Theresia Gouw

AGE: 54 • FOUNDING PARTNER • ACREW CAPITAL

In 2019, when she was 51, Gouw launched Acrew Capital, a San Francisco–based early-stage venture capital fund with a focus on so ware, cybersecurity and nancial services. Within months, she raised $250 million from investors including Melinda French Gates. Acrew now has $1 billion in assets under management and stakes in companies such as Coinbase, ntech Plaid and Gusto, which makes payroll so ware. Gouw, who is personally worth some $600 million, was born in Indonesia to parents of Chinese descent and immigrated to the U.S. at age 3. She got a Stanford MBA in 1996 before becoming the rst female partner at Accel Partners. In 2014 she cofounded Aspect Ventures, one of the rst female-led venture rms in Silicon Valley. “Starting something on your own can seem really scary,” Gouw says, but like any other early-stage investment, it’s really just a bet on the founder—and “who do you know be er than yourself?”