Shadiah Sigala

This legend right here is Shadiah Sigala, she’s the real deal in the startup world. This girl’s story is fire. So, she’s a first-gen American, born in Mexico, and went all the way to Harvard for her Master’s in Public Policy. Before that, she crushed it at Pomona College. You see, she’s got that hustle in her blood, and her whole vibe is about making shit better for real people.

She jumped into the startup scene with HoneyBook, a SaaS platform that’s now worth over 2 billion bucks. Basically, she helped freelancers and small biz owners be productive easier. That’s a big deal. But she didn’t stop there. She saw a bigger gap, especially for working parents. So, she co-founded Kinside, this badass childcare marketplace and benefits platform. Think of it like Uber for childcare, making it way easier for parents to find and manage care, and for companies to support their teams. She’s all about the mission, not just the tech. She’s big on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She’s pushed research on the gender pay gap, sexual harassment in freelancing, and all that bullshit that still exists in workplaces. She’s been featured everywhere, Fortune, Forbes, Huffington Post, and she’s on lists like Inc’s Female Founders 100 and Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Influence.

What’s dope is, her process shows she’s not afraid of rejection or obstacles. She’s had her fair share, but she keeps pushing. Kinside raised a solid $12 million Series A and even bought LegUp, a universal childcare enrollment system. That’s some serious growth. And through all this, she’s living in LA with her two kids, balancing the chaos but still crushing it.

Bottom line: Shadiah’s story is about hustle, purpose, and breaking barriers. She’s out here building tools that actually help people live better lives, all while pushing for more diversity and fairness. No bullshit, she’s a leader who’s changing the game from the inside out.