Alexa von Tobel

Last updated
Alexa von Tobel
Born (1983-10-06) October 6, 1983 (age 41)
Jacksonville, Florida
Nationality American
Alma mater Harvard College
Occupation(s)Managing Partner of Inspired Capital, Founder & CEO of LearnVest.com,
Years active2009–present

Alexa von Tobel (born October 6, 1983) is the founder and CEO of LearnVest.com, a personal finance website, and the founder and Managing Partner of Inspired Capital. [1] Von Tobel is the author of the New York Times bestseller Financially Fearless, which came out on December 31, 2013, and the author of Financially Forward, which came out on May 14, 2019. [2] [3] In April 2014, von Tobel was selected as an inaugural member of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, alongside Steve Case, Reid Hoffman, Tory Burch and others. [4] Von Tobel is the host of Inc.'s The Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel podcast. [5]

Contents

Early life, education and family

Von Tobel is from Jacksonville, Florida. [6] Her mother, a nurse practitioner, Darlene Marie von Tobel and her father the late Dr. Harry M. Von Tobel, worked in a private practice specializing as a developmental pediatrician. [7] Von Tobel received a B.A. in Psychology at Harvard College. Alexa von Tobel is married to Michael Ryan Jr., they both met at Harvard. [8] The couple has three children. [9]

Career

After graduation, she worked as a trader at Morgan Stanley before leaving to be the Head of Business Development at Drop.io. [10]

Von Tobel came up with the idea for LearnVest in 2006 while working at Morgan Stanley when she realized she and most other people had never had any formal education about how to manage their personal finances. [11] In April 2009, Von Tobel closed a $4.5 million series A round of funding led by Accel Partners. [12] Learnvest raised a total of $72 million whilst a private company, from investors including Accel Partners, American Express Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Capital. [13]

On March 25, 2015, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., based in Milwaukee, announced it would acquire LearnVest for a reported price of $375 million. [14] LearnVest continued to operate as a separate unit under founder and Chief Executive von Tobel. [15]

In 2019, Von Tobel launched a new early stage venture capital fund, Inspired Capital, along with Penny Pritzker. [16] Inspired Capital's first fund was $200M. [17]

Awards and recognition

Von Tobel has been included in lists like Business Insider's 2010 "Silicon Alley 100," [18] Inc. Magazine's "30 under 30: The Top Young Entrepreneurs of 2010," [19] “Women to Watch” by Forbes, [20] “18 Women Changing the World” in Marie Claire, [21] and BusinessWeek's annual list of “Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs.” [22] In 2012, she was selected as a Fortune "Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur" and named a scholar at the Aspen Ideas Festival. [23]

Von Tobel has been a featured speaker at several conferences and events such as the 2012 SXSW Interactive, [24] TEDxWallStreet Event at NYSE, [25] Stern Entrepreneurs Exchange Summit 2012, [26] Ruth's Chris Steak House and Marie Claire Celebrate Female Entrepreneurs: Women in Business Speaker Series, [27] Fortune Summit: Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, [28] The George Washington University 5th Annual Women in Business Conference, [29] and Inc.’s GrowCo Conference in 2013. [30]

Von Tobel hosted the first live event for the website, LearnVest LIVE, in October 2012, featuring lectures by fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, Top Chef judge Gail Simmons, Marie Claire editor and Project Runway mentor Joanna Coles, Gilt Groupe cofounder Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and one of LearnVest's CFP professionals and their Director of Financial Planning, Stephany Kirkpatrick. [31]

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References

  1. ↑ "Where life gets richer". LearnVest. 2010-12-06. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
  2. ↑ "Best Sellers Business Books". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Tobel, Alexa Von (2019). Amazon: Financially Forward. Crown. ISBN   978-1984823526.
  4. ↑ "Meet the Commerce Department's All-Star Startup Team". Inc. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Inc. Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel" . Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Staff, Crushable (March 18, 2010). "Crushable questionnaire: Alexa von Tobel". Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Alexa von Tobel and Michael Ryan Jr". The New York Times. 2013-03-24. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  8. ↑ "Alexa von Tobel and Michael Ryan Jr". The New York Times. 2013-03-24. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  9. ↑ "11 Female CEOs and Founders on What It's Really Like to Have a Baby While Running Your Company". Fortune. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ↑ "Alexa von Tobel: How To Be The Master Of Your Financial Future". Forbes. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "LearnVest's founder: Is Alexa von Tobel Suze Orman 2.0?". VentureBeat. July 7, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  12. ↑ Miller, Claire Cain (April 1, 2010). "Accel Invests in Personal Finance Site for Women". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Personalized Financial Planning Service LearnVest Raises $28M From Northwestern Mutual Capital". TechCrunch. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Mohan, Pavithra (2019-10-16). "LearnVest's Alexa von Tobel wants to boost NYC's VC scene with new fund". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  15. ↑ Moyer, Liz (March 25, 2015). "Northwestern Mutual Is Buying Online Advice Provider LearnVest". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Exclusive: Billionaire Penny Pritzker Joins Forces With Alexa von Tobel to Raise New $200M Fund". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  17. ↑ "Inspired Capital, founded by Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker, just closed its debut fund with $200 million". TechCrunch. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  18. ↑ Insider, Silicon Alley (December 8, 2010). "Silicon Alley 100". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  19. ↑ "30 under 30: The Top Young Entrepreneurs of 2010". 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Women to Watch". Forbes. January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  21. ↑ "18 Women Changing the World". September 13, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs". January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Personal Finance Expert Alexa von Tobel to Deliver Woman of Achievement Lecture". Meredith College. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  24. ↑ Chang, Angie (2 March 2012). "Female Founders To Watch: 2012 SXSWi Speakers Edition". Women 2.0.
  25. ↑ Ted Talks (19 November 2012). "Alexa von Tobel: 4 TEDTalks That Impart True Insight". Mashable.
  26. ↑ Sharma, Gary (16 April 2012). "Best Tech Events This Week (4sq Day, NY Tech Day, Fashion 2.0, food+tech, SkillShare Penny Conf, General Assembly Assemled Capital)". BetaBeat.
  27. ↑ Lepore, Meredith (8 May 2012). "LearnVest CEO Alexa von Tobel Said Raising Money For A Startup is 'Most Gruesome'". The Grindstone. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  28. ↑ Leahey, Colleen (27 September 2012). "10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs". Fortune Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  29. ↑ Greenberg, Molly (1 April 2014). "GW Women in Business Event to Host a Whole Slew of Impressive Female Entrepreneurs". DC Inno.
  30. ↑ Stillman, Jessica (18 April 2013). "How to Disrupt an Industry". Women 2.0.
  31. ↑ PERSONAL FINANCE. "Announcing: LearnVest LIVE, an Inspiring Evening of Lifestyle and Money Advice". Fox Business. Archived from the original on 2013-07-10.
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