanePlum DistrictRent the RunwayRiseStyleseatTallyTally TechnologiesTextioTrendyol GroupUplimitVicZazzleZeen
Per curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Aileen LeeE988 Cowboy Ventures' Aileen Lee on pioneering diversity in tech & VC, lessons from backing winners
This Week in Startups
Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures) on the challenges of M&A exit strategies in next 5 years
This Week in Startups
Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures) & Emily Chang (Bloomberg) - Ten Years of Unicorns: What's next?
Startup Grind
4 Lessons from Aileen Lee @ Cowboy Ventures
ConfluenceVC: The VC Operating Playbook
The Unicorn Club 10 years later with Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee | Equity Podcast
TechCrunch
The Unicorn Club 10 years later with Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee | Equity Podcast
TechCrunch
6 more appearances
- 'Unicorn' headquarters dispersing to different cities after COVID: Cowboy Ventures' Aileen Lee2024-01-18
- VC State of the Market with SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin and Cowboy Ventures Founder & MP Aileen Lee2022-09-15
- Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures) + Rachel Carlson (Guild Education) | TechCrunch2021-09-08
- Fireside Chat: Aileen Lee2020-09-20
- Seed Investing: What's Changed, What Hasn't with Cowboy Ventures Founder Aileen Lee and Jason Lemkin2020-05-28
- Silicon Slopes Tech Summit 2019: Cowboy Ventures Founding Partner Aileen Lee2019-03-11
Colleagues at Screendoor
Network7
Investors connected to Aileen in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Aileen Lee?
- Aileen Lee founded the seed-stage firm Cowboy Ventures in 2012 after more than a decade at Kleiner Perkins. She coined the term 'unicorn' for billion-dollar startups in a 2013 essay and co-founded All Raise, the nonprofit working to advance women in venture capital.
- Where does Aileen Lee work?
- Aileen Lee is Advisor, Cowboy Ventures at Screendoor and Founder & Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures at Gold House Ventures and Founder & Managing Partner at Cowboy Ventures.
- What does Aileen Lee invest in?
- Aileen Lee invests in Consumer, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS.
- What check size does Aileen Lee write?
- Aileen Lee typically writes checks of $500K – $3M.
- What companies has Aileen Lee invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Accompany, ADAY, August, August Home Inc., Bloom Energy, Branch Metrics, Brava Home, Brit + Co, Callaway Digital Arts, Crunchbase, Dollar Shave Club, Drop, and 27 more.
- What awards has Aileen Lee received?
- Lee appeared on Forbes' list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, at position #97 as of 2020. Lee was named to Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2019. Lee was named a Henry Crown Fellow.
- What podcasts and interviews feature Aileen Lee?
- Tracked appearances include "E988 Cowboy Ventures' Aileen Lee on pioneering diversity in tech & VC, lessons from backing winners", "Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures) on the challenges of M&A exit strategies in next 5 years", "Aileen Lee (Cowboy Ventures) & Emily Chang (Bloomberg) - Ten Years of Unicorns: What's next?", and 9 more.
About this profile. Compiled from public sources — Screendoor's own website, press coverage and public professional profiles — and summarised by Fundraising Fox; every fact is kept with where it came from. Spotted an error, or would rather not be listed? Email privacy@fundraisingfox.com · How we build profiles · Your rights