Theresia Gouw

Gouw is a first-generation immigrant and a former figure skater. After college she worked in consulting at Bain, where she met her future partner Jennifer Fonstad.⁠[1][2][3]

Gouw was a partner at Accel for 15 years and later managing partner. Companies she backed include Imperva, Trulia, Forescout, HotelTonight, Birchbox, LearnVest, and Joyus; Forescout, Imperva, Trulia, and HotelTonight among them later went public or were acquired.⁠[3][1][2]

On February 5, 2014, Gouw and Jennifer Fonstad, a former managing director who had spent 17 years at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, announced the venture firm Aspect Ventures, focused on the emerging mobile marketplace and investing in seed and Series A rounds. They initially invested their own money without limited partners, planned about a dozen investments a year of $500,000 to $2 million each, and saw opportunities in mobile healthcare and security.⁠[3]

On May 2, 2014, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry (a16z) released the episode “a16z Podcast: Demystifying Venture Capital,” recorded in front of an audience at the UPWARD event at a16z. Gouw, of Aspect Ventures, appeared with Ann WinbladAnn WinbladAnn Winblad is a software entrepreneur and venture capitalist who co-founded Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, the first venture firm focused exclusively on software.Open the full entry of Hummer Winblad, Aileen LeeAileen LeeAileen Lee is the founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures and was previously a partner at Kleiner Perkins and the founding CEO of RMG Networks; in a 2013 study of startups she coined and popularized the business term “unicorn.”Open the full entry of Cowboy Ventures, UPWARD founder Lisa Lambert, and a16z partner emeritus Margit Wennmachers.⁠[4]

The discussion covered “What do venture capitalists actually do all day?,” the importance of technical chops, and how to build the next generation of entrepreneurs and investors. It was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019.⁠[4][5]

Gouw later co-founded the venture firm Acrew Capital, where she is a founding partner; the firm launched the Acrew Diversify Capital Fund, a growth-stage fund that brings diverse individual investors into the cap tables and networks of leading tech companies. At Acrew she has led investments in companies including Arthur.ai, Cato NetworksCato NetworksCato Networks is a Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity company that provides a cloud Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform converging networking and security, founded in 2015 by Shlomo Kramer and Gur Shatz. Its 2025 Series G valued it at more than $4.8 billion, and its annual recurring revenue exceeded $350 million in 2025.Open the full entry, HYCU, Ketch, Observable, and Solv, and she serves on the boards of several Acrew portfolio companies.⁠[1][2]

Gouw is a fellow of the Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private nonprofit research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by Rhode Island's colonial legislature in 1764, it is known for its undergraduate Open Curriculum, which has no common required core. Christina H. Paxson, president since July 2012, announced on August 3, 2026, that the 2026–27 academic year would be her last in office. As of October 1, 2026, the search for Brown's 20th president remained underway.Open the full entry Corporation for the 2025–30 term. She has appeared on the Forbes Midas List nine times and has been named to ForbesForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry’ 100 Most Powerful Women and 50 Over 50 lists, Time’s 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech, and the Carnegie Corporation’s Distinguished Immigrants list.⁠[1][2]

X: Public account: https://x.com/tgr (opens in a new window).⁠[2]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresiagouw/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]