Before becoming a venture investor, Laura Bordewieck Rippy was CEO of Handango, described as the first mobile app marketplace, and she also co-founded two businesses inside Microsoft as part of a small team spun out of Bill Gates' office—experience that shapes her focus on founders building defensible, one-of-a-kind companies and her view that women who make it through VC's filtering tend to be especially vetted, efficient, and tested. She's been recognized individually for this track record, including being named among Business Insider's best early-stage investors in both 2024 and 2025 and ranked #1 among top female seed investors in 2025, and she stays publicly engaged with founders by hosting conversations on the Tech Optimist podcast, including an interview with Gatik's CEO.