KAREN CAHN’S BIO

Karen Cahn is a globally recognized business activist redefining access to capital and opportunity for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

She currently serves as the Founder of IFundWomen and a Board Member and Principal Advisor at Honeycomb Credit. Her career is dedicated to breaking down financial barriers for entrepreneurs and building a more equitable ecosystem for startups and small businesses.

Named to Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Female Founders, The City & State of New York’s Most Responsible CEOs, LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Entrepreneurship, and Worth Magazine’s Groundbreaking Women of 2024,

Through IFundWomen, Karen and her team have helped over 20,000 startups raise more than $200 million in early-stage funding and create 95,000 new jobs, fueling a vibrant and growing small business economy.

Karen’s thought leadership has been featured across hundreds of global media platforms, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, Inc. Magazine, MSNBC, Forbes, and more. She also shared her entrepreneurial journey on the acclaimed Masters of Scale podcast, hosted by Reid Hoffman, where she discussed the realities of fundraising and building sustainable businesses.

Before founding IFundWomen, Karen spent over a decade as a pioneer in the tech and media industries. She was among the early intrapreneurs at Google, leading sales teams across search, display, and video. In 2006, she launched YouTube’s first Branded Entertainment business, forging groundbreaking partnerships between content creators and brands. Her work revolutionized native video advertising on the web and unlocked entirely new revenue streams for YouTube creators.

Karen’s innovation streak continued at Aol, where she spearheaded the company’s female-driven creative economy in video. By funding and monetizing dozens of premium, women-produced video series, Karen’s leadership led to Aol earning its first-ever Emmy nomination.

A proud Badger, Karen holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, double majoring in African-American Studies and U.S. History. Today, you can find her championing entrepreneurs, sharing insights, and starting vital conversations on growing the small business economy.