Aileen Lee — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Founder at Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage venture firm founded in 2012, which raised $95 million in its latest fund.
Co-founder of All Raise in 2018, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the representation of women in venture capital.
Coined the term "unicorn" in a 2013 TechCrunch article, defining privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more.
Served as founding CEO of RMG Networks, a company backed by Kleiner Perkins.
Previously a partner at Kleiner Perkins for 13 years.
Holds a bachelor's degree from MIT Sloan School of Management (1992) and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1997).

Biography

Aileen Lee is an American venture capitalist, angel investor, and the founder of Cowboy Ventures. She is widely recognized for coining the term "unicorn" in a 2013 TechCrunch article to describe privately held startup companies valued at more than $1 billion. Her firm, Cowboy Ventures, focuses on investing in early-stage technology companies.

Lee's career began as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley after earning her bachelor's degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1992.