At Fort Light, we believe startup leadership doesn’t have to be lonely. We’ve built a team of experienced operators and mentors who have been in your shoes—scaling companies, leading teams, and navigating the high-growth chaos. Our goal is to support the next generation of startup leaders with real, no-BS coaching ****and community so you don’t have to figure it all out alone
With our cohorts, gatherings, and coaching, we can change the game for our members — thereby improving the experience for their teams and changing the way startups get built, one leader at a time.
Interested in what we’re up to? Reach out and join us!
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Hi, I’m Annie
I believe it’s possible to win big, drive results, and do the best work of our careers — all while being kind and having fun along the way.
I began my startup career as the 9th employee at HotelTonight (acquired by Airbnb), where I led North America + LATAM Local Ops and served on the exec team. Since then, I’ve led Ops and GTM teams and worked as a fractional leader at Outschool, First Round Capital, and more.
Early startup leaders do so much ****— execute the founders’ vision, build the culture, and wear many hats. But they don’t get the same quality networks and resources available to founders and later-stage . That’s why I built Fort Light: to give rising star startup leaders the coaching, connections, and confidence they need to win and thrive.
I want everything we build at Fort Light to leave you feeling recognized, challenged, connected, and supported.
The path we’ve chosen as builders isn’t easy — but it can be amazing and challenging and fun if we tackle it together 🚀
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Our Executive in Residence (EIR) program brings in senior startup operators to mentor, coach, and run Fort Light cohorts. They help our community grow, share hard-won leadership lessons, and create a bridge between emerging and seasoned startup leaders.
Our expert network is made up of seasoned executives, operators, and founders who have built and scaled companies across industries. They generously share their time, insights, and experiences to help Fort Light members level up faster — no gatekeeping, just real talk and support that gets it.
Alissa Reiter
Judy Abad
Thianh Lu
Alan D’Souza
Cait Collins
Wendra Liang
Amanda Swartz Ramirez
Zayd Badwan
Caroline Lau
Brittney Hall
Namrata Ganatra
Diana Stepner
Uma Chingunde
Menaka Chang
Sean Twersky
Amber Tennant
Mari Nazary
Anthony Sottile
Stella Ma
Holly May
Charlie Coglianese
Referrals and nominations are the best way for us to find the right leaders who’ll benefit from and contribute to our community.
We appreciate the folks who submit nominations to help us grow — thank you all!
Cole Pelosi
Caroline Clark
Morgane Palomares
Anamaria Nino Murcia
Caroline Lau
Michael Terrell
Andrew Dolan
Molly Murphy
Joe Kim
Rajiv Ayyangar
Virginia Fay Pack