Reham Fagiri

Yo, you gotta hear about Reham Fagiri. This girl’s the real deal. She’s the co-founder and CEO of AptDeco, which is basically the biggest online spot to buy and sell furniture. Launched in 2014, and she’s been crushing it ever since. But her story isn’t just about building a biz, it’s about breaking barriers and really showing what’s possible.

Before all this, Reham was at Goldman Sachs, yeah, the big finance giant, where she did engineering and management roles, building new software and launching cool projects. That tech hustle gave her a solid foundation, but what really pushed her was her own frustration with furniture resale platforms. Like, she was tired of the bullshit, unsafe transactions, clunky logistics, all that noise. So she jumped into solving her own problem, and that’s how AptDeco was born.

What’s crazy is she’s the first Black woman to get into Y Combinator, the top startup accelerator, and she didn’t just get in, she raised over $70 million and hit over $100 million in sales. That’s no small feat, especially considering the odds. It’s a big deal because it shows how she’s not just about building a company, but about smashing barriers and opening doors for others.

She’s super active outside of her startup too, she’s on the Fast Company Impact Council and helps out with Rewriting the Code, supporting women in tech and biz. That’s her giving back, making sure others can follow her lead.

Her background in electrical engineering from Maryland, plus an MBA from Wharton, really shows she’s got the brains and the hustle. She took her tech skills and her business smarts, then jumped into the startup world with a mission, to make furniture resale safe, easy, and original. And she did just that, creating a platform that’s reshaped a $58 billion industry.

So, what does this tell you about her? Reham’s all about solving real problems, not just chasing money. She’s driven by her own frustrations, which turned into a mission to make things better for everyone. Her process from Goldman Sachs to YC superstar, to breaking into a super competitive space, shows she’s relentless and fearless. She’s proof that when you combine tech, grit, and a cause you care about, you can shake up industries and open new doors for everyone.

Basically, Reham is a straight-up pioneer, not just building a company, but setting a new standard for what’s possible for Black women in tech, and for the future of online commerce. No Cap.