RESHMA SAUJANI
Founding Girls Who Code and turning a political campaign loss into a movement that taught 500,000 girls to program
Reshma Saujani lost a congressional election with 19% of the vote, spent $1.3 million doing it, and then visited the schools in her failed district and realized almost no girls were learning to code. She founded Girls Who Code in 2012. By 2023 it had reached 500,000 students in 100+ countries. The congressional loss was the best thing that ever happened to American girls in tech.
Net Worth
$5M
Nationality
American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
6 / 10
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Reshma Saujani ran for US Congress in 2010 and lost badly — she got less than 20% of the vote. Most people would have quietly moved on.
Instead, she visited schools in the district she'd been campaigning in, noticed how few girls were in computer science classes, and became obsessed with the problem. In 2012 she founded Girls Who Code — a nonprofit that teaches coding to girls in middle and high school.
By 2023, the organization had reached over 500,000 students, operates in all 50 US states and 100+ countries, and has become the most recognized girls-in-tech program in the world. Saujani is also the author of "Brave, Not Perfect" — a bestselling book on how society's obsession with perfection holds women back from taking risks.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Girls Who Code — Founder & CEO (2012–2021). Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms) — Founder.
Various board positions in tech and education. Author and public speaker
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Mission-driven founder with a media and advocacy approach. Saujani builds organizations, not funds.
She invests her reputation and network into causes she believes in — coding equity, paid leave, maternal health — and converts social capital into policy change. Her investing advice leans toward career bravery over financial optimization.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
5
Money Habits
Donates most of her speaking and book income to Girls Who Code and Moms First. Known for living a normal New York life despite significant public profile.
Relentlessly public about pushing for policy change — especially around paid parental leave.
BIGGEST WIN
Girls Who Code. A failed political campaign became the founding insight for an organization that has taught over 500,000 girls to code.
The "loss" was actually the most valuable data point of her career — it showed her what schools actually needed.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Her first congressional campaign was an expensive loss. She spent $1.3 million to get 19% of the vote.
But without that campaign and those school visits, Girls Who Code never gets founded. So it's hard to call it a true mistake.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Brave beats perfect. The biggest financial and career mistake most people make is waiting until they're fully ready.
The perfect plan is the enemy of the started one. Take the risk before you think you're ready.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Married to Nihal Mehta, a venture capitalist. Son Shaan Mehta.
EDUCATION
Bachelor's degree in Political Science, University of Illinois. Master's in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.
JD, Yale Law School.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
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QUOTES (5)
Every major crisis in history has been solved by the generation that learned to code. Climate change, healthcare, democracy — all of it runs on software.
Teach girls to be brave, not perfect. Perfectionism kills more ambition than failure ever could.
I lost an election. Then I visited schools and saw almost no girls learning to code. The loss gave me a purpose bigger than winning.
The gender pay gap is not a negotiation problem. It is a structural problem. We will not close it by teaching women to ask better questions at their annual reviews.
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