Stella Han

Yo, have you heard about Stella Han? She’s the real deal, straight-up startup legend in the making. So, she went to Carnegie Mellon, super solid CS background, and jumped right into the tech scene. Started off as a Senior Software Engineer at Affirm, crushing payments and user services, which is pretty dope. But what’s crazy is how she took that skills set and jumped into her own thing.

She co-founded Fractional during YC W21, yeah, that’s the same batch as some big players. Fractional is basically a platform for folks to team up and invest in real estate and business assets, think of it like a group investment app but way smarter. And get this, she led a total pivot from focusing on consumers to going B2B2C, targeting seasoned operators. That move was huge, and it paid off big time. They’ve funneled over $400 million into deals now, and she raised more than $15 million from heavy hitters like Fifth Wall, YC, Will Smith, Kevin Durant, no cap. That’s some serious investor cred.

What’s cool is how she’s built her leadership style, hands-on, storytelling-driven, super adaptable. She’s the kind of founder who doesn’t just stick to the script, she reads the room, shifts gears when needed, and keeps growing. She’s also super involved in the community, on Deck Fellow, was on the board at Carnegie Mellon’s tech & entrepreneurship stuff. Plus, she’s served as an investor at Contrary Capital, so she’s got that insider perspective too.

All of this shows what she’s really about, she’s driven by the grind, super committed, and she’s not afraid to break the rules to make shit happen. Her story is all about taking her tech chops, jumping into the startup game, and then just crushing it by pivoting, raising big, and building something that actually moves the needle. Honestly, she’s the kind of founder you wanna keep an eye on, she’s not just in it for the fame, she’s building real value and changing the game in real estate and fintech. No bullshit.