Alexa von Tobel

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Alexa von Tobel
Born (1983-10-06) October 6, 1983 (age 38)
Jacksonville, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard College
OccupationManaging 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 debuted on December 31, 2013, and the author of Financially Forward, which debuted 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]

Early life, education and family[]

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida,[6] Von Tobel received a B.A. in Psychology at Harvard College. Alexa von Tobel is married to Michael Ryan Jr.. The couple has 3 children, born in 2015, 2018 and 2019.[7]

Career[]

After graduation, she worked as a trader at Morgan Stanley before leaving to be the Head of Business Development at Drop.io, which was acquired by Facebook.[8][9]

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.[10]

In April 2009, Von Tobel closed a $4.5 million series A round of funding led by Accel Partners.[11] Learnvest raised a total of $72 million whilst a private company, from investors including Accel Partners, AmericanExpress Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Capital.[12]

On March 25, 2015, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., based in Milwaukee, announced it would acquire LearnVest for a reported price of $375 million.[13] LearnVest will continue to operate as a separate unit under founder and Chief Executive von Tobel. The deal has been viewed as the latest attempt by traditional financial-services firms to adapt to new digital technologies. Northwestern Mutual expects the technology will encourage more adviser-client interaction and ultimately create a more rewarding experience for the customer and adviser. By adding LearnVest's technology to the insurer's existing planning platform, those advisers can devote more time to working with customers on carrying out their recommendations. The arrangement also puts customers in more frequent contact with those advisers.[14]

In 2019, Von Tobel launched a new early stage venture capital fund, Inspired Capital, along with Penny Pritzker.[15] Inspired Capital's first fund was $200M.[16]

Awards and recognition[]

Von Tobel has been included in lists like Business Insider's 2010 "Silicon Alley 100,"[17] Inc. Magazine's "30 under 30: The Top Young Entrepreneurs of 2010,"[18] “Women to Watch” by Forbes,[19] “18 Women Changing the World” in Marie Claire,[20] and BusinessWeek's annual list of “Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs.”[21] In 2012, she was selected as a Fortune "Most Powerful Women Entrepreneur" and named a scholar at the Aspen Ideas Festival.[22]

Von Tobel has been featured in publications including: The New York Times,[23] The Wall Street Journal,[24] Bloomberg Businessweek,[25] Fast Company,[26] Forbes,[27] Shape Magazine,[28] Marie Claire,[29] The Huffington Post,[30] Mashable,[31] TechCrunch, and more.[32]

Von Tobel has also appeared on several local and national televisions shows including: The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, CNN Newsroom, Anderson, Katie Couric, The Rachel Ray Show, The Nate Berkus Show, Bloomberg, CNBC Power Pitch, MSNBC Your Business, NBC 4 NY and several others.

Von Tobel has been a featured speaker at several conferences and events such as the 2012 SXSW Interactive,[33] TEDxWallStreet Event at NYSE,[34] Stern Entrepreneurs Exchange Summit 2012,[35] Ruth's Chris Steak House and Marie Claire Celebrate Female Entrepreneurs: Women in Business Speaker Series,[36] Fortune Summit: Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs,[37] The George Washington University 5th Annual Women in Business Conference,[38] and Inc.’s GrowCo Conference in 2013.[39]

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, and one of LearnVest's CFP professionals and their Director of Financial Planning, Stephany Kirkpatrick.[40]

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. ISBN 978-1984823526.
  4. ^ "Meet the Commerce Department's All-Star Startup Team". Inc. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Founders Project". Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  6. ^ Staff, Crushable (March 18, 2010). "Crushable questionnaire: Alexa von Tobel". Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  7. ^ https://www.facebook.com/alexavontobel/photos/a.1575405779207520/2191185557629536/
  8. ^ "Alexa von Tobel: Executive Profile & Biography". June 28, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  9. ^ "Facebook Acquires Drop.io, Nabs Sam Lessin". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  10. ^ Brody, Jacob (July 7, 2010). "LearnVest's founder: Is Alexa von Tobel Suze Orman 2.0?". Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  11. ^ Miller, Claire Cain (April 1, 2010). "Accel Invests in Personal Finance Site for Women". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  12. ^ "Personalized Financial Planning Service LearnVest Raises $28M From Northwestern Mutual Capital". TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Moyer, Liz (March 25, 2015). "Northwestern Mutual Is Buying Online Advice Provider LearnVest". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  15. ^ "Exclusive: Billionaire Penny Pritzker Joins Forces With Alexa von Tobel to Raise New $200M Fund". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  16. ^ "Inspired Capital, founded by Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker, just closed its debut fund with $200 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  17. ^ Insider, Silicon Alley (December 8, 2010). "Silicon Alley 100". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  18. ^ "30 under 30: The Top Young Entrepreneurs of 2010". 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  19. ^ "Women to Watch". Forbes. January 5, 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  20. ^ "18 Women Changing the World". September 13, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  21. ^ "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs". January 5, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  22. ^ "Personal Finance Expert Alexa von Tobel to Deliver Woman of Achievement Lecture". Meredith College. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  23. ^ Miller, Claire Cain (1 April 2010). "Accel Invests in Personal Finance Site for Women". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "The Experts: Is Creating a Personal Budget a Good Idea?". The Wall Street Journal. 13 June 2013.
  25. ^ Summers, Nick (14 February 2013). "In Financial Advice, Alexa von Tobel May be the Next Suze Orman". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  26. ^ Baer, Drake (20 July 2012). "Alexa von Tobel Wants to Fix Your Money Problem". Fast Company.
  27. ^ Casserly, Meghan (5 June 2013). "LearnVest's Alexa von Tobel On Women, Money and Understanding Credit". Forbes.
  28. ^ Aldridge, Kristen. "Workouts of the World's Busiest Women". Shape Magazine.
  29. ^ Moura, Sophie (13 September 2010). "Alexa von Tobel: The next Suze Orman". Marie Claire.
  30. ^ Bosker, Bianca (13 June 2012). "LearnVest CEO Alexa von Tobel: What Women Do That Holds Them Back". Huffington Post.
  31. ^ Ted Talks (19 November 2012). "Alexa von Tobel: 4 TED Talks That Impart True Insight". Mashable.
  32. ^ Rao, Leena (26 July 2011). "LearnVest Debuts Its Female-Focused Mint.com To Help Women Manage Their Financial Accounts". TechCrunch.
  33. ^ Chang, Angie (2 March 2012). "Female Founders To Watch: 2012 SXSWi Speakers Edition". Women 2.0.
  34. ^ Ted Talks (19 November 2012). "Alexa von Tobel: 4 TEDTalks That Impart True Insight". Mashable.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ Leahey, Colleen (27 September 2012). "10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs". Fortune Magazine. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  38. ^ Greenberg, Molly (1 April 2014). "GW Women in Business Event to Host a Whole Slew of Impressive Female Entrepreneurs". DC Inno.
  39. ^ Stillman, Jessica (18 April 2013). "How to Disrupt an Industry". Women 2.0.
  40. ^ 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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