Female & LGBTQ Founders

Being a woman and part of the LGBTQ+ community in private capital comes with unique challenges—many of which often go unspoken. I’m deeply committed to creating and nurturing a space where we can show up authentically, support one another, and grow together.

Whether you’re looking for an introduction, want to grab a coffee, need a sounding board, or simply someone to talk too—I’m here for you.
I’m passionate about contributing to this ecosystem and sharing the lessons I’ve learned—from navigating an exit to now building what I hope will be the next unicorn. Let’s keep showing up for each other.

DFX Friends, Jesse and I went to New York last week – it was a jam-packed trip filled with investor meetings, two advisory board conversions, a Pitch Tank event, and (of course) a sit-down with an incredible lawyer. Non-stop is definitely the vibe right now.

We wanted to share a BTS look at what we’ve been building. Here’s a video preview of DFX 2.0 – a completely revolutionary experience that’s 10x more powerful than our original platform. We’ve come so far, and this next version is a true game changer.

Fundraising Update

We’re currently raising a $1M SAFE as a bridge to finalize the build of DFX 2.0 and support ongoing operations, and will launch our $3M priced seed round in Q3 once DFX 2.0 is live. You’ll also notice in our latest deck we’ve added some serious firepower: Vic Bhagat, former CIO of GE, EMC (acquired by Dell for $67B), and Verizon Enterprise Solutions, is now on our Board of Advisors, providing guidance on the DFX 2.0 initiatives.

We’re seeing strong interest in this SAFE raise and looking to close this in April. If you or anyone you're close with would like to have a call and discuss the vision of DFX 2.0, we’d love to connect.

Why is DFX Spreading So Quickly?

DFX is growing as a true grassroots movement. We’re building a private capital social network that actually serves founders, investors, and service providers – no hidden fees, just a simple monthly membership. That’s it.

And people are talking. Word of mouth and social sharing are driving massive organic traction, and the love is real. 💙

If you missed last week’s Community Leadership Call (where we announced our expansion), you can watch this here.

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Speaking of last week, I would like to give a huge shoutout to our Advisory Board Member Jaime, Professor at ESCP Business School and Board Member of the Monaco Real Estate Board, who just announced our European expansion on LinkedIn! He’s bringing on five stellar interns to lead the charge across the region.

Coming Soon in DFX 2.0

We’re building for the future with features that make private capital human again:

🔐 Proprietary Blockchain ID Verification – secure, trust-based interactions and a new revenue stream for us and our partners.
📍 Interactive Member Map – zoom in to a quarter-mile radius and see who’s around you. IRL connections, reimagined.
🎥 Swipe-Based Pitch Feed – imagine Tinder meets Shark Tank. Quick, engaging capital matchmaking that just makes sense.

Big things ahead. Let’s build.

Much gratitude,
Ella

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