6th Annual NYU Female Founders Forum
REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN. Those without a ticket will not be allowed in. Seating is first-come-first-served. When we reach max capacity, we will unfortunately not allow additional guests into the event.
Join the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute on Friday, Feb. 21 at the NYU Kimmel Center - Rosenthal Pavilion for the 2025 NYU Female Founders Forum!
The Female Founders Forum brings together founders, investors, and members of the NYU community for an inspirational half-day of conversation and networking, in pursuit of expanding opportunity and community building for current and future founders. This event is open to all women founders, investors, and their allies (regardless of gender or NYU affiliation).
Are you an NYU alum, non-NYU student, or general admission guest? RSVP here!
Keynote: Lia Winograd (Stern MBA '19), Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Pepper | Forbes 30 Under 30 | Inc. Top 100 Female Founders
Lia Winograd is the co-founder and co-CEO of Pepper, a direct-to-consumer intimate apparel brand dedicated to empowering small-chested women to embrace their unique bodies. Since its inception in 2017, Pepper has grown from a groundbreaking Kickstarter campaign that was 470% funded to an eight-figure business — all without traditional venture capital.
Before founding Pepper, Lia honed her strategic skills at top consulting firm McKinsey & Company. With an MBA from NYU Stern, she brings a blend of business acumen and personal passion to the brand. Originally from Colombia, Lia is bilingual and built Pepper’s production operations, which are based in her home country.
Pepper’s mission is to help women embrace the flat in flattering and redefine beauty standards — creating a thriving community where being anything but small is celebrated.
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AGENDA
12:30: Doors Open & Networking
Make sure to grab lunch before arriving at the Forum!
1:00 - 1:10 PM: Welcome + Opening Remarks w/ Yanaiya Jain (Gallatin '27)
1:15 - 2:15 PM: Keynote w/ Lia Winograd (Stern MBA '19), Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Pepper
Moderator: Britt Martin (GSAS '17), Founder & Consultant
2:15 - 3:15 PM: Entrepreneurs Panel
Panelists:
Ayman Mukerji Househam (Silver '20), Founder of Jivika
Nisha Maheshwari (Tandon '25), Co-Founder of CaroRhythm
Aleksandra Medina (Abu Dhabi '20), Co-Founder of Frich
Moderated by Stephanie Shyu, Associate Director, NYU Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship
3:15 - 3:45 PM: Coffee Break & Networking
3:45 - 4:45 PM: Investors Panel
Panelists:
Nicole Ripka (Stern '23), Betaworks
Lori Berenberg (Stern '17), Bloomberg Beta
Zoe van den Bol (Stern '21), Alpha Partners
Shivani Mathur (Stern '19), Comcast Ventures
Moderator: Azade Hosseini, PhD, Venture Associate, NYU Entrepreneurial Institute
4:45 - 5:00 PM: Mentor of the Year Award Ceremony w/ Alyssa Petersel, Founder of My Wellbeing (Silver '17)
5:00 - 6:00 PM: Closing Remarks & NYU Startup Poster Session w/
Speaking Fingers Academy
The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute provides reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. Requests for accommodations for events and services should be submitted at least two weeks before the date of the accommodation need. Please email entrepreneur@nyu.edu for assistance.