Alexa von Tobel founded Inspired Capital out of a promise she made to herself: to become the investor she once wished existed. As a repeat founder, she understood firsthand the isolation and uncertainty of building something from nothing — and she built Inspired to be the partner she wished she had.
Alexa's path to venture capital began with high conviction. She left Harvard Business School to launch LearnVest, one of the first fintech companies built to make financial planning accessible to everyday Americans. In 2015, LearnVest was acquired for nearly $400 million — one of the decade's largest fintech exits.
Following the acquisition, Alexa became Northwestern Mutual's first-ever Chief Digital Officer, leading product and technology strategy as the company scaled to $30 billion in annual revenue, before stepping into the role of Chief Innovation Officer to oversee the firm's venture arm. Her career began on Morgan Stanley's Proprietary Trading Desk, followed by an early role helping build Drop.io, a startup later acquired by Facebook.
An inaugural member of President Obama's Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, Alexa has been featured on the cover of Forbes and named to Fortune's 40 Under 40, Fortune's Most Powerful Women, Inc.'s 30 Under 30, and the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Financially Fearless, Financially Forward, and Money Matters. She's on season eight of her podcast, INSPIRED, interviewing the most successful founders in the world. Alexa graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. in Psychology with Honors & Romance Languages and Literature. She wrote her senior thesis on Bhutan, graduating magna cum laude plus.