Suggestions
Renee LaBran
Board Director / Business Advisor / Investor / TIGER 21 Chair
Renée LaBran is a well-established executive, investor, and Board Director with a profound background in finance and digital industries.
She currently holds board positions at B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ: RILY), Idealab, Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp (NYSE: ICNC-UN), and Stravos Education.
Renée's expertise spans across helping companies with growth strategies, funding, and exit plans, along with assisting larger corporations in driving innovation amidst technological disruptions and evolving consumer trends.
With over 25 years of experience across corporate, startup, and small business environments, Renée has a wide-ranging industry exposure, including internet, technology, and consumer products.
She started her career post-MBA as a management consultant for Fortune 500 companies and ventured into the Internet realm by co-founding two startups backed by media companies during her tenure at Times Mirror.
Transitioning into venture capital, Renée has been involved in funding early-stage tech companies and providing growth capital to consumer product ventures.
Besides her board roles and investments, Renée also imparts her knowledge as an adjunct professor at UCLA Anderson Business School, offers strategic consulting services, and mentors early-stage entrepreneurs.
Renée LaBran is well-versed in growth equity, venture capital, early-stage companies, equity investing, strategic planning, industry transformation, innovation, financial strategies, mergers & acquisitions, and various industries like consumer products, technology, e-commerce, natural foods, internet, and digital media.
She holds an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School and completed her AB in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Throughout her career, Renée has been associated with prestigious organizations, including serving as an Independent Director at Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp and B. Riley Financial, a former Adjunct Professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management, a Los Angeles Chair at TIGER 21, a Board Director at Idealab, a Business Advisor/Investor at startups and growth-stage companies, a Partner at Rustic Canyon / Fontis Partners, a Director at TomboyX, a Board Trustee at the Board of Trustees, State Bar of California, Co-Founder at Classified Ventures, and more.
Highlights
Another year in the books! Congratulations to the winners of our 11th Annual Women Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition - Alex McLeod, MBA of Parlay in the tech category and Elyse Eilerman of The BAD Tea Company in consumer. We are so proud of all our finalists, and we look forward to watching them grow. Well done Tina Provost (Five Star Fans), Christine Wang & Tulsi M. (Keenly), Roya Azimi (RemediAI), Kayla Wooley (Staff on Tap), Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (DAmn RIght Cocktails), Lanie Y. (HydroGummy), Remington Fraser (The Revury) and Ahriana Edwards (Vaila Shoes)!
Tuesday night was the 10th Fast Pitch competition for Women Founder's Network, the eco-system for female founders that I co-founded ten years ago with Darya Allen-Attar, CEPA®, and with the support of many other great women. Congratulations to Nonny de la Peña, PhD, our tech winner and founder of Emblematic Group, which has developed a no code tool for creating and sharing immersive content across the Metaverse. And in the consumer category, congrats to Ashley Nickelsen, founder of BTR Nation, which is on a mission to end mindless snacking for good.
